Vacation Part Two

My husband had never gone cat fishing before so it was an adventure that we both looked forward to. We live in New York, but have a house not far from Myrtle Beach, and we decided that we would like to go further down to Santee Cooper to fish on the lake. We careful made our plans. We decided to stay for two days in Santee Copper, which would give us time to also look around.

My husband got on the computer and he found this place that was close to the lake, real close. He gave me the number and told me the decision was mine whether I wanted to book a cabin or a room. I called I asked for a cabin, the voice on the other end asked if I wanted to cook or wanted room service. The voice mentioned that they had a restaurant located on the grounds.

Convinced I took the room, and thought I could relax, just in case my husband caught a fish and was tempted to cook it. In a room we couldn’t do that, okay I thought I felt smart taking no chances. Room service wow, this really is going to be a vacation, I couldn’t wait.

The day we headed down for Santee Cooper, the weather was perfect, we packed loaded the car and headed off. The ride down was fun we talked about the lakes and we enjoyed the scenery and by night fall we were ready to find our room and settle down to get rested up so that in the morning we would be ready to catch the big one, the fish you could go home and brag about, I had my camera ready to snap pictures.

We headed toward the lake both of us very tired; we turned down the road and found the place we would be staying. It was just getting dark out, but it was still light enough to look around. I suddenly felt a bit puzzled, what I was seeing was a run down hotel, with small buildings dotting the property along with trailers that looked deserted and run down. This was the place, my husband and I looked at each other and said maybe it looks worse then what it is. I reminded him the voice on the phone said they reserved the larger room for us; I was sure it looked worse then what it was.

We were told where I room was and with key in hand my husband I stood outside the door for a second we both looked at each other without saying a word. He placed the key in the lock and turned it, the door opened, he stepped in with me following right behind him. “Let’s leave,” he turned and said to me.

Knowing we were both tired and not knowing where the next place would be, I told him no, we would stay and this would be an adventure and a story we would one day look back and laugh about. When he went out to the car I immediately stripped off the top spreads on the beds, they looked yucky! The sheets looked clean I was grateful for that. I moved the mattress and looked all around for creatures. I could see that the room wasn’t cleaned there was a pile of junk between the bed and the wall including dead moths and beetles. It’s only for one night I told myself, pretend you are camping.

I used the bathroom which was just old, it could have been worse, but then I smelled it. What the heck, I thought and then realized it was coming from the water that I had turned on to wash my hands. It smelled like excuse the expression “farts”. There was no way I was going to take a shower, brushing my teeth I did with a one of the bottles of water that we had brought along.

My husband went out to the car to get another bottle of water and as he opened the door every flying bug that was out there came in. They were flying about and we were smacking them against the walls and then I was sitting in the middle of the bed with the sheet pulled over me smacking them on the bed. .The one corner on the bottom of the bed looked like a graveyard for the bugs that I was hitting all night. We had slept (barely) all night with the bright lights on. That’s right, on the ceiling there was two sets of industrial fluorescent light fixtures that had at least three lights in each.

In the morning we left early to go fishing knowing there was no way we would stay there another night. Fishing was great my husband caught more then a dozen fish, and cat fish are pretty big. Our fishing trip turned out great! The fishing guide was wonderful we had so much fun. Later when we came back we decide to use the room to go to the bathroom and then check out.

Reluctantly we entered the room, the beds were made the dead bugs that we smashed the night before that flew in were still on the walls. I picked up the corner of the bedspread and there before my eyes the bug graveyard remained intact. Shivers went down my spine, my husband and I left and found another place to stay the night and when we talk about out fishing trip we somehow manage to joke about the room from hell.

Vacation

It is very rare that we take a vacation, so this year when we decided it would be fun to go check the house in South Carolina; we would also go fishing down at Santee Cooper.

We arrived at the house, by Myrtle Beach and it was late so we went in and showered and went to sleep, anything else could wait for morning. Well the sun came up and so did we, having coffee and leisurely enjoying our morning before going outside to tackle whatever would be waiting for us.

My husband was the first one to venture out, every once in a while I would catch a glimpse of him passing a window, I decided I would go ahead out and see what he was up to. I opened the front door and noticed that they had added a few new houses into the development. Then I looked to the side and I saw it! A dandelion that was as tall as I was.

I stepped further across the lawn and looked down the side of the house; there they were tall big dandelions, their trunk thick, nothing like the ones back home. I knew them by their leaves and the yellow flower. Of course the flower and leaves were much larger then I was used to seeing, but none the less they had to go. I put my husband in charge of that, got out the honey does list and started writing.

I attempted to help but those weeds were in tight. I watched as my husband pulled them and I followed along grabbing the smaller weeds. That was our first day, but it was nice to get it done with so that we could relax. Looking around the yard we saw the neighbor to the back of us flower beds extended well into our own yard, in fact our sprinkler was in the flowerbed. Later that day we told her that we would appreciate her moving her flowers back, we were going to be putting up a fence. (Picture shows weeds all gone)

The next day we decided that we would go to the Crab Fest, in Little River and it was fun. We parked our car and a bus picked up us and drove us to the Fest on the waterfront. It was hot out and waiting for the bus the crowd was growing larger and larger. A bus came that sort of looked like a trolley and we were loaded in, but because it stopped and picked up people before us there was just a few seats and the rest was standing room only. We all squeezed in tight, and the trip was so hot the buses windows didn’t open and there was no air.

By the time we arrived we were ready to get off that bus, everyone was starting to get edgy and complaining. The Crab Fest was great it was a lot of fun and there were all different kinds of food. There were vendors and they sold everything. It was fun going around and seeing everything. The trip back to the car was in a large air conditioned bus, thank goodness.

The next blog I will tell you about the fishing trip, it was fun!

Spring Is In The Air

...........................................................................................Beach in Hamptons NY

Spring is here and I have to admit, the fever has tickled me. My son brought home plantings today, I am afraid that it is too dangerous to leave them out in the night, because of frost, so I placed them all on the counter in front of the kitchen window.

Spring does get my blood flowing and the mind going, I have so many ideas going through my mind, hmm I wonder if I should tell my son that some of those ideas involve his plants. I think it is a good idea that he is planting tomatoes, a few herbs and some peppers. I already picked a place for them to be put in the ground…right near my kitchen door.

Grapes would be a good thing to start this year; I think I’ll have him put in a few around the one section of the patio. It would make a nice privacy fence and a tasty snack on the summer days that we are sitting out there. In fact many years ago the house I lived in had a grape arbor, it was beautiful, many summer days I sat out under it on a blanket eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with my two year old. The house was located in Babylon New York, it has been since taken down and Condos have replaced it.

My brain is just bubbling over with ideas, I want to get back and add some chapters to my book, and my mind is already designing new jewelry pieces that I can’t wait to get started on. There are cards waiting to get done and scrapbook pages waiting to get made. Spring wonderful Spring, I just hope these ideas roll into summer with me and don’t melt away somewhere in my mind. The older I get, there is a feeling that time goes by faster, the seasons just don’t last as long, or it could be that I am truly getting slower…just a thought.

I will plant something in memory of Buddy, not sure what yet, but it will be special.

Dedicated To Buddy - Passed Away March 23, 2008

"This Is Dedicated To Buddy"
_____________________________________________________________Picture of Buddy and Missy 2005

Buddy passed away on Easter, he was a loyal companion and was about fifteen years old when he died. Buddy was found in Northport, Long Island by my daughter and her boyfriend and has been a part of our family since, that was fifteen years ago.

Buddy was a Dalmatian, he was half starved when we first found him and you could tell he was beaten, his body was bruised and he was very frightened and scared. We put signs up and called pounds to see if someone had lost him, and perhaps he fell into bad hands. No one claimed him, he became my daughter’s dog.

He went through many trails and tribulations with her, he shared our home and her home during the first few years of his life. He was always welcomed at our home, and felt safe and comfortable when he was here. His true comfort was my daughter, he loved her and would follow her around when she was home. He went through two relationships in my daughters life, and it took some patience because Buddy had a habit of whining.

When my daughter was married they decided they would get Buddy a puppy to keep him company. They purchased a Jack Russell Terrier and called him Freddie. Well Buddy was a very good big brother, Freddie on the other hand was tiny compared to Buddy, and he wasn’t to nice to him. He never gave Buddy a moment of peace, but Buddy was very good with him and never hurt the puppy. It got to be to much with the puppy, he would bite Buddy and never leave him alone. Freddie was very good at my house when he was here, so I adopted him.

My daughter was going through a divorce when Buddy became very sick. He was around twelve at the time and contacted a virus that most animals do not survive. Buddy was in a hospital and in very bad shape, this was during the Christmas Holidays, we went to see him, and was told to keep the visit short, things did not look good for him. When we saw him, he looked very bad, but he perked up when he saw us. The staff was surprised to see such a sudden change in him, and they allowed us to stay as long as we wanted. Even my daughters future ex went to visit Buddy when he was in the hospital.

We visited him every day and sat with him, and we could see him improve day by day. The doctor told us he would make it, she was surprised because he was an older dog, and he survived what most dogs did not. His will to live was great, and his love for my daughter kept him going.

We thought we were out of the woods when a few months later he was sick again throwing up, he could barely eat and he was having a hard time. An ex-ray showed that he had swallowed something and there was a blockage, surgery was required, whatever he swallowed was trapped in his intestines. After the surgery we were informed that Buddy had swallowed a small rock, the reason it didn’t pass through his system was because it was stopped by a tumor. Had he not swallowed the rock the tumor would have been undetected. They removed the tumor but the prognoses wasn’t good. The tumor was cancerous and it was the kind that would be elsewhere in his body.

Buddy came home and recuperated, and the decision for chemo therapy was given up for herbal medicine, since it would at least give him a quality of life. Buddy went on and did very well, with this therapy for three years he is cancer free. My daughter met someone, and her wedding was set for March 29th. Buddy died on Easter with his family around him, we went to spend Easter with them. His death was sudden, he had been to the doctor just the day before, and they told my daughter he was doing fine that he just needed more exercise. On Easter, suddenly Buddy wasn't fine, he seemed to be in pain, we had to call the Vet, and Buddy was put down in the comfort of his home with the ones who loved him at his side.

Buddy had many people who cared about him, and many will miss him. He will always remain in our hearts, he was a good boy and a loyal companion, no one could ever take his place...Buddy, may you run free in Gods Heaven.



Sometime ago I wrote a poem about Buddy, it is on Helium along with a story about Freddie and a story about my daughter. I hope you will take the time to read them, they will leave your heart a tad lighter.


http://www.helium.com/items/574562-buddy-puppy-tortured-hours (Buddy's Poem)

http://www.helium.com/items/606957-story-other-phone-friend (Freddie's Story)

http://www.helium.com/items/575932-brighter-daughter-around-seven (Daughter's Story)

Spring Is In The Air

Computer is repaired.

Spring is upon us and I look forward to seeing nature reward us it’s burst of color, and fragrance as she starts to display her first blossoms. I can see them peeking through the ground hinting at what is to come.

A fresh start, I would like to think that we all get a fresh start. I feel that every year, this is the time that I look back and forward at the same moment, knowing where I came from and where I want to go. Like the crocuses pushing through the soil, silent without complaint...then when it blossoms, that is its statement!

I would like to think that I could have such an impact, but then again it is hard for me to remain silent, so when it comes to the bloom...well it just doesn’t have the same impact. I still will renew my goals and my plans for spring this year and perhaps with less talk and more planning, and maybe I too can accomplish a few flowers of my own, this year.

My creative juices have been flowing, if you would like to see what I have been doing you can check it out.

http://luluborealis.blogspot.com/

Computer Woes

While working on the computer last week I met my first Trojan, needless to say it was not a very good experience. I was doing research and clicked onto a website, the website didn’t open but suddenly I had pop ups telling me it was XP virus info and that a virus entered my computer click here if I wanted to know more. BINGO! it got me and after that every two seconds a pop up window would appear saying the same thing telling me to click it.

When I say pop up windows, they would start popping up faster then I could shut them down. I closed down the computer and clicked it off the net, and suddenly it would turn itself back onto the net the pop ups were back, no mater how many times I took it off it would go back on. My son tried to look at it and he ran diagnostic disk and suddenly we find out that the computer is being used as a server for about five other hackers (and not with names that were warm and fuzzy).

There was nothing left to do but to turn off the computer and unplug it. I took it into the computer center to see if they could save it. I have not heard back from them, this is not good! I am on my laptop which is very slow but it works, and I trudge through what I need to get done, but I must say I miss the desktop. I hope that it is not “terminal”, and that it could be saved and I will do my best to keep it safe.

Just to let you know the research I was doing was on the Ketchum family of Amityville, it was about three or so titles down the page where I clicked I do not advise anyone checking that out.

The shower was held for my daughter and it went really well. We all had a really nice time there was plenty of food and lots of jokes. My daughter is getting married in
Cancun so not everyone is going to be able to attend the wedding so this gathering
was a way of for all of us to get together and wish her well.

The theme was an island theme and we had a coconut top and grass skirt for my daughter to throw on over her clothes. It was really funny, we all got a really good laugh.

Crafty Ideas

I promised I would tell you what I was up to and share with you what I was doing. Well I am making shower favors for a wedding, these can also be used for baby showers or little gifts that you may want to give your friends. It is a perfect theme for summer or a beach wedding. The items can vary, instead of shells and sand you can put miniture baby items, a picture,flowers etc.

The boxes are easy and simple to make - Directions will be below pictures:




Purchase these small boxes from your local craft store these wooden boxes are approximately 21/2 inches square. Inside the lid they have a removable lid that will give you access to the glass on top of the box. You will also need sand, small sea shells and a strong glue, all can be purchased at your local craft store

I spray painted it with stone paint (you can use what ever you want. You can even decoupage these.)

First step:
Prepare the Box -
Take thin strip masking tape and tape of the glass on top of the box. (This is so that paint doesn’t get onto the glass.)

You will also need to take small pieces of tape and place it over the metal closures front and back. The front latch can be completely removed if you want to do that. It is just for decorative purposes.

Second step:
Paint the box, you can spray it or hand paint it, the design is your unique choice. You can even decorate it in decoupage too. When the paint or the decoupage is dry I recommend that you seal it. Let it dry overnight.

Third step:
Take all the tape off of the sealed off areas touch up if necessary by hand. Then open the box and lift metal tabs that are on the inside of the top cover remove the small square of wood. This gives you access to the glass. (Tabs are shown in the picture below.)


Fourth step:
Place the tiny shells on top of the glass, I found that five is a good number, but the choice is yours. Then you add the sand I think about 1 teaspoon more or less is good. (You can put the back on and see how it looks and make adjustments as you see necessary.)

Fifth step:
When everything is the way you like then you take off the back and place glue (I used gorilla glue) all around the lip on the cover where the square wood lays on top of. Make sure that it is evenly around, glue has to cover the entire lid or sand can leak out. When you have that completes place on the back, press it into place and hold it for a minute then tighten up the metal tabs but leave the top lay open so the glue can dry, at least an hour.

Then you are done and you have a small shaker box that can be used for a small gift or as I did I made beaded wine glass charms to place inside.


I can be googled at L A Hardt or click onto my profile below

The End of January

The end of January came mighty fast. This year so far for me has not been the best, but it could be worse. I am working on something that I can’t share with you just yet but I will soon. It is a craft that I am working on, and if I tell you what it is, let’s just say it will ruin everything.

I am ignoring the house again to get other things done that came up. Story of my life, just when I think I can forge ahead something comes and leads me sideways. Not that I mind sometimes I like it, it has led me to new adventures and I’ve met some interesting people.

The house is always going to be here and I am always going to be closing doors, I will complete it someday…but for now I will slide a bit sideways and be creative. I can’t wait to show you what I am doing, until then you just have to be patient.
Another one of my little creations

Frustrated

With the New Year here I am feeling creative, but I can’t channel it. I want to write, I want to scrapbook, I want to make things, and try things I have never done before. So what have I accomplished so far… NOTHING!

Why, because I am scattered into so many places. My craft room is a process in the making and I tell myself that you can’t start anything until that is done. I can’t get that done because I am still working on other areas in the house. I started but never really completed, now I have to complete these projects and put my creativity on hold.

I will need to complete the craft room first I decided, so that I can steal myself away once in a while to craft, if I don’t my mind will explode into fragments of color and all will be lost.

With valentines day coming I want to make my Valentines scrapbook bears with boxes of candy I have made them two years ago and they are such a big hit, that I want to make some more this year and sell them for others to also enjoy. Here is one that I did



Now I am running around the house trying to get things done my mind is elsewhere. The house also needs to be painted and my bedroom could use new carpeting. I don’t think it would be wise to put a paint brush in my hands right now, I don’t want bare walls I want splashes of color.

Well on I need to go get something done; I hope I don’t give into that subtle voice that is calling me to the realms of color and paper.

New Years Resolutions

The wrapping paper is gone, the Christmas tree is gone, the New Year is here and we have or are still setting our goals for the year ahead. We are looking back to see what we did not accomplish in the past year, and if you are like me, you just have to pick up the old list and start over.

I keep telling myself from year to year that I will accomplish what I set out to do. This year I did not promise myself anything, I told myself I will move forward one day at a time. I will make small goals to reach everyday. And hopefully I can achieve some of the small goals that will eventually by the end of the year be part of the goals I was trying to set out to do for years.

The world will not seem so overwhelming; I just have to keep reminding myself “One Day At A Time”. In the past I have always allowed myself to be distracted, and I am slowly trying to put a stop to that. I can not reach my goals if I don’t make the small changes within myself; I am learning to say “No”.

I wish for all of you that have set goals and have not accomplished them to be easy on yourself, very few people reach their goals. Count your blessings and move on. One of my goals I did set out to accomplish this year is to make a trip to California. I have a dear friend who lives there and I haven’t seen her two children since they were really young.

I have seen pictures of the children as they were growing, and now are all grown up. I have spent the past years worrying about them, being happy for them and sharing every part of their lives that my dear friend shared with me. I would like to hug them in person, to hold more then just a picture.

California here I come! (Even if it’s at the end of the year, I want to make this trip!)