~ Wordless wednesday ~

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Nelsonville,Ohio

Nelsonville, Ohio... near Columbus, is a quaint little place.

******

 The Town slogan is "Come for a day, stay for a lifetime".

The Merchants and Miners bank (the pink building above) was built in 1873.

The town's claim to fame is the bricks that were made there in kilns for many years.

They are very unique!...and many of the sidewalks are still made of these bricks.

Above is the Rocky Boot Outlet where we had lunch!

Here are some of the beautiful old homes in the town.

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker was born in Nelsonville, Ohio.

I wish this cozy little town was nearby....I enjoyed my time there !

Suzy

~ Hocking Hills, Ohio ~

Last Summer while vacationing in Ohio, we visited the Hocking Hills area, about 50 miles south of Columbus. The region is home to 9 state parks and over 9000 acres of state forest land.

It'a a long way down to the bottom of the gorge to view the waterfalls.

There are caves and gorges that have evolved over hundreds of years because of water erosion.

Impressive waterfalls and natural rock bridges are unique to this area. 

This is called "Cedar Falls", but because of so little rain last summer, there was no water!

( can you find the man with a blue shirt on the ledge? )

Mini Me

These photos can't compare to the real thing.....

Ash cave

The Hocking Valley Scenic Railway is also located here. You can take a 14 mile ride on an old-time steam locomotive. Carriage rides and outdoor drama theatre are also featured.

~ Wordless Wednesday ~

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~ Words for life's journey ~

This is " Suzy's Bloomers " two year anniversary !

I've had over 14,000 visitors and 334 posts. Whew !!! That's a lot of jaw flappin' !

How did I find so much to talk about ?

Thanks to all of you that have visited, left comments and have become my blogger friends.

I'VE LEARNED...
that when you harbour bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

YOU WILL NEVER BE SORRY...
...for thinking before acting.
...for hearing before judging.
...for forgiving your enemies.
...for being candid and frank in love.
...for helping a fallen brother.
...for being honest in business.
...for thinking before speaking.
...for standing by your principles.
...for closing your ears to gossip.
...for bridling a slanderous tongue.
...for harboring pure thoughts.
...for sympathizing with the afflicted.
...for being courteous and kind to all.

...for loving Jesus with all your heart.

~ Love ~Love ~ Love ~

"Love may not make the world go round,

 but I must admit that it makes the ride worthwhile."

- Sean Connery

Who was Valentine? 

 He was a  priest in Rome.

According to legend, Valentine was a priest in Rome in the early years of Christianity. He would marry young couples, including Roman soldiers, to their sweethearts, against the Emperor's wishes. He was ultimately put to death and beheaded on February 14.

Happy Valentine's Day!

~ Tiny Church ~

This is the smallest church I've ever seen....

And it has an actual congregation...

not many though, there are only four pews!

There was a bulletin board near the door for prayer requests.

 I'm really suprised that it hasn't been vandelized.

Cathedral of Learning - University of Pittsburgh

The Cathedral of Learning, a historic landmark, is the second-tallest education

building in the world—42 stories and 535 feet tall.

In addition to the magnificent three-story "Commons Room" at ground level,

the Cathedral of Learning also contains classrooms, including the

internationally renowned "Nationality Classrooms. "

These 26 functional classrooms in the towering Cathedral of Learning display the rich ethnic heritage of the Pittsburgh area, each architected and decorated in a style that exemplifies the country they represent.

The Austrian Room with painted ceilings and crystal.

The Czechoslovakian Room with hand painted tiles and plates.

The Italian Room with painted ceiling and columns.

Trivia tidbit: The Cathedral of Learning has 2,529 windows.

Where else can you visit 26 countries in one day ?

This week's theme is : BRIDGE

This is a country one-lane bridge with a one-lane tunnel through the mountain at the other end.

Taken February 5,2009 at Perryopolis, Pennsylvania

For more photo hunt fun...click here!

I've enjoyed every minute of my time off!

I've cleaned everything top to bottom, even closets and drawers, cleaned out the file cabinet in our computer room, made new curtains for the spare bedroom using the fabric below:

sewed scrubs for the new job, helped my Mom make her Strawberry-rhubarb jelly (yummm), took four day trips for photography, put all my photos on CD's, downloaded lots of music, watched numerous movies, started exercising every other day...slept in and stayed up late!

For the first time in my life, I didn’t have to be anywhere !

The U.S. economy lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008 according to government reports.

In December alone, over 500,000 became unemployed.
I was one of them.
After 8 years of giving my best, getting wonderful yearly reviews, and taking only 3 sick days, I was called in and told " This will be you last day". My position was in the process of being eliminated, only to reappear under a new name with someone filling my spot that would be paid less than half of what I was making.
Was it that I had worked my way up to a decent hourly wage or that I was the oldest manager at my level ?

Who knows?
But the one thing I do know is that I’d had my fill of disgruntled guests arguing about store policies and the level of service. I’d grown weary of pushing credit card applications onto people when more credit was the last thing they needed in this economy. I had become increasing unhappy there and maybe this was a blessing in disguise. I decided to change direction and get completely out of retail. I had always regretted not going into some branch of the medical field, somewhere that I could feel I was helping someone.

I applied for the Certified Nurses Assistant program at a local facility and was accepted into the program. I will start my training on February 10th. If I can put a smile on a face, or make one person more comfortable, that will make my day.
Check back tomorrow and I tell you what I’ve been up to this last 7 weeks!
Suzy
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“What actions are most excellent?
To gladden the heart of a human being, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the wrongs of the injured.” —Koran

~ Wordless Wednesday ~

Restaurant on the second floor.....

Taken at Seneca Rocks, West Virginia

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~ The best ever ~

The other day, Jack came home and said “I have a project for you”. That sentence always makes me nervous. Then he went on to say “ Today, I had the best cake I ever tasted ”.

Not a good thing to tell your wife if she hasn’t baked since Christmas. Then he handed me a packet of Amish Friendship bread batter. OH NO …..not the dreaded Amish Friendship cake…it’s right up there with chain letters and those annoying e-mails that tell you to forward to at least 10 people or you’ll have bad luck. All the days of smushing the bag, then adding ingredients, more smushing, letting the air out, adding, dividing….

But I agreed to do it, after all...
“ This was the best cake he had ever tasted ”.

On day ten, after more adding and then baking, I tasted the cake.
And I have to admit, it was pretty good.

So if a friend hands you a starter packet for Amish Friendship cake just give it a try. Who knows..... it might be the best cake you ever tasted .