A blast in Ridgeway & Ouray, Colorado!

August 30, 2012 ~ So the first place we headed to was Ralph Lauren's 17,000 acre ranch in Ridgeway, CO. (On the back side is the meadow where Paul and Whitnee got married) We drove up on another drive off his property to see a different view. Not very far into our drive we saw a bear!

It was so cool to see a bear that close to us. He was eating leaves and didn't really mind us taking pictures of him. He was maybe 100 lbs. total. We knew momma had to be close.

It was so pretty out there... 90 degrees with a nice breeze was wonderful! 

We had an adventure trying to set up the redneck tripod rather than asking people that were camping to take our picture! So much fun! 

We then headed into Ouray, CO. (I call it "Your Way".... locals didn't understand but knew I wasn't from their neck of the woods!) Ouray is known as "The Switzerland of America" and was full of great little shops and places to eat! (When we came out 2 years ago we stayed down the street from Paul and Whitnee's bed and breakfast. They have hot springs here!)

Since it started raining we decided to go take a mine tour. We headed to the Bachelor Syracuse Mine that was known for having silver in it. We only got to go 1,500 ft inside but next year they will take you 3,000+ feet deep inside. It was interesting to see what people did before the fancy technology we have today.

We then took a little hike up Box Canyon Falls. It was so pretty up top! (After we caught our breath we took a picture... we were happy because it was all down hill! Ha!)

Paul and Whitnee were laughing because the ol' Missourian's (who were out of shape) were able to keep up! (Mental note to self.... exercise more... eat less! Ha!)

We ate at an awesome steakhouse called The Outlaw. It's a must next time we go back out there! After dinner we headed to Delta, CO to go pick up the kiddos. Whitnee's mom, Cricket, watches them on Thursday's so it was perfect to have a day to relax and un-wind!

Colorado here we come!

 
August 29, 2012 ~ It seems like forever ago that we decided to head back out to Colorado to see Paul & Whitnee Lear but today's the day! Our flight would leave Kansas City, MO at 7:25 am  taking us to Dallas, TX and then on to Montrose, CO where the Lear's live. Thankfully they only live about 10 minutes from the airport (which is about the size of our Columbia Regional Airport in Columbia, MO) so it was easy to get in and get out!

Once we arrived we took the shuttle to our hotel. (Thank you Wayne Washburn for letting us use your Platinum Ambassador card to score an upgrade to a 2 room suite for no additional charge!) Paul and Whitnee were going to work until that afternoon so we told them we would meet up for dinner but until then we were hungry! We had a quick snack until Paul and Damon (16 months) came to pick us up and meet the rest of the gang at Chili's for a simple dinner.

What a little cutie he is! Such a happy baby and I just loved his giggles! 

It was so nice getting to see these guys again! Last time we were out there was when they got married 2 years ago! Whitnee has 2 children (Elaine & Connor) that were there too. Gosh they have gotten so big since the last time we saw them! They are a pretty cute little family!

Green Meadows Barn Company ~ Repurposed Barns!

August 23, 2012 ~ Carolyn Linton is an amazing woman. A talented woman too! A couple years ago I was a ribbon cutting for a store in Columbia and saw some of Carolyn's tables there. I knew these tables were something I wanted to own but I just didn't have the extra money and I didn't want to settle for anything less than her tables. Earlier this year I had saved some money up and called the store to see if they still had those tables. Sadly they said they didn't but offered me her name and phone number. I immediately called her up and left a message to call me when she had a moment as I was interested in purchasing her tables. She called me back and that was the start of a great friendship!

I drove out to her shop and loved it from the moment I drove up! Little did I know she disassembled this barn and personally built it back on her farm. This barn came from where she was born and raised in Chillicothe, MO.She moved this barn in 2005.

I love the front of her shop because it's just country! Makes you feel so welcome to walk through the front door into a great showroom of her designs!

When you walk in you can just feel the passion in her work. She really loves the old barns and being able to re-purpose them makes her happy! It's sad to think that most old barns just fall in, rot away or get bulldozed in and burned. So much history is in those barns and all of these items that she makes is from barns from all over the state of Missouri. For example she has made things from barns from Ladonna, Calloway, Boone, Pilot Grove, Prairie Home, Bunceton, Mexico and Glasgow, MO to name a few!

I just love looking at each piece in her store as the are so individually unique and have so much character. I am pretty sure I could spend a lot of time in here!

Each piece that she makes has a sketch of the barn along with the approximate year (most times she knows the year from the owners) and places it on a metal medallion. I love this part of each of the pieces as she puts them so that you can see them. She also hand writes a little about the barn the piece was made from under the furniture. So each piece comes with a little history of where it came from! What she loves about the pieces are that the trees had to have been at least 100 years old to begin with and people didn't have skill saws and the tools like we do today so many of them were cut by hand and even used wooden "nails" on many of them to hold it together. So realistically they are made from 150-200+ year old wood! Pretty cool! 

I always have great conversations with her and when I first met her she was just completing her last bit of radiation. She is a breast cancer survivor and somehow has kept pushing forward even through some tough times. She is really excited to get back into full swing of making furniture as she has several of us on a list for custom furniture! I have ordered 2 end tables and a coffee table and can not wait to get them!

For now I have picked up my sofa table and love it! She is such a neat lady and does all of this on her own. The construction is well made and very durable. She is also been asked to a juried artist which is a big deal! For a unique item that fits in just about any home please visit her website for more information and great pictures of things she as made. http://www.greenmeadowbarncompany.com/index.html or contact her at 573-592-0331 to call and make an appointment to go to her shop.... I promise you'll love it!

   

An old farm in Midway......

August 22, 2012 ~ Brandon and I were over at our property looking at our barn and noticed Dean Rhine coming over to feed his cattle and horses. Dean rents this property directly behind our property and he came over to the fence to visit. After talking for a bit I asked him a few questions about Lewis Lane's old farm and the house. We walked over as I wanted to take a look just to see a piece of old history in Midway. I don't remember this house as a kid but mom and dad said that they have taken me over there a few times. Mr. Lane (a brother to Tenny Lane - he owned Lane's Greenhouse back in the country here in Midway) gave me a little chair that I still have at mom and dad's house.

This old house has been sitting for many years. It's sad that an older home just simply rots away when people stay away from it. Racoons have moved in and made this house their home.

It was starting to get dark when we went in the house and there is no electric to turn on. It's so sad to see a house that someone lived in be ruined by critters and yet personal items such as pictures have been left behind.

These were a couple of the out buildings that were on the property.

We then walked up to a graveyard on the property. It appears that it just might be family that was buried on this ground as there wasn't more than 5 or 6 stones total... or that you could still see. This one was hard to read.....

But the best we could read it said "Benjamin Watson B (born) May 18, 1799 D (death) May 20, 1847". That was pretty neat since I don't think I've seen a headstone that old or on property like this.

What was really interesting was a tomb just behind the headstone. We couldn't read anything on the tomb but it did have a huge piece of it missing on the far side. I had heard my Grandma & Grandpa Crews talk about the Lane's. It was nice to learn a little bit of history about this property for the hour or so we were there with Dean and I would love to go back during the daytime hours and take a note pad as I know one day that farm will be sold and the old house and outbuildings will be torn down and history from this place will forever be gone. I wish I had gotten interested in the history of Midway a lot sooner as I have seen so many structures/houses/barns being torn down and have no pictures to remember the way Midway was when I was a kid. I have tried to find a picture of the old barn that Lance Henderson had that my Grandpa Crews rented. This property where that old barn was is now the location of Midway Electric, Inc. the business we own. I hope to have another "walking history lesson" soon as I want to learn more! Until then all we have are pictures.

A surprise phone call.....

Wednesday August 22, 2012 ~ When I got home tonight Brandon and I were talking while he ate dinner. At 6:55 pm I get a phone call.... "Michele, this is Eugene Pottinger. Do you remember me?" I was so glad to hear from him as he said he would write me when he got home and it had been a while since I had last seen or talked to him. I told him of course I remember him and it was good to hear his voice! He said he had been home about 8 days and he was currently working with a Fire Department in California helping to put out wild fires and was currently working 144 miles from home. I had several people tell me that they saw him near the Boonville exit and then Moberly exit recently so I asked him about it. He said he has been in California not at those exits. (I really didn't have a reason not to believe him but I had to ask) I asked him if he had talked to his wife (based on our previous discussion at breakfast) and he said that he had talked to her and she let him back in the house. He said they have talked a lot and are working on their relationship. He said for now he is trying to work and help provide for them. He said lately he's been working long days but when he gets home (not sure if he goes home after so many days of work) they talk a lot. You could tell he was happy... heck I was happy to hear that he was safe and sound. He asked me a few questions about my blog and wondered where I got the poem from the first entry (A Homeless Veteran Named Eugene) and I told him I just looked up on Google and found it as it seemed fitting. He told me that he had sent me a package of 45 pages that he wrote via Fed Ex today so I should have them soon. He said he wrote from the time he enlisted in the military to his time spent in Midway and the people he met while he was here. He said that there are some things he doesn't want me to share and has noted those in his letter. I will respect his wishes however I will be excited to share some more details about Eugene as so many of us want to know more from the time I spent with him the day he traveled home. It was a great surprise and one that you could tell he was smiling on the other end of the line. I told him to call me anytime and now we just wait on the mail.....

It's a Jeep thing!

Tuesday August 21, 2012 ~ I got a letter in the mail today that my personalized plates were ready to be picked up! I was thinking they forgot about me (can you imagine someone forgetting about me??) since it had been forever! So I jumped in the little Jeep-ster and headed down to the Department of Revenue. Why on earth does everything have to be super dramatic down there? So I give the lady my paperwork and she looks at me and says I need your letter stating your plates are here. I said "Sugar, this is all I got in the mail today and I came on down" so then she asks everyone next to her (while sitting in her chair) if they had ever seen a paper like this and since it wasn't a letter would my plates even be there? (I am thinking....Well sugar britches.... can you look for me please since I am here and this is the only thing I got from your headquarters???) Seriously where did common sense go?? I patiently wait and imagine the look of surprise when she found them! Woo Hoo!

I think they look pretty good! A "SPRY" girl I am! Now anywhere I go I can't hide! Ha! Between my white car "MSPRY" and now the Jeep I have made my mark! While I was in the shop cleaning up my little dirty ride (gravel road, country music, fun with friends weekend) a little hummingbird flew in. Usually when they fly in the shop they don't come out alive and I was going to get this one out alive if it was the last thing I was going to do. If you could have seen me you would have laughed....

I got this little baby to come to the ground... which was a start! I think he/she was trying to figure out what this crazy lady was doing talking all crazy.....

Or maybe it was thinking how it could just get out of here! After about 15 minutes....

It flew out the garage door! I was so happy as I knew it wouldn't live if it stayed all night in the shop. The hummingbird whisper-er threw on her charm and saved this little bird. My work is done for tonight!

Joe Walsh Autograph!

Monday August 20, 2012 ~ We love the Eagles! We have seen them in concert 3 times and loved them so much that for our upcoming 15th wedding anniversary I purchased 2 VIP tickets to see them in Las Vegas on Novemeber 17th! We will be sitting somewhere between the 2nd & 8th row from the stage! I was so excited to tell him as it was going to be a surprise but you know me... it was killing me so I had to tell him!

 About a month ago I opened the mail and Timothy B. Schmit had sent me a personalized autographed photo and a guitar pic. I was so happy and kept my fingers crossed that the other 3 would also send me an autographed photo as well.

Well guess what.... I got to the mail box and I had an awesome surprise waiting for me.... Joe Walsh sent me an autographed picture and 2 of his guitar pics! (I apologize for it being upside down... for whatever reason my blog does this from time to time) I am so excited and now I sure hope Glenn Frey & Don Henley send me their pictures autographed too! Once I get all of them I am going to frame them for our office along with our upcoming tickets! I am one happy girl!