A few years ago I visited my brother in Erie, PA. We hadn't seen each other for several years. I have three brothers and we are all scattered. Our parents have been deceased for thirty+ years so there is no "home" that calls us back together. I spent four or five days with my next-to-oldest brother and we had a great time. We went sight-seeing and he introduced me to lighthouses. They are awesome!
He loves lighthouses (told me that our oldest brother, who lives in Michigan, introduced him to lighthouses) and could not wait to show me some lighthouses in his area. It was so much fun going around looking. We drove over to Presque Isle and found the lighthouse there, then we found one there in town. One day we took a road trip and headed up to wine country towards New York. It was there that we found the lighthouse we want to buy! Yep, it was for sale and we have big plans for this lighthouse, let me tell you.
It was listed at $950,000. We went back to his house and made a few calls to see if anyone would help us out. No luck from our oldest brother - he didn't want to assist. A call to my husband back in Tulsa asking him resulted in something along the lines of "good luck with that". A text to my girls netted one person willing to help us out. And thank you Charlie -- you are still our contender to be our lighthouse keeper for your willingness to assist. Unfortunately, we have not been able to add very much to that quarter you offered that day but your heart was there so we still consider you in our plans.
We keep checking on this lighthouse and I believe it is now down to $750,000. It has a small house off to the side that we are going to let our lighthouse keeper (Charlie) live in. We want to fix up the lighthouse and rent it out for weekend getaways, weddings, etc. And my brother, being as generous as he is, has recommended it would be a good idea if my husband set up a Church's chicken store nearby so he would have something to do also. Yep, our plans are in place and my love of lighthouses was started.
Now, here in Oklahoma you don't see a lot of lighthouses. Go figure!. I typically receive a lighthouse calendar for Christmas and recently my BFF and her husband gave me several lighthouse paraphernalia that was her mothers. So I have lighthouse decor in my home.
My girls outdid themselves this year though. I came home from work yesterday and there was a big box from Amazon. I thought to myself: 'what is this? I'm pretty sure everything I have already ordered for Christmas has come in. The only other thing is the mint mold I just ordered and it wouldn't be in this big of a box.' So I opened the box and inside is another box plus a shipping label that says 'a gift from Tarinda Fallos'. So I send her a text asking if I need to wait to open it. She replies that since we are having our family celebration it would probably be best if I waited. So - I - did.
Finally - it's time to open my presents. I received some wonderful homemade gifts from Remington and Lily - they were very creative with boxes and markers. Lily made me a Bible carrier complete with a picture of Grampa and I and the words Jesus is cool printed inside (this is a box lid). Another box lid was decorated with a plate and cup marked on it; two holes in the back through which yarn was threaded so I could hang it over my neck -- this is a Food Tray - very useful for keeping the food close to your mouth. This can also be used as a baby carrier and also for those nights you don't want to miss any Duck Dynasty you can use the Food Tray for a baby changing station right in front of the TV. She also made a Whisper Game box. This is a box that goes over my head and I close my eyes. Two people then whisper in each ear and I have to guess who is whispering. Remington took three boxes stacked together and made me a bookcase - the small area in front is for small books like my Kindle and there is a box for medium books and one for large books. He also made a Pin The Tail on the Donkey game with a drawing of a donkey on a piece of cardboard and a smaller piece of cardboard with a thumbtack in it and a tail drawn on it. We all took turns playing this.
The the big gift from the girls! Finally!!!! They got me a lighthouse!!! It is a solar powered garden lighthouse. It is awesome! I put it out at the end of the sidewalk last night and cannot wait until tonight so I can see it lit up! So I finally have a lighthouse. I just know my brother will be jealous of me. LOL I have to take a picture tonight and send to him.
All in all I have had a great birthday week. Flowers and dinner from my BFF and her husband on Monday, Gary got me a new laptop (touchscreen Windows - awesome!!!) and Chris got me a new tablecloth and napkins.
Yep, I gotta say - getting older is good!
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