A Flyover Blog

Follow The Leader

Today was the first day since mid-April that we haven't had a full agenda of house-related stuff to accomplish. Ya know, rest is hard to do when you've fallen out of the habit! We had a very good day, though. We did a little yard work this afternoon, spent some time at Barnes & Noble, and tried to catch up on some rest.

This morning, I worked on a big new project while Mitch headed over to nearby Nixa to ride in a bicycling event with nephews Nick and Blake. He planned to do the 35 mile ride, but slept in this morning and got there in time to catch the end of the 6 mile ride instead. Six miles for Mitch is nothing, so he quickly caught up with the group and passed them.

Twenty minutes later, he glanced at his little computer and discovered he was 7 miles into the 6 mile route. He was going to continue on, but glanced behind him and discovered that the whole herd was following him! Yep, they all breezed by the short route markers and were on the 35 mile route, too. Some of the other riders had small kids in tow, and no one but Mitch was carrying a drop of water. So, Mitch stopped, turned the whole lost group around and headed back to the start point. Just in time, too; severe weather moved in shortly after they got back. It's still stormy here tonight.

We haven't made plans for tomorrow yet, but I think another day or two like this one, and we'll both feel almost human again. May you have a restful Sunday, and very happy and fruitful June!

Time

"Someone once told me that time was a predator that stalked us all our lives, but I rather believe that time is a companion that goes with us on a  journey, reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again..."

- Captain Jean-Luc Picard, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" 

Red Friday - May 30

Please remember all the men and women who put themselves in harm's way every day... for us. Thank you.

Photo by Joe Raedle.

Details

The thing I love most about the house we just moved into is the details. This place is loaded with the most gorgeous Old World touches. If you're not into old or rustic, then you probably wouldn't care for the place. But I love old things and, for me, this house is like living on a movie set. I took some pictures a few days ago. Thought I'd share some. Here is a shot of our front door. It's a lousy pic; I'm not sure why I wasn't standing straight - I'm blaming it on the poison ivy. Yeah, that's it, I was distracted by the itching.

Back to the door. It's a century old - came off some old building - looks like it could have been a church. The door panes and transom window are original leaded glass. The door makes the nicest creaking sound when it opens, too. I love the brick porch and the rock wall. That light fixture, by the way, is huge. Keeping in the old cottage spirit, the front door opens directly into the Hearth Room - no fancy foyer here - but the Hearth Room is a dandy.

This massive stone fireplace greets you when you step inside. Yes, that's a door embedded in the stone above the mantle - an antique 9 foot tall door. The hardwood floors, ceiling beams and mantle timbers are 110 years old and were removed from an old barn. We put a few old family trinkets on the mantle; the lithograph came from my childhood home in Indiana. The big crock on the floor belonged to Mitch's grandfather and the copper kettle came from the old bakery my parents owned years ago. They used to make jelly in it. This fireplace separates the two downstairs living areas - very effectively, I might add. The colors in these rooms are shades of brown and grey - the colors found in the stone and timbers.  That's a perfect color pallate for all our things - I had a whole house full of rustic neutral stuff that never really went in the breezy Florida-style house we own in Tiny Tourist Town. This is a shot of the ceiling. The fireplace goes all the way up  - see there's the top of that 9 foot door way up there. That big light fixture in the upper left is iron. I'm looking for a tall dining table to sit under that light; haven't found the right one yet. I'll know it when I see it.

I am constantly amazed at how much thought went into each little space. There is no such thing as "an empty corner" or "a mundane wall" in this house - no boring spot begging to be covered by some huge potted plant. This place was absolutely perfect when it was empty; I'm just trying not to clutter it up. It does have one fault - it is not family friendly, meaning, if you have small kids you probably wouldn't want to raise them here. Too many high windows to fall out of and it sits right on one of the busiest corners in town. But for Mitch and I, it's a perfect fit. Next, I'll show you the kitchen.

Out With The Old

I've been setting up my new office this week. I'm tossing all my old notes for writing projects I never pursued and making room for new things. I got tired of running across scraps of paper with notes scribbled on them thinking, Oh, I never did anything with that.  Made me feel like I'd dropped the ball or missed out on something, when, in fact, I didn't miss anything; I just went with something stronger at that time. Not all ideas writers get are golden; some of them are real stinkers and deserve to fade quietly away in the bottom of a desk drawer.

I am happy to report that my bookshelves are not overstuffed anymore. The books have room to breathe and I can actually see each one. It's a good feeling. Our small collection of antique books is downstairs on the living room mantle and Mitch has plenty of room in his office for his reference library. We are book lovers, that's for sure.

Speaking of books, I met a writer, Cait London - for the second time - last year. We've stayed in touch these past few months and have found that, although we write in completely different fields, we have many things in common. Cait is getting ready to relocate in the near future, too. She's planning to move to the Springfield area; I hope she's close enough to meet me at B&N for tea! (Or McAlister's. Or Panera.) Cait's one of those wise, witty and encouraging people who is a joy to know. She asked me a while back where we first met. I told her I remembered seeing her sign books at a local author's workshop many years ago. I'm sure I spoke to her, but just briefly; she was busy.  Well, while I was cleaning out my desk Sunday evening, I found an old workshop program from 1992; inside was one of Cait's old business cards. I was right, Cait; we did meet at that workshop!

Life Is Good

So how was your holiday weekend? Ours was terrific. I don't think we could have wedged one more thing into the weekend.  Oh, it rained every single day, but that didn't matter. This house is so much fun I didn't miss all the outdoor activities.

I didn't see a single tourist over the weekend either. Not one. Kinda strange. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this was the first holiday I've lived in a "normal" town - as opposed to a tourist mecca- since I was 12. Gotta tell ya, it was heaven. Oh, I'm still battling poison ivy, the yard still needs work and we're still looking for a few things I packed really good, but we're 90% settled in and we love Springfield. David, Sandy, Michael and Whitney came over for a movie marathon/x-Box fest yesterday. What fun! We popped corn, ate pretzels and M&Ms and watched 2 fun and 1 perfectly rotten movie, (cough- 30 Days of Night - cough) but it didn't matter, because we were having a good time. I'm looking forward to holidays in this house; they're gonna be a blast.  Thanks for spending Memorial Day with us, guys!

Memorial Day 2008

What Is A Veteran?

Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in the eye. Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity. Except for parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem. You can't tell a vet just by looking. What is a vet?

He is the cop on the beat who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons a day making sure the armored personelle carriers didn't run out of fuel.

He is the barroom loudmouth, dumber than five wooden planks, whose overgrown frat-boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in the cosmic scales by four hours of exquiste bravery near the 38th parallel.

She - or he - is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for two solid years in DaNang.

He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back AT ALL.

He is the Quantico drill instructor that has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning slouchy, no-account rednecks and gang members into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.

He is the parade riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.

He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.

He is the three anonymous heroes in The Tomb Of The Unknowns, whose presence at the Arlington National Cemetary must forever preserve the memory of all the anonymous heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep.

He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.

He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being, a person who offered some of his life's most vital years in the service of his country, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs. He is a soldier and a savior and a sword against the darkenss, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest, greatest nation ever known.

So remember, each time you see someone who has served our country, just lean over and say Thank You. That's all most people need, and in most cases it will mean more than any medals they could have been awarded or were awarded.

Author Unknown

Special thanks to our good friend, Cathy Flowers, for this wonderful post.

He's Back!

If you're a regular reader of this blog, then you know I've been posting a lot lately about our Teddy Terrier, Sam. Sammy has been on doggy Prozac for several weeks because the whole moving process totally freaked him out.

I am happy to report that 2 days ago, Sam woke up and suddenly realized he was living in a cool new house and he had nothing to fear. He's back to his comical, fun-loving self. Here he is with Mitch (who is sporting a sunburn from helping me garden.) I pulled Sam off the Prozac; he doesn't need it anymore. Life is good.

This Is New

This will be the first holiday since 1971 that I haven't lived in a tourist town. No more going to the store before the wave of out-of-towners hits. No planning alternate routes to get across town because the tourists have the major roads clogged. No dealing with tourists period. This year we live in Springfield - a "normal" town. By that I mean that Springfieldians work in non-tourism related fields, and on their holiday they actually go somewhere. Many of them head to the town I just left.

I have no idea what we'll do this weekend. But I DO know that dodging tourists won't be part of it. 

Photo Courtesy University of Miami Library.

Red Friday - May 23

It's Red Friday again... and the start of the Memorial Day holiday. Please remember all our military men and women this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Chicago Highland Rifles.