Monday, May 13, 2013

Back to 1985

Hi All! We made it through the weekend! They go so fast don't they? They go even faster when you are busy visiting and running around. Small Town Guy and I had a great weekend, but it definitely went fast with all of the Mother's Day visiting we did. That is a good thing though!!!

On Sunday we drove out to see if Small Town Guy's God Mother was home. To get there we had to drive through an area of the Allegheny National Forest, (yes my small town(s) is/are nestled right near the Allegheny National Forest) call Heart's Content. HERE is some additional information about Heart's Content. This is some place that we hiked when I was a kid. It is also one of the places that I hope to spend more time in now that I am back home. There are lots of neat trees, an old fire tower that used to be used to keep watch for forest fires. There is plenty of God's beauty to be enjoyed and taken in. Anywho. We were sitting at my Dad's talking about the drive, ok ok, I was in the kitchen and didn't hear much of the conversation between Small Town Guy and my Dad, but enough to know they were talking about our ride! Come to find out, yesterday was not the first day I had been out to the property where his God Mother lives. I was there in 1985!! Isn't that crazy! Small Town Guy's God Mother's mother would have lived there at the time.

There was plenty of conversation about the hiking we had done in this area on a day in May back in 1985. We talked about the people we were with, the things we found, how we hiked down in there and who knows what else. At one point we had a topo map of the area out and had more conversation about the area. My Dad said somewhere there were some pictures. I told him I knew right where those pictures were. Most of my stuff is still in boxes, but I knew right where those pictures were. I found the pictures!!
We hiked into an old logging camp. We used metal detectors to search for "stuff." Apparently I have been a treasure hunter from a very early age! Wait until you see all the stuff those grown ups carried in for us.

So top off your coffee cup and take a little stroll back to May of 1985 in an area near Heart's Content, PA.


The friends of the family and my little sister.


A clearing where the logging camp would have been.
All that orange and green stuff was carried in by the adults.


Friend of the family in front of some of the trees in the area.


Friends of the family being silly.
They were fun folks.


Me with the friends.


A look at our surroundings.


My little sister standing in front of Mom.
Check out the metal detector on the left side of the picture, leaning against the tree.


Time for something to eat, maybe?





My sister and I in a tree.



In front of my sister is a pile of stuff that we had found.



My sister and I. I wonder where my Dad was standing when he took this picture. hmm...


All packed up and time to head on out.

While there aren't pictures of us at Small Town Guy's God Mother's property, it is still neat knowing that on the day these photos were taken we stopped by that house. 

Our weekend was full of interesting bits and pieces linking someone to someone else.
We confirmed an organist for the wedding. She took my name and then started thinking out loud. It turns out she was the cleaning lady at a place my Dad worked a number of years ago. It also turns out she is related to  other friend's of the family and I went to high school with her son. It turns out she also knows Small Town Guy from his place of employment. The perks of a small town!!!

Then there was the lady I called about a house that is for sale. We chit chatted and found out she knew my late Grandfather. Putting these pieces together changed the tone of the conversation a little bit. I guess that isn't a bad thing. Now we just need to be able to make arrangements to see the inside of the house.

I hope you had a great Mother's Day weekend!!
Have a great week!
Hugs!
~Jen

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Hello again!

Hello long lost friends, and new ones too! I had no idea it would take this long to blog again. Part of the delay has been waiting for some things to happen so I could have my creative space.  Still waiting. I have decided the blog will just have a different feel for awhile and we can make it about crafting, cooking, and creating, we will!!! Until then, it will be about being a small town girl and the things that go with that. That being said, I wish I had started this long ago, after I created the new blog.

While I have been absent from blog-land, and creating, I have been busy busy...busy with friends and family. People I have neglected for way too long. I also have a pretty big announcement to make. First things first.

I mentioned I moved "home." Home to where I grew up. Home to where most of my family is. Cousins, Grandparents, Dad and Step-Mom, Step-sister and family and many in between are here. Still almost two hours from my Mom, but closer. Home is two hours from where I was before. PA Route 6 is one of "home's" main roads!

Being home means I get to spend time with these people. That means I can spend the day with my buddy, who has somehow grown up so quickly.



Above Warren, at a place called Washington Park.


Geocaching! Yep, this one is magnetic!
He found it right after he told me there was no way it was there!


Being home means discovering places that have been forgotten.




Being home means getting to go to rummage sales with my Grandma and Great Aunt.
Summer isn't even here yet and we are hitting the sales already. UH OH!!!!....

Being home is soooo many things. The other day as I was leaving for work, my Grandma drove by on her way to work (not the Grandma pictured). That was a pretty cool start to the day!! Last week I was on my way through town and passed my Dad on his way to work. Little things I have missed! Little things that many people take for granted!

Now don't get me wrong, being home has some down sides to it too.
Some of the very things that I love about being home, are some of the very same things that have kept me from coming home. I am now close enough that everyone can have expectations. I am adjusting to being home. I love it. There are moments that I think I am crazy for having come home, but as long as they stay moments and don't turn into days, all is well!!!

I am house hunting. That is probably one of the things I will blog about.
I will be blogging about different things that happen and places I go. I have pictures ready from two different walks around town. It is a pretty town. There are other nearby towns that I want to do the same with.

So, things might feel different around here, but we'll still have fun and we will work toward the cards and recipes!!! I hope you will choose to join me along the way. I am going to create a Facebook page too. There I will be able to share some of the things I find for gardening and crafting and whatever else strikes my fancy. I will get the links to Pinterest put on here and get everything updated! Some of the first crafts and recipes and stories you might read will be about a wedding. OH MY! WHAT??? Yep, did you forget I said I have an announcement to make? Well....the announcement is, "I'M GETTING MARRIED!!" Yeppers, there is going to be a Small Town Guy. You can think all those crazy thoughts that are running through your head right now. I've thought them and so have so many other people. We aren't strangers. I tell the story that we were the right people at the wrong time and this is a very rare 2nd chance! {squeal}

Here are some pics of me with Small Town Guy!


Can you see that ring? Perhaps we can talk about it another day too.
The center stone is black diamond. Who knew?!? I didn't!!


These pictures were taken on my Dad's deck.

Being home means a second chance!

I had no idea that moving home would change my life so quickly, but I will take it!
I love my family, friends, and Small Town Guy and am thrilled that I get to spend time with them and share in things I have missed out on! First up, summer!!!

I hope you all are well and I am looking forward to being here again!!!

Hugs!!! (as always)
~Just A Small Town Girl Jen