A Wonderful Time!

Today is Flea Market Day!  There are two of them and we plan to go to both of them.  Of course, we bought things at both of them.  No Christmas presents, but a lot of stuff for us.  I bought a purse.  We both bought some books we had been looking for.  We bought several t-shirts and sweatshirts.  We had such fun!

When we left the Flea Market we stopped back at the Christmas Store.  Jana wanted something for her shelf in her camper.  The Flea Market didn’t have anything, so we just had to go back to the Christmas Store.  She found what she was looking for plus a few other items. I also found a couple of things I couldn’t live without!

While driving around we found this small park that had an old school house on it.  In fact, it had the original school house and a newer one.  It was called Peter’s School.  So we stopped to get a picture.

We again decided to eat mid-afternoon, so the last thing we did that day was supper at the Amish Door.  Another wonderful meal.  Again we ordered from the menu.  This place was located in a beautiful spot where I could get a few pictures.  After eating we went upstairs to their gift shop. Of course, there were a few items we couldn’t live without.

It was then time to head back to the motel so we could get ready to leave in the morning.  Needless to say we had a wonderful time!

We left Friday morning right after breakfast.  We had stopped and filled the gas tank the night before so we could get right on the road.  It took us two trips to get all of our packages from the room to the car – and this was using one of their carts!  We filled the trunk and the backseat.  In fact, we had to stop at home and empty the car before we could pick up the girls.  We were glad to see the girls and they were glad to see us.  Penny talked to me.  Not sure if she was saying she was glad to see me or what.  I’m going with glad to see me.  Mattie was so busy smelling everything she didn’t get excited about Jana until we were home.

For supper we just had sandwiches.  We put a few of our items away, but planned to have a busy day Saturday.  We were tired!

Continuing......

After breakfast on Tuesday morning we headed for the AMISH AND MENNONITE HERITAGE CENTER/BEHALT.  This was a very interesting and informative center.  The first thing we did was take the tour which was given by an Amish man.  It was an oral tour telling us the history of how the Amish and Mennonite religions came to be.  An artist created a 360 degree mural.  It took him fourteen years to paint.  It was beautiful.  There was so much information that it would take years to see and understand everything.  Anyway, we learned a lot.  It took about a half hour for the tour.  One of the things we learned is that in the beginning the Catholics were involved in establishing the Amish religion.  In fact many Catholics became Amish.  After the tour we then watched a fifteen minute film which was also very interesting.  We walked around the museum which is part of the center.  They have several of the original bibles of the Amish which they brought to America.

On the way to the center when we passed the Court House in Berlin, they have on display (outside of course) an original watering trough that was used to water the horses.

I didn’t get any pictures of the Amish or their horses and buggies.  With all the traffic it is just impossible.  In the parking lots for the stores, restaurants, etc.  there are actual hitching posts for the Amish to hitch their horses.  It is really slow going on the roads because of the horses and buggies.  Also, the Amish ride bicycles of which you need to be aware.  All ages ride the bicycles.  And, there are a lot of hills the horses and bicyclists need to navigate.  I would have liked to take some pictures of the area, but there is no place to pull off the road and take pictures.  So, we just have our memories.

When we left the center we drove to Lehmann’s Hardware Store.  This place was fascinating.  It was huge and not like any hardware store I have ever been to.  We actually bought our Christmas cards there.  Looked at a lot of items, but didn’t buy anything else.  It was fun just walking through.

After leaving there we went to lunch at a small hamburger place across the street.

Next stop was Smuckers.  What a neat place.  We bought a lot of “stuff” there.  They even had a lot of cat and dog items there.  So, of course, we bought some of those items for us.  In fact, Jana bought a few things to give me for my birthday.  We left quite a bit of money there also.  Could of spent more, but I controlled myself 😊. 

Tuesday we had supper at Der Dutchman.  Another wonderful Amish meal.  Again, we ordered off the menu instead of the buffet.  Then it was back to the motel to freshen up so we could go to Mass.

Wednesday morning was breakfast at the motel.  Then we were off and shopping.  Our first stop was back to SOL’S.  We picked up a few items that we had a little trouble deciding if we really wanted to buy.  Of course, we bought them and a few other items.  Then we drove back to the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center because I wanted to find out if they had a book explaining the mural.  When we arrived Mark, the gentleman that took us on our tour, was there.  We asked him a few questions and found out more information.  Our grandfather (our mother’s dad) used to tell us he was Pennsylvania Dutch.  I always thought that was a group like the Amish.  However, I found out that it is actually a language that was made up of combined German, Dutch, and few others.  I didn’t buy a book.  Jana also asked him a question that she wanted to ask after the tour but didn’t want to be rude.  The tour included three Amish couples.  Midway through the tour one of their cell phones rang.  We had turned ours off.  The man turned it off, and nothing was said.  Jana asked Mark about that because it was our understanding that Amish don’t carry cell phones.  Mark said he was surprised also, but because they were from Lancaster, PA, they are permitted to have cell phones under certain circumstances. 

We were going to have lunch at an Amish restaurant called Boyd & Wurthman’s, but the line went out the door and down the sidewalk.  We decided to skip that. Instead we decided to wait and eat later in the day, and just have the one meal.  We had snacks at the motel if we got hungry later.  We decided to stop at a fabric/quilt shop that I wanted to see.  The cheapest quilt there was $950 and the most expensive was over $4,000.  Needless to say, I didn’t buy a quilt or anything else.
 

Next we took a drive to the town of Charm to check out a place called Keim Lumber.  Wow, what a place.  Another one of those places that have everything.  I bought a couple of new bird feeders, and Jana bought me a couple new ones for my birthday. 

Driving back from Charm we found a covered bridge.  We stopped so I could take a couple of pictures.  It was also known as the Peace Bridge because this area is where the Amish and Indians would share a meal now and then.

At one point during our driving around in the morning we made a wrong turn.  That was okay because we went through a small town that was having an auction.  The number of Amish and horses and buggies was unbelievable.  It was worth the wrong turn.

Today we ate at CHALET IN THE VALLEY.  This is a German Restaurant, so it was a little different.  However, the meal was wonderful.  In fact, they give you hot pretzels.  We bought a couple to take back to the motel for a snack, and a couple to bring home. 

From there it was back to the motel to rest for the next day.  Thursday is Flea Market Day!

Shopped Until We Dropped!

Yes we did! 

 

Where to begin.  I will start at the beginning.  Seems best, right?  We dropped the girls off at the kennel for their vacation.  In case you don’t remember, the girls are Jana’s dog (Mattie) and my cat (Penny).  NOTE:  They did fine.

Jana and I then headed for Holmes County, Ohio.  We took expressway until we got past Columbus, and eventually we ended up on one of the back roads that go through Amish Country.  It was a beautiful ride.  Took us about four hours to get to the motel.  Would have been less, but we stopped for lunch and potty breaks.  Both necessary stops 😊.

We stayed at a Comfort Inn in Millersburg.  This was one of the nicest motels that I have ever stayed.  The motel served a hot breakfast every morning.  Of course, this was where we ate.  They had scrambled eggs, either bacon or sausage, cereal, fruit, coffee, juice, bagels, cream cheese, waffles, pancakes, and, of course, donuts.  Since the stores didn’t open until nine o’clock, we usually got on the road between eight-thirty and nine.  Didn’t want to miss out on anything!

After checking into the motel on Monday we decided we might as well head out.  We still had a lot of time to do some shopping.  The first thing we did though was find the Catholic Church.  Tuesday was a holyday so we knew we would have to go to Mass.  I had found a church in Millersburg which turned out to be about five minutes from the motel.  I called them and was told their Masses would be at noon and seven o’clock p.m. on Tuesday.  We put their address in the garmin to find the church so we would know where we were going.  We were doing just fine when the garmin told us to turn right on NO NAME STREET.  Now you can imagine what we thought.  How do we find a street with no name.  Well, it turned out that that actual name of the street was NO NAME STREET.  We had a good laugh about that.

From there we went to TIS THE SEASON CHRISTMAS STORE.  It was wonderful.  We spent about two hours there and a lot of money!  We bought a lot of Christmas presents along with a few items for ourselves.  I can't tell you what we bought since some of them were presents.  Next we went to a store called SOL’S.  This place had everything you can imagine.  And, yes, we bought a few items at SOL’S but decided we would come back again later in the week. 

That was the extent of our shopping for Monday.  Our next stop was supper at the FARMSTEAD RESTAURANT.  It was delicious!  Amish cooking, of course.  We decided to order from the menu so we wouldn’t over eat by getting the buffet.  We both enjoyed our meal, and finished it with a piece of pie.  What a way to end the day. 

After eating we went back to the motel, took our purchases to our room, and collapsed.  We knew we would have to rest up for the next day.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Still Busy

Good Morning.  Today is laundry day so I thought it would be a good time to get a few things caught up such as my blog.

So, I will start with Thursday.  I had a morning appointment at Fifth Third Bank to get a few items taken care of.  All went well, except I now have to see a CPA.  The appointment has been made after returning to Jana’s.  Then later in the afternoon Jana and I went to Brian’s house.  I took the family (Brian, Tracy, Bradley, Brianna, Steven, Samantha and Jana) to dinner at Applebee’s.  It was very good and we had a great time.  Great conversation and many laughs.  After eating we returned to Brian’s and visited for a short time then Jana and I headed home.

Friday Jana and I met Arlene (we worked together at Green Township – we are both retired now) for lunch at Nick and Tom’s.  We had a great time.  A lot of talking and laughing.  It had been quite a while since I had visited with Arlene.  Even though we both attended a few GNO’s we didn’t always get to visit because there were so many of us and you usually talked to whoever you were sitting next to.  It turned into a two hour lunch.  Leslie was supposed to join us, but she was not feeling well and had to decline.  We missed her.  Maybe we can try again before I leave.

Friday evening and Saturday Jana did her laundry including bedclothes and towels. We did go to Mass Saturday evening and then ordered pizza for supper. By this time we were ready to relax. 

Miss Penny has a new game.  I brought several of her toys (mice and puff balls) with me.  She decided it was fun to knock the puff balls down the steps, chase after them, carry them back upstairs and do it again.  However, we ended up with quite a few of the balls downstairs which I took back upstairs because we are afraid Mattie will choke on them.  We have also decided Penny has ESP.  Every time I sit down to relax, and pick up my book to read she appears and jumps on my lap.  I guess she just doesn’t like me reading.

I have gotten a little more embroidery done.  I’m not getting very far.  Hopefully, I will finish this project while I am here.

Back to Sunday – yes, I did get my laundry done.  I also got a lot of embroidery done. However, I still have quite a bit to do.  I seem to have a habit of taking on more than I should.  Eventually, I get finished.  We also watched NASCAR.  I am getting tired of Truex winning. 

Monday was a busy day.  I met with, and hired, a CPA to get my taxes straightened out.  Stupid investments.  Once this gets taken care of I will be making some changes.  Then it was on to Walgreen’s to get a couple of prescriptions filled.  Home for lunch and then we went to Barnes and Nobles where I picked up a book I had ordered, and Jana and I each bought several others.  We met the camping group at Frisch’s for supper then headed home.  I was so tired I was in bed a little before ten o’clock.

Tuesday we took Aunt Betty to lunch.  Aunt Betty was married to our Uncle Bill who was our mother’s brother.  He passed away a week after mom.  Aunt Betty is living at Llanfair Assisted Living.  She is doing well, except she said she is lonely.  She will be 92 in August.

That’s about all we did.  Got a few odds and ends accomplished after coming home.  I got a call from my CPA.  He needed more information.  So, I called Renea and she will be sending the paperwork to him on Wednesday morning.  It seems I have created a bigger mess than originally thought.  Oh well.  I have confidence in him getting it straightened out. 

Next blog will be about our trip to Holmes County.

Another Busy Week

Well, I have been here a week, and it sure has been a busy week!  Today is Friday.  This was errands day.  After doing our morning chores our first stop was the bank.  From there we headed to the jeweler’s to pick up Jana’s watch.  She needed a new battery.  While there I had my ears pierced.  I hadn’t been wearing earrings for quite a while and the holes closed.  Dumb me.  Next was Wassler’s Meat Market.  Then Kroger.  After we got home and brought the groceries upstairs, Jana and I both needed a nap. 😊

After being revived we did some reading.  I also started my embroidery project.  Can’t say what it is since it is a Christmas gift.  Penny likes when I embroider because she likes to try and catch the thread.  She has finally made herself at home.  When we first arrived she stayed upstairs most of the time.  Now she goes all over the house.  She even found out how to get on top of the television.  We have to really watch her because Jana’s television is not bolted to the stand.  She gave us a real scare the other morning.  I have mentioned how she climbs on everything.  Well, Jana has a gas stove, and while we were fixing breakfast the teapot was on getting the water hot.  We weren’t paying attention and she jumped up on the stove.  I don’t know who was most scared; Jana, Penny or me.  I grabbed her and put her on the floor.  She walked off like she didn’t have a care in the world.  Meanwhile Jana and I almost had a heart attack.  We stood there shaking.  Now we guard the stove whenever anything is being cooked, etc.  I guard the television.

Mattie guards her toys.  Every time Penny comes downstairs Mattie grabs this one pink toy and runs away with it.  We don’t know why that one toy since she has so many others laying around.  She also guards her bed – Penny has never gotten into it, just smelled it.  Penny does play in Mattie’ water.  They are very entertaining.  They chase each other everywhere. 

Jana and I decided that Saturday would be a day of rest.  We have a busy week coming up next week so we decided we needed to recharge.  Of course, the girls had other ideas.  They were crazier than normal.  They chased each other from one end of the house to the other, including up and down the stairs.  We can only hope that this means they will sleep better tonight. 

I did some embroidery this afternoon.  My biggest problem was Penny jumping on my lap while embroidering.  She never does this at home.  There she just tries to play with the thread.  We watched some NASCAR.  Went to Mass.  Then went to Skyline for supper.  After we got home we decided to sit outside for a while since it was so nice. 

Sunday was another lazy day.  We have to rest on the weekends so we can get through our busy week.  Monday we went to Barnes and Nobles to pick up the books we ordered. Of course, we also bought a few new ones.  Next was Frisch’s where we met with the “camping” group.  Everyone was there and we had a great time.  Tuesday Jana took Mattie to the groomers for her bath and pedicure.  While she was there we went to Shoe Carnival, and did not find anything.  So, we left there and went to Kohl’s where we did find a few items.  I bought two shirts and several pairs of new earrings.  Jana bought a new purse.  All things we couldn’t do without.  After picking up Mattie we went home.  Didn’t do much the rest of the day.

Wednesday we met our friend Ginger at Cheddar’s.  We had a really fun time.  Ginger went to school with Jana.  She lived up the street from where we lived when we were growing up.  We have all kept in touch through email, facebook and blogs.  We had such a good time that we set a date to get together again while I am here.  We actually spent almost two hours in Cheddars visiting.  When we left there Jana and I went to Half Price Books and turned in several bags and boxes of books.  We didn’t plan to buy any books.  We were just going to take our money and leave.  However, we made the mistake of walking around to see what they had.  We both bought a couple of books that we knew we just couldn’t live without.   😊  On the way home we stopped at Walgreen’s so I could refill a prescription.  We will pick that up tomorrow.  After that we headed home and called it a day.