Thursday, February 18, 2016

Our Old Buck Stove....

  When we moved here, this buck stove was inserted into the fireplace opening. Honestly this thing has saved us many hundreds of  dollars in heating bills.
   My husband loves it. He loves cutting wood, splitting wood, stacking and carrying wood....not me so much.. I have stacked and carried wood. Filled the wood box at the back door.  Cleaned out the ashes and hauled to the burn ring in the backyard. Doused with water to kill any embers that may be still alive. Dusted to the moon and back and did I mention dusted? You can barely stay on top of the dust.  You can see some dust in this photo. Have I ever told you how much I hate dusting. LOL
   When I talk about  moving back into town, Ted says that Buck stove is going with us. Oh no way mister !!!  That dust producing monster is staying right where it is. If we ever have a fire place again, it will be gas logs.  Well that's my whining for today. :):) Had to get that off my chest. Ha.
   Today is to be somewhat warmer, maybe 40 degrees.  Hope your day is a good one. XO
 

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

St. John's Catholic Church........

   This is our local paper's front page from Saturday.  Our beautiful catholic church is to be dismantled. You can see the brick under the stone coating. This is breaking my heart. This church steeple can be seen for miles as you enter our town.
   Lightening struck the steeple a few years ago. The bell tower caught fire.. the steeple was rebuilt.  I do not know if the lightening cause the structural damage or the all the waters , from heavy rains, or the putting out of the fire, or just some kind of washout at the foundation. maybe a combination of it all.
  We lived 4 blocks from this church on the same street , for many years. Then when I was raising my daughters we lived 3 blocks from here. So this church has been a big part of our lives. Our neighborhood. Our town. It is to be dismantled and all the things saved that can be saved. The pews, the altar, and such. I am not sure if they plan to rebuild...how very sad.
   Wishing all of you well. XO

Monday, February 15, 2016

Happy Presidents' Day....

     Another cold day here in central Indiana. Ten degrees this morning. It will warm up as the days goes on. No mail today, some school aren't having classes. Some government offices are closed.
  Here's honest Abe at the Lincoln Memorial.  I think this may have been our favorite president.  If we rolled all the political presidential candidates into one person, they would not measure up to Lincoln. Too bad . LOL Yikes, do not get me started. 
  We had snowing and blowing yesterday. The total amount of snow was probably an inch, or so. I do not understand why I am so very sick of this winter already. It can go and be history as far as I am concerned. I know I am not the only one that feels this way. Each day I mark off a date to be closer to spring.  Wishing everyone a wonderful day. XO

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Flowers For My Valentines......

           Rose on the rose bush that I am keeping for my daughter Kathy.
         A sweet basket overflowing with pink wave  petunias .
         Great shade of orange in this daisy.
               One rose from Kathy's rose.
             Pale pink roses in the park last year.

        
         Hydrangeas , changing colors as they age.
        Beautiful colored mums in the front flowerbed.
        Bouquet of fake roses, from the grocery store.
         Some sweet violas in a container on the porch, last year.
           Another bouquet from our local grocery.
       Who doesn't love the sweet face of  a  pansy??
       The climbing clematis , a great purple color.   These are some of my flower photos on file. This is a way I can give all my blog friends flowers for Valentine's day.  Hope your day is a sweet one. XO

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Some Sunshine & Cold Temperatures...

   We are having the polar vortex again. Single temperatures, where you can not be out in for a length of time.  You see people scurrying into the grocery and back to their cars.
  The sun was out early then hid for hours with on and off snow. Later in the day the sun came back out. The sky were blue and pretty. This really helps me when it cold out.
  Here's some of my mums . I do not cut them down , so the little birds have places to hide or get in out of the wind. Some times I scare them or they scare me , when I walk by here.
 This is yesterday's sunset. I love seeing it. I know it's not long till spring(36 days) officially...so that makes this cold stuff a little easier to bear.
   Wishing all of you a great Saturday. Hope you get a valentine from a loved one. XO

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Trees In The Park....

   For some reason the city is cutting down the trees in our park. The trees are not diseased. My son-in-law said it was to make the creek cleaner...cleaner??? I don't get it. It the brush on the creek banks that make the creek messy.
  This tree is near the little gravel parking lot. Now there will be no shade on your car.
  Even the walking bridges were blocked off.  No way to get in the park ...of course you could go under the barricade.
  This is looking toward the golf course. All the shade trees are gone from the creek's edge.
  It doesn't look right to me. After all the years of so many trees for shade...who wants to  be in the hot sun the whole time you are at the park.?? I wonder why they didn't just top them.  Some body in our town is really spending the money. Hmmm.
  Today turned out to be a decent afternoon. Sunshine and not as bitter cold...like this morning it was 7 degrees.  Hope your day was a good one. XO

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Around Town & Out Here...

   This is the front of our library, where they have been working on walkways and this raised flowerbed. They have plant some sort of tree or tall plant in this bed. All new bricks except for one row of the old bricks. I am not seeing the pavers they tore up from the old walkways.
  This is the cement statue in front...it was designed by the H.S. art teacher , years ago. It  actually resembles a mom and child reading a book.
  Courthouse/library parking , looking northwest. Saturday's sky was a perfect blue.
  Since our courthouse sits right in the center of town, it's visible from every direction.
  I love that our  town is neat and clean. Low crime also.
 Come spring, the farmer's market will be set up where the vehicles are parked in the distance. I just wanted to show some pictures.
 This is the story of adventure from Saturday. Three trucks drove past our house on Saturday morning at a high speed. One slams on his brakes and backs up just as fast, to the corner field. But not so far I could not see what was happening. I see them let a man out with a rifle. This man squats down with his gun by the power pole. The truck drives off, this man starts walking with his gun closer to my neighbors yard but still across the road.. Well you know what the authorities tell us..if you see something unusual call the law. So I called the sheriff's dept. They say they will send someone out. I go look out and the man is gone. Then I am sweeping the porch after I see the sheriff go down the road. A truck pulls up and says...we are hunting coyotes, thought I'd let you know. I asked him, "hunting coyotes on the road? Where's the fellow with the rifle,?"   He says it was a shot gun.  Then they drive off.
  On my way to town I see that truck on the road parked. So I drive up and ask, "Have you lost something? I see you found the man with the gun. " The fellow says," we have twelve dogs and some are still out." I explain why I called the law and he says  they all understood. I told him I heard the dogs in the woods across from my house. ...I drive off and go into town. Go to the grocery and the library.
  On my way home, I think I won't go the same way home...but I see on the next road that truck is pulled over by the DNR.  I turn back and go the way I went before ..so as not to be involved in any of that.
 I start carrying in my groceries and all three trucks drive by my house and honk their horns and the fellows all wave...The last truck stops and it's two young kids.  I asked if they were old enough to be driving, my gosh.  Well the driver was 24, he said and his little brother was about 13. They had found their dogs. They were sorry they let the fellow out with the gun and not said anything to the people in our area, about what they were doing.
 Now I am not stupid...I know they should never have been on the road walking  with  a gun. This is not an isolated place . I know darn good and well , I was not the only one concerned. There's  a probation officer two houses down and a city policeman lives on the corner. We all look out for each other out here. I'll be honest, I can't for the life of me understand how a group of grown men think they can hunt coyotes on private land, carry guns down the road and drive like they were. Beyond me.  That's my adventure from the weekend.
 Hope your day is a nice one. XO