New owner of harp

This is Meledie and her harp. We goofed arround and had fun besides. She also got a dulcimer like this one and a bowed psaltery, both were already packed. I also had a reverie harp that is round and she ALSO got that. I made her a darling music stand that clips on the harp. fun to make and fun to use. I think she'll be playing harp real soon....and will love it. Meledie, what are you going to name your harp?

harp in one week

Okay, folks, I had a lady friend come to my house and she brought HER friend. She was looking for a dulcimer. wellllllllllllllllllllllll, she fell in love with the dulcimer, bowed psaltery AND the harp. She wanted to get the harp I had on the floor, but that one was sold. so I told her I had harp parts in a box down in my shop. She paid me for it and I was sooooooooooooo busy. whew. got it done and here are some of the pictures. I delivered it to her travel trailer.....and met her daughter and granddaughter. I know she'll learn how to play it well as she's a musician already and lives in Washington State. Lots of teachers live there. Here are pictures of how I start the harp in it's frame in my shop and then showing the decorations that I send for and put on the harps as well. How do you like my little flower cart? and my robust herb garden? The large white house in my next door neighbors place. She runs Casey's gas station accross the street.

St. Louis Botanical Gardens with Vicki

one of the houses was for the caretaker (of long ago) to care for a little moslelim that the doner of this huge garden had for himself. It reminded me of Vicki's storybook houses.

We got to these marvelous gardens 30 min. before closing. I asked if we could just go arround, if they had "senior citizen's price"....but Vicki had already got our 1/2 price tickets. It was 92 degrees outside. We went in the tropical dome....ahhhhhhhhh, I said aloha to all my familiar friends.......bamboo, and banana and exotic flowers and ferns and soooooooooo many other plants. so totally lovely. We walked all over and then things began to close down. I took more pictures, but didn't load them all up here. (you are lucky)....the full swing of summer. We met this Security guy that had a little golf cart and I asked him if he'd like to give us a ride. (I was thinking to our car)....but he asumed that we wanted a tour. Vicki sat up front with him and I hung on to my dear life on the back. He has such knowledge of these gardens. We toured 15 acres in an hour and half on that little cart. He'd back into the bushes and forget I was there. whew.....I gave Vicki my note book and she was writing a bunch of stuff down. What fun we had really. We'll surely know where to go when we go to St. Louis again!!!!!!!!!! there were some darling statures here ....so look away.

aloha Felila, hello botanical gardens

Vicki and I drove Felila up to St. Louis, MO and we bid "aloha" to Lila. She looks sad here and we were sad to drop her off also as we knew the next thing we were going to go see was the large Botanical gardens in St. Louis.

Lila keeps her high school figure by excercise in various ways. One is with this blow up ball. how cool is that. She needed a bare wall, ha, so had to take off a picture for her to do that ball excercise on. then she also wanted to paint my townails. I have a hybiscus on my toes. (happy face here)....Lila loves me.....

Deja vo TOWER OF BLUE

I came over a ridge that I could see this BRIGHT RED ROOF and wanted to get closer to see it. What a sweet homestead this is. and as I pulled out, here was the scene below that they see every day. gorgeousooooooooo.

okay, So I was traveling along the right road to come to Nauvoo and enjoying the beautiful scenery and saying "Hi folks" to all the well kept cemeterys along the road and I see this tower of blue that I'm saposed to turn right on because of the detour. Kapua wrote all the changes in the route for me and I had my map and so I turned like a good girl should. I come to road K and it is only turning right, so I turn right....see much more of the beautiful landscape and I just love it. then I get to the right road and "yippppppppppies, I made the road just fine, but sure seemed shorter then when we came yesterday." I says to me, myself and I. ooooooooooooops, then I see the tall blue tower. DEJA VO tower of blue. sooooooooooooooo I get out and laugh sooooooooooo hard and turn on the right road again and go further down the road and here is road K that turns LEFT. hoooooooo boy. If anyone came by, they would wonder why I was laughing and taking a picture of this tower of blue.

and one time just took a picture out my front window....really.........not a good idea while driving, but got my happy hula dancer that travels with me in Hanna the Vanna. I arrived home safely...........with many happy memories of Kapua and Aukai and us traveling up to Princeton, MO together.

We drove arround in the outskirts of Princeton looking for my great grandfather's house, but they could not remember where it was.....but a fun time in the V.W.BUS....good 'ol Hanna. We parted ways and then I took these pictures on my way back to Nauvoo. I love old barns and get this one to the right. WHY would they build such cute little "heat escapes" on top of a barn? these are all over the mid west. I just love the Queen Ann's lace in the field above. and how about that fat Bull. now there's a BIG ONE if you ask me. Surely there's some story to this bull.....

Goshen Graveyard, MO

I know that most of you might not think these interesting, but what if you knew NOTHING of your ancestors......and never visited their sites....forgotten? well, I feel that I've found a family that I want to know more about and I'll surely go back to this town's library and do my own research. RHEA is my grandmother's maiden name on my mother's side. It was a quiet evening as we walked arround here and Aukai found some more graves that we didn't at first see. Kapua told me of one epitaph that she saw on one gravestone in another graveyard. "HALT PASSERBY, as you are now, I once was, as I am now, you soon will be, so think on Eternity." It would be a cruel God that would give us only this life to live, but I truly believe that we'll meet our ancestors and friends and loved ones in a spirit world after this life......an ongoing progress.........and so much to learn and do there as well. My favorite gravestones were cement trunks of trees with even Rhea on them as well. I'm doing some research on the Net about this and it was early funeral insurance years ago. I know what I want on my grave stone. or a tree stump.....of cement....a sundial with the words written, "remember the sunny hours and you'll have light and joy in this life and in the worlds to come". This little church is where my ancestors came and there is no longer services held here, maybe at Memorial Day? I'll find out about that too as I'd love to come here for that special one day. I took a lot more pictures, but I don't know how to do a slide show like Felila does.

26 July 2008 trip to Princeton, MO

these posts are not too orderly, as I'm still learning and so you'll just "bear with me"...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Here is the 100 year old sharp couzin. Lucy Hall. She was a teacher most of her life and was so sharp talking to her. I took my harp and played for the birthday breakfast. fun. wonderful food and we all just visit arround and "talk story". Midwest small town folks are down home folks.....I love being arround them. We stayed for a few hours and off we went after spending some time with Lucy Hall, she showing us the posters that her 3 daughters put up of her life. Awesome really.

Princeton, MO

this was at that little park in Princeton, MO....Kapua with her dear friend and well, meself on the stationary Harley. ha.

Kapua and Aukai Sewell's Visit.

Kapua and Aukai live in Hilo, Hawaii. They bought my ancestor's summer house in Pearl, CO and go there for a week or two every summer. Kapua is an avid genealogist and one of our distant cousins wrote her inviting her and her family to come to her 100th birthday party in Princeton, MO. That is only 3 hours drive from here. So Kapua invited me to come and we drove there, I following them. We stayed in the one and only motel and on the small desk of the entry it read, "no pets, no liquor, and no firearms". As I was paying for this night, I asked, "what about harps?" this rough lady said, "as long as it doesn't pee or shoot, it's okay....." and handed me the key. I hope you're laughing as I sure did!! Kapua and Aukai stayed 3 days with us in Nauvoo and we were able to go to a few things and Kapua LOVES going to antique shops as I do also. After we got settled in the little hotel and I left the harp there, we met with one of her nursie friends that she knew in Portland and her two little daughters. We had a lovely picnic.....Kapua and Aukai have good friends.....all that I've met, I've loved as well. This picture was taken at this little tiny park in Princeton, MO.