Wednesday Wonders

Before I left work today, I saw the most brilliant, incredible rainbow! It looked like it stretched all the way from the city's northside to the eastside, two neighborhoods which surely could use a pot of gold these days!

Anyhow, it helped give me some faith as I work these last two days at my job. It made me feel like I was being given a sign that everything would be ok.


The picture above is NOT mine. I found it on Google Images. The rainbow I saw was just as bright and beautiful though. I wish I had taken this picture, but as I raced home, praying all the way that the rainbow would be just as beautiful by the time I got home and grabbed my camera, I was glad to see that it was still partially there. So why aren't I displaying one of my own pictures? Because when I went to get the camera, it wasn't on the recharger and the battery was dead!

I also wanted to show you a picture of how the river looks with all the ice broken. This was nabbed from the front page of today's local newspaper. Yep, even though it's only February, warm temps prevailed, and the ice has cracked.

It's not the way it looked on my part of the river as it has broken up even more. We had torrential rains this morning and all day, and the river has spilled over its banks. When I got home, the ice was being washed upstream. I wish you could have seen how fast the river was moving and I wish you could have heard the sound of the ice crashing. It sounded like bamboo windchimes, only louder. I WANTED to make a video of it with my camera, but...someone didn't put the camera back on the charger!

Oh well. Here are some pics from last year when the river flooded. I am so high up on the riverbank that it will never flood here. It would flood the entire town before it would get high enough to flood my home. However, I really felt bad last year when 80 homes and businesses in my area experienced flooding. See those trees in the background? The river bank starts before you get to the trees.




On to a different subject!

Tomorrow is my last day for my morning women's group and my evening men's group. I really enjoy facilitating group and working with my clients. Tomorrow I have something special planned for my women's group! Since it is my last day with them, I thought it would be fun to do a craft project. I am going to have them decorate cards for themselves. I bought all kinds of pretty things for them to use on the cards.

Here are some stamps I found on clearance. I love all of the inspirational words!

When they are done decorating the front of their cards, I am going to have them pass the card around the group so that each person can write a compliment or something to encourage their fellow group members. I want this last group session with them to be one where they really have their self esteem increased. You have no idea what some of these women have been through. Many women in treatment have been abused in some way or another, sometimes in the worst possible way. Some of them have had very rough lives. I hope that in some way, I have helped them to realize that they are worthy women and strong. I think it will be very hard to say goodbye to this group!

In the evening is the men's group. They got to watch a movie earlier this week, and a group member brought in a bunch of refreshments. I was touched that they wanted to have a little goodbye party for me in that way. I'm not sure yet what we will do for the final class, but it will not be something intensive. I might have them do something similar as the women's group, but just have others write their encouragements on a piece of paper. I really don't think the guys want butterflies and flowers and rhinestones!

I won't be able to take pictures of their creations due to confidentiality, but I bet the women will come up with some beautiful cards! I like to think of it as receiving a Valentine from others with positive reinforcement. I might even have them write a love letter to themselves, detailing all of their good points. Pray for me that it all goes well and that I get through the next two days!

Sunday in the Park, Part 3, A Pretty Pontiac

We set off for one last park, Pontiac Park. This park is right in town, just across the bridge from the downtown area. It also runs along the river. There is a boat launch in this park, but we decided to stroll along the river path.

Pontiac park was named for a famous Indian. The sign says that it was named for an Ottawa Indian chief who was born here in 1742. This was also the site of the largest recorded apple tree.

Here was a garden called the Healing Hearts. The path leading to the bench has small marble stones with the names of children and babies who have died. How sad, but what a lovely memorial and peaceful spot for people to come and remember their loved ones.

Here is a close up of the beautiful angel. She has some bright red flowers at her feet, but not for much longer though as we had our first hard frost last night.
I finally found a tree with red leaves!
This bird bath was so lovely.

I thought the inside of the basin was even more interesting than the bird bath as a whole!

Here is a monument to one of our hometown heroes, Sam Hornish. For race fans, you'll probably recognize the name as the man who won the Indy 500 in 2007. He accepted the trophy here in our town after there was a parade in his honor. He and his wife live in the next town over. Their first child, a daughter, was born in our local hospital a few months ago. His father and other family members own a big trucking business here in town. He switched over to NASCAR though. Not sure yet if that was a mistake or not.

Monica's hubby Jon said that he once raced Sam and won! I told him he was full of it. He said that really he had...but that he beat him on a Big Wheel cycle when they were little boys. I rather doubt that Sam remembers though. Apparently Sam Hornish's grandmother lived right down the street from Jon's family, and they would play together sometimes.

Monica noticed these bright red berries and said she thought they would make a good picture. She was right! At this point, everyone was tired and ready to go home.

That night while I was out grocery shopping, I noticed a beautiful sunset. I was so lucky to still have the camera in my purse!

That's it for our day in the parks! It was so good to be out and about in the sunshine enjoying such a beautiful weekend! I don't know how many more weekends we have left like this! I'm going to savor every last bit of fall before the leaves fall off the trees and it starts getting nipply, I mean NIPPY.

See you Saturday for some pinkness!

Sunday in the Park, Part 2, A Dam Good Time

My friends and I still had more of the Independence State Park to explore! There were such lovely sights all around. Fall is in its glory! Just look at these beautiful leaves!
I thought this sycamore tree was rather striking. It had such an interesting shape. My son tried to jump up into it, but couldn't get a good footing. It's higher than you think!

Here is a branch from another sycamore tree that I thought looked interesting. It sort of makes me think of a python hiding in the tree!
I love the contrast between the white tree and the deep blue of the sky, spattered with these colorful fall leaves!
Jon and Monica found another place to take a picture. Here they are with the Maumee River in the background. Did I tell you that the park is between a canal and a river? Not sure how wide the river is at this point, but its a substantial waterway.I just love looking at rivers in the fall with the changing trees framing each side.

My son took this picture of the river with the water looking like glass. I like that he not only got a reflection of the clouds, but he got a great reflection of the sun too. Where does this lead?

A big dam! This is actually called Independence Dam State Park. And did we ever have a dam good time!

Look how still the water seems on one side of the dam, and how it races on the other side! You can't see it well in this shot, but there is a good drop there. In season, you will see fishermen standing in the water fishing for walleye.
I didn't realize when I took this picture that there was a rainbow effect from the water.
Awww, here is my cutie pie son! This is such a good picture of him.

Here is what you find on the other end of the dam. The river is kind of low right now, and there are shallow spots.

Such a pretty scene. What's that up ahead?

Besides the little island and the pretty trees, I think I see something else! What a beautiful bird!
Jared snuck closer with the camera to get a closer shot. Too cool!
Jared also went to the top of the end of the damn to get some good camera shots. Jon and Monica are in the forefront petting fur son Winston. He is such a good puppy!
Looks like Jared got all tuckered out from running and leaping through the park.
He didn't get much of a rest though. After this, we headed to another park on the river, this one right in the city. There were some different things to photograph there!

Come on back tomorrow for more fall fun!

Take me to the river! And I'm on the right track.

It has been a while since I've shown pictures of the river. Keep in mind that I don't get to see the river like this because I would have to go down a very steep riverbank, and I am just not limber enough to do that. It's a steep incline of about 25 feet down there! The last few feet are especially steep. Someday I hope to have stairs...with railings. These are pictures my youngest son took. These first two are from last fall.


The water is so calm, it looks like glass! So beautiful.

These next pics were taken last week.

While Jared was visiting his father in Texas, his best friend moved back to the area from North Carolina. Nick is the sweetest kid. Unfortunately, his mother moves constantly, and he has probably lost count of all the school districts he has lived in. I think that they last went to school together in 7th or 8th grade, but their friendship has endured.

Nick is the one above in black. He used to be an innocent little red head with short hair. I was a little surprised to see him with long hair dyed black, dressed all in black with chains. Definitely an Emo look. It hasn't changed the boy inside who is still a sweetheart. Don't be misled by appearances!

Below is my oldest boy Sean with Nick, and they are coming up the riverbank. Even Jared couldn't keep the camera straight on that steep riverbank!

I tried to get a pic of Sean coming up, but he tried to outrun the camera. Ha, caught him just as he reached the top!
Nick kept hiding his face. He took off his hoodie and unzipped his pants into shorts for cooler attire. Our little Emo fashionisto! I'm not sure why there is this solitary fencepost in my yard near the shed, but there it stands. Someday I hope to put a bird bath or cool plant on it. For the present though, Jared and Nick decided that it would be fun to jump on and stand on. Nick made it!
So did Jared! They literally jumped up onto it. I would no doubt have ripped a muscle or broken a bone trying this. Jared tried to get away from me when I took this pic, so it ended up being blurry. I thought it looked hilarious though because it looks like he has a pecker nose. Sorry.

Anyhow, I finally got to go walking around the track again today. Its day 4 of walking and its going well. It gets easier each time. Isn't this a nice stadium?
Nice seating area. Much bigger than the one in my hometown!
Someone told me that they wanted to see the blue track, so here it is! I walk to and from the stadium, then do three laps, so this should total a mile.
It was a perfect day for walking. I love the trees near the stadium. It's so quiet out there and you can hear the birds singing, and just look at the blue sky and little wisps of clouds!
I feel pretty blessed to be so near such a great place to walk.

I can do this. It helps me so much to know that I have the support of my friends here in blogland! Thank you!

A Love Story: SWF seeks perfect spouse...no wait...perfect HOUSE!

Three and a half years ago, I got the type of job I had hoped for while attending college following the closure of a factory where I had worked for over 11 years. I had lived in the same town where I was working. However, when I again became employed, I had a 60 mile round trip daily. It took me 45-50 minutes just to get to work. Coming home, I often had to drive in the dark, and found it more and more difficult to focus on the dark roads. Not to mention the snowy hazardous driving conditions which on one memorable icy night had me in tears and in fear of my life during the more than two hours it took me to get home. I decided that was it! My search for the perfect home was on. If I had put out an ad for the perfect home, it might have read something like this: Seeking the perfect house. Must be low maintenance and stable. Must be responsible for lawn mowing and snow removal and major repairs to the exterior. A handsome friendly appearance is highly desired.



A condo seemed to fit the bill! I wouldn't be stuck with having to take care of a yard and I wouldn't have to worry about replacing a roof someday. Early on in my search, I found this great little townhouse! It had three bedrooms, a full bath upstairs, and a half bath down, plus a garage. The closets were huge! I loved the little patio area in front, and it was on a peaceful setting. The location was great too! However, the living room was tiny, the kitchen was a narrow pathway, and there was no back door in case of a fire. However, some unexpected problems in my current home made me reconsider for the time being and postpone my search until spring.





Spring had sprung, and the search continued. There was an Open House ad in the paper for a nice two bedroom condo. The location wasn't quite as great, but it was in a nice neighborhood, and set in the middle of the block on a private drive. The bathroom was nice and big, the kitchen with laundry was a nice size, and there was a very private, shady patio in the back. A bonus was that there was an extra room that condo owners would share that had a murphy bed and half bath which could be used for overnight guests or a small party.

I wanted to check out one more place before I brainstormed over which place was the best fit. These condos were brand spanking new, cute, had a walk in closet in the master bedroom with a door to the large bathroom, and the second bedroom had sliding doors to a patio which you could have screened in or as a three season porch. The tiny square footage was a concern though, but heat would have been very affordable. However, the location wasn't my favorite, but it was near close friends.

So which place would it be? The three bedroom townhouse that the children liked the best? Hmmm, stairs. Being on one floor sounded better and better. Maybe the cute little brick condo. I was leaning toward that one. How about the brand new condos? Nice, but they all looked the same. Everyone called them the McCondos.

And then one day, there was an ad for an Open House in the perfect location. It was near a major recreational facility, was near the schools, and most perfect of all, was on a river! I had always dreamed of living on a body of water, however, those properties are generally not even close to being affordable, but here was a house in a great location and the asking price was well under those of other homes in the neighborhood. I went inside and immediately began my love affair with the perfect house. Like falling in love with another person, it wasn't exactly what I asked for, it wasn't exactly what I imagined, but it felt exactly right. As I walked through the house, it had it all: three bedrooms, one and a half bath, a family room, a living room, and a nice size kitchen with lots of storage. I did not want a big yard, but when I saw it, I knew that this was a yard that could make me fall in love with the outside again. My first view of the river sealed the deal. This was it! Thereafter I began two months of living on pins and needles hoping that I would be approved for financing, and then negotiating my bid. People still don't believe me when I tell them how much I got it for. God must have been pulling some strings big time! I moved in last February, days after the winter's biggest snowfall.

This is my favorite place to sit as soon as it is warm. Last summer I spent hours on my deck gazing at the sky, watching the trees, watching the birds, the bunnies and other wildlife. The warm sun calms me and the gentle winds put me in a state of serenity that I have never felt anywhere else. I live in town, but it feels like the country.

Here is a view of the deck looking toward the river bank. Soon the leaves will obstruct my view.

Here is a picture that my son took from the banks of the river. I wish I could get down the banks, but they are probably 25 feet down and very very steep! I don't think my middle aged pudgy legs can carry me down and back up again! I'll be satisfied with this gorgeous pic for now!


My hopes for all of you are that if you are looking for that perfect home, that you find it! And if you're in a house that you love, cherish it.