Small Town - Just Like Me!

 I live in a small town. My parents lived in the same small town. Now my children live in the same small town and they are small town, just like me (apologies to John Mellencamp!) One thing I love about small towns is their traditions. The tradition of the Pet N Pup Parade in my small town has been around for more years than I can track down. I remember attending the parade when I was young and I think I remember my mother telling me she remembered the parade, too. The premise is simple - dress up your pup or pet (and yourself) and march in the parade down Main Street. 

 

Attendance was down a few years ago. The parade had always been held in the Spring and Spring in Ohio can mean very cold weather, wind and rain. Not much fun for children and pets. Someone had a bright idea - let's move the parade to Autumn and  - since it is closer to Halloween - maybe people will be more willing to find costumes for the pets and kids! It worked! Participation is at an all time high! The parade is the kick off for the day long activities - The New Autumn Leaves Festival! 

How cute are the bride, bridesmaid and tiny groom? 

It's Alice in Wonderland, a Cowgirl and a family of Bees all in one photo!  It was a lovely sunny fall day to show off the kids and the pets!



Last Year's King and Queen of the Parade. Each year, since time began, one boy and one girl are selected as the Pet N Pup King and Queen. they wear the large crowns and velvet cloaks and ride in convertibles in all area parades. It is quite an honor! AND both win a bicycle. I can remember drooling over the Schwinn, showcased in a store window when I was a kid.  Still First Prize - one girl's bike and one boy's bike!

 Do you see the Lego blocks on the far side of the street? That is a friend's daughter and her little Lego children. The red Lego won the boy's bicycle!

Dog and Daughter in Hula Skirts. Don't you love all the dads and moms in the parade? It is a real family affair!

You can't have an event without a controversy! The original winner of the boy's bicycle was the adorable Charlie Brown walking beside his sister pulling the adorable Woodstock in the wagon. But when "Charlie" got on stage - he was a she! And Princess Leia had already won the girl's bike! Next year entrants will have to be color coded pink and blue!

This entry (you can barely see past the newspaper's photographer) was my favorite. Hopefully you can spot the little police office leading his convict pony!  Yes, the ponies were the end of the parade (I think we all know why!). It is such a fun event and I am so glad that I was able to introduce all four of my grandchildren to the parade for the first time.

County Fair 2012






Antique Clothing on the line at our Heritage Exhibit at the County Fair



Well, summer is almost over. The official end to summer at our house is the final day of clean up at the county fair. I was a 4-H advisor for almost 20 years and have also served as a junior fair superintendent in the Home Ec/FCS department for almost 15 years. It is a position of lots of responsibility and no pay :) - you know the kind!

This year's fair theme was Race to the Fair. Clubs decorate booths with the theme and we try to come up with a slogan for the style review. Our favorite was Ready, Set, Sew. Unfortunately in today's world, many of the 4-H members no longer sew. Consumer Projects have become very popular. These projects (which do entail a lot of time and work on the part of the  member) explore the development of shopping, consumer tips, clothing care and wardrobe management skills while the member puts together a total look outfit. Luckily my board president came up with an alternative - Race for the Ribbon.

Our sad 4-H Quilt display. We usually have 8-12 pillows, 4-6 wall hangings and at least 2 large quilts.

My board is our county FCS board, consisting of teen leaders who submit an application in December to belong. They are the unpaid advisers unpaid assistants. I had so much going on myself this year and the members really stepped up and took over. We offer a clinic for members in sewing and consumer clothing, foods and nutrition and quilting in April and the members organized over 3 hours of informational sessions, wrote and performed skits, provided examples of previous projects, had a modeling clinic and answered questions for members and parents. I had several parents who attended come up and express thanks and compliments for all they did for the younger members.

Luckily my FCS girls know FFA boys who helped us lift the stage sections.

I try to come up with some fun activities, too. This year we traveled to Kent State University to visit the Fashion Museum where we saw so many interesting displays including Civil War Fashions from the Home Front, Beachwear from the 1890's, an exhibit of tie dying from the 1600's until now, and several displays from different designers. There is a great restaurant nearby, Rockne's, where we always stop for lunch. This year I scheduled all our meetings at coffee shops throughout the county. This proved very popular, too.

Discussing our next move.

Then the fair. My members are there with me in shifts on the day before the fair. We receive in all the projects and place them for display. We create exhibits for our foods and nutrition program and the quilt program and also work on decorations for the awards ceremony on Monday night.

Our finished stage!

I don't arrive until noon on Monday. We start by creating a stage, hanging curtains as a backdrop and decorating for the evening ceremony. Our goal is to finish in time to change for the ceremony!

Bumblebee themed 4-H place setting

On Wednesday we judge all the FCS projects that were not judged prior to the fair. I am usually there from 8 a.m. until 2. There is an award ceremony for these projects at 2:00 p.m. 

This one has a hog theme.

Our food projects are judged in July so that the winners can compete at the State Fair, which ends the week before our county fair.

This place setting, with the fair's race theme, complemented a grilling project and was created by one of our 4-H guys!

The placesetting is a part of your food judging. A few years ago, we decided to feature the four most outstanding placesettings at our fair. A trophy is given to the top placesetting in memory of a former superintendent who left us too soon.

This one was a little more fancy at judging. Sometimes families don't want to bring special items to the fair.

This year I only took one shift as building superintendent - 5-10 p.m. on Saturday. Then on Sunday - we arrive at 8 a.m. and try to have it all torn down and picked up by noon. In my younger days, that signalled the mad dash to the store for school clothes and supplies!

You have to pace yourself with Fair Food. Monday is a steak sandwich from the Cattlemen, Tuesday is a pork chop sandwich from the FFA, etc. Saturday night sitting in the barn, I don't have to balance on my lap. Here is my smashed potato, corn on the cob and bbq pork - only $6!

Announcing

On Thursday, July 19 at 10:04 p.m. our son and his wife gave birth to a son! Drew Adam weighed in at 9 lbs 5 ounces and is 23 1/2 inches long. I searched for a quote for this occasion and found "You never knew how much we loved you until you had your son". Just writing it makes me cry!  Best Wishes and Love to my son Adam and his lovely wife Jackie as they welcome the new addition to their family.

And how darn cute is the bouquet we gave to the parents? Cake Pops and Cow Chocolates to welcome Drew to his Cow themed nursery. Holy Cow - Drew has finally arrived! 

He seems pretty excited about it.

Assisted Living Makeover

We finally made the decision to move my father into an assisted living facility. I am not sure how it is going; for his first health emergency he dialed me (one town away) on his cell phone instead of pressing the "on-call" button for the nurse down the hall. After a few days in the hospital, we reviewed the button and the nurse idea and will just have to see how the next episode plays out.

Meanwhile - the room contains a bed, dresser, desk, nightstand and coat rack which cannot leave the room. You can "cram" whatever else you want into the room as long as you stay at least 18" from the ceiling due to fire regulations. He shares an adjoining bath with another gentleman, but each has their own sink in their room. I made a second visit before moving in, measuring like mad.  I did forget to take a "before" photo - so this is the room next door, a mirror image. If I knew how to flip the picture, you all would have never known.

I was lucky to have an extreme makeover squad accompany us to check in. My husband, two of my sons, one daughter and my brother came along to move and carry furniture and get the room in order in less than three hours while my father was being processed. After he initially suggested and supported the idea, he was having second thoughts and we felt that having the room done as soon as possible would make the transition easier for him.

We started with the bedding from Kmart. We are lucky that all the items needed for a small room makeover are the same items everyone is purchasing for new dorm rooms. I keep telling him I feel like I am sending him back to college in a dorm room!

I had over-purchased on matching wall shelving which my "carpenters" began hanging over the desk. As soon as I took these photographs, the second set next to the bed came down. I was trying to hook up his c-pap machine for sleeping and bashed my head into the unit; results not pretty. Fortunately my help still had their battery powered screw drivers in hand to remove them! We also hung a variety of family and business photographs to make the space more familiar.

I couldn't believe that the armoire which held his TV in his living room actually fit in the dorm room and when we explored the inside - it had brackets to turn it into a clothes rod with the simple addition of a dowel rod.

The facility provides free cable to rooms and he was able to bring his new flat screen he purchased last year for his kitchen. We are paying an additional fee for wireless Internet in the room (from the cable company). We also found a great dorm sized refrigerator with a large freezer compartment with it's own door to hold at least two boxes of his favorite sugar free fruit bars. The residents are not allowed to have any heating devices in their rooms, but each hall has a large lounge with a flat screen TV, recliners, tables, chairs, and a kitchenette with a microwave, sink, coffee pots, and a huge community refrigerator with an ice maker. 

I had purchased two of the white plastic coated metal shelves for the bathroom for towels, but realized that in order to use them, they would have to be hung at head bashing level, too. Luckily one fit right in his small closet above the hanging rod, making a spot to keep his hats.

 

I purchased an over the door rack for jackets and robe. A few years ago I talked my middle son into accompanying me to a farm auction on a very bitter cold fall day. I was able to win my bid for $25 for the almost maroon recliner which is an electric remote lift chair. His former girl friend had shoved it into a corner downstairs at his condo. It did not take long for him to remember how much more fun it was to operate a recliner by the push of a button!

The facility is just wonderful. Meals are served "restaurant style" all day long. Residents (and guests with a purchased meal ticket) can visit anytime from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. and order from the board of specials or the regular menu. Meals are served by the most personable waiters and waitresses and it also encourages interaction with the residents. There are plenty of day rooms and lounges, as well as outdoor areas with raised gardens and basketball hoops for taller folks or those in wheelchairs. There is even a small miniature golf course.

The resident's council and social director choose trips for each month and we have finally convinced my father to sign up for a behind the scenes tour of a professional baseball field and later this month, a trip to a nearby island for the day. There are plenty of other outings planned from dinner out to bingo's to small local music concerts.

Unfortunately, my father is having a hard time adjusting. I am not sure if he is depressed or if his illnesses are progressing farther and faster than we had thought. There is an adjoining nursing home that he can move into at some point. I am hoping that the situation improves and perhaps I can spend more time at home, or maybe go back to work, or at least find time to take down my Easter decorations.