...........................Terry's Art and Stuff...

Things that are new......

2010-03-13T21:22:00.009-05:00

Don is a new man! He has lost 50+ lbs as of today. He looks great and we are celebrating his success. We both spend an hour in the gym almost everyday. Counting down the days until our Disney vacation in August in our new bodies and swimsuits! Thanks to Don I have lost 15 lbs since mid-January. Long way to go, but motivation is abundant! We had an awfully cold and snowy winter. The only plus was an extended visit by my parents and a brief visit by Heidi and Tristin. The neighbors enjoyed my house being decorated for Valentines and St. Patrick's Day (compliments of my Mother, of course)and Lilo & Stitch enjoyed entertaining Tristin!

We have a Son-in-Law! Congratulations to Heidi and John who celebrated their special day on March 12, 2010. Can't wait to introduce John and show him off to the rest of the family. Heidi seems so happy now, and we wish her and John love that lasts a lifetime. They live in Montgomery, Al. John works for himself and is a local voiceover "celebrity". Heidi is still going to school and throughly enjoying motherhood and her new life as "Mrs. John Yuhas".

Tristin is turning one year old in two weeks - CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?? Already a year old and it seems like yesterday I was trying to catch a flight to Montgomery while Heidi was in labor hoping to make it before she delivered. I have no idea why this picture is dated 2/13/09. It was taken on a snowy 2/13/2010 in my van in Weirton, WV. Grandpa Don was entertaining him while Mimi drove the van around the parking lot waiting on his mommy to finish shopping!

Don is commuting back and forth to Youngstown ARS in Ohio. In January he started his new job as the Deputy Operations Group Commander. He is very goal oriented and his career is progressing. We are excited about what the future and command holds for us. If we are lucky it will include a move back south close to family and friends.

I am still working at the local lawfirm and loving it! I am fortunate to be able to visit with Heidi every 12 weeks or so and see Tristin. I am still scrapbooking when I have time and trying to learn to quilt whether I have time or not!

That's a quick update from the Richeys. All is well, life is good and we are truly blessed with good health, a loving family and fabulous friends. Come and see us!

shame on me!

2009-11-08T20:24:00.002-05:00

I am almost ashamed to post since it has been so long. Facebook completely spoiled me. I have been up to lots of cool things since I posted last and will be updating again soon. I miss my blog friends!

Congratulations Jacob & Eagle River H.S. Class of 2009!

2009-05-14T12:07:00.002-04:00

Graduation went very well and Jacob is so excited to be finished with High School. He plans to attend the University of Alaska Anchorage in the fall with his sister, Alex. In fact, they are moving into a house together June 1st. Hope one or both of them will blog about them living together and going to college. Somehow their stepfather Mark and I think there is a comedy in that situation! We plan to spend this afternoon with the kids, as this is our last day in Alaska. Our flight leaves just after midnight tonight.

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T15:14:00.004-04:00

Hope everyone has a great Mother's Day! I am almost packed and ready for my trip to Alaska. Check out the cool Mother's Day gift I received! It's an Aerogarden 3. I Can't wait to get back home and start planting my English Garden - Thanks Jimmy!

New Jim Shore Art!!

2009-05-06T09:31:00.004-04:00

Had to share the following pictures of all the great Jim Shore "Heartwood Creek" pieces my parents gave to me as an early birthday present! Absolutely beautiful and the pictures that I downloaded from the website don't do the pieces justice. They look great in my patriotic home. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Don and I are headed to Alaska to celebrate Jacob's High School Graduation! Congratulations Jacob - we can't wait to see you graduate!

Baby News!

2009-04-20T09:27:00.002-04:00

Tristin is finally home from the hospital and I am back in West Virginia. My parents drove me back home and are staying with me for a couple of weeks. Here are the birth announcements that have been ordered for Tristin. I hope to get them mailed out to family this week! Thanks for keeping us in your prayers!

I'm a Grandma!

2009-03-28T09:32:00.003-04:00

Tristin Michael was born Friday March 27th at 3:10 a.m. He weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. He has some respiratory issues and is in NICU. His mother is doing fine and really, really wants to hold and feed her baby!

Thought my Kids would recognize the words to this "MOM SONG"

2008-12-22T19:47:00.001-05:00

The Mom Song from Northland Video on Vimeo.

Early Christmas Presents - Art Work, (but not mine!)

2008-12-20T09:02:00.007-05:00

If you know me even a little bit you know that one of my favorite artists is Jim Shore. I have various pieces and here are a few that were exclusive to Avon this year that I picked up for a very nominal cost. You probably also know that Don and I are huge "Disney" lovers!

Anyway, I wanted to share my newest addition to my Jim Shore collection. It was an early Christmas presents from my parents to Don and I. I absolutely cherish it, and it fits perfectly on my piano. The pictures of Jim Shore's work do not really do him justice. They are very detailed and very folk art. Thanks Mom and Dad - we love our new Nativity!

So, another one of my favorite Artists is my Dad - both of my parents are very creative and talented. Check out my tree! Dad scroll sawed an ornament of every State that Don and I ever lived in - isnt it great? The tree topper was scroll sawed to read "Santa - Look Where We Have Lived"! This was another early Christmas present to Don and I.

a few closeups of the ornaments

Well, only a few days until Christmas and I have lots to get done. Hope all of you have a Very Merry Christmas! Don and I will be having Christmas with his family in Illinios this year for the first time in our marriage! We are very excited and can't wait to see everyone.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-25T08:30:00.003-05:00

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

Have a great long Thanksgiving Weekend!

Deja Blue!

2008-11-17T08:40:00.005-05:00

The Hockey game was AWESOME!! We had so much fun. The Penguins wore their "throw back" baby blue jerseys from the 70's and the game was the 75th straight sold out game in Pittsburgh.

I was amazed at how quiet it is at a hockey game. (Until the Penguins score that is)You can actually hear the skates and the puck on the ice. Three 20 minute periods separated by a 17 minute break. Most of the action takes place in the last five minutes!
The Penguins won 5 - 2 and scored the last few points in the last five minutes of the game. A must for a hockey game - scarfs and gloves, it was cold in there. Also - COW BELLS!! They ring cowbells instead of clapping. Another cool thing they do is fly a big blimp around the inside of the arena. As it flies around it drops little paper flyers over the top of the crowd. These flyers include free items from the vendors - like free cup of coffee, free piece of pizza, etc. McDonalds flashed up a video on the jumbro tron stating that if the Penguins scored in the next two minutes everyone could use their game tickets as a voucher for a free Big Mac from McDonalds starting the next day. Guess what? THEY SCORED!!
Big Macs all around compliments of the Penguins! LOTS OF FUN! (I decided we need to scrapbook the tickets, so there will be no McDonald's celebration for the Richeys!) I can't wait to go back to another game. Sure would be nice to see them play the Atlanta Thrashers, unfortunately that game is this Thursday night - in Atlanta! GO PENS!!

Don is TDY to Robins AFB this week - lucky him! It snowed all day yesterday and is snowing again this morning. We are suppose to get about an inch or so accumulation today. I can't wait to get back to some warmer weather.

Have a great week!

Colder Weather, and PENGUINS!!

2008-11-14T09:50:00.001-05:00

I am very excited to tell you that tomorrow night is date night and Don is taking me to a Pittsburgh Penguin v. Buffalo Sabres NHL Hockey game!! I have never been to an NHL game ever and have always wanted to go. Can't wait to post about my experience and let you know how much fun I had.

We are expecting much colder weather this weekend and some snow as well. I will be so glad to get to Alabama for Thanksgiving to see my family and to enjoy the warmer humid weather!!

Being Silly!

2008-11-10T19:07:00.001-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

The Art Institute, Mamma Mia! & Bahama Breeze.....

2008-11-10T09:59:00.008-05:00

What a great weekend I had! Jacob is here visiting colleges and I was so impressed by all his drawings. He really enjoys art and certainly has the drive and the creativity needed to study art. People think you are born knowing art. Art is a skill that is learned, just like math. Some people do better in math because they like it, some people are more artistic - because they like it! He is so passionate about his characters, and his imagination is HUGE! Jacob needs structured instruction to channel his artistic abilities and the Art Institute will be able to provide that for him. Guess we will see if he gets accepted and if he decides to attend the Art Institute. I am delighted that Don and I are able to provide him the opportunity.

Yesterday I saw the Broadway play "Mamma Mia!" in Pittsburgh with two friends, Anna & Christine. What a great musical. It was full of energy, excitement, gogo boots and spandex. We had a blast. I can't wait for the movie to come out on dvd next month.

After the play Anna and I went to Bahama Breeze for dinner. We had great mojitos, jerk chicken pasta and flatbread. I had a great girls day out.

Today Jacob has an appointment to tour West Virginia Northern Community College here in Weirton. It is cold today and we had a lite dusting of snow on the ground this morning. Don and I both took the day off work to spend with Jacob. Touring the Art Institute inspired me to draw...which I havent done since High School! I got out my sketch pad and charcoal pencils and started drawing the human body to scale to give Jacob something to study by! Good luck Jacob - I hope you get to follow your dream! I love you!

New York City, John McCain, Halloween Fun......and a some BIG NEWS....

2008-11-02T20:11:00.014-05:00

I have had so many fun things going on since my last blog. I simply cannot spend the time needed to keep this blog updated with everything I am fortunate to experience. Just in the last week I have been to New York City, attended a John McCain "Whistle Stop" in Ohio, and dressed up and attended a Halloween Party! Life moves quickly.......

Last weekend I went with three friends on a "Redeye" motorcoach tour to New York City. We left Weirton, WV at 11:00 p.m. on Friday night and arrived in Manhattan at 7:00 a.m. We had a one hour driving tour of the city and then we were dropped off at Macy's on 34th and Broadway. We did some purse shopping that was quite an experience. Got some "good deals" on merchandise if you know what I mean. Love my new Gucci, Coach and Dolce & Gabanna handbags which I picked up at a fraction of the retail price. We had a great breakfast at "Ellen's Stardust Diner" at 51st and Broadway - home of the singing wait staff! The staff are all kids trying to make it on broadway and they sing and dance while waiting tables. Much fun, great food and I highly recommend the experience. We did some shopping, visited Rockefeller Plaza (the ice rink is much smaller in person!) and experienced the subway!

The tour guide Ronnie, and my friends Patti, Jeannie and Debbie all in front of Macy's just after he dropped us off. 8:00 a.m. on Saturday October 25th. 56 degrees!

This is a picture of Jeannie, Debbie and Me in front of Rockafeller Plaza at the ice skating rink. We also toured Ground Zero, St. Paul's cathedral, saw the Statue of Liberty from across the water and had so much fun just being together and walking around Manhattan for 12 hours! We arrived back in Weirton at 3:15 a.m. on Sunday morning. Very exhausted and tired, but we were all committed to going back and doing it all again in the Spring. I just kept thinking about how much my neice Andrea loves New York City, and how much I would love to take my daughter Alex - she would love it too!

On Thursday I got an email at work from the office manager telling us that John McCain was holding a rally at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Steubenville, Ohio, on Friday at noon, and anybody that wanted to attend was free to take off work with pay to go! How much fun I had! I went with two girls from work (one was Jeannie from the New York trip) and after standing and waiting for 2 1/2 hours for John to get there (he was an hour late) we realized it was worth it. We were dead center and five rows back.

He looks much different in person and you can really feel his sincerity when you are face to face with him more so than on television. I am glad I was able to attend. My first political rally and I am such a McCain/Palin supporter!

That afternoon my friend Anna invited me to attend a Halloween Party with her. Don had to work so I agreed to go. Had to come up with a costume at the last minute and after looking through my closet I remembered my labcoat and scrubs that I was going to use to paint in. I put them on, grabbed a witch's hat and went as a "Witch Doctor".

The theme for the party was Caveman/Cavewoman. It was lots of fun. Thank you to my friends Mike & Karen for holding a great party in their beautiful historical home! Don is sad he had to miss it.

Next weekend will be lots of fun too! We are so excited to have Jacob coming for a visit from Alaska!!! He has applied to attend college at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and is flying down for a campus tour and personal interview with admissions.

NOW...for my BIG NEWS.....

I am going to be a GRANDMOTHER! I know, I know, I can't believe it either!! Congratulations to Heidi & Michael.

They are expecting their first child, a baby boy on April 1st, and have chosen the name "Tristan Michael". We are excited and hope and pray for a healthy pregnancy.

I told you, Life moves fast!!!

Happy Labor Day, and a Birthday Wish!

2008-09-01T11:14:00.005-04:00

Happy Labor Day to Everyone! Don and I are enjoying our day off and getting ready for his parents to come for a visit next weekend. The ivy needed a light trimming and the weather was just perfect this morning to get it done.

We returned from the Florida Keys last Wednesday and were quite happy to get back to our home, puppies and normal routine. It was a great birthday present! I enjoyed a "Cheeseburger in Paradise", great rum runners, key lime pie, margaritas and two very luxurious resorts - thanks Donny for being my best friend and always treating me like a Queen!

Happy Birthday to my Dad! Hope your day is great Dad, despite the weather you are probably experiencing from Hurricane Gustav. We miss you and although we are dreading the winter weather, we are looking forward to December because of your visit! Have a great birthday, we love you!

Blasts from the past?

2008-08-25T22:41:00.006-04:00

I found this cool website on friends blog and just had to play with the pictures. I took one picture of me and uploaded it in various yearbook pictures from previous decades. Very funny! Check out my pictures:

1990:

1974:

1964:

1960: I really enjoyed seeing what I might have looked it from 1950 - 2000. Go to http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ and see yourself "in the past"!

By the way, I am still on vacation in the Keys. Just hanging out in the hotel room and surfing the net!

"Happy Birthday to Me...I'm in the Keys"!

2008-08-22T15:09:00.006-04:00

I turned 44 yesterday and my wonderful hubby brought me to the Florida Keys for a week long celebration of my birthday. We flew into Miami yesterday. I absolutely love Miami - it was very clean and the people were not only very friendly, but very attractive. Love the latin feel of it all. We arrived in the Keys today and are spending the night tonight in Islamorada before going down to Key West tomorrow. The weather is beautiful. Tropical Storm Fay is way north of here and shouldnt affect the rest of our trip at all.

Don is not liking the hot humid weather, but I am sure some bikini clad women and some rum runner drinks at the Tiki Bar will make it all worth while!

Jacob & Alex's 4th of July Visit!

2008-08-09T08:13:00.005-04:00

What a busy summer it has been in West Virginia. Alex and Jacob came for a long weekend visit over the 4th of July and we really enjoyed showing them around Pittsburgh. We saw the Zoo/Aquarium, Andy Worhol Museum, the Heinz History Center and The Natural History Museum/Art Museum.

It was great to see them and we wished they could have stayed longer. We are excited about going to Anchorage next May to see Jacob graduate High School and to check out Alex's first home away from home! Speaking of Alex - HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL!

She turns 19 tomorrow. She is getting ready to start her second year at the University of Alaska, and we are very proud of her. Visiting with Jacob & Alex was certainly the highlight of our summer.

Summer Weather and more flowers blooming!

2008-06-05T19:27:00.008-04:00

WOW - it was in the 90's today and felt wonderful!! We had a huge storm last night that dropped lots of rain and then the sun came out and it was a beautiful day. I was so excited to come home to more flowers that bloomed!

I just love watching things bloom around this house that I had no idea was even planted!! Don is sharing garden space with the nextdoor neighbor. Don is using about 3/4 of the garden spot in their yard and has been busy planting squash, tomatoes, sunflowers, cucumbers, bell peppers (red and green), jalepeno, marconi peppers and lots of herbs.

He is working on beautiful herb garden on the other side of the house. I will post pictures of the herb garden when he gets finished planting.

Don is enjoying the golf course today and Stitch is at the Vet for a few days having some surgery. Lilo and I are enjoying our walks around the yard and smelling all the wonderful flowers!

Memorial Day...

2008-05-26T15:27:00.011-04:00

Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday that is observed on the last Monday of May. It was formerly known as Decoration Day. This holiday commemorates U.S. men and women who have died in military service to their country. It began first to honor Union soldiers who died during the American Civil War. After World War I, it expanded to include those who died in any war or military action. One of the longest standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911. Now you know!

MORE FLOWERS!

I went to work today more so to make the time go by. I kept thinking about my family at the lake enjoying the sun, water and each other and was getting homesick. Decided the office would take my mind off it for a few hours. When I got home some more flowers had bloomed. Today is the first day in EIGHT MONTHS that the temperature has been over 75!!

I just LOVE the pink and white ones. My neighbor tells me they are Peonies. I have a row of four huge bushes of them. I hope they stay bloomed all summer!

Last post 4/6?? Where has the time gone!!

2008-05-24T10:28:00.013-04:00

I was shocked to see my last post was on April 6th! Probably no one will read this post because they think I have given up trying to keep this blog current. So, if you do stop by and read this, leave me a quick comment so I know I didn't do all this just for my sake.

Lots of things have happened since my last post. Don was sick and hospitalized for almost a week. He is doing better now and is enjoying Germany and getting in some golf games. He is excited as Jacob and Alex are going to make a quick trip to visit in July for four days. Let's see, what else....Don's parents, Pam and Jay, came for a week long visit and we had lots of fun with them, as always. We took them to a Cardinals v. Pirates game and although the Pirates won they still had a good time (they are Cardinal fans!) In fact, Jay caught a foul ball in his "Cardinal" baseball cap, much to the dismay of the Pirate fans. I attended a One-Stroke training camp the Saturday before Mother's Day and had lots of fun painting and playing with clay. Would like to go for my Level 2 OSCI certification if I can get Donna Dewberry to come to Pittsburgh for the seminar. If not, I will try and attend in Orlando maybe next year. I attended the H&R Block annual banquet and had fun seeing my teacher, classmates and co-workers. Should start my second year tax classes sometime next month. Don and I are enjoying our season tickets to the Pirates games every couple of weeks. Tonight we are playing the Cubs and since Don is in Germany I have invited a friend to go with me. Can't wait for that Primanti Bros. sandwich and some hot wings!

I have to say Happy Belated Birthday to my Niece, Andrea, who turned 19 in April. She is a freshman at the University of Alabama and is majoring in early childhood education. Happy Birthday Andrea!

I got myself a Wii video game and the new Wii Fit Balance Board. I love this machine. It is fantastic and now I can run, do yoga, aerobics, strength training, and balance exercises right at home and watch my progress on screen. I highly recommend the Wii Fit! It is so much fun and Don and I enjoy the healthy competition of hitting baseballs, playing tennis, etc. and seeing our Wii ages. The first time we played his Wii age was 45 and mine was 64!! Now my Wii age is 38 (I have been working out a lot while he is in Germany for a month) and I can't wait to see what his Wii age is when he returns.

Okay - updates on my blooming flowers. If you know the names of any of these flowers, let me know! I know the Iris and I think the first one is called a "bleeding heart", but have no idea about the other -

The Iris just bloomed this week and I have an entire bed of them getting ready to bloom. There is also four more bushes on the side of the house that are almost bloomed with the most beautiful pink and white flowers I have ever seen. I will post them when they bloom so you can help me figure out what they are.

Last weekend I saw the play "West Side Story" for the first time. It was a great play and I really enjoyed the afternoon in the City of Pittsburgh. Had brunch at the awesome "Renaissance Hotel" and had a great walk through downtown and a sunny Sunday afternoon. Sure wish Don had been with me. He would have loved brunch and the stroll through the cultural district, but I am afraid he would have hated the musical. To mushy for him....plus, he hates musicals. Tragic love story, but the music was fantastic! Especially if you love Puerto Rico like I do!

Lilo and Stitch are doing better, all things considered. They got their yearly shots and check ups last week and Lilo had a very serious allergic reaction to her shots and they very quickly had to start an IV and administer her some benadryl. No more getting all the shots in one day for her. It shocked her system and she was very sick for a few days. Then, just as she was getting over that, she somehow scratched her right eyeball very badly and could be looking (no pun intended) at loosing her site in her right eye. Back to the vet for more visits and she is now on two drugs, two eye medications (an ointment and drops) and has a funnel on her head.

Stitch is jealous and wants me to take it off of her. She is miserable and I can't believe all this has happened while I am here with them alone. Of course, as any military wife will tell you, things like this ALWAYS happen when the hubby is deployed or on a temporary duty assignment away from home.

Missed Birthdays...NoseArt...and Warmer Weather!

2008-04-06T20:56:00.005-04:00

I have to get caught up on all the birthdays in my family since my last post - A VERY HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY goes out to my Nephew J.D., and to all three of my Sister-in-laws Darla, Jodi and Jaimi. J.D. and his Mother Jaimi celebrated their birthdays the last week of March. Darla and Jodi share a birthday on April 1st. Sorry I didn't post these earlier guys, but I hope you all had a great birthday! I have more birthdays to post in April so stay tuned....

The maintenance guys at Don's squadron repainted the nose art on his planes last week. I just loved the new look!
We are very excited about Pirates baseball starting this week!

What a beautiful day we had....65 degrees! Things are starting to sprout from the ground and I can't wait to see what surprises await me in my flower gardens this spring.

Not much else to report. Don and I are working hard and getting ready for his parents to come for a visit the last week of April. We can't wait to see them!

HAPPY EASTER FROM WILD & WONDERFUL WEST VIRGINIA

2008-03-22T07:56:00.005-04:00

I hope all of you have a Happy & SPRING like Easter. The Easter bunny wont be able to get to Palisades Drive beacause of the snow we got last night, and more is suppose to fall today. Of course, it will make it easier to see those colorful eggs on the Easter egg hunt, huh?

Have a Hoppy weekend!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACOB & RYDER, New Glasses, Blue Teeth and Tropical Islands!

2008-03-16T09:51:00.008-04:00

My Nephew Ryder is ONE today! My stepson Jacob is 17!!!! That is so hard to believe. Sorry Jake, but the latest picture I had of you was in 2005. Hope they both have a very Happy Birthday and know how much I love and miss them.

Yesterday didn't turn out at all like we had planned. Don had a flight physical yesterday morning and while he was gone I lost one of the lens out of my reading glasses. After looking everywhere (I think maybe a puppy got it)I realized I had to do something quick, as I can't work without my glasses. Don called a Lenscrafters about an hour away in Pennsylvania and got me an appointment. The good news I did get some new glasses, AND we found and AWESOME BBQ restaurant! We have missed southern bbq since we got here. We also found a Verizon store and decided it was time to jump on the "bluetooth" wagon. I hope I can get used to having this air traffic controller thingy in my ear while I drive...isn't techonology amazing.

"You Who"....Alex? I got your Bath and Body, so watch the mail for a package this week. Heidi - I finally got the cookbook to go with your crockpot, so you will be getting another package this week as well.

Don will be TDY to various tropical islands for a week. I sure am glad I don't have his job...who in their right mind would want to leave the snow, ice and freezing temperatures to go to the Caribbean in all that sunshine, sand and saltwater? (I am trying very hard to pretend that "I" am the lucky one!) Not to mention the dump of a hotel they are staying in.

Yes my friends, that IS the Atlantis Hotel in Nassau. I mean really, don't you think they could stay in a better place on our tax dollars? Glad I don't have to stay there! (sob, sob....)

Happy Birthday to Don, Happy Birthday to Don....

2008-03-09T21:48:00.004-04:00

Saturday was Donny's 44th Birthday. We were iced/snowed in with a winter storm. We had great plans, but had to postpone them. We stayed home, played with the puppies, fixed camp stew, homemade bread pudding and watched a movie. We were grateful to be together, but wished the weather had cooperated with our plans to go to Pittsburgh and celebrate. Today the weather was so pretty. It was still cold (freezing temps), but the sun was shinning and the roads were clear, so we got out of the house. Don wanted lunch at "Joe's Crab Shack" and then we went and had him custom fitted for some new golf clubs (a set of irons) for this birthday present. He is so excited about the irons, and we cant wait until the weather warms up and he can golf with them. They should arrive in about two weeks and I will be sure to update my blog with a current picture of him with the new irons. We hit "Sams Club" for a few must haves and came home to enjoy a glass of wine, the puppies, the newspaper and the tv. We gotta hit the sack though and get ready for work this week. Don is flying a couple of nights this week and has a social function at the club on Thursday. Hopefully the snow will go away this week and next weekend we can get to the City of Pittsburgh and celebrate Don's Birthday at the Penn Brewery like we originally planned. I loved having lunch at Joe's Crab Shack, but eating seafood and listening to Jimmy Buffet made me SO HOMESICK for the beach I almost cried! Don is planning to take me to Key West this summer, but I am not sure I can wait until then to get out of this winter weather. Just might have to make a weekend trip to Florida/Nassau if I can find some good priced plane tickets. Wish we would win the BIG lottery and then we could move to Key West and live like beach bums!! Ha Ha...in my dreams!

Thanks anyway!

2008-03-06T19:47:00.002-05:00

Or airline tickets to a tropical climate! Just kidding. This has been one very rough winter for Don and I, but we are on the mend and hoping to have a great weekend celebrating Don's birthday. Hope everyone is doing well, and I will update this weekend with the birthday post.

Bronchitis and....SNOW ;0(

2008-02-28T07:02:00.006-05:00

Here are some pictures that relate to my life right now:

Don was diagnosed with severe bronchitis on Tuesday and has been in the bed sick all week. The doctor said he was one step from pneumonia and needed to get to bed and get some fluids right way. Yesterday he was worse, but this morning he does look better.

The weather has been awful this week. The high yesterday was 23 and we have gotten 6-8 inches of snow. The snow covered trees are absolutely beautiful!

Sorry for the short post, but I have to get to work. I know much of my family keeps up with my blog even though we dont get to talk on the phone or visit in person. I wanted to update this blog briefly so you would know we were still alive!

Have a great week! Just heard on the news that it is only 21 days til Spring!?!? YIPPEE!!

Happy belated Valentines!

2008-02-15T16:22:00.004-05:00

Don and I had a great time last night at "The Lion King" Broadway musical in downtown Pittsburgh. The Benedum Theatre was fantastic and the play was fabulous! The set, actors, costumes and special effects were some of the best ever. I could watch it again today if I could afford the tickets to go twice. The weather was cold, but it was clear with no rain or snow falling. We did get about 7 inches earlier this week with lots of ice!

Things are still very busy. I have been sick with a sinus infection/chest cold and still working both jobs. Don returned from his D.C. trip only to be bombarded with work at the office filling in as the Wing Commander for a week. Don leaves today for another week long tdy to Scott AFB, Illinios. I am working tonight and this weeked for H&R Block. The extra money is nice, but I dont have time to spend it....the irony of it all, huh?

Hope everyone had a very Happy Valentines Day. I didnt even get to mail out valentines this year, but all of you are in our hearts and we think of you often.

Happy New Year - FINALLY!

2008-01-26T10:31:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that January is almost over and I haven't had the chance to blog even once so far this year! I started my job at H&R Block on the 3rd. And I got a call from the firm asking me to start work on the 4th instead of the 14th as orginially planned. So this year started off very busy with two jobs.

I absoultely love the firm I am working for. My boss is great and I like the personal injury cases. I am getting used to working in a large firm - there are 10 lawyers, twice as many secretaries, 4 paralegals, 3 law clerks, two receptionists and a runner! I am used to a one lawyer/one secretary office. We work very hard, but have fun too. Thursday night we had a "Girls Only" farewell pizza/beer party for the female lawyer that is leaving, and it was fun to hear some of the antics and stories about the firm. I remember thinking "if this conference room is bugged we might all be fired tomorrow".....the rest of the girls laughed and said the "guys" would get a kick out of us making fun of them. I am still not sure about that one!

H&R Block is VERY busy this week. I work today from Noon -9:00 p.m. I was suppose to go in at 3:00, but they called and said I had appointments booked every hour on the hour beginning at noon. That is good news - the more returns the more money I make.

Don is still in D.C. at the National Security Conference. He really enjoyed his visit to the Capital Building on Thursday and he got to sit in an listen to the Senate as they were passing a bill. Something that I would LOVE to do - maybe one day!

Last week brought an inch of snow every day. We had about 4 inches on the ground last night when I went to bed and I woke up this morning to another inch that fell during the night. Got my haircut first thing this morning and then spent the next hour shoveling snow and clearing the driveway and walkways around the house. Hopefully the sun will come out Monday and melt most of it away.

For those of you waiting on my phone calls, be patient. I worked HR Block this past Monday and Tuesday nights. Wednesday night Stitch had a vet appointment and I had a dinner engagement with friends. Thursday night I worked late and last night I went to bed at 6:45!!! Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to return phone calls, emails and send out a few thank you notes that are WAY past due!

Enjoy your week, and hopefully I can up date this blog more often!

Cool gift, and Heidi Pictures!

2007-12-29T12:55:00.000-05:00

I am excited to report that Don purchased us partial season tickets to the Pittsburgh Pirates 2008 Baseball Season. I can not wait until the first game in April! I love the ballpark and hope that the Bucs have a better season this year than last.

Heidi and her boyfriend Michael are enjoying their visit. They have both fallen in love with the town of Weirton like we did. We spent Wednesday doing some after Christmas shopping and got some really good deals. We also visited Don at work and he took the kids on a tour of a C-130, and then took us all for the traditional Primanti Bros. sandwich. Thursday we saw "National Treasure - Book of Secrets" and Friday, since I had to work, Don took them to Pittsburgh to ride the incline and eat at Hard Rock Cafe (Heidi's favorite). Here are some pictures from this week:

Heidi and I spent this morning at the salon getting pampered and this afternoon we are all going down to Wheeling to visit Cabela's, have dinner and tour the Oglebay Resort Festival of Lights. Sure wish we had more time to show them around. It is simply amazing how fast the week goes when we have family visiting!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday JIMMY!

2007-12-20T20:48:00.001-05:00

I can't believe my baby boy is 26 years old today!!! I hope you have a very Happy Birthday Jimmy, I love you bunches! This picture is of him in the first grade. He really looks a lot like me now, but in this picture he really reminds me of his dad. Hopefully he will send me some current pictures of him soon so I can post a picture of him at 26 years old.

Some of you have asked for more Disney pictures, so here are two more of my favorites. All of us with Donald and Daisy Duck at the Disney Vacation Club Member's Merry Mixer at Epcot, and the other is a picture of my Dad with his "Salad in a Vase" at the Nine Dragons Chinese restaurant in China at Epcot. Isn't that salad pretty and unique? It had asparagus, bok choy, carrots, Japanese radish and I think zucchini. It was served in this beautiful vase filled with ice and came with a side of ginger salad dressing for dipping.

Don and I watched the old black and white Christmas movie "Christmas in Connecticut" tonight and it was wonderful. We really enjoyed "It's a Wonderful Life" while we were at Disney, and we still have Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" to watch this weekend. We have a couple of Christmas parties this weekend also, and are toying with the idea of an afternoon at "Mountaineer Racetrack and Resort" on Sunday. They opened the remaining table games today so we can now play blackjack, craps and roulette!

My family is having their Christmas this weekend at my parents house and I wish we could be there to join them - maybe next year. Hope you all have a fun weekend and a Very Merry Christmas!

Home again, Home again.....boo hoo!

2007-12-17T17:17:00.000-05:00

Not really, I am glad to be back at my house, but I miss my parents and Florida! The weather was fantastic while we were there. Highs in the 80's and lows in the 60s - perfect. We landed in Pittsburgh and were met with 20 degree temps and snow on Saturday....4 inches! I got my snow tires though and actually drove to HR Block this morning by myself. The roads were clear thanks to the rain that washed most of the snow away. Looks like the rest of the week will be smooth sailing. Here are some fun pictures made by Disney last week:

Had to battle Capt. Hook after riding "Pirates of the Caribbean", but seeing Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow made it all worth while! It was so fun to share Disney with my parents. The holiday displays were absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to finish decorating my house "Disney" style. I better get started...one week till Christmas and I am still putting up decorations! The good news is I shipped all the gifts today, so hopefully they will arrive before Christmas.

Jim Shore Artwork!

2007-12-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

We are having a great time at Disney. Lucky me - when we checked in on Saturday Don saw where one of my favorite Artists was signing his work over at Epcot. I was so excited to meet Jim Shore, shake his hand and pickup some of his newer pieces and have them autographed.

My parents bought me the new Donald Duck Ornament, and the new Boy making a Snowman figure. I am so proud of them! After meeting Jim Shore we went to France for an awesome dinner and enjoyed great conversation and fun with my parents.

Sunday we toured all of the resorts and saw the great edible decorations. Loved this one at the Contemporary Resort made of all chocolate!

Last night we had dinner at Mexico in Epcot and rode the Soarin ride. Today is MGM Studios day and I am excited about seeing Fantasmic tonight. The weather here is beautiful - in the 80s during the day and the 60s at night. Will try to update more in a couple of days!

More Snow?!?!

2007-12-07T13:41:00.000-05:00

Ever see that movie "Groundhog Day"? I feel like I am living that movie - I couldn't believe it when I got up this morning and everything was a thick blanket of white! I spent yesterday afternoon clearing all the snow off of my patios, walkways, driveway, etc. I get up this morning and it is like I never did it. This is going to get old pretty darn quick...what am I saying - it already is OLD! I love to see the snow, but the feeling of being held hostage in my home because I can't get out of the driveway is very depressing.

Gotta say a huge thank you to my son Jimmy, my daughter Heidi and friend Sandy. Jimmy called Wednesday while I was shoving the first snowfall of the season and talked to me the entire time I shoveled the driveway. Heidi called me yesterday while I was sweeping the snow and ice off all the walkways and patios. This afternoon Sandy called and kept me company while I shoveled the driveway from last night and this mornings snow fall. Cell phones are great and I really appreciate the company while I am shoveling!

Well, I am packed and ready to head to sunny Orlando! Beach Club Villas - here I come!
Can't wait to get to 80 degree weather, see my parents, have great food, and ride Mission Space! The last time we went to Disney at Christmas I was so excited to attend "Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party" on Main Street at the Magic Kingdom. I love the parade with the toy soldiers and Santa, and I loved seeing them blow all the fake snow onto Main Street - so much fun. WELL...we have tickets for this event next Tuesday night and when they start blowing snow on to Main Street I am headed to the "Pirates of the Caribbean Ride"! I have seen enough snow for now, thats for sure!

Working Girl...

2007-12-06T23:11:00.001-05:00

I am so excited that I thought I would share my news - I interviewed with a very prestigious law firm in Weirton this past Tuesday. Got a call from the office manager this morning - I GOT THE JOB! I start work on January 14th. I am eager to get back into the office setting and make some extra money. The firm is 4 miles from the house so I will be able to come home at lunch to walk Lilo & Stitch. The lawyer I will be working with is a products liability/personal injury attorney - very interesting practice and I am definitely up for learning a different side of the legal system.

4:00 snow update...

2007-12-05T16:13:00.000-05:00

Snow Shoveling....day one!

2007-12-05T07:40:00.002-05:00

Yep....four inches forecasted to fall today between now and 5:00 p.m. This is what it looks like right now at 7:00 a.m.

We took possession of the snow blower last night, but since it is gas powered Don made the comment "Terry will never be able to get it started"...so guess what? Remember all the times I said "why would anyone SHOVEL snow?" I am getting ready to find out! I have snow duty today and I am desperately trying to think of a plan of action. My first thought was to just leave it and hope it melts, but the neighbors have warned us about driving on the snow in the driveway and packing it down into ice. My second thought was to risk the lawn and sprinkle the rock salt my daddy sent me to make boiled peanuts....just how much salt would it take though, I wonder? I probably don't have enough, and the truth be told I would rather have boiled peanuts than a clear driveway any how! Wonder if the peanut shells would have enough salt on them to melt the snow?! I could boil peanuts today and throw the shells out the third story window onto the driveway! Probably not a good idea, huh? Okay, my third thought is maybe I could bribe the snowplow guy that keeps driving past the house to make a quick run down the driveway? Personally I think that is the best idea yet! Especially since the jerk keeps dumping all the snow from the street into my driveway anyway...the very idea! Uh oh...the neighbor just drove out of his driveway without removing the snow - of course, it was Skip and I am suppose to remove the snow from his driveway as well as mine because he owns the snowblower. Hmmmm...Guess I better get dressed, bundle up and get the shovel, huh? The temperature is 24 degrees with a windchill of 14! Wonder how long it takes to shovel three driveways anyway? The worst part is it is snowing to beat the band. Even if I shovel now I will have to shovel every two hours or so to keep it clear....who asked for a White Christmas anyways?

2:00 snow update!

2007-12-03T16:18:00.001-05:00

Lilo wouldn't come out of the house and Stitch just stood there with a confused look on his face! He stayed on the sidewalk and wouldn't step in the snow. It's still coming down and the winds are so high that Don cancelled flying for tonight.

Four days, seven hours, thirty-six minutes before I get to Orlando!

December comes with ice, snow and parties!

2007-12-03T08:26:00.001-05:00

Saturday night we attended Don's office Christmas party in Pittsburgh. It was very nice, but was raining when we got there. There was a winter storm warning but it was not suppose to hit until 1:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Don and I left the party about 8:30 and the ice had already started forming on Highway 22 from Pittsburgh to Weirton. We had to drive 10 miles per hour and the car slid sideways twice! I was terrified! All these cars were pulling off the side of the road and stopping with their blinkers on. I couldn't understand why, as I was thinking the longer they stay there the more ice there will be. Well, after taking us almost an hour to get home driving 10-15 miles per hour we realized that those cars were waiting for the salt/sand truck to drive by and cover the road so they could drive safer...DUH! Now I know what to do next time. We were kind of worried about the big hill that you have to drive up to get to our house, but realized when we got to Weirton that the roads were dry. Just as we pulled into our driveway at home the sleet started.

Needless to say, I stayed home all day yesterday since Don had to work and I had nothing I needed bad enough to drive on the icy roadways. The ice melted yesterday as the high was almost 50! We got up this morning to 46 mph winds, high of 32 and low of 26 for today (wind chill 21) and this is what I saw when I got the paper:

It is still snowing and it is predicted to do so for the next three days! I will take pictures periodically and post them so we can keep up with how much we get this week.

Don and I attend the Palisades Drive Christmas Party next door at Bill and Jane's last night:

We had so much fun and got to meet another couple that lives across the street from us. Well I better get busy, I have three friends coming for lunch today and I have to get up with Skip next door for a quick lesson on the snow blowing machine!

I CAN'T WAIT TO GET TO ORLANDO!

ArtWork!!

2007-11-30T08:33:00.000-05:00

Remember this dogwood painting that I painted in Sandy's class at Hobby Lobby in Georgia? I won second place in the district for the Greater Federation of Woman's Club, Weirton Council!

And guess what I did yesterday?! My neighbor Kay called me yesterday morning and said "If your not busy today, come over and I will teach you stained glass"...boy was I excited! I have always wanted to learn, but I knew if I got hooked that I wouldn't be able to afford all the supplies necessary to support my habit....well, guess what? I hope we win the lottery soon because I LOVE THIS ART!! My friend Ellen will be so happy that I finally learned to do it. I made this snowman and although he is far from perfect I just love him!

Cutting and grinding the glass was my favorite part. Soldering the pieces together is definitely going to take some practice to get right. Kay has invited me back this afternoon to learn some more and I can't wait!

Finally, time to blog!

2007-11-29T11:57:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I updated my blog. I missed blogging about Thanksgiving, so forgive me while I "catch-up" on here. Don's Sister Darla, her husband Matt and their daughter Macy Kate visited us the week of Thanksgiving. We had so much fun and Macy Kate was a joy to be around. We did lots of cool things like shop, tour a C-130, make Christmas cookies, went to Little Switzerland in Ohio and saw the Christmas light display at Oglebay Park Resort. Here are some pictures of what we did:

Don got new office furniture during November, and boy am I glad.

This is much nice than what he started out with in his office! Now he is a little more comfortable and still is having a great time doing this job he loves so much.

Last Saturday was date night and Don took me high up on Mount Washington to a quaint little restaurant called the Georgetown Inn. We had a small corner table for two right in front of the plate glass window that overlooked the ENTIRE CITY OF PITTSBURGH at night! It was so beautiful, and of course my pictures didn't turn out to well:

After dinner we went to the O'Reilly Theater in Downtown Pittsburg and saw the play "This Wonderful Life". It was fantastic and put us both in the Christmas Spirit. We are so excited about our trip to Disney next week to celebrate Christmas with my parents. (not to mention getting back to 80 degree weather will be awesome - today the high is 37!!!) Brrrrr....

Speaking of weather, it snowed pretty good the Friday after Thanksgiving. Sitting in the sunroom on a snowy day is like being inside your own snowglobe! You have to click on the picture to make it bigger to really see the snow.

I took my final exam at H&R Block this past Tuesday and passed with a score of 96. Glad the class is over, and I will be ready to start working for H&R Block the week after I get back from Disney.

Have a great week!

Ohio State Buckeyes...and getting ready for Thanksgiving!

2007-11-18T10:27:00.000-05:00

Don and I had a great time yesterday at the Ohio State v. Michigan Tailgate Party. We purchased a $50.00 ticket that included food/drinks for two and a draw down chance to win $2,500 cash. We sat with my friend Peggy from Anna Kay's Unique Fashions and her sisters Sue and JoAnn, her brother in law Bill and her great niece Jackie.

Me and Peggy

Don, Sue, Peggy and JoAnn

Another one of Peggy and JoAnn

Anyway, a long story short, Don purchased some blocks on this game board (I forget what they are called, but you sign your name on any block(s) you want on this paper then they draw numbers that go down the side and top of the page. If the last number in the score of the game falls in your block you win the prize)we had 6 blocks out of 100 and of course...DON WINS...$150.00. It was so funny because the numbers we had were 4 and 3. In the third quarter with 22+ minutes left in this game the score is Ohio State 14, Michigan 3. Don and I were so excited because we had the numbers and we were just hoping the teams would volley the ball back and forth on the field with no more scoring. With only seconds left in the game Ohio State has the ball and we just know that like any GOOD SEC TEAM they will kick a field goal and the score will change, right? NOPE...good ole Ohio State doesn't want to rub it in so they take a knee and Don wins the money. Unbelievable! SO MUCH FUN WE HAD. We were happy to win the money and the room was happy that Ohio State beat Michigan. Well the Michigan fans weren't happy (there were two tables full of THEM), but they sure as heck were a lot quieter in the last half of the game! Then the draw down starts and although our ticket was in the last 50 drawn, Peggy's brother in law Bill was in the final 5. They pulled the five up on stage and they all agreed to split the pot $600 each. We were so excited that our table had won $750 Bucks!

Here is a picture of Bill and a young boy that sat by him last year at this event. I was so in awe over this child as he reminded me so much of Jacob!

Not much else to report from here...we have had snow flurries on and off all week. The Lowe's employees smiled when we bought a snow shovel yesterday and made the comment "I hope you don't need it". I do to, but I really don't think that is going to be the case. We decorated the O'Club on Wednesday night for Christmas along with the Wing Commander and his wife and the Key Spouse President and her family.

Don did a great job decorating the fireplace and putting a Santa hat on the flying eagle

Col. Elwell in uniform, Jenna Johns the Key Spouse President, her hubby Chris and son Zachary.

Darla, Matt and Macy Kate are to arrive at any time today and we are so excited. Don is busy in the yard raking leaves, and I have corn chowder, mushroom brie soup, black eyed pea cornbread and brownies already made. A pot of warm boiled peanuts are simmering on the stove, and the snow flurries will probably start any minute.

One last but not least on this LONG post - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Sandy. She is 40 today and looks awesome. Most of you know that Sandy was my painting instructor. This picture was made of us at Donna Dewberry's Super Convention this past June.

Happy Birthday Sandy - I Miss You!

Modeling for Charity...sort of....

2007-11-13T19:38:00.000-05:00

I few weeks ago the Weirton's Woman's Club ask me if I would model for the local retail shoppe "Anna Kay's Unique Fashions" at their annual Glitz & Glamour Fashion show. You know me...can't tell them no when they ask for me to volunteer. The show was this past Sunday and I really had a great time. I modeled four outfits, but only have pictures of a couple of them. I am certain someone else made pictures and I will try and get my hands on them and post them later. I modeled a chocolate turtleneck with brown boot pants and a shearling coat:

Great outfit and I already owned the boots. Just not sure where I would wear something like this so I didn't purchase it. (Models get to purchase outfits they wear at discounted prices) It would be great for a ski trip to one of the resorts, but since that is really not my thing I passed this one up. As I post this I wish I had bought the scarf and gloves though. He He He

I also modeled some brown panel pants and a purple snake skin shirt. Snake skin and animal prints are big in this part of the country. I keep saying they are stuck in the 80's in this town! LOL

The great thing about this outfit was it felt like I was wearing pajamas! Very comfortable, not practical really.

I loved this black and white animal print blouse and black mermaid skirt outfit...unfortunately this is a HORRIBLE PICTURE! One of my friends had just informed me that I had won one of the top raffle prizes (I won a huge basket filled with 6 bottles of wine with a retail value of over $100...all with $5.00 worth of raffle tickets!)

Not a flattering picture, but I did love this outfit and brought it home with me. I really appreciate the opportunity to model for Doreen and Peggy and they have become great friends! Don and I are spending the day with Peggy this upcoming Saturday at a tailgate party for the Ohio State v. Michigan game...can't wait to share those pictures on my blog! What fun we are having in this town!

Okay, so that was Sunday. Saturday we trimmed trees (don't laugh) and went and checked out the local kennel for Lilo and Stitch. Don grilled some awesome ribs and I know much Heidi and Jimmy both wish they had a plate of them. They have always loved Don's grilled ribs.

Yesterday Don and I hit the Strip in Pittsburgh again. I love the Strip and could go every week.

We had lunch at my favorite Greek restaurant "LaBads" and I got to introduce Don to my friend Lawrence who owns the restaurant and Greek grocery store. I met him in September with Don's mom when she and I found this great restaurant on a girl's day out trip. I took Don to the local chocolate store where you can buy candy from all over the world, including our kids favorite "Kinder Eggs". We also found a great Mexican grocery store and got to purchase the peppers and goya products that we are so used to in the South. They had a beautiful colorful store!

Then we went to Art of Steel and checked out all the great art - funny sign, huh?

Then we discovered a new store "Stamoolis" another Greek grocery store.

I loved this old grape crusher they used to make wine in this very building back in the early 1900's:

Don loved the selection of cheeses -

But - the greatest find of the day was this (and it explains how different life is in Pittsburgh compared to Alabama and Georgia)- in the South we buy Uncle Ben's Rice in a box on the shelf, not by the pound out of a dispenser! Such a different fun outlook on life they have here. We love Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Ohio! Come and visit us when you can so we can show you all the great things there are to do in and around "Wild & Wonderful" West Virginia!

Happy Anniversary to my parents!!

2007-11-09T15:36:00.000-05:00

My parents are celebrating their 45th Anniversary today! Happy Anniversary you guys! I read somewhere that if you are an adult and your parents are still married to each other that you were in the minority. I have never questioned the blessing of great parents. You all know that Don and I would be so lost and unorganized without them. Can't wait to vacation with them next month! Hey...this picture of them was taken last year at Christmas when we went with them on a trip to the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. Dad took us all for a horse-drawn carriage ride to see the lights. This year we will all vacation together in Orlando at Disney World. I didnt' realize it, but I think we have started a tradition!! Hey Don - where you taking us all next year?? Ha Ha Ha

Tonight is date night, so Don and I have decided to go to the weekly fish fry at the Serbian Cultural Center in Weirton. I will be sure and update my blog this weekend and let you know how it was. We have LOTS of cool things going on in the next few days so check back in and see what the Richey's are up to this Veteran's Day Weekend. Have a good one!

Sad news....and Snow!

2007-11-07T12:26:00.000-05:00

Last week while Don was in Puerto Rico, someone came on our property and cut down a very huge old Elm tree, and attempted to cut down some more trees but only damaged them to the point that they will definitely die and fall. Not sure why anyone would want to vandalize our land, but perhaps they were trying to open up "their" view of the Ohio River. Don and I are very saddened and it seems that nobody heard or saw anything. Not much the Weirton Police can do for us if we can't prove who did it. We have our suspicions and if the person that did this happens to be reading this blog I hope they know how heartbroken Don and I are over these events. The property is being monitored and no trespassing signs have been posted. If and when you are caught we intend to pursue the matter to the fullest extent of the law. Enough said.

Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow! Yesterday afternoon we had our first snow flurries of the year. It was so cold and windy, and the Ohio River looked like the ocean with all the white-caps from the wind. The wind chill was 29 degrees...brrrrr. Lilo was not at all thrilled about the snow flurries and when we came in she was covered with white snowflakes and was very cold. Stitch on the other hand loves the cooler weather and continued to ring the bell to go outside all afternoon. You aren't going to believe this...it is now snowing again...right this minute! Much harder than yesterday too!

Don and I are very excited that Matt, Darla and Macy Kate will be joining us this year for Thanksgiving..Yippee! Can't wait to show them around the area and spend some quality time with Macy Kate.

Isn't she cute in her Halloween "Cat" costume!

Jack Scarecrow -

2007-10-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

I decided that my scarecrow probably didn't want to be a scarecrow for Halloween, so I bought him a "Captain Jack Sparrow" costume. Since he doesn't look too much like Johnny Depp, I decided to name him Jack Scarecrow instead.

Spent most of the day yesterday cleaning up the yard and getting rid of the pumpkins on my front porch. Unfortunately one had started rotting and it smelled awful! Had to throw my decorations away, but hey at least they lasted this long.

We had a freeze last night and it was only 30 degrees at 9:30 this morning. The puppies didnt seem to mind at all, but I froze my tail off when I took them out at 6:30 a.m. for a potty break. As you can see most of the ivy is starting to fall without even turning red. I suspect the cold weather last night and tonight will finish it off.

Hope you have a good week and I will post again when there is something new to report!

Happy Birthday to Heidi!!

2007-10-28T16:25:00.001-04:00

It is so hard to believe that my youngest is already 22 years old....that is so scary! They sure grow up fast. The last picture I had made with her was at Christmas last year:

I can't believe that I couldn't put my hands on a baby picture of her to upload on my blog today. I am sure they are all boxed up with the scrapbook stuff in my craft room. Oh well, she is and always will be the baby in my eyes! She is celebrating her birthday today at the Montgomery Zoo with her boyfriend. Hope you have a fun Birthday Heidi! I love you!

It's happening.....

2007-10-27T19:35:00.000-04:00

I am finally full filling one of my goals - I have painted for three days in a row now in my craft room!! I promised myself I would paint at least one thing a day, but always seem to find other things to keep me busy. Tonight I worked on the Halloween treat bags for my classmates. I filled them with yummy chocolates from Hershey, traditional Candy Korn, and Don's favorite - SweetTarts! I decided to add some Jingle Bell Spiders I picked up back in the summer on sale and this was the final result:

SO much fun and easy to make!

Then I decided I had to paint something. I was looking around and found this small Creative Memories photo album that I had actually made for another event and never used. Each page is completed with the "coffee" themed colors and there are actually vinyl photo slides already on the pages so all you have to do is slide in your pictures and you have a completed album. Found some metallic gold paint and went again with the roses....

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Glass painting...

2007-10-26T20:24:00.001-04:00

I played around in my craft room tonight and actually got a few things accomplished! I have been wanting to try out glass etching and painting. I bought two glass candle holders. A small glass candle holder for a taper candle and a short square candle holder for a votive. I etched the votive one and painted a rosebud vine on it. Decided to play with the metal tips that are made for the enamels and added some whimsical outlines. (wished now I hadn't). It was easier to paint the etched glass than the regular glass, in my opinion. Then I glued the two pieces together with E6000. A little more practice with the enamel paints and this would make a great gift and only cost me $2.00! As I look at the picture I think I might like it better if the bottom candle holder was etched as well. Might do that on the next one.

I also bought this small glass vase for a $1.00. I just love the solid white paint on the blue glass. As I uploaded the picture I see somethings I would change about the next one I paint. It was fun to paint with just the white paint and floating medium. I didn't have to worry about blending the colors. It was fun to play with the enamel paints and try somethings I haven't done before.

I also want to get out my HD paints and give them another try. I miss painting on the canvas, although I have absolutely no where to hang another one. I should have plenty time in the next week to get some painting done since the weather is terrible. Cold and rainy. I think the high Monday will barely reach 50 degrees.

I am going to make some cute Halloween candy treat bags that my mother told me about. She got the idea from Martha Stewart (like any true southern belle would!) and I can't wait to put them together:

They are made from two paper lunch sacks, some black string (or jute) and a stick from the yard...how simple! I am going to take them to my fellow classmates at tax school on Tuesday. Hope they enjoy them!

ZUMBA!

2007-10-26T10:54:00.000-04:00

Hate exercise but love to dance? Me too! I found just the thing to get some exercise without it feeling like boring exercise. I love the latin flare, Ricky Martin style music and salsa dancing in general. I found out about this fitness program that is sweeping the country at the local dance studio in Weirton. Go to www.zumba.com to check out the technique and find a certified instructor near you. I challenge all my friends that are trying to loose a few pounds and get fit to give this a try. It is so much fun and the music is exhilerating. Can't find an instructor near you, or prefer to do this in the privacy of your own home, then go to ebay and purchase the dvds. NOW - If I could just paint and dance at the same time!

Hey, I am Certifiable...and can prove it!

2007-10-23T13:38:00.001-04:00

I am officially a Certified One-Stroke Instructor!! Thanks to Sandy who spent hours teaching me the technique and found artistic value where I didn't always see it, my parents who tended to my daily chores so I could attend certification, my grandmother who paid for the course for my birthday present, my painting friends who encouraged me to sign up, my certification instructor, Kim Barone, and my wonderful hubby who has always supported me and my room full of hobbies!

A great spot...and some tea?

2007-10-22T07:56:00.000-04:00

Don is lucky enough to be spending some time in the Caribbean. He sent me these pictures last night. Sure makes me want to go to the beach today! I would love to spend the afternoon in this hammock with a good book.

I sure couldn't afford to eat much at the beach though..check out these menu prices...$12 for a burger? $10 for a chicken wrap? OUCH!

I had a fun day yesterday. I drove over to Washington, PA, about 35 miles from here...southeast. They had Pennsylvania's largest Christmas Arts & Craft Show at the fairgrounds this weekend. I had fun and got to see my friend Carol from certification. Mostly I saw candles, snowmen, food and jewelry. Not much in the way of painted things other than wood. I did get the yummiest pumpkin strudel and got powdered sugar and phyllo dough all over me and the car on the way home! The Trolley Museum is in Washington, and the Trolley stop is right in front of the entrance to the fairgrounds. Would have liked to have taken the $2.00 ride, but decided to wait for Don to join me.

Speaking of "Largest" things...do you know where the World's Largest Teapot is? Yep, in the next town to the North of me - Chester, WV!

See, reading my blog isn't just fun, its educational! He he he

I am headed to the Weirton Cultural Center and Museum to join the Weirton Woman's Club's Art Council for a museum tour and then lunch. Have a great Monday!

Signs of Fall...

2007-10-20T12:09:00.000-04:00

Just had to share some pictures I took this morning of the Fall Foilage that is starting to blanket West Virginia. We are far from peak, but I bet by this time next month things will be in full color!

Have you ever noticed that Dogwood Trees have berries in the Fall? I never knew that. I am told that you can actually make jam/jellies from these fall berries. They look beautiful:

My holly bushes are also in full bloom. I have to remember that so I can cut some sprigs during the holidays to bring in the house for a centerpiece:

Lots of you are asking about the Ivy...it is starting to turn, and is mostly deep purple on the north and west sides of the house:

I also found a rose bud a few days ago by the trellis at my kitchen door. I kept meaning to get a picture of it before it bloomed, but forgot. This morning I checked on it and this is what I found:

I have never had much luck with growing roses, but I am told this is the perfect climate for them. I will have to read up on how to care for the rose bush and feed it during the winter.

Not much else to report from West Virginia. Today the high is only in the 60's but starting tomorrow it will be in the low 80's again for the week. The neighbors are very happy that it looks like I brought the Georgia weather with me. I am not complaining either!

Don is busy flying the next couple of weeks so I am going to try and get more organized around the house. I enjoyed a great phone visit this morning with my previous employer in Alabama, Mr. Miller, and it was great to catch up with him and hear things are going well. I sure miss working with him, and maybe one day Don's job will again take us back to Montgomery.

Have a great week!

Going Home...how much do you know about Weirton, West Virginia?

2007-10-08T09:06:00.000-04:00

Weirton was first settled as the village of Holliday's Cove in the late 1700s.

The area began to grow rapidly after an industrialist named Ernest T. Weir founded and began to build a large steel operation in 1909.

Weirton Steel grew rapidly as did the communities near the company.

On July 1, 1947, the communities of Hollidays Cove, Marland Heights, Weirton Heights and unincorporated Weirton all joined to become the current city of Weirton.

The city of Weirton now has population of around 20,500 and is home to around 20 different industries.

The steel operation is now owned by the International Steel Group and is known as ISG Weirton Inc. The company has an annual production capability of 2.4 million tons of continuously cast steel.

The city of Weirton is located high in the upper panhandle of West Virginia. To the west is the Ohio River and the city of Steubenville, Ohio. To the east, Pennsylvania and 35 miles away, the city of Pittsburgh. East to west the state is just 5 miles. The city is the only community in the United States that borders two other states on two sides, and its own state on the other two sides.

Now you know a little more about the town where we live. We had a great weekend in Pennsylvania, but are ready to checkout of the hotel and head back to WV. Have a great Columbus Day!

"Life is like a box of chocolates...."

2007-10-07T18:59:00.000-04:00

OMGosh, I hope I don't get another piece of chocolate again for a while. I have never in my life been anywhere that handed out chocolate like they do in Hershey, Pennsylvania. We had lots of fun today and learned a lot about Milton Hershey and the history behind Hershey PA.

We started out at Hershey's Chocolate World and saw a cute 3-D movie about the history of Hershey Chocolates. Being in the queing line with the 3-D glasses was like being at Walt Disney World.

We enjoyed the show and when it was over they handed out free Reese's Crispy Crunch bars which is new to the Hershey line of candies. Then, we did some shopping at the gift shop (gotta have a Christmas ornament from everywhere we go) before touring the chocolate factory.

The tour was a theme park like ride through an exhibit that showed us how the candy was made. They started with how the cocoa beans were harvested right down to the packing for the distribution center. Of course, at the end, we were all given a package of Hershey Kissables (Hershey's answer to M&M's)to enjoy while we visited the gift shop. We enjoyed lunch at the "Kit Kat" Cafe and then bought tickets for the Trolley Tour through the town of Hershey.

We boarded the trolley for a 60 minute tour of this wonderful town. We started with the house where Milton Hershey was born:

You won't believe how much I learned about Milton Hershey today...like...he and his wife could not have children so they adopted four orphan boys and started this school. Now the town has a Milton Hershey School for orphans and under priviledged children. Milton Hershey started this school in 1909 and the school has 2000 students grades K-12. Not one cent of tax money was/is spent on this project...only Hershey Trust money. Also, Mr. Hershey was so adamant that these unfortunate children have the upbringing that wealthy children had, so he built homes for "host families" to live in. They are paid employees of Hershey and their sole purpose as an employee is to meet the parenting needs of these children! I would like to have more pictures of the school and the children, but it was against the rules to make pictures of the kids. Milton Hershey did not want these children exploited in anyway.

We also learned how many times he failed in business before he actually developed Milk Chocolate. He actually started by making caramel which wasn't doing so well because of the high cost of sugar and low sales of product. They told the story about in England back in the early 1900's a company actually made chocolate covered caramels using Milton's Caramels. Milton Hershey was told by someone that the kids were sucking all the chocolate off the caramel and spitting the caramel out. The light came on and Milton Hershey started developing milk chocolate. In 1912 Milton's wife Katherine became very ill and the doctor's recommended that the Hershey's get away for a while. Milton booked them on a cruise and fortunately there was a problem at the chocolate plant and they had to cancel their cruise trip. The cruise company refused to issue Mr. Hershey a refund on his tickets so he had to purchase tickets on another ship to get them home quicker. The original ship was the maiden cruise of the Titantic! Had they used their original cruise tickets Mr. Hershey would have perished in the Titantic disaster and had Katherine lived, she would have died of her illness in 1915 anyway. It is scary to think how close the world came to never having Hershey Kisses! They joke on the trolley tour about what happened to the original tickets the Hershey's purchased on the Titantic. As much as the museum in Hershey would like to have those unused tickets, rumor has it that Leonardo Di Caprio won them in a card game! LOL During the one hour tour they handed out Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses, Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses, Hershey's Hugs, Reese cups and the grand finale was a Hershey chocolate bar. The best seller today is the Reese Peanut Butter Cup, number two is the milk chocolate Kiss, and number three is the Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar.

The town is beautiful and it really does smell like chocolate! I have to share a picture of the lamp posts in this town:
How cute is that?

I told you...."Life is like a box of chocolates..." and isn't chocolate great!

Gettysburg picnic and battlefields

2007-10-06T21:38:00.000-04:00

We had so much fun today. We left home this morning headed to Gettysburg to check out the battlefield. We were actually headed to our resort in Hershey, PA, and decided to make a stop in Gettysburg to get a glimpse of this historical city and to have a picnic with the puppies. What a great town it turned out to be. We found a fantastic Bed & Breakfast, and are already planning a trip back over to spend a few days and really get to explore all the historical sites.

We drove through the park and found a secluded picnic table in the beautiful fall foliage and stopped to eat lunch.

Lilo spent most of her time foraging in the dirt for a piece of pretzel that I dropped...she was filthy when we finished! Look at all that dirt on her face! Ha Ha Ha

It was a beautiful day and when we got on top of "Little Round Top" and we had an awesome view of the battlefield below!

It was such a great view even Stitch was smiling about it!

Down below to the side of the wheat field are beautiful homes that are being lived in today.
The battlefield fencing is still there, but it is hard to imagine the soldiers, cannons, etc. not to mention the bloodshed that took place on this ground during the war. It is so peaceful now and is such a pretty place!

We will certainly go back and make many more pictures of this Historical City. We could stay a week and not see it all. After we left Gettysburg we found our way to Hershey, PA. After checking into our hotel, Don and I grabbed a bite of dinner at a local diner and did some shopping at Target. Couldn't pass up this Halloween costume for Lilo:

She was so happy to get her costume. Don thought she was prissing around just to show off. I know that she was just glad to get some clothes on her back because it is sub-freezing in this hotel room!

Better get some sleep. Tomorrow is a full day of Hershey's Chocolate World, Resort touring, Outlet malls, and hopefully some taste testing. I can't wait!

Excuses, excuses!

2007-10-05T18:25:00.001-04:00

Well, I always keep my promises, but this week I failed. I promised to post some art, however, to finish a project I was working on I didnt' have the color paint I needed. Let me back up a minute...last weekend I decided to purchase some Etchall product from Dewberry Designs so I could start working on some projects. On Monday I checked my order through the tracking number and saw comments that the shipper had damaged the package in transit to me, so they shipped the box back to Rick at the Dewberry Design Warehouse. The next day I ordered 60+ bottles of paint. This morning I realized it was a long weekend and since I was going to Hershey, PA, I didnt want my paint to arrive tomorrow and sit on my porch all weekend. I quickly checked my order online via the tracking number only to be horrified when I realized my paint was being delivered today to a destination address in Las Vegas!!! The street address was similar to mine (3949 and mine is 3941)but this street, city, state and zip code was clear across the country from me! Anyway, I made a call to the warehouse to let them know about the problem (still hoping it was just computer error and the paint really was coming to me) but there was a lightening strike in Leesburg yesterday and the phones in the warehouse were down. Customer Service was nice and Marlene took down all the information and said someone from the warehouse would contact me, but due to the telephone problem it would probably not be until the middle of next week. SO...without the paint to work on my project, I found some older wine glasses, some white and black enamel paint and this is what I did: Wineglass Ghost Candleholders:

I want to get some glass tealight votives to glue on top for the candle to fit in. Hopefully I can find them. Wouldn't they be cute painted orange on the inside and like a jack o'lantern on the outside! Great table decoration for a party! I just have them sitting on a cake plate to make the picture.

Well, I better get to packing for my weekend. The plumber was here all morning and installed gas logs in my master bedroom fireplace. It is going to be so nice during the winter! He took longer than expected so I didnt get things done around here today like I thought I would. Have a great weekend and Columbus Day!

Tagged by Sandy at Dream, Create, Inspire...

2007-10-03T14:19:00.000-04:00

to post seven things about me that you might not know. Hmmm...I am a pretty out spoken person and share my life like an open book so I don't know that I can think of 7 that each of my blog readers wouldn't know. But lets see what I can come up with.

1. I am terrified of Armadillos! Most people are afraid of spiders and creepy crawly things, not me. I don't know where this fear came from, but the thought of an armadillo makes my skin crawl!

2. I met my wonderful husband and love of my life on the Internet at Love@aol.com! He posted an ad and a picture of himself with his son Jacob. His ad was my least favorite of the five I chose to respond to, and he didn't mention what town he lived in in Alabama. Turns out he was my absolute favorite and lived exactly 5.3 miles out my back door. I knew the first time I saw him in person that he was meant to be my husband.

3. The one thing that drives me more crazy than anything else around the house is improper use of trash cans. For example...don't throw your apple core in the bathroom trash can, and don't dump the whiskers from your electric razor in my kitchen trash can. Kitchen trash is kitchen trash, and bathroom trash is bathroom trash...period!

4. I don't like fast food nor do I care much for frozen food. I prefer things homemade and fresh. I also don't like tomatoes and onions!

5. I was an extra in the movie "Big Fish" directed by Tim Burton and starring Ewan McGregor, Danny DeVito, Jessica Lange, Billy Crudup, Albert Finney and Helena Bonham Carter. The movie was filmed in the Spring of 2003 in Montgomery, Alabama.

6. I have each ear pierced twice (two holes) but seldom ever wear one pair of earrings and NEVER wear two!

7. I love to read and my favorite authors are John Grisham and Nicholas Sparks. However, I just finished reading "If I Did It" by OJ Simpson. I am one of the few persons who (until I just read this book) thought OJ was innocent. Now I am not so sure.....

Update on my One-Stroke Certification - I still have not received an official response, but did receive my One-Stroke Certified Instructor Denim Shirt. We were allowed to order the shirt at the end of the certification class, but they informed us that if we did not pass certification the order would not be filled as you must be certified to buy the shirt. Maybe the shirt beat my official certification in the mail, or perhaps it was a generous mistake. I will blog immediately when I find out for sure!

Definitely a "GUY" post...are you listening Matt?

2007-09-30T14:33:00.001-04:00

You will never believe what we found yesterday while driving around Wheeling.....

YEP...CABELA'S!! Ladies, if you have never shopped in a Cabela's or a Bass Pro Shop store with the man in your life, you simply don't know what you are missing. I was amazed when I walked in the front door and this is what I saw:

This place is huge. And....you don't' just shop there. It is a store, restaurant, museum, convention center and a shooting range. I don't know how long we were there, but let me tell you it was awesome. I have been thinking about my BIL Matt. How are we going to entertain HIM when he gets to come? Macy Kate and Darla are easy...lots of cool things for the girls, but unless your a huge sports or civil war fan there isn't much for the guys. Well, now I have the answer! Darla and I can enjoy coffee and fudge at the Powder Horn Grill while the guys wish....(I mean shop)and then we can leisurely stroll through the "exhibits" with Macy Kate:

Don was in heaven and quickly started his Christmas wish list.

Speaking of Christmas wish list, in the Pittsburgh Paper today guess what I found? An advertisment for "The Lion King" on Broadway - coming to Pittsburgh! YIPPEE!

So I quickly started making my Christmas list! The show starts in January and tickets go on sale at 9:00 tomorrow morning. I will be on the phone first thing to get Don and I tickets for Valentines Day. What a romantic way to spend the evening, huh? The first year Don and I were married he bought me "Beauty and Beast" Broadway tickets for Valentines Day. We saw the show in Birmingham, Alabama, and ever since I have wanted to see every single Disney Broadway play. We love the miniature version of the Lion King Broadway at the Animal Kingdom, so we got chills just watching the video trailer on the Pittsburgh Arts website this morning. All this Disney discussion started us thinking about our WDW trip in December. Then...Don says "What would Christmas be without seeing a Christmas Play". We always enjoyed "A Christmas Carol" at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival when we lived in Alabama. Well, since we were shopping for play tickets Don took a look at the holiday plays and found a great play based on my mother's all time favorite Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life". So, we bought tickets and this is what Don and I will be doing the weekend of Thanksgiving. Our tickets are for Saturday night after Thanksgiving at 8:00. We will have dinner in Downtown Pittsburgh and catch the play entitled "This Wonderful Life" at the Pittsburgh Public Theater. Can you tell I am excited?

Back to the reason for my trip to Wheeling. I wanted to purchase some gas firelogs for the master bedroom fireplace. I am dissapointed to report that the fireplace store "Fireplace and Fixins" was simply to expensive for my taste. So, I ended up back in Lowe's and purchased a nice set of logs for a 1/4th of the price! I plan to call my plumber in the morning and see if I can set up an appointment to get these things installed. It was 48 degrees this morning at 10:00 a.m.! Will post pictures of the fireplace when it is finished.

I am going back to my craftroom now (although I have tax studing to get done sometime today as well) and see if I can finish what I started. Don't you hate when you get ready to paint a project and realize you don't have the color paint you need? ARRGGHHH Oh well, when Rick at One-Stroke gets to work tomorrow he will be packing me a box full of EVERY COLOR paint and sending it my way. Now I will have NO excuse not to get some painting done! Ta Ta for now!

Deer, Dear (me) and Dinner Guests!

2007-09-29T08:30:00.000-04:00

Just a quick blog for all of you that send me emails wondering when I am going to blog again! Ha Ha Ha Last Sunday while Don I were enjoying the patio the deer came to visit. It was starting to get dark and my camera while on the night setting doesn't take very clear pictures, but you get the idea:

There are four of five of them that call our backyard home. They really love the birdseed and of course - the chestnuts!

Don's Squadron Commander Ben and his wife Pam had dinner with us on Tuesday night. Don snapped a quick picture of me in the kitchen fixing ribs, baked beans, fried corn, coleslaw and texas toast:

After dinner we went to the patio and enjoyed the view, the dogs and the great company!

Lilo really liked Pam's lap!

Well, its Saturday morning and time to get ready for another road trip adventure! I will blog and let you know what we did today. Gotta hurry and get home so we can catch the Alabama v. Florida State game AND the Auburn vs. Florida game! Gotta love college football when you get two great games like that to watch in one night!! Congrats to the University of Southern Florida who beat West Virginia last night. Now the pain of them beating Auburn doesn't hurt as bad. Have a great Saturday!

General Custer, Switzerland, Antiques and lots of Chestnuts!

2007-09-23T18:10:00.001-04:00

What a great Saturday Don and I had! Went to Holmes County, Ohio (yes, again!) but this time we drove a different route and ran into New Rumley, Ohio, the birth place of General Custer! You never know what you might find when you just get the car and drive! We were very excited to run into the town of Berlin, Ohio. Just outside of town we came across these road signs inviting us to turn and go a couple of miles to "Little Switzerland" where the Guggisberg Baby Swiss Cheese Factory is located. We found a great little restaurant called "Chalet in the Valley". It was like being in Switzerland with authentic German/Austrian food. The waitresses were so cute!

I had great german brauts, sauerkraut, potatoes and green beans. Don had the schnitzel...veal with REAL spaetzle, which I realized I don't like! I love spaetzle made at home from a box that you buy at the commissary. The homemade ones tasted more like homemade play dough...it was the consistency I think. Oh well, Don enjoyed it and that is all that mattered.

Across the street from the restaurant is the cheese factory/gift shop and the cutest little ice cream stand!

Don and I reminisced over lunch about his trip to Switzerland to attend "Swiss Raid Commando" the year we were married. He went the last day of September of 1999 and pinned on Major the next day..October 1st! We were so proud. Man, time flies when your having fun, huh?

We stopped at an Amish Flea Market in Walnut Creek, Ohio and found the cutest birdhouses made out of antique pots/pans/spoons, etc. Some were made from big pots and others from smaller sauce pans. Neat stuff!

I also stopped at a local craft store and found the greatest yard pumpkins made from sheet metal. Unfortunately, they were much more than I was willing to pay for them ($159 each!), but I love the look! Maybe I can make a pattern and cut some out of plywood. Wouldn't be the same, but would still look great in my yard:

Okay...finally the Chestnuts! WE are up to our ears in chestnuts! The tree is so loaded with them that the branches are touching the ground.

They are very hard to harvest because you have to have leather gloves in order to touch them...they hurt...BAD!

We have read up on how to harvest and keep the nuts, but other than the old "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" idea, we have no idea what do with them! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. My friend Doriann in Georgia used to get chestnuts every year from Williams Sonoma for her dressing at Thanksgiving. Hey Doriann, maybe you could email me your recipe and I will try it this year. I might even share some West Virginia chestnuts in return!

Today we attended church at Weirton First Baptist with our neighbors. After church they treated us to lunch at the Williams Country Club. The church was small, quaint and everyone was very friendly. I was delighted to learn they have a quilting club on Thursdays and a scrapbooking club on Fridays. Sounds like my kinda church! The food at the country club is awesome and the club itself is beautiful. We can actually see it from our back porch and it is just as elegant in person.

Well, Don is enjoying NFL and getting ready to fire up the grill for dinner. I still have studying to do. Tomorrow is my first test at tax school. Have a great week and I will post some art this week - I promise!

Halloween Treat Boxes and more Pumpkins!

2007-09-15T19:58:00.000-04:00

I spent the day in my studio...FINALLY! It is so unorganized in there that I didn't get much accomplished. It sure was better than watching Auburn get beat by Mississippi State 14-19 though! War Eagle?!?!

I bought these cute little four inch or so paper mache boxes and thought they would make cute treat boxes. I painted them for my neighbor's grandchildren for Halloween. I will fill them with tissue paper, candy and maybe some cash:

I cut the spiders out with my "Cricut" machine and attached them with pop dots.

I also painted a couple more pumpkins. My daughter Heidi has asked me to paint her some, so I thought she might like these:

Well not much else to report from chilly West Virginia. Think I will catch the rest of the Alabama game in hopes to catch a glimpse of my nephew, Carl Tyler, who is on their cheerleading team. ROLL TIDE, ROLL!

Vacancy! Canned Tomatoes and finally...Some ART!

2007-09-14T17:48:00.000-04:00

There is finally a vacancy in the guest suite at the Richeys! We have had family since the week after we moved in, and I am now so spoiled by having extra help around the house. I am keeping busy this week so the boredom doesn't set in.

My neighbor taught me how to can tomatoes from her garden. We put up 20 quarts and I really had a great time learning how to do it!

My tax classes are going fine and I love the course. When I complete the course, I will be invited to do tax returns in January and February for H&R Block as a first year tax professional for the 2007 tax year. There are four of us in the class and I have learned lots of things after just the first week.

Today I went to Michael's to paint with my friend Lynda. Lynda was a classmate of mine at Certification and she is also the Event Coordinator at Michael's. We painted pumpkins, and I can't wait to finish painting the rest of mine. Here is what I accomplished at the store today:

Do you like pineapple upside down cake? Don's grandmother has the greatest recipe that Don's mom showed me how to make while she was here. It turned out great and was SO EASY!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a cast iron skillet melt 1/4 cup of butter and stir in 1/2 cup packed brown sugar. (stir together and smooth across bottom of skillet). Put pineapple rings on top of brown sugar mixture. (I put a pecan half in the middle of each ring, and I remember my Mom used to put a cherry!) Mix one cup of flour, 1 tsp of baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 eggs, 2/3 cup white sugar and 1/2 cup of pineapple juice. Pour this mixture over the pineapple rings and bake 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and cake springs back. Dump cake on a serving plate when it comes out of the oven!

This weekend is "Pajama/Paint Weekend" at my house, so I am headed to my studio! The weather is very cool here....lower 60's during the day and down to 44 degrees tonight! I MISS THE SOUTHERN WEATHER!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, uh...DAD"S"!

2007-09-07T12:41:00.000-04:00

Today is Don's father's birthday and last week was my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday to them both!!

Don took us all to dinner last night to "DJ's Grille" for his Dad's birthday. They sang Happy Birthday to Jay and brought him a piece of strawberry shortcake. Lots of fun!

Worked on my Fall display in the yard, it is still a work in progress, but the neighbors are really "gawking" at it! Still looking for corn stalks and indian corn, plus I want more mums. Hopefully this weekend I can get some.

Don's Mom and I went to the fleamarket last Sunday and I was able to find this star to go over the front door. Don thinks I should paint it so it won't blend in so well. Not sure yet what I want to do. I do love the ivy cut back so you can see the great masonry work in the brick:

Not much else to report from WV. The weather is great, although it has been quite warm this week...in the upper 80's. Rain is predicted for the weekend and next week the highs are in the low 70's. Should feel more like Fall in a couple of weeks.

I am going to enjoy the rest of the day with my inlaws, as they are going home on Sunday. Pam and I want to make Jay a pineapple upside down cake for his birthday. That is his favorite, and my dad's as well so I recall!

I start "TAX SCHOOL" next week with H&R Block...

wish me luck!

Richey Weekend at the Strip and a new driveway!

2007-09-06T09:46:00.000-04:00

What a busy week it has been around here. We are having lots of fun with Don's parents. Don took us to Primanti Brothers last Friday so his parents could try the local flare. They really enjoyed the sandwich and loved the fried zucchini.

Saturday we spent the day in downtown Pittsburgh in the Strip District shopping for seafood, cheese, fresh bread, etc. It was almost like being in a foreign country! Here are some pictures:

We have been watching a local television channel about things made and sold in Pittsburgh. One of the items that caught our eye was Red Ribbon Cherry soda. We finally found some at Wholey's Grocery Store in the strip and Don bought us some...yummy!

We had so much fun on the Strip that yesterday Don's Mom and I went back and spent two hours shopping in a fantastic used book store, a local chocolate shop that has candy from all over the world (including our favorite Kinder Eggs), an awesome Greek restaurant, a art studio with art made from Pittsburgh steel, and the local pottery. We also found this great jazz statue on our way back to the interstate. It is on Liberty Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh:

While we have been having all this fun, our contractor has worked hard on the driveway! It looks great and we can't wait to start using it this weekend.

This man has worked so hard getting this done for us. Every inch of grass was removed by hand. He leveled the ground with a sickel. He hauled every yard of concrete down the driveway in a wheel barrow. And he smoothed the concrete by hand with a rake and a trowel. Not one piece of electric or gas powered machinery was used! Don's father's back was breaking just watching this guy hunched over for two whole days smoothing concrete.

Today is mani/pedi day for the Richey girls. I will also make and post some pictures of my Fall display that Don's Mom and I worked hard on earlier this week. Have a great Thursday!

Annual Block Picnic, and more renovations....

2007-08-28T15:01:00.000-04:00

What fun we had at the Annual Palisades Drive Picnic on Sunday afternoon!

There was lots of food, fun and fellowship. We got to meet a few of our neighbors, and by the time we left at 6:00 p.m. (it started at 1:00!) we felt like we had lived here for years!

I keep telling this story, but I always wanted to live in a Dennis the Menace neighborhood where everyone knows everyone, etc. Well, I am finally getting to do it. I love this town and will be so sad to have to leave when the time comes.

My parents left on Saturday morning (boo hoo), Don had to work, and the puppies and I stayed home and cleaned house. I am getting everything ready for Don's parents who will be here tomorrow to visit. We are so excited about them coming and can't wait to show them the new house and this great town. I am certain Stitch will be delighted to see Gilligan, and I can only imagine how many times they will chase each other up and down four flights of stairs in this house! Hopefully Lilo and Ginger can become girl dog friends and continue to be the loving lap dogs that they are. A fun time will be had by all, and Don is off this long Labor Day weekend and we hope to show Pam and Jay the sites!

My Dad found a great concrete contractor on one of his morning walks. Don hired him on Sunday to lengthen the driveway and give me some room to turn around with my van. The van repairs from my episode with the garage wall came to just over $500.00. I ask the bookkeeper at the collision center if the price would be the same if I did it again, especially when the driveway gets icy. She nodded an emphatic "no". I think this is when Don decided he needed to get the driveway extended ASAP. My car goes in for repairs next Tuesday and they started on the driveway extension today:

Gotta get going...I have a surprise for the Richeys and need to get downtown and make it happen!

I am a Pending OSCI... WooHoo!

2007-08-25T15:56:00.000-04:00

That's right....I completed Dewberry Designs One-Stroke Certification this week and I am now a pending "One-Stroke Certified Instuctor". My Certification Teacher was Kim Barone and she was fantastic. I was so lucky that there were only 16 students in my class so we gots lots of one-on-one instruction. I wish my friend Kim from Georgia could have joined me. The hours were long and we covered a lot of material in just four days. The class was held in Pittsburgh and the drive one way from my house was one hour and ten minutes. I drove back and forth each day. Left home at 6:00 a.m. and got back around 8:30 p.m. Class started Tuesday with Sunflowers and this is what we painted:

I wasn't very happy with my paint strokes, but since I had not painted one thing since I left Georgia I guess I shouldn't have expected much. I was planning to practice, practice, practice before the certification began, but with this new house and my parents here, I just never got around to doing it. On Wednesday we learned Ivy and then the birdhouse picture with wildflowers:

I felt better about my painting on Wednesday, but was dreading Thursday's class of fruit and roses, since I NEVER took a fruit class from Sandy and only took one rose class that I did awful in! We painted the fruit on bristol board:

And the rose we painted on a ceramic vase. I kept telling my classmates that I was going to throw the vase away because I wasn't wild about the rose I painted. Well, I guess the powers that be heard me because when I got home and got out of my car I dropped it on my driveway and shattered it into a million pieces!

Anyway, I got upstairs to find a birthday present had been delivered by the postman from my friend Sandy in Georgia. I was thrilled when I opened the package and found this inside:

Thanks Sandy for the birthday present and for being a great One-Stroke Instructor!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2007-08-21T09:22:00.001-04:00

"Happy Birthday to ME,
Happy Birthday to ME,
Happy Birthday dear Terry,
I can't believe I'm Forty-Three"

Ohio & Amish Country Weekend

2007-08-19T19:45:00.001-04:00

We decided after much hard work and a very busy week last week that we would play this weekend! On Friday night Don took us all to Steubenville, Ohio for dinner at a chinese buffet. Mom remembered seeing the Steubenville Kroger on the Today Show in June when they were celebrating Dean Martin's birthday (Steubenville's local celebrity). Mom said that there was a huge mural of Dean Martin painted on the wall outside of Kroger. Well, we decided we needed to find out, and GUESS WHAT? She was right!

Then around the corner in the same shopping plaza was another mural...maybe of Lewis or Clark?

Saturday we headed to Holmes County, Ohio Amish Country. The high temperature was 75 degrees and the sky was blue and beautiful. We went to the Amish Fleamarket, Der Dutchman Amish Restaurant, Walnut Creek Cheese and Meats, and to Lehman's Amish Hardware Store. Here are some pictures of what we saw.

The countryside and amish farms like the picture above are so beautiful. To me it was like stepping into a John Sliney picture! LOTS of his art was for sale in the Amish Flea Market. I just loved this hatbox lamp that fit perfect in my new home:

My Mom found this awesome bust of an Eagle and the Liberty Bell. Doesn't it fit perfect on my staircase landing by Don's flag?

Okay, a few pictures of the house....the half bath just inside the front door and the bookshelf at the front door:

Half bath before, during the renovations and now:

I love the sunflowers and the red pip berrys! I even have them in my kitchen. (will post kitchen pictures this week some time) Look close and you will see that we mounted the mirror sideways. We found the coolest mirrored cubbie hole when we removed the mirror. This was original with the house, so I wanted it left uncovered. I floored the cubbie hole with a piece of the blue panel wallpaper, polished the inset mirror and put in my guest hand towels.

Here is a picture of the bookcase.

My Mom gave me the flags from my grandfather and great grandfather's caskets. We framed pictures of both of my grandfathers and placed them on the shelves by the flags. I know how much these flags mean to my Mom. I am beaming with pride that they are now in my home!

Today was rainy and cold...high 61 degrees! My parents and I drove to the City of Pittsburgh and visited "Rockler" a woodworking store that my dad orders from via catalog. It was fun to see the city, drive through the tunnel and enjoy seeing the sites. We also drove around "Oakdale" until we finally find the local commissary at an Army Missle Site! Don't think I will be doing much shopping there. We have a busy week this week before my parents leave to go home next weekend. I can't wait to post before and after pictures of the handrails on my patio! My dad has done a fantastic job of sanding and sealing the spindles. They look great and still have the old wood look. This week we are working on the sitting room upstairs, the guest room, and I am still sorting through my craft room. Can't wait to get it all done and start creating. Take care and have a great week!

Primanti Brothers Cheesesteak!

2007-08-13T18:43:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I took my parents into Pittsburgh to the Air Reserve Base. Don wanted them to hang the pictures in his new office. Don treated us to lunch at Primanti Brothers, so Mom and Dad could have an original cheese steak sandwich. The sandwich is served on Italian bread with steak, cheese, onions, french fries (yes, right on the sandwich) and coleslaw. They are huge and taste fantastic! I prefer the pastrami over the cheese steak. The menu indicates that the cheese steak sandwich is the #2 bestseller. Daddy ask the waitress what the number one best seller was....her answer..."IRON CITY BEER". We all had a good laugh over that one.

Don told my dad that he hoped his cardiologist didn't read my blog! I am sure my brothers would be upset with some of the "bad" foods I have fed my parents while they are here! Oh well, they are on vacation so it is time to splurge. I am sure my Mom doesn't think this is much of a vacation, that's for sure!

We found some chairs for the fireplace sitting area on Saturday. Had to go to two different stores to get what we wanted, but this is how it turned out:

Don worked all weekend, but when he got home from drill on Saturday we had dinner and then DON WALLPAPERED THE STAIRCASE LANDING! After much complaining and whining, he got it all up and it looks fantastic. Here are before and after pics:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Didn't he do a great job?!? We were so proud. Don was the only one of the four us that could reach the top of the window on the ladder without getting dizzy and nauseous. My dad and I both suffer with vertigo (Dad more than me) so we decided since Don isn't afraid of heights, was the tallest and had the arm span enough to stretch the paper across the top without having to move the ladder that he simply had to be the one to do this job! The flag on the landing is a flag that flew with Don while he was flying combat missions in Iraq.

PUPPY UPDATE:

Lilo and Stitch had their baths on Saturday at "Nancy's Dog House". She did a fantastic job and the dogs smell terrific! They were both glad to get their baths and to get a reprieve on getting on the bed to take an afternoon nap!

In the background of this picture of Lilo you can see how foggy the mornings are here on humid days. You can't see the river until well after lunch sometimes! Today it was very nice, cooler (high was 82 degree) and the breeze was great. Dad worked outside on the handrails and the dogs spent the afternoon under the trees in the backyard. Mom and I continued working on the wallpaper in the bathroom and hopefully will finish soon! Tomorrow we are working on the kitchen and doing some light housekeeping. We still have the third floor that we haven't even started on. Looks like my parents will stay an extra week or so until we get it all done. Have a good Monday night and check back with me later in the week for another update.

Happy Birthday Alex...and large pizzas West Virginia Style!

2007-08-11T08:57:00.000-04:00

Don's daughter Alex is 18 today!! Happy Birthday Alex! I am sure she is working hard and getting ready to start school at the University of Alaska at Anchorage. We love and miss her so much.

Want to see what you get when you order two large pizzas in West Virginia? Check it out:

FIFTY SIX SLICES!!!!

I called to the local pizza place "Di Carlos" last night to order pizza for four of us (me and Don and my parents). When you order pizza here you order by the slice. I didn't know how to order by the slice so the kids says "you can order a tray of pizza". I was thinking a tray was like a large pizza from Pizza Hut...right? NOPE! We laughed when we saw how much pizza we had for the four of us! The crust is all homemade and the pizza really was terrific. Guess what we are having for lunch and dinner today? And probably tomorrow as well!! All this pizza for $28.00!! Next time I will know to order a couple of slices per person.

Lilo and Stitch have bath appointments today. I am excited to use "Nancys Dog House" that is right here on the mountain in Marland Heights (that is the name of our neighborhood). We have a Marland Heights Deli just a couple of streets over that sells great fried chicken, has a complete deli, convenience store and sells lottery tickets. This will be nice when the weather gets bad and you dont want to drive down the hill to main street to shop. I will let you know how the puppies enjoy their baths.

Have a great Saturday and if you live in the south - STAY COOL!! It is 69 degrees this morning on Palisades Drive and the high is 85 today.

Happy Birthday to Drew...and more pictures too!

2007-08-10T21:41:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday Drew, hope you had a great 41st! Drew is my brother who has a 20 year old son, an 18 year old daughter and just had another son who is 4 months old...way to go Drew! Here is a picture of him with my little nephew Ryder on his first trip to the beach. He is going to be just like his Aunt Sissy....A Beach Lover!

Got lots of things done today. My neighbor Kay came over to help Mom with the wallpaper and they are about half way finished. Probably will be next week before Kay gets a chance to come over again and help. I am so grateful that she is willing to help. Don't know what Mom and I would have done, because we didnt have a clue about how to paper these concrete walls. We did finish the sunroom today. Here are some before and after pictures:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Doesn't my saltbox house window that Sandy McTier painted just melt your heart when you see it?! It looks so great from both my formal dining room and my sunroom. It is the number one commented upon piece in my new house! I have so much respect for Sandy, not just as a great person, but for her artistic talent as well. I am honored to have this piece and have it displayed in my home.

Don is back home today and was pleased with the progress that my parents and I have made since he left. Don has drill this weekend, so my parents and I will keep up the hard work and get even more done on this beautiful home. Thanks for stopping by to check out our progress!

More pics!

2007-08-09T19:56:00.001-04:00

Okay, I am going to post a couple of pictures of the living room (although we are not completely finished), but first a couple of before pictures:

And now....

I had to place my piano kinda catty-cornered so as not to block the a/c vent. Would have preferred it to be on the wall, but didnt want to block the windows either. See the stained glass angel? My friend Mary Jo gave it to me as a gift and my father thinks it is the prettiest "knick-knack" in this room. Doesn't my settee look fantastic!? My friend Sandy gave it to me as a farewell gift when I left Georgia. It needed a few repairs and my father built a completely new frame under the seat. We can sit four adults comfortably on it and it is sturdy enough to stand on! I was delighted that it fit so perfectly in my new living room. The americana pillows on the settee were also given to me by Mary Jo. I miss my friends, they are so good to me!

I have to send kudos to my neighbor Kay. She is so kind and has been very helpful to us since we moved in. She brought over the best corn on the cob ever (twice!), some homegrown tomatos from her hubby Skip's garden, and today she brought over the most perfect homemade pie I ever saw...rhubard! Her pie crust was so pretty that my dad and I had to make pictures of it.

Kay has been a lifesaver on her knowledge of not just this house, but also on wallpapering. My mom is pretty good at, but was completely lost on how to remove the old paper, prepare the concrete wall, and hang the new paper. Kay is a professional on wallpaper and not only loaned mom all the tools she needed, but has come over to give step by step hands on instructions! Tomorrow she will help mom hang the paper and I will be sure to post before and after pictures when it is completed.

This house has been a lot of work, and Don and I could never have been able to afford the house if we had to hire out the work my mom and dad have done. We are forever grateful for all their efforts and all the love they bring to this home. They will be rewarded with an all expense paid trip to Walt Disney World for one week at Christmas. My mom has always wanted to go to Disney at Christmas time, so this year Don and I will fly to Orlando to show my parents how to celebrate the holidays "Mickey Mouse" style. Just a small token of our appreciation to them for all they mean to us.

Dad installed a hanging closet rack in the laundry room for me today, so I need to get busy and unpack my wardrobe boxes. Yep...been here almost three weeks and still have boxes that need unpacking!

SNEAK PREVIEW!!

2007-08-07T18:12:00.001-04:00

Just in case you don't remember what the dining room looked like when I bought this house, here is another look:

The previous owner used this room as her living room. I wanted my dining room in this space so it would be close to the kitchen. My Dad swapped the Tiffany lamp with the chandelier and we set up the dining room today. Here are a couple of pictures of my new dining room:

I just love my new wallpaper border and the crown moulding looks so much better bright white. We have worked so hard and are very tired. Daddy is fixing Momma and me a cheese omelet for dinner. YUM! Don doesn't like breakfast food at night (or anytime for that matter!) so I always try to have a breakfast dinner when my parents or his Mom visit.

We have a family of deer that live in the woods in the backyard. I have seen the momma doe and the three fawns up close, but never when I had my camera handy. Last week my father spotted the entire family walking in the backyard. By the time I got my camera this was the only shot I could get which I made through the upstairs window. The other deer had already walked back into the woods.

Got the final roll of wallpaper today, so hopefully we can get the guest bath done tomorrow. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Happy Birthday Matt, Drew & Alex!

2007-08-06T21:30:00.000-04:00

Last week my BIL Matt celebrated his birthday. This week my brother Drew and my daughter Alex will be celebrating their birthdays as well. I LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU VERY MUCH! I am hoping that Matt will bring his family up to my new house this Fall so I can reconnect with him, Darla and my niece, Macy Kate. I know Alex is VERY busy working two jobs and getting ready to start college. Hopefully she can come for Christmas, or maybe in the spring and see Pittsburgh. I know my brother Drew will bring Jodi and Ryder after the new year so I can hold Ryder while he is still a baby. I had forgotten how fast children grow up and I feel like I am missing out so much on Macy Kate and Ryder. I have been a horrible Aunt to them lately, but as soon as I get settled I plan to stay more in touch.

I am still very wrapped up in getting my house put together. I had NO IDEA how much work it would be to get a 70 year old house ready to live in. Still have one water leak in the basement that I have to get fixed as soon as I figure out where the water is coming from, and I have to get the gutters cleaned out because it rained all day yesterday and the water was just pouring over the edges instead of going down the spouts. My parents and I are working very hard to get a lot done this week while Don is out of town on business. Today we swapped the chandelier and the Tiffany lamp in the living/dining room. The previous owner had her living room right outside of the kitchen and I wanted my dining room there. Thought it would be much easier when serving dinner. Hopefully we will be ready to make some pictures by this weekend and give you a sneak preview! I know some of you are getting impatient with us. We have given my Dad so many small projects that we have just confused him I think. "Fix this piece of furniture, put an anchor in this wall, level the china cabinet, replace this light bulb, take out the trash, make some homemade peach ice cream, put a new wire hanger on this picture, glue this music box back together, move this table over there, put this shelf together, tell us what kind of bird that is in the yard, bring us a screwdriver, move this table back where we originally had it"...and the list goes on! Mother has successfully unpacked all the boxes in the living room and dining room. YIPPEE! The china has been washed and put in the hutch, the piano has been placed and completely cleaned. The curio has been put together, cleaned and everything meticulously placed inside. Things are really looking good, but we are far from being done. Still have the laundry room and basement to work on, a guest bath to completely wallpaper (when Sherwin Williams gets the final roll of paper delivered) and we haven't even started on the master bedroom, kitchen and most important...MY CRAFT ROOM! I better get some rest so I can get back at it again tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARL TYLER & PAM!

2007-07-27T20:18:00.000-04:00

Must say Happy Birthday to my nephew, Carl Tyler, and to Don's Mom. Both of them had birthday's this week, and with my move and all I failed to mail cards or gifts. Don and I hope they both had a great birthday and hope they know how much we love and miss them!

TGIF!!

2007-07-27T19:33:00.001-04:00

Boy am I glad it is Friday! Don's first day of work was yesterday and I worked on unpacking. Today was very rainy and dreary so I slowed the pace a bit. It was like living in the clouds this morning. The fog was so thick that I didnt' even see the river view until after lunch.

This week went pretty good all things considered. The movers came on Tuesday around 10:00 a.m. and left around 5:30. Everything arrived pursuant to the inventory sheet and so far I have only found one broken margarita glass and a small scratch on my amish oak coffee table. I had to smile when I found these items, because it brought back memories of our move to Georgia. I had one broken margarita glass (from the same exact set) and a small scratch on my piano bench. Guess it is a moving tradition for the Richeys, huh? I have been kind of frustrated this week with the way my boxes were marked. I opened a box marked "lamp shades" and found the dog beds! I opened a box marked "pots and pans" and found part of Don's nightstand stuff, my rice steamer, some pictures frames and a picnic basket! I did laugh out loud at this box though:

I am pleased to report that there were actually cutting boards in the box!!

Stitch and Lilo are making the transition, slowly but surely. Stitch LOVES the river view and wants to be out on the deck or in the sunroom looking out towards the water. Here is a picture I made last Sunday night of the view. It is kind of blurry, but you get the effect:

The biggest challenge this week was the fact that my washer and dryer had, well lets say..connection problems. MY dryer had a four prong plug, and the house has a three prong outlet. SO...Don goes to Lowes, purchases a three prong dryer plug and gets home only to find out that the three prongs on the cord he purchased do not match the three holes in the outlet in this almost 70 year old house. Don drives back to Lowes only to find that they do not make a three prong dryer hose that matches our outlet. There were no employees around to help, however, Don did run into an electrician in that department who informed him that he needed to purchase a range cord, not a dryer cord, because of the age of our home. Thank goodness he found her and took her advice, because it worked perfectly! NOW...the washing machine issue...there is no drain line in my laundry room in which to insert the drain hose from the washer. This was very confusing, as Don and I knew that the previous owners obviously did laundry! We were having dinner with our neighbors on Tuesday night and they asked why we had inquired about a plumber. When we informed them that the house had no drain line for the washer they looked puzzled. Our new friend Connie asked "You mean there is no laundry tub in the basement?". I promptly replied "you mean a mud sink?". She said "what is a mud sink" and I replied "what is a laundry tub?". APPARENTLY we have no idea how to install laundry facilities in the South. I thought this sink was for bathing babies and puppies, and for cleaning my golf shoes! In West Virginia the "laundry tub" is for draining the washing machine! You hook the drain hose over the edge, secure it, and you place an aluminum mesh sleeve over the end to catch the lint. OH yeah...and I was also informed that you listen for the rinse water in the laundry tub because that is what you use to mop the floor of your basement. Don and I just looked at each other and couldn't believe what we were hearing! However, we did get all the supplies for this crazy contraption at Lowes and Don has it all up and working! See!

Oh yeah...after dinner when Connie was leaving she asked "Why do they call it a mud sink? You dont put mud in it do you?" That is promply when I started getting homesick.

My parents are coming this weekend and that always makes me feel better. Can't wait to post some pictures of the house as we get things in the proper place. I also hope to get a picture of the three fawns and doe that are living in the trees in our backyard. They are dining nicely on the plants, chestnuts and black walnuts in our yard!

Have a great weekend and stay in touch with us. Our emails and cell phones are all the same. We miss our friends and family so much.

Road Trip...Day Two...We Made It!!

2007-07-22T21:32:00.000-04:00

I can hardly believe we are finally here! I am so tired and so overwhelmed by how much there is to get done. My household goods arrive on Tuesday, so I have tomorrow to get organized. I have been nonstop since we got here at 1:00 today. I still have to get some cleaning done and buy some groceries, I seriously have to get some sleep too!

You cannot imagine how horrible this day really was....well, not horrible in the true sense, but such bad karma was with me today. After getting a pretty good nights sleep in the hotel last night, we loaded the car and was ready to start our trip at 8:00. HOWEVER, I forgot and left the electric cooler plugged in my car last night. Yep, you guessed it. My car battery was dead. Thank goodness Don had his own car, a pair of jumper cables, and the good memory to recall at least one of the vehicle maintenance/repair procedures that Jay tried so hard to teach him growing up. We were up and running and on the road within minutes. I was pretty impressed, I must say. Of course, that was just the beginning.....

We arrived at the new house around 1:00. Our realtor, Anita, met us with the keys, garage door openers, an delicious lunch, some cool gifts and a much needed bottle of Merlot. (Which until this exact minute I had forgotten about, so it remains unopened for now). After we enjoyed lunch and showed the puppies around, we decided to pull the cars into the garage so we could unload. WELL....my garage at this house is MUCH SMALLER than the large garage I had in Georgia. I was pretty certain I had it licked, until CRUNCH...I ran the rear fender well into the brick column separating my side of the garage from Don's. For the record, this is the first major damage I have done to ANY vehicle during mine and Don's relationship. (I did hit the trim work on Don's mom's garage with my side mirror once, but it didn't hurt the car so that doesn't count). Check out the damage:

Not that bad you say? That is exactly how I feel! Don says about $1000 in repairs and is dying to get an estimate like tomorrow. "What?", I said. I think we best wait until I learn to manuever this new narrow driveway and garage before we start getting repairs. It might need more repairs if we get it fixed too soon, right? I did talk him into getting an estimate on having the driveway extended and a parking pad installed.

Poor Stitch was stressed from the move, ate a belly full of mint from the herb garden in the side yard while I was unloading (damaging) my car. He promptly came in the house and threw up on the newly cleaned carpet. Don was sure he probably ate some rat poison, but I calmly explained that the dog must be just as upset about the damage to my car as he was. I thought there for a while we were all going to throw up!

Things settled down, the neighbors on both side came over to introduce themselves and then I decided to take Lilo out for a potty break. She loves running in the soft grass and smelling the mint and basil in the yard. She took off on a full blown run towards the sunroom, launched herself up the steps and slammed smack dab into the sliding glass door! Reminded me of a windex commercial, only more scary. She hit so hard she feel backwards down the four steps and stood up staggering.....I thought..."won't be five minutes before she is throwing up on the carpet too!" Stitch was standing on the otherside of the glass when this happened and I was glad to see he was obviously feeling better because I swear he was smiling! Really!

Anyway...that is about enough excitement for one day. I gotta get some sleep so I can get some cleaning done and start organizing this mess. I promised my Mom I wouldnt work myself sick before she got here....I sure hope she hurries up....is it the 29th yet?

ROAD TRIP! Day One....

2007-07-21T18:25:00.000-04:00

Boy were we excited to see Warner Robins in our rear view mirror this morning. We left town about 10:30 and arrived at our hotel in Wytheville, Virginia at 5:30 p.m. Traffic was okay, the weather was great and once we crossed into the mountains in Virginia the view was fantastic!! The puppies did very well and are excited to be running free in the hotel room.

The mountains in Virginia really are beautiful. I took this picture getting off the exit to our hotel. That is Don and the puppies in the car in front of me!

I was young and immature when I lived here and apparently never really saw the true beauty of this State. The cool air when we got out of our car this evening was very refreshing. Don is anxious to get to the new house tomorrow, and so am I, but I have to say that I am more excited about the drive between here and there since I have never been this route before. I hear the view gets better the further north through West Virgina. Hopefully I can get some pictures. Don doesn't like me making pictures with my camera while driving. (wonder why, lol) My friend Opal tells me that Wheeling, WV is a very beautiful city. It is about 30 miles from our new home and I can't wait to see what it looks like tomorrow.

My friend Barb called my cell phone and entertained me while I was on the road today. I am going to miss all my friends from Warner Robins, and hope that they will get a chance to come and visit soon. The next few weeks will be busy getting the house ready and getting Don settled in his new job. My son Jimmy called just as we got into the hotel room. He and Amy were headed for sushi, and I sure wish Don and I could join them. We can't wait for them to come and visit when they can.

Don went to pick us up some take out for dinner...can't wait to eat, shower and hit the sack! Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers while we are on the road traveling. Hopefully we will have internet access at the house tomorrow night and I can update my blog.

Have a great Saturday night, I know Don and I will....Virginia is for lovers you know! (wink)

Loading Up!

2007-07-19T11:08:00.000-04:00

The BIG truck arrived this morning at 8:30 and the crew of 4 is busy loading everything up. We were kind of concerned at first, because the truck already has 6600 lbs of household goods headed to Maryland to another Lt. Col.'s home, which will be delivered on Monday. This means my stuff wont arrive at at the new house until Tuesday. There were thoughts that they might have to bring my shipment on two trucks on two different days. Now that the driver has looked at everything, he is fairly certain it will all fit on the current 18 wheeler. He is still somewhat nervous about the neighborhood where we are moving being on top of the mountain and his being able to navigate this huge truck up the West Virginia back roads! I told him I know I couldnt do it, but I had faith in his abilities! I love the new logo on the moving trucks the contractors use to move Military families:

I thought this was very appropriate and it made me smile when I saw it first thing this morning. Makes you feel good to know how proud and honored these companies are to be moving our "Heros".

Stitch has not exactly enjoyed all the commotion this week. He is in a room where he can see the truck and the front door of the house. Every time one of the guys comes through the front door headed to the truck with a box or a piece of furniture he starts barking. I think he thinks they are stealing all my stuff! He is so funny! Both puppies have actually been awesome this whole week with the disruption. I know they will be as glad as we are when this move is finished and we are settled.

Moving is NOT like camping!

2007-07-17T08:11:00.000-04:00

Somehow I thought it would be fun to get everything all packed up. Living in this chaos with a blowup mattress and limited amenities would be like camping, right? NOT! Day one of packing is over. The packers were scheduled to be here at 9:00 a.m. yesterday to get started. At 10:40 they finally showed up with some excuse about getting lost with the Mapquest directions. This part is definitely true. You absolutely cannot get to this house via Mapquest. It just isn't right and tells you turn on a road that simply doesn't exist any longer! Guess it takes a while to get the new roads and highways into the database. I have lived here 2 1/2 years and the new road was built about 8 weeks after we moved. So, I have to assume that it takes more than 2 years and four months for Mapquest to update their system. So much for technology, huh?

Don and I had a lovely dinner last night with my friend Mary Jo. She was SO MUCH help to me yesterday and I never could have accomplished what I did without her. I have to thank my friend Susan as well. Without her the relocation company would still be calling me and requesting my notarized signature. I am sure going to miss the wonderful support group I have here in Warner Robins.

Today is day Two of packing out. The movers said they would be here at 7:00 to unload my attic before the heat was unbearable. It is 8:24 a.m. and they just rolled in the driveway. Better late than never!

One more day until packout begins....

2007-07-15T09:09:00.000-04:00

I am exhausted already and this whole move has really just begun! My parents came over last Wednesday and helped me immensely! I am just about ready for the packers who will be here at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Wouldn't you know they plan to start in the kitchen and in my craft room. I think that was preplanned by the powers that be so that I wouldn't be tempted to create instead of pack! The good news is I will not be doing much cooking either I guess. Don flys home today from Pittsburgh and is now officially the owner of two homes!

He closed on the new house on Friday the 13th...those of you who know me well know that I avoid certain numbers. I guess we have turned over a new leaf in the superstition department. We bought a house AND I actually wrote a check on Friday! I never do any banking on the 13th either. BUT, I had to take my parents to Creekside Catfish for dinner. That is one of my favorite places to eat in Georgia and I wanted to share it with them before I moved away. I think they liked it as much or more than Don and I. I will certainly miss Friday night catfish when I get to West Virginia.

Sorry I havent had much time for blogging this week. Plus, Don had the digital camera in Pittsburgh so I couldnt make or upload pictures. Oh yeah, remember the snakes in my water meter? Guess who lives in the bushes outside my master bedroom windows? I have affectionately named him "Chip". Not sure if "Dale" exists, but I will keep you posted! I thought I was moving to the land of pirates and penquins...not snakes and chipmunks!

Don also got some views of the Ohio River from the house on a clear day. The first shot is looking right and the second is looking left. Can't wait to enjoy coffee in the mornings overlooking the river.

Have to say "Good Luck" to my FIL Jay. Tomorrow afternoon is his thyroid surgery and I know he will do just fine. Can't wait until he is recovered and can come up and visit us.

Don just called and he has landed in Atlanta. On Friday after he closed on the house, our realtor "Anita" took Don to lunch and she brought along her sister who was visiting her from North Carolina this week. This morning when Don boarded his flight back to Atlanta he ran into Anita's sister again...she was seated right next to him on the same flight back to Atlanta!! It is just another sign!

Monday...Monday...

2007-07-09T21:40:00.000-04:00

What a busy, productive and fun day I had today. My friend Mary Jo and I went to Hobby Lobby this morning and lucked into the best sale ever on Americana stuff....80% off!! I would make pictures of all the cool stuff I brought home, but Don has the digital camera in Pittsburgh with him this week. (I still haven't figured out the cell phone camera thing). Then Mary Jo and I had a great lunch at "Judy's Sandwich Shoppe" in Perry. I had a terrific Hawaiian ham and cheese sandwich on an onion bun and some of the best potato salad I have ever eaten. Thanks Mary Jo! Then it was home to my chores. I got my upright freezer defrosted and cleaned out, worked on my kitchen cabinets and made a few phone calls to get the utilities transferred into our name at the house in West Virginia. Guess what the lady at the water department at City Hall in Weirton told me on the phone?? She said "Mrs. Richey..there is a note on the computer to be sure and tell you that the meter reader has seen snakes around your water meter when he reads the meter in the Spring and Summer." I couldn't believe it. She said she wanted me to know so that if I were out working in the yard that I would be cautious around the meter. I don't even know where the meter is, but I sure intend to find out...quick! She said they come up from the river in the woods behind the house. That sure is A LONG WAY UP! I hate snakes and will now be terrified to enjoy my lawn!

My day was going pretty good then Don called from the insurance office in Weirton where he was securing our Homeowners insurance for closing. Somehow between my written quote on Friday and today the homeowners insurance was increased by $200 a year. Man was I angry. I had already written the check and sent it with Don along with the written quote. Unfortunately for Don we have figured out that filing an insurance claim on that little episode where he flooded my bath and master bedroom last year may have just come back to haunt us!

I am going to conduct a survey...with new carpets and hardwood floors in my new house, I am seriously considering posting this sign in my foyer. I would love for you to comment on this post and tell me if you would be offended by it.

I just worry with all the snow, ice and slush in the winter that things could get messy. Please be honest!

Not a Millionaire....

2007-07-08T09:32:00.000-04:00

Don and I purchased three Millionaire Raffle Tickets for the Georgia Lottery. The drawing was last night and as expected, we didn't win. (I should say that Don DID expect to win and was quite disappointed!)LOL

The Saturday before we went to Pittsburgh to house shop, I took my last paint class with Sandy at Hobby Lobby. I still need to finish this project by painting my hummingbird on it. Maybe I will get time to do that soon.

I am looking forward to painting Christmas gifts this year once I get settled in WV in the new house. I am sad that I don't have a Hobby Lobby up there, so I will have to get used to the old back up "Michaels" and a store that will be new to me "JoAnns".

Sandy comes home today and so does Mary Jo! I have to pick Mary Jo up in Atlanta at the airport this afternoon and it will be good to get to see her and her son Matt. Seems like forever since I have seen all my friends. Things are so busy around here that even my hairdresser asked me to come to her shop this morning at 10:45 for a haircut...on a Sunday! I hope to get to see Sandy sometime this week! My parents are coming over and my Dad has some stuff to deliver to Sandy...AND we will be picking up my special gift that she and Steven gave me..I can't wait to post a picture and share it with you. It will go great in my new house. Don and I had SO much fun playing cards with Sandy, Steven, Kendall and Holland a couple of weeks ago. Those boys are so funny and so much fun to be with. We are going to miss the McTier's something awful. We hope they will make a family trip to WV to see us...I would love to take the boys to the City and show them around. Welcome home Sandy & Mary Jo, I have missed you guys!

Decisions...decisions....

2007-07-06T22:35:00.000-04:00

Okay...SO. I don't particularly care for this look in my new kitchen. (It must be said that you know who does. Actually he likes the idea of the window look more than the Tuscan look I think).

I really don't want to have to wallpaper the entire kitchen, but I want to do something to bring my Americana country theme to the room, and throw in a few sunflowers as well. Keeping in mind that I would keep the faux wall of yellow and blue (that is wallpaper not paint), how about if I cover the Tuscan window with this country window?

I love the pip berry vine and the stars, and guess what...Don does too! Maybe add some real pip berry vines and sunflowers over the cabinets?

Gotta get to bed....my "Mom" a/k/a my personal shopper a/k/a my interior decorator, is gettng up early to shop for rugs for my new house and I promised to be waiting by the phone for further instructions. Then I am kissing hubby goodbye as he leaves to go back to Pittsburgh to close on our house, and then it is off to the wallpaper store. Mom, Dad, Don? Are we having fun yet?

Wallpaper Samples.....

2007-07-05T16:32:00.000-04:00

Just window shopping and sharing some samples with my Mom:

Love the sunflowers for the Guest bath maybe?

I will keep looking around, but these are a few of my favorites so far. Any of you that have been in my home know what this is all about. I want to make the entrance floor of my new house all Americana. Which means I will need paint and wallpaper. Can't wait to see the finished product!

A Post for My Mom

2007-07-05T11:30:00.000-04:00

Spoke to my Mom by phone this morning and we are working on ideas for decorating the new house. I also have received some emails from a few of you that are unable to figure out how to see the previous posts and are asking for me to repost a picture of the house. To the left of your screen under my picture holding the palm tree painting you can see links listed by month to my previous posts. If you click on them you can open up all the posts I have ever posted!

Mom - here is the window between the sunroom and the formal living room. I still think the windows Sandy painted would look great hanging in this space. Just need Dad to put up some hooks for me:

Here are all of the kitchen pictures I have:

Here are the pictures I have of the guest bath on the main floor:

Hey Dad - the hand railing outside these windows is what needs to be painted and/or water sealed to prevent them from rotting. I would like to paint them, Don kinda likes the look of the weathered wood and votes for just sealing them. What do you think?

I am going to look for wallpaper/border. Will post some samples either later tonight or tomorrow. Hopefully I will sleep better tonight and stop worrying about redecorating. I keep telling Don that "Operation Ivy" is the most stressfull move yet!

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-04T09:28:00.000-04:00

Sure hope everyone has a great Fourth! Looks like Macy Kate is having a great time, huh? Don and I will be busy preparing for our move today, but we plan to celebrate the 4th by having an all american meal...Hot Dogs!

Here are some pictures I took of Don at his new job. He finally gets his own parking space and his own private office!

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They are painting his office this week (hopefully) and moving in his new desk, phone, computer, etc. We plan to hang all the great C-130 and aviator artwork we have collected over time just for this job! Don has lots of awards we want to put on the wall as well. We will be getting him a small refrigerator and microwave for his new office. He will be busy next week in Pittsburgh working on the new office, while I am here with my parents getting the house ready for the movers. Of course...ummmm....Mom & Dad? Don wants us to come to the office one day and hang all the pictures...he says he will take us to lunch across the street at Armstrongs as a reward for your hard work! Armstrongs is the local Italian food restaurant. If I keep making a list of things for my parents to do in West Virginia and Pittsburgh they wont make it back home until Halloween!!

Okay, I have to issue a retraction from one of my previous posts. Don's Dad DID NOT have surgery this week. He is still waiting on the results of his biopsy before they do anything else. I will keep you posted. Don and I are excited that they will be coming to West Virginia to visit. Hopefully they will get to come this summer depending on everyone's health and the weather I guess.

I think the only pictures I have left of the new house that I have not previously posted are of the inside of the garage:

I also wanted my Mom to see these pictures from the lower level that I want to make the master suite. These are pictures looking from the bathroom to the bedroom and of the stairwell. She was asking about the tile floor and carpet and these pictures show it well.

Hope everyone has a great day. Although we are happy to be getting ready for our move, we sure miss being at "Charlie Brown Park" with Alex and Jacob for the 4th. That is certainly one of my favorite memories of what once was family tradition for us.

Home Again!

2007-07-03T07:52:00.000-04:00

We made it back home safe and sound, and the puppies were so excited to see us! Looks like the house was shown twice while we were gone. Still no offers at this time though. I am busy doing all the laundry from last week and Don is already at work. We have our briefing this morning with TMO to schedule our move. I got the completed inspecton report from the home inspector last night. In addition to the wall outlet problems there is also a gas leak from the space heater in the sunroom:

He also noticed that the vegetable sprayer hose under the kitchen sink has a slight leak when the faucet is turned on. All of these minor things will have to be fixed by the Sellers. He did recommend to me and Don that we install carbon monoxide sensors in the rooms with the gas fixtures and in all bedrooms, along with smoke alarms. Good Idea, huh?

Well I am off to see the movers and get them scheduled to haul this junk to West Virginia! Can't wait to get my parents up there and start decorating. We have some minor chores to do first....some painting, maybe wallpapering, etc.

Here are some pictures of the laundry area in the lower floor:

Have a good Tuesday and a Happy Fourth of July!

Home Inspection Complete...

2007-07-02T12:51:00.000-04:00

The Inspector inspected the house in West Virginia this morning. He says the house is in great shape and he only found a few things that need to be fixed. Something about three GFI's that dont work and three wall outlets have reverse polarity. Not sure what all this means, but the Sellers will have to have an electrician correct the problem before closing. I am still waiting on the full report, but we are pleased to know that the house is in as good a shape as we thought!

Check out Miss Macy Kate! She got a hold of a black magic marker and apparently decided to color her mouth! So funny. She turned two on Saturday and I am certain she is a handful:

I am sitting in the Pittsburgh Airport waiting on my flight. Can't wait to get back to Atlanta to the.....90+ degree weather? OH NO!!!!

Going Home!

2007-07-02T09:10:00.000-04:00

Well were are getting ready to catch a flight back to Georgia. Although we have had a fun and productive 8 days, we are both ready to get back into our own bed! Plus we are seriously going through "Lilo and Stitch" withdrawals. Yesterday we had lunch at "Joes Crab Shack" to celebrate our Anniversary....I had crablegs/shrimp and thought about Alex the entire time. She loves crab legs more than anyone I know!

We also took a drive up to the Mountaineer Gaming Resort. It is about 14 miles from our new house and it is a very nice facility. I can only imagine the increase in business when they open the gaming tables on September 1st! Hey Matt, sounds like a Sept/Oct trip during the fall folliage is the time for you to come! Check out this picture of a cooling tower at the nuclear power plant north of us in Pennsylvania! Can you say Erin Brokovich? LOL Scary, huh?

We had dinner last night with Ben and Pam (our new friends in PA). Ben is the Squadron Commander for Don's new reserve base. Very friendly couple, and Pam is a hairdresser! Yippee!! They took us to dinner at Jerome Bettis' Grille 36 just across the parking lot from Heinz Field. Gotta love a retired Steeler that opens a restaurant across the street from the stadium! He put one way glass in the restrooms so you can see into the bar and restaurant while doing your business...weird, huh? Here are some pictures from last night:

Pam & Ben:

My brother sent me some awesome pictures of my nephew, Jesse Ryder! He is so sweet and I cant wait to get my hands on him again. I just hope it is before he graduates kindergarten! LOL

Have a great Monday. Tomorrow morning we meet with TMO (the movers) and should have a better idea as to when they will pack up all of our household goods and get me moved to West Virginia. I will continue to post all the information on this site so you can keep up with us.

Weirton Rennasiance Festival

2007-06-30T23:35:00.000-04:00

Today we drove up to the house in Weirton, West Virginia. I am trying hard to learn my way around up here, through all the hills, valleys, mountains, etc. When we got to Weirton, Main Street was blocked off for a Rennasiance Festival. Don and I stopped and got a taste of the local flair....greek food, some of which I loved and some of which I hated. We did meet some of our neighbors and some of the local folks, all of whom were very friendly and seemed genuinely happy that we were moving into town.

We met our neighbor Marge Grieco, who volunteers at the Weirton Area Museum & Cultural Center. Yes, she asked if I would be interested in volunteering some time, of course I said I would. I also met Pam, who is in charge of the local Library. She is looking for volunteers to teach people to read. Yes, I told her I would come and talk to her. You know me....Don once said he is going to buy me the t-shirt that says "Stop me before I volunteer again". LOL

We were excited to learn that the vote today resulted in the passing of the local casino to put in table games. The Mountaineer Gaming Resort is about 14 miles from our house. It is a horse track with slots. But, after the vote today they will be putting in table games...poker, blackjack, etc. I remember when the casinos came in to Biloxi Mississippi and the real estate market exploded in value. Hopefully this will happen in Weirton as well.

Weirton, West Virginia is connected to Stuebenville, Ohio by this bridge over the Ohio River that reminds me of the bridge in Savannah, Georgia.

I was delighted to mapquest the directions from Don's parents house to our new house...514 miles..just about 8 hours! From my parents house it is 800 miles and 13 hours. Still not to far to travel in the right weather! Can't wait to get my house all decorated and get the family up to visit. Would love to take Macy Kate to the children's science center and the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium!

Not sure what the plans are for tomorrow just yet. Don and I celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary tomorrow, and the only plan so far is to have dinner at "Jerome Bettis' Grille 36" which is a new restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh. We are having dinner with the Squadron Commander and his wife. Don nor I have ever met them before. Should be fun.

Okay, finally...lower level of the house pictures! I think after this post, I will have posted a picture of every room in the house....can't wait to post them with all MY STUFF in it!

The door in this picture leads to the driveway and backyard...it is currently never used:

The door in this shot goes into the two car garage:

Real woodburning fireplace:

The downstairs bath is completely tiled..walls and floors:

There is also a large laundry area, storage room and the wine closet on this floor. I dont have those pictures on my computer, so I will post them another day. Hope you have enjoyed reading my blog. It sure is nice to be able to post all this information for my family and friends to keep up with our busy lives!

Pirates Win!!! 3 to 2 in the bottom of the 9th!!

2007-06-30T09:46:00.000-04:00

What a great game and a beautiful ballpark. PNC Field sit right on the river across from downtown. This was the view from my seat.

Pic of me and Don outside PNC Park:

PNC Park has the same Ivy as our new house growing around the outside fencing:

We met a great couple from Reading, PA, who came over to visit Pittsburgh for the weekend. I have to tell everybody....I LOVE THIS TOWN! The people are friendly, the land is beautiful and there is so much to do. I love to hear the northern accents....reminds me of old mob movies. LOL My kids called/text messaged while we were in the ballpark. My son was so excited to hear that I was actually happy to be in Pittsburgh. Can't wait until they can come visit and experience this place. I had another Primanti Brothers sandwich at the ballbark (actually I ate about 1/3 of Don's). But, guess what I did get to have? Banana's Foster - made by a real chef right before your eyes! It was so good and Don beamed with pride when he handed it to me hot right from the skillet. It was terrific.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR MACY KATE & MOM, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!! Today is Macy Kate's 2nd birthday and my Mom's....uhh...well, I dont think she will mind, 62nd birthday! Hope you both have a great day and enjoy your birthday gifts. I love and miss you both very much!

Okay, bedroom pictures from upstairs in the house. Love Bedroom number one. It is 14 x 14 and has windows to the west where you can see the same view as from the sunroom and patio of the Ohio River. Still have to talk to my Mom, but I think this would make a great studio for my paints/scrapbooks. The paint and wallpaper is very nice and practically new in all the rooms! Remember, if you click on the picture you can see it bigger on your screen and see details better.

Bedroom two is actually suppose to be the master. Love the cornice board window treatments. This room is 15 x 14 and I think would make a great guest room! The wallpaper boarder reminds me of Dewberry flowers.

The third bedroom upstairs is currently being used as the guest room. It is 13 x 14 and has a huge closet. Again, love the wallpaper and boarder.

I think today's plan is to drive back up to Weirton, West Virginia and try and get familiar with the streets and the local businesses. I also want to take a picture of the bridge from Weirton to Steubenville, Ohio. Hope you all have a great day and check back in tomorrow to see what we got done today!

Crash Course on Pittsburgh History

2007-06-29T08:38:00.000-04:00

Yesterday Don took me to the "City". It is amazing up here. There is a big mountain called Mount Washington. To get to the City you have to drive through Mount Washington in these tunnels. You absolutely can not see the city skyline until you exit the tunnels. It is an amazing thing to see! It was overcast and rainy, but here are some of the pictures:

Heinz Field where the "Steelers" (pronounced "Stillers" by the way :o) play football:

Pittsburgh has a lot more than just steel going on up here. Did you know that Heinz Ketchup is made here in Pittsburgh? There are also lots of glass houses where they make beautiful glass.

We spent yesterday afternoon at the John Heinz History Center and the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. Here are some fun pictures we took:

I ate my first "Primanti Brothers" sandwich for dinner last night! It is a local favorite...cheese steak, coleslaw, french fries and a tomato slice all loaded on a piece of italian bread! It was fantasic and a fun place to eat:

Okay...check this out! "Wholeys" grocery in downtown Pittsburgh. I have never seen a grocery store like this that I remember. It was a fish market/butcher shop/grocery store/bbq restaurant and had a Sushi bar in the middle of the frozen food section! Hey Ellen - if you are reading this blog this is the commissary for the Pittsburgh Reserve Base! LOL

Today we are busy working with the Closing attorney on the house and tonight is baseball night...I am so excited and can't wait! Pittsburgh Pirates v. Washington Nationals, and after the game is a big fireworks show over the river. Will blog about that tomorrow.

Okay, a few more house pictures:

Had to post a picture of the huge black walnut tree in the backyard...I think the smaller tree underneath looks like a peach tree, but I got to wait until my father, the master gardener, gets here to tell me:

This bookcase is built in just to the right of the front door when you come in. The door on the otherside of the bookcase leads into the guest 1/2 bath:

Here are some pictures of the cool light fixtures in the dining room, living room and sun room:

My sister-in-law Darla has agreed to let me have the light fixture that belonged to her Grandma Richey. It reminds me of the lighting in this house and I would love to hang it in the foyer. Thanks Darla!

Also, please keep Don's father, Jay, in your prayers. He had a thyroid biopsy yesterday and has a pretty good size tumor. They are waiting on the biopsy results, but he is already scheduled for surgery on Monday of next week to remove the tumor and possiblly the thyroid.

Have a good Friday!

Take Me Home, Country Roads, To The Place I Belong..West Virginia!

2007-06-28T08:23:00.000-04:00

John Denver sang this song when I was a kid...and I am singing it now!

Don got an accepted offer on the Ivy House yesterday! Since we had all our homework done and Don purchased from a motivated Seller, we should be able to close on the house two weeks from today and the Sellers have agreed to give us possession on Monday, July 23rd! Now we can do a door to door move and will only have to spend one night in a hotel when we get here. Hopefully TMO will pack out and leave with my household goods on the 20th or so and can deliver them to me on the 24th. Looks like things are going to work out perfect with our time line. We knew it was a sign when our lender called yesterday morning to let Don know that the mortgage rate dropped a quarter of a percent over night and reduced our monthly payment by almost $200! I know some of you are probably tired of seeing pictures of the house, but my kids and my parents have trouble opening pictures sent via email, so I promised I would post them on here. My Mom will be glad to know that the rooms in the house are bigger than I orginially remember and so is the closet space.

Here is a picture of the sunroom from the outside:

Inside view..love the stamped concrete floor and the tiffany lamp:

View of Ohio River yesterday from patio:

Dining Room:

Guest bath downstairs just to the right when you come in the front door:

Full bath upstairs:

Wine Closet in lower level, and no, the wine doesn't stay...Don actually asked! The Seller, pursuant to the contract terms, is suppose to leave us a bottle of blush champagne to celebrate our move in day:

Cast Iron mailbox just outside front door:

Today will be spent opening checking accounts, selecting an insurance agent for our homeowners an car insurance, visiting Don's office and touring part of the City of Pittsburgh. The high today is 77 degrees and we might get an afternoon thunderstorm. Would love to do some shopping, but will wait on my Mom to get here for that. Better get moving on my day. Hopefully I will have some pictures of the sites to upload for you tomorrow. I keep forgeting to take a picture of the bridge in Ohio that looks exactly like the big bridge in Savannah. My Dad and I have an aversion to bridges that my Mom and Don just dont fully understand, huh Dad? Love and miss you guys!

Pennsylvania was a Bust!

2007-06-27T08:39:00.000-04:00

We spent yesterday looking at homes in three counties in Pennsylvania. Nothing we saw even came close to the Ivy House....except for price, of course! We were shocked at the condition and locations of homes in our price range. There were one or two that I thought we could be comfortable in, but they were so close to the price of the Ivy House that Don just couldnt see passing up the investment opportunity of having a house on the River in our price range. We are going back to West Virginia this morning to make an offer, and hopefully to take some more pictures.

Formal Living Room:

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Kitchen Pictures: Awesome cherry cabinets, beautiful hardwood floors, corian seamless countertops, 6 burner gas stove, double ovens, track lighting, and the walls are papered with a butter yellow and light blue faux look and a small mural of a french winery. Mom, the curtains are not staying, but I am going to ask for the barstools.

Here is a newer 12 foot window on the landing going to the upstairs bedrooms. It is absoutely beautiful. I forgot to mention....all the walls and floors in this house are made from concrete! I had the realtor remove a picture from the wall just so I could see how to hang things up!

Hopefully it will be less hazy today and we can get some better pictures of the view. Today is "Air Quality Action Day"....they are advising people to stay inside in the air conditioning because the temperature might reach 90 degrees and it will be humid and hard to breathe!! Don and I laughed so hard. These people would DIE in 100% humidity and 100 degree weather we have in Georgia and Alabama. I asked yesterday how long this Pennsylvania "heatwave" would last...I was told less than two weeks each summer! Don is going to love this place! I think I will ask for electric blankets and sweatsuits for Christmas! OH YEAH...hey Mom - Don said to tell you he doesnt have a budget for you, but thinks Granny Miller's antique couch, chairs, lamps and tables in your living room would look great in this new house! You know....I think he is right! Have a great day!

Palisades...."The Ivy House"

2007-06-25T19:57:00.000-04:00

We finally got to see the inside of this beautiful home today. We have looked at it over and over on the internet for a couple months. I cannot begin to tell you how awesome it is. Don knew immediately upon stepping inside that he was "home". I must admit I was leary, but really loved the inside as well. I think I was secretly hoping to hate it, but that just didn't happen. I will take more pictures in a couple days when we make our offer. Today was very hazy and the view of the Ohio River just didnt do it justice. The view is simply breathtaking. Click on this picture to pull up a full size view of the front.

I was asking Don about how my furniture and decorating taste was going to fit with the interior of this gorgeous home...he said "That's your Mother's problem!". LOL My Mom is an awesome decorator and he knows that no matter what after my Mom gets finished it will look great! I just received the most awesome gift from my BF Sandy, which will look fantastic in this home. I will have to get her to email me a picture of it so I can post it on my blog.

We have eliminated all the homes in Ohio, and will be looking at Pennsylvania homes tomorrow. Unless something else simply "knocks our socks off", we will make an offer on the Ivy House. I will update again in a day or two. This has been a tiring, but productive day!

Scar Face House??

2007-06-24T08:02:00.000-04:00

I think my son Jimmy definitely watched too many mob movies as a child. Check out this house in Steubenville, Ohio. My son SO wants Don to buy this house.

It has a great Foyer!

And the living room isn't too bad. I love the mantel!

BUT...the staircase...can you say "Night at the Museum? LOL

OH..and did I mention the peptobismol pink walls? They are in the bedrooms, formal dining room, bathrooms etc!

Listing price of house - $285,000.00. New paint job to cover all the pink walls -$10,000.00. New banister on stairway to replace museum rope - $2,500.00. Knowing that I will NEVER live in this house - Priceless! LOL

Would love to stop by and see it though. I would just like to meet the lady that decorated this place! Have a good day! OH, and Jimmy? "Say Hello to my Little Friend" I love you!

Wish me luck!

2007-06-23T22:52:00.001-04:00

We leave in the morning on a flight to Pittsburgh to house hunt...not a trip we are especially looking forward to! Tonight we had Don's farewell "Office" party at a friend's house. Thanks so much to Dana and Jeff our hostess and host. They did an awesome job serving homemade Mexican food! Jeff's Mother is visiting from Indiana and brought her cute little dog "Ice Cream". She is such a sweet dog, and has the most unusual coloring for a dachshund I have ever seen. I wanted my brother Drew to see her, since he has dachshunds.

Thought I would share another picture of one of the unusual sunflowers. We had a rainstorm this past Wednesday and the wind and rain blew some of the flowers over. I suspect that when we get back from our trip that most of the blooms will be gone. Thanks to my housesitting friends, they just might last a few more weeks!

Don has saved some of the blooms for seed, and we can't wait to see what we get when they bloom next year! I will update my post this week with info on our househunting trip. I have to say thanks to all of you that have hosted Don and I in your homes, or for dinner, or have accepted our invitations to dine in our home this week....we are going to miss all of our friends!