Thrift Stores & Dollar Tree...Got To Love Them

Up this morning and determined to get a lot of things done today.  My husband is home from the tug after a rough flight into Philadelphia airport in a thunderstorm on Wednesday (after a two hour delay flying out of Florida and about an hour of circling Philly).  Yikes!  He sleeps most of the first day he is home, but is getting back in the swing of things now and will be grilling for us tonight and tomorrow. Go, hubby!

Got a few things to show you today, then it's back to business.  Today I want to share with you more thrift store and Dollar Tree finds.  These are from my most recent trips off the island.  I'm afraid if I lived off the island I would never have a cent to my name between thrift stores, Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby & Michael's, Sonic and Panera.  

First, here is a cheap Fall spruce up to the crock in my living room that belonged to my Nanny.  All of the florals came from Dollar Tree and came to a grand total of about $8 including the little green foam brick I stuck them in.  I like how it turned out!  

This picture has a look at the corner of my living room. I have a lot of items that belonged to my Nanny & Dada, from their house where I grew up.

Nanny, Dada, and me

                                        


In that living room pic you can also see a wooden candle stick up on the shelf that came in one of my recent thrift store hauls.  It was either 50 cents or $1, but it looks nice up there with with a wax dipped timer battery candle I got from ebay.  I love those timer candles that turn themselves on and off at the same time each day!

I haven't had a chance to post any pictures of the things I got when we were away on our trip last weekend.  So here's a look:

my new $2.50 Nine West purse and $4 giant heavy glass bowl from Halo Ministries Thrift Store (Snow Hill Rd in Salisbury - great place!)  In the picture below is the mirror I got from Rt. 346 Emporium in Parsonsburg, and the thrift store wall pocket I fixed up for my door, but decided to keep in the kitchen.  The mirror was $15, which I think was a good deal for it's size, and it looks really nice over my buffet.

Take a look at Lucky the Cat watching me type my blog from atop the one piece of furniture (other than the table) he knows he is not supposed to get on, which of course he has claimed as his "special place".  And he knows I won't do anything to him either, cause he's my "baby".  smh

I am also trying to list a few things for sale on ebay today, and bring down some stuff from my attic to finish my Fall decorating and have a small yard sale.  It's busy, busy, busy here again today!   Cue up "The Busy Song" and let's sing once again.  Have a great weekend!

Saturday On The Bay - Trip To Smith Island, MD

With R.'s schedule and me being in school, we don't get to go out on our boat as much as we would like.  For the past few months (he works 2 weeks on 2 weeks off each month) we have made plans to go boating only to have the weather be bad, have other commitments, etc.  Well today when we woke up the weather was cool and the water was fairly calm, so we decided this was our day.  I took along my camera and some bug spray (they are HORRIBLE again) and we were off for a day of "sporting around".

First we watched two of our neighbors a while as they worked the bay, both fishing crabpots for blue crabs.

Then we went exploring around some of the small islands and sandbars just outside Tangier.  Lots of waterfowl and seabirds out today.

Besides Tangier, there is another inhabited island in the lower Chesapeake Bay - which is Smith Island in Maryland.  It's about a half an hour away from us.  Sometimes N. goes up there with friends.  He always comes home talking about this sandwich shop they like to go to, and how good their pizza cheesesteak subs are.  Since it was getting to be about 11 o'clock, we decided to head to Smith Island to find Ruke's for lunch.

Seen on the way in...

  
We tied up at the dock and went off in search of Ruke's.  We didn't have to search long, it's fairly near the dock and across from a little visitor's center/museum.  Smith Island also has a tourism industry, and you can catch a tour boat there from Crisfield, MD too.

Ruke's is not fancy, but the food as promised, was very good! We sat on the patio.  Besides subs they also had crab cake and soft crab sandwiches; also kid favorites like chicken tenders and cheese sticks. N. got his pizza cheesesteak, while we got the regular cheesesteak, all of which were stuffed full.  Yummy!

And you can't visit Smith Island without having a piece of world famous Smith Island Cake.  Don't you wish you were here?

A Throwback Saturday / B-17 Plane Visit

This week on the local Salisbury news station they featured a story about a restored B-17 bomber that would be visiting the Salisbury Airport.  My grandfather, Leroy Pusey, flew on a B-17 as a tail gunner during WWII.  So, when these planes are nearby, my family often takes a day trip to see them. We have been to the Dover Air Force Base museum a couple of time to see the one there.  But this particular aircraft that was coming could be toured inside as well as out, and N. had never done that.  Since N. is trying to rack up some driving hours on his permit, and I like to try and teach him a bit of family history, off we went to Salisbury this morning.  

My Pop Pop,  S/Sgt Leroy E. Pusey, bottom row extreme right
posing with a B-17 bomber at 487th Bomb Group Lavingham Station  England 1944

Here what Tangier looked like this morning as we left...

A beautiful but extremely hot day, especially for September

It took us about 45 minutes after arriving in Crisfield to get to the airport in Salisbury.  I have never seen a B-17 in flight, so I was hoping to catch them doing one of their ride along flights (which at $450 a head was too expensive for me though I would have loved it, but then again I'm not too keen on flying in general). As luck would have it, just as we pulled up to turn into the airport staging area, they fired up her engines and began to prepare for takeoff.  I had to hurry and shoot a few shots through the fence since we had not yet entered the compound.  Both N. and I were excited that we would get to see her in flight.

The tail gunner position, they have a mannequin that sits back there to show the crew position.

We waited for the plane to finish her ride along flight, and to open up for tours.  She came in and taxied right by us...

and parked at the staging area.  

In the pics below we are preparing to tour.  At this point the weather has gotten close to 90 degrees. Which will help explain why I didn't take any inside shots.  It was all I could do to not pass out.  Seriously, inside that big plane it is very small with close quarters, and an aluminum tube sitting in the sun generates a lot of heat.

The one part of the plane you were not allowed to go during the tour is the tail, just where we wanted to see.  It is very difficult to access the tail gunner position, you have to crawl around the rear wheel assembly and down into a very narrow space.  I assume insurance and potential injury have caused them to block this off.  You could peek over the safety netting but couldn't see much.  I told N. that I was going to ask one of the flight operations crew if he could just try to go back there just a little ways.  I found a crewman as we were taking pictures preparing to leave.  

I explained about Pop Pop and how much we had wanted to see his tail gunner position.  He took N. aside and told him he was going to do something special for him if we would wait til the crowd thinned out.  He explained he could not take down the safety barrier but he could get him a closer look.  The tail gunner had a very small bail out panel that they could remove near the tail position if they could not crawl back forward because of damage or lack of time to bail out the side door or open bomb bays. The flight operator opened up the panel for N. so that he could stand up and stick his head and upper body in through the hatch and look into the tail position.  I took a peek too but it was way too small for me. We are talking a very small opening.  How Pop Pop got out of there with a parchute pack on I'll never know.  Pop Pop was shot down on (I believe) his 13th mission, bailed out and was held as a prisoner of war.  I didn't take any pictures because we were trying not to attract attention, but both N. and I were amazed. Thank you Sentimental Journey Flight Operations Crew.  N. actually agreed to pose for a picture before we left.

Here we were standing under the belly of the plane looking at the open bomb bay doors.  They let B-17 veterans who visit the plane sign the door panels.  We were looking to see if anyone had signed from the 487th.

After this we had a delicious lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse. May I suggest their lunch pairing of a half shaved prime rib sandwich and french onion soup?  Yummy!  Then a little Walmart and Food Lion shopping, and back down to Crisfield by 4pm to catch the boat back home.

Pulling in and ready to go home.  Air conditioning here I come!

And I will leave you with this another picture of Pop Pop and his crew.  Oh how young many of them were.  I can't believe he was only about two years older than Noah is now.  Thank you Pop Pop for your service.

The crew of B-17 "Paddlefoot" after a few missions.  Pop Pop at top right.  He was shot down in February, so this may be just before then since it is winter.  They all look like they have aged from that first picture, even in a few short months.  I think that's sad...

Labor Day on Tangier Island

Happy Labor Day Everyone!

Do you know the history of Labor Day?  Here is what Wikipedia has to say:

Labor Day - Celebrating The American Worker

"Labor Day in the United States is a holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It is a celebration of the American labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of their country.

The form for the celebration of Labor Day was outlined in the first proposal for the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations",^[2] followed by a festival for the workers and their families. This became the pattern for Labor Day celebrations. 

The holiday often marks the end of summer and return to school, although school starting times now vary."

Oh that last sentence.  For most people Labor Day is a day off from work; a day to take a vacation, celebrate with a BBQ, or have a shopping spree.  Ask a teacher though, and you might get a very different answer.  Labor Day is usually a busy day for me, trying to get everything prepared (and every last little possible scenario planned for) for opening day tomorrow. Accomack County Schools still open on the traditional Tuesday after Labor Day schedule.  Tomorrow will be the day 1 of my 25th year!

My usual Labor Day look

I am headed out to school this morning to put in a little time while the building is closed and quiet.  Then I am going to bring my nephews over to see the school.  Two of my three nephews are here this weekend, and we are having a great visit.  I know I just posted some beach pictures the other day but here are a few more from last night on the beach with the boys.

Beach Selfie - the "I'm Windblown And My Arms Are Too Short So My Face Is Too Close" edition

 BEACH BOYS

Scott's Run Nature Preserve - One of My Favorite Places

Beautiful Scott's Run in McLean, Virginia

I love taking pictures!  Photography has long been an interest of mine.  I also like to travel, though usually we do weekend trips close to home.  The great thing about living in Virginia is that there are so many wonderful things to see within a half a day's drive.  So, I thought I would share a few vacation ideas from time to time.  Here is one you might not be familiar with, but is one of my favorites.  This is Scott's Run.

Scott's Run is a path along the Potomac River in McLean, Virginia just outside Washington, DC.  It is found within the Scott's Run Nature Preserve, a small park just off Interstate 495.  It is also very close to Tyson's Corner, which if you haven't heard of it, is a HUGE shopping complex.  (The perfect day trip  - hike a little in nature in the morning - feel good about self - reward self with massive shopping trip in the afternoon) The Manassas / Bull Run battlefields are also nearby, and I will post about them on another day.  It takes about 4 hours for us, once we land in Crisfield, to get to Northern Virginia. Northern Virginia has so much to offer in terms of things to do!  I try to go a couple of times a year.

There are different trails to hike at Scott's Run Nature Preserve.  We always do the River Run Trail, because it has such an nice bonus at the end...a waterfall!  This may not be exciting to you - but we don't exactly have a lot of waterfalls on the coastal plain Eastern Shore of Virginia.  Waterfalls are also a photographer's dream!

Here are some pictures from our hike during Spring Break two years ago.  N. has grown so much since then! Here he is being a good sport and carrying my camera equipment over the "jumping stones" that help you cross shallow parts of the water on the trail.  I had two cameras that day. He's carrying my big camera, while I have the little point and shoot - because of the two of us, I am the one much more likely to end up in the river.  Those stones are very photogenic, but not exactly an easy crossing for the non athletic / non teenager types (like me).

In this picture we've struggled made it up a killer large hill and back down the other side to the Potomac. At this point I know I am in trouble because the down side of the hill was an even steeper angle than the up side, and that's the only way back to the parking lot.  N. scouted around and found a downed tree limb that was just right for a walking stick and gave it to me for the climb back up the hill later. That was so sweet.  I still have the stick.  I keep it in the trunk of my car for further hiking trips (and the memories of this one).  You can not go into the Potomac here even though it looks tempting.  The current is very swift!

Turn left at the bottom of the hill and walk along the river and around a bend and this is what you find!  Scott's Run Falls.  Oh so pretty, and on the day we were there, deserted!  Seriously, there was only another couple there when we approached.  We let them take pictures for a few minutes while we sat and rested, then they moved on with their hike and we had it all to ourselves.  Except for the eagle!

We saw, what I am pretty sure, was a bald eagle.  He made several close passes over us, but I wasn't able to get a good picture.  That little black dot in the picture above is him, use your imagination.  LOL   

Here is my best shot from that day, using the artsy "slow shutter" effect that is a must for waterfall shots to get that misty water look.  I was pretty impressed with myself on this one.  Thank you N. for toting my big camera and tripod and making this shot possible, and for being such a good travel buddy.  My husband works on a tugboat and has a two weeks home, two weeks away rotation, so pretty often it is just N and I on our little getaways since school vacations never seem to coincide with R's schedule. It's the life of a tugboat wife, I'm used to it.  And we do usually try to go somewhere as the whole family at least once every summer.

And here's a shot N. took of yours truly, resting and contemplating how in the heck am I going to get back up that hill.  I really want to go back to Scott's Run this fall.  I can only imagine how beautiful it would look decked out in fall colors.  But that hill is already on my mind...