Yes, Yes! I WILL Get To That But...

I WILL get around to posting some Christmas photos and stories aplenty but do indulge me for a moment...pretty please? Uh huh, I KNEW you would. You see, I have fallen in love. No, NOT with my husband although I am still IN love with him after 32 years in spite of his terribly messy tendencies. And no, not with Brian Dennehy either although I...well...I...YOU know...I, well...okay...ahem.

No, this love story is not about a man, a dog, a tree or a car. It is not about jewels or cats or, well...it COULD be about the spiffy new camera that Bill surprised me with on Christmas morning. (See why I am STILL in love with the man?) Oh baby am I in LOVE with it! I have had such fun playing with it and gosh but it is going to be amazing and yes I adore my husband for doing this. The man saved a little here and a little there for a year and totally shocked me which is not an easy thing to do. I thought the days of such delicious surprises like this were over! Nope. He got me good with it, the tears fell and happiness reigned supreme. As much as I LOVE this new camera (It's name is Dennis by the way...), this story is not about dear Dennis.

Nope, it is about a house. And not even about Rabbit Run Cottage although I DO love it here.

But I have fallen head over heels in love with another house. Now you must understand that

I have seen plenty of houses that I liked a lot, some I even loved, some I was rather glib about. But this is the first time I have actually *fallen in total LOVE* with a brick and mortar structure.

It is terrible really. Shameful even. I know the housing market is in the dumper and we would probably never be able to sell our cottage and even if we could, it would be a hardship on Grace to move. Dan works close by Rabbit Run and Bill's bus stop is just down the street. We absolutely could never find more lovely neighbors than we have now, the schools here are top notch, shopping is close by, Mom and my brother's family is near and, well, d'uh. This broad knows it ain't gonna happen. But I also know how much my blog friends love houses and decorating and are gonna fully understand how I am feeling. Right?

The story begins Saturday night. We took Grace and her BFF, the glorious Miss K, for a drive and to see Clifton Mill's Christmas light display. It was unusually warm for December 27th and

it was a perfect night to go.

We walked around, took lots of pictures (I had Dennis well in tow!)

and just enjoyed the heck out of ourselves. The girls oohed and awed at the lights, ate a soft pretzel and twirled and giggled themselves silly. We even met the sweetest young couple who, after having just been married, came to the mill to have their wedding photos taken. Of course,

I took one as well...aren't they adorable?

Clifton Mill is located in the tiny town of Clifton, Ohio. Clifton is the birthplace of one Mr. Woody Hayes, legendary football coach at Ohio State University (Go Bucks!) and that alone is pretty swell. It sits just a few miles from John Bryant State Park, Clifton Gorge, Young's Dairy and the small, arty town of Yellow Springs: home of blogger and artist extraordinaire, Jafabrit, Ms. Corrine herself, the deliciously fabulous Ha Ha Pizza and

the best food server in the world (according to my daughter and her BFF) one wild, very cool guy named Bill.

No, not MY Bill, another Bill! Like Grace would ever think HER Dad was cool...not likely dear hearts but I digress...

But when I say *tiny town* I MEAN tiny. I don't think that Clifton HAS a traffic light or it could be referred to as a "one stop light burg". Nope and no grocery, no Starbucks, not much of anything except a few lovely old buildings, the mill, a few *in dire need of rehab* houses and new the love of my life. *sigh*

After basking in the glow of millions of tiny holiday lights we decided to pop into Yellow Springs for a pizza and hopped in the old mini van. Just as we headed out of town I spotted him. There he was in all in red. No, NOT Santa Claus you sillies! My house. Him. The love of my life.

It was hard to see clearly in the dark but from what I saw I was a goner. The little candles twinkling in the windows seemed to beckon to me...*sigh*..."Susie Q...here I am, the house which, until now, has lived only in your dreams..."

Oh we got pizza, and yes it was soooo good. I loved listening to the girl's sweet chatter and talking to my husband. Still, where was my head? Miles back with my house. *sigh*

When Bill and the kids had gone to bed, when the house was still, Susie Q jumped onto the computer and looked up the MLS. My ardor only grew stronger. It was affordable, completely rehab-ed from top to bottom and it screamed to me in such a loud voice that my ears almost bled. Ouch. We are talking Pete Townsend on guitar, in concert mega watt loud folks.

And if all of this was not sweet enough, it seems my house has some historical significance to it.

The Shot Tower....or otherwise known in some circles as Susie Q's one true love...This is the oldest building in Clifton, built between 1805 and 1810 by William Bradfute and his uncle, John Knox. These photos were taken in 2006 during a complete renovation of the building by its new owner. While these days it doesn't look much like a tower, it once had a wooden structure attached to the side to extend its height enough to manufacture shot. Molten lead was dropped through a sieve down what is now the chimney and into a vat of cold water. The cold water caused the drops of hot lead to form into spheres. It was owned by the Freeman family for nearly 100 years during which time it had several rooms added on. The photo on the right shows elements of the original structure. Once the additions were peeled away it became obvious that at one time there was no inner staircase, the only way to get to the second floor was from outside.

Photo taken during rehab by Pam Adams

Photo taken during rehab by Pam Adams

So today, after running a few errands, Grace and I decided to take a little drive. The sun was beaming and it felt so good to be outside. Somehow, imagine that, we found ourselves in Clifton again. The house was calling you know who...

There he was, at the corner of Clay Street and the honorary avenue, Hayes Way (for good old Coach Woody himself)...

...MY house.

The perfect spot for my little bookshop/photo gallery. No overhead, open when I am home...oooh. Can you see the goosebumps?

Oh but he was pretty. Charming would not be an incorrect adjective to use here. He absolutely reeks of charm! Right Woody? And Woody knows all about reeking charm. After all those years working with cute, young, sweaty football players don'tcha know.

Across the street to the right you see THIS sight.

Yes that WOULD be an Antique Mall.

Directly to the right you will see...

The old Clifton Opera House which still features local musicians of various genre.

From the living room and master bedroom front windows you will see this sight... The gazebo and side view of this historic building.

Look on down the road and you will see Clifton Mill.

As we made one final round of the little town Grace noticed a car pulling up to MY house.

*Gasp* Curses! A realtor and 2 clients! How dare they! That is MY house! Mine I tell you!

I grumbled, "Tell them to get away from my house Grace!" So my daughter, who is still trying to figure out American nuance, sarcasm and wit, leans out of the window and shouts, "You go away from my Mom's own house!" The last thing I saw was my dust and 3 people with gapping mouths looking at me from my rear view mirror.

*sigh* Heck. My stomach is in a knot and I actually have a twinge of pain. Oh how I want to call a realtor and go see the inside for myself but I don't want to bother anyone with that. I find myself actually green with jealousy, not envy, no envy is sweeter, but hard core, rampant, evil jealousy over the folks who were going inside today. Could they seriously be considering it? Dang. *sigh* It is a dream, a pipe dream at best. Living there would be inconvenient for 3 family members, our house would probably never sell in this market and I doubt that the other 3 humans who live with me share the same crazy affection for the house that I have. Oh but I do love it. I adore it. And I can still dream right?

Love and Hugs,

Susie Q

The Knit Knot Tree

Thank You Tree

Blessed be

This gentle tree

That patiently allows

The knitted swag of knotted loops

Upon it’s graceful bows.

A strange conceit

To dress a tree,

When in good time

It’s own sweet leaves

Will gown it with such splendor.

It’s not the dress

But the tree

That causes all the wonder.

Blessed be

This gentle tree.

~Nancy Mellon

Have you visited Jafabrit's Art, one of my blog links? Corrine is an amazingly talented artist with a huge heart, great wit and a bright spirit. She lives and works in a small community, one of our favorite towns, not too far from Rabbit Run Cottage. Corrine is one half of the wonderfully creative duo of Corrine and Nancy Mellon that began this project...an art project that makes people smile, feel dog gone good and, well, just brightens up a dreary day. Today was one of those gray, constant drizzle falling on my head, days but then the Knit Knot Tree provided Mom, Grace and me with a much needed ray of sun. This bright and happy project has been featured in newspapers and television and radio...and yes, even the BBC recently interviewed Corrine about the tree.

There is also more information about this project found here, a link on Corrine's blog site: Knit Knot Tree

From the AP Associated Press:

~Knitters Dress Up Trees for Public Art~

By JAMES HANNAH – Mar 10, 2008

YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio (AP) — No, that's not a hallucination. That pear tree is wearing a sweater.

Wrapped around the trunk is a colorful, crazy-quilt skin made up of panels of yarn knitted individually by residents and visitors alike. Good-luck charms cling to the yarn. Family photos, poems and jokes peek out of knitted pockets.

The art project in this southwest Ohio village, already known for its offbeat art, has become a conversation piece and even a photo op.

"What takes this to a different level is it is a community thing," said Corrine Bayraktaroglu, an artist who helped start the "knitknot tree" project. "People are really, really enjoying it. They're coming from towns to have their photograph taken with the tree. They're adding stuff to the pockets."

Knitters around the U.S. are dressing trees, street signs, benches, door handles and other objects.

Last month, residents of Columbus, Ind., knitted cozies for 33 ornamental pear trees that line the city's main street. One tree, called the People Hugger, has knitted arms.

Knitted coverings are showing up on trees and doorknobs in Charleston, W.Va. In Houston, knitters have dressed up park benches, car antennas, telephone poles and beer bottles.

"It's fascinating what's going on in the knitting world," Bayraktaroglu said. "Graffiti street art is going to a whole different realm. It's gone beyond just painting on sides of buildings."

Artist Carol Hummel is among the pioneers. She crocheted a cozy for a tree in front of City Hall in Cleveland Heights several years ago. It took her 500 hours and the use of a hydraulic lift to dress the upper branches.

The cozy has survived several winters and even a swarm of cicadas, which left their molted skins clinging to the material.

"There are a lot of copycats now," Hummel said. "A lot of people are getting into putting things on the trees. That's cool."

In Yellow Springs, the first knitted panel — a gold piece with the words "Knitknot Tree" and a smiley face — went up in October. It wasn't until early February that more panels began to be added.

"Then it just took off like crazy," Bayraktaroglu said. "People were coming from out of town and adding their own knitting."

Artist Nancy Mellon said people love to come up and touch the tree, and children like to check out what's in the pockets.

"There was a man — while I was working on the tree — who walked by, and all he said was 'Thank you,'" Mellon said.

Other residents in this village about 15 miles east of Dayton also seem to like the dressed-up tree.

"It looks like Yellow Springs; it's unique, it's colorful, unpredictable," said Lynda Sirk. "It makes me smile. That's what I like."

The tree is vulnerable to the raised legs of passing pooches. Because of that, the panels of yarn don't extend all the way to ground level.

As the panels spread up the trunk, the knitters had to follow, first standing on a chair, then a three-step ladder, a 6-foot ladder and finally an 8-foot ladder. They finally decided they had gone high enough after someone suggested scaffolding and village officials began to worry about someone falling.

"The fear factor has kicked in," Mellon said.

The artists who started the project tentatively plan to remove the knitting on Arbor Day at the end of April and give away the pieces of yarn.

But Bayraktaroglu has some reservations about that.

"People get very attached," she said, "and I think they'll be mad at us if we cut it down."

This poem was also penned by Nancy Mellon

Grace wants to add something so we will be making another trip back to Yellow Springs soon. Listen for my yodeling as I drive into town Corrine! I hope you are all well and enjoying the week. May it be a sweet one for all of you!

Love and Hugs, Susie Q

Birthday Wishes, Apologies And Playing Tag

I want to begin with a Happy Birthday and a *Sorry I was Not There, Please forgive me!* explanation! To dear, beautiful Anna, our Nature Girl at Nature Trail, I send warm wishes for a most happy birthday. You are such a lovely person, both on the inside and the outside. May this year be a magical one for you...one filled with the happiest of surprises, great health and lots of love. To Corrine, our deliriously talented artist, Jafabrit, I send apologies that we did not make your gallery show. I was heartsick not to be there. I hope it was wonderful! Grace came home with *something* and there was no way we were going to be able to go. Bill wanted me to head out by myself but Grace was in that *I want my Mom* mindset. So, there you have it. Nothing more complicated than that but still, a huge disappointment to us. For what it was worth, I was thinking about you!! I have been tagged by dear Jen for a little list game...now, you know me. I never do lists. Well, *almost* never. Okay, I do them occasionally. Often? Always? TOO MUCH?? So, I am just a compulsive list maker. It's genetic I think. My Mom is a list maker...that's right. I will blame my poor Mother. Yeah, I really am a rotten daughter aren't I?

So, here goes!

Jobs I have had:

Technical Services Department of a University Library, Navy Department of Human Services, Assistant Manager of a Folk Art/Antique Shop, Substitute Teacher, Pre-School Teacher, Teaching Adult Literacy, Planning Fundraising Events, Elementary School Teacher's Aide, Newsletter Writer, Santa Claus Photographer, Babysitter, Teaching Art History To Elementary Classes, Dog sitter/Cat sitter, Animal Rescue, Mom, Queen Of The Universe...aha! Just to see how many are still awake!

Movies I could watch over & over: Silverado, F/X and F/X 2, Best Seller, You Got Mail, The Goodbye Girl, Sense and Sensibilities, While You Were Sleeping, Sleepless In Seattle, Manhattan Murder Mystery, Waking Ned Devine, Mystic Pizza, Breakfast At Tiffany's, Local Hero, Forrest Gump, Cocoon, Under The Tuscan Sun, Chocolat, Bringing Up Baby, My Favorite Wife, The Philadelphia Story, It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, White Christmas, Rear Window, High Noon, Casablanca, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, It Happened One Night, Mr. Roberts, Harvey, The Quiet Man, A Room With A View, Enchanted April, Gosford Park, Seven Year Itch, To Catch A Thief, Star Wars, ET, Mrs. Brown, When Harry Met Sally, Dr. Zhivago, The Sound Of Music, My Fair Lady, Il Postino, Life Is Beautiful, West Side Story, Singing In The Rain, Young Frankenstein, The Shawshank Redemption, Raiders Of The Lost Arc, Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Back To The Future, The African Queen, Roman Holiday, The Sting, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, The Out-Of-Towners (The Original), Father Of The Bride (The Original AND The Remake), Apollo 13 I know, I know but I am a movieholic! Do you know how difficult is was for me to narrow the list down to JUST these?

The *Secret* TV shows that I watch: HGTV's Househunters, The Style Network's Clean House, Bravo's Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, Discovery Channel's Mythbusters, Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs

I have lived: In Ohio, Northern California, Southern California, Coastal Texas, Northern Florida (twice), Central Florida, Upstate New York, Tennessee, Southern Illinois Near St. Louis, Coastal Virginia

Favorite Foods: Risotto, Any Kind Of Soup, A Good Hamburger, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Or Roasted Vegetables, Lemon Chicken, Pasta Dishes Of All Sorts

Favorite colors: Blue, Red, Yellow, Brown

Places I would love to be now: New York City, At The Theater Or One Of The Art Museums, Chicago, At The Theater Or The Art Museum, London, Italy, Ireland, Paris And Provence, Santa Fe, San Fransisco, Disney World/Disneyland

Names I like but would not use for my children: Luke, Emma, Claire: I adore these names but they would not have sounded pretty with our last name! Yeah, I am one of those people who sounds out the names and writes them out and imagines how they will sound read aloud at a graduation or wedding! I also love Hannah but we, thinking we would never have a daughter, named our first cat Hannah. So, we could never call our daughter by the same name! Then, we used Lucy for our second cat, and there went another favorite girl's name! Oh but I do love the name Grace...and Daniel so we are pretty happy with our choices! That was a fun way to begin the week! Thanks Jen! Now, who wants to play? Have a sweet week dear friends!

A Sweet British Surprise

I visited one of my *must see/read* daily blogs this evening and found a sweet surprise! Jafabrit (you can find her link here on my page) had posted 2 wonderful pictures that really put a smile on my face and in my heart. Thanks dear C....who, by the way, just happens to be an amazing artist!