Living Our Dream

Memorial Day Weekend

Berlin, OH - Events of Wednesday, May 20 to Tuesday, May 27, 2015

After returning from Quailcrest Farm empty handed, we continued our search for a hanging basket on Wednesday by checking out all the local places where we remembered seeing flowers for sale. The biggest selection in the area by far was at Hershberger Farm and Bakery.

Huge selection of hanging baskets at Hershberger's Farm Market

Since Hershberger's had such a big selection and since their prices were competitive, we easily found a basket we liked. In fact, there were so many to choose from, we had trouble making up our minds. The basket we finally chose consists of petunias, verbena and alyssum.

Hanging basket of petunias, verbena and alyssum

Thursday was cool and windy, so we just stayed around the rig all day. On Friday, we did a little food shopping in the morning at Walnut Creek Cheese, then Margery did some cooking in the early afternoon preparating for the arrival of Lora, J. Michael and Lydia for the Memorial Day weekend. They pulled their travel trailer into the site behind us around 3:30. We got to watch Lydia while they set up.

Lydia and Margery

We can see changes in Lydia from the last time we were together just a few weeks ago. She now crawls with ease, and she even pulled herself up to a standing position all by herself for the first time while we were watching her that afternoon. She is making different sounds with her mouth, which is the way babies lay the groundwork for learning to talk.

Margery prepared a delicious dinner of Pork with Queso Flameado Sauce, which is pork tenderloin medallions in a cheese sauce containing red bell pepper, cilantro and chorizo sausage. Yum!

After dinner, we chatted a while. Lydia started to show signs of getting tired so Lora and J. Michael took her back to their rig to put her to bed. We watched a little TV then headed off to bed ourselves.

On Saturday morning, we headed to Der Dutchman for the breakfast buffet.

Breakfast buffet at Der Dutchman

After breakfast, we made a stop at Keim Lumber then continued on to Hershberger's Farm Market. Saturday was Hershberger's customer appreciation day. There was a 10% store-wide discount and free samples of many of their snack foods and baked goods. There was a good turnout.

Customers lining up for free samples on the porch of Hershberger's Market

Even though we had just finished a big breakfast, some of us did indulge in a couple of samples. However, the real reason we went to Hershberger's was for Lydia to see the animals. They have a petting zoo with goats, pigs, calves, sheep, pony rides and more.

Lydia paused to see Big Ben, a 3006-pound Belgian draft horse. He is the largest horse in Holmes County.

A big horse and a little baby check each other out

Lydia then went on to check out a baby goat, which was more her size.

Lydia and Lora petting a baby goat

The next stop on our itinerary was the Holmes County Flea Market located just down the road from the campground. J. Michael was on daddy duty to allow Lora to have her hands free to make it easier for her to shop.

J. Michael on daddy duty

Lydia enjoyed our stop at the flea market

Back at Scenic Hills, we relaxed in the afternoon. J. Michael grilled up some delicious burgers for dinner, and Lora made a yummy zucchini casserole.

Margery, Lydia, Lora and J. Michael

As the sun went down and the air cooled off, we all enjoyed the warmth of a campfire before heading off to bed.

Lora whipped up some bacon, egg and cheese biscuits for all of us for breakfast on Sunday morning. In the afternoon, we watched Lydia while Lora and J. Michael went miniature golfing. Lydia had a good time crawling around our kitchen island and playing with her toys. We had a good time just watching her.

Lydia crawling around our kitchen island

Lydia pulling toys out of her bag

Lora and J. Michael returned just in time for an afternoon snack after which they took Lydia back to their trailer for her afternoon nap. Margery made us all another delicious dinner of smothered chicken (chicken breasts smothered with mushrooms and spinach in a cream sauce).

After dinner, we had another campfire.

Lydia and Margery at the campfire

We were treated to a beautiful sunset before we all headed back to our respective rigs.

Sunday evening sunset

J. Michael took a vacation day on Monday so they could stay at Scenic Hills an extra day and not have to drive home in holiday traffic. J. Michael ran out to Der Dutchman bakery early on Monday morning and picked up some cream sticks for all of us for breakfast.

After breakfast and after Lydia's nap, we drove to Lehman's Hardware in nearby Kidron, OH. Lehman's sells lots of non-electric appliances, wood stoves, and the like that are favored by the Amish. They also have a big selection of cooking utensils and kitchen gadgets.

Wood stoves at Lehman's

For those who want the old fashioned look of a wood stove, but who don't want the inconvenience of chopping firewood, Lehman's has modern stoves with the look of wood stoves. The stove shown below looks like a wood stove, but it actually has an induction cooktop.

Stove with an induction cooktop with the look of a wood stove

The modern, electric refrigerator shown below has the look of an old fashioned ice box.

Modern refrigerator with the look of an old fashioned ice box

Lehman's also has a great selection of sturdy toys, books and games for kids. We had a good time showing some of them to Lydia.

Paul showing Lydia a puppet

It was right around 3:00 when we left Lehman's, which was a perfect time to stop at Der Dutchman for lupper. Lora, J. Michael, and Margery had broasted chicken (around $10.50 to $12 depending on how many pieces you want and whether or not you want all white meat) with the salad bar for one of their sides ($1.79 extra). Paul had just the salad bar ($8.79). Everything was yummy! Last time, we commented the blue cheese dressing was runny. This time, we're happy to report it was thick like it used to be.

From Der Dutchman, we headed back to Scenic Hills where Lydia and some of the rest of us took naps. We got together for a while in the evening, but Lydia got a little short changed on her afternoon nap and needed an early bed time so Lora and J. Micheal took her back to their rig relatively early in the evening.

On Tuesday morning, we watched Lydia while Lora and J. Michael packed up. We all enjoyed a sausage casserole Margery made for breakfast before Lora, J. Michael and Lydia pulled out of the campground and headed back home.

We took the rest of Tuesday to relax, but we have more plans for later in the week. Stay tuned.

Quailcrest Farm

Berlin, OH - Events of Monday, May 18 and Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Late last week, Margery decided she needed to get a haircut sooner rather than later, so she called a hairdresser in nearby Sugarcreek. The earliest appointment she could get was Monday was at 5:45. Since that's right around our usual dinner time, we went out to Der Dutchman for lupper before her appointment.

We both had the salad bar ($8.39). They also have a hot buffet after 3:00 on Mondays through Thursdays for around $14 that also includes the salad bar, but we get plenty to eat with the salad bar alone. In addition to shredded lettuce and all kinds of salad fixin's, the salad bar includes hard boiled eggs, pickled beets, chicken salad, ham salad, cottage cheese, pasta salad, fruit salad, Jello and/or pudding and more.

Margery and her first plate of salad

Everything was yummy as usual except we noticed the blue cheese dressing was not as thick and creamy as we remembered. We don't know if they changed the recipe or if the person assigned to make the dressing that day was having an off day. At any rate, the dressing still had a pretty good flavor.

The temperatures in the Berlin area have been going up and down faster than a yo-yo. Each change in temperature brings with it clouds and a chance of rain. Welcome to spring in the northeast.

Tuesday was cool, but sunny, so we decided to drive about 45 minutes to the northeast to Wooster, OH to check out Quailcrest Farm. Quailcrest is a garden center that has a big greenhouse with a large selection of annuals, perennials, and hanging baskets. They also have a gift shop with lots of of indoor and outdoor decorative items. We also like the fact they have several display gardens.

We used to make a point of going to Quailcrest in the spring when we had a stick house, but we we have only been there a couple of times since we became full-timers. Because we were we looking for a hanging basket this year, we thought it would be a good idea to check them out.

We first headed across the driveway to the display gardens. Although we were hoping the perennials would be a little farther along, only a few varieties were in bloom.

Weigela in bloom

Lupine just starting to bloom

Quailcrest also uses colorful foliage and garden ornaments to add interest to their gardens, so even though there were only a few flowers, the gardens were still quite attractive.

Colorful foliage and garden ornaments add to the interest in the garden

They also add fences, walls, walkways, trellises and gazebos to define areas and to provide structure as shown in the next three photos.

After strolling through the display gardens, we headed back across the driveway to the greenhouse and gift shop.

Entrance to gift shop with retail greenhouse to the left

There was a great looking chainsaw carving of an eagle right outside the gift shop.

Chainsaw carving of an eagle outside the gift shop

There was a nice selection of annuals and perennials in the greenhouse.

Margery checking out annuals in the greenhouse

They also had a large number of hanging baskets, and the prices were fairly reasonable. Unfortunately, we didn't find anything we really liked, so we'll keep on looking.

On the way back to the truck, we went through the outdoor sales area where there were rhododendrons in bloom and lots of decorative garden items like stone and wooden benches, Japanese garden lanterns and decorative flower pots.

Shrubs and decorative garden items in the outdoor sales area

Although it was a little cool and windy and even though we didn't find a hanging basket, we enjoyed our visit to Quailcrest Farm. We headed back to Scenic Hills to relax for the rest of Tuesday and for the next couple of days. We had special plans for the Memorial Day weekend, and we'll tell you about them in our next post.

Walnut Creek Amish Flea Market

Berlin, OH - Events of Wednesday, May 13 to Sunday, May 17, 2015

A front moved through the Berlin area last Tuesday bringing with it rain, wind and much cooler temperatures. After highs in the 80s, the temperature on Wednesday only made it to 51º. We hung around the rig all day.

The rain stopped and the wind died down somewhat by Wednesday, so we ventured out and drove about 40 minutes northeast to the Sam's Club in Canton to do some shopping. On the way there, we stopped at Menard's, Lowe's and Home Depot for Paul to get some supplies for a couple of upcoming projects; and on the way back, we stopped at Joann Fabrics for Margery to get some yarn for one of her projects.

Thursday warmed up to the upper 60s and the sun came out, so we headed a few miles to the east to the Walnut Creek Amish Flea Market. On the way we stopped at Der Dutchman Bakery for cream sticks.

The Walnut Creek Amish Flea Market is one of two local flea markets. The other is just down the road from the campground. Both markets sell mostly new items.

Main entrance to the Walnut Creek Amish Flea Market

The market is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Since it was early in the season and since it was Thursday instead of Friday or Saturday, it wasn't very crowded.

Only a few people were walking the aisles of the flea market

Much of the merchandise is made up of decorative items with a country flair. In addition to decorative items, there is also furniture that ranges from country accent pieces like the ones shown in the photo below to fine wood furniture.

Country furniture

We enjoyed browsing, and we ended up buying a couple of small items. From the flea market, we drove to the Walmart in New Philadelphia to restock the fridge and pantry, then headed back to Scenic Hills to putter around the rig the rest of the afternoon.

On Friday, we ran some errands in the morning, then headed to Cindy's Diner in downtown Berlin for a late lunch. Cindy's is located at the corner of US 62 and State Route 39 at one end of the Berlin Village Antique Mall.

Cindy's Diner located at one end of Berlin Village Antique Mall

When we're in the Berlin area, we usually eat at Der Dutchman when we eat out. A year or two ago, we started making an occasional stop at the Chalet in the Valley for cheese fondue. This year, we decided to expand our horizons even further and give Cindy's a try. They get good reviews online, especially for their burgers, and we were hungry for a good burger.

In addition to a variety of burgers, Cindy's serves diner food like hot roast beef and hot turkey sandwiches, country fried steak, fried chicken, sundaes, milkshakes, banana splits and pie. They also have award-winning ribs ($12.99 for a half rack, $18.99 for a full rack including two sides) and pulled pork barbecue ($12.99 for a sandwich and a side).

We both had cheeseburgers. The price of $8.99 includes a soft drink and one standard side (steak fries, mashed potatoes, cole slaw or vegetable of the day). Signature sides (waffle fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings or tossed salad) are also available for $1 extra. Margery had onion rings, and Paul had sweet potato fries. Everything was delish!

Paul with his burger and sweet potato fries

The Country Gatherings gift shop complex is located right next to Cindy's Diner. Country Gatherings and has a lot of garden-themed merchandise; and since we both like gardens, we decided to walk over and check it out before heading back to the rig.

Country Gatherings

Because we're going to be staying in Berlin all summer, we're thinking about getting a hanging basket or flower planter of some kind, so we looked to see what was available at Country Gatherings. They had some very nice planters with miniature garden scenes like the one shown below; but at a price of $230, we'll have to keep looking.

Planter with miniature garden scene

After we browsed around Country Gatherings a while, we walked up the street in the opposite direction and checked out one or two other small shops then headed back to Scenic Hills.

We did our weekly cleaning chores on Saturday, then hung out around the campground the rest of the weekend. We had a couple of things planned for the following week. We'll tell you about them in our next post.

Gotcha!

Berlin, OH - Events of Thursday, May 7 to Monday, May 12, 2015

Gotcha Day is what the adoption agency likes to call the day of the court hearing to grant permanent custody of an adopted child. When the child is old enough, the adoptive parents can tell him or her, "That was the day we gotcha!" Thursday was Lydia's Gotcha Day, and we, along with J. Michael's mom, were invited to attend the hearing.

In order for us to make the two-hour drive to Lora and J. Michael's house in time for all of us to get into Pittsburgh for the morning hearing, we had to get up bright and early. Well, it was early, but it wasn't bright - it was still dark. We got to Lora and J. Michael's house in plenty of time for all of us to pile into the car, make it through the tail end of rush hour traffic, get into downtown Pittsburgh and get parked.

Unlike many court hearings that are somber affairs, Gotcha Day is a joyous occasion. The usual rules prohibiting cameras in the courtroom are suspended, and photography is even encouraged. The courtroom staff, and even the judge, are in a light-hearted mood.

The hearing only lasts about 15 or 20 minutes. Background checks on the prospective adoptive parents and home visits are all conducted in advance. All that preliminary work is the reason there is a delay of 6 months or more between the time the birth parents sign paperwork allowing the adoption and the time permanent custody is granted.

After the attorney presents the petition for adoption to the judge, the prospective parents are each sworn in and asked to testify that they are aware of all the legal ramifications of adoption - mainly that the child they are adopting will have the exact same legal status in their family as any natural child would have.

Clerk (right) swearing in Lora prior to testimony

Following testimony, the judge granted the petition for adoption, then he stepped down off the bench for photos with the family. We told you the hearing was pretty informal.

Judge Zottola with Lora, Lydia and J. Michael

Even though the judge is still somewhat imposing in his black robe, he was constantly smiling at Lydia and waving to her throughout the hearing.

Judge Zottola waving to Lydia

Notice in the two photos above that Lydia is only wearing one shoe. She lost it when she was with Lora up on the witness stand, and it became a running joke throughout the rest of the hearing. After we left the courtroom, we posed for more photos before heading back to the car.

Paul, Margery, Lora, Lydia, J. Michael and his mom after the hearing

Lora and Lydia

Lydia and beaming grandma

After the hearing, we headed to Bahama Breeze for lunch, then stopped at Lora and J. Michael's house where we chatted a while and played with Lydia. Lydia started crawling the day before, and we got to watch her really put into practice her newly-learned skill. It's time for Lora to clear off all the lower shelves in the house.

We headed back to Berlin later in the afternoon and relaxed the rest of the day. We made another Walmart run on Friday then hung around the rig the rest of Friday and all day Saturday.

Sunday was Mother's Day, and we were invited to Lora and J. Michael's house for a Mother's Day celebration with J. Michael's mom and with his brother and sister and their families. It was truly a celebration for Lora and J. Michael because it was Lora's first Mother's Day as a mother. It was even more special because everything was made official by the court hearing only a couple of days prior.

J. Michael was smoking pork shoulder for the celebration, and we could smell the apple-wood smoke before we even got out of the truck. We arrived ahead of the rest of the guests, and Grammy wasted no time taking advantage of that to get some Lydia time.

Grammy and Lydia

Lydia is learning how to wave, and she is very enthusiastic about it sometimes using both hands.

Lydia waving with both hands

While we played with Lydia, J. Michael continued impressing us with his cooking skills by adding Pig Shots to the smoker. Pig Shots are a slice of bacon spiral wrapped around a disc of kielbasi to form a cup about the size and shape of a shot glass. The cup is filled with cream cheese and topped with a little brown sugar.

J. Michael smoking Pig Shots

When the rest of the company arrived, we finally got to taste everything we had been smelling all afternoon. The pulled pork was delicious - tender and moist with a nice smoky flavor. All we can say about the Pig Shots is WOW!

The weather was beautiful, and we also got to enjoy some time out on the deck. Margery also got in some more Lydia time. In the photo below, Lydia is practicing her waving.

Margery and Lydia, who is practicing her waving

We spent the night at Lora and J. Michaels' house because, not only would it have been late driving all the way back to Ohio that evening, but Margery had made an appointment with the eye doctor the following morning to have the prescription for her glasses checked. We headed back to Scenic Hills on Monday afternoon.

We have a couple more family events planned, and we're pretty sure there will be more get-togethers that are as yet unscheduled. In the meantime, we'll chill out in Berlin and enjoy the rural atmosphere, the spring planting that will be going on and, of course, more good food. Stay tuned.

It's True - All We Do Is Eat!

Berlin, OH - Events of Saturday, May 2 to Monday, May 4, 2015

In our last post, we mentioned the fact we like the scenery in Ohio's Amish country; but we also like the good food. We arrived mid-afternoon on Friday, and we didn't waste any time heading out first thing Saturday morning in search of some of our favorites.

Our first stop was at Der Dutchman restaurant for their breakfast buffet. The buffet costs $8.29 and includes scrambled eggs, pancakes, fried mush, biscuits and gravy, French toast sticks, hot and cold cereal, grits, two kinds of sausage, bacon, fresh fruit, frozen fruit slush, several kinds of pudding, cinnamon rolls, coffee cake and more.

Paul waiting to dig in

After breakfast, we took a few minutes to enjoy the scenery behind the restaurant. There were tulips and daffodils blooming...

Tulips and daffodils blooming behind Der Dutchman

...and a nice view of an Amish farm down over the hill.

Amish farm behind Der Dutchman

From Der Dutchman, we drove a few minutes to the east to Walnut Creek Cheese. In addition to cheese, they have a nice selection of meats and a big selection of bulk foods.

Walnut Creek Cheese

Although the campground was pretty empty, the town of Berlin and the surrounding area were bustling with tourists and with Amish out doing their shopping. There was a row of Amish buggies parked at Walnut Creek Cheese.

Amish buggies at Walnut Creek Cheese

After picking up some cheese curds, some sugar-free gummi peach rings and some lunch meat at Walnut Creek Cheese, we headed north to Winesburg Meats to get some beef snack sticks.

Paul exiting Winesburg Meats with a bag of beef sticks

We then headed to the Walmart in Millersburg to restock the fridge and pantry because we were pretty low of a number of items after having been on the road for the better part of a week. We then headed back to Scenic Hills to put all that food in the fridge and pantry and to more or less relax the rest of the weekend.

On Monday morning, we headed back to bakery at Der Dutchman where we enjoyed our first cream sticks of the season for breakfast. Cream sticks are long doughnuts that are filled with a creamy filling. The filling isn't overly sweet and is never gritty. Cream sticks are available with a number of different flavored icings on top including caramel (our favorite), peanut butter, chocolate and vanilla.

Paul with his cream stick

On our way to the bakery, we noticed masses of beautiful tulips blooming next door at the Carlisle Inn. After we enjoyed our cream sticks, we walked over for a closer look.

Beautiful tulips bloom in the courtyard in front of the Carlisle Inn

We then walked back to the truck and headed back to Scenic Hills where we puttered around the 5th wheel for the rest of the day and for the next couple of days. On Thursday, we headed to Pittsburgh to visit Lydia. We'll tell you about it in our next post.