epitaph (noun)

[via Latin from Greek epitaphion, from epitaphios over a tomb, from epi- + taphos tomb]

These beautiful epitaphs were written 173 – 200 years ago and appear in Terra Vista Cemetery also known as:
Tinkers Creek Cemetery, Pilgerruh Rest (or cemetery) and Valley View Cemetery located in Valley View, Ohio ( incorporated in 1919) these graves are over a century older than the Village itself.    Many residents were early residents of neighboring Independence, OH and it is said that there are many unmarked graves of Irishmen who worked on the Ohio & Erie Canal in the cemetery (which runs along Canal Road in the valley just below the cemetery).

The first three photos below belong to the epitaphs above and the rest of the pics were taken the same day.   This cemetery is known for it’s high occult activity and thankfully we didn’t encounter any while there….although last week when my oldest and her friend visited…there was a group of  people performing a ceremony in a circle (around a grave) holding hands, which sent the girls running back down the hill…lol.

Fitch Comstock Died 1810

Sally Tuman died 1828

Adah Mann died 1837

Asaph Mann Died 1844

Beginning a very long walk, up a veryyyy steep hill.

Just waiting for someone scary to pop out and scare the bejesus out of us.

Oddly, on such a hot day...as we veered onto the path toward the cemetery....a very cold (like air conditioning cold) hit us. We all felt it. If you look closely, the cemetery is dead ahead.

Ruth Mann Died 1844

Interesting to note, he's from Youngstown...over an hour by car.

Children's side of the Campbell family marker

Broken stones make me sad.

And so do the one's now unreadable

Jeptha Moses died 1844

William Moses died 1822 or 1842 ?

Phoebe Moses

My sons cross country team welcoming him on the team.
One mess I don’t mind cleaning up.   Find out why I admire my son,  here.

First meet!
(for the record, my kids have played several sports over the years, and I think this is my favorite one to watch! No sore bleacher butt. No hurt bladder. No hours and hours of it….ahhh.

Cross Country is amazing. And exciting!)

I also love the great sportsmanship!  The girls team cheering loudly for the boys and visa versa.  Other teams congratulating and saying nice things to their rivals. …very refreshing.

Way way back in the treeline was the starting line

Lots of runners starting to come by us

My boy in the green and white!

Water table with the ambulance in the background

Alan crossing the finish line!

My boy. (Alan). 5K run - approx 28 min. I was so excited I didn't get it exact.

This is just for fun. A house near the school. Holy cow! Imagine their heating bill!

I decided to hit the hay at 10.   One kid was at a sleepover,  one hanging out with her friends and the other at the mall with her friend Christina completing a list of things to do before summer vacation was over…..smoothies, pedicures….stuff like that.

After a very long day, I snuggled into bed and put the tv on.   As I started to settle in, the door opened slowly and a hesitant child stood on the other side and whispered:

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

“Um……I wanted to tell you when dad wasn’t around,” she says with a shaky smile, “I did something today.”
“I got something pierced”

“Oh Lord, what? Where?”, as I lean over to turn on the lamp.

Now.  Granted she’s 20.   So I appreciate the fact that she still feels scared about telling me stuff like this.  I couldn’t help but think: ‘So you went out for smoothies, a pedicure and to impale yourself.  Yep, that’s a great day.   Nothing like having metal shoved into your abdominal cavity to cap off an otherwise uneventful summer.  Yup.

“Christina got one too.  She didn’t want me to tell you while she was here today incase you started yelling or wanted to call her mom or something” ((that made me laugh))

“Well, it’s your body.  Just make sure to keep it clean.  You don’t want to get an infection and have it fester into your abdominal wall causing you to like die or something”

“Are you mad?”

“No.  I’m not mad.   But call Christina and tell her I’m calling her mom.  Just for laughs!”
((I didn’t))
* If anyone out there has any tips on this piercing, I’d love to hear it.  I’d also love to hear what happens later in life when she’s pregnant….are there risks having a belly button piercing?   Please tell me your stories, I’d love to hear them!

Click this for more Wedneday Fun!

When I originally snapped this pic, I thought I was getting a funny shot of the squirrel  sitting atop the rail and the dogs salivating below. But just as I snapped the photo, everyone in the house gasped loudly as the squirrel jumped down… within a foot of the dogs.

*The squirrel was NOT hurt! It landed right between the two dogs on the grass and ran faster than I’ve ever seen a squirrel run….and jumped up and over our fence.*  …I’m pretty sure this is my once in a lifetime shot…lunch a squirrel in mid flight.

I’ve updated my sidebar and this blog is now on Networked blogs! I have one friend and it’s me. How pitiful is that?
If you’re feeling generous, please go over and vote for me (quickest and easiest voting system ever!!) at Start up Nation. I’m ON FIRE! in the Mom Business Contest!  It’s ending soon, so please vote.  And thank you!

It’s Garden Monday at Feet Off The Table!

I have cucumbers growing all over the place!  Boy, all of you that suggested planting them along the fence so they climb….let me just say…FANTASTIC idea!  Really opens up space in the garden!  And makes picking easy!  One is growing almost around the chain link of the fence, another climbed about 4 feet over and is growing in my pea plant.

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And look at the beautiful end of summer color in my yard!  Does anyone know what these tall red plants are?  They attact hummingbirds by the swarm and right now are about 7 foot tall.

On our tour of colleges this summer.  Which so far has totaled two, lol….I really loved Bowling Green State University.   The buildings were clean and obviously well kept.  Our tour guy was fun and alive and it was a pretty big campus in a very small city which offered a lot of good perks to the students that otherwise might worry parents.  (Like shuttles everywhere, at all times, even off campus for shopping, etc.)   Many of the dorms are new…and even the older ones (as pictured below) are better than what I’ve seen at other campuses.  Carpet is standard in all rooms.  And they offer many suites style dorms which is great for the kids.    Here’s a look at what we saw on our tour of BGSU.

Fun, informative tour guide. Small group.

Fine Arts Building

Newer food court.

Newer and very colorful student center

Recycling areas in the resident halls

Back in the day, this was the Cleveland Browns practice field!

Little plots of nature here and there and everywhere

Many 100+ yr old oaks. You can find their age online by the tree #

Freaky fake lifesize Johnny Appleseed. Sorta creepy

Old clock tower

Ivy growing up old architecture

Nice, comfortable dorms!

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BGSU was everything a parent could want in a new home for their child going off to college. I actually came away from this one feeling very good. I would feel comfortable with her here. But, you see….this is my little bird that is going to fly. To explore the unknown wherever that takes her. To stretch her raised arms out in front of the Eiffel Tower one day and smile in the warm sun somewhere on the side of a cliff in Greece.     Thankfully this college has a wonderful Study Abroad program, lol.  But she still has several colleges in New York to look in to.  New York is her preferred place to be.   And in the end it is her choice, her education, her dreams.

How come when we put laundry outside it smells fresh and wonderful.

But when we put dogs outside they smell like stinky sweaty dog?

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Finally picking stuff from the garden.  Mostly I’m blanching and freezing stuff.
Day 1:  Cauliflower….

“God, what is that smell?  Does someone have gas?”

“I’m blanching cauliflower”

“Well, it stinks.”

“I know.”

Day 2:  Cabbage / Stuffed Cabbage….

“Jesus!  What is that smell?”

“I’m making stuffed cabbage.  The cabbage is from the garden!”

“It stinks….OMG…. The whole house reeks!”

“I know.

Day 3:  Broccoli……

“Oh my God, did the dog fart?   Damn!  What did you feed the dog?”

“I’m blanching broccoli”

“Oh my God it stinks”

“I know”.

((They’ll thank me in the winter.))
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