THE FIND OF THE DECADE!

The pups and I got out to the barn by 7:30...it was ugly and the rain was not going to hold off much longer. Grained the horses and quickly started cleaning stalls.I filled the water trough and put hay in the front paddock. So far so good.



Half of the pond has left the outdoor arena.
Just when I was totally finished and ready to go back to the house, it started to sprinkle....SO I went back in the barn and got their sheets. Seeing that I was going to leave at 10, did not want to worry and opened the indoor just in case they had the brains to go in it!


Deb arrived first and brought some reading material for Gar. Unfortunately, he was not feeling well at all...intestines! What the heck is going on around here? Tina was next, and we were off for a six hour adventure that really started when we picked up Sandy. By now it was starting to rain, but that did not bother us at all. Onward to Lima and Copy Town!

Does this not look like an old fashioned REAL print shop?


It did not take long for us to get down to business.
Tina, Sandy and Deb were all having art printed. I was doing photographs.
Below is Maria... she and her Dad run this place and are absolute pros.
Check out the prints (to the left of the original art). All are Sandy's and they are just the proofs.


Deb is moving in a couple of months and is creating a coffee table for her living room. She is going to place prints on the surface and will cover them with glass.
After the three of them had their work put into the computer, they went next door to the American Hotel to have a cup of tea while Maria and I set up my photographs. I wanted to do a coffee table book of about 50.

After we finished, I joined the others and had lunch. The specialty is homemade soups. Did I remember to take any pictures of the food?
We were all very excited about the prints that were being done next door.





Before we went back to collect them, we looked around. If you wanted to rent a room, you registered here.

This is what the Hotel looked like in 1854.

The bathroom was upstairs, so we were able to check out more nooks and crannies.
Nice period touches here and there.

We didn't get to see a guest room, but Deb stayed there once and said they were all furnished and decorated according to the period when the hotel was built.

Meanwhile back at the shop, Maria was ready to print my photographs. It took a long time but it was worth the wait.

I decided to go with a spiral binding so it would be easy to flip the pages.
Deb followed the whole procedure carefully, as she may put together her family history book in the same way.

Hang on Sandy! Just a little longer.

Here's a look at Lima. Some of the architecture is similar to what we have in Brockport.

Below you can see the Print shop, and to the right (yellow) is the American Hotel.


It was absolutely pouring when we left, so Maria supplied us with boxes to protect our work.

We got back to the farm a little after 4. Unfortunately, Gary still felt pretty crappy. I changed my jacket, put on my boots and went out to the barn to do chores early. The poor horses! All were under the shed roof with the exception of Pony. When she got in her stall I changed her soaked sheet for a medium stable blanket...also rubbed her off with a towel.

So here are the results of my day. I was given sheets of wallet sized "thumbprints" so I could select what I wanted to include in my book.
Ended up with 49 photos, a title page and a blank page after the last photo.
The front and back covers were black, and the spiral was a little larger so it would be easy to flip the pages and keep the book flat.
The quality of the prints blew me away! I am going to keep making books! The Skoog Farm Journal Cook Book, The Skoog Farm Animals, The Skoog Farm Family Album, maybe a children's book, The Gardens of Skoog Farm, The Skoog Farm Workshop! I can't tell you how psyched I am!

To think that I went to Wally World and had a book made for $3 less with 11 pages and much smaller.... WE HIT THE BEST JACKPOT EVER!!!! Sandy, Tina, Deb and I are going to wear a path between here and Lima. Thank you Maria!
Gary has started to feel a little better and his walking is not quite as stressful.

Now I am going to watch the last two competitors on Dancing With the Stars and get in some couch time.


Night all.