RV There Yet?

Sorry it’s been a while, friends.
Our time in Ohio was grand! It took a little while for Hayley (20 months) to figure out who we were, but Ellie warmed right up to us. I won’t do a blow by blow of our days there, but suffice it to say it was full of giggles and hugs and tickles and kisses. Along with going to the zoo, checking out a local car show and some miscellaneous shopping, we also managed to get some house chores done too. The time there just flew by – and now we are home again in Montrose, PA. We’ll be here through this weekend, still helping out where we can.
I’ve uploaded several pictures from our weekend in Ohio that you can see here. Here’s just a preview…..
Take a glass of milk, a stack of Oreos and a 20 month old darlin’ - and this is what you get!

We had a great time at the zoo - here’s our little Ellie with her friend, the gorilla statue.

And then the whole family -

And here is a shot of Pops reading to the girls. Too bad Hayley had to take a call during the story!

What a fun project this was! Even though many mornings were spent on bed stripping/making duty (and some of those started at 6AM to beat the heat!), I also got to spend plenty of time in the kitchen. Although I don’t mind any other work, I must admit that kitchen time is my favorite. (And I pick up some great tips- the kitchen manager has a scampi sauce, etc. business – check out his website – www.mazarcuisine.com . His stuff is great!). Our group leader (GL) couple have been Sowers for over 10 years, and they were lots of fun. The other couple haven’t done that many projects, but they are full-timers, and were a great couple to work with. Yesterday the GL’s hosted an “Afternoon Tea” for the six of us. Hats and Gloves required. Needless to say, there were some pretty interesting combinations. Here we are for our “formal” group shot. This is a pretty fun crowd we’re hanging around with!

There is a gentleman who volunteers at Montrose by maintaining the gardens around the property. He also has a magnificent Day Lily garden on the premises. Here are a couple of shots of some of the amazing flowers that are in his garden. It was quite a sight!

By tomorrow afternoon we should be playing with Ellie and Hayley. Whoooeee! We haven’t seen our Ohio family since Christmas, so we’re really looking forward to our time out there. I’m sure you’ll be seeing some pictures of those little darlings before too long. Just thought I’d give you fair warning.

And now one last picture from Watkins Glen. I was looking over the batch that I posted and realized that I hadn’t posted this one, which I think is my favorite. There are a couple of more pictures here if you’re interested.

Another weekend is over - where does the time go? We had a good one - here are the details….
Friday - we got an early start on what promised to be a beautiful day, and headed north to Watkins Glen, NY. Now Watkins Glen is know for the NASCAR races, wineries, and the Watkins Glen State Park. We only did the latter (though we bought ice cream where we could have purchased anything NASCAR that we wanted!). To quote the website - Within two miles, the glen’s stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. The gorge path winds over and under waterfalls and through the spray of Cavern Cascade.. The under two miles did include 850+ steps, but the exertion was well worth the eye-candy of all of the falls. We went as a group with the two other couples we are working with. One of them came to this project so the husband could attend his high school reunion (in Watkins Glen) several weeks ago. It was his 65th! It was inspiring to not only hear all of his stories of growing up in the area, but also to celebrate his good health and ability to still do “the Glen” at age 83! He’s quite a guy! But back to the falls. WOW - they were great. Here are a couple of pictures, but believe me, they really don’t do it justice. It was quite a spectacular hike.

While we were in the area we also stopped at the Havana Falls – here’s a shot from there. I couldn’t resist the sunshine on the children playing in the falls.

I would have liked to have seen more of the Finger Lakes area, but the best we could do was a quick lake-side stop at Seneca Lake.

As you can see, it was a very pretty day.
So then there was Saturday….
Saturday we awoke to a steady rain. Gary had offered to help a staff member with some plumbing, so off he went, and I just settled down with my sewing machine. So it was a nice quiet day. I think I even got some laundry done (ah, the necessities of life!)

Sunday was early church at Bridgewater Baptist Church, dinner at Montrose, sewing and nap in the afternoon and then off to a drama production about the life of hymn writer Philip Bliss at The Little White Church in Conklin, NY (just up the road a piece!). A lovely peaceful day.

And that brings us to Today! (Sorry if all of the above was Too Much Information - but at least I didn’t share all of the ice cream research we did along the way!)
Like most of the East Coast, it’s HOT HERE!!!! Four more working days - and then we head (in the truck only) to Marysville, OH to see Toby & Tammy and the girls. Whooeee!

We visited the Christopher Reis Studio in Tunkhannock, PA this weekend. It was an amazing working studio for what can best be described (at least by me) as lead crystal sculpture. The artists there were very gracious and showed us the process and then the final products, some of which are 3+ feet high (and sell for $100,000+!). We won’t be displaying any of them at our house, but it was a very interesting visit!

Saturday we drove to Binghamton, NY – mostly to check out the Home Depot (always good locate the closest one of those!), but also to try a Spiedie Sandwich – a Binghamton delicacy. We checked out a local tavern that was in our Road Food book, and did our own taste test. It’s a pretty simple sandwich, but very good.

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Since I haven’t been cooking lately (meals are graciously and deliciously provided here), I’ve set up the sewing machine on our table and have been catching up on loads of sewing projects. It’s felt good to wrap up some UFOs, and to also begin some new ones! I’m on a roll now – I may never give up the table .

So it was a good weekend. A little culture, a little shopping, a little work, a little play.

Hope yours was a good one too!

Well, our Fourth was a Good Day – how was yours? It played out a little differently than we had planned, but nonetheless, it included a little patriotism, a little comradery, a lot of great food, some good entertainment and fine display of fireworks. We had planned to take the day off, but we offered to help out with the Chicken BBQ that was held here, and that was probably the best part of the day. Sitting around a campfire with friends watching the fireworks on the next hill was a perfect ending!

I reorganized our desk “stuff” into our new desk unit. I figure a little organization is good for the soul! And yes, you can even do renovations when you live in a 40 ft long tube!

Oh - the chambermaid thing? Monday was spent stripping beds at the conference center and today was spent making them up again. Ah, the life of the Sower!