Proud to be an Eagle Scout

Scout Oath
On my honor I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

Scout Law

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly,

courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty,brave,

clean, and reverent.

This past Sunday, I had the privilege to attend the ceremony for my nephew Tyler , as he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.

Tyler is a freshman at Edison High School in Norwalk, Ohio. Besides Scouting, he is involved in sports, and plays the "Quads" in Marching Band.

During the ceremony, which was attended by many friends and family members, guest speakers told of Tyler's accomplishments and his ability to overcome adversity and succeed in his quest to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout.

Many of the speakers praised his work and ability to help others. The talked about his choices to do the right thing, not always the easiest thing. They talked about Tyler and how he helped younger scouts with different challenges. Tyler loved to participate in the Pinewood Derby, making knots and various other scouting activities. He has earned over 30 merit badges and continues to pursue more subjects to earn his Eagle Palms.

Many of the friends and family in attendance were brought to tears as they listened to the heartfelt speech given by his brother Jordan. Jordan is also an Eagle Scout and attends Jacksonville University in Florida. He made the trip home for this special occasion to tell everyone how he remembered helping his brother in his scouting achievements.

Tyler took the podium and thanked all those who helped him reach his goal, including his current and former Scoutmasters, his church youth leader and his Conformation mentor. He also thanked his parents and his Grandparents, Nana and Poppy, for all their help and presented them with special mentor pins to honor them.

Tyler's Eagle Scout Project was to install a concrete patio and benches at the football field behind the High School. He gathered many volunteers to help with his project and collected over $3000 in donations from friends, family and community members for the project.

My baby sister Christine is the the very proud mother of two fine young men. It hasn't been easy for her to raise her sons in an ever increasing challenging world. While working and going to school, she had the support of her family and friends and her husband Gary (G2) to help .

I am proud to be the aunt of two fine young men and equally proud of their achievement in obtaining the rank of Eagle Scout.

We are pictured here together with my third and youngest nephew, Frankie, who is a Cub Scout. He looks up to his older cousins and hopes to be an Eagle Scout one day.

While my boys didn't become scouts, they participated in and excelled in 4-H. Both organizations help young people to become responsible citizens through hard work and learning experiences.

So to Tyler.....

Way to go!

Love, Aunt Bummy

Accident and Incindent Report

Under this lovely dressing is a 2.5 " wound and 5 stitches!

Did you ever just have an awful week?
I think this was my week.
Things just seemed to "happen".

I came down with a case of bronchitis, of course it was Saturday
and no Dr. available, so off to the Minute Clinic I went, on Sunday.
Armed with cough syrup with codeine and an inhaler, home I went, to bed.
The week progressed and I was getting better, the coughing eased up and
I felt better. I went to the hairdressers on Friday and
she colored my hair.....a little more blonde than I expected,
and when I got home, everyone gasped!

On Saturday, I came down with a UTI! Of course it was after
office hours at the Dr., so on Sunday I went off to the Urgi Care.
I took my shower before I went to the Urgi Care and
dried my blonde hair and burnt my forehead with the curling iron.OUCH!
Armed with an antibiotic, I went home to bed, again.
Tuesday I went back to the hairdresser and
she calmed the blonde down a bit.

Wednesday we get this snowstorm that dumps 12" of snow on us.
Stuck in the house again.

Today I was getting the trash bag out of the can
and while Adam pulled it up I held the can down
because the bag was stuck. As he lifted the bag,
something sharp poked through the bag and cut my left hand.
There was blood all over.
Quick, washcloth, direct pressure, get some socks and shoes on,
locate insurance cards, can't find immunization record....
and head to the Urgi Care for the 3rd time in a week and a half!
Do I remember when I had my last tetanus shot......NO,
so I called the Dr. Office, and they are "out to lunch".....go figure.
So I called the Health Department, where I get my immunizations
and they were OUT TO LUNCH!
But the receptionist was very helpful when
I explained that I was on my way to the Urgi Care
and she looked it up. Tetanus shot was good!

Walked into the Urgi Care with my hand elevated and
they asked if I was bleeding and I said Yes.
Off to the back I went, no waiting.
I didn't even have to fill out paper work....
I just told them I was there on Sunday.
The receptionist filled out the forms, all I had to do was sign.
Nice physician, very patient. Injected Novocaine into the wound and it didn't work.
Stitched me up anyway.
An hour and 5 stitches later, I was on my way home.
Ice and rest, keep it dry, come back in 2 days for a wound check,
stitches to be removed in 10 days.
I think I need another vacation. Or a padded room!

I Heart Faces

This weeks category for I Love Faces is JOY!
There are many photos I have that could represent Joy,
but the one I keep coming back to is the one from my older
son Chris' wedding to Tiffany.
All I can see is the joy in their faces on that day!
They are still like that today!


And the little orbs floating in the picture....
are bubbles! Because it was so hot the day they got married,
we had the wedding ceremony inside the air conditioned building
instead if the sweltering heat.
So you can't throw birdseed or rice inside, so we blew bubbles!
For other photos of JOY in faces visit http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/

SKYWATCH FRIDAY

Welcome to SkyWatch Friday

This week's entries were hard to choose. I had
two photos that really inspired me.
The first one is a sunset photo. We have been
under the clouds for days on end here, and this
was the first glimps of the sky I had seen in days.


The second is the icicles that have been forming off the roof line.
I was under these looking up toward the sky.
They are becoming massive in length and size, and they can
become dangerous if they fall on your head, so of course
I got under them to look up through them!


For more sky pictures, visit
http://skyley.blogspot.com

Remodeling 101

We live in a 1960's three bedroom ranch with one bath. It is paid for and it is warm and comfy and has served us well raising 2 boys.

On the farm we are rough. There is always dirt, hay, feed, dog hair or something else making it's way into the house. While raising the boys we never had time or money to "redo" the house.

Necessity changed all that several years ago.

Back in 2001, we decided to do some remodeling. If you have done anything major to a house, you will know that nothing goes as planned. For every step forward there are two steps back.

We decided that we would do one room at a time, and as it worked out, it turned into one room or project a year.

The first question is what do you do with all the stuff in the area you are remodeling?

We started with the garage..... then we would have space to put the stuff from the house when we got that far. Dave did the garage the way he wanted, adding drywall, more electric, lighting,

a tool room and shelving.

We had to do some foundation work with the garage project, but it worked out well and I gained a breezeway addition to the house. It was a nice place to put coats and boots and other things instead of dropping them in the kitchen as in the past. I paneled the walls, laid ceramic tile and decorated the breezeway. Room one was done!

Life went on and we got to the kitchen. Walls had to come down, ceilings and joists repaired, new cabinets had to be custom made and flooring had to be installed. We lived, and ate in the living room with a microwave, and electric skillet and a sandwich maker for 6 months!

During this phase of the project, we also decided that we needed new windows, and if we were going to do the ones in the kitchen, we had to do the whole house so they would match.

One step forward, two back.

After the kitchen, college for two boys, a wedding and two surgeries interrupted the projects. Smaller bedroom projects were tackled and only consisted of paint, new carpet, and window treatments. This past summer, I finished the last bedroom by refinishing the hardwood floors and redecorating the room. In between all this, life went on...one day at a time.

During all this time there was never enough room in the garage to move the stuff out of each room as planned, so we moved stuff from room to room in order to have space to work.

This past few weeks, I started the the living room........ Then I interjected a project at my mother in law's house, installing ceramic tile floor in her breezeway..... I put my things on hold for about a week, did her project and returned to my work at home.

Although it isn't the most complicated project, we live in this room. We do not have a family room and so most activities and such are in this room. Not only did we have to paint and get new blinds, the furniture either had to be replaced or recovered and the biggest project was to refinish the floors.

Our budget didn't allow for new furniture and having one of the boys still at home with his friends, we decided that covering the older furniture would be best for now. I used denim to make slip covers for the cushions on the furiture.

This is also not the time of year to do the floors, so I tackled all the other projects and decided to leave the floors until Spring and warmer weather.

I finished sewing the last of the throw pillows for the couches last night. Whew!!! What a relief.

It has taken us almost 8 years to get to this point, and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The last project is the Bathroom. We only have one, so it will have to be done quickly. We can go to Grandma's for showers, but we need the facilities daily. We will wait for warmer weather for this project.

So here is a peak it the living room as it now. I can't wait to do the floors. It will make a big difference when they are done.

Living room with new blinds (I love my new blinds)

recovered Love seat and new lamp

Can you see the faux finish on the walls?

Recovered chair