March 5, 2020

Not much going on. Just tired of the winter.  It is almost over. Thanks to God for getting me through it.  Everything seems to be pretty quiet around here. Happy about that.  So I will have to wait to see if I can come up with some news in the near future.

Well, canceled going to bowling today as I have a minor surgery on Friday . So just to stay away from any thing out there I decided to just stay home until I have the procedure. You just can’t be to cautious. When you get almost as old as the ground you walk on.

Sure will be glad when the weather breaks and I can get outside to clean up.  Finally the weather is getting nicer.  Well hopefully things will get better in the outside world. The corona virus doesn’t seem too bad in our area. Although Kentucky does have I believe 4 cases.  It’s around the Lexington area. 

They can keep it . Have no desire to have a run in with it.

On a brighter note, Candy and Donna came over on Saturday. They had the little sweetie Emma with them. My goodness she is such a cutie.  Growing too fast. Eleven years old and smart as a whip. She said she wasn’t grounded at the moment.  I told her that was fantastic. She was telling us what she could do once not being grounded.  I said “it’s more fun to not being grounded isn’t it”? She said yes. I told her especially in the warmer weather.  When you can do a lot of things.  Candy said yeah like swimming. 😃.

April 1 2020

Gee no one around to pull an April fools joke on me.
The virus was ramping since March. But good news today it is slowing down a little. So happy and proud of our Governor. He was fast on getting things in place. It is saving lives.  As of today we have 1149 cases, 65 deaths in the state. So the stay in place is working .

 Went outside and did some cleaning out of the flower beds. It sure felt good getting out there. Some of the flowers didn't come back. I think they were trampled down.. But I will try to get more later. Not going to worry too much about the things that need to be replaced.  The main thing was cleaning out the dead stuff so the plants that are coming back come up strong.

Well we just got a tornado watch.  Suppose to be in effect for 6 and a half hours. I just looked outside and it looks beautiful out there. Oh well guess I will get this done for now so until the next time stay safe at home.

April 29 2020

Well here we are still in lock down, not much to write about when you can't get out in the world. To be honest I don't want to go out there. People just aren't wearing the mask. Some are wearing them. I read where someone had said about people walking around looking silly in the mask. Who give two sheets to the wind how silly you look if it is going to protect them or you.

You know I don’t like to bring up anything about religion or politics.  They are a few every once in a while that do. They most certainly have a right. But that doesn’t mean that I will go along with it. I some times feel like they are trying to tell me something. I wonder what that could be at times.  All I can say is I have lived a long time.  We have had good and bad throughout our history of politicians. There were some that done better on both sides.  Yes and most of you  know where I stand.  That is that every one should be treated equal and have a chance to live a good life. I don’t care what your nationality is or where you came from.  I believe you have to work and respect the law of the land . You don’t have a right to threaten people. We have always been a country to help people.  We are smart and have come a long way. We elect who the people choose. We should respect one another’s choices. I am for anyone that will help the working family.  I don’t care what side it is.   So I don’t care about why you are going to be a democrat today or a republican tomorrow. That is your choice.  The president said immediately that he wanted the stimulus to be given out to the American people due to the economy dropping into hell.  So be it.

     Lots of love....

             MOM

February 2020

Well, a new month!  Can’t complain about January! It was almost perfect. I will take a January we just went through any day. Compared to what we normally have... all the brutally cold sub-zero weather.  No thank you. I love cold weather, but it is getting harder to take. But anyway, with that out of the way I won’t mention it again.

Candy with Marina

My daughter Candy and Donna lost their beloved pet Marina last month. It was so tragic for them. I just hate to bring it up even now almost a month later. She was a wonderful pet. Very well-behaved and very smart.  It is so hard to lose a fur baby.  She will now be playing with all the other past pets that have gone on before her. She will be herding them up for a game of frisbee, which she loved from what Candy has told me.  Have fun Marina keep everyone in line and RIP little one. You will be missed.

Well, we did have a few things going on this month. Thought my brother Sonny was going to have to have knee replacement. But good news is he may have to just have a partial.  Doctor wants to see if he can just do the shot to see how it works.  Then if it doesn’t he will do the partial replacement . That won’t be as hard on him. He has Atri Fib. But they say he is ok to do the operation.  It only takes 8-10 days to recover from a partial. Where the full replacement would take 2 -3 months.

LaVella came over yesterday. She helped me do some moving things around. Some times when you move things around it just seems to make a big difference. I had my computer in the back room that I used for an office.  I really didn’t like being in that room. It felt like I was a mile away from every thing.  So now I put my treadmill in there with the Bemer Therapy mat. I like it . What a difference it makes.

I told LaVella I just have too much stuff.. she said what would you get rid of?  I looked around the place and then looked at her and said, Nothing. LOL! She said, I know that’s why I have a third of your basement with my stuff in it. LOL! The Apple doesn’t fall from the tree.😂.

Not a lot going on at this time. Just can’t wait for the spring to get here. Waiting for the flowers to start coming up.  Need to clean out the flower beds as soon as the weather breaks.  They say the ground hog didn’t see his shadow so we are going to have an early spring. I will have to see if that happens.

 My Son Jess came over yesterday. LaVella, Sonny and I all had a great time with him. Of course we gave him a hard way to go. He went to lunch with us. He proceeded to tell me why I can’t see very well.  He said I keep the house too dark. What he has to realize is, I have Fuchs Dystrophy. And the bright light blinds me. I have to keep the rooms rather dark. If you don’t know what that condition is, it is the flaking of the Cornea.  It can cause blindness if it gets really bad. Some people have Cornea transplant. But I would not do that.  Mine has had a resting period and I am certainly happy about that. So with the grace of God hopefully it won’t progress. I will just take one step at a time as far as that is concerned. My eyes have changed since my last exam. So that is the next thing Sonny and I have to do. Get eye appointments.

So, I guess that's about it for this month.
Until next time.
Love to all.

A New Year 2020

January 22, 2020

Oh my, look at the date and year.  It just simply amazes me to think I was born in December of 1930 and I am still around.  Not only am I around, but on my paternal side, I have an Aunt and a cousin who are, I believe, going to be 92 this year. On my maternal side, my cousin Bob is going to be 92. His sister Norma is, I believe, 87. We are so blessed, as my brothers Sonny is 87 and Dal is 86 years.  All are doing as well as can be expected. This is very remarkable. I am not complaining at all. I relish the idea of getting to see my Great grandchildren grow into young adults. Marcus is 18 and almost out of High school. Very excited that I can see him mature and grow. When I went to California to see him when he was four months old, my thoughts were, will I see him become a Young Adult?  No not really. But look, here I am. AMAZING!  Enough said.

Now, it's the beginning of a New Year. But the ending of the old year was again the saddest for the Family. We lost our Barb. It was so shocking to us as we most certainly didn’t see this coming. It breaks my heart to think about it.  But she is with the loved ones that had gone before her. RIP  sweetie. You will always be in our hearts.  You were not supposed to do this. I had told you many times I was to go before you. She was special to me in so many ways... thanks to God for giving me the chance to be her Aunt. I am very blessed.

My brother Dal had an issue with his one and only kidney.  He was in the hospital for a while. But he is doing better. No longer driving. But he is coping with his problem. He has COPD which he does his treatment for, but all in all, hopefully, he will gain his strength back and be able to get around a little better. He just needs to keep up on daily maintenance breathing treatments.  That job he had in the paint department at General Motors did a number on his lungs. He has a good life and Marian gives him a nice home to live in and oversees his daily needs.

What do people do without Family? I am hoping that the younger generation grows and sees how important it is for family to be close and love each other enough to be around the elderly. I'm including myself in this.  We all grow old and believe me when I say ”it is not fun to get old”.
When you get to the point you can’t do things for yourself, it is just plain horrible.  I was taught to fend for myself. If I wanted something, I worked to get it. If something needed fixed, I did it. Now all I hear is, you can pay to have someone do it. They can deliver your groceries. You can Uber. How in the world do you save for bad times paying everyone to do everything for you. Yes, I can pay someone to take me and do things for me. BUT I WAS BROUGHT UP TO DO FOR MYSELF. Times were hard back then. I had a sewing machine. I made most of my clothes. I even made winter coats for my kids when they were young.  I am almost done. Just hang in there.

 So my Son Jess turned 65 in July. My daughter Carol turned 61 in October. My Son Gary turned 68 in November.  So here we are in 2020. Candy turned 54 this month. LaVella turned 63 this month. How in the world did I survive this. I’ll never understand. I just wish my sweet Mom could have been around this long for me to enjoy her. She was my foundation to this long life I am living.  I know my Dad's family contributed some longevity in it and that helped. But, I believe, it's the way and things that I was taught to do and rules to live by that got me here to this date in time.

 I love all who read this and hope your lives are filled with the love I have had my whole life.
Also love the ones that don’t. Just sayin!

Barb. . . You know who I am to you😍

My Woes of Summer, August 2019

Hi Everyone,

It has been awhile since I have done one of these. There comes a time in your life that you feel this is just too much fun.  I have been too busy to even think of writing. In all reality, I did it because I thought it might be fun. The only way you can get a word in is when no one is around.  Oh, well! 

I’ve really been busy around the house and the yard since moving in here. The yard had vines, bushes and all kinds of weeds. There were hedges across the one part of the side of the house. . . Sonny and I took care of those, they are now gone. I couldn't get out there to trim them on that hill so I told the brother out they go.  

When we got to the front side under the window boxes we had a lot of thorny bushes and they were just too much.  Why anyone would want to put something like that in front and under window boxes sure puzzles me.  We left the holly bushes, they are so pretty. Still have an ugly rose bush on the end near the driveway. That will go by the fall.  

We had some dead trees that needed to be taken down. They were rotted and in very bad condition. The problem was I didn't know if they were mine or the neighbors’. So I had the land surveyed. No kidding, the vines were so bad in the yard you couldn't get a true look at where the property line was.  So we eye-balled it and I got a company to come in and cut down the three rotted trees.  Unfortunately, my next door neighbor at the time, wasn't a very friendly person. When she saw I had those trees cut down she blew a gasket, so to speak. Her uncle owned the place and you would have thought I had murdered someone. She even called the police on me. The policeman came down and he informed her, “Well, I think you might want to check and see if the trees are on her property as she has stakes out there." She came up and began  looking around, mumbling to herself. So I went out to talk to her. Now I had lived here for a year and she had never even looked at me one time in that year. She had the nerve to say I should have told her I was cutting down her trees. Or I should have discussed it with her.  Bull... they are My trees and I don't have to ask anyone’s permission. So after the men cut down the trees I had noticed that they were infested with termites. So I poured two gallons of stuff on the  place where the trees were to kill the termites. And I treated all-around the house on that side. My place had been treated but I wanted to make sure they didn't come my way. 

The Gentleman that owned the place was getting it ready to sell and his niece moved. Good luck to her new Neighbors. He even helped get some of the weeds and vines that were so thick and trimmed them out for me. A very nice man. I told him the trees that were cut down were infested with the termites and I did do a treatment on them but he needed to follow up on it. Well after the weeds were gone the one tree that was the worse was on his property. He didn't seem to mind as it saved him two hundred dollars. He has sold the house to a young couple.  Never see them either.  Anyway then I had a fence put up and now we,  along with LaVella, have put in flowers and fixed it all up. It took us two summers and a half to get to the point where we are. The Man that owned this place was a pilot and not around much I guess and the place was overridden with a lot of weeds and vines. 

All in all, it was fun getting it cleared out and then fixing everything the way we like. Had lots of people say how nice the yard and flowers look. . It is a job keeping up. Especially the weeding. Next year I am putting on eight inches of mulch. Well, I guess that's about it for this time. 
Hope you enjoy reading about my woes.

Hugs to all! 
You know who I am.
JIC.... Barbara R Fichtel 

August 2017- Another Day and Month!

 Hmmm, where do I begin? All of a sudden my mind goes blank.  There's so much going on up there hard to think straight some times.

This is going to be a busy month.  Lots of company coming into town.  We are going to celebrate my daughter Candace's Wedding (Commitment) to her Partner Donna.  Things are moving along. This week is the week. Have the rehearsal Dinner on Friday. Thank God, I will have my girls here to do that with me. I can't drive at night so that is where they come in. I also love the support they give me. I am not a person that is really a social bug. I am very much an introvert when it come to people outside my lovely family. I try but I guess it is just a cautious thing with me. In my life I have always minded my own business and stayed in the background. That was taking care of my family, my children. I also tried to stay away from things and people until I completely knew who and what they were about.

I had a job as HR in the work field.  Believe me, the job was very hard for me. To do a job in that field was challenging.  Of course I had to do a lot, like scheduling, time cards and other things. Hiring, firing and making sure every department was covered. But the most important thing about the job was keeping good work relations between management and employees. It was a very involved job with too much to even put down.  I loved it, as it gave me a chance to prove to myself, I had the ability to do services in that field.  The first job I had with the company was a cashier. Then I went into the Advertising dept. Making very sure that everything in the ad was available for the sale. If not, I had to call stores to see if they had extras.  If they did, I had to make sure they could get the merchandise to our store. I would sometimes have to go pick things up at warehouses.  The  floor displays had to be checked to make sure they were in the right places.  If three stores out of four had the product in stock, they would still run the ad. The only reason they wouldn't have the merchandise is because the assistant managers would not put a hold on it for the ads. They would have special "Blue Light Specials" sales, trying to get the sales up.  Of course they would use it if it wasn't  marked for a sale. But it was a fun job.  Then when the HR position became available in our store in Cherry Grove, I turned it down until one opened up in Northern Ky. That is how I moved to this area. But enough about my former employment.

My 2nd cousin, Bobby Ochs that lives in California, dropped in for a visit. He is the son of my cousin Bob who is now 89 years old and from what I hear he is doing well.  He was having some problems, but since he had the pacemaker placed in, he is doing much better.  It is great news to hear he is doing so well. I haven't talk to him since last year. So I am going to have to put that on the list!

Christina, Aunt Pearl & Norma on Cook St.

So, back in the day.......On weekends, as I had said before, we would go to Aunt Alice's house.  That was always so much fun. Of course every time we would go, Christine and I would have to make the beds, clean the dishes and dry them and sweep the floors. Where were the grown ups, you ask? Well, by the time we got up, took our baths and ate breakfast, it was afternoon. So, they would have us stay there and do the cleanup wile they could go to the neighborhood bar. The time frame, I can remember, was when they lived on Cook St, on the third floor. That was fun. We had to climb the steps up. The best part was sliding down the big banisters coming down.  We would get in trouble if we were caught. But they would already be at the bar! So who knew? Not they.

Christina and I would make a game out of everything we did.  To make the beds, we would kneel on it, put our heads down on the bed, put our hands behind our backs.  Now the rule was, if you fell over you had to make the bed.  We would be there for ten to fifteen minutes to see who would fall over first. Most the time it was me, as I was not the most balanced kid in the world. So, I would end up making that bed. Or I would try to wiggle while kneeling to make her fall. So that bed being done by me, we would go to the next one. Then the dishes. Dishes were easy to wash because we put them in the water and then you wash. Well, drying was terrible. You had to put them away. So, of course the rule was if you had to make the extra bed, (there were three, one was a fold away bed) you had to dry the dishes. So of course, I had to dry most of the time.  I always thought to myself,  I wish I was as big her so I could win.  She was two years older than me.

On top of that, we had to keep an eye on the boys. Well, they would disappear.... and go outside. Then Christina would bring them in and tie them on a chair, so they couldn't go out! Sonny would chew the rope or rag, whatever it was she used tie him, and he'd get loose. He would sneak out after loosening the tie on Dal.  It was always taking us so long that, by then, it was time for dinner. So then we would take turns on dishwashing, as the parents were around and they wouldn't stand for monkey business.  When we finished, they would give us money to go get candy. Now that I think about it. The only fun about it was being able to see Christina and playing our games. Hide and seek, kick the can,  and hopscotch.  She had a friend that lived in the building on the second floor . Her name was Virginia Cook.

Uncle Charley & Butch on Marshall

Then after a time they moved to Marshall Ave. There was a neighborhood bar on each end of her block. One corner was Spring Grove Ave and the other was Colerain Ave, the house was in the middle. There we got to go to the movies after our chores.

Aunt Alice had to get Christina a perm in her hair as she had straight hair.  So I was there and I went with them while they did her Perm and I told Aunt Alice I wanted a one too.  She said you don't need one. I told her I did too need one. So I begged her and she got me one. WELL! When my Mom saw it she threw a fit. Her and Aunt Alice got in an argument over it. I told Mom,  "I told her you wouldn't care."  So that was the one and only time I ever had a permanent in my life.  I didn't need a perm.  I have natural curly hair. But it looked like fun with all those wire things sticking out of your head. Yeah, we had some good times and some bad, but it was fun just spending time with my cousin.  Even after she married and started having children I would go over and see her. Then when I started with my family, we would go to her house. Ben was working at Proctor & Gamble and he would have samples of stuff he would give me.  He was such a kind man. Always had a good time when we would go see them.  Of course, I would have to go home and clean my house. It looked like a Tornado had hit it when trying to get four kids ready to take a day trip to the farm.  The kids all had good times together. They still do to this day.  Sure do miss that special lady. The best part of it all was she was a stay at home Mom and so was I.  That was before the kids started school and we could just put them in the car and go. Then after the school thing started we would go out on a weekend. But not as often.  Those were the good ole days.  As time went by we did keep in touch by phone or when family's got together.  One thing that came from it is the kids don't get together as often,  they however are in touch with each other at times through social media. Beth, the youngest, has a 4th of July  gathering every year and one of mine are most always there.  People are so much more busier than in the day.

So, that is my memories for this time.
Well, I hope you enjoy my babbling . . .
Hugs to all!

July 2017

Where do I start?

It was a very busy start of the new month.  Grandson Greg and family came in from California.  My niece, Barb and family came in from Florida. Was a good time for all.  We had a few hairy moments. My family from Florida had some car issues that arose just when they were getting ready to leave for home. But, all turned out well as it was only a battery.  They do need to be replaced every four years.  The problem was they had it for only two.  It was a defective one. But as I said, got a new one and all was good.

Crazy kind of weather we are having.  Lots of rain. Lots of heat. But what do we expect? It is summer in the Ohio Valley. We need the rain. It seems like we aren't getting enough. But we do live in the hills of northern Ky so what do we expect. Very good drainage.

I've been sitting here thinking about my youth and past. I have had the pleasure of a long life so far.  I might add also, I've gone through many changes in the way we live and do things.  Plus my own unique things I have done along the way.  At least to me, they were unique, I mean. The things that go through your mind are really amazing when you are young.

Uncle Bob Ochs

Most memorable are the times my mother's brother, Uncle Bob, would either come pick us up or meet us at the end of the bus line to spend the day on his farm. It was so much fun. All I really can remember was all the animals and how much fun it was to be there. Before they moved to the farm, I remember going to their house when they lived on Blue Rock St. in Northside. But that was like being at home, as it was still in the city.  We didn't live too far from them . We lived on Colerain Ave.  Now, this is going back to around 1936 when we visited them on Blue Rock. All I really remember is sitting on their front steps and doing what kids do. We had to behave ourselves as we were visiting family.  But out on the farm it was fun to see how everyone interacted with the animals.  They had chickens, pigs, I think a cow or two, a goat and a horse. I remember chickens because Uncle Bob would sell eggs. I remember pigs because my cousin Bobby would go pick up one of the piglets and the old sow would chase him. The piglet would squeal and here she'd  come after him.  He would have to jump over the fence. We thought that was funny. I also remember  the horse they had. For some reason it seemed, I remember Aunt Pearl saying every time she would wear her red blouse the horse would come after her. She would run in the house to get away from it. We were there once when he did. I can remember that like it was yesterday. So if any of the family can remember that please verify.  Also, Norma (my cousin) had a goat named Rosie, I believe.  They would tie her with a rope on a tree.  She would just walk around eating grass. Just enjoying what a goat does.  One time we were there Christy (her brother) went out and chased her until she had wrapped herself around the tree. Then laughed like the mischievious boy he was.  Norma would yell, "He is doing it again! Christy chased  Rosie and she is all wrapped around the tree."  We just played and enjoyed the farm so much.

The older boys (Bobby and Christy) would get my two younger brothers Dal and Sonny and tease the heck out of them. They would toss them around like a rag.  Run up behind them and pulled there pants down. They would laugh at them. I think they just loved the attention.  My memories of Uncle Bob and Aunt Pearl will be with me until the end. Such fond memories.  Love the Ochs family.  I have fond  Memories of Bobby, Christy, Billy (WOO) and Norma.  Those that had gone before us have been truly missed.

Oh how I miss my uncle Bob. He was the greatest man on the face of the earth.  We never had much but we certainly had love from the family.  My uncle was the one that brought baskets of food for holidays or any time Mom needed anything. He loved all his sisters.  Never missed coming to see us or doing what he could.  That bonding with my Moms side of the family was so critical in my life. It taught me how to love and do for your family when needed. Keeping close contact is so important to me.  All the family was like that. After we all grew up and married and had our families we still kept in touch.

Aunt Alice's family was also very important to me. My cousin Christine and I were together a LOT. I loved her so much. We had so much fun together. But that will be the next memory.

So until next time,
Love to all!

Things that are coming!

Hi Everybody,

Well, LaVella and I worked together trying to get this organized. Of course she did it and I sat on iChat with her supporting her. But I will be doing the blogs. Now, mind you, I am in no way a writer . So what goes down in here is going to be coming straight from my mind.  I know. Oh Lord, what are we in for?

Let me begin with, who ever said, "If you have the means you can get any thing done you need."?  Well, that is not true. I have had a time trying to get a dependable lawn service.  Have a new service starting in the morning. Hopefully they will be dependable. So wish me luck with this one.

Since I have moved into the new place it has been quite an interesting road to go down.  Taking a while to get every thing in it's place and making a place for everything. It is coming along. Just a little harder being the age I am. But really my age has never stopped me before to do what I want. Health is good with me and my brother. Both are doing good. The only thing worth noting is I will be getting knee replacement. I have done all the therapy to try and hold off on it, but it is not working. So in due time I will set it up and get on with it.

I did, finally, get a surveyor to come to the house to put stakes on my boundaries. It had some markers but not marked to the true lines. So happy that is done. Need to go to the Home Depot and put in some spikes to mark the lines for future needs. You never know when you will need the info in the future.

Had to go to the Mall today to get my one ear lobe re-pierced as it closed up on me. I went to the place to have it done and as I sat down my brother said, "I am leaving".  The girl in the place laughed. I said, "Yeah he passes out at the site of just about any thing that might hurt." By the time he
got ready to leave she already had it pierced. 😀. That was so funny. She said, "See, it is done and she didn't even flinch."

So, now that my grass is getting cut and  my ear is re-pierced, I am ready to get the house cleaned for all the company I am going to have starting this Friday. My Carol is coming in on Friday. Greg will be here on Saturday to see her with the Family. Then she will leave on Saturday late afternoon. Then my niece from Florida will be in late Saturday evening with the family. So a busy week next week. I love busy weeks when it involves having family.  I am ready to have them and enjoy their company!

Another month is about to be over. July will be fairly busy.  I have had some requests from my daughter to do some blogs about my life. Things I did and places I went. Well, I never went to many places. I think I made two trips. One was a short trip and the other was a rather long one.  I think about three months.  I did a lot of hanging out at home but certainly had a lot of friends to do things with. I had a great childhood. We weren't rich by any means but we're were loved that is for sure.  So as time goes by, I may put some of my life experiences in here. May not be interesting to some. But others might like it. Then maybe I can get some of the rumors cleared up that have been going around for years. Just a little "exaggeration" in a joking way. But know this I am who I am and it doesn't bother me at all what people say. But get the story straight. 😀 We didn't have electronics to keep us busy. So we had to do things that we enjoyed and really liked to do.  So until the next time stay safe, keep healthy.

Love to all, God Bless

New Blog Site

   
  Well, had a post and it disappeared.  It was the one What'd you Say?  Not to worry didn't want it on the web so everyone in the United States could see it. So we are testing this one and will see how it goes. When it is finished we will be sure to let you know where it can be found.

Hugs to All,
Barb

Holiday Fun!

        Well, another New Year and hoping for a better one! December 2014 was a pretty busy month, with the holiday’s and all. Put the tree up, wasn’t going to, but I was reminded it was tradition. Which is true. My Mom had her tree up every year regardless of how she was feeling. It was great having those of you that could be here with me and I’m glad we have video with those that couldn’t be here, great to be able to do that! That meant we went to Texas for Gabe testing his new Roller Skates. California for Christmas presents opening. Enjoyed hearing the excitement in their voices when opening them! Also visited Florida for a chat with LaVella! Those of you that couldn’t make it that were sick, sorry you all were feeling bad. I did make sure they had some food sent to them. Didn’t want them to miss out on everything. It was a very busy day!

Went to a Christmas Play with Emily and her Dad, his wife Paula and her Sisters, Brother Josh and wife. Emily had us all for dinner at her house, then off to the play. Was a very good meal. Mike and I got separated from them as we took the elevator up to the 2^nd floor balcony. They ended up on the 3rd floor. But all was ok. By taking the elevator we got real good seat in the Handicap area. A lady came over and took off the towel and said, “These are available.” I told Mike we will never find them, the seats are good . So we sat and had a good view and had fun. Thank you Mike for making the evening easy for me! Even though you poked my sore arm all evening. LOL!!

Carol fixed Christmas dinner and really dirtied up my stove. Never had grease run down the front of it until that day. We laughed so hard. I told her “you are sabotaging my stove.” She did get it cleaned so it would set off any more smoke alarms. Thank you, Carol! It was so much fun doing that with her. The dinner was great.

Izzy , Crystal’s little one, was having a great time . She, by the way, had the most attention. She had all the adults making over her. Falling in love with her as she is so cute in her reactions to things. What a cutie she is. Oh, and for Christmas, I received group photos of all the great-grandchildren together. Loved that. As you all know I am a lover of pictures and taking them. All in all Christmas was fun.

Then came the New Year! We’re off to a great start!

New Year: Day 1
My sewer line backed up. Had it fixed.
Candy called said, “Happy  ****  New Year!”
Well, after that . . .

New Year: Day 3
I went to the basement, the toilet down there was stopped up. So by the 6^th of January everything is fine. Man, great start for the New Year. So, I am saying, well, it is an older home things like this happen. Just to make me feel better. It did. So presently we are just fine at the homestead.

Almost. Now we are coping with this frigid weather. Which, really, let’s face it. It’s January. We have had a very good string of good days. Warm then cold. Warm then cold. Not really bad. So I am taking it in stride and going to deal with it, as I have no choice.

Well, that is it for this month. Have a great New Year and enjoy life. You are always in my thoughts and in my heart.

Love to all, 

Mom, Barb, Auntie , Friend.

Happenings in 2014

Happenings in 2014

Emma Jo, Gabe & Mischa. Photo by Keith Bates

In July 2014 the BB Riverboats had a cruise up the river to Coney Island. The anual event is called The LaRosa’s Hot and Cold Air Balloon Glow. They served dinner and cruised up to Coney Island, then let everyone off the boat to enjoy the beautiful hot and cold Air Balloons that were being displayed. The little ones enjoyed the rides and fireworks. Then we had a cruise back down the river to Newport to the Port of the Cincinnati Belle. What a glorious time it was. Keith, Jenni and Gabe were here on vacation and we thoroughly enjoyed having them here for the cruise.

We had a few loved ones leave us this year. My children lost their Father to cancer. One of my cousins, 2x removed on my Dad’s side of the family, lost her 16 yr old Grandson. Two months later she lost her son. What a tragic time for her. Life is so precious and you just never know when it is going to be taken away from you. My cousin Marcella, who lives in Harrison Ohio, called me to tell me about it. She is 86 yrs old and still does a lot of things around her home. She always says, “Barb you and I are so much alike. We want something done we do it ourselves.” She has the cutest giggle when she laughs. She has the warmest heart I have ever known. She has two sons. One son lives with her. He now has a few health issues and she is right there taking care of him. Supporting him through it all! Bless her!

We also had a celebration for Emily. Mike popped the question!

Of course she said, “YES!”, so the race began for her to get a dress. That was so great to see her trying on the dresses. Then they’d say, “How do you like this one Grandma?” Well, how can you say you look beautiful when you are choking back tears because she was gorgeous in it? She stood there with little birdcage hat and that dress, all I could do was just look. Wanting to just cry because I loved it on her. She is going to be a beautiful bride. More on this later as the wedding is in late spring 2015!

As I mentioned before, Greg, Sarah and the children came in on Thanksgiving this year. They came over the day after and we had a great visit. Emily was here. Emily and Sarah talked about the wedding and girl things. Greg and I talked technology things. Hahaha! That’s what we do. Since all my family works in theTechnology world what else would you talk about? LOL. Greg calls me his techie Grandma. You know you just have to keep up with the new stuff. Anyway, Sarah decided to have Zillah’s birthday party on the 6^thsince they were in town. That way we could all enjoy it with her. She was turning 4 yrs old. It was so cute, every present she opened she would say, “Oh that is just what I wanted.” She is so cute.

I video chat with Gabe (Gary’s grandson (my great-grand son) who is in Texas, on his birthday. It was so cute. He said, “I am in Richardson.” He was cute. So, I told him I was in Kentucky. He thought a moment and shook his head yes. He knew where I lived. He is getting so big like all the rest of the great-grandchildren. Gabe is full of life. I love seeing him interact with Gary. He is like a little Chameleon when he is around Keith, you can see Keith.

Went to Cross Roads Church Last Night,  12/22/14 to see a Christmas Play. It was Fantastic. Really had a fun time with Mike, he made sure I got to the elevator and was placed in a seat safely. The only thing was he kept poking my arm all evening! Not really, but it was fun. Throughly enjoyed his company. Thank you Mike.

Well, Sonny and I went down to iHop for breakfast Dec 23 2014. When you go to iHop they give you a receipt for you to do a survey online. Then they give you a code to write down. You get a small stack of pancakes for doing the survey, it’s a good thing. Well, the waiter we had is a person with high anxieties. I don’t think he knew which end was up or down. To make this short. By the time we had our food served we had enough food for four people. He had the orders mixed or something. Ended up bringing home a small stack of pancakes and a senior rise and shine breakfast. I think they had eight slices of bacon on two egg orders. He put them down and I said, “No,  . . . that”, and before I could answer he said; “Its Free. Its free.” Now a couple across the way from us was laughing so hard. When they left they said the same thing happened to them. The poor waiter was having a very bad morning. He said, “You could ask for me if you want, the next time you come in.” Now, I don’t know if he wants to wait on us or not. Could be he wants to retrieve some extra money in tips to make up for the mistakes he made. I did leave him a good tip. I gave him the tip with the bill money. Sonny said he was up at the register holding his head trying to figure out why we gave him so much money. We gave him the right change for the bill and the tip with it. After five minutes he came back and said you gave me too much money. I couldn’t figure out why I had so much. So I told him the extra money was his tip. His face was red. The poor guy just was having a bad day. So when he saw how much the tip was he proceeded to tell me we could ask for him the next time. I early felt sorry for the guy. He gave me the receipt and said to be sure to do the survey for another free stack of pancakes. I said I sure will. Thank you and Have a Merry Christmas.

After the holidays and ending of 2014 a New Year begins 2015, hopefully a better year than the last. But the last story was a winner for the year. God bless you all and please have a very Merry Christmas. A blessed New Year!

Love to all!

Barb

Ending 2014 - Barb

2014 – HAPPENINGS

Emma Jo, Gabe & Mischa. Photo by Keith Bates

In July 2014 the BB Riverboats had a cruise up the river to Coney Island. The anual event is called The LaRosa’s Hot and Cold Air Balloon Glow. They served dinner and cruised up to Coney Island, then let everyone off the boat to enjoy the beautiful hot and cold Air Balloons that were being displayed. The little ones enjoyed the rides and fireworks. Then we had a cruise back down the river to Newport to the Port of the Cincinnati Belle. What a glorious time it was. Keith, Jenni and Gabe were here on vacation and we thoroughly enjoyed having them here for the cruise.

We had a few loved ones leave us this year. My children lost their Father to cancer. One of my cousins, 2x removed on my Dad’s side of the family, lost her 16 yr old Grandson. Two months later she lost her son. What a tragic time for her. Life is so precious and you just never know when it is going to be taken away from you. My cousin Marcella, who lives in Harrison Ohio, called me to tell me about it. She is 86 yrs old and still does a lot of things around her home. She always says, “Barb you and I are so much alike. We want something done we do it ourselves.” She has the cutest giggle when she laughs. She has the warmest heart I have ever known. She has two sons. One son lives with her. He now has a few health issues and she is right there taking care of him. Supporting him through it all! Bless her!

We also had a celebration for Emily. Mike popped the question!

Of course she said, “YES!”, so the race began for her to get a dress. That was so great to see her trying on the dresses. Then they’d say, “How do you like this one Grandma?” Well, how can you say you look beautiful when you are choking back tears because she was gorgeous in it? She stood there with little birdcage hat and that dress, all I could do was just look. Wanting to just cry because I loved it on her. She is going to be a beautiful bride. More on this later as the wedding is in late spring 2015!

As I mentioned before, Greg, Sarah and the children came in on Thanksgiving this year. They came over the day after and we had a great visit. Emily was here. Emily and Sarah talked about the wedding and girl things. Greg and I talked technology things. Hahaha! That’s what we do. Since all my family works in theTechnology world what else would you talk about? LOL. Greg calls me his techie Grandma. You know you just have to keep up with the new stuff. Anyway, Sarah decided to have Zillah’s birthday party on the 6^thsince they were in town. That way we could all enjoy it with her. She was turning 4 yrs old. It was so cute, every present she opened she would say, “Oh that is just what I wanted.” She is so cute.

I video chat with Gabe (Gary’s grandson (my great-grand son) who is in Texas, on his birthday. It was so cute. He said, “I am in Richardson.” He was cute. So, I told him I was in Kentucky. He thought a moment and shook his head yes. He knew where I lived. He is getting so big like all the rest of the great-grandchildren. Gabe is full of life. I love seeing him interact with Gary. He is like a little Chameleon when he is around Keith, you can see Keith.

Went to Cross Roads Church Last Night,  12/22/14 to see a Christmas Play. It was Fantastic. Really had a fun time with Mike, he made sure I got to the elevator and was placed in a seat safely. The only thing was he kept poking my arm all evening! Not really, but it was fun. Throughly enjoyed his company. Thank you Mike.

Well, Sonny and I went down to iHop for breakfast Dec 23 2014. When you go to iHop they give you a receipt for you to do a survey online. Then they give you a code to write down. You get a small stack of pancakes for doing the survey, it’s a good thing. Well, the waiter we had is a person with high anxieties. I don’t think he knew which end was up or down. To make this short. By the time we had our food served we had enough food for four people. He had the orders mixed or something. Ended up bringing home a small stack of pancakes and a senior rise and shine breakfast. I think they had eight slices of bacon on two egg orders. He put them down and I said, “No,  . . . that”, and before I could answer he said; “Its Free. Its free.” Now a couple across the way from us was laughing so hard. When they left they said the same thing happened to them. The poor waiter was having a very bad morning. He said, “You could ask for me if you want, the next time you come in.” Now, I don’t know if he wants to wait on us or not. Could be he wants to retrieve some extra money in tips to make up for the mistakes he made. I did leave him a good tip. I gave him the tip with the bill money. Sonny said he was up at the register holding his head trying to figure out why we gave him so much money. We gave him the right change for the bill and the tip with it. After five minutes he came back and said you gave me too much money. I couldn’t figure out why I had so much. So I told him the extra money was his tip. His face was red. The poor guy just was having a bad day. So when he saw how much the tip was he proceeded to tell me we could ask for him the next time. I early felt sorry for the guy. He gave me the receipt and said to be sure to do the survey for another free stack of pancakes. I said I sure will. Thank you and Have a Merry Christmas.

After the holidays and ending of 2014 a New Year begins 2015, hopefully a better year than the last. But the last story was a winner for the year. God bless you all and please have a very Merry Christmas. A blessed New Year!

Love to all!

Barb

Fond Memories

I have been thinking of some of the things I really enjoyed in years past. Thought you might also.

Gatlinburg 2011 – Let’s Try This Again 

After our first trip in 2010 ended in such a sad way, we headed back down to the Smokey’s and enjoyed a nice October in Gatlinburg in 2011. No more high elevation in December like 2010 for me, we stayed at a cabin in the valley close to town. Greg and Sarah came this time and it was so much fun having them. Zillah was a little tot. We had a real good trip that time. Went in the mountains and got a lot of pictures and took some hikes. Of course my knee was in a little pain so I sat and waited on them while the kids did their thing. I think there were 16 of us that went. Was it a lot of fun spending time with the family? Yes, it was!

So, when February 2013 came I decided if the Family wanted to go I would book a Dinner Cruise on the BB Riverboats for Labor Day. They all said, “YES!”. . . 

WEBN Fireworks 2013

In late March, I decided to build some shelves in the basement so I could get to things that had not been unpacked since I moved into this place. Got the shelves built, cartons unpacked and things taken to Goodwill. I felt great. So, I had two large book shelfs I needed to move and when I started to move them I tripped. My head hit the wall (thank the Lord it was drywall, my right shoulder hit the front of the shelving I built and tore my right shoulder beyond repair. I yelled for Sonny to come down and help me to get up, But as always he was on the second floor above me. Couldn’t hear me. He doesn’t hear me when he is sitting right next to me. I had a hard time getting up with one arm. And being as old as I am it was hard to get up. But I did and called Tammy to see if she could take me to the emergency room. Believe me it had to be bad for me to do that. I was in the office where they check you in and I heard Sonny and Tammy talking. Sonny said something to Tammy and her response was, “Yeah she is pretty hard headed.”  Don’t even want to know what he said to get that answer. Anyway the emergency room Doctor referred me to an orthopedic and the results were not good. Had to have a replacement done on it.

The Doctor wanted to do it before Labor Day. No.

Yes, that’s right, I told him,

“No. I have plans for the Fireworks. I have waited five months and it won’t hurt to wait a couple more weeks.”

That’s right. I was going on that Dinner cruise no matter what. We did, and had the best seat in the whole place. It was great. I need to do that again before the inevitable happens. One of the greatest times I had with my loved ones. Just wish they all could have been there. The kids from California and Texas didn’t make it. Everyone had fun. Great parking, Great Food, Great cruise and last but not least . . .

The Fireworks were the greatest I have ever seen!

So, after the Big Bang, I had my surgery. Everything went as it should.  I had therapy and it was good. I can move my arm and lift things, not too heavy. But I can reach in the cupboard and get a cup or plate. No pain! I don’t like the idea that it isn’t my real parts in there, but it works. That is all I care about. So now I am finished with the doctor runs every few months and I go back in a year.

Ok. Back to 2014 

Well, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Emily came over to help me with the cooking, which I was grateful for. Our family gathering was great. Carol came down after the holiday. Greg and Sarah and the children came the Friday after. It was a great day. Crystal came with Mischa. Eric stayed home with Izzy, she was sick!   Well, until the next time . . .

Love and Hugs to All,

Barb

Since My Farewell

Hello!  It's me! I am back!

Really didn't want to get back to doing this, but what else is there to do except sit here on the computer and grow old. May as well be doing something that everybody says they enjoy!

It has been about three years since my last Blog. I am not really sure I should do them but a few people really enjoy my jibber jabber. So I will do this one and see how it goes. I guess in all reality a lot of things have been going on for the last three years. So here goes. Some of the things I will write about some of you will already know so bear with me until I get to some of the newer things.

First of all, November 2014 is here and we'll celebrate several birthdays and Thanksgiving! Gary and Greg have birthdays and so does "Little Barb", Barbara Dunham.

Sadly, I lost my dear little friends. First Mia got sick and had to go to pet heaven. It was really a hard time to go through, sad being without her. She was around a pretty long time. She was My best friend. She just had to sleep with me and she would shed her fur all over me! I had her for 15 years 6 months. Along with that my allergy's were crazy. But I didn't care. I had a best friend who would tell me when it was time to go to bed, to feed her and to let her sleep on three quarters of the bed. She was a big cat.
After Mia was gone I still had my little Honey, who was no bigger than a minute, she only weighed  seven pounds her whole life. We went through our pet grooming for  fifteen years and 6 months. Then she started losing weight and not eating as she should. I took her to the Vet and she said her organs were shutting down. Of course by that time she was 17 yrs 6 months. I was happy to have had her that long. They sure made a happy life for me. Without them it would have been a boring one. But now that I am as old as I am I will not have any more animals. It was a lot of work taking care of them. They were worth every minute of the things we went through together. Honey being a Persian required a lot of work. I do miss them. So, may they RIP with all the other sweet animals I had in my lifetime!

Well, pretty many things have been going on around here since the last blog! Hope I can remember them!  When I think of them I will write them down so I can tell you about them.
Some time ago LaVella came up, I think it was in 2012, and all we did was go around taking pictures of the main attractions in Cincinnati. It was really a lot of fun. Got a lot of great shots. Emily is the Property Manager for The Reserve on 5th & Race and she asked LaVella to do the pictures to hang in the halls.

As usual, I have been doing a lot of work and research on the Family Tree.   Two weeks ago we went to Vincennes Indiana to do research on the Martin family. We did find their graves and went to see a lot of the historical places down there. The George Rogers Clark Memorial is sitting on top of the earth where my GRGR Grandfather’s house was, down along the Wabash River.   It is a beautiful river. Ever since I have had the song “On The Banks of The Wabash, Far Away” stuck in my head!  I have to admit I couldn’t quite remember the words so I looked it up on the web. The river looked so peaceful.

We went to the Archives down there and got a few things on the family, like marriage applications, and a couple city directory listings. Found their graves. No headstones for Magdalena or Henry. They did have headstones on the Laval family graves. So, all in all, it was a good trip. Just wish we could have come home with more. Do have some nice pictures that we had taken. I'm so happy I got to see where my GRGR Grandmother and Grandfather are resting in peace. They have some of the August Laval family with them in the same plot.

Found one of their sons, John H. Martin, resting in Texas. He died in San Antonio Texas in 1914. The informant that gave his information said Magdalena’s last name as Stiedle. Now, Grandma Ochs spelled it Steedle. I guess it all depended on how it sounded to you! So I have not found his wife’s name as of yet. The more I look, the deeper it gets. More brick walls! There is a lot of history in that little town.

I was telling Gary some of it and I think I got a little of it wrong. It was William Henry Harrison that dealt with the Shawnee Indians! Tecumseh and he pow wowed over giving the land so settlers could come and put their mark. Needless to say who won. So they have a statue of Tecumseh down there memorializing him.
Well, it is a beautiful cool day out there and I think I just may go out and enjoy it. Will try to do more the next time. Have to try to remember. I can think of things but have to save for the next time. 

So take care and Enjoy your life.

Hugs to all,
Barbara