Want great art and give to charity? How about $27 shipped to your house? Interested? Read on!

Good morning all.  I am participating in a charity event.  Please check out the link below.  The are various artists participating and all proceeds go to the Toys For Tots charity.  Images are $27 each including shipping!  Order instructions are on the link page as well.  Don Giannatti is coordinating the event.  He is a well known and established photographer out of the great state of Arizona.
If you want some great art pieces and also want to give to a great charity, please stop by the site and see what might Interest you!
http://www.lighting-essentials.com/prints-for-charity/

The Livingston House - "Home" Of The Tomato

History is one of those things that you can find all around you and you may not even know about it.  How that history intertwines with those things we take for granted can be an amazing thing.

Lets take a look at the tomato for instance.  Before there were tomatoes in every grocery store, there were tomatoes in the wild.  While edible, they were not what you and I see them as today.  They were really more of a juice filled ball than the hearty breeds we have today.  Who can we thank for that?  Why Alexander Livingston of course!  Through his tireless efforts, Livingston cultivated and cross bred various varieties of tomatoes to give them more cell structure and enhance their flavors.  The majority of all tomatoes found today can be traced back to Livingston's Seed Company.
If you want to know more about this interesting man, I recommend checking out the Livingston House Society and their website.

If you want to see the Livingston House, then that is no problem either.  The Reynoldsburg Parks and Recreation Department oversee the house and the grounds.  Their are many events and activities that the Livingston House Society manage every year that will gain you access to the house as well as some great knowledge.

Front of the house, facing the street

Side of the house facing the parking area

Back door to kitchen and visitor's center

Interior living room - tea time

upstairs bedroom

children's bedroom

china cabinet

sitting room

dining room

downstairs bedroom

bible and glasses in the dining room

Beck's Tree Farm - A Family Tradition

My wife's family has a tradition of going out together and getting a Christmas Tree for Nana's house.  One of out favorite locations for getting the tree is Beck's Tree Farm in Lancaster, OH.

We have been to many a tree farm over the years to be sure, but Beck's is always one of our favorites.  They have a large selection of "cut your own" trees and their stock is always healthy.

When you first get to Beck's you can go exploring on your own through the grounds or you can catch a ride on their horse drawn wagon to different locations through out the property.   Each section is home to a different type of tree.

On of the great things too about Beck's is that different tree types may cost a different price, but the size doesn't factor into it.  Pick a 2 footer or a 10 footer and the price is the price.

Once you are out in the field, you don your weapon of choice(the tree saw) and take your prey.

Here is the tree our family picked...heading out to wait for the horses to come pick us up.

From here you can see the large expanse of the tree farm.  There is still way more behind and around us that you cannot see.

Once back, the staff takes your tree and puts it on the shaker and bails the tree for easy transport to your home!

And here are the fruits of our labor!  The tree is secured in the tree stand, expertly decorated by the kids and ready for Santa to place presents around!

Google Currents - We Are There!!

You can follow us on Google Currents!!

http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAowo8Yj/visual_ohio