I left Chagrin Falls bright and early bound for Scrap Happy Ohio, after a fond farewell circle around the Town Square and a stop at the gas station to fill Big Daddy. Sharon had sent me off with a mapquest printout of how to get to Tiffin, OH, which I followed.
After about an hour and a half, I exited the highway and as I drove down the ramp, I heard a horrible grating sound. I got out to investigate and saw that the tailpipe was hanging off Big Daddy and dragging on the ground! I saw a truck stop caddy corner to the exit ramp and headed over in that direction. A good Samaritan mechanic was walking by when I pulled up. He took a look underneath and pulled off the tailpipe!
He assured me that I could have it welded back on when I got home and that it wouldn’t be any different to drive. Then he walked away- no charge! God bless him for knowing exactly what I was worried about and reassuring me that it would be OK…
I called Sharon Brown, my contact at Scrap Happy Ohio, and told her I would be late. She said it was OK- the people for class were there but she would keep them amused. I finally arrived, quickly unpacked and got the show on the road.
We made some fun Canning Jar Recipe Books using washi tape- it’s amazing how everyone’s looked so different just by the colors of tape they used…
Then it was on to making Art Journals- we cranked them out!
Sharon and I have been FB friends for a while and it was so great to meet her in person and see the store.
Then it was time to pack up the camper and hit the road. This was a traveling day- had to get from Ohio to Indiana- about 250 miles. I ran into three big storms along the way. I had to pull over into a McDonald’s parking lot for one of them- it felt like Scotty was going to go flying off the back of the truck- really windy and blinding rain. So I had a little nap and then when it calmed down, got back on the road…
At about 10 PM, I finally arrived at the home of friends that I had not seen since high school! I can’t even tell you the number of years it had been because it makes me feel really old.- let’s just say MANY years…
One of their kids worked had a set from college- I almost got to sleep with a Wild Thing!
It felt like we just picked up from where we were in HS days and caught up on jobs, kids (we each have four- three girls and one boy), moves (lots), military experiences (Bill was AF, Hayward was Army), church, and life in general. They live in a beautiful home and have great antiques from when they lived in Germany. I loved the time with them and hope that we can reconnect and get together again sometime. Thanks Kathy and Bill! More to come…
Another great post Eileen – thank goodness for the good Samaritan! I love the logo on Sharon’s T-shirt, it is fabulous. It must be good to be back home after your marathon! Anne xx
It is REALLY nice to be home Anne! I loved seeing everything but I also like my nice quiet little house, my family and all my stuff… Thanks- glad you like the t-shirt. Thinking of doing a giveaway of one.
I’ve caught up … When I last read your post, it was Day 14, then life — a new one, Baby Evan Joshua — intervened. How fun and exhausting, likely much like your Paper Trail. Giving birth to an idea and watching it grow.
I so admire you for the bravery and determination to launch out on your crafty deployment. It is so .. so … SO independent of you! How I wish I had that bravada, and also a cute camper.
I am glad thay Big Daddy survived fine with his minor amputation and also (LOL!!) didn’ have your ride stolen. Silly girl! ((((BIG HUGS))))
Fondly,
Ellen/CardMonkey
Hi Ellen (CardMonkey)- you must be so relieved that Evan has arrived.. and safely too! It’s good to be home, but now I am getting ready to plan the next deployment (as you aptly called it). Two months is a long time. Scotty needs some work! It’s just a good thing that I didn’t actually have to sleep in there every night- it got REALLY hot… Please pass my congrats along to Emily and give Evan a snuggle for me! Eileen
Poor Scotty, he is just going through it isn’t he? I’m glad you had a good time and made it through all those storms. Have fun in your next teaching class!
I really enjoyed the class at Scrap Happy Ohio. Good to see you made it home safe. I’m sure you have tons to catch up on. I wanted to check in on the “special” offer you mentioned for the dies, can you let me know?
Hi Lori- glad you had fun at Scrap Happy Ohio- so did I! Are you talking about the Papertrail bundle? Or the dies minus the Big Shot and cutting pads? Let me know what you are interested in at eileenhull@aol.com. I have a blog post that tells about the whole bundle here: http://www.eileenhull.com/2014/06/flash-papertrail-sizzix-offer.html