Camping 2014 commences....with challenges!

Here we go!!!! Last weekend, Bob, Paulette, Ron, and I headed out to our seasonal campsite, sans campers. This is our second season at GottaGetAway, 20 minutes from home and the first season for Bob and Paulie. After many site visits, we settled on side by side lots and came out to survey our domain! Meanwhile, Nina and Anna were getting their Spring checkups nearby.....

If you look in the center distance, you will see our site from last year. Notice our new site has a tree!!!    We asked Chuck, our go-to carpenter, to move our deck, that he built for us last year,  to our new site and make it work around the tree!

I guess while we were away, "our" Canadian Geese, expanded their family! I count five new additions!!!

Ok, while we look like we know what we're doing, our first weekend was a bit rough. First of all, we were so late setting up on Friday, that we didn't get there at all!!!

Meanwhile,  Bob and Paulie set up Friday afternoon, and were disappointed that we didn't get there in time to share a campfire. They had a fine first night, and when we arrived on Saturday afternoon, everything was running smoothly at site 87.   MEANWHILE, at site 79,  Bob and Ron were plugging us in (our battery was dead????) and turning on the water........a few minutes later, I stepped into  Nina, into a flood from our new commode.......After turning off the water source, I was still so upset and insisted we vacate the scene and head home! After calming down, we headed back, bringing flowers with us (somehow that seemed to help) and I headed over to Paulie's rig to give her one of the flowering pots.

Finding Paulette in tears, I knew something awful had occurred during my flight. Sure enough, goat-poodle Sam, had tossed a brick down his throat! The brick had been used to hold down their screen house, and Riley, golden RETRIEVER, par excellence, had retrieved the brick, which Sam then decided to eat. I digress for a minute to tell you that Sam is a million dollar dog. Why, you ask? Because in his short 7 years , he has ingested a moldy gas grill briquette, a walnut, a quarter, and a dime, each time causing major $$$$$$$$ surgery, and now, a brick!   I arrived just in time to witness his second induced vomiting -  to no avail.

Moving on, we all tried to salvage our rough start and enjoyed an nice evening campfire. Ron and Bob stayed up for cigars and Paulie and I called it a night.

 The next morning (was it only this morning!) all seemed well. Rising early!!!! (7am) for us, Ron and I discovered we didn't have our coffee maker on board. Assured that early risers, Bob and Paulie, could  fix that, we head "next door" with coffee cups in hand. NOBODY WAS HOME. The car was gone, no dogs in sight. I entered Annie and saw Paulie's purse, phone, and the rig itself was in disarray.  Oh Oh.  As always, assuming the worst, I thought it could be that aliens had abducted the Grimsbo's, or.......I called the Lorain Emergency Vet Clinic to see if Sam and the Grimsbo's had arrived. NO??? After an hour of fretting, it occurred to me to call Paulie at home! Yep, she had hit the wall, as I had the day before, abandoning ship, or rig, actually, and drove home for a shower and to regroup the situation with Sam. Who, by the way, pardon my french, shit a brick, just minutes before!!!!  WHEW.

So, back they came, to fold up camp and head to Dayton for  a planned Mother's Day celebration.

Ron and I, and our crew, Jack, Marilyn, and Kate, spent the rest of the day at camp, napping, reading, walking, and enjoying our summer getaway.  Already, we have all planned next weekend...maybe we can all stay put for the entire time!

The Bionic Man

Our good friend, Bob, (and husband of BFF, Paulette) is a man of many talents. The most impressive of which is his talent for escaping death. We've heard of his exploits as a young man (blowing up dynamite found in a shed comes to mind) and driving his sports car, a Cobra, at insane speeds as a young buck. Then there were his years as a pilot of an Cobra attack helicopter in Vietnam, earning him medals for bravery, honor, and (crazy flying) while in his early 20's.  He escaped death on many missions, but, his most impressive escape was when he survived a massive heart attack at age 40. By then his rank was Colonel and he was on a fast track to being named a General. Detoured by his health, Bob, is a happy go lucky fellow and I have never, ever, seen him upset, angry, or even grumpy.

Recently retired, and packed with stents, and a defibrillator, Bob (at the instance of Paulette) embraced the vegan diet and lost more than 60 pounds.

His passions are golf and fly fishing, and recently, camping. Now to the story.  Last week, it was time to replace his defibrillator. And, it turns out, the leads. Which can be risky in someone of his age (ahem) and condition :)  Well, all went well at the Cleveland Clinic-number one hospital in the country, if not the world, for heart care. Paulie and I waited for him to be wheeled into the step-down unit, and there he was, waving his hand hello, looking better than I've seen him fixing breakfast around the campfire!

One week later, Bob, donned his new favorite fly fishing shirt (which Ron and I proudly gave him for his birthday last month) and instead of fishing, was busy running errands for Paulette-this, by the way, is Bob's full time job.

Before heading out for errands, they both heard their smoke detector beeping and Bob set out to change the batteries-in every room where he heard the beeping. Unable to complete the daunting task (it is a really big Victorian house) they both set out to do some shopping. The beeping continued in the car! Annoyed, Paulette commanded Bob (well, she thinks she is Bob's commander, now) to take out his hearing aids (of course, years in a attack helicopter can wreck havoc on your hearing) and the beeping continued unabated.  Paulette quickly deduced that it was Bob's chest that was beeping with a loud alarming sound! Calling the Clinic, they advised he return asap.

Six hours at the Clinic, with 10 doctors (including the head of the Device section) and the Medtronic  rep, they were stymied. Shirt on, shirt off, magnets waving, up and down the halls, they went. Finally, they concluded they would need to replace the device. That's about the time they took one last long look at the fishing shirt that Ron and I gave Bob................the one with a tiny magnet in one pocket to hold the fishing lures and other such. Yep, that one. No shirt, no beeping. Case closed, and once again, Bob is off to run errands for Paulette, sans fishing shirt!  Sorry Bob, that was one expensive shirt. And the best part of all, Bob wasn't even mad at us! Love you, Bob! Long may you live.

Family ties

My brother, David, is a professional photographer. The photo of Kate, above, is proof of that. This year, he and my niece, Kelsey, came for a visit during their spring break. In spite of leaving his  camera and lenses in the car at the airport, we had a week filled with photo shoots, some planned and some impromptu in nature. I watched him use his iPhone as often as my Sony and all of the photos were awesome. 

One evening, he and daughter, Kelsey, set up a makeshift photo studio in our living room, with a chair overturned for background, photo light shields at the windows, and lots of treats to bribe Kate into being angelic for a brief moment. (See amazing photo above).  To set this up, he had Kelsey crouch on the chair, pretending to be the dog! I was startled at first, then I remembered David telling me about photographer, Annie Leibovitz, and how she spent hours setting up a photo BEFORE the subject even arrived.

Not to be left out, both Marilyn and Jack got the royal treats (I mean treatment) as well. 

Doesn't Marilyn look sweet!

The expression on Jack's face is a familiar one. What IS he thinking about? Something is definitely being contemplated, and I don't think it is all about the graham cracker, either.  

AllieCat was a challenging subject as she is often squirmy when held and she doesn't stay in one place for long.  As a surprise, David created a short film of Allie just being her cute self with Ron.

http://youtu.be/mbGZop9PgBY

This is just a small sample of the photos taken, and I'd love to show you more. (I'll ask him if he'll  let me to showcase them here). It was amazing to see what he produced and how he looks at things with an eye for the best composition. He mentioned that he's working on a photo book called, Furniture in Public Places, and we had fun identifying couches left on sidewalks, chairs by the side of the road, etc. I'm afraid the whole volume could be produced just in this locale. I told him about my project, Librarians with Cool Shoes, and he seemed intrigued.....

We prowled around  abandoned factories in town, spent time on ice mounds on Lake Erie,  took night shots of our house, and the Library, and worked on an ABC poster featuring spinning wheels and knitting items. Kelsey was right in there, the perfect photo assistant-enthusiastic and adventuresome, too. It was a week I'll always remember.

Two Kinds of People

This is where I have worked since September, 1977. I was 23 and eager to start my career as a librarian.  Being in charge of 30 people, most of them in their 60's, required a quick learning curve and I relied on my dad for managerial advice. I also needed to learn how to lead and take orders from a volunteer board of 12 women, also in their 60's. And, last, but in no way least, I needed to learn how to deliver excellent library service to a community of 50,000; inner city, suburban, rural, and even islanders.  Now that I am almost 60 myself, I think Dave Barry's book, Things It Took Me 60 Years to Learn, is a great title!

In the thirty seven years since I first walked through the doors, some things have changed and some things have remained exactly the same. Instead of 20,000 square feet, the Library is now 63,000 square feet. Instead of 30 employees, we have more than 50. Instead of $400,000 in revenue ($1.5 million in today's dollars) we have $4 million-and half of that is from property tax levies instead of income from the State. Instead of 12,000 card holders, we have 28,000 card carrying members. Instead of 77,000 items in the collection, we have over 250,000 items-and some of those are "in the cloud" instead of in the building!

Here is what remains the same. There are still the same two kinds of people that my dad told me about on day one: There are those who look at life from a positive point of view, whose first assumptions are that things are or will be ok, and there are those who are constantly negative, who always distrust authority, and who ultimately can destroy an organization's ethos.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking two of our Board members, our new President, and our newest member of the board,  to a New Trustee Workshop in Columbus.  One speaker, a trial lawyer by profession, and a library board member by avocation, counseled on board membership duties. Turns out these are virtually the same duties for employees, in my opinion.

1. Duty of Care-By this he meant, know the policies, know the core values, work toward consensus, and work toward a atmosphere of collegiality.
2. Duty of Loyalty-Support your organization's goals, be an ambassador, form working friendships, and be positive.

Having served on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, Safe Harbor Domestic Violence, Sandusky Main Street, P.E.O., Ohio Library Council, and others,  I thought this was good board advice.  I also recognized that it is good advice for workers, too. In fact, I thought it was pretty good advice in general!

The speaker also gave a list of "unwritten rules"that resonated with me as well:
Be collaborative, Be positive, Own the Problem, Communicate, It's Not Personal, Be Efficient, and Enjoy It.  I would have to say these are great words of advice to work by and I plan to tape these to my desk!

I am nearing the end of my career as a public library director, and, fast approaching the age of 60.  I have learned quite a bit about people and there is still much I hope to learn!

I'm casting about for my "encore" career, and now have a "retirement coach" (wouldn't you just know that the baby boomers would demand such a thing)! I'm looking back to see what I've done, and I'm  looking forward to see what I might do next. Whatever is ahead, I'm keeping the rules above in mind and aligning myself with the kind of people that are positive and loving. If you have any words of advice, want to share what you've learned, or, if you have any suggestions for me, bring it on-whether you are 23 or 60 even older than that!

Good news for collectors!

 Yesterday, Ron and I headed for the Medina Antique Mall for an afternoon's adventure. We've spent many hours at the Mall over the years. Enough time that the staff know us and can't seem to understand why we aren't dealers. We are clearly buyers, not sellers!  The photo above is of a pottery bowl from Holland that has been up in our attic for quite awhile.

Yesterday, I saw it at the antique mall, marked for $158.00. Hmmm. Turns out it is a Gouda pottery bowl, called Astra, or Star. This I learned from ebay. I have always loved the colors, especially the dark rust color that matches most of our decor.

 Ron, collector of aviation art, selected this photo of a WWI pilot to add to his collection. It was in an old frame and was marked $20. It will join his vast collection of WWII art. He was happy to get it.

 As a collector of linens, I scooped up this runner for $5.00. I recognized it as a table runner from Sweden. This I know because I have a similar piece given to me by my Aunt Marj years ago after her visit to Sweden. It is in excellent condition and is now sitting on our dining room table.

I recently learned that I am 1% Irish. Maybe that is why I have loved Beeleek! No, actually, it is because my mother always served butter pats in the tub (in photo at right) and it is nostalgia that has me collecting other pieces.  What is all this collecting about?

Today, as I was reading a book, Farmhouse Revival, recommended to me by Paulette, I came across a very pertinent quote; " I love to buy stuff….Collecting is my art form."  

Wow. Collecting…..as art…..I've never thought of  collecting as an art form! I'm quite an artist! Guess I'll cancel those watercolor painting classes after all.

Aunt Julie gets taken for a ride down memory lane

While in California for Christmas, my 17 year old nephew, Kacey Carlson, showed me his "new" car-a 1968 Chevy Nova!

 As I hopped in for a  demonstration ride, music was blaring 1968 tunes from an iPod hooked up to the speaker system. Yikes, this kid has style!  As we rumbled through town, enjoying the throaty sound of a v8, heads were turning, waves occurred from girls of all ages from the sidewalks, and subtle finger acknowledgements from fellow vintage car owners took place.

Recent improvements to the car included new wheels and tires, a water pump, and the acquisition of a new hood to replace the dented one. Kacey and his dad, David (my brother) have plans for some additional reno work and attendance at car rallies this spring.

 Messing around with old cars is a long standing tradition in our family.  During my teenage years, we had a Austin Healy Sprite (similar to the MG Midget).  When I was 18 and my brother was 8, he actually taught me how to drive stick shift so I could drive that car!  Later my dad acquired an Austin Healy 3000 which was enjoyed by all of us for many years and which Ron and I wish we had purchased when my mom sold it several years ago.

 My car ownership started with a much less sporty car-an old Chevy Vega! I upgraded to a RX7 in 1984 which I still own and keep in tip top shape.

My brother, David, (Kacey's dad) had an MGBGT hardtop, which he raced in college instead of studying. He currently owns a new Chevy Camero and there is a Fiat Spider in the garage, too.

I fell in love with Ron, partly because he drove up for our first date in his  Datsun 280ZX! Earlier he owned a VW Carmengia -another fav of mine! His first car was a 1955 Buick Century that he acquired in 1963.

So, while it must be unusual among today's high school seniors to select an old car over something more practical,  it seemed just right for a Carlson to do so. I'm glad Kacey is carrying on the car gene in the Carlson family! Way to go, Kacey!

Snow storm…or not.

 The view out our back window this afternoon promised a snowy day! Everyone was anticipating the BIG SNOW STORM! I, however, have made a life study of snow storms in Sandusky and can tell you that Sandusky hardy ever gets a snow storm from west (Chicago, etc.) I waited for years in anticipation of the snow storms similar to those of my years growing up in Erie, Pa. I think it was year 10 in Sandusky that I started wising up to the truth. We don't get "lake effect" snow storms-instead we create them for Erie! Yes, the sad truth is that Sandusky never gets snow unless it comes up from the Texas area. Why no one else in the area, including all weather forecasters, news editors, and the area residents continue to think we'll get a storm from the west amazes me. I have rarely been mistaken, sad as I am to report this. Still, tonight, we are all awaiting the Big Storm, most not realizing that it has already passed over us and headed to Erie. sigh.

 So, I amused myself by making my own snow inside via snowflakes and white pottery in our kitchen and cool as ice blue still life setting.

Outside, even with no snow mounting, it looks really lovely!

Above are my Swedish Dala Horse in blue!  They evoke a wonderful feeling of cold Swedish winters for me, and below, the Copenhagen Christmas plates are always of snowy scenes.

The painting above is a paint by number given to us by Bob and Paulette. We collect dog paint by number paintings and have quite a collection, none, however, as big as this one! Of course, we have a large collection of dog paintings and prints in general, and cannot seem to resist any-whether done by professional or amateur, in stitchery, oil, charcoal, lithograph, whatever. Any breed will do. Any size will do. Photos of dogs we don't know, they all have a home with us.

As the Christmas decorations are put away, I love getting the house decorated in winter white. This way, I can have my snow storm ambiance whether or not we get a snowy exterior! Cold, icy, blue evokes the cold I so love. I have huge snowflakes to hang in my windows, set off by the electric candles. All in all, I am happy and cozy in my winter-decorated house. Now, if only it would snow!