Turtle of the Day - Gimpy Columbus

Once upon a time, almost another lifetime ago, I lived in a place far far away from anywhere - Buckeye Lake, Ohio - and attended The Ohio State University for graduate school.

During my second year of the program, I must have had more time on my hands than I knew what to do with (surprising, since I was a newlywed), or I must have known this crafting addiction was something that really could not be denied, so I started working at the JoAnn Fabrics store on Brice Road in Columbus (not sure if that store is still there or not). I worked there right up until we moved back to SC after I graduated.

One of my favorite jobs was doing the resets of the seasonal merchandise - because I got first peek at everything new that came out. I was on a big "cherry decor" kick at the time, and would always dive on the cherry themed products (I have gotten rid of all of them by the way - that phase is WAAAYYY past).

I came across Gimpy the stepping stone as I was unpacking things for the summer line. All 4 of Gimpy's feet had broken off and he was in pretty sad shape for a turtle. I asked my boss what was to become of him, and she let me take him home. So he and his feet were carefully packed into a box and taken back to the cottage - where my then-new Hubby carefully helped me do turtle surgery.

A little super glue later he was good to go - and his legs have held up through 7 moves since then. While Gimpy is not running laps around the yard, he is doing just fine as a stepping stone. Right now he does well keeping the grass down around my herb garden, and gives the Munchkin a place to stand when he is leaning over to smell the rosemary or water the basil.

(sorry the picture of him is not clearer - but I was trying to keep the non-waterproof camera a safe distance from the hose wielding Munchkin)

(oh - and I am starting to get to the bottom of my list of turtles - so "Turtle of the Day" posts will only appear on Mondays now)