Weekending

Good Monday morning friends. We are still fighting germs in our house and it seems when one kiddo gets to feeling better another one goes down for the count. The two oldest grandboys spent the weekend with their other grandparents and I washed all the sheets and towels (again), Lysol-ed the house, cleaned all the bathrooms, then opened up some windows to let the sunshine and fresh air in. 

Hubs, daughter1, little miss, and I hung out at home mostly, with a few little errands thrown into the mix too. I've been doing a lot of cooking with a full house here and was running out of steam by the weekend. You forget how often kids eat. I mean there's breakfast then there's lunch and then of course dinner plus snacks in between. They are not picky eaters at all, but I'm just not used to all.the.meals. 

I made a chicken pot pie on Friday and we had BLT's Saturday which doesn't feel like real cooking and was a nice break. Pictures? Nope. 

How about an outdoor project update because I do have some pictures of that. When last we spoke (about this) we were waiting on furniture to arrive and guess what? It's here! The truck pulled into our driveway Friday morning and the unloading and figuring it all out commenced. Thankfully the designer came with them because it required a bit of finagling. 

It's a large space and we needed large furniture to fill it. Plus we always have people coming and going here so we wanted a lot of seating. It took a while to get the rug in the exact correct precise right spot and then get the furniture centered. Where is the center anyway? Is it between the columns? In line with the sliders? in line with the line that runs through the patio? hmmm...

Hubs needs everything symmetrical to the nth degree, while I'm more of a 'let's eyeball it and see how that looks' kind of gal. These delivery guys were great and super patient. 

Can you move it about four inches to your right? 

Wait, can you move it two inches back to your left? 

Bring it forward just a smidge. 

Too much! Can you back it up a hair? 

Maybe we should try removing one piece? 

Maybe we should add that middle piece to the left side instead? The right side?

Somehow the rug is now off center. Can you slide it over just a tad without 

moving all the heavy furniture we just asked you to set down there?

In short, we're a lot. Daughter1 tried to gently suggest hubs and I go upstairs and let them set it up and then come down and weigh in, but that's not how we roll here.  We have opinions. Especially one of us. Hi hubs! 

The end result though is so pretty! Can't wait to have a party of some kind when the weather warms up for good. 

I love the swivel chairs which sit out a bit from the main seating. You can join the conversation or swivel and look at the lake. 

We've made a cozy outdoor dining space under our screened porch and I love the new table and especially love all those chairs. 

We still need a fan installed in the dining space, along with some twinkle lights or Edison bulbs, and I need some lamps for the serving pieces, and some art and 'stuff' but we're on our way. 

We sat out by the new little fire table that afternoon and it was lovely. 

I have my new soon-to-be favorite napping spot all picked out-

Saturday we loaded up the car and went to see a couple of houses that are on the market. My daughter and her family are house hunting, and she's finally got her land legs after the move, the trip across the pond, the germs!!, so starting the hunt in earnest now. While Saturday's houses were a no-go, I guess it's good to eliminate things too. There's not a ton on the market, but listings generally pick up here in these next couple of months. While they're not in a big rush, I know it's hard not to be itching to get settled into your own space too. One day at a time. 

Saturday night we put little miss to bed, then the three of us watched Back In Action with Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. I thought it was going to be silly, but it was actually pretty cute and we all enjoyed it. 

Sunday hubs took daughter1 to see three more houses and a couple of these might be worth another look once her hubs arrives later this week. I did more cleaning, more laundry, and just some general picking up while they were out and it felt good to get the three inches of dust off my bedroom furniture. Hubs grilled burgers for dinner and then it was early to bed for all the littles. We watched Groundhog Day because it seemed like the thing to do. 

It's an unusual season here...we're trying to hold on to some of our routines, but others we've chucked out the window for the time being.  It's fine. Better than fine. We love having the kids here and I know the other grandparents feel the same. 

I confess I might need to mother my daughter a little less, but it's hard. I mean she's right here in my very own house so it's tempting to weigh in on all sorts of things I don't need to weigh in on. She was going to run an errand the other day and I launched into directions when she reminded me she lives here now and is going to have to learn her way around. Plus it's 2025 and she has gps so I actually never need to launch into directions. 

It's what I do though. Mothers gotta mother.

Think maybe I'll put myself in time out right here. 

Linking with Holly and Sarah for their regular Hello Monday weekend catch up. 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 588

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here on Wednesday (February 5th) to share answers with the universe. See you there! 

1. What area of your life feels like you're stuck in a Groundhog's Day loop, doing the same thing over and over? Does it bother you or is that just how life is in this particular season? 

2. Something that makes your heart skip a beat? 

3. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve or are you more of a closed book? Elaborate. 

4. According to Prevention Magazine, these are 25 of the best foods for heart health-

wild salmon, sardines, liver, walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, oatmeal, blueberries, coffee, red wine, green tea, soy milk, dark chocolate, raisins, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, whole grains, apples, oranges, grapefruit, avocado, avocado oil, olive oil 

Which five do you include in your diet most often? Are there any foods on the list you simply cannot abide? 

5. What was the last piece of furniture you bought? Is there a piece of furniture you need/want to purchase this year? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The Weekend

Good Monday morning everyone. We had a nice weekend and I hope you did too. The weather on Saturday was A++, and I'd like more of it please.

Joining Holly and Sarah today for their regular Monday morning catch up. Here's mine-

Thursday was a full day. Hubs had an appointment at the dermatologist in the nearby city and I went with him so we could meet the designer at the outdoor furniture store soon after. We had lunch in between and agreed we'd play it cool when the designer showed us the plan. 

Note to file-I am not good at playing it cool. Hubs doesn't like to car shop with me because I ooh and ahh instead of acting like they're crazy for asking us to pay what they are asking us to pay and I guess the same concept could be applied here. 

We absolutely loved the plan the designer created for our outdoor space, which somehow includes a new sofa for the pool table room inside, but whatever. The designer is all about flow and having the indoor space draw you gently toward the outdoor space, hence the new sofa. 

The sofa we have in that room currently is probably 25 years old. It was very well made and has held up extremely well, is neutral in color, and has moved with us here there and everywhere. Time to retire. 

Anyway, back to the design plan. Not gonna lie, it's a lot, but then the space is a lot and it needs furniture.  I know us, and while we could fill the space two or three pieces at a time over the course of two or three seasons, we decided to just bite the bullet and get it the way we want it now. 

Actually not now, but sometime early in the new year because some of the pieces are made to order. We've had our current teak furniture for 20 years and are so ready for a change. I'm excited to see it all in place. 

Hubs and I ended up in Barnes and Noble for a quick minute and I had my first and most likely only Peppermint Mocha of the season. 

I don't normally do flavored coffee drinks, but it sounded good and I was cold. Also, I haven't been in an actual Barnes and Noble all year and I forgot how much I love this store. 

Friday we had friends coming for the weekend so we spent the morning getting ready. Hubs vacuumed and I baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I dusted and he blew leaves off the porches and then a neighbor dropped by with a bag of key limes from their tree and to check out the outdoor project, and then company pulled in. 

Not really company as these are college friends who knew us before we were us. Their daughter just got married and we'd made plans to have a lake weekend sometime after to decompress. I know when my girls got married I enjoyed talking details after the fact with friends. 

We went out for Mexican food Friday night, then came home and played cards for a long while. We played the game called Swoop. Do you know it? Really fun. 

Saturday morning we had a leisurely breakfast then sat out by the waterfall for a bit. The weather on Saturday was absolutely glorious. Bright blue skies and gentle fall temperatures. 

We wanted to be out in it so early afternoon we drove up to a nearby winery we'd never been to before. We made a stop on the way to take in beautiful Table Rock Mountain. 

Table Rock is an open rock face that overlooks the Blue Ridge region, and it's a significant Cherokee landmark. Hubs and I have hiked to the top and let me tell you that hike is not for sissies. The Cherokee believed when their god had a feast this was his table. It's a really interesting spot. 

The winery we visited is under new management and we enjoyed sitting on the patio, listening to some live music, and a flight of wines. We gabbed the whole time because when you've been friends for almost 45 years you never run out of things to talk about. 

Time is fleeting and precious. Love your people. 

We got back to the house late afternoon and watched some football, relaxed, some of us might have even napped, and then hubs grilled steaks for dinner. We picked our first two lemons from our lemon tree and I made a lemon vinaigrette using one for our salad. 

It's the little things, right? 

We played more cards as we watched our favorite Tennessee Volunteers lose to Georgia. Oh so sad, but that's how it goes sometimes. Our friends headed for home mid-morning Sunday and hubs and I piddled around putting stuff away, we watched more football, I got my Christmas card sorted and ordered a couple of gifts, then tried to catch up on my blog.

So what fun things did you do this weekend?

The Weekend Recap...Prost!

We had a nice weekend, somewhat low key, but honestly things never feel completely low key here. I don't think those are words that would be used to describe us. 

Thursday is my day to volunteer and I'm out of the house most of the day. I'd made soup on Wednesday evening to take to a friend whose husband has been in the hospital, so I packaged that up and hubs and I made the delivery. We decided to grab dinner out and had a nice meal at a local favorite spot. The moon was amazing every night last week. 

Friday I had an appointment for a facial and hubs had conveniently booked himself a hair cut in that same time frame. Approximately. Both appointments are in the nearby city so we were able to take one car. It required a little logistical planning, but I dropped him at the hair place and the plan was he would Uber to Costco after, and I'd meet him there once my facial wrapped up. 

A facial is the most relaxing hour of my life. 

Carry on. 

I wasn't thinking when we left the house and forgot to bring the cooler which meant Costco shopping was a bit limited. We live an hour from Costco. We did get the paper products restocked and hubs grabbed a jar of his peanut butter stuffed pretzels along with a few things like batteries, Mr. Clean erasers, and Rao's spaghetti sauce which I like to keep on hand, but nothing cold. Bother. 

We had lunch at a nearby bakery we enjoy and realized we were very near the outdoor furniture shop where we bought some of our porch furniture. We decided to make one more stop. Question-why is outdoor furniture so ding dang pricey???

We need a lot of outdoor furniture. We have a lot of outdoor furniture, but now we've added all these new spaces and people gotta sit. This store has so many beautiful things but since we didn't know we were making a stop here we didn't have any measurements with us. 

Batting 1000 on preparedness Friday. 

As it turns out the shop has a free design service and someone will come to the house to draw up a plan, make recommendations, and tell us what would fit best in all these new spaces. We said yes to that, and the designer will be here tomorrow. I'm anxious to see what he suggests. 

We didn't get home until almost dinner time at which point who felt like cooking? BLTs for the win. After dinner we watched a few episodes of that new show called High Potential with Kaitlin Olson. It's cute and doesn't strain your brain which is what we needed after a long day.

Saturday we sipped coffee and watched College Game Day, then watched Clemson win their game while somebody got a haircut. The groomer comes to our house with a van designed for just such a purpose and the little brown dog does not enjoy the experience at all. 

But he sure looks cute. 

Our VOLS played Bama which is a rivalry for the ages and we watched the first half at home. Volunteer football is so hard on the nerves. Always. We had plans to meet up with friends at a local Octoberfest celebration so had to head that way at halftime. 

Not quite like being in Germany but lots of fun nonetheless. 

Hubs hat is the real deal. 

The beer tent had big TVs behind the bar so hubs and I stood there to watch the last few minutes of the game. When the VOLS won the whole crowd around us cheered. For those not in the know, everyone in the SEC roots for whatever team is playing Bama, unless you happened to go to school there.  

The weather all weekend long was beautiful, but Sunday was perfection. Sunday afternoon hubs and I took a long walk in the neighborhood and hubs threw the ball for the little brown dog.

There aren't a lot of Halloween decorations in our neighborhood, but this chicken skeleton is a good one. 

We're still really green here, although a few trees are finally starting to turn. We've heard some of the roads into the mountains are now navigable so we'll take a drive up there soon for some true leaf peeping. 

Hubs had a project going on at the dock and I spent the rest of the afternoon right here working on my Bible Study (Jen Wilkin's Revelation), catching up on my blog, sipping tea, and reading one of the books I've currently got going-Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See. It's good so far, and I always enjoy her books. 

Fall is my favorite. 

And every once in a while I guess we can do low key. 

I'm joining Holly and Sarah for their regular Monday morning link up today. 

What kind of fun did you have this weekend? 

More Spring Break-Ing

I was right to make this a two-poster. I know me. 

The Sunday after the party it rained. Hubs and my son-in-law managed to get the rented u-haul loaded between cloudbursts, no easy feat.  The rain wasn't so much a problem as getting the furniture that was going up the steep part of the hill it needed to climb was a problem. 

But they made it eventually, and then the big guys took the little guys bowling which they loved. 

When we redid the office we downsized from our big desktop computer set up on a huge mahogany desk to a laptop on a simple table that can be moved around as needed. Daughter1 and her hubs needed a desk so we offered them ours and just had to figure out how to move it from Point A to Point B, with point B six and a half hours away. 

Also I'm sure I have pictures of the desk somewhere because it's been in every single house we've owned, but you're not getting them today. 

I asked for quotes on a site called ShipIt and was overwhelmed with how many responses I received. The cost range was enormous, and everyone I chatted with was very nice, but in the end we decided to just rent a u-haul and take it ourselves. We had better control over the timing this way. Also, my son-in-law needed to leave our house for an out of town work assignment so it made sense for us to drive my daughter and her kiddos back home.  Hubs drove the u-haul and I followed with everyone else in our vehicle. 

A six and a half hour trip is easily eight hours when you have a baby on board. Everyone was so good about the long ride, but babies need to eat and change and eat and it all just adds minutes to an already lengthy trip. 

Question-this desk was one of the first pieces of furniture hubs and I bought in the early years of our marriage. We bought it at the furniture mart in High Point NC in 1986, some 37 years ago. Does that make it an antique? 

Nope. Just old lol. To be considered an antique the item must be at least 100 years old. I like to think someday this desk might sit in one of my great grandchildren's homes and then it really will be an antique. 

Besides the big desk we also had a desk chair and a couple of bins we'd been holding for my daughter and son-in-law since they moved overseas, so this was a good way to get all their belongings back to their rightful owner. 

Maybe not all because I do still have an attic full of American Girl Dolls and furniture. Daughter1 and I rifled through some of that while she was here and she can tell you I basically have a Pleasant Company franchise in my attic. Hubs would not disagree. All the dolls we own were pre-Mattel days, the originals. My momma bought almost all of my inventory for my girls when they were growing up and I look forward to passing them down to Little Miss in a few years. 

On top of all those items we had one more thing to move-

When I was about six years old my parents bought a small desk and chair from an unpainted furniture store to go in my room. My dad sanded it, and painted it white, and it was part of my childhood forever. When Daughter1 was about six years old we took the desk from my parent's house, hubs sanded and painted it white, and it was part of her childhood forever too. When we came back from England the movers wrapped it up and that desk sat in our basement under cover for six years, and until last week sat in my attic here for another six. 

The week before the kids arrived hubs got the desk down from the attic, and sanded and painted it. Navy blue this time to fit in the mancub's room. He's turning six soon and life comes full circle in so many unexpected ways. 

I bought new knobs with military planes on them to go with some of the artwork in his room and it all makes me really happy. Also, this picture is not his room. The desk was in the hall waiting to be moved but then the stomach flu hit and it will get there eventually. 

This desk is over 50 years old so well on it's way to becoming an antique. I know my parents didn't pay a lot for it back in the day, but it has surely had a long and useful life. 

Okay, enough about moving furniture. We made the trip to daughter1's house on Monday and had a happy couple of days playing, driving the boys to school on Tuesday, lunch and shopping in the afternoon, and a long late night conversation with my girl because with three kids now those don't happen as often as we'd like. 

Our plan was to leave Wednesday morning, but the terrible awful no good very bad stomach flu struck me first, at 2 AM. No way we could possibly leave on Wednesday. We were hopeful it was a 24-hour thing (it most definitely was not!) but I hung in to make the long drive home Thursday, where I promptly fell back into the bed. Then hubs fell and then daughter1 texted to say three of the four of them had succumbed (not the baby thankfully!) and oy. Ugh. I do not recommend. 

But! It's a new day, a new week, there are new mercies, and we're over the hump, gently easing back into life. 

Which, all things considered, is still so very very sweet.