The Wayside Chapel

On my photo excursion last weekend, I stopped by the Wayside Chapel.  It's an itty-bitty church, just off the highway outside Otterbein, Indiana.

I always loved that little church.  When I was a kid, I wanted to get married there.  I love the concept that if anyone ever felt the need, they could pull off the road and get a little injection of spirituality.  Just like the sign inside says.

Nobody ever made a big fuss about this little chapel.  Come to think of it, I've never even heard anyone ever talk about it.  I've been on this earth for nearly 50 years and I don't ever remember it not being there.     It was such a comfort to me to see it again and that's why I drove back to get a few photos.  I hope it is there for the next 50 years, standing quietly by the highway, inviting travelers to come inside and spend a few minutes with their creator.

Greetings from Hoosierland

So my niece and I went on a photo excursion.  I hope it is the first of many, because it was a hoot!  Who knew bridges, rust and cemeteries could be so much fun?  We happened upon a few places out in the country that we could have photographed for hours, but we valued our lives more than the possibility of a good photo.

Here are a few of my favorites.  A word of warning:  Some of these are pretty grim looking photos.  But it was a cold, cloudy, blustery weekend in February.  A photo of a blushing bride on her wedding day is going to look grim on a day like yesterday.  And they are most assuredly in no particular order.  Maybe someday Hannah will give me a tutorial on uploading photos.  I still screw it up every time.

Enjoy!

Indiana

I'm heading to Indiana today to see mi familia.  I want to see my sister and two brothers, but the bulk of my time there will be spent with my niece.  We received the exact same fancy schmacy camera for Christmas and even though it is the ugliest time of the year, it is over 20 degrees outside.  So here we go.

Judging from the photos posted on her blog, said niece has surpassed me in photo-taking abilities and I have to catch up.  I know this because A) the photo of two egg shell characters with grass for hair sitting on her kitchen table brought tears to my eyes and B) I took photos yesterday of a baby shower at work and didn't notice what appears to be remnants of dog slobber on my lens until it was over.

**sigh**
Wish me luck!

Sick

I'm sick of people. it's the middle of February.  Regardless of the weather (it was in the 60s today) I tend to get fed up with everything and everyone this time of year.

Don't take it personally, unless you were driving toward me, turning left, from a half a football field away and didn't have your blinker on.  In that case, you and I have issues.

At this point in the calendar year, I always feel like I could choke anyone that crossed my path.  I'm just concerned because that feeling seems too become more intense with each passing year.  Now I know why people turn into old curmudgeons.  They are just THAT fed up with people.

Luckily, something always seems to rein me in. Church, going to Indiana to see my family, knowing there are a couple small trips in the near furture...  I think these things will get me through.

Hate you February!  Always have, always will!

What I did this weekend.

Friday night - Worked, came home, ate a lot of Tobin's pizza and shrimp. Fell asleep watching Mr. Sunshine on DVR.

Saturday - Got up with the puppies.  Beaded jewelry for a couple hours.  Made a layered salad and took it to church.  I drove a couple other ladies over to Eastlawn Cemetery.

Becky Seip was laid to rest.  I didn't know her.  But I love her mom and her sister goes to my church and I work with her as well.  If Becky's mother and sister are any indication of the woman she was, I truly wish I had known her.

I came back to church and ate other women's salads at the luncheon in honor of Becky.

I came home and made more jewelry.  John and I had tamales for dinner and I feel asleep while he watched the Bulls game.  (I detect a sleep pattern here...)

Sunday - John got up with the puppies so I could sleep in.  Went to church and to brunch at Swinger's Grille - awesome grub for $13 a pop.  Took the puppies for a walk, because it's 40 degrees and feels like a freaking heat wave.  Made more jewelry.  John and I are currently having cocktails, so I will be falling asleep in front of whatever is on the TV for the third night in a row.

Here is what I made.  If you like something, come to Resurrection Lutheran Church next weekend and bid on it.  All proceeds to to Friends of the Children of Haiti.

The DMV

I'm fairly certain Jabba the Hutt "helped" me at the DMV today.

While there was a "woman" with braids in her hair nearby, she was no Carrie Fisher,

so I wasn't too worried that I had transported into a 20 year old George Lucas film.  But Jabba was so rude and 

robotic, that I wanted to stab him with my Bic. 

I won't go into the details.  Too soon, too raw.

Tuesdays have no soul

I saw that posting today on Facebook - "Tuesdays have no soul."

I think I've always hated Tuesdays.  I'm sure they have been the worst day of the week ever since I started in purchasing.  Salespeople, being the thoughtful people they are, tended to not call on Monday.  I suppose this was to let us poor schleps in purchasing get through a weekend buffer day and let us prepare for the rest of the week.  But then Tuesday came.  The phone would ring off the hook and everything else would hit the fan.  Everything tended to be downhill from there.  Tuesdays were always the pinicle of work headaches.

Since I'm taking a break from purchasing, Tuesdays still suck.  Working for a commodity brokerage firm, I compile and send out the daily newsletter.  I have to put the most work into it on Tuesdays than any other day of the week.  Go figure.  And although the stuff hitting the fan seems a little more evenly distributed, it still tends to splatter more on Tuesdays than not.

All that being said, things have changed here at home.  I am no longer an empty nester since Hannah withdrew from Millikin.  She is home, but upbeat.  She is applying at ISU for next fall, looking for a job, and tending to things around the house.

I don't talk about Jim as much in this blog because, (1) he is away at school and doesn't come home but for big breaks and (2) creates less...  havoc.  BUT...  Jim and his co-news director won the Iowa College Media Award for best radio newscast - for the second year in a row!!!

http://www.wartburg.edu/Article.aspx?ID=4619

We couldn't be happier for him. Way to go, Jim!!

 It feels so good when you're good at what you love.