I can't believe it has been a week since my return from Oregon/Washington.   Upon returning to Ohio on Tuesday morning, June 17th, I went back and stayed another week with Charlene while she recuperated from her total knee replacement.
She had some rough days at the beginning of the week, but was feeling much better towards the weekend.  On Friday I drove up to Wapakoneta where my brother, John, lives and we went over to visit old neighbors from our childhood.  Mary Boyer, the mother, is 92 years old now and looks and acts in her 70's! An amazing woman! Bobby Boyer went to school with my brother and sister and he and his wife use to live down the street from John in Wapak but moved to the Austin, Tx. area many years ago. They were visiting from Texas and so we gathered at Mary's for a get together.  Kathy or Kathleen Boyer Wise and I went to school together and had many great times together until my my family moved from the country into Botkins.  Kathy and I one summer prior to 6th grade took a long summer bike ride along the country roads and must have road 15 to 18 miles.  We had packed a sack lunch and sat along a country road and ate it. In the afternoon we became thirsty and stopped at a farmhouse and asked the lady for some water to drink.  She asked if she could make a sandwich for us and there we were with not only water to drink but another sandwich.  Kathy and I were gone all day, our mothers not really knowing where we were going and had no reason to be concerned. And remember back then there were no cell phones.  As Archy Bunker might say, "Those were the days!"  Kathy and Bobby also made tunnels though their hay bales which was great fun!  I am sure their dad, Jim, helped with that project.  Great memories!
         After our visit with the Boyers, my brother and I went back to his house and  had a nice visit.  At 4 PM I went to a viewing of a classmate's father, Bob George, who had passed away.  Ed George and his wife, Yvonne, were both classmates of mine and retired to Tennessee.  It was nice to spend a few minutes with them.
         Then it was onto Botkins to have dinner with cousin Jeff Wical. He had talked with another cousin and we met at the Sidney VFW for a fried chicken dinner. See picture below.  Following dinner it was off to a local school to listen to the community band perform. I was very impressed with the talent. I left at intermission so I could drive back to Farmersville at a reasonable time.  I stayed with Charlene on Saturday and Sunday and since she was doing much better, thought it time I move on and so here I am back at cousin Jeff's in Botkins. However, Charlene and I did get out for an outing before I left.  I had noticed some an interesting mural in Miamisburg and wanted to get a picture so I drove and Charlene provided the directions.
         Miamisburg was first called Hole's Station because in 1797 Zachariah Hole settled his family on sight and built a stockade for protection from the Indians.  In 1818 four men from Pennsylvania bought 90 lots and the town was named Miamisburg for the Miami Indians in the area.  This is also the sight for the largest conical Indian burial mound east of the Mississippi River.  This information was obtained from the City of Miamisburg website.  The village of Farmersville where Charlene lives was first plotted in 1832 by Oliver Dalrymple who was the local store and tavern owner.  He named the town in honor of his friends and neighbors who were farmers.  It currently has a population of around 1000 people.  My heart belongs in these small towns.  And the support Charlene received from her friends and neighbors reinforced why I love these small communities.
          On Tuesday, classmate Linda Limbert and I drove to Dayton to a consignment store, Home 2 Home, to find good deals on Longaberger baskets.  Charlene had clued me into this store and it was a great place to find fantasic deals on these beautiful hand made baskets.  After shopping Linda and I had to stop at the Waffle House for lunch. This was my sister, Sandy, favorite place and my dear Jeffrey was quite fond of it as well.  After returning to Botkins I helped Linda finish spreading mulch around her flower beds.  My motto is "have shovel will travel".  It was fun spending some quality time with a dear friend and finishing off the visit with some delicious ice cream with her home grown berries on top!  The ending to a perfect day!

L-R in front: Mary Boyer with daughter Kathy Boyer Wise

Back row: Candy Boyer, Bobby Boyer, Roy Wise, John Wical

Kathy, me, my brother John, Bobby

Cousin Robin Fogt at VFW

Jackie and cousin Denny Fogt at VFW

Cousin Jeff Wical at VFW

Sidney Civic Band

The above and below was to be a panoramic shot but it didn't work.  This is in Miamisburg. 

This is the sculpture across from the mural. I took a picture of the plaque but like the panoramic shot, I could not find it.

Celebrating Charlene's birthday on her back patio.

L-R. Cathy, Charlene's sister, Wynita, their mother, and Charlene

Beautiful tiger lilies that grow wild along the ditches.  Charlene says everyone calls them ditch lilies. 

Ah, finally I picture of me working!  Spreading a little mulch with classmate Linda Limbert.

Yes! My Longaberger baskets a bought for a steal at the consignment shop, Home 2 Home, in Centerville!!  A good day!!

Tuesday June 17, 2014      
      Once again I am behind in blogging.  All last week I stayed with Charlene Jarvis, a dear friend of my sister. She was really more a sister to Sandy than a friend and with the passing of Sandy, Charlene's and my bond has strengthened.  Charlene had a total knee replacement on June 3rd and so I have been helping and staying with her when I can.
        However, prior to helping Charlene I did attend the 50th Botkins Carousel on Friday, June 6th.  The Carousel is the town festival and for the 50th celebration around 39 former queens returned of which I knew a couple.  The festival lasts all weekend but on Saturday evening I had a better offer.  My brother took my cousin Jeff, my nephew, Johnny, niece, Mary, and me out to a steak dinner in Lima. Unfortunately cousin Jenny had to work and so was not able to join us.  Sunday found Jenny, Jeff and I back at the Carousel for breakfast and after church John picked me up and he and I went over to Huntsville and visited with Jim and Sandy Duff.  Upon returning to Jeff's house I drove down to Charlene's for the week.
       Well, now it is Thursday morning, 6/19/14, and I have been distracted each time I have started this entry but determined to finish today!  Is it a surprise to any one that I have a touch of ADD? Dah!
        On Friday the 13th I left Farmersville at 1PM and drove to Indianapolis, Indiana, to catch a 5 PM flight back to Portland. I was flying back for the weekend to attend an OSU (Oregon State U. not Ohio State U.) graduation.  It was a 2 hour drive to Indianapolis, which I did not realize when I initially scheduled flight and since it was cheaper I went with Indianapolis opposed to Dayton, etc.  And one must remember it was Friday the 13th!  And to prove this point upon arrival in Portland at 11:30 PM, I get on bus that takes me to Thrifty Rental and discover as I get off the bus that their computers are down.  Irrate customers were demanding the bus take them to Dollar Rental Comany.  I figured I might as well "suck it up" and stay with Thrifty since I had already prepaid.  It turned out not so bad, just had to physically complete form old fashioned way, and since I am of the old fashioned vintage this was not an issue.  After 20 minutes I was in my little Soul Kia and on my way.  (Just FYI, the Kia didn't handle as well on wet roads as my Rav4.)  Well by the time I arrived to my apartment and settled for the night, it was 1 AM.  At 6 AM I was up and 7 AM in the car driving another 2 hours to Corvallis for the college graduation.  This was Melanie Fulmer's graduation.  She is the daughter to Lisa and Norman Fulmer, my good friends I visited in Southlake, Texas.  Also in attendance was Megan, Melanie's younger sister, who attends college in Buffalo, New York.  I had not seen Megan in probably 20 years!  What a delightful day and memorable experience!  The ceremony was grand and held in Reser Stadium which was filled to near capacity with family and friends.  Over 3000 graduates were in attendance with over 5000 who actually graduated.  What was interesting is that OSU takes great pride in presenting each graduate with their actual diploma as they come to the stage instead of just a piece of paper stating they will receive it in the mail.  It is my understanding only a couple universities still do this.  The logistics involved in getting the correct diploma to the graduate is quite interesting when you have 6 stations handing out diplomas.
         The humorous part of the ceremony came during the commencement speech when over the Oregon State Beaver Stadium flys a small plane carrying a banner behind it reading, "Go Ducks".  The University of Oregon, the Ducks, is the chief rival to the Beavers and is in Eugene, Oregon, forty-five minutes south of Corvallis.  After the commencement speech, the president spoke again and had a good response. He said, "Leave it to the Ducks to send the plane to the wrong stadium!"  Of course the response was followed by an approving applause. See the photo below.  After the ceremony we met up with Melanie and took some pictures. After dinner I drove back to Battle Ground.
       I had set aside Sunday to spend time with my "adopted" sons. These young men were all housemates and good friends of my Jeffrey.  At 9:30 AM I was at their house in Vancouver visiting with Robert, Travis, Sandy who is Robert's mother and her partner, Dr. Bob.  We had a delightful visit and of course Sandy worked her magic in the kitchen and fixed a wonderful breakfast.  Late morning Travis drove with me over to visit Tommy in Portland.  We briefly visited with Dan, another friend of Jeffrey's, when we picked up Tommy and it was so good to see him.  Tommy took us down to a delightful area on Mississippi Street. We checked out all kinds of quaint little shops including a nursery with the funniest little moss/algae balls that live in water for decades and just roll around.  When we walked out back to look at the nursery stock we found chickens wondering around.  Tommy thought the one with feathers on its feet was especially interesting.  View below some the other interesting spots we visited.
        After dropping off Tommy and Travis , I met Jeannie Snow, another dear friend and my lead nurse at school, for coffee.  It is always good to catch up and share what is going on in each others lives.  From there I drove over to visit Donna Shrider who is taking care of my place and mail while I am gone.  It was also good to visit her husband, Elliot, and children, Sarah, and Jacob.  After the end of another great visit I was beat so went home to rest up for a busy Monday.
       Monday at 8:30 AM found me out at my "adopted" mother's, Erma Kelley, for tea and birthday cake.  Erma turned 92 on flag day, June 14th, and so she shared some cake with me.  From there I moved onto Starbucks in Vancouver to meet with Janelle Kountz and plan her baking a cake for Jeffrey's birthday on August 18th.  Travis and Robert also joined us and helped with some of the decisions.  After spending a couple hours getting my stuff packed for plane I met Becky Blick, Jen and Mitch Taylor at Mill Creek Pub at 4.  From there it was off to the plane.  It left at 8 and changed planes in Phoenix and arrived in Indianapolis about 5:30AM Tuesday. Back to Ohio!  Flying across country, leaving you own car at a strange airport and flying to your home airport and renting a car and returning is a little disorienting.  It made me appreciate how disorienting it can be for people who travel all the time for their job. Well I will close this blog since it has taken forever to finish this entry! Enjoy the pictures below.

These two pictures are of my beautiful flowers at my apartment this year!  I have never seen them so spectacular!  Of course it is the summer I am not home.

Clematis

This is the sculpture at the student entrance to Reser Stadium at OSU.

Norman, Megan and Lisa Fulmer

The proud parents with Melanie.

Oh, yes, those darn Ducks!

Erma Kelley and me

Tommy, me and Travis in front of the restaurant on Mississippi Street.  This was a fabulous restaurant!  I will be returning!

This was the Restore shop on Mississippi Street. The entrance was worth the trip! Amazing!!

        What a wonderful week I have had reconnecting with friends and family.  On Monday cousin Jeff and I went to Wapak, Wapakoneta for those not from the area.  The Neil Armstrong Space Museum is there and I needed to get a pressed penny.  See picture below.  Wapak is where Neil Armstrong grew up and is only about 6 miles from Botkins.  Jeff and I didn't go through the museum since Jeffrey and I actually went through it about 3 years ago.  I did get several post cards to send to friends and family along with my pressed penny.  One of the post cards had a recipe for Buckeye Squares.  Of course when we got back to the house I had to make some!  But back to the museum, it is very interesting and I highly recommend it.  As you walk in the door, down the entryway, pictures hang of all the astronauts from Ohio.  The number who have roots in Ohio is very impressive.
         After returning to Botkins, Jeff and I stopped by one of my classmates, Linda Limbert.  She bought her childhood home after her parents passed away and along with help from her brother, Ed, and assorted relatives has been remodeling it.  What an amazing job she has done!  She has moved walls, installed bathrooms, plumbing, wiring, etc!  If I ever build a place, Linda will be the first person I call!
        A little about Wapak retrieved from Wikipedia.  It says that Wapakonta sits on the Auglaze River and was first settled by the Ottawa Indians followed by the Shawnee and Seneca.  By 1808 there were more than 500 living in the area and the Indians had the first saw mill and grist mill in northwest Ohio.  Wapakoneta is a Shawnee name meaning, "place of white bones".  Sadly in 1831 the Treaty of Wapakoneta and Treaty of Lewistown forced the Indians to move west of the Mississippi.  Current population of Wapak is a little over 9800.  Botkins is a small village south of Wapak on I-75 with population of 1150.  According to Wikipedia it was named after a surveyor but when I was growing up we did have an older couple in town with the name of Botkins.  Also the sign as you come into town says, "Where The Waters Divide and The People Unite".  My father always said that in this area the water splits and there is a geographic line where water north of line flows toward Lake Erie and south of the line it flows towards the Ohio River.  I am not sure of the accuracy of this statement.  Another little interesting tidbit is that Kent Boyd, a runner up on the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance" grew up in Botkins.
       Tuesday was another delightful day of visiting dear friends.  I walked 3 miles around town with dear classmate Sara Kreitzer.  Then I drove to Huntsville and visited long time family friends, Jim and Sandy Duff.  They were such good friends with my parents and are just considered part of the family as far as I am concerned.  After a couple hours of visiting I drove to a high school friend's house, Paula Nash.  I spent a delightful evening with her and her husband Don.  Don grilled us some unbelievable filet mignon!  Of course where ever I go, I have to share about my dear Jeffrey and everyone is always so gracious and listens.  Thank you!
       Wednesday, after another walk with Sara, I drove down to Miamisburg, south of Dayton, and visited my sister's dear friend Charlene Jarvis who had a total knee replacement on Tuesday.  Being one day post op, she was not a happy camper.  Hang in there Charlene!  Better days are coming!  I will stay with her for several days starting on Sunday.  Since she was like a sister to my sister and Charlene's whole family considered Sandy part of their family, she to is like a sister to me and I like to take care of my family!  Today, Thursday, I walked with MaryLou Pitts, another good friend and classmate from Botkins.  What a delightful visit we had.  I guess I can visit best when I am walking or eating but unfortunately, from the scales, it appears I have been eating more than walking.  To prove this point I had a wonderful visit with several friends over lunch at the Inn Between.   If you are ever in Shelby County, you must stop and have their famous fried chicken!  I was pleased to see they also had sweet ice tea.  It wasn't quite as good as Texas sweet tea but close.  Lunch was with Mary Jo Raberding, Kathleen Freeman, Marty Koenig,  Evonne Schnippel, and Lyn Degen.  These ladies were a few of my mother's dear friends and so when I return home to Botkins it is always so good to reconnect with them and strenghten those ties.  Thank you Mary Jo for arranging this delightful get-together! See picture below.
     

Yes! The precious pressed penny!  This museum is a must see!

The recipe for delicious Buckeye Bars.

Need I say more?

Lunch at the Inn Between with dear friends.

Left to right: Marty Koenig,  Lyn Degen, Evonne Schnippel, Mary Jo Raberding, and Kathleen Freeman

       Oh my! What a week!  I did manage to leave Conroe, Texas, and my dear friends, Colleen and Clyde Hunter, last Monday morning, May 26, at around 7 AM.  It is normally about a twelve hour drive to my friends in Roswell, Georgia.  However, with "pit" stops, weather and a flat tire, I believe it was 9 PM when I arrived.  It was on I-12 when I experienced the flat.  Fortunately the highway had a wide shoulder with a very wide expanse of grass beyond so pulling off to the side of the road was no issue.  Thank God for AAA and cell phones!  While I was waiting for AAA I sat in the car with air conditioning running and worked on my blog.  It was a very productive time!  After about an hour I was back on the road.  With the aid of books on CD, the driving time passed rather easily until I was about an hour away from my destination.  Then the heavens opened up and the rain came down!  Everyone kept moving, however, slowly and with the warning flashers blinking.  Traffic was moving at maybe 25-35 miles per hour and I didn't want to stop and pull to side of road for fear of being rear ended. This lasted about 30 minutes and then the weather improved.  Needless to say, it felt good to arrive at Tom and Bonnie LeBoutillier's house around 9 PM.  Or was it 9:30?
       First priority on Tuesday was to fix my flat and change my oil.  Can you believe, I have traveled over 4000 miles so far on this trip.  Tom took me down to the Toyota dealer and I had my oil changed and they did not have the proper replacement tire and directed me to a store that did.  Tom and Bonnie treated me to great barbecue restaurant for lunch.  Thank you, Tom, for taking such good care of me!
      On Wednesday, it was the girls day out, and first priority was obtaining a pressed penny!  Bonnie took me to the Southern Museum for Civil War and Locamotive History in Kennesaw, Georgia.  I highly recommend the museum if you are ever in the area.  The railroads were very important logistically to both the Confederate and Union Military.  I had never realized this until I went to this museum.  You can read more about this if you visit their website and also read about the train the Union soldiers attempted to steal from the Confederates.  After the museum we had a late lunch at a Cracker Barrel.  Did you know they have books on CD available to rent?  After a book is completed, just drop it off at any Cracker Barrel.  How great is that!  On the way back to Bonnie's house we stopped and looked at the Marietta National Cemetery.   This was not part of the plans at the beginning of the day but, for me was the most memorable part.  It was a beautiful cemetary on rolling hills and very moving!  See the pictures below.  Wednesday evening Tom took the family and me out to their favorite restaurant.   I had a great bowl of french onion soup but, I think the best part was spend time with their son Jonathan.  He is a senior at Georgia Tech in Atlanta and was leaving the next morning for New York City.  He and another student are interning with Wells Fargo Bank at a trading desk.  How exciting is that!  Jonathan is a wonderful young man with a bright future.  I was grateful to spend some time with him and get to know him a little better.
        I must thank Tom and Bonnie for providing a place to rest and refresh on my long journey!  It was wonderful to spend time with both of you and Jonathan and reconnect.  What great friends with which God has blessed me.  I am reminded of this with each of my stops along my journey.
       Well the next day I was on the road again.  Hmm, that is a song isn't it?  I was pleased to have a shorter drive this day.  It is only an eight hour drive from Roswell to Botkins, Ohio, however, with all my stops it took me about ten hours and I arrived at my cousin's, Jeff, about 7 PM.  When I arrived a nice dinner was waiting and it was enjoyable visiting and catching up with my cousins, Jenny and Jeff Wical, before turning in for the night.  The next day found me grocery shopping and baking.  I baked two red cakes for the following day.  My sister's ashes were interned on Saturday May 31st.  She actually passed away on May 27, 2013, but due to my work schedule, I could not stay for bural so it was planned to have it when I returned to Ohio.  My mom was aways known for her red cakes and so I wanted to bake one in honor of her and my sister, Sandy.  Knowing my family, I knew one would not be enough so two cakes it was!  All in all, it was a wonderful Saturday.  The weather was perfect and friends and family had a wonderful time visiting.
        Today, Sunday, June 1st, I attended my home church, Botkins United Methodist.  Pastor Randy Locker had a wonderful message about being a Christian and how our actions speak louder than words.  SO TRUE!  Again I was able to see several of the congregation who I knew from years gone by.  I also must mention how appreciative my family is for the presence of Pastor Locker at sister Sandy's internment yesterday.  What a comfort he had been through through Sandy's dying process and funeral.  It is a comfort for me to be in his presence, so I thank you, Pastor Locker.  Also at church today it was great to see the construction started on the elevator Sandy felt was so needed at the church and so left start up money for that purpose.  Sandy, you had not been an active member at church except every November when you went to help with the election day community meal but, your memory will live on with the building of the elavator.  You might wonder why Sandy only went once a year to church.  Well, she lived an hour away but every year she would return and help our mom at the election day meal.  On election day, our church would raise money by having a dinner, open to the public, and convenient since it was across the street from where people voted.  After Mom died, Sandy continued to go and help every November.
       Well it looks like I will have a busy week ahead but will write another entry in a few days.

Leaving Texas and into Louisiana

I don't think I am in "Kansas" anymore! Yikes! This is at the first rest stop/welcome center in Louisiana. 

Nope, won't be taking a hike either!  This sign is at same rest stop as above.

This is not the best picture but wanted to share it.  It is a beautiful little wild flower at the same rest stop as above signs. These were quite prolific in one part of rest stop.  They reminded me of sparklers.

Yes!  Another pressed penny from the Bass Pro Shop in Denham Springs, Louisiana

I missed getting Georgia state line picture. Rats!

Bonnie in front of the Southern Museum for Civil War and Locomotive History

Ahhh, the precious pressed penny from the museum!

Marietta National Cemetery

I was surprised that the state was listed on the cemetery markers.  This soldier was from Ohio.

My dear friends, Jonathan,  Bonnie and Tom LeBoutillier

Bonnie in front of their beautiful clematis.

On the road again and crossing into Tennessee

Hmmm, I see horses!  I must be in Kentucky!

Finally!  Ohio!

Cincinnati skyline from I-75

Burial of sister Sandy's ashes 

Sandy's dearest friends Charlene, by the car door and Maureen sitting in the car due to health reasons. Pastor Randy is talking with me.

My nephew,  Johnny, my brother, John, and my niece, Mary

Cousins Robin and Jenny at the gathering after Sandy's burial.