Monday with Mom & Dad

Mom and Dad took us to their "secret" greenhouse, finally. Dad has talked about this place for the past couple of years, but never taken us.


Talked about the great prices, the wonderful plants, and the nice people who run it.


An Amish family runs this wonderful place. The kids were all helping out. Made me realize how much more my kids need to be doing around here.

One little girl told us that her job was to sweep the greenhouse floors. She was very sweet and constantly in motion, helping.

They had lots of purple martin houses....and lots and lots of purple martins.

When I asked the owner if I could take some pictures of his beautiful flowers, he pulls out a ladder, and asks if I would like to take pictures of the top. The top of the flowers in the greenhouse, that is.

He had dozens and dozens and dozens of lovely hanging baskets. These next two pictures are from where I just put the camera in the air and starting shooting.

I don't do hanging baskets any more because I would forget to water them. We really don't go in and out the front door very much, so out of sight means out of mind at my house. Of course now, I have Ruth who is tall enough to water them......hmmmmm....

Isn't this a really cool idea?

We drove up the road a  bit and saw this chicken coop which Ruth and Jason liked.

And baby percherons, Ruth was excited. She loves horses - especially baby ones.

And this really pretty farm.

Then, we stopped at an antique/junk dealer guy - he had just about anything you could want - big or small.

I will have to show you our treasures another day! This post already has plenty of pictures.

Jason really did some digging and came up with some good stuff.

At the North Market

Last week Jason and I took Ruth to the North Market in Columbus for lunch. This is probably my absolute favorite place to eat.

The kids always get a smoothie and a slice of pizza to eat.

Jason and I are always trying something different. Although that day we both got Italian. YUM!



My favorite drink from there is the milk tea with bubbles. My favorites are almond, taro and red bean.

I usually get one for my lunch and a different one to take home. I know, I know - piggie! But this is the only place in Columbus that has them. So, I get them while I can.

 We get our food and go upstairs to eat. They have added some cool signs upstairs. Also, the skylights let in a lot of natural light. So, not only is the food great but it is just a cool place.

Ruth usually gets ice cream from jeni's for dessert. She always asks to try a taste something different, and then gets a scoop of lavender with a scoop of lemon. :-)

I make myself choose between the ice cream, the tiramisu, the Belgian waffles, the chocolate place, cookies, pretzels.... UGH! So hard to choose. That day I went with the tiramisu - it is the best I have ever had. I can't help but make 'mmmmmmm' noises while eating it. (No pictures - I ate it! It's making my mouth water just writing about it.)

The chocolates are AWESOME! Sometimes I get some of them to take home. Everyone in my family loves them. I think he is the same guy who makes them for the Academy Awards.

One time we went and Jason wanted to try the Polish. So, I took the kids to get mine (Vietnamese that time) and their pizza. When we met upstairs, Jason had two big containers of food. I looked at him and said what happened? Jason said, "I couldn't really understand a word he was saying so I just said yes to whatever he said and I ended up with this. He was really Polish!" Ha!

Have you ever been to the North Market? What is your favorite place/food there?

today

Sunrise this morning was beautiful. Could see it in my rearview mirrors. The colors of the sunrise were reflecting off the trees. It was so wonderful.

I was listening to Christmas music on the Christian music station. This morning was the first time I have really FELT Christmas this year! Usually church has really built up the Christmas joy in me by this time. But having missed the entire Advent season due to this blasted illness.....Well, it has really nipped my Christmas spirit.

Really felt God with me this morning as I praised Him with song and gloried in the beauty He brings to earth. So, the early moning drive was definitely a good thing.

The glorious drive took me here:
Martha Morehouse Medical Pavilion/OSU Cancer Hospital

Yea. Lots of fun to be had there. Huh.

Took Abbe and Eian to the neighbor's house early this morning to wait for the bus. (Thank you Cindy!)

Ruth spent the night at Mom and Dad's house - that was why I drove there last night. They got the kids off the bus this afternoon too. (Thank you Mom and Dad!)

So much planning just so I can have a CT scan and see a doctor.

Jason met me at OSU. He was getting off from the firehouse. Jason goes so that he can ask all the questions that I don't ask. He gets really frustrated when I come home and haven't asked the 'right' questions, so now he goes too.

God must have known knew that I would need that lift this morning. Am still out of sorts because the doctor couldn't open the CT scan to read it. Sigh. That was why I went so early - to be able to have the scan and get the results on the same day.

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Jason and I went here for lunch:
http://www.bravoitalian.com/lunch.html

Had lasagna, salad, awesome bread with a olive oil dipping sauce, and THREE glasses of lemonade.

Lasagna picture from their website

We finished our Christmas shopping by going here:
Target

and here:
Home Depot

Sorry no picures today. Took my camera but was really not feeling it today. Have some from this evening but they are on my phone. If they turned out OK, I will post tomorrow. Some cute ones of the kids - they were goofing around.

It was a really long, and up and down day.

Wittich's Candy Shop

What could possibly be so exciting about a plain white paper bag?

Why, what's inside, of course! And guess what is inside this one? Lots of yummy goodness.....well, a lot of it is missing already!

Yesterday, Eian and I went to Wittich's Candy Shop after I took him to the doctor (no antibiotic; she just said for him to use his inhaler regularly this weekend). I had been promising Abbe I would stop and get some of her favorite Christmas Candy.

Wittich's: "The nation's oldest family owned and operated confectionary is located in Circleville, Ohio. True to tradition Wittich's still makes their sweets fresh in-store, and will happily serve you a refreshing treat from the 1930's soda fountain." Taken from their website. The ladies were all in the back making chocolates yesterday. It is a cute and friendly little shop.

I really should go there more often. They have all sorts of good things. Including candy making supplies. Last winter I bought some sucker sticks there for putting homemade marshmellows on - which I never did get made. Sigh. Will try this year.

Anyway... back to the sugary goodness.

Eian and I picked out one special chocolate for everyone in our family. Eian - chocolate covered cherry, Ruth - peppermint patty, Jason and Abbe - buckeyes, and for me - a turtle (and not just 'cause turtles are my favorite animals!). YUM! Nothing like chocolate, caramel and pecans!

Mine didn't even make it into the car before it was in my belly! Bag = empty:

Jason is the only one who has any candy will power. His buckeye is the only one left.

They had Christmas Jelly Bellys. Can't show you a picture because the kids ate all of them last night.

Dark chocolate covered expresso beans for Jason and I.

And, drum roll please, the most important reason we went there.

Yes, these look like ordinary peppermint sticks, don't they?

Well, look inside. See that ribbon of brown. CHOCOLATE! Yes, my dear Watson, they put the chocolate right inside the peppermint. How awesome is that? The white ribbon inside is like a creamy peppermint goodness.

Last year, I only bought one box. Gone in a flash. I think I MAY have had one piece. This year I bought two boxes and I am going to hide them!

They only have these at Christmas. And they run out. Because I went back last year to get more and they were all out. :-(

What kind of special candy do you get or make around Christmas?

My mother-in-law, Nana, makes potato candy. This is Jason's favorite. I haven't even asked for the recipe. Know I can't compete! ;-) Hint. Hint.

Today

Today:

Is my baby brother's 30th birthday! I can remember the day he was born. We got to stay home from school (I was in the 5th grade) at Grandma's house. I was sooooo excited. I wanted a baby brother since I already had a little (annoying to me at the time) sister. My Eian reminds me of my baby brother A LOT! Happy Birthday Baby Brother!

I got to go to Winterfair with Linda! Sans children!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fun, fun, fun. I finished some of my Christmas shopping. Most of what I have left is stuff for children and stuff to finish making. Winterfair is AWESOME!!! I had never gone before. Seeing all of the creativity there was very inspiring to get my stuff going. Was showing Abbe some of the stuff online and now she really wants to go: Steven Meadows, Andrea Anderson, Sandra Lang & Walter Weil, and Kim & Katherine McClelland were some of my favorites. Linda and I only covered about half of the place! Abbe and I want to go back on Sunday. The North Market is having their craft fair this weekend too. Went to it last year - was very good!

Am feeling somewhat better but still very tired. Still am not getting a good night's sleep due to coughing. Huh. Irritating.

Want to make this:



But have to find a book that I would want to tear up first. Very hard thing for me to find! Think this would be a great thing for kids to do with me.

Sickness...

has hit our house.

Abbe has had a stomach bug since Saturday night. She is still not feeling well enough to go to school today.

Eian and Ruth finally coughed and breathed and sneezed and kissed me enough that I got their yucky stuff. Sooo.... am really feeling crappy.

Abbe and I didn't get to go to the Lego store on Sunday with Eian for his birthday. Jason gallantly took Ruth and Eian by himself. I KNOW the store was a complete mess with people, and keeping track of those two by yourself can be quite hard. Let alone the fact that they were picking out Legos! And let alone the fact that the store was crazy with Christmas shoppers. Thank you Jason for being such great dad!

So, no pictures today. Will post better once I am feeling better!

A wordy trip down memory lane

My family has always called Holmes County and the surrounding area "Amish Country." We have been going up there since I was wee little. Part of me used to HATE going (the being stuck in the car for hours on end with my brothers and sister) and part of me LOVED going (the horses, the food, the people). My mom would buy bulk flour and spices from the Ashery Country Store (which was just one little room when we first started going), especially for her Christmas cinnamom rolls and rings she would make as gifts.

I try to get up there at least once a year also.  I have had to buy cinnamon and flour from the grocery - GASP - for the past couple of months. For one thing, it is super expensive to buy whole wheat and unbleached flour this way, let alone spices. Plus, the stuff from the Ashery is fresher. I know, you are thinking, what????? But it really does make a difference. And we bake quite a bit around here. My mom used to bake all the time when I was a kid and I still remember coming home from school and smelling fresh baked bread. Nothing beats fresh bread with butter melted on it for an after school snack! (Can you tell where all my extra pounds have come from?) This is part of the reason Jason and I decided, before we had kids, that we would give up a lot of 'stuff' that we could get with me working in order for me to stay at home and be MOM. (What a run-on sentence! UGH! The editor in me is cringing but I don't feel like fixing it! Blogging should mean FREEDOM.) Anyway...... back to Amish Country.

Abbe and Eian were out of school last week for our Fair break. So, we decided to take a couple of days and go to Amish Country. (We were going to go see my friend Amy in South Carolina but that is a whole 'nuther story. (See me crying.)) Getting Ruth ahead with her school work was definitely INTERESTING. Since she is being homeschooled through an online school, they obviously didn't have last week off. Abbe was super excited about going. She loves all the food.

We do what my parents always did also. We get on the way back township roads and just drive around looking at all the beautiful scenery and farmhouses. If you have never been, the Amish around there have a distinct way they build their homes. The flowers are always beautiful and full and vibrant around their houses and gardens. Mom and I always say we are going to stop and ask what their secret is one of these days. Horse manure tea??

Anyway, between Jason and I (mostly me - he was driving) we took 194! pictures. We always take the kids' pictures outside the Der Dutchman Restaurant (which was only one little room with booths when we were little). It has become a kind of tradition. The first day was mostly sunny and beautiful with the second day came the misty rain.

My uncle used to say that at night the Amish would open their roofs and put up their satellite dish. :-)He could never imagine living without all the modern conviences. One thing that I did notice more of on this trip was solar panels. Quite a few Amish had solar panels on their work sheds/barns. I only saw one have a solar panel on their house. (Here is an interesting website with a little background.)

The whole area has become A LOT more commercialized just since Jason and I got married. Let alone how it has changed since I was a kid. Mom and Dad talk about all the times we would go to auctions up there and us kids would play with the Amish kids. I have a hard time imagining our kids doing that now.

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Emergency break to go find Blacky. Thank goodness he was found because it would have been my fault. I put him out in his yard cage this morning and the one end had come loose somehow and he escaped through that! For a second, I thought the neighborhood red tailed hawk had had a rabbit brunch. Close call!
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Here is what my spice cupboard looks like now with all the new herbs and spices. You DO know that you should replace them every once in a while, right? Look at the prices!!!!!

By the time we were heading down the back roads slowly making our way home, I had grown tired of the fussing and fighting, so I let them play on their dsi's. I know, I know... sing songs, play games... blah blah blah. Well, I HAD been doing that for the past two days. Selfish me just wanted to enjoy the time I had left looking and talking to Jason. So, out came the dsi's. The only thing we had when I was a kid were books. Although Ruth does take a backpack full of books EVERYWHERE she goes. The seriously funny thing about the first picture is that Ruth is too busy playing on her dsi to realize that there are horses RIGHT OUTSIDE her window! If you know Ruth, she is crazy about horses. Then, once they realized the horses were there, they were using their dsi's to take pictures of the horses.

Shopping

One day a week Ruth goes to a local Christian school for art and tutoring. This gives me a break (kind of) and gives her interaction with kids her age and a chance to learn from someone other than me.

This week I decided to take my laptop, head to my favorite coffee shop, and chill. Well my friend, Linda, called and once she found out where I was, asked if she could join me. She got to talking about this new antique/used furniture store up the street. (I would say more antique because most of the stuff definitely had antique prices!) So off we went. Have you ever been to one of those shops that just seems to have some really 'different' stuff? This was one of those places!

All photos were taken with my camera phone - sorry! They are REALLY blurry.


This was interesting - Linda texted (spell check saying texted is not a word) it to our friend Jennifer (she hunts and shot an ?award? winning antelope this year much to her husbands chagrin!).

This was what I considered the ugliest thing in the shop! It even had a brass base! And a plastic ladle! Linda said she didn't think it was so bad and could really be the conversation piece of the party! This photo really does not do the ugliness justice!

This wasn't so much ugly as interesting. (See the sphinx like cat behind it!)

Linda and I both were drooling over this. Wouldn't this be really cool to have in the front entryway? A moveable closet. And it had this really neat button lock. It had a bar inside with its own sliding hook and a MIRROR on the door! To give yourself the once-over before you leave the house, of course.

Also, saw something Abbe would have loved. A pink tea set! This is a terrible picture because it had the neatest design on it - you can see it a little better on the teapot itself.

And something Ruth would have loved. Good thing Ruth wasn't with me - she would have been begging me for this. Funny thing is every time we watch Mary Poppins, she says she wants a carousel horse all her own. And, yes, it came with the barrel attached.

Mary Poppins horses (Ruth wants the blue one.) Ruth just said, "It really would be awesome to have a carousel horse that ran on its own. Then, you wouldn't have to feed them!"




Such a fun and beautiful morning with a fun and beautiful friend! And now it is raining. AGAIN.

Have you ever been to 'one of those shops'? Didn't see anything that I couldn't live without that day, but have you ever brought something home from a place like this and had instant buyer's remorse?