FLIGHT 93 MEMORIAL

The last stop we made was near Shanksville PA - the site of the Flight 93 Memorial.  We have visited this site now three times.  The memorial is not finished yet but has changed so much since we were first there shortly after 9/11/2001.  The first time we were went there was only a very small building, a section of a linked fence where items from visitors were poked into the openings and some engraved stones. 

 

We were told that when the memorial is completely finished there will be 40 groves of 40 trees.  I'm not sure what else will be added but it is well done.  Without a lot of explanation, here are some pictures............I thought I had a snapshot of the entire wall, but it is more than 40 panels long and the only way I could get it was to take a video of it.  I have more pictures and will be putting them into a Picasa.com album if anyone wants to see them.

 

Former President Clinton and Speaker of the House John Boehner are joining together to help raise the additional 10 million dollars to complete the project.  I hope they are successful!

OUR NEXT STOP

These pictures don't need much explanation as to where we went as part of our trip.  Niagara Falls is best viewed from the Canadian side. Weather was just lovely while we were there.

 

The Niagara Falls Skyline on the Canadian side.

 

Double rainbow over the Maid of the Mist

 

You can go down and stand right close to the falls.  We did that on a previous trip.

The Maid of the Mist gets up pretty "close and personal" with the Canadian Falls.

We did that on a previous trip as well.  Be prepared to get WET even with the poncho you are given.

I'VE BEEN AWAY

OK.........I'm still here and have been very slow in getting something new posted here.  I hope I haven't lost everyone who was checking in now and then.  I thought that when school started my schedule was going to be so much easier.  We no longer have children at home but the grandchildren are all in school now and my husband drives a bus so schedules are supposed to be more routine.........at least that is what I thought.

Well, aside from the fact that the schedule was busy getting ready for that stamp sale and also getting ready to be away for up to 2 weeks, no cards got made.  My next goal was to maybe post some pictures of some of my early posts that some of you hadn't seen and do that while I was gone.  That didn't happen either.  I'm home now and I am going to try very hard to get back in gear here.

For tonight though, I'm going to show you a few pictures of where I was.  We went to Door County, Wisconsin; Mackinaw City/Mackinac Island in Michigan and Niagara Falls (Canada side and American side).  Unfortunately our trip was cut short partially due to rainy weather and I developed a situation after possibly a mild case of food poisoning or a virus.  On our way home though we stopped and visited the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  That was a must on our route.  Here are some pictures of the first two days of our trip.

This is a ferry we took from Door County to Washington Island just off the coast.

 On Washington Island we were given a train tour of the Island.  There is an Ostrich farm there.  They also had a black bear, a camel, goats, Silkie chickens and other animals that we didn't see.

 This is a church that was built on the island.  It is absolutely beautifully done inside.

  From Door County, Wisconsin we traveled to Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes in Michigan.  As you can see, the hill is pretty high.

I had no intentions of getting to the top but I did it!.  Walking in sand going up this hill is NOT easy!

But guess what.........I made it to the top and took this picture looking down at the beautiful view.  As you might guess, going down was much easier.

 Our next stop was Mackinaw City/Mackinaw Island.  (Can't remember why there is a different spelling for the City and the Island.) This is a picture of the Grand Hotel on the Island.  The movie "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeves was filmed there.

The only transportation on the island is by bicycle or in horse drawn carriages.  No cars are allowed.  It's a really fun and unique place to visit.

I WILL REMEMBER...............

It is only fitting that today I post a card to reflect on the tragedy of September 11, 2001.  If you are unable to make out the sentiment on the left side of the stamp it reads "Adversity revealed our strength".  A friend of mine had sent me a card using this exact stamp and I asked her if I could buy it from her.  Thank  you, Debra for allowing me to buy this stamp from you.  It is one I will never part with.

Most of you who visit my blog today will remember where you were on that day.  Please feel free to share your story.  

For me, my husband had planned a day-trip as a way to celebrate my birthday.  We were just ready to leave the house and had been watching Good Morning America.  The first plane hit the World Trade Center and we told ourselves it had to have been an accident.  We left the house and had the radio on in our car.  We soon realized as the day progressed what a terrible tragedy our country had suffered.

Yesterday, I watched the dedication of the memorial at Shanksville, PA.  We have visited the site two times.  Standing at the site for the first time was very emotional and I could hardly speak knowing the bravery that those 40 people showed that day.  We are planning to visit it again very soon.  Each year I continue to remember that awful day and always will.

REPOSTING TODAY'S CARD

This card was made by recycling butterflies from a card I received from my friend, Harriet (allycat cards)

 

Since I have been so busy getting ready for the stamp sale which will take place on September 23/24, I haven't been making any new cards.  These butterflies were just too pretty not to "pay them forward" and I hope that whoever received this card was as pleased with it as I was when I received it.  

 

I took the butterflies from the card I received.  They had been arranged on the left hand side of the card and to make mine a little different, I arranged them so they would be around the "Happy Birthday" sentiment.  Harriet made the butterflies using the PapertreyInk stamps and die.  I loved them so much I was tempted into purchasing them for myself.  (Thanks, Harriet)

 

My first try at posting this card didn't go well.  I had had posted it and then tried to edit it but without doing it myself, it highlighted and "linked" everything to nowhere.  :)  I had to remove the post but wanted to get something up today.

 

Thank you for stopping by!   Be sure to stop by Allycat cards as well.

ADDING MORE CLEARANCE ITEMS

Over the past few days and days to come, I am going to be adding a lot more items to my Picasa Clearance Album (link shown above).  As of now there are nearly 150 items shown there - a few have sold and a notation is made under those pictures.

Because I have a large number of Lasting Impressions stencils I am wanting to clear, I will be opening a new album just for those, although a few of them are already shown in the present clearance album.

I hope you will visit the current album and when I have the second one opened, I will post a link to it above.  If you find something you would like, just email me a brief description and the photo number.  My contact information is on the right of my blog page.

I do hope to get back to making some cards again soon, but just need to take care of a few things first.

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!!!!