PinGwen's Blog

Elk Ridge Ranch, Shoals, IN

2011-01-01T16:19:00.008-05:00

This year, during the holiday season, my father turned 86, my mother turned 85, and they are celebrating 65 years of marriage.

I thought this would be a good time for a family reunion of sorts. We got all of their children, except for one, all of the grandchildren except one, and the great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.

I wanted to find someplace close by, so the old folks didn't have to travel too far. I searched the web for anything that could accommodate our group. The group size was somewhere between 20 and 25 humans, and six dogs.... While all of the family dogs are well trained, clean animals with attentive owners, most property owners just plain don't care. In the land of vacation rentals, dogs are bad.

So, I was pleasantly surprised to find a place that looked perfect for our group. It is called Elk Ridge Ranch, and is located near Shoals, Indiana.

I first sent an inquiry from their website, asking about pets and other accommodations. I got no reply. I then called, and talked to Wendy who said she would like to discuss it with her husband. I got no reply. So, I called Elk Ridge again. This time, I got a call back. Dave OK'd the dogs, and we made the reservation with 50% down.

Months passed with little communication. Finally, about a month before the party, I asked several questions about the facilities, and received prompt replies. Our rental of the four bedroom house and the party barn is set. I sent an email telling them we would arrive around 1PM, and received one back with specific directions (which you really need to find the place.)

We arrive about 45 minutes early, and were met by Dave who is complaining about the laundry, and that we weren't expected for another hour... He pulls out a five page contract for me to sign. I'll get back to that.

First, the tour with Dave. I need to mention here, the place was advertised as a lodge with three queen bedrooms and a bunk room with nine bunks. The bathroom facilities were two men's/women's shared. The house has four bedrooms with bathroom facilities in each room.

While showing us the place, Dave mentioned that one bedroom in the lodge was set up with a massage table, and he wanted to leave it there. I noticed the bunk room had only three bunks. Now, I'm worried there won't be room for everyone to sleep. When he took us to the house, he showed us a "new" fifth bedroom with a double and a single bed. This room was an office with two beds moved in. There was no bathroom in this room. That normally isn't a problem. But, there was no bathroom in the house. The only facilities were in the other four guest rooms.

The commercial kitchen needed instructions. In order to use the stove, you must turn on the exhaust fan. Before using the exhaust fan, you have to climb up on a chair, step onto the stove, and remove a block of styrofoam. The styrofoam keeps the kitchen warm when the stove is not in use.

There was a half bath on the second floor of the lodge where the sleeping quarters, bar, and party area are. This was not mentioned on the website, and was a pleasant surprise. The two main baths were on the first floor. These consisted of two stalls and a shower. One of these was set up for colonic use.... Tubes and buckets, and weird creepy stuff everywhere. The little kids refused to go in there...

Upcoming Events

2007-10-19T12:47:00.000-04:00

Mark your calendars, and plan to attend! Fun for the whole family!!

What's Going On?

2007-10-17T11:35:00.000-04:00

OK, so I'm not the most current when it comes to my blog... So, here's what's going on in my world.

I did the "Mum's the Word" festival in Bedford, IN last month. The name is very appropo. No one knew there was a festival. There was no advertising, no promoting of any kind, no information given, even to those of us who participated. It was on the courthouse lawn, so at least people who work downtown could see that there were some (not many) tents on the lawn. People came up to me both days to ask why I was there. I did make my expenses, and a little more for some kibble for the pups. But, I would suggest that anyone who is doing craft sales miss this one! I'd also suggest that the Bedford Revitalization club do some revitalization of it's own. Do a little leg work, and call a few people and get the word out!! Very disappointing..... Two thumbs down.

On the 5th of this month, my lovely Bailey was hit by a pickup truck while she was at the mailbox with me. The truck never stopped, just kept on going. Of course, I didn't pay any attention to him. I was devastated that my baby got hit. She had to have surgery on one of her legs, and she is still limping around getting a ton of sympathy. But, she should make a full recovery. She thinks it's time to play frisbee again, but the doc says no... So, I walk her and she carries a frisbee hoping, hoping, hoping....

I'm looking forward to doing the Dunn Memorial Round-up on the 27th. Carolynn from House of Nilochlainn will be joining me. The craft show runs from 10AM to 4PM at the National Guard Armory in Bedford. The theme this year is western, and they will be having live music and barbeque in addition to other activities for the crowd. Bedford doesn't seem to have a lot of fun, so come on out and celebrate!!

My sister came for a visit from Philadelphia a few weeks ago. Her daughter and family also came that weekend. It was great to see them. I love seeing them and spending time with them, but so hate to say goodbye!

And, this is goodbye for today. Maybe I'll be able to post again before a month and a half has gone by. But, who knows. Make sure to check out my Etsy shop to see all the new designs and products I have available!

It's time for another political post.....

2007-09-02T13:04:00.000-04:00

I love politics. I love following all the candidates, listening to what they have to say about the issues. In my mind, the most important issues today are the war in Iraq and the loss of American's personal freedom. I think it's ironic that we go into foreign countries to liberate them so that they can become democratic and thus experience freedom. Then, we pass laws in our own "free" country to take away those very freedoms that we have enjoyed since 1776 because of the wars and "terrorists" in other countries.... But, that's not what this is about.

This is about a really stupid story about a senator from Idaho who unfortunately took a dump in a men's room at the Minneapolis Airport. In case you live on a different planet, you know he plead guilty to solicitation in that incident. He was in a hurry to catch another flight to DC, and didn't want to be detained. Now, I'm a heterosexual female, and I don't have a lot of experience in men's rooms. I did go into one by mistake once in St Joseph, MO. But, normally I use the one marked "women". I also don't have any experience in signals that men use to solicit homosexual acts in a men's room. But, I just read the transcript of the police interrogation of the guy, and I suggest you all take a moment to read it. If for no other reason, it's really kind of funny.

Knowing little to nothing about these things, I think it's pretty funny that because his foot touched the policeman's foot, and that he picked up a piece of paper from the floor led to his being pushed out of the senate. I know he plead guilty. But, don't the police in Minnesota have something better to do with their time? When did it become illegal to accidentally touch the shoe of someone in the next stall? I really think this whole thing speaks much louder about the stupidity of the police in this case. Even if he did put his hand under the edge of the divider, does that confirm that he was soliciting sex? I especially love the part where they ask him if he has had success in this particular bathroom before... and he answers that he uses the bathrooms there quite often, successfully we assume.

I may be the only person in this country who thinks this guy was railroaded by the police. But, to my mind, this was absolutely without cause. I don't know why he didn't fight the charge, but he apparently wanted it to disappear without further embarrassment. So, he paid the fine, and lost his job in the Senate.

And, why oh why was this made headline news for the last week? Don't we have more important things to talk about? Don't we have worse crimes to persue? Why go after this one stupid senator who probably isn't guilty of anything worse that straddling a toilet in an airport, and infringing on the territory of the guy in the next stall? What about the one in Louisianna who had all that cash in his freezer? I think he's still in office. Are the media so lazy they can't do their own research to find other members of the senate or congress who are really breaking laws and taking money from the pockets of the taxpayers?

Good Grief. What has this country come to?

So, It's Been a Long Time Since I Posted.....

2007-08-22T21:37:00.000-04:00

I have signed up for three shows in the near future. First one is the "Mum's the Word" festival in downtown Bedford. It's held every year in late August, but they decided to do it in September this year. Hopefully, it won't be quite as hot as it has been. If you get a chance to stop by, I'll be in a little tent that's red, white, and blue. How can you miss that?

The next on has a new name, but is an old festival. It used to be called Krankenhausfest, but this year it is going to be the Round-Up. It is sponsored by Dunn Memorial Hospital and will be on October 27 in the National Guard Armory in Bedford. There will be a western theme this year with Bar-B-Que, cowboy music, and me in my cowboy hat and boots! So, mosey on down and check it out!

The last one I have on the docket is November 10, and is the one I hold out the most hope for. It is the annual Art and Craft Fair at the Spring Mill Inn in Spring Mill Park outside of Mitchell. I may actually wear a dress to this one, and doll myself up in my jewelry! So, if you want a once in a lifetime experience, make sure to stop by and see me in a dress!

In other news, my elderly parents are doing well. They have a trip to Ireland scheduled for the last part of October and the first part of November. I wish I had a much energy as they seem to have. They never stop going.... like the energizer bunny! And, they'll probably bring me back a new refridgerator magnet. I have the whole front of my fridge covered with them, might have to start on the sides. I've got one from every place I've been in the last 15 years, and every place my folks have been, too! The one I think is the most rare it one from Ecuador. I wasn't even aware they had refridgerators there, let alone magnets for the. It's a hand carved, and hand painted tucan.

The members of the IN Crowd are having a meet-up in Indianapolis this Saturday. Mom's having her annual yard sale that day, which means I'm doing a yard sale that day... So, I won't be able to make it. But, I'll be there in spirit!

'Nuff said.

Gwen

Sunny Has Been Found

2007-08-22T21:26:00.000-04:00

On August 10, a drawing was held to choose the winner from all the correct entries. The winner was (tada) Kate of Libragear. Other entrants received promo packages including cards from many of the IN Crowd members, and some really great samples from a few. We are planning on doing a contest each month with the prize coming from a different member each time. Word has it that September's member will be Dana of NewMoonDesign! Her work is awesome! So, check out the IN Crowd Blog to learn more on or about September 1!

Play the IN Crowd's "Find Sunny" Game on Etsy

2007-07-31T20:30:00.000-04:00

Play the IN Crowd's "Find Sunny" Game
On August 1, the IN Crowd is going to play a game. The winner will receive a lovely necklace made by PinGwen. It's a fun, silly little game, where we hide the hot August sun (aka Sunny) in one of our listings. You just have to search and find them.

Here's a photo of the prize. Necklace is made of silver plated chain with a cute lampwork frog for a centerpiece. There are matching Czech glass beads and silver plated beads hanging from the chain all around. The clasp is a lobster claw type to hold it securely around your neck. Retail price would be $25 for this piece. It can by yours free just for finding all the sunnies in the game!

The rules are simple.

1. You must have an Etsy account, or sign up for one on the website http://etsy.com/ .

2. Search the participating shops listed below to find Sunny. He will look just like the one above, but may be smaller or larger. Each shop has one sunny hidden somewhere. When you find one, make a note of the shop name, and the item number shown in the address window of that item, ie "http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=5547158". The answer would be pingwen 5547158.

3. When you've found all the sunny's, send a convo to pingwen with all your answers.

4. The winner will be the entry with the most correct sunny sightings. In the likely event of a tie, the winner will be chosen at random from all the correct entries.

5. The contest will run for one week, August 1 through August 8. The winner will be notified via convo on August 10, and will be published on the blog and on the Etsy forums.

Participating shops:

http://pingwen.etsy.com/
http://guidinglightcandles.etsy.com/
http://myword.etsy.com/
http://megan4062.etsy.com/
http://suzannesspecialkids.etsy.com/
http://betani.etsy.com/
http://dragoncat.etsy.com/
http://stufffromthebunker.etsy.com/
http://bstep401.etsy.com/
http://angelaedwards.etsy.com/
http://dbrowndesigns.etsy.com/
http://lchandler.etsy.com/
http://nilochlainn.etsy.com/
http://theeclecticbaglady.etsy.com/
http://fabtwd.etsy.com/
http://tibetanelements.etsy.com/
http://cade.etsy.com/
http://newmoondesign.etsy.com/
http://nanassewingroom.etsy.com/

http://sunnydaytags.etsy.com/

http://photographicmemory.etsy.com

A Photo Essay of Maggie and Bailey

2007-07-18T14:41:00.001-04:00

Hey! Let's play frisbee!

Oh, I love frisbee, love it, love it, love it....

Poor Maggie, she can't catch 'em, so I'll just pass it off to her.

Come on, Maggie! Don't you know how to do it?

OK, bring it back to Mom...

That's right, you're almost there.

Here we go again... Beagles are not retrievers.

The Boogie Comes to Springville

2007-07-18T11:02:00.000-04:00

It's boogie time again in my little corner of the world. Our zip code, normally population 4800, soars to over 60,000, with 55,000 of these riding motorcycles past my normally quiet little wooded property. Nearby towns of Bedford and Oolitic are happy to have them here. They spend a lot of money in the restaurants, liquor stores, and bars. I imagine there are other businesses that benefit from the increase in population. Personally, I can't wait for them to all leave.

One thing I've noticed, bikers aren't the same as they used to be in the old days. When I was young, they were leather clad, tatoo laden tough guys, with their molls riding behind them. These were almost always pretty hard looking young women with long hair, short pants, and skimpy tops. They didn't have money, but they always had booze and dope. Today, they don't ride their bikes in. They travel in huge motor homes, trucks with huge trailers, and always an additional trailer behind to carry their toys (bikes, trikes, off road vehicles). They average about 50 in age, have short gray hair, and probably wear suits for their day jobs. But, they still know how to party! Oh, there are still the few who travel on their bikes with their bed roll on the back, but these are few and far between. It's no longer the outlaw sport it once was.

I live about 10 miles from the highway that goes to the nearest grocery shopping in Bedford. It normally takes me a little over twenty minutes to get there. When the boogie is on, it can take longer than that just to exit the driveway. And, tomorrow around 11AM, traffic will be backed up from the turn to the park about two blocks north of my driveway all the way back to the highway. And, while the park is about three miles from here, I'll be listening to their music for the next four nights. There will be emergency vehicles going by with their sirens on, a rarity in this neck of the woods. And, the police will be answering calls for fights, and all the other things that go along with large groups of people, drugs and booze, in a small space for five days.

They started coming here about seven years ago after they were driven out of Brown county. I think they used to have a park near Bean Blossom. But, they threw them out of there. Lawrence county opened their door to them with a smile and the hope of financial gain. They didn't ask me what I thought. Even if they had, I'm sure they wouldn't have listened. Ah well, it is only five days once a year. So, I think I'll be able to tough it out.

A couple of years ago, I set up a table out in front and tried to sell my wares. Even when they were at a dead stand-still in front of my property, they didn't come up to see what I had. So, my attempts to make a buck off of them failed. Maybe if I had a cooler full of ice cold beer, I could do better. But, I think that may be against some kind of law. Maybe I could put up a sign that said, "All proceeds go to benefit the Springville Arts Fund". That would be me...

I'm supposed to add some pics of my dogs and cat with this post. But, the girls just came in, and it's raining outside, so I'll have to take them later. That's all for now. Boogie down!

Random Thoughts on the War in Iraq

2007-07-11T17:12:00.000-04:00

Before we went into Iraq, I knew it was the wrong thing to do. I didn't know how badly it would turn out, though. I could go into all the reasons we should NOT have gone into Iraq, but I think we all know them by rote at this time. The question now is the solution. Is there one? Should we just leave them to deal with the turmoil themselves? Should we stay and keep allowing them to kill our young men and women?

The liberals, one of which I claim to be, think we should just leave them to fight it out themselves. The conservatives think we should keep on fighting. One question that I have never heard spoken is, "Who are we fighting there?". Bush says we are fighting Al Quaida. There wasn't an Al Quaida in Iraq before we invaded. And, frankly, I don't think I believe they are there now. Iraqis are fighting Iraqis. So, how do we know who the enemy is? This was my main objection to declaring war on "terror". How do you fight a war on people who are scattered throughout the world? How do you recognize a terrorist when you run into one on the street? They don't have a country, and they don't wear uniforms. Unfortunately, our security people don't seem to be able to infiltrate the most heinous of the groups. And, much is left to guessing and listening to "chatter".

So, the question I have is whether or not it does anything good to continue searching homes and killing citizens to try and keep the peace. I think not. But, we went in there and bombed all their utilities, their homes, their cities. Can we just leave and not do anything to repair the damage we have done? We have already done the unethical thing by invading a country that was no threat to us in the name of "spreading freedom". Freedom doesn't smell so sweet when it comes at the point of a gun. And, I suspect the Iraqi people would rather be living under tyranny with relative peace, than being afraid to leave their homes for fear of being killed by stray gunfire, roadside bombs, or suicide bombers.

The United States has suffered a great loss of respect due to this misuse of power. We are no longer seen as the gentle giant, but the big bully in the world. Can we afford to leave the Iraqis to fend for themselves when it was we who caused the chaos in the first place? I think the answer is no, but I don't know what the solution is. It's obviously not arms and warfare. But, how do we have diplomatic relations with a nation that doesn't exist? Can we remove our troops and replace them with rebuilders and people who are there to help? I doubt we'd get any volunteers until the violence is contained. Is the violence due to our continued occupation? If so, how much of it?

I've come to the sad conclusion that there is no solution to this.

What's Going On?

2007-07-10T19:12:00.000-04:00

Not much with me. Last week Dragoncat, aka Earlynn, and I shared a booth at the Linton Freedom Festival. It should have been a big festival with a bunch of people there. But, it rained like crazy on the 4th of July parade, then it rained like crazy on the carnival, and it turned out to be pretty slow. I went back on the 5th to finish out the festival, but guess what happened! It rained like crazy! So, after a couple of hours of getting to know the other vendors, and snuggling with the dog in the pet booth, I packed up my shop and went home. Despite the poor turnout, I did OK. At least I made up for the booth cost and the cost of gas to drive back and forth, with a little left over to buy some kibble for the pups. They were not at all happy to be left alone for three days in a row. My lab, Bailey, made me play frisbee in the dark. But, then, she was the one who had to find the darned thing. She lost it a couple of times, but she has a good nose. My beagle, Maggie (Margaret when she's bad), let me know how she felt by peeing on the floor... Her nose is better than Bailey's, and way better than mine; so I suspect that actually bothered her more than it bothered me. Cissy, my cat, didn't really care. As long as she has a dry place to sleep and a bowl full of food, she's happy.

Besides the show, I've been selling my wares on Etsy. I had a couple of nice orders this week. I'm hoping more people will find my shop, as well as Etsy in general. It is a really great site. Very artistic, created and run by artists, and all the shops are original artists/craftspeople. If you haven't been there, you need to check it out!

There is a group on Etsy that I belong to, aka a "street team". We call ourselves "the IN Crowd". All of the members live in Indiana, and are artists and crafters. There is a ton of creativity and talent among these hoosiers. I get a kick out of just looking at the new and innovative things they come up with. If you would like to see some of their works, just go to http://etsy.com/ and enter "incrowd" into the search for titles and tags. You'll get a bunch of pages of nothing but hoosier crafts! We have fiber artists, mosaic artists, jewelry artists, painters, seamstresses, fashion designers, upcyclers, you name it, we got it! Check it out, I promise you'll like it!

While I was off in Linton, my elderly parents went to Asheville, NC to visit my niece. She and her family just returned from several years in Europe. Her husband retired from the Air Force earlier this year. They had a kind of family reunion there. My sister and her husband were there, and my other niece and her family. Her, my other niece's, family consists of her husband and two boys, 4 and 3. I am a mother of one boy. But, I can't remember the stage these two have been going through for the last couple of years. They have more energy than the entire gulf region can produce! When they came for Christmas last year, my ears were ringing for three days after they left! When I talked to my dad yesterday, he said he was glad to be home.... Gotta love kids, but it's good to be able to leave!

Not much else going on in the forest these days. The critters are still lurking about, the birds are still singing, and the grass is still growing. TTFN

Who or What is PinGwen?

2007-07-01T12:39:00.000-04:00

PinGwen is me, aka Gwen. I have a shop on Etsy where I sell my handmade jewelry, and also offer my custom oil portraits.

I live in the forest in southern Indiana with my two dogs and one cat. It's beautiful here, nice and quiet most of the time. Once a year, they have a motorcycle rally not far from me, when my little road becomes bumper to bumper, and the noise is deafening. This makes me love the peace and quiet even more. I may go to visit family for those four days this year to avoid the aggravation. Otherwise, the only traffic to watch out for are the many deer, foxes, raccoons, possums, squirrels, turkeys, etc., etc., etc. I'm not so fond of the coons and possums. I used to feed the birds, had a bunch of feeders in a tree just outside my livingroom window, where I could watch the pretty little creatures. I had nuthatches, cardinals, titmice, chicadees, several species of woodpeckers (one redhead that would come around every day around 5PM), and many, many more. Then, the raccoons found the feeders. At first, they just stole the suet. Then, they decided the seed would be good stuff to have, and they tore all my feeders to shreds. After buying new feeders, only to have them shred to bits the first night they were left out, I had to stop feeding the coons, and my beautiful birds. I still watch them, but they don't gather here the way they used to. There are also some great big piliated woodpeckers in my woods, wonderful to see!

Many years ago, I was a corporate accountant. It was a necessary evil that I did for twenty years. The terms liberal and corporate don't normally go together in one sentence. But, that's what I was. And, to toot my own horn, I was really good at it. But, I always knew I wouldn't do that forever, just long enough to raise my family, and then back to my "hippy" ways. So, today, I make my jewelry, paint my pictures, and rave at the politics of today. I'm not a Bush fan. I didn't vote for him. And, I think "conservatives" today are raving lunatics, and there is nothing conservative about them! When did conservative come to mean that there is only one way to think about anything? OK, that's not really why I started this. So, onto something else...

I've been painting for my entire life. I really got into oil painting about 20 years ago, while I was still living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I've lived in a lot of places in my life. I am an Air Force veteran, and I moved around a lot when I was in the corporate world. I took my first oil painting classes in Iowa, several drawing classes where we drew naked people! I'd get off work, maybe have a toot with the group, and then go to drawing class where I'd find a naked old man staring at me. OK, I won't go into all of that, either. But, I really enjoyed taking classes, so I kept taking them wherever I moved. The last place the corporate world wanted me was St. Louis. I took painting classes there, and joined a bunch of artist groups. That's where I first got interested in showing my work. I entered several competitions, and actually won several. My painting, Goober and Waylon, took first place in a show in St. Peter's, MO, a bedroom community outside of St. Louis.

After I moved to Indiana, I started making jewelry. I started because I saw necklace I wanted, and when I went to buy it, it was gone!! So, I thought I might be able to make one like it for myself. I got a book, a kit, and all the cute little tools needed to make jewelry, and went to town. I had so much fun with it, that I had so much stuff, I had to get rid of some of it. I gave every female on my Christmas list jewelry for several years, but I kept making more than I could give away.

So, that's when I found Etsy.com. Now, I have a nice little shop there where anyone can see and buy my baubles and beads. I hope you will take a moment and check it out: Gwen's Jewelry and Arts. You never know what you might find there!

Thanks for visiting, I hope you will stop by again and see what's going on in the forest!