Thanksgiving 2008

The first picuture above is the General Lewis Inn in Lewisburg, W. VA. The next picture is the front entry hall. Spouse and I stayed here on our way to Virginia for Thanksgiving with spouse's side of the family. Some really good friends live on a farm in a little town near here. It takes 5-6 hours to get to Lewisburg and unfortunately we got a late start and did not get any time in the town. But, I did enjoy having dinner with our friends and the General Lewis Inn. Spouse liked it too. Here is a description from the General Lewis brochure:

"Lewisburg, West Virginia

Nestled in the broad rolling Greenbrier Valley, surrounded by lush evergreen and maple covered mountains, Lewisburg blends a unique mixture of natural and man-made beauty.

The main section of the Inn is a 1929 addition to a home constructed in 1834. It is furnished with antiques collected by the original husband and wife owners. But it's not so crowded w/ antiques you can not bring children. They even have games for kids in the living room. The front desk where you sign the registry was built in 1760. According to the inn's brochure both "Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson stood at this desk when they registered in the Sweet Chalybeate Springs Hotel, one of the many mineral springs resorts in the area visited by the antebellum aristocrats of the South."

The dining and living rooms (and the master bedrooms above) date back to the original home. The 1834 bedroom rate is $155.00 a night. We did not stay in one of those rooms but we got a look at most of the other rooms. The doors were wide open. Just adorable. Most of the beds are 100 years or older. You can see where the ropes were strung. Which I thought was probably going to be uncomfortable. I was pleasantly surprised. They have 25 very different rooms, including at least 2 Two-Room Family Suites.

Pictured below is one of the 2 double beds rooms. The room pictured on the right is similar to the one spouse and I stayed in Tuesday night.

I keep thinking this has so much potential for a fun family trip in the future.

Area attractions include:

Civil War Sites: On May 23, 1862 the Confederates (led by Col Henry Heth) fought and lost to the Union led by George Crook. The General Lewis Inn (old section, called the Withrow house) was the center of the Confederate's line.

So there are some other Civil War Sites.

Plus there is the Greenbrier River Trail (4 miles), easy opportunity to fish, bike, hike, canoe, kayak , bowl and more. Cass Railroad state park, has a tourist switchback train, is 77 miles from the inn. The Greenbrier is 8 miles away. And the New River, supposed to be some of the best whitewater rafting, is only 35 miles away. Many old 1830's (Jacksonian Era) homes still in the area, some are within walking distance of the General Lewis.

Also, Lewisburg has some really great restaurants and shops. We had dinner at Food & Friends Tuesday night with our friends. The next day we had breakfast at the inn and drove 3 hours to get to Richmond.

We celebrated Christmas while we were in Virginia as we will go to Indiana for Christmas this year. Spouse's mom gave me pictures of him from baby to graduate school graduation. So now I have what I need for another project for baby. My MIL remembered the family life books I'm making. Lifebooks are something adoptive parents are encouraged to do for their children (which I have a general outline already) but I'm also practicing on doing one for us. The only book close to complete is Lucy's.

In order to avoid the forecasted snow, rain and traffic on the highway, spouse and I headed home Saturday. We stopped at Tamarack for lunch and saw friends heading home from Charlotte. Once we got home we were greeted by a very vocal and lonely kitty. After she spent a little time outside, Lucy followed us like a puppy. It is amusing to watch an independent creature like her alternate between complaining, purring, prancing and playing. It's not like she had been alone and neglected for 4 days. While we were gone two people had been to our home to feed and play with her. By Sunday morning Lucy was back to herself.

Flu Shots

Today spouse and I went to City Hall (pictured above) to get flu shots. The city offered the shots to city employees and family from 11 am - 1 PM on Friday. Afterwards we went to lunch at Silverglades. We had no line for the shots but a long one for lunch. I tensed up (hate getting shots) and my arm is still sore.

Anyhow, besides the fact it seems an odd place to get a flu shot here is some interesting history / trivia about our City Hall from Wikipedia:

Cincinnati's City Hall represents the prevailing architectural tastes at the time of its construction and the influence of H. H. Richardson on its designer, Samuel Hannaford. Richardson's winning design for the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce building was executed in the 1880's; however, the building's demolition in 1911 left City Hall the best remaining example of Richardson Romanesque in Cincinnati. Samuel Hannaford practiced from 1858 until 1897 and made a significant contribution to the architectural heritage of the Cincinnati area."

Other Hannaford buildings in Cincinnati include: Music Hall, Phoenix Building, Elsinore Gate, Fechheimer House, St. George Church and more.

Other interesting City Hall info:

The first city hall was built on this site in 1852, demolished and re-built in 1888 for $1.6M of which Samuel Hannaford was paid $54,000 as architect and construction superintendent. The main building is 4 1/2 floors and has lots of marble stairways. It was added to the National Register on December 11, 1972, registered as a historic building.

This same style of architecture was used on a building in our neighborhood (pictured below).

The Mt Adams Public School (1895) now The Academy Condos.

Style: Richardsonian Romanesque

Year: 1895

Architect: Henry Siter

Some history about this building from Architreks Pamphlet A Walking Tour of Historic Mount Adams.

The Mt. Adams Public School was built in 1895 to serve the Hill's non-Catholic population. Grades kindergarten through eight were provided. The Catholic students attended kindergarten here as neither parochial school offered kindergarten. The school building replaced a residence which was on the same site, which was purchased in 1875 and condemned.

The Richardsonian Romanesque style is characterized by massiveness, round arches and rough-faced stonework. Most buildings are asymmetrical. Often, two or more colors or textures of stone or brick are used.

So now it is a condo building. Currently 14 condo still available ranging from $300.0 - $1 M. Below is a picture of the lobby.

My Birthday 2008

Today is my birthday. We just got home from dinner at Nada, a new Mexican restaurant downtown (http://www.eatdrinknada.com/) Since it is really cold tonight we decided to take a cab to Nada (downtown ... 5 minute ride). Since we could not get a reservation until 8:30 (very late for us) we decided to catch a cab from our neighborhood wine bar (picture below).

Well, news travels pretty quickly in little villages and ours is no exception. At the wine bar tonight we heard some sad news ....The Gilded Age, our neighborhood gift shop, is closing.

Also tonight we got invited to a party this Sunday afternoon. Our neighbors, whose 93 year old mother is coming in to town this weekend, are having an open house Sunday. We do love our little village / neighborhood with all of its many characters.

So the friends @ Wine Bar were right about Nada. They told us the food was good, the music loud and the customers mostly in their 20's. Although we really liked the music it was kinda hard to talk over it. The ambience was very cool and contemporary. The food was really fresh mexican american mix. I had mahi mahi tacos and spouse had pork tacos and we split mexican mac'n cheese. We shared a complimentary birthday chocolate tart with ice cream. It was really good, pretty resonable too, especially considering we brought home lunch for tomorrow. For my birthday I also got an ipod docking station from spouse and a beautful purse from my friend Nancy.

Butterfly Show 2008

The theme this year was The Silk Road Butterflies from China. This show ran from April 19 - July 15, 2008 at Krohn Conservatory (where I currently work part time). Below are a couple of pictures from the showroom. The next several pictures are the entertainment (FCC dancers) for the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. First picture is of the little girls waiting to dance. I watched with several of the parents and heard these kids were somewhat nervous b/c they had not practiced much. They were just adorable. The next picture is of the older girls performing their first dance. And then the older girls changed clothes (under the waterfall in the tropical room) and came out to dance again. And next a video of the little girls flower basket dance. I think it is cute how they look to their teacher for direction. The next video is a song after their fashion show. You can barely hear me sigh about mid-way through this video. The girls in the front row, royal blue dress and black dress, had earlier disagreement about timing but not here. And last video the older girls 2nd dance.

Election Day 2008

Last Tuesday we, the American public, elected Barack Obama to be our 44th President. There were few problems reported even though record numbers turned out to vote and many had to wait in line for hours. In our little neighborhood (which surprisingly has 2 polling places, Playhouse and Art Museum) spouse and I were #23 and #24 to vote @ Playhouse. We only had to wait about 15 minutes (usually we have no wait at all). Also surprising was our polling place had 2 extra machines. Today, at the invitation of George and Laura Bush, Barack and Michelle Obama will meet and tour the White House. Below is a poem J.D. McClatchy wrote based on his inspiration of our electorate process. Spouse and I heard him read it on the MacNeil Lehrer Newshour 3 days after the election. Election Day The older couples had voted just after dawn, And by noon the exit polls are underway. Some talking head opines in San Jose. A poster leans mute and silent on the lawn. "As the wind blows, so the flag will wave," Says a cynic who is nevertheless waiting in line. The woman in front of him has been assigned The nearest booth where she plans, again, to save The Republic from itself - the drama played out In this miniature theater, with its curtain and cast. Today will be a performance of the past, Its fortunes and flaws, its certainty and doubt. The pencil has no eraser. She makes her choice, Determined but still uncertain how it will end, As the Founders were as well who thought to lend So much importance to each small impassioned voice. But will the cynics vote now cancel hers? She stays behind to watch him enter the booth. (In our democracy, we think the truth Is what everyone, regardless, secretly prefers.) She won't know anything but threats and trends Until, again in the dark, but midnights now, She can sense what hope the numbers will allow, And what you get when you smear or overspend. She will sit and stare at charts on CNN. (But aren't we redeemed by what they cannot show? The struggle in each restless heart to know The terms on which the nations fate depends.) She will think how, at last, millions have spoken as one, That freedom requires an open mind and hand, And the strength to be forgiven and understand, And that tomorrow morning it has all just begun. J.D. McClatchy

Planted Spring 2009 Bulbs Yesterday

Yesterday I planted 291 bulbs pictured above, almost all of them that I bought from Krohn Conservatory. In picture order: 45 Mixed variety Tulip bulbs (Valentine Candy Mix) 45 Bellevalia (a unique variety of armenicum) 15 Fritillaria Meleagris - the only new species and I really hope it blooms. 45 Dwarf Iris - planted this by the lamppost this year 45 Chinonodoxa - planted next to coral bells 96 mix of ice follies daffodils (no picture)& burgandy lily tulip in perennial bed It was in the mid 70's and may be the last warm day until spring so I was lucky to get these planted. Especially lucky considering we have already had a couple freezes this fall and the ground was getting more difficult to dig.

Canadian Rockies Pictures

Calgary Airport August 12, 2005 Cornelius Van Horne statue with Banff Springs Hotel in background Banff Springs Hotel side courtyard Banff Springs interior Banff Springs Lobby Douglas Fir waterslides Gondola view Banff Gondola trip - My Brother, Spouse and me. Tea House of the Plain of Six Glaciers Elevation 2075 metres (6800 feet) Tea House menu with some interesting history. View of Lake Louise from hike to Tea House On the dock at Emerald Lake Canoeing on Emerald Lake Our room at Emerald Lake at the end of the day. Waiting in the train station. Train trip roomies Dinner Our beds were set up while we were at dinner. Exploring the train Vancouver houses right on the water. Vancouver Chinatown

Canadian Rockies Aug 2005

Spouse and I bought the painting above because it reminded us of Emerald Lake in the Canadian Rockies. In August 2005 we took one of our most memorable family vacations... 22 family members ages 2 - 72. We saw and did so many things, including an overnight train trip which was so fun. I will have to upload pictures on another post as I can not access these files from my computer. In relation to our adoption journey at this time, spouse and I had just completed 2 add day parenting classes @ LSS in August before this trip. In other words we had just started our adoption process. At this time we probably thought we would be parents within a year at this point. Anyhow here was our itinerary for this trip: August 12, 2005 Calgary We arrived in Calgary, Alberta Canada. 2 of my nieces on the trip thought I planned this part of our trip b/c it rhymed with my real name which amused me but was not true. The first night we arrived we stayed at the Douglas Fir (in the Banff Springs area). The Douglas Fir had the most amazing water slides of any hotel. For a lot of the kids this was so great ... even the 2 year old loved it. August 13, 2005 Banff This was a free day to explore Banff and there were many options. The Banff Village was a bit crowded but still interesting. Lots of Japanese tourist too. Other things to see and do included Bow Falls, Hoodoos, gondola ride up the mountains, hiking, Lake Louise is nearby, fishing and on and on. Spouse, myself and one of my brothers saw some amazing views from the gondola ride up Sulpher Mountain. Another brother and his family went on a fishing trip and I believe caught some fish. We each had our own kitchen @ Douglas Fir so we each family ate meals independently this night. August 14 & 15, 2005 Yoho National Park / Emerald Lake Lodge We left Banff and headed to Emerald Lake Lodge. Ok, I seriously loved this place. So did spouse. Emerald Lake is aptly named. This restored family owned lodge is spectacular. The origins of this lodge go back to 1902, one of the west's earliest, and involves their railroads. Spouse and I also liked the the restaurant, Cilantro's at the lodge. The next 1 1/2 days in Yoho National Park (where ELL is located) were free days. This is not enough time to really see Yoho. Another bonus about this area is I felt Yoho was off the beaten path relative to crowds as Banff. Some of the choices of things to see included: Takakkaw Falls, Lake O'Hara, Natural Bridge and Spiral Tunnels (the CPR train track inside a mountain)or hiking or canoeing around Emerald Lake. My sister and her family went to see the CPR spirals tunnels. One of the things spouse and I did was hike to the Tea House of the Six Glaciers for lunch. Oh my gosh this was a long hike. Even longer for us because we took a detour. But the view was amazing. Anyhow, I just googled this place to find out the history and found out they did major work to the trails and separated horse and human trails in 2006. Tea House History: The Plain of Six Glaciers tea house was built in 1924 by CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) and 2 Swiss guides. It is 6800 feet above sea level and a major day of hiking. The food was good. We had soup, scones and tea. In the 1920's it became known as "the highest situated tea room in Canada". August 16, 2005 Lake Louise to Jasper. We took a tour of the Athabasca Glacier. Spouse and I, along with our charges, missed the reserved time for the Glacier trip (arghh we did not judge time well). Our next stop was Jasper where we had a rafting trip on the Athabasca River . August 17, 2005 Jasper at Leisure / Rafting Trip / Jasper Heritage Rodeo Just after noon most of the group was picked up at the Tonqoin Inn to take our raft trip. It was rainy and cold. Not a lot of fun, just scenery and really cold. My sister quite possibly was the only one who had fun or maybe she was just trying to cheer the rest of us up, I don't know. Anyhow, we all did our own thing for dinner that night. So after dinner spouse and I decided to go to the Jasper Heritage Rodeo. We got there late but ran into my brother and his family. It was surprisingly fun. August 18, 2005 Jasper to Vancouver aboard the Train. We had long delays boarding the train as well getting off it in Vancouver ... but man was the train fun. I remember thinking this would be good practice for the kids if they eventually travel in Europe. Well this was not the best way to picture train travel in Europe as we each had our own rooms, turn down service, cloth napkins and sit down meals for dinner and breakfast. My brothers boys took showers just because of the novelty of doing that on a train. Several people stayed up all night on the train, several had a hard time getting to sleep because of the train movement, but I think everyone loved the train. August 19, 2005 Vancouver Arrived in Vancouver late which caused some wait at the train station to get our luggage. We stayed downtown and everyone had a 1/2 day to explore Vancouver. One family went to the aquarium. Several rode the hop-on hop off Vancouver trolley. Spouse and I took an extra day in Vancouver which still was not enough time.