Mom and Kim....figured they would be interested....

Meant to put this on the bottom of the other post. It's one more story about the house in the photo.

*******************

There is a dilapidated yellow house that sits on US 25 on the northern edge of Walton, Ky. Known as the Abner Gaines house. Many families have moved in, but none stay. It is said the ghost of a Civil War General haunts the house
It was formerly called Gaines Crossroads, and was the post office for many years, previous to the removal of the post office to Walton. The post office took its name from Colonel Gaines.
Colonel Gaines was one of the pioneers of the community, having settled there when the whole surrounding county was one vast wilderness. He acquired a large area of land and, subsequently, became a very wealthy man. The property remained in the Gaines family through four generations.
Colonel Gaines conducted the house as an inn or tavern, and it was also a station of the stagecoach, which ran between Covington and Lexington. It had, frequently, for its guests such men as Henry Clay; Richard M. Johnson, who was afterwards vice-president of the United States; the elder Breckinridge; and many others equally as prominent.
The house is a plain three-story brick front, with extension of frame. It contains 18 rooms and a ballroom, 35 feet in length.
Colonel Gaines had two sons, the elder of whom became famous as a general in the Mexican War. When the Mexican War broke out, John Gaines was made captain of a cavalry company. It proceeded to Mexico overland.
From Kentucky to Mexico, young Gaines rode a favorite horse called Black Sultan. A remarkable incident of his experience in the Mexican War was that after a long imprisonment, he sought and found Black Sultan, road him during the war, and with its close rode the same horse back to his home in Kentucky.
General Gaines served through the war on the staff of General Winfield Scott and went with General Scott’s army to the city of Mexico. He was elected several times to Congress and was appointed Territorial Governor of Oregon by President Zachary Taylor.
At that time, it was a difficult matter to get to the Pacific Coast. General Gaines went by way of New Orleans by steamer. During the voyage, two of his children were stricken with yellow fever. Both died and were buried at sea.
He afterwards returned to Kentucky and settled there at the old homestead. While living there, his wife, when riding in company with several others, was thrown from her horse and instantly killed.

This was the beginning of many tragic happenings connected with the Gaines house.

A few years after this a traveler named Benjamin Runyan stopped overnight at the tavern. As he failed to appear the next morning, a servant was sent in search of him. Unable to arouse him, he entered the room and found Runyan stiff, cold, and dead. He had shot himself during the night.
In the latter 1840s, the mansion became famous for its lavish style of entertainment. It was frequently the scene of great festivities. During the progress of a ball one night, a tragedy occurred, which is still fresh in the memories of many old citizens.
Two young men, Robert Harrison and William Northcutt, were suitors for the hand of the same young lady. Both were popular in society and of good parentage. The Harrisons were especially prominent, socially, because of their relation to Brekinridges and the Harrison family of which ex-President Harrison is a member.
The father of Robert Harrison was a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Joseph Cabell Harrison. Possessed of wealth, social position, and good looks, although slightly eccentric in manner, Robert Harrison soon became the favored of the two suitors. This so enraged Northcutt that he determined to seek revenge.
Harrison, who was baldheaded, was extremely sensitive upon this point and always wore a wig. During the evening in question, while the guests were dancing, Northcutt approached Harrison, who was dancing with a young lady, snatched off his wig, and threw it upon the floor. Harrison uttered not a word, but quickly turned upon his heel, drew a Spanish dagger, and plunged it to the hilt into the heart of Northcutt, who fell lifeless to the floor. The tragic event brought the ball to a sudden close.
Harrison had the sympathy of all present and of the entire community. Public sentiment was so much in his favor that he was never arrested for the deed.
The memory of the crime, however, seemed to overshadow his life. The slight eccentricity of the matter before-mentioned became, in later life, a distinguishing characteristic.
He never married, abjured women’s society, and became, in fact, almost a recluse. He died, suddenly and alone, some two years since in Covington. In the years that followed, the mansion continued popular as a hostelry. When General Kirby Smith and his staff, among whom was Colonel J. M. Arnold; who is, at present, the freight agent for the Cincinnati Division Queen and Crescent Railway.
In 1869 the house passed into the possession of Jerry R. Glenn, father of D. A. Glenn, the present Commonwealth’s Attorney of the Sixth Judicial District of Kentucky. With the occupancy of the house by Mr. Glenn, there was wont to gather under its hospitable roof; many men past the prime of life; who, having a taste for the chase, had not the leisure to indulge it; and with it the inevitable quiet game of cards after nightfall. Prominent among these was Major John A. Goodson, the father-in-law of Hon. John G. Carlisle.
One evening in March 1869 Major Goodson whiled away the evening hours, as usual, and retired to his room. Presently, the report of a gunshot startled the inmates. Intuitively hastening to the room of Major Goodson, the same in which Ben Runyan had taken his life 40 years before, they found him lying upon the floor dead, shot through the heart. He had evidently placed the gun on the bed, knelt in front of it, and reaching the trigger with his cane, discharged the weapon. The act was attributed to heavy financial losses, incident to oil speculations in southern Kentucky.
With the building of the L&N Railroad and the Cincinnati Southern Railways (CSR) to the front and rear of the mansion, the place was purchased by Robert Cleek and used, thereafter, only as a private residence.
Shortly after this, young Joe Blackburn of Walton, while walking on the track of the Cincinnati Southern watching the passing of an L&N train, failed to hear the warning whistle of an approaching CSR train and was instantly killed in full view of the house.
In the fall of 1877 Parker Mayo (a colored man), who was a prisoner for the alleged assault of a white woman, was taken from the sheriff of the county and hanged to an oak tree 300 yards north of the house. Under this same tree, Charles Smith (also colored) was hanged soon after.
Smith had been alternately employed in the neighborhood by Lucien Stephens and Justice Hudson, and having been discharged by each, set fire to Hudson’s barn, heavily stocked with farm produce, cattle, and horses. While the family was endeavoring to save the stock from the burning barn, Smith robbed the house, ran to Lucien Stephens, fired his barn, and escaped into Indiana. With capture, “Judge Lynch” was the executioner.
In 1863 the tollgate in the immediate vicinity was kept by Hugh Ingram. Some years previous to this, Ingram had been bitten by a mad dog. In mortal dread of hydrophobia, he often threatened suicide. Particularly was this noticeable with the recurrence of the date on which he was bitten.
At one such time, slipping out of the tollhouse at night, unknown to his family, he took his life by hanging himself to the railroad bridge over the Cincinnati Southern, just a few yards distant from the old inn.
In 1892 Miss Elizabeth Rice, the maiden sister of Mrs. Robert Cleek; who, at the time, lived on the place, committed suicide in the yard by pouring coal oil over her clothing and setting fire to it. Her mind was thought to be unbalanced.
Twenty years before this, her father had burned himself to death in the same way.

The property is, at present, owned and occupied by J. C. Byland, a nephew of William Northcutt, who was killed by Robert Harrison.
An historical incident of some interest in connection with the place is that, in September 1876, the great prize fight between Joe Gross and Tom Allen for the world’s championship took place immediately south of and within 1,000 yards of the inn.

be homesteaders out.

The house was first built by a Civil War general named Abner Gaines whom retired to the central stage-coach stop between Lexington and Cincinnati that is Walton.
He owned slaves, as was customary, he had three sons and a wife whom all lived on the plantation with him.
His eldest son loved horses, which, sadly, was his downfall. When he was riding on a summer night, he fell from the horse and was killed instantly when his head made contact with the ground. [Which is strange, but the released medical records confirm it for that time].
Abner buried his eldest on the plantation, but the bones can`t be found on the surrounding acres, so they`re doing a historical dig at the park [where there is a cemetery located that dates back PAST the civil war.]
His wife passed away next from pneumonia, her burial place isn`t released. Abner died of old age, alone in the house. His two sons [middle and youngest] moved off to Cincinnati.
Years later, the house was opened up as a stage coach stop/pub for travelers on the way to Cincinnati or Lexington. Slaves were lynched on the front oak, and you can hear chains rattle on spring nights.
Five men committed suicide in the upper floors of the house, two in the same room.
One was accidental, as he was elderly and had fallen, and supposedly used the gun to lift himself up, then tragically died.
Another woman whom was crushed after finding her husband in an afair, set herself ablaze on the front lawn, screaming and falling to the ground on the stone walk.
Two babies died of TB in the nursery room of the house [which is on the bottom floor, now the drawing room]. You can hear children`s laughter sometimes].
The bridge, about a five minute walk, was used as a suicide hanging spot for one man who was in debt, another wandered onto the tracks drunken and was struck down.
The house was eventually closed until the mid 70`s when it was reopened for an apartment complex when the last of the the Gaines` air sold the plantation to a landowner in Walton.
It was used for apartments three or four times, then homes, and finally, in 2006, the Walton committee decided to turn it into a museum of Waltons proud history.

______________________________________________________________________

They`re currently restoring it, you can see the work little by little if you take US 25 and look right [going towards Richwood], and look left [going towards Walton].

I`ve been inside the house five or six times on tours, spent the night twice, its very invigorating and comforting.
The kitchen is frightening at times if you`re not paying attention.
Slaves shackles still remain on the basement wall.

possible summer project?

The Gaines Home July 26, 1899 Boone County Recorder Strange And Supernatural Happenings At The Abner Gaines House Boone County Landmark Carries A Violent, Haunting History Submitter’s Note: This story, while not absolutely accurate in the biographical detail of the Gaines family, is about as accurate as you could possibly expect to find about the history of the house. I have researched some of the events mentioned in the article and have found newspaper articles to corroborate just about every event described by its author. While this article doesn’t go into detail about the haunted aspect of the house, another article refers to the time when a Mr. Cleek owned the house and “a fair-haired child was seen skipping through one of the rooms early in the morning.” It was also said that several headless men were seen there. Several years ago, while an electrician was wiring the house, a ghost appeared at one of the windows. The workman became so frightened that he ran two miles to his home, leaving his car behind. I had intended to submit this article in time for the October “Halloween” issue, but it took three visits in the summer of 2001 to get my camera to take any pictures of the house. I was beginning to wonder if the spirits of the old place weren’t putting a jinx on my camera! Emma Look Scott July 26, 1899 The Boone County Recorder An old inn was erected in 1791 by Colonel Abner Gaines and is situated on the Covington and Lexington Pike road, one mile north of the town of Walton. This house is haunted with tragic memories, which has been the object of so much interest recently, on account of the various happenings there. It was formerly called Gaines Crossroads, and was the post office for many years, previous to the removal of the post office to Walton. The post office took its name from Colonel Gaines. Colonel Gaines was one of the pioneers of the community, having settled there when the whole surrounding county was one vast wilderness. He acquired a large area of land and, subsequently, became a very wealthy man. The property remained in the Gaines family through four generations. Colonel Gaines conducted the house as an inn or tavern, and it was also a station of the stagecoach, which ran between Covington and Lexington. It had, frequently, for its guests such men as Henry Clay; Richard M. Johnson, who was afterwards vice-president of the United States; the elder Breckinridge; and many others equally as prominent. The house is a plain three-story brick front, with extension of frame. It contains 18 rooms and a ballroom, 35 feet in length. Colonel Gaines had two sons, the elder of whom became famous as a general in the Mexican War. When the Mexican War broke out, John Gaines was made captain of a cavalry company. It proceeded to Mexico overland. From Kentucky to Mexico, young Gaines rode a favorite horse called Black Sultan. A remarkable incident of his experience in the Mexican War was that after a long imprisonment, he sought and found Black Sultan, road him during the war, and with its close rode the same horse back to his home in Kentucky. General Gaines served through the war on the staff of General Winfield Scott and went with General Scott’s army to the city of Mexico. He was elected several times to Congress and was appointed Territorial Governor of Oregon by President Zachary Taylor. At that time, it was a difficult matter to get to the Pacific Coast. General Gaines went by way of New Orleans by steamer. During the voyage, two of his children were stricken with yellow fever. Both died and were buried at sea. He afterwards returned to Kentucky and settled there at the old homestead. While living there, his wife, when riding in company with several others, was thrown from her horse and instantly killed. This was the beginning of many tragic happenings connected with the Gaines house. A few years after this a traveler named Benjamin Runyan stopped overnight at the tavern. As he failed to appear the next morning, a servant was sent in search of him. Unable to arouse him, he entered the room and found Runyan stiff, cold, and dead. He had shot himself during the night. In the latter 1840s, the mansion became famous for its lavish style of entertainment. It was frequently the scene of great festivities. During the progress of a ball one night, a tragedy occurred, which is still fresh in the memories of many old citizens. Two young men, Robert Harrison and William Northcutt, were suitors for the hand of the same young lady. Both were popular in society and of good parentage. The Harrisons were especially prominent, socially, because of their relation to Brekinridges and the Harrison family of which ex-President Harrison is a member. The father of Robert Harrison was a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Joseph Cabell Harrison. Possessed of wealth, social position, and good looks, although slightly eccentric in manner, Robert Harrison soon became the favored of the two suitors. This so enraged Northcutt that he determined to seek revenge. Harrison, who was baldheaded, was extremely sensitive upon this point and always wore a wig. During the evening in question, while the guests were dancing, Northcutt approached Harrison, who was dancing with a young lady, snatched off his wig, and threw it upon the floor. Harrison uttered not a word, but quickly turned upon his heel, drew a Spanish dagger, and plunged it to the hilt into the heart of Northcutt, who fell lifeless to the floor. The tragic event brought the ball to a sudden close. Harrison had the sympathy of all present and of the entire community. Public sentiment was so much in his favor that he was never arrested for the deed. The memory of the crime, however, seemed to overshadow his life. The slight eccentricity of the matter before-mentioned became, in later life, a distinguishing characteristic. He never married, abjured women’s society, and became, in fact, almost a recluse. He died, suddenly and alone, some two years since in Covington. In the years that followed, the mansion continued popular as a hostelry. When General Kirby Smith and his staff, among whom was Colonel J. M. Arnold; who is, at present, the freight agent for the Cincinnati Division Queen and Crescent Railway. In 1869 the house passed into the possession of Jerry R. Glenn, father of D. A. Glenn, the present Commonwealth’s Attorney of the Sixth Judicial District of Kentucky. With the occupancy of the house by Mr. Glenn, there was wont to gather under its hospitable roof; many men past the prime of life; who, having a taste for the chase, had not the leisure to indulge it; and with it the inevitable quiet game of cards after nightfall. Prominent among these was Major John A. Goodson, the father-in-law of Hon. John G. Carlisle. One evening in March 1869 Major Goodson whiled away the evening hours, as usual, and retired to his room. Presently, the report of a gunshot startled the inmates. Intuitively hastening to the room of Major Goodson, the same in which Ben Runyan had taken his life 40 years before, they found him lying upon the floor dead, shot through the heart. He had evidently placed the gun on the bed, knelt in front of it, and reaching the trigger with his cane, discharged the weapon. The act was attributed to heavy financial losses, incident to oil speculations in southern Kentucky. With the building of the L&N Railroad and the Cincinnati Southern Railways (CSR) to the front and rear of the mansion, the place was purchased by Robert Cleek and used, thereafter, only as a private residence. Shortly after this, young Joe Blackburn of Walton, while walking on the track of the Cincinnati Southern watching the passing of an L&N train, failed to hear the warning whistle of an approaching CSR train and was instantly killed in full view of the house. In the fall of 1877 Parker Mayo (a colored man), who was a prisoner for the alleged assault of a white woman, was taken from the sheriff of the county and hanged to an oak tree 300 yards north of the house. Under this same tree, Charles Smith (also colored) was hanged soon after. Smith had been alternately employed in the neighborhood by Lucien Stephens and Justice Hudson, and having been discharged by each, set fire to Hudson’s barn, heavily stocked with farm produce, cattle, and horses. While the family was endeavoring to save the stock from the burning barn, Smith robbed the house, ran to Lucien Stephens, fired his barn, and escaped into Indiana. With capture, “Judge Lynch” was the executioner. In 1863 the tollgate in the immediate vicinity was kept by Hugh Ingram. Some years previous to this, Ingram had been bitten by a mad dog. In mortal dread of hydrophobia, he often threatened suicide. Particularly was this noticeable with the recurrence of the date on which he was bitten. At one such time, slipping out of the tollhouse at night, unknown to his family, he took his life by hanging himself to the railroad bridge over the Cincinnati Southern, just a few yards distant from the old inn. In 1892 Miss Elizabeth Rice, the maiden sister of Mrs. Robert Cleek; who, at the time, lived on the place, committed suicide in the yard by pouring coal oil over her clothing and setting fire to it. Her mind was thought to be unbalanced. Twenty years before this, her father had burned himself to death in the same way. The property is, at present, owned and occupied by J. C. Byland, a nephew of William Northcutt, who was killed by Robert Harrison. An historical incident of some interest in connection with the place is that, in September 1876, the great prize fight between Joe Gross and Tom Allen for the world’s championship took place immediately south of and within 1,000 yards of the inn.

Now THAT'S EXCITING!

I haven't lost interest in my blog....or taking photos....or scrapbooking.....or anything. Life is in one of those ebb and flow type periods where things are keeping my busy with other things. I won't lie, when it gets to the end of the last couple of weeks before Mike gets home from Africa again I start to drag. This time around I'm trying to do the normal stuff, work and also get the other house prepared to move in.

I have also been taking more 'everyday' photos on my phone camera. I remember reading an article awhile ago about how point and shoot cameras will be a thing of the past. People who still enjoy photography will still buy the bigger digital cameras (I still love mine) but they are hard to carry around sometimes. Plus I'll be honest that the weather has been so yucky for awhile now that I don't have much interest to go out and take any photos. That should change soon now that it is starting to warm up and things are growing all over the place!

I realized that I had my camera on the counter top that I had spent some time on today when I cleaned the kitchen. I was curious as to what was on the photo card, but took a quick picture of what I had just accomplished.....making lunches. Wow, do those Doritos look really bright or what? It's funny how each child has a favorite and I know the little details that make each one unique. Megan: ham and cheese, mayo, mustard. Sparkling apple drink (cans are allowed at the middle school/high school but not at Matthew's. Even if it is juice.) Trevor: plain ham. Mustard. Sparkling apple juice. Matthew: salami mommy sandwich, cheese, mayo and mustard. No crust. Favorite yogurt and juice. This was a pretty easy assembly line type lunch making. Sometimes it gets more complicated once I put fruit or vegetables into the mix. They each certainly have their favorites and things they definitely don't like. Lunches are a fun part of being a mom.




- and a photo of Koopa. LOL. I do have to admit that the turtles are so cute when they wake up in the morning. A few minutes after the heat lamp is turned on, if you go back and look you can see their two little heads poking out of the bedding. They stretch their necks in the warmth and slowly come out to bask for awhile. These two make me happy. :)

So sadly those are the only photos I've really taken in awhile. I promise to change that.

Updates soon!

An update for Wendy. Cuz I love her.

Finally.....the story to go with the photos. Last night I was talking to my mom about this house and posted pictures for her to see. It was after midnight, so I didn't write anything about them. So here it is:

A little over a week ago Mike came into work with a picture on his phone. It was of this house. We weren't really actively looking for anything else yet.....but it is no secret that we absolutely hate the street we are on now. It's really been a downer for the past year. But, with the uncertainty of our future and where exactly we'll end up for good when Mike is able to have a job in the US again, we thought we'd try our best to stick with it. It wasn't going to be easy. But seeing that he found this place....gave me hope!

Long story short, he found this other house. In a much better neighborhood. In the same school district the kids are in so they don't have any major changes. More square footage, each child has their own room again, and it has the best deck off the back....ever! I plan on spending a lot of time out there this summer.

I admit, I'm excited about moving but not so much about the process of it all. We'll have movers, but even once everything is moved in, it always takes so much time to find everything again, find a home for it and then remember where you put it! I think I'm getting too old for this. lol. It's definitely a workout, but hello...I do not want to stay in the current house either! So at least we have a place that will feel like home and we'll figure out the rest after that.

These pictures aren't the greatest as it was a yucky day outside. I drive by all the time when I can and now there are daffodils all over the yard and the trees are actually trying to come back after winter. I think it will be beautiful when the trees fill in.

The yard is huge. I'm sure there will be a ton of fireflies this summer since at the bottom of the hill is a small creek. Behind the house is some land with horses on it. There is plenty of space and existing beds for planting pumpkins, tomatoes and flowers. Plus I plan on using the deck to grow things in containers. I plan on eating outside on the deck all the time, getting a swing and some chairs so we can sit around a fire pit and make smores. I love being outside when it comes to things like that.

So the next week will be full of packing what I can. Otherwise somebody else is coming in to pack. I'm also going over to paint for a few weeks before we officially move in when Mike comes back from Africa.

:)

SO weird how only a week ago we had snow. Today....bulbs are coming up all over the place like crazy.

So where have I been? Working, enjoying Mike being home, playing with kids, cleaning, and enjoying some warmer weather.

Just didn't want anybody thinking I had abandoned my blog. More updates and photos coming. Most of my photos I have taken lately are on my phone since I've left my camera at home and been part of the things going on. Once I figure out how to load them, I will.

Happy SPRING. Finally.

I downloaded a few photos tonight and realized that today....the 25th....is the first day that I have taken any photos in February. That has to be a first in many, many years. It has been cold and I have not been in much of a mood to go out and take pictures because of it. Today though...is a BIG day. (These pictures were taken in such horrible light, I wish that pretty hair could stay until tomorrow. Plus I was lucky to get 5 seconds of her standing still before she was ready to go!)

Snowball dance! Megan has been talking about this since last year, when we moved here and she was still new to the school. We didn't really know about it and she didn't go. So a year later, this is all she could talk about since the date was set.

A good friend of mine from Kohl's is also going to cosmetology school. She is one of the sweetest girls ever. I asked her if she'd mind doing megan's hair for the dance since I am so hair challenged. Let's face it, if I were to do her hair, it would be in a ponytail, or ironed flat. Jessica made her look like a princess. She brought a bag full of all sorts of professional goodies to our house.

Pretty much the second she was done getting dressed, she was so excited to be dropped off at the dance. I think she was one of the first few there. She's meeting a group of her friends and then afterwards is going to a restaurant in town with a few of them and parents. (I don't know if I was invited....lol....I figured I'd let her have her night.)

It seems like so long ago since we were shopping for this dress. It was actually when my mom was here visiting. Megan was so excited, and has had it hanging on the back of her door since then. Every now and then she'd try it on, or she'd just stare at it. I think she looks beautiful. :)

The dance is appropriately named, since this morning we had more snow. Ugh. Last week was beautiful and in the 60s. Sunny and perfect outdoor weather. I had all these great plans to go for walks and start running again as soon as Mike got home. This week we have returned to cold temps, rain and snow. Luckily, I had bought a pretty jacket/shrug thingie that she can wear over this dress so she doesn't freeze.

What we're watching......

TV shows come and go. Some define the moments in our lives. This week is a TV week!

A current favorite that we can't miss is Police Women of Cincinnati. Those girls are tough. Plus it's cool to see the overhead shots of the city. OK, but really.....you can't judge an entire city on these shows. Cincinnati is not as horrible as you'd think simply by watching. Much like last year when they did Policewomen of Maricopa County. What they show isn't the Phoenix that I know.

- But I LOVE the architecture of Cincinnati. Sadly, so much of the old buildings are in the worst areas. The kids make fun of me because when they show some of these run down buildings these women are chasing some drug dealer into, I always say, "Oh look at how beautiful that building is!" You can see all the old moulding, the details in ironwork, the lead glass and pretty tiles from back when they were probably mansions, now divided into several apartments and multi meth head units. Sometimes you just have to overlook the crack pipes and prostitutes and appreciate the history. lol.

I should mention how the other night I was going to set the new season of Survivor on season pass on the DVR.

When I was scrolling on the guide, I noticed that Blue's Clues was on Nick. I don't know what made me do it, but I hit select and it popped on. I wanted a peek at what used to consume so much time in our lives years ago. I haven't' seen Blue or Steve in ages! Matthew and Trevor heard it and came out from where they were playing......like moths to a flame. They sat on the couch next to me and we watched the last 15 minutes together.

I told both of them how much they used to love this show. (Even though of course now they are too cool, and were mocking how simple Blue's Clues really is.) I told them stories about how during this time in their lives we had several Handy Dandy Notebooks, striped shirts because they looked like Steve's, and how many late nights we'd watch a Blue's Clues video because when we were up sick with asthma, a 20 minute episode is about how long a breathing treatment took. We'd sit there at 2 in the morning.....with a tube in a mouth and that loud machine buzzing away.

It was fun to go back in time a little bit.

For the past ten years, twice a year, our lives revolved around SURVIVOR. Once again, welcome back Jeff. You are like family.

THEN........



Phil from the Amazing Race, he's back too.

Not only is Survivor starting a new season, but the BEST is when both Survivor AND The Amazing Race are on at the same time!! (Can you feel my excitement!?!?!) I love it when their seasons overlap and twice in a week we have 'our shows.' The shows where we all look forward to some serious couch time. We take our competition and favorite teams on these as seriously as some people take football.

It is Friday, which also means that it is SOUP night. Another weekly television tradition. :)

warm winter food

Image taken from web...from the recipe I made. I really need to charge my camera battery.

Trust me....this does not happen often. I have been in the mood to cook. Mike made a big batch of chili and some chicken tortilla soup before he left, and I froze it in single portions so that I could easily heat up a bowl when I wanted to warm up and eat something yummy.

All of that is long gone. I always felt so good sitting down and heating up a quick lunch and sitting down on the couch and watching something on tv. A chance to relax and think about Mike, and me eating something he left for me. Makes for a warm tummy and heart. :)

Earlier this week I took the kids to the library to pick up a book that Trevor had on hold. I picked up a couple of issues of Cooking Light (a magazine I always liked, but did a lot of reading through when I was in the hospital last year.) There was one issue that I was reading and didn't get a chance to write anything down from it. It was one that I checked out at the library.

I leave the magazine in my car for when I am waiting for Megan and Trevor to get out of school. I will sit there and flip through it, and read what sounds good. Usually I mark these pages and show them to Mike and tell him "this sounds good." Then he'll make it. (I'm spoiled, I know.) But right now, believe it or not, I have been in the mood to cook. Big batches of stuff.

I was already quite proud of myself this past week after making chicken in a crock pot. We had some for dinner, then i used the left overs to shred and make street tacos with. I loved how easy it was to warm up a corn tortilla and put in some already cooked chicken. Then I'd cut up a bit of avocado, some cilantro, onion, lemon and hot sauce. Yum.

I still had some chicken left over and actually found in my pantry most of the things needed to make posole. It clicked. For a brief moment I felt INSPIRED. I can do this. I had a recipe in one of the Cooking Light issues that I had dogeared too.

It smells pretty good if I do say so myself. I realize this isn't a fancy recipe, but it's baby steps for me because I actually enjoyed making it. I can cook, I just don't enjoy it. - I am making a big pot to eat over the weekend, and maybe into next week....when even MORE snow is coming.

I'm about done with snow. It's not cute anymore. At least until next year when I'll be happy to see it come around again.

Sitting out the storm today. Really there isn't much going on outside other than it is cold, and this morning very windy. Yesterday our driveway was covered in ice, but the road to school was fine. My house is clean, kids are in school and I am off today, so I figured I would do a little scrapping.

I'm sitting here with a space heater aimed at my feet (and sharing with Piper, who is in her usual spot underneath the desk) and a hot McDonalds coffee. Which I found out because of a leftover Dove Bliss chocolate heart, that if you leave that in your mouth while you take a sip of coffee... tastes like pure heaven.

I also just realized that today is an 'anniversary' of sorts. We have been in this house for a year. It has been a long year. lol. But the good thing is, that means one year is behind me and things are changing.....I'm looking forward to seeing where I am at one year from today!

Image taken from the web.
Why is it when a huge winter storm is on the way people rush to the store to buy eggs, milk and bread? Because we all eat french toast apparently.

Another storm is on the way. This one is supposed to be ugly with a lot of ice. I am stocked up on groceries and cleaning products. The last I heard the brunt of this one is supposed to be a bit further north than where we are. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way. I'd really like for the kids to have a full week of school. At the rate they are going, they will be staying all the way into October!

I am ancy about spring. Maybe it's the retail world and seeing the new colors, shorts and bathing suits....across from the winter coats. lol.

Brrrr.

Nothing like getting into your car after work and seeing that it is 5 degrees outside.

I am so confused as to what day of the week it is too. The kids have had the past two days off of school due to snow. We got eight inches of it yesterday. - This is also during the same week that they had Monday off due to the holiday. A two day school week is not too shabby!

Megan went over to a friend's house today to go sledding. I actually had to drop her off at the end of the driveway because the house is on a hill and there is no way anything but a 4WD could make it up the slippery driveway. The boys and I stayed inside all day and watched shows on the Food Network and Travel Channel. We like to watch food shows together. Trevor always gets inspired by whatever we watch. I think the boy is going to grow up to be a good cook like his daddy. :)

Feeling nostalgic.

Image above taken from the web.

Well.....my scrapping and writing has slowed down quite a bit over the past year. It's not that I don't enjoy it anymore, and really I don't consider myself to be a good writer at all....in fact I know that my sentence structure or punctuation is not going to pass any English class rules....and I have even been known to start a sentence with BUT (which I realize is not proper, and I do always pause before using it.....but.....I write on my blog like I would speak, casually.) I have to remember this is for me.

It's more just to jot things down as I think about them. My picture taking even slows down this time of year. Not sure why, other than maybe like some others have suggested it is that December is such a photo full month. Not to mention that it is usually cold out in January. lol.

So, back to the writing. I feel like so much has happened over the past year and I've let it slip by. I found a place for some daily journaling prompts. Some I like, some I don't. Some just don't pertain to me at all. Some I stop and think, "Wow. I really do want to remember some of that stuff but don't really think I want to devote an entire scrapbook page to it."

So, this is something that I hope to continue through this new year. When I don't have much else going on to blog about, I may just write down a few things that come to my mind from the list of prompts.

One I chose from this past week was:

Think of the place that you consider to be home, even if you don't live there anymore. Why is that place "home"? What events/people make it home?

This answer may change, in fact as time goes by here, I hope that this will be a different answer. As of now, the place that I still consider "home" is Arizona. Even though I was born in Florida, spent some time in Southern California as a child, and currently live in Kentucky.

I did the most of my growing up in Phoenix, Arizona. My family is still there, I went to school there, met Mike there, got married there, had children there. I lived there for a few decades and had been around to see so many changes.

The cotton and corn fields that I used to ride my horse through are now six lanes of paved road that run through one of the busiest areas of Chandler. I have seen street names change from Indian names to the more politically correct versions, seen local stores come and go, can recognize the smell of a monsoon storm or never take for granted the bit of cool air and the amazing smell of the orange groves in the spring. I understand the good fortune of finding a parking space under a small palo verde tree even if it only gives the illusion of a cooler temperature and often times is a farther walk than finding a close parking spot near the door of a store. - Or driving with pot holders. Or that brief moment when you have been frozen to death in a restaurant with great air conditioning in August and you sit inside your 150 degree car before your a/c starts....and it actually feels GOOD.
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Just the sound of cicadas can make it instantly feel 10 degrees hotter. Burning the bottoms of your feet on the sand at Big Surf. Riding a bike miles to the store. (The hills here aren't conducive to casual bike riding!)
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Never understanding the idea of a 'snow day.' Being able to play outside in 60 degree weather with new toys on Christmas day. A quick getaway to San Diego. Saguaro cactus, in ground pools and real Mexican food.
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The energy of downtown Phoenix during a game, the history of Mill Avenue, the sound of small aircraft and being a part of that sound and seeing the area from the air. A city big enough for U2 to visit many times, multiple Targets and movie theaters, Peter Piper Pizza and anything ending in -ertos. Like Filabertos!
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I love my new home in Kentucky, and as we plant roots here I know that things will change. I can list a thousand things I already love about here. Ironically I did always want to live in Kentucky when I was a horse loving girl. I think it is strange that someday my kids without a second thought will consider this 'home' as they live and learn more about the area, go to school here and grow up here. It is hard for me to shake that in my heart....Arizona is still "home."

Snow day number two

above: Trevor heading up the hill.

Another snow day! This time at least the school made the announcement the night before. For some reason our district is always the last in the county to announce if the school is going to be closed.

At least this time instead of getting the call in the early morning, the school had made the calls the night before. We took advantage of that and stayed up kind of late, and slept in today. Mike made breakfast, then shoveled the driveway again. He did this yesterday, but even by yesterday afternoon you couldn't tell that he had spent all that time out there clearing it. It snowed all day and night.

After digging ourselves out, we went to the hill.

above: Trevor after doing quite an awesome flip sort of dismount. Luckily no broken bones.
above: Matthew, who really was having a great time but looking at this photo...he looks somewhat scared.
above: Megan, who wins for sliding the farthest.

above: The van. I still am in love with the van. It did kill me to have snowy, wet feet in it. I have to remind myself that it is only water and nothing a trip to the car wash with a high power hose won't clean out of floor mats. I do have my rubber winter mats in the front for now. But isn't it pretty in the snow? :)
above: there's a car under there. Somewhere.

As nice as having two days off midweek has been...I am sure the kids will be going to school tomorrow. The snowplows have been busy and you can hear them everywhere. The roads where we live have been clear all day. The rural roads getting cleared are the ones that dictate whether or not there will be school tomorrow.....so we'll see!

Mike made the best rueben sandwiches and greek salad for dinner tonight and we'll all sit down to watch Modern Family in a bit. We were all pretty productive in finishing up a bit more laundry and completely going through all of the bedrooms upstairs. Clean feels so good!

Not much going on....little details of today.

Snow day. :)

This is one of the best ones. I am off from work until Friday, Mike is still home, the kids are all home, we are stocked up on things to eat, movies to watch and no place we really need to be. These are the best!

Laundry is getting done, house is clean. :)

I just went outside to take some trash out (really I just wanted to stand in the snow and watch it come down.) and the street looks so pretty right now. Those who have been here know that is a rare thing....lol....but the snow has covered everything including the street and everything is untouched. For once I can say that it really looks beautiful.

Right now I am baking some cream cheese filled cinnamon breadsticks that are making the house smell wonderful.

By the looks of the weather....tomorrow will be another day off from school.

A collective sigh......

Dang. Who is happy that the holidays are over? ME ME ME!

They were nice. There were nice surprises, nice memories and all that, but it was a whirlwind. Somebody I work with said exactly what I felt. That we had been putting out Christmas decorations in September at work (I actually had missed the overnight of putting up Christmas trees and all of the holiday decoration displays since I was still recovering from surgery at the time, so I remember exactly when those went up....then came back to work with Christmas trees all over.)
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However....we had been looking and dealing with Christmas for so many months, and trying to get through the season with the whole retail madness.....that by the time it was all over......it felt like we missed it. I mean really....Valentine's Day stuff is already out so that whole Christmas thing was a blur.

Ours was nice though. Mike ended up being home for it, which for a week or so we didn't think was going to happen. He is doing a contract job ferrying a new airplane overseas in his off month from his regular job when he is supposed to be off and home for a month.
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We were bummed about the possibility of him missing Christmas, but a financial boost was hard to say no to.
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Long story....and this IS the internet.....but he was home for the holidays! Nice. :)

I am putting together a Daily December book to remember all of the details from the last month.
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So.....
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Thank you to the above mentioned job, we have a new car. All mine. A 2004 Mazda MPV. This came about with a trip to Indianapolis to take a look at one that was found with everything that I could have asked for. The best is....it is clean. Oh, so clean! It looks brand spanking new inside and out. It was privately owned, so we got an amazing deal on it. I enjoyed the road trip back to Kentucky in it the other night.
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2011. I am happy to see it and hope everybody has a happy and healthy one! It is already looking up here. :)

snow messages and low batteries.

This was a message I found in the snow when I opened the blinds to the back deck the other morning. :)

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Mike called me from New York this morning. I had my cell phone laying on the bed after I talked to him. I went about some morning stuff, took a shower and sat on the bed for a minute. I hear my phone make a noise. I look at it and the screen is telling me "battery low." I laughed for a second and said, "I know the feeling." My battery is low too. Working this season has been a little rough. I keep thinking that it will be over soon, and that I am grateful it's only a temporary thing. Seriously, staying open until midnight.....and people STILL come to the door 10 minutes after you have locked the doors.

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Only a few more days until Christmas. I think I am done with shopping, but have really dropped the ball on getting things out in the mail. I really have not had time. I know this sounds awful and like an excuse, but I work, I come home and sleep, I try to do important errands in the few hours in between getting the kids to school and returning to work again. My good intentions of picking out Christmas cards at the beginning of December fell through. They still need attention. I hope to get to those later today while I am sitting on the couch with Mike and catching up on some missed TV. (I haven't even watched the reunion show from Survivor this past week! I KNOW! ME! I live for Survivor.)

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Christmas spirit.

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OK, I forgot to mention that last night as I was working on the register that I am grateful for a job at a place that I am allowed to say "Merry Christmas" to people. It's a small thing really. I remember the first times I had somebody say it to me here I always stumbled on what to say in return. I think over the past several years (and maybe some of it is geography, and it was more confusing on the West coast compared to here) I never knew how to react to a simple gesture from somebody wishing me a Merry Christmas. I never thought of it as somebody pushing religious beliefs on me, but rather a nice wish for a special season. And Season's Greetings never gave me that warm fuzzy feeling as much as something I grew up used to....Merry Christmas.

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Also, I can't say that it is necessarily in the spirit of Christmas because really Kentucky people are a certain type of people. They like to talk. They like to be polite (for the most part) and like to be helpful and courteous to others. It's definitely something I have noticed since being here and having spent so much of my life in Phoenix. There is a different vibe here. I can tell you only TWO stories of somebody being an all out jerk to me. But when I have been stuck for one reason or another, there are always people willing to go above and beyond.

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He won't see this....but I am thankful for Tim. I went to take some papers to the kids' school that Trevor forgot to take with him earlier. Returning to my car, it wouldn't start. Ugh. Battery issue. Ironically after posting about my phone battery this morning too. I think a theme for the day is to recharge ALL batteries around here. Phone, car, body and mind.

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Anyway....after calling Mike in a frantic freak out while he is sitting in a terminal at JFK, (sorry Mike. lol) I go back into the school office. The secretary calls somebody she knows, and a man with a huge work truck comes to the school. He's a local guy that everybody except me must know. He is like the Walton go to guy. He pops out with a toolbox and looks at the car. Fixes a loose cable on my battery and the car starts. Christmas miracle. He was so nice. He only drove out to help me after the secretary had called. Thank you Tim!
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While this was going on, Megan made a new friend. We overheard a mom and her daughter in the office at the school. This girl just moved here from the district we used to live in. She went to the same middle school Megan did, and heard that she was in the 7th grade. This girl looked just like Megan did this time last year when we moved down here....nervously waiting in the lobby of the school and trying to peek into the hallways. We broke the ice by saying that she'll like the principal at this school much better than her old one. The girl seemed a bit more relieved that somebody was talking to her.

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When we were leaving the parking lot the girl and her mom got into their car and the girl waved at Megan. They waved at each other and when the mom accidentally set off the alarm on her car both girls laughed and waved again. Megan said she'd look for her when they go back to school so she'll feel comfortable knowing somebody right away. That's one thing I love about Megan....she is compassionate. Such a good girl. (With a really messy room right now. hint hint....)

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I think I need to go visit my friend June at the Richwood Mcdonalds and get a soda to kick start this day off.

I know tonight is one of those nights where I will finally feel like I can breathe. Everybody will be under one roof and things are beginning to level out. :) and yes....get those cards in the mail!!!

Snow day!! - and dorky the snow dog.

Well we knew it was coming. It was so strange after yesterday being a nice day with sun and bright blue sky to think that the next day would be so....not. It doesn't bum me out though because I really like the changes in weather as often as it happens here. - and I still kind of like the snow.
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Everybody was talking about this big storm coming. It was supposed to get ugly. Lots of snow and ice. 100% chance. There was no getting around it or 'hoping'...it was going to happen. Of course the stores were crazy. Even work last night.....I guess people trying to finish up Christmas shopping early if we get stuck for a few days before Christmas and people couldn't get out easily.
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I ended up at the register more than my department last night simply because it was so busy. Everybody would plop down their purchases saying the same thing, "Almost done....shopping before the storm gets here....etc." On top of toys, housewares and stuff....there's always the people who find themselves without winter gear. Like me...who has come home almost every night from work with gloves, hats, earmuffs, snow pants.....etc. Every day is like Christmas coming home from work lately. lol.
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Teachers at the schools yesterday were already talking as if there wasn't school the next day. The bus driver even said to Matthew, "See you on Friday!"
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Of course they couldn't make it easy and announce it last night before bed, making it a frenzy of the kids putting jammies on inside out, flushing ice down the toilet and sleeping with spoons under their pillows. Then the phone rang at 5:00 this morning. Even when you expect it, being woken up by a ringing phone from sleep scares you. I picked it up and heard that school was closed. Then went back to bed, got all warm.....and the phone rang again. Telling me school was closed again. Ugh.
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I have to go in for a few hours today so I went out to shovel the driveway. Plus if we are expecting more snow tonight, at least I will have gotten 5 inches of the stuff ahead of the game. This is Piper's favorite thing.
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As much as I threaten to send her away to my parent's house in Phoenix this time of year (more because of us having to wait while she sniffs and plays when she is let out in the morning) I think this dog looks forward to this time of year. She sits in Megan's room and stares out the window when it snows. She just sits there still and watches it.
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She goes nuts when somebody has the shovel. That is when it is time for serious play. She'll hear that door open and she bolts out the door and plows her face through new snow and leaps like a deer.

She will stand near you, crouch or circle you while you shovel. She'll even bite at the snow you are trying to scoop up. She LOVES when you fling a shovel full on her.

snow day...continued.

Just in case you thought this was animal abuse....she is definitely asking for more. ;)


I loooove this picture.

again...again...again....

Finally I threw a snowball at the bush and she spent a long time looking for it. That is about the only way to get rid of her for enough time to actually do productive shoveling.

Snow day.....day 13

The kids had a snow day today. The first one of the season. We'll see how many we end up with since this is supposedly going to be a very cold and snowy winter.

We have done gingerbread houses every year, but I have gotten smart and started buying them early and hiding them until we had a day off from school. They are a good snow day craft. In the past I have bought one big house that all three work on, but this year I was excited to find a kit that had five small houses in it. Each one got to pick out a house and have one of their own. It works out perfect because they each have their own style. Matthew is very meticulous about his house. Trevor.....not so much. His kind of looks like somebody shot at it with a paintball gun by the time he was done with it. The way the red frosting came out of the bag and on to the roof I thought looked like he was trying to build Chilis.

Megan went with very simple decor this year and glued the sides and roof together, frosted the top and lined chocolate chips along the roof.

The boys both went out and played for a long time today. There is a small hill at the end of the road where they spent most of the afternoon with a couple of friends. Luckily friends who have extra sleds. (I think they are getting sleds for Christmas this year since I keep seeing them at Kroger and make a mental note that we need a couple.)

No snow day planned for tomorrow....and after two whole days off I go into work for a few hours.