Lazy Weekend

Greetings from The (Holiday Weekend) Hill,

I have not missed the purpose of this weekend.  My Daddy was a Navy vet and remembering those who are gone, in the line of service or not, is why we have this holiday.

The weekend began spending time with my Mom.  I love hanging out with her.  I took her to the beauty shop to get a perm.  While there I happened to meet the daughter of a friend of mine.  She and I had never met before and it was a delight getting to know her.  She talked about her "Poppy" tattoo and told me all about him and how special he was to her.  She told me how awesome her Mom and Daddy are.  Turns out her Mom and I have some things in common.  She is a thrift store shopper.

Saturday evening the photographer brought over the proofs of our photo shoot.  There was not a bad pic in the bunch.  Here are a few of my favs.

My beloved better half.

DD and I

DS and Ran behind the home place chicken coop

The two of us

Sunday after church I was so lazy.  All I did was take a nap and visit with DS who came over to do laundry.

Today Ran and I plan to go thrift store shopping (if they are open).  Once the living room began to take shape I realized I need a foot stool.  I want one that is fabric so the cat can't harm it.  It would be nice if it had dark wooden legs.  I don't care about the shape but it needs to be fairly small.  And so the adventure begins.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday.  Be safe and if you know and love a vet tell them you love them and you are glad they are here and say Thank you for all they went through.

Later...

Thrift Store Treasure

Greetings from The (thrifty) Hill,

The day we brought our new living room set home I knew the table in the kitchen (behind the love seat) had to go.  Suddenly it took up too much room and was the place everything was dropped on so it was always cluttered.  The solution was to get rid of the table and find a sideboard.  And so, the search began.

First stop was to search Google images to find out what my preference was.  Found out I wanted simple lines with a touch of architectural detail, light wood and plenty of storage. 

 

So with this information in hand the foot (and finger) work began.  Craig's list and EBay were first.   There was some sweet stuff out there but not at a price I was willing to pay.  Then I began my search at every local store in Jasper.  Antique stores, flea markets, thrift stores, and yard sales.  Jasper is blessed with several thrift stores and I began visiting literally every day.  I knew that one day the right piece would be just around a corner.  I had also opened the search to include bedroom dressers that might fill the bill.

Yesterday I was back at the thrift store looking once again.  Stuff arrives daily and the right piece could show up at any time.  And then, there it was.

 It met my criteria perfectly.  It was indeed a dresser that was the exact size and shape I needed.  The best part????  Only $25.00.  Don't we love thrift stores???

Yep, dresser turned sideboard.  Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  The table was moved to the back porch.  I will show you that project later.  The table that WAS on the porch is getting taken to the thrift store and the cycle continues.

Looking forward to reading about your thrift store, yard sale finds.

Later...

Unwelcome visitor

Greetings from The (bear infested) Hill,

Every Spring and Fall we are visited by the local bears who are either waking up and hungry or getting ready to bed down and hungry. 

Our poor screens can't stand up to a curious visitor.  Looks like we need to put metal grid all around, not just on the bottom of the door.

Later.....

Family Photo Shoot

Greetings from The (photogenic) Hill,

We celebrated my sister's birthday yesterday.  I gave her a photo shoot and included the whole family.  We had a party at Mom's then the photographer arrived and the fun began.  Kyle, the photographer, had to sing Amazing Grace to get folks to laugh.  It was a hoot.  Mom did great but got tired of smiling after being in group photos with all of us. 

Randy followed Kyle and took pics on his own. 

This is a shot of our kids.  Kyle actually shot them doing some fake ninja moves.  Ben hung upside down from a tree and "fought" Birdie.  It was great.  Those two took some great shots together. 

This is a shot of Ran shooting Kyle shooting Ben.  We took our family pics at Grandmother's & Grandad's old homeplace.  It had so much character and was a great place to shoot.  The building you see here was Grandad's wood working shop. 

It was a fun day for everyone and Sis said it was a great present for her. 

Later...

Last Day on Earth. Let's Go!!!!!

Inspired by others I decided to think about what I wouldn't do if the world were to end tomorrow.  Here is my list.

1.  I wouldn't have to tell folks close to me I love them, they know.  I tell them every time I see them.

2.  I wouldn't go to work.  Did I even need to say that one???

3.  I wouldn't have to watch Weight Watchers points.  YAY - I'd start with Dutch Monkey Doughnuts, eat massive quantities of pasta and end with 5 kinds of dessert - lemon bars, ice cream, cobbler (any flavor except cherry), that green jello, whipped topping stuff we have at Thanksgiving and since it will be my last day on earth and migraines are not an issue, tons and tons of chocolate!!!

4.  I wouldn't spend time on the computer.  I doubt others would either.

5.  I wouldn't be afraid of heights anymore.  If I fall, it's just a day early.  So I'd go zip lining through the treetops.

6.  I wouldn't wash dishes or do housework.

7.  I wouldn't pick the car up from the shop.  What's the point of wasting that money.  I'd take the money and go shopping.  Of course I wouldn't be able to use anything I bought but it'll be fun to buy whatever I want!!

8.  I wouldn't keep the cat inside.  If it's his last day too he needs to spend it outside in the grass and exploring the woods.

9.  I wouldn't spend one minute away from my husband.  He would make my last day fun.

10.  Oops I wouldn't be able to do #3, #5 or #7.  I'm sure folks who run restaurants, stores and entertainment would be taking the day off too.  They'll have their own "What I'll do on my last day" list as well.

So what WILL I do?  Get together with my family and spend all day talking, laughing and eating.  What a better way to spend my last day?  And when Jesus comes we'll all be together to meet Daddy, brother, sister and grandparents.  Looking forward to it, are you ready?????  LET'S GO!!!!!!!

Spring/Summer On The Hill

Greetings from The (Spring/Summer) Hill,

Dog pen is behind that tree straight ahead

Just as seasons change on The Hill my background needs to change on the Blog.  Right now The Hill is green, green, green.  There are not a lot of flowers yet but the trees are in full leaf.  We are still in that place where the weather is hot one day and cool the next.  Today is cold and windy.

I have planted sunflowers on two sides of the (unused) dog pen.  When (if) they grow they will camouflage the pen.

Miss Biscuit

The pen was intended for Biscuit who is such a sweet dog that she stays on the porch unless one of us goes walking.









I also planted some shade wildflowers all around the property.  Some in the dog pen, some beside the driveway and some randomly around the woods.  I thought about Daddy the whole time.  He was always busy planting in the spring, just like my brother does. 

With spring also comes visits from the newly awake bears.  One has already visited to see if he/she can find food.  DH poured Clorox in the trash can.  Bears have a keen sense of smell and Clorox doesn't smell good so they pass by.

Touches of Spring

 Greetings from The Hill,

When I read the book written about Dave Thomas of Wendy's there was one concept that has stayed with me ever since.  Dave wanted his restaurants to look clean and was a firm believer in a coat of paint to spruce things up.

I typically do a little redecorating every Spring and Fall just to spruce things up.  Sometimes it's something small like adding new pillows or place mats and sometimes it's big involving repainting and purchasing additional pieces of furniture and accessories.

This spring I've done everything but paint.  We purchased new living room furniture so that meant we had to rearrange our room entirely.  I like the new arrangement.  I've always heard decorators say that a small room can carry big pieces.  The furniture we chose proves that true.  It is so much bigger than our other couches yet it feels we have more space than before.




Then today I visited our local discount (read "dollar") store for a box of Swiffer sheets and came home with tons of new things that make the house more welcoming for spring.  I bought a new welcome mat for the front door and a scatter rug for the living room but most of the items I purchased were for the kitchen.

This season I am drawn to a green, pear and orange theme.  This little shot glass was my inspiration.

(Yes, I know these are lemons)

So while I was at the store I found this kitchen towel.  Pear, green and orange.  Something about that color combination just grabbed me.  So I went looking further.

Then I found this rug.

Next was a new table cloth for the snack table.

And finally I changed out the place mats on the table.




















It's a little matchy, matchy than I usually do but I like it and that's all that matters.  And there you have it.  My new color scheme for spring.

Later...

Back to the Knoll

Greetings from the (post vacation) Knoll,

Thought I'd pop back here and begin journaling again. Or at least try to.  We spent last week in Savannah.  Highlights were getting to see our nephew Michael and his family.  We also went to Tybee and walked the beach all morning.  It was so wonderful to visit the ocean again.   And once again I was struck by the vastness and power of it. 

That's Ran walking in the distance.

And of course we had some fab eats.  I had contacted food critic Tim Rutherford who gave me a list of less touristy places to go.  Wiley's Championship BBQ was a fav.

Wiley's Championship BBQ

At Wiley's I had the brisket.  My side of Janet's sweet potato casserole was almost as good a mom makes.  They also let us go out back and see the cookers.

John telling us how they cook the meat.

We also ate at Cha Bella, a farm to table restaurant.  Oh my, the food was so fantastic. My app was North Carolina Scallops served with  melted leeks, topped with Provencal sauce.  For my entree I chose Bone-In White Marble Farms Pork Chop,Pan-seared with fresh herbs, roasted local sweet potatoes, Walker Farms wilted garlic spinach and an apple onion chutney.  I have to tell you the chutney was heaven.  Wish I could have taken a jar of that home.  I Googled and found a recipe online.  I will definitely try it.

On our own we also ate at a touristy place, The Crab Shack.

Resident cat welcoming committee.  Scratch the belly and be seated.

View from our table.

The Menu

My dungeness crab

The Crab Shack

The service was great, there was a nice breeze blowing and the crab was excellent.  What more could you ask for from a coastal restaurant.

Did we go on River Street?  Of course we did.  Did we drive around the city looking at the beautiful architecture?  Of course we did.  Did we buy sweets at several places??? Yes we did.  I'm a sucker for sweets.  We had cookies from Two Smart Cookies, pralines and other assorted chocolates from 2 candy stores on River Street and we visited the Byrd Cookie Company.  Gotta try the Benne Wafers.  Yum!

It was a great vacation and I'm ready to go back to visit the places we missed this time.  Ah well.  You always need something to look forward to.

Later...