Staycation weekend again.

First of all, I would like to say that I am beginning to like Staycations.  There is so much to do within 100 miles of here and you get to sleep in your own bed, use your own shower, and no packing!  Friday night we used a gift certificate that we had to a local restaurant and we did a little shopping, mostly essentials.

Saturday found us at a fun wedding, lots of friends and good food, it was a nice evening.

Sunday was spent at the zoo, Shelby, Shawnee and I and the four kids.  How fun!  A little exhausting, but a great time.   Of course I could not get  a picture in anywhere other than when we sat down to eat.

The pinched look on the boys' faces is not from the sun, it was because I was standing on their feet to keep them from running off while my hands were on the camera.   Just kidding, but handholding was the rule of the day.  Favorite comment of the day: (Please close your ears if you are anti-hunter) Logan while looking at the black bear, "I could get that bear in a head shot and it would go down."  I am sure that would fit into some redneck manual of life somewhere.  You might be a redneck if you three year old thinks the zoo is for target practice. 

Monday was off to the Canfield Fair sans any children.  Much of it was spent thinking how those kids would enjoy it, however, much of it was spent relaxing and enjoying the sights, the food and of course, people watching. 

Two events will be remembered from this years' Canfield Fair.

One is in the form of a rant.

Do you see this shirt?  Would you give up two hours of the fair for it?  I would not, I print t-shirts for a living, they don't have a lot of value for me.  I don't even wear regular t-shirts out anywhere.  I wear them around the house, usually oversized and sloppy and usually with the necks cut in them.  So would I give up two hours of the fair for one?  Absolutely not.  I saw the blood bank and I knew that I was able to give blood again anytime after some date in August, I had my donor card and decided to give blood.  You see, after many years of not being able to give due to yearly mission trip travel,   (They really frown on taking your blood after you have been in Haiti)  and because of the gift of blood received by my mother in law this winter, I had decided that I would try to give blood at every opportunity.  This experience was not the greatest.    First of all, would you not think that the American Red Cross would have some sort of national database?  NOT!  My card is the Upper Alleghenies region and this was some Mid-Atlantic Region and they repeatedly asked me when I last gave blood.  REPEATEDLY!  Honestly, you would have thought I was a criminal or that the t-shirt was made of pure gold.  When I sat down, I didn't even realize that you got a free t-shirt.  The nurse that took my blood was less than nice and really either she needed a cigarette or a drink or had some early stages of Parkinson's because the way her hand shook when she put that needle in was less than pleasant.  I kindly explained to her that I was allergic to iodine and she turned around and doused my arm with iodine while she again asked me if I was sure that I was ok to give blood again.  Finally, I said,  "WHY?  Why would I cheat you on giving blood?  For the t-shirt?  Is there some reason I would try to give blood more often than I should?"  Her answer, "Pump that little ball"  When I was done and unhooked, "Go get your snack and t-shirt and next time you try to give blood, you should have some proof of when you last gave."  Really!  Two hours of my time for this? 

So enough of that rant, the American Red Cross will be getting a call to the 1-800 number today from me.

The other event was the purchase of a fireplace insert and that will be outlined in tomorrow's post hopefully.

I did manage to finish a few items on Saturday morning.

And the start of a short week has tons of shirts that need printed and a backhoe sitting in the yard of the new house.  Yep, a new septic tank!  Not in the budget, but not totally unexpected either.  So today begins the digging.  What happened to a slow down in the fall.  I don't see it coming.