Miller Land | Our Family's Little Blog

By all rights, this is Suzanna’s space. She chronicles our lives here in Miller Land in ways that I never could. My pen is mostly used for writing sales brochures, which I haven’t been doing much of lately. Hopefully, that will change soon. But a funny thing happened last night, and I have to share it.

Lia was tossing and turning, and came down stairs a little panicky. I was working on a sales letter and had hit a roadblock when I started a paragraph about tomatoes. (Long story.) I decided that maybe we could figure out our issues together.

As Lia crawled back in to bed, I asked her to tell me what she knew about growing plants. Here is what she said, word for word:

1) Plants can get too much sun and then they wilt.
2) Not every plant can grow in the same kind of place.
3) Some plants need more water than others.
4) Some plants need more sun than others.
5) Some plants need soggy places.
6) Some need dry places.
7) If you don’t plant them in the right place, they won’t grow.

When she couldn’t think of any more, she nodded off to sleep. I scribbled down what she said as fast as I could. Deep stuff for a kid. It sure helped with my writer’s block.

Where, might you ask does Lia get this gift? [Chest swelling with pride.] “Well me obvious…” [OW!!! I just got whacked in the head.] Her mother, of course, who got it from her mother.

If you go back far enough you’ll eventually get to Noah’s wife who was obviously a wise woman, a capable wife and good mother. It reminds me of a scripture, Proverbs 31:26. “Her mouth she has opened in wisdom, and the law of loving-kindness is upon her tongue.” This is definitely true of my wife. And as bittersweet as it is to say it, I hope that someday there’s a God-fearing, hardworking boy worthy enough to appreciate this in my daughter. (Please note: I know how to handle a shot gun. I get that from my dad.)

Suzanna, Lia, I love you both.

I need to take some Lamictal now and go do my Bible reading. ;)

Asking a single person of marriageable age to chaperone is cruel. Anyone younger (say, a 13 year old sibling) doesn’t really qualify, and WILL be scarred for life, just ask Sabrina B.

The best chaperones are those who understand what it’s like to be so in love that you’ve made the HUGE decision to get married. They can actually smile a little when they see the telltale signs of love:

• the incredible lightness, clarity, and easy humor
• the radiance of a woman who knows she is beautiful
• the comfort and confidence of finding the one who makes you feel special “just as you are”

I firmly believe that it is the responsibility of happily married people (especially those who have children) to help engaged couples maintain chaste courtship. Especially if you have a favor to return.

Making excuses is like waiting for something bad to happen, but making yourself available to chaperone is doing your part to prevent something bad from happening. Besides, if you need a refresher, love is contagious. Catch some!

Derrick and Kyle inform us that it takes 45 minutes to get from McConnelsville to Cambridge, if you can stomach it. The roads are so hilly and curvy on some back roads that it can make you sick, something we’re still getting used to. Reading while riding can be hazardous to the upholstery of your car, just ask Lia.

Country Club Road is the quickest way to get to town, but it’s hard on cars because like most country roads, it is both hilly and curvy. It takes more gas and a lower gear to get up the hills. The speed limit is 45 mph in most parts. I used to wonder why the Millers and Campbells drove down this road like they were being shot out of a cannon, but since driving it myself, I understand.  45 mph is fast, but throw in some hills and curves and all of a sudden, it’s the Indy 500.

When you’re low on gas, the dilemma of whether to drive a longer distance on flatter ground or shorter distance on hilly terrain presents itself. Fortunately, I’ve become quite an expert at coasting this road, like a surfer. The hills are big enough that if I can just reach the crest, I have a free ride for a good part of the way. I just throw that baby in neutral and ride it out. Of course, this only works when nobody’s behind you or if you give yourself enough of a head start. As I ride this roller coaster, I wonder:

Do I know this trick because we often ran on empty when I was a kid?

Do you save gas by pressing your brakes when you’re in neutral?

Does the frequent changing of gears wear down your transmission faster?

Does anybody know a good mechanic?

One of the hardest-working pieces of equipment in the Miller household is the butter boat. It hardly has a day to rest all year long.

The richness of butter makes you feel rich and just having four or five sticks on hand at any time is like insurance against deprivation. A salve for the soul, if you will.

To celebrate this day, I gave our butter boat, the SS Everyday Living, the day off. Come back to us well rested and ready to go!

The blog is fixed and I can post from Su’s phone while in bed now. Su is not exactly ecstatic. :) She’s sleepy. But I did appreciate her company during the last hurdle of this blog re-installation. This post is for you sweetie.

I LOVE YOU!

While Judah isn’t the sharpest knife in the block, life with Judah certainly isn’t dull.

Most of the time he earns his nickname of “Dingle.”

When he’s not tearing up and down the hilly countryside at Ma’s, he’s on the tie out or in the house. Once in a while he sneaks out through a slowly closing door. But all we have to do is open a car door, any car door and he’ll jump right in, “I’m going to Ma’s!”

We also discovered that any knocking noise will start him barking. He may not understand that it’s the knife hitting the cutting board when I’m slicing carrots, but when he is looking straight at Brent or Lia knocking on the wall or table, what excuse is there for him? None, I’m afraid.

Despite the trouble he can be, he has his endearing moments.

A carryover from his puppy dog days, he sleeps with his belly exposed, front legs  in the air, paws bent ever so daintily,  while his back legs are spread eagle. Not sure whether to say “Awwww” or “Oh MY !”

Sleeping Juji

He’ll bring his Nylabone to you so you can hold it for him while he chews, something John started with him.  And he’s fabulous to watch when he runs and jumps.

Today he opened his own crate. This is the first confirmed time, but we suspect that this is actually the third occurrence. It seems to happen when we dawdle a little too long in the morning.  The first time it happened, I had just sat down to drink my coffee when here comes Judah trotting into the kitchen. It really does make you look at him differently. Maybe he knows more than we think he knows.

Remember that ingenious bear Yellow-Yellow of the Adirondacks? We just may have ourselves a canine equivalent in Ju-Ju.

Writing makes me fat.

I’ll know that I have come to terms with writing when my weight is not directly commensurate to how much writing I do.

Today is not that day.

What you’ll find within a 2.5-mile radius in Byesville and Cambridge is pizza shops. Fifteen come up on the Google radar. FIFTEEN! What you won’t find is a solo coffee shop. Cool Beans on Cambridge’s main strip closed down since we moved here. The other location that comes up on a Google search is TJ Cinnamon’s, which is actually located within a fast food restaurant.

Coffee is considered a luxury here and it’s easy enough to make. Pizza is an all-around favorite food that takes some time because of the dough. It takes just the right amount of work to make it worthwhile to buy instead of make. Unless you’re Charity Pryor or Lori P., which, let’s admit it, most of us are not.

Each pizza shop has its gimmick that distinguishes it from the others. Little Caesars can offer pies for $5 because it’s a national chain and it can’t be rivaled for volume. Wally’s makes huge rectangular trays of pizza perfect for parties and technically qualifies as a chain because it has two locations, one in Cambridge and one in Byesville. Some would agree that hands down, the best pizza in Byesville is made by Plus One, also a local chain. Papa John’s has  “better ingredients” and offers coupons in the Sunday Jeffersonian. Dominoes, another chain, offers pizza for the same price as Little Caesar’s and brags about their seasoned crust. My favorite is the  big sign out front of Galaxy Pizza on Mother’s Day: “Your mother called. She wants you to pick up a delicious pizza from Galaxy.” Galaxy also has one store in Byesville, one in Cambridge.

Either the gimmicks work or pizza itself works, but the towns of Cambridge and Byesville love themselves some cheesy pie. The true sign that tourism is helping the economy of these two towns will be when a coffee shop can stay in business.

At Kate’s tonight, we were bemoaning the reality of iPhone ownership. No amount of coolness is going to change the fact that talking on an iPhone is like talking in a tunnel. Typing is like trying to run with casts on both legs. And you can actually watch paint dry before a web page loads.

I attempted positivity: it was Apple’s mission to make the world slow down, smell the roses a bit.

Su chimed in with what I think should be their new slogan.

“Apple. Moving at the speed of fruit.”

The earth in southeastern Ohio has layers of shale, limestone, clay, and coal. The area’s rich coal and gas deposits once made Cambridge a thriving glass and pottery center. A geologist whom Pa met when he worked for an oil company grabbed a handful of clay from the ground and sculpted a bust of a native American woman on the spot using tools he fashioned with sticks.

From Drop Box

In the early years, the Cambridge Glass Company operated its own coal mines and consumed 50 tons a day to fire its melting pots. It also used natural gas produced from its own wells. The abundant supply of natural resources was one of the main reasons for locating this factory in southeastern Ohio. To this day, Cambridge glass is considered one of the finest quality glassware lines in the world and glass from its heyday is still highly prized by collectors.

When I learned about Cambridge’s rich history, it explained why several of John’s artist friends have been here even though it seems like a sleepy little town in upper Appalachia. The Cambridge/Guernsey County Visitors & Convention Bureau puts out a nice little visitor’s guide. Here are some of the reasons listed to visit Guernsey County:

Once a year, during “ugly time” as Daren calls it, they have a Dickens Victorian Village festival and life-sized dolls dressed in Victorian clothing line Wheeling Avenue. The display draws busloads of people.

The Salt Fork Arts & Crafts Festival (August 13, 14 and 15, 2010), a chance for local artists to display and sell their art, will likely draw large crowds at Cambridge City Park this year as it has in the past.

Salt Fork State Park and Seneca Lake are pretty busy during the summer.

Something I’d be interested to check out: A major power supplier in the region, AEP, has reclaimed former mined out lands to build beautiful recreation areas (one aptly named ReCreation Land) throughout southeastern Ohio.

Who knew such history and natural wonders existed in our little corner of the world?