Off to Camp

I’m at PHYO Christian Youth Fellowship Conference this week, where I’m teaching a daily class called the Will of God AND leading a workshop on spiritual journaling. CYF Conference is essentially the teen camp for youth in the Disciples of Christ denomination. So far it’s been a great week and I have every reason o believe that it will continue to be so. I mean, that’s pretty much how it’s been the past two years. (Last year was horrifically hot.)

So, what exactly does a CYF counselor take to camp for a week? You should have seen my van after we packed for my drive up. As you can see, there’s quite a bit on my list and not everything is actually written down – if you can believe it.  Fortunately I didn’t have any kids with me on the ride up and I’ll only have one on the way home. The kids totally need to make sure they put a good dent in all those snacks I brought so I can back stuff in those spaces on the way home. ;-)

Reflections

Wow! The beginning of the year was some ride. I'm trying to remember the last time I was that busy for that long and nothing comes to mind. It wasn't even adjusting to the new job - which I absolutely love - but to everything going on as soon as I got off work. Most afternoons had at least one apointment I had to rush off to, if not multiples of things going on. I was in physical therapy for my lower back (and then I hurt my knee on top of that!), Monkey Girl started therapy to strengthen her back, Drama Queen started counseling therapy, both girls started orthodontics, and then there were regular doctors appointments. I think there were a couple of weeks where I was in our doctor's office three times in one week! (Her husband was our physical therapist.) I really like the Rettos's, but was starting to feel a little like I was living there, at least part of the time. And getting lunch was always an interesting prospect.  Fortunately, we got through it. The only currently ongoing office visits are the orthodontist and DQ's therapist.

So, I've survived my first end of the school year as an employee. Yeah!  Those last two weeks are insane, what with everyone knowing that the end is in sight and itching for it to get there. Teachers have far to much to do as the end approaches. They need to finish getting papers back to the kids, fill out grade cards before the last day, prepare awards certificates ( as well as fill them in and sign them), deal with students eager for summer break, pack their classrooms, for cleaning at the very least. All of those end of the year picnics, field trips, and movie days actually are sanity savers for everyone. Trust me - about three weeks from the end, the amount of learning you can get done starts to drastically diminish, in spite of how hard the teachers may try.

This week the girls are at church camp. We had a total of FIVE kids from the Hocking Valley Parish attending Chi Rho (middle school-age) camp this week. It is so wonderfully quiet in the house - just what this frazzled mom needed right now. I'll be very happy to see them come Saturday, though. And I hope Drama Queen naps on the way home, since she and I will be going to a cookout and ghost hunt with the Mid-Ohio Valley Ghosthunters that night. *grin* We are so looking forward to it.

I also spent some time redesigning the layout of the blog this week. I hope you like it. When I find a few extra minutes, I'll redo the banner as well. I've also got a few more topic-specific posts that I want to write, including one for the Oak and Olive blog.

Till I can grab some more time,
Melinda

Easter Fun at Mom's House

These are mainly for my sisters to enjoy. :-) And for those of who aren't my sisters, we headed up to Monroe County on Saturday, going to my mother's to visit and enjoy the beautiful countryside. Amber and my sister Snort were there as well. (We missed you Aunt Hug and I think I need to come up with an online nickname for Amber. Hmmm....) That evening we headed over the Grandma's for the night. Sunday is always an extended family get-together at someone's house - it rotates every year. And it was VERY soggy this year.

Mom made a pair of round carrot cakes. Cutting the second cake to make ears and a bow tie, she turned the boring round cakes into a cool, if crumbly looking, bunny. And then, she turned the girls loose with plenty of  cream cheese icing.

That's Mom, on the right, checking out their handiwork. Drama Queen likes to make and ice cakes, so she was going at it like an old pro. Monkey Girl, on the other hand, took a little bit to get the hang of it. Of course, when you have that much icing, you just keep piling it on to hide your mistakes. ;-)

Add some red food coloring to the ising for ears, the center of the bow tie, and his whiskers. And then turn your grandchildren loose with pastel peanut M&Ms. A masterpiece in the making...

And the final product! Isn't he a beautiful bunny? He was pretty tasty too!

Next up we have Mr. Incredible changing the batter in Mom's car. I love watching him do "guy work". (Actually, Mom asked him to do it because the battery was too heavy for her to lift...)

Just so those of you reading this who aren't my sisters, working on Mom's car is definitly an honor. A pic of the car might help explain a little bit better...

Yep, that's the backend of a 1964 Ford Mustang. Isn't she pretty?  She's been sitting for awhile in the garage, waiting on some major repair work, but it looks like she's finally ready to go out on the road again.

A lot of time was also spent wearing out Mom's new dog Lady, as in Lady Taz. She's a two-year-old black lab who's spent much of her life loved, but on a leash. Monkey Girl wore out Lady and Lady wore out Monkey Girl. It was a match made in heaven. (And Chip, Little Brother, I promise to get some pics of you next time as well, okay?)

Monkey Girl's Easter "basket". (Guess who forgot the baskets at home...) The big thing was the polymer clay sculpture in the middle there, with the penguins. A local young artist made it just for her. Thanks, Izzy. It was a big hit!

Here's Drama Queen's pile of goodies. I need to get a better pic of her sculpture, which had crows fighting over a piece of meat in a cemetary. I know it seems morbid for Easter, but it was actually absolutely perfect for DQ - she was absolutely delighted with it. Izzy did another great job.

So, there it is - the photos from our Easter Weekend in Monroe.

And now for the shameless, enthusiastic plug about Izzy's artwork. Izzy is about the same age as Monkey Girl, just so you know. He's been working with polymer clay for several years and everything he's done recently has topped whatever just came before it. I have a lovely little sculpture of a pair of manatees in my office area. I love manatees. Izzy and I discussed the what I was willing to pay and I turned him loose. He made a mama with one flipper protectively over the back of a calf. There's even some seaweed and a small crab on it! Oh, and sand! It's fabulous.

MG meant to spend some of her Christmas money on a penguin sculpture, but forgot and spent it on other things. So....Mom saw an opportunity for a really cool Easter gift. Izzy and I talked it over a few weeks before the deadline. I told him what critters I wanted and pretty much turned him loose. I mean, we brainstormed a wee bit, but the final products were all his idea and creation. I love how he made MG's penguins so colorful. And crows in a cemetary was absolutely spot-on for DQ. And the detail in them are just wonderful. I'll post again as soon as I get some good pics taken.

In the meantime, if you'd like to talk to Izzy, commission your own work (the prices are beyond reasonable), or see what his mom creates (she's a wonderful fiber artist), check out AndreaSternArt or her Etsy shop - The Multimedia Art of Andrea Stern. Your eyes will enjoy the sight!

Mr. Increcible vs. Dandelions

All superheroes have them - that weakness that can stop them in their tracks, bring them to their knees, and sap their super powers. Superman has his kryptonite. And Mr. Incredible? He has these...

He sneezed for at least 10 minutes this morning....Ah, Spring!

Gettysburg Ghost Hunt

Tuesday evening, after a less than stellar dinner, we headed off for our first, real ghost hunt.Gettysburg Paranormal Association, which operates out of the same space as Gettysburg Ghost Tours (look for the black cat on the sign), offers a few different options for ghost hunts. You get to play with the same equipment as the pros, which is really a lot of fun. Not being sure how Monkey Girl would react to a full-out ghost hunt, and not being quite sure what to expect, we opted for the family friendly hunt. (It's also one of the only ghost hunts in Gettysburg that someone under 13 can participate in.)

Soon we were outside at a nearby stream called Plum Run. Some of you may recognize Plum Run by it's newer name Bloody Run. They are indeed one and the same. The creek meanders through Gettysburg and down through the battlefield's Valley of Death. Apparently our location was where Union forces had gathered soldiers who were too wounded to be mobile but not in need of immediate medical attention. Unfortunately it rained a lot during those days of the battle, as well as during the aftermath. Plum Run overrunneth its banks and well...did I mention that these soldiers weren't mobile? Another terrible tragedy on top of all those that had already happened, making it a good site to try talking to the spirits.

Once we got creek-side, our guide, Bobby, told us the history of the site, letting us know why we were there. He then explained the equipment in his portable ghost hunting kit - brass dowsing rods, digital voice recorder, K2 EMF detector, green laser grid, ghost detector, an instrument that detected changes in temperature, and one other EMF detector that was kinda pricy (but I can't remember which one it was).

After our quick education in the various instruments and how they work, we set to work. The girls were hesitant to use the dowsing rods. In retrospect, it might have been interesting for Mr. I. to give them ago, which was something we would have done had we gone on a second evening of spook hunting. As it was, I was the one who mainly got to walk around talking to the empty (or not) air and wait for some energy to move the rods about. Surprisingly, I didn't feel all that self-conscious, which I think was part of the girls' problem. It can feel a little silly.

(Monkey Girl and my orb. :-) It's that circular light spot on the log just in front of her.)

(Mr. Incredible with the 'spensive EMF detector. Those are background lights in the distance.)

Whatever spirit(s) we talked to by Plum Creek were in a Mess-With-The-Mortals mood that evening, because they kept pointing us in entirely opposite directions when asked where they were. It was a nice way to get used to handling the equipment, though. And as you can see, I actually got a pic of what I think is an orb. Yeah, it might be a speck of dust or some moisture, but there really wasn't any of either happening that evening. Some of the other shots I took had lights in the background, so I really can't rully at out in place of some orbs in other photos, but that's not the case for this one.I was pretty excited when I finally noticed it.

We decided that spirits really didn't want to talk over by Plum Run that night, so our guide suggested we go to "The General's Death House" where the body of Major General Reynolds was taken after he died on the battlefield. Bobbie said he usually got good results there and that the General and his fiance, Kate, usually liked to chat. Off we went.

(Major General John Fulton Reynolds)

I won't bore you with a mini-lecture on General Reynold's, although he was, from what I can tell, a "soldier's soldier," who was shot while rallying the troops on the first day of the battle. His death came at a bad time, as he was a trusted adviser - and former superior office - to Major General George Meade. However, being the first causalty of the battle, his death also helped give the men something to fight for that day. His decision to help back up Brig. General's troops on the northwest side of Gettysburg gave the incoming Union troops the opportunity to claim that higher ground that made such a difference in the battle. (I came across a small bio of the general at a local gift shop the day after our ghost hunt and read it with great interest. I would have been prepared with intelligent questions had we gotten to go back.)

(Waiting until we can get the keys for the General's Death House.)

About a foot and a half from the left front door, the EMF meters that both girls were holding went off. Needless to say, they were pretty excited, since they had barely budged at the Run. Unfortunately, we didn't have a key to the house. One of the other guides was carrying it. We had a little rest in the back of the house until our guide thought the other group was close enough to go hassle for the key, which we did. Once inside the house, it was pretty neat. Servant's Olde Tyme Photography is one of those places where you can get an old-looking photo taken, complete with costumes and props, so there were lots of Battle-era looking things around, helping set the ambiance.

General Reynolds was actually willing to talk to us, although we were limited to yes and no questions with the dowsing rods. I just wish I'd known more intelligent sounding questions to ask and that we'd had more time. Mr. I. got some temperature fluctuations coming from the back room. We completely forgot to take any photos, so it was a good thing Bobbie was on the ball. I'm not sure what all he got shots of, but one of the last one's was of me sitting on a stool with the rods and this lovely orb floating just behind my head. I'm eager for them to get our hunt evidence up on their website so I can get a copy of it.

The hunt came to a close far too soon. We made sorta plans to have another one with Bobbie on the walk back to our car, but time and weather kept it from happening. However, I'd definitly love to go on another hunt with him sometime, especially back at Servant's. I've read bios of both Kate and Reynolds by this point and can think of some interesting things to talk about. :-)

Would I recommend a ghost hunt? Yes. I went in as an open-minded skeptic, which is how I approach much of the paranormal. And I had a great time and a lovely experience. It's nice to step out of your comfort zone every-so-often. Our guide was wonderful, knowledge in both how to go about a hunt as well as in enough of the history of the area to add some extra interest. He was also a lot of fun, taking to calling Monkey Girl "Monkey" pretty quickly on in the hunt. And he tried to keep track of where she was when we were crossing roads and such. As a parent I have to apreciate that. (He was a parent to a couple of young sons, himself, and coached peewee baseball.)

Definitely a fun point in the trip!

Gettysburg - Day Two

[This, and subsequent posts about our week in Gettysburg, are being made after we returned home due to connectivity issues at our motel. :-( I simply couldn't stay connected to the internet long enough to finish a post.]

We have survived our first full day in Gettysburg, although my legs may disagree a bit come tomorrow morning. Thanks to my back, I haven't been able to walk all that much until lately. And boy did we walk. I even climbed the stairs inside the Pennsylvania memorial - did you know you can go all the way up to the top in that thing? The view is spectacular and there are arrows along the upper wall pointing to major battlefield sites, complete with how far away they are located.

Perhaps I should back up and start at the beginning of our day. We did indeed go back and watch the diorama show, which covered the entire three days of fighting. It was nice to see it all played out on a field where you could watch it all without having to drive around to the different sites on the battlefield. I think it will help when we take the actual driving tour of the battlefield later in the week. After that we walked around a little bit, had lunch at the Avenue Restaurant and the went next door to a hat shop that Drama Queen wanted to visit. I'm not sure I'd recommend the restaurant unless you have plenty of time - the service is that slow. I think it was that bad last year as well.

The hat shop was a nice find. Mr. Incredible thought the prices compared favorably to the ones he's been seeing online. If they would have had the fedora that he wanted in a dark grey, he would have gone for it. Drama Queen snagged a couple of pairs of driving gloves - the kind with the fingers cut out. Monkey Girl found a beautiful little "dream pouch" leather bag and went for a silver ring depicting a peace sign in a heart. It's very much her.

We had been going to do the driving tour this afternoon, but worried about being rushed and running out of time. Our ghost hunt started at 7, but we needed to be there a little early to pick up our tickets. So instead
we opted to just drive around and stop at any monuments or sites that we thought were cool. We meant to head for Little Round Top and Devil's Den, but I turned too soon. With all of the one-way roads, I needed to loop back up around to head the right way. And that's when Drama Queen spotted the Pennsylvania Memorial. Well, actually, she'd already spotted it since there's no easy way to miss it. It's huge. Add in the statue on the top and you'd have to work not to see it.

It's a beautiful monument, erected just before the 50th anniversary of the battle. Drama Queen was completely fascinated by the Goddess of Victory and Peace located on the very tip top of the memorial. She thought it looked like an angel. One of the coolest parts of it all is that the statue is made of cannons from the battlefield that were melted down.

We walked around there for a bit and then drove on, stopping next at the area known as the High Water Mark, which is the farthest the Confederates got during the battle. It's also known as a turning point in the Civil War because it was pretty much downhill for the South from there on out in the war.

We walked around a good bit at both sites. Combine that in with the walking from the morning and we were all kinda beat, so it was back to the motel for a bit of a cool down and a rest. (The weather was beautiful today!) After a bit, we walked to a nearby Chinese buffet, which I will not name. (I guess we're just spoiled for Asian food in Athens.) I got to hit the gift shop at the wax museum next door (YES!) and have some great books to help me work up the background story for my novel.

And then, oh yes, we were off for our ghost hunting experience. But I think I'll leave that for another post. ;-)

Overall, we're having a great time and are really enjoying ourselves. It's nice to run into folks here in town who don't mind talking a little bit about history and their experiences. It makes it all so much richer. The hardest part for me is imagining the horror of those three days in July 150 years ago. The battlefield seems so rested and peaceful that I have to work at remembering why this place is so famous and why it is sacred ground.

Working

Well, we made it safe and sound to Gettysburg and are settled into our motel room. (Kate, please give the pups some extra love, and a couple of treats, while we're gone?)Monkey Girl has already put a nice dent in her souviner fundage, but she's the proud new owner of a really cool-looking chest.We're heading back to the Gettysburg Diorama tomorrow to take in their battlefield diorama show. It should be fun and I will take plenty of pics. Not sure what else we'll get into, but we also have reservations for a ghost hunt with Gettysburg Paranormal Association tomorrow evening that should be a blast.

The girls are excited to be here. I'm excited to be here. I think even Mr.I is enjoying it. Tomorrow I'm going to also start gathering....whatever...in order to prep for the next Josie novel. I'm hoping to make it my NaNo novel come this November, which will give me time to plot out the story and absorb enough info about historic Gettysburg to write about it naturally - I hope. I'll also, hopefully, get the original novel, Glimmer of Sight through the final edit and have embarked on the learning adventure known as finding an agent. I also want to go back and revist this past year's NaNo novel and see how much of it I can salvage.

So, have a great week folks. I'll try to keep posting, although the wireless at our motel doesn't seem all that great. :/ Oh, and there will be pictures.

Now, just how much am I going to torture poor Josie with psychic visions...?