Monthly Archives: February 2021

The Best Traveled Coaster

Posted on by
Reply

Meet my coaster. It’s a little rough around the edges these days mainly because it’s far better traveled than it was ever meant to be.

I picked it up on a trip out west a few years ago because it’s cute and has a good message. And then Scout came along and decided that it’s not that cute but is a great test of gravity.

I have told you before about his propensity for knocking things over. What I haven’t told you is that he often knocks things down and into my purse which typically sits on the floor next to his favorite side table.

The number of times I have opened my bag in the store or at work to find something random inside are too great to count but this coaster is almost always in there. Sometimes I remember to check before I leave home and to dig out the tv remote and whatever else he has put in there. Sometimes I don’t and find myself holding a coaster in the middle of the grocery store.

He’s a funny guy, that Scout, and he certainly keeps things interesting!

Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums

Posted on by
2

Ohio has produced eight American Presidents including Rutherford B. Hayes. For a small admission fee, you can visit his Fremont, Ohio home and Presidential Center as I did a few years ago.

Honestly, my recollection of this tour is a little fuzzy but I do recall it was a beautiful home filled with many fine things once owned by the President and First Lady Lucy Webb Hayes who was a native of nearby Chillicothe.

The tour guide was excellent despite almost constant badgering from one of my fellow tour mates who was upset that indoor photography wasn’t permitted. He seemed to think it was his God given right as an Ohioan to break the museum rules and photograph all that he pleased.

I had looked forward to this visit and one guy all but ruined the tour for everyone around him. I was grateful to get away from him when we toured the museum and grounds.

I am certain that my friends wouldn’t behave that way but, in case you’ve ever considered it, please don’t be that guy.

There’s an extensive research library on the grounds but we didn’t dwell here. It was a beautiful day so we spent more time exploring the grounds and visiting the President’s tomb.

Want to go? Click here for details.

Happiness Is

Posted on by
2

Happiness is a sunny windowsill on a cold day. It’s even happier when your human mama doesn’t insist on taking your picture while you’re relaxing but even that can’t ruin a good sunshiney spot!

Classic Cougar

Posted on by
6

Is there anything prettier than a shiny red classic on a pretty day? I think not. This Mercury Cougar was a real gem.

Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing this Saturday, I hope you are enjoying it!

Wood Doors And A Stone Ship

Posted on by
4

These are the front doors of Newark’s Wright Memorial United Methodist Church. I was there on a Saturday morning so they were locked but I lingered a moment to consider the ship or boat imagery above the door.

I studied just enough art history in college to know that boats of all kinds have long been associated with Christianity in a few ways- from Noah’s Ark to fishing boats and ideas of a spiritual journey on the sea of life.

Boats have also been used to symbolize the Church itself, reaching a safe haven with souls on board. Look carefully at a mast and it resembles a cross.

Yet, you don’t see a lot of boats presented so prominently in architecture choices around here. That’s not to say it isn’t there but it’s not commonly the first thing you see in this area.

Incidentally, the central seating area of a church is called the Nave. This word derives from navis, the Latin word for ship.

This church is impressive but resembles a fortress with its small windows, stone walls and heavy wood doors. I think the ship drew me in because it’s so delicate in comparison.

It reminded me of the Martin Luther King Jr quote “we may all have come on different ships but we’re in the same boat now.”

I continued on my own journey that fall day, encountering several more churches but none with this particular symbolism in the architecture. It seemed all the more special for that reason.

Last Pre-Covid Adventures

Posted on by
6

One of my last pre-Covid adventures last year was to the Ohio History Center in Columbus.

The purpose of my visit was to tour and learn about the Lustron Home which was manufactured in Columbus in the mid century. However, there were a number of other unexpectedly interesting things to see here including an exhibit on Civil War Battle flags.

This one represents the 121st Ohio Infantry Volunteers which was organized out of Delaware, Ohio. They mustered in for three years service starting in 1862

It’s ragged from use and age but it’s still beautiful.

That was a good day.

Honestly, I don’t recall what all I did that day. It was a cold February Saturday and I had gotten up early to be there when the doors opened. I’m pretty sure there was a Half Price Books stop involved on the way out of town. If I had know that it would be one of my last adventures for a while, I might have dawdled longer and appreciated the freedom better.

But that’s the curse of the human condition, I suppose. We always think we have more time time, more opportunities then we really have.

What was your last adventure before the shutdown? Spare no details. Some of us are starved for the excitement of fun outside home and neighborhood.