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...
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Friday, October 19, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
What's Going On?
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!
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!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
It's time for another political post.....
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?
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?
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