More things to do from Warren County, Ohio

Lebanon Horse and Carriage Parade. There are still so many, many things to do! In Lebanon, Ohio, we have many events that close down the streets and people come from all over to visit. My favorite is the Lebanon Horse and Carriage Parade. It is the first Saturday of December. There are two shows and they are so much fun! Lebanon Mason Monroe Railroad This is such a wonderful time to spend with your kids. There are many theme weekends and the kids get to take a ride on a train and they get to tour the train and sit outside (weather permitting). Lots of fun. We have gone on 2 rides. One was the Civil War Re-Enactment Weekend. The other weekend ride was for Christmas. I think that was my kids favorite. Sharon Woods It costs $10 for a year pass (that attaches to your car window). You have hiking, playgrounds, water, history and a mini zoo of animals found in the park and my favorite....an indoor play area and is $2.50 per kid. Entertrainment Junction Found in West Chester, is a great little secret. This place has trains set up in different settings and has different things kids can do (including a visit to the North Pole). The thing that I truly enjoyed was their play area. If your kid is less than 5 feet tall they can play for hours! Get a pass for the year and go often! My kids love zoos! Zoo passes mean you can go frequently and your zoo pass gets you half off on other zoos. Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is my kids favorite zoo. We try to go as often as possible. But we also have Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. It is nice and it is a quick 3 hours for us. What we don't like about the Cincinnati Zoo is that coming home from there takes as long as a trip to the Columbus Zoo coming home does (basically 2 hours to get to the zoo is pleasant trip and 2 hours home in rush hour from Columbus stays 2 hours....going to Cincinnati can take 30 minutes, but rush hour home is a 2 to 2 1/2 hour trip from Cincinnati and it is stop and go the whole way)! Another fun place to go is the Airforce Museum! Love this place. They have an outside area where you can see memorials to all who serve and/or served. The monuments are really fun to read and look at. They have a wonderful place for kids to play and lots of planes and history of planes inside and out! My girls love to go to this museum. This is free to the public. Nice place for several visits. Another free place to take children is Patricia Allen Park in Clearcreek Township. They redid a section and put in a nice play area for the kids. They have hiking, a trail around the soccer fields and basketball courts. My kids love this park. Especially the swings! What are your favorite things to do?

What to do in Warren County

When you live in an area like Warren County, OH (or in my case Lebanon, OH) and you have children, you have to search to find things to do for all weather. When the weather is bitterly cold or rainy, there are a few places you can go. Free: McDonalds in Lebanon, has a play area and it is pretty clean for the going place. You only need to buy a drink and you can stay for hours! Other kids to play with and free refills! Countryside YMCA, but for that you need a membership or know someone willing to meet you there and pay $5 to get in.

It is indoor so weather is not an issue, but Countryside has some pretty silly rules for "keeping children safe." For instance, if your child is unable to pass their swim test (which is not uniform), they have to wear a yellow bracelet and are supposedly watched closer than those who can pass the swim test, and can ride the slide, jump from diving board, and other things. Parents don't really have to watch those children. Doesn't exactly make me feel safe and I don't really like their set up and have said so frequently, but they don't really care what I think or feel. So I don't take my kids there as much as I would have if they didn't have this silly rule! Jump Stop Safari Just opened last year and I have a friend who took her kids there and the price can be prohibitive if you have a few children (i.e. $12 each kid and 3 kids = $36). But the kids will get some exercise and wear themselves out and have fun all at the same time. But I attached the link so you could try them out and maybe have some fun. Kings Island This amusement park sells individual passes and if you go 3 times you have made money (especially if you have parking on your pass). They have rides and water park and one pass gets you both sides! Well worth the trip! Boonshoft Museum A great museum for children under 12, older kids can have fun, but this science museum is geared more to the younger children, while COSI in Columbus is more for older children and adults. If you get a museum pass these places are free because your pass to one museum will get you into others. For instance, I have a Cincinnati Museum Center Cincinnati Museum Pass for my family and we use it a lot! We use it for COSI and Boonshoft also! Great use of a pass! I'll have to get more places together for you to check out and come see us in Warren County, OH!

So Much Happening!

I finished a DPN Pouch for my friend, Caren. It turned out pretty cute. I used an "antique" button for the front closure.

I finished another hat for the crochet test patterns. I am happy with the way it turned out. I didn't change colors as suggested in the pattern, as I used a multi color skein. My daughter loves it! That is all that matters to me. The author of the pattern is Tamara Slack and she has an Etsy shop called OzarkLake Crochet. http://www.etsy.com/listing/101266886/crochet-pattern-sale-pdf-instructions

I received an email from Bernat yarn talking about a scarf called Temperature Scarf! It looks really interesting and I think I want to try making one for my area. Just not sure who will get the recipient! Check it out and share your photos if you make one too! http://blog.bernat.com/2013/01/18/temperature-scarf-cal-and-kal/

My friend, Caren, had made me some beautiful stitch markers for crochet and knitting. Loved them so much that I asked her to teach me how to make stitch markers. So one day, she brought her supplies and taught me how to make my own markers!

Just love them! So I went to the store and found some of the necessary items to make stitch markers. Still need more, but I got a start! Then last night just to keep practicing, I made 2 more crochet stithc markers.

I am just getting started and can't wait to see where I am in a year! Thanks, again, Caren, for the new skills!

Bad Dog Owners

This is not the dog of my story. He was just up for a Parade in my city and was very cute and loving! Nothing like the dog listed below!

I live in an area where there are a lot of dogs. Most residents of my neighborhood have a dog (or more). I will admit, I even have a dog. What gets to me is how many of these people have a dog that shouldn't have a dog. We lived next door to a couple who had 4 dogs that attacked my daughters, every time they left the house! Thankfully, they moved! But she told all her friends and co-workers that I am the evil one and hate dogs! I don't hate dogs! I hate their owners! Especially, when the owners are horrible, evil owners. Over the winter break, my daughters were outside playing when a dog came up and started chasing them. Since they aren't afraid of dogs as much as they used to be (helps that the other dogs are gone), they felt that the dog was playing with them. But when I went out to try and get the dog out of my yard and back to his home, he growled at me! That is not playing! Then I found out that the dog had bitten my daughter, but because she was wearing her brand new, Christmas Coat, it tore her coat and not her arm! I reported the incident to the dog warden and the woman came over with her friend and started cursing at me. It seems that my repairing the coat (yes, I can sew) so she could continue to wear it out and about, "was a crock of S***!" It seems she cannot prove that the dog has been vaccinated or licensed! She has since refused to reimburse for the damaged coat (only $20, but I found it on sale when coats were easily available)! I really think that dogs that bite, are unlicensed and running free, should be taken from their owners and they should also be put down! No second chances on that one! Yes, I realize I have a dog, but if she bit someone (that was not breaking into my house), she would be destroyed! No second thoughts on my part! What are your thoughts!

More Finished Objects

I have been very busy over the last few days.

I finished this hat today. It is a Winter Slouch hat, that I am making for a counselor at one of our schools. My girls chose the colors.

Wrist tool holder. It looks like a bracelet, but you can use it to hold some tools.

I am calling this a sweater for Knitting needles, but it is called a needle jacket. Now for some links: http://yok2tog.blogspot.com/2009/02/needle-jackets.html - Needle Jackets. http://www.macyarns.com/?p=279 - Winter Slouch Hat. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tool-belt-for-the-wrist - Wrist tool holder. Have a great evening!

Updating for 2013

I finished the cowl for my friend. It is called an Athena Cowl. But I made it too big (used cotton and so went a little bigger to make it fit over head easily), but it works. I also finished another slouchy hat. Today, I really need to finish some crochet hats. I am also working on a gift for a friend. Also, on the Reading front, I saved a page to my word in order to track what I am reading. Here is where I am: A – Aesop’s Fables B – Band of Brothers C – D – Designed for Devotion E – F – G – God Has Better Things To Do Than My Laundry H – I – I Funny J – K – L – M – Maze Keepers N – O – P – Q – R – S – Sasha, Extraordinary Daschund T – U – V – W – X – Y – Z – Good Day, All!

Time to Change my Blog Look

Blogs are changing and getting more interesting and while on mine, I thought I would look and see what is available. So I changed the look of my blog a little. I have finished a very old WIP and discovered it is too big! I think I can work with it, but it is too big for what it is supposed to be so I might try something different for another one. I'll post a photo later after my models get home from school. I am still working on the ABC Reading list: A - Aesop Fables (I love re-reading things I haven's read in awhile) B = Band of Brothers (I really enjoy reading History) D = Designed for Devotion: A 365 Day Journey from Genesis to Revelation G = God Has Better Things to do Than My Laundry M = Maze Keepers S = Sasha, Extraordinary Daschund Band of Brothers will also fill the Men In Uniform Reading (I need to find some others to read that will fill both). But I am starting and it is only January. I have two more hats to make today for the Crochet test. The person I am making them for is really sweet and has an Etsy shop where you can find the patterns for the hats that I have already made (previous pictures). For the last week of the Winter Break the girls and I have been going places to have some fun for awhile. We went to the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (Cincinnati, OH) and the winter animals were active and gorgeous.

We also went to the Cincinnati Museum Center. They had the Trains out for everyone to enjoy. These trains were at the Duke Energy Center (when my husband and I were kids) and we would go over to see them every year.

This is such a wonderful place to go to and enjoy all the wonderful sites of Christmas and is worth every penny to get in! School started today and I am grateful that the kids got to school okay this morning and will be home soon. A school in our area had a deer break through the glass of the school. Poor deer and kids. That has to be scary for all of them! So tomorrow, maybe, I will be able to get some photos up showing some WIPS that are finished. Also, maybe some WIPs that will be finished soon (I Hope). Good Monday, everyone!

2013? Already?

It is here! 2013 has come to pass. My friends Elaine and Eddie have celebrated 13 years together! Congratulations! Also, Happy Birthday, Eddie! January 7, my in-laws will be celebrating 52 years together! Congratulations to Bob and Bette! January 8, my uncle and his wife will be celebrating about 55 years together! Congratulations Bob and Laura! My parents will be celebrating 47 years together! Congratulations Dick and Barb! I started the reading programs. I have nothing for the Men in Uniform (yet), but I will get something as I will double dip as much as possible! (Read 1 book that fits 2 programs) So to list the books: G - God Has Better Things to do Than My Laundry by Heather Nestleroad and Shannon Janeczek M - Maze Keepers by Linda McNabb S - Sasha Extraordinary Daschund by CJ Adams I plan on reading Band of Brothers (that will cover men in uniform and the letter B) I am on www.goodreads.com. I like it there. It helps me to organize what I am reading or have read and then I can use it to help me with the kids. I have a rule that I have to read whatever they are reading. That way they cannot plagarize a work and I can ask them questions to make sure they understood what they read. It keeps me busy. I really enjoy craft mysteries (i.e. knitting mysteries, cross stitch mysteries, etc). If you have any you enjoy, please share! I am also helping a crochet friend. She has some patterns that require testing and I am helping by making the item and letting her know where I made changes or have had a problem. I am enjoying this and my girls are loving the new hats. My friend's site is Ozark Lake Crochet on Etsy, so check it out! She has some pretty hats. Finished Hats:

As I said before, I am going to work on my WIPs. Today, I worked on the Goddess Knits Athena Smoke Ring. I need to finish it quickly so I can give it on Saturday or Sunday! I also need to finish a few afghans and a few scarves and I just joined a KAL for a scarf that will start on Jan 10th! (Interested check for it on Facebook). Happy New Year all!