Ex was Air Force (Colonel 30 years) and we moved around a bit. Not as much as some military families.
Rapid City SD Ellsworth AFB We were there 3 years/him 4. Loved the Black Hills but not the shopping available. The hang-out on Sunday's was K-Mart (I kid ya not). We would hike and tube on the streams. We were there for the flood(1972), that was major, luckily we were not near the flooding. I worked at the SD Fair and that was hit and quite a mess to clean up. Aunt in Denver so we made many runs to have some metropolitan experiences. My college roommate's hubby played for the Denver Broncos so we would have 50 yd line seats (free). Yes I ski!
Colorado Springs CO 7 years NORAD After SD, loved it here. Our home had a front range view of the mountains and Pikes Peak. It was amazing to watch the changes throughout the day, especially during the summer when it would snow on the mountains.
Stafford VA 3 years Close to family (200 miles), ex worked shifts in the Natl Military Command Center in the Pentagon. During mid-shifts (6nights) would take my 2 babies to PA so he could sleep. Sad thing was being 45 miles south of DC and small kids did not get to take a lot of advantage of the Nation's Capital. No cell phones then so if we had a sitter and a problem arose while we were in DC, well you can imagine, so we did not go often just the 2 of us.
Santa Clara CA.....just loved CA. So much to do and so little time. We lived behind Great America and bought a year pass ($29.95 -kids free). One night a week we would go after the crowds left, sure miss those times. With 2 MLB teams on weekends would see who had the best give-aways and go to a game ($5 tickets). Close to San Fran and the zoo so visited many times. Company come- wine country, SFO, Hearst Castle, on and on. Sad thing was only there 18 months. Also Ex's aunt lived in Palo Alto so had family close by. Loved the Nut Tree ( Vacaville CA)-Castroville (artichoke capital of the world)-Santa Cruz on and on! A friend had horses stabled near Half Moon Bay on the ocean so I would go ride with her on the hills overlooking the ocean, was amazing. Only a 5.2 quake while we were there, but we were like what was that!
Colorado Springs again...seven years. New home- view of mountains. Many of the same friends(military and civilian). I went back to school to get a degree in Travel and Tourism. The school wanted you to take 3 courses per period after a time I started taking 4 so I could finish before we were given orders, but alas I had 3 more to graduate when we had to move so there went that degree.
Montgomery AL-Maxwell AFB and the Air War College (school for Lt Colonels/Colonels plus 40-50 international students. One of the students was a Lord, who had been the pilot of the Queen of England's jet (now that was cool)!!! Sorry Donna, but I dislike AL too hot from May to Nov...never fit in even with living there 12 years. Private schools ate up our money (7-12 grade-2 kids) as local schools were horrible and scary. Saving grace was trips to Atlanta-Destin-Ft Walton Beach and of course driving distance to our timeshares (Orlando/Lake Buena Vista-Jensen Beach FL). Oh and the cockroaches grrrrrrr.
State College PA....back at the start. Still painful to talk about so maybe some day!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Starry Starry Night
Awhile back Sydney asked me about the picture I was using on my blog. Here is the story:
On the 13th of Dec, Matthew and Patricia were to come up because Matthew had to pick up a gift for her at a jewelry store near here. They both come in the door, we sit and talk for a bit, then Amanda walks in the door with a fur ball. Hopefully, I asked Amanda if they had gotten a puppy. All at once, all 3 went Merry Christmas. I hoped my hearing was wrong.
No, this thing was for me. Truthfully, I was not happy with this present. I like to travel a lot and just having the rabbit makes it hard, but I can go away for the day with no worries. A pup/dog requires more effort to leave for long. She is a cockapoo and cost them a fortune. I have not had a puppy since 1988 and then there was 4 of us in the home or more playmates to wear the puppy out. Then we get the frigid cold and ice here, hard to house-break with these weather conditions.
She is slowly growing on me, but still I wish they had not done this!!! To kennel both will be $45 a day. UGH! Vet bills and such...
Starry is a doll, and I am sure she will become part of my family in time. Just wish they had asked first!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Penn State vs Michigan State weekend
My daughter, Amanda, and her boyfriend Kyle showed up here on Thursday eve. This was after she told me they would be here, Friday. So here I was with a charted course of preparation for all to arrive Friday evening. SO I had to jump into overdrive to finish cleaning, make applesauce and cookies. Matthew and his gf, Patricia arrived around 8p on Fri. Now the weather is turning super nasty, snow, frigid temps and a 930am, Sat, meet up for the tailgate. There was no way in h*ll I was going. Give me a TV, a no-line bathroom, and whatever I want to eat during the game. After getting all four out of the house, after a 2 peeps drop-off downtown, I settled in to watch the game at 3:30. Before the game I needed to prep for the meal for Sun. I made the cranberry salad and had everything but the rice prepared for the Paula Deen's Chicken and Rice casserole.
The temps at game time (330p) were 28 with a wind chill of 14. I was worried since all had been outside since 930am and temps were about as bad then. I decided to watch the game from my bed with a heated mattress pad. Oh so cozy. Around 5p, I used the bathroom and thought that it seemed cooler, but then I was super warm and thought nothing of it. I received a call as the game ended, about 730p and the house seemed chillier. Turned up the thermostat and nada. HUH!!! Checked the circuit breaker, hit the reset, NADA. Just great!!!
What to do? I called my oil company and they said someone would call me. That someone called me but I had no record that they could find. I told them my family had used this company since at least the early 60's and on the farm there were at the max 8 oil tanks and that I had just gotten oil from them in mid-Oct to the tune of over $800. Meanwhile, I am thinking, here I have 4 guests and no heat on a night that would be in the teens. Thank goodness the guy came out, was here for 45 minutes and to fix the problem was $250, a clog in the line. Now here is the kicker, since they could not find no record of me, I had to pay cash or check. I told the guy either would be fine, just fix it. BUT the whole time he kept repeating that it could be expensive, I said so what, in the long run a plumber and busted pipes would cost more and I had frozen family coming to the house.
In the end, we had heat by 915p. I called the oil company this AM and Scott (who I deal with) said how sorry they were. He knows I am in the system, but somehow it was not showing and even though the repair guy/service tried to call him and said he was not reachable, he doubts they tried.
Guess my moral of this story is that no matter how long you deal with a company, you can be frustrated when an emergency arises and you are a NON!!! All worked out, but I do not want to think about if I had been denied.
The temps at game time (330p) were 28 with a wind chill of 14. I was worried since all had been outside since 930am and temps were about as bad then. I decided to watch the game from my bed with a heated mattress pad. Oh so cozy. Around 5p, I used the bathroom and thought that it seemed cooler, but then I was super warm and thought nothing of it. I received a call as the game ended, about 730p and the house seemed chillier. Turned up the thermostat and nada. HUH!!! Checked the circuit breaker, hit the reset, NADA. Just great!!!
What to do? I called my oil company and they said someone would call me. That someone called me but I had no record that they could find. I told them my family had used this company since at least the early 60's and on the farm there were at the max 8 oil tanks and that I had just gotten oil from them in mid-Oct to the tune of over $800. Meanwhile, I am thinking, here I have 4 guests and no heat on a night that would be in the teens. Thank goodness the guy came out, was here for 45 minutes and to fix the problem was $250, a clog in the line. Now here is the kicker, since they could not find no record of me, I had to pay cash or check. I told the guy either would be fine, just fix it. BUT the whole time he kept repeating that it could be expensive, I said so what, in the long run a plumber and busted pipes would cost more and I had frozen family coming to the house.
In the end, we had heat by 915p. I called the oil company this AM and Scott (who I deal with) said how sorry they were. He knows I am in the system, but somehow it was not showing and even though the repair guy/service tried to call him and said he was not reachable, he doubts they tried.
Guess my moral of this story is that no matter how long you deal with a company, you can be frustrated when an emergency arises and you are a NON!!! All worked out, but I do not want to think about if I had been denied.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Paducah KY
Where the Ohio River meets the Tennessee River. Paducah held my attention and I enjoyed sitting by the rivers watching traffic go by. Spent a small fortune on fabrics, here and in Kissimmee.
If you get there go to Hancocks of Paducah. I about fainted when I walked in there, could not believe the amounts and types of fabrics.
National Quilt Museum is here. Unbelievable collection of quilts. Pictured are 2 stain-glass windows.
Ringling Museum-Sarasota FL
Mr Howard has worked for 40 years creating a mini circus, includes train cars, cast tents, preparation tents, concession areas and of course a 5 ring circus tent. Was amazing to see.
Old circus posters
Circus wagons
Love Banyan trees so strange
Ca d Zan, the winter home to John and Mable Ringling. I visited here in the mid-90's and the home was empty and in poor repair. Today it is furnished and bright and shiny. About 60 acres and sits on Sarasota Bay. There is an extensive museum of priceless art, that we did not have time for, but I visited it the 1st time there. Was kind of sad not this time.
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