Friday, May 30, 2014

Tempus Fugit, Y'all

I did the math, and I know my calculation is correct: 2014 - 1976 = 38. Can that be right? Seems impossible! 38 years?!? 

Yes, dear readers, we celebrated another anniversary this week...well, actually TWO anniversaries, if you want to get specific. We've been married 38 years, and we've been in this house 5 years. Wow...on both counts!

To honor our 5-year anniversary at Casa 3917, Mr. T took this week off, and we have made a big dent in the never-ending To Do List. The most visible of the accomplishments is our "new" red front door. And when I say red, I mean RED. Check it out:



Whenever we have visited England, I was struck by the glossy shine on most front doors. Gorgeous! I have wanted to recreate that look since my first trip in 1997. Yes, I can be a slow-starter sometimes, but truth-be-told, I simply didn't know how they did it. That was no latex paint there. I read what I could find on the internet, but we don't seem to have many sources for high-gloss, oil-based paints here in the States.

Then, when Missy M was prepping her house for sale, she decided to paint her front door (something she'd been meaning to do for the 8 years she lived there!). We found Glidden's Trim and Door paint at the Home Depot and we thought we had a winner: a thick, gel, oil-based, high-gloss paint product. She chose a traditional black, and several days later (it takes 3 days for the paint to fully "cure"), and her door looked fantastic! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!!!

Our door is wood and was finished in an oak stain. But it had faded badly on the exterior. Badly. When we first saw this house, I said: "we will have to do something about that door." Still, we lived with it for five years because I couldn't decide what to do about it. When I saw that the Glidden paint came in two colors of red (Classic Red and National Red), I knew I could get two wishes granted in one fell swoop: I could have a glossy, red front door. So guess what I asked for my anniversary gift?

I thought the National Red color would go better with the "tumbled" brick on our house, and Mr. T suggested that we paint the side-light surrounds black to match the shutters. We were right on both counts! 

And Mr. T's gift from me? Well, I checked to see what the "modern" gift for the 38th anniversary is (there is no "traditional" gift listed) and found what was suggested:

38th Wedding Anniversary Modern Gifts: Beryl or Tourmaline

Really? Beryl?!? I didn't even know what that meant! Looked it up and found that emerald is the green variety of beryl (seems there are many colors of the mineral), and I would love me some emerald...:-). But Mr. T? Hmmmm. Not really a gemstone kinda guy.

I was mindful that we were missing something we both love to hear when we enjoy our screen porch-..., or deck-...,  or patio-time: the sound of a fountain. Alas, the fountain that Mr. T had created using a large urn-styled planter had not survived the winter. So I began trolling various sites to find a suitable replacement. Voilá...here it is, looking right at home among the citrus trees:



The gifts are just tokens to mark the date...and truthfully, to underscore our profound amazement at this milestone. I mean:  T H I R T Y  –  E I G H T! It's not that we either thought our marriage was destined for the rocks...we were too much in love to think anything like that. It's just that neither of us, when we toasted our future at our wedding reception in Jackson, MS, envisioned that 38 years later, we would be celebrating our anniversary, living in High Point, NC!  Here we are, first at our wedding...followed by taking a selfie at Austin's, our go-to restaurant in HPNC, toasting our anniversary.





Yes, time flies, y'all. We're older...grayer...and hopefully wiser. And we're still "much in love." Happy 38!





Monday, May 12, 2014

I ❤️ a Picnic, Part 2

I wasn't kidding in my last post about loving a picnic...or about picnicking on Mother's Day. We did both yesterday, and I loved every minute!


As you can see by the above photo, we enjoyed "Mother's Day at the Garden*" at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden near Belmont, NC. I have wanted to go to DSBG for years, since I see their brown 'points of interest' sign on I-85S every time I drive to/from Atlanta. So, I got to check off one of my "Places I Want to Visit" and celebrate in style! 

We got up early...not by necessity, but by practice: with five dogs in residence, we almost always see the sun rise around here. Getting on the road (I-85 South toward Charlotte), we decided to take advantage of another freebie we garnered at the Grasshoppers game last Friday: the so-called Strikeout Victim (AKA: the designated hitter) did just what we wanted him to do...he swung and missed three times while we Hopper fans were yelling "biscuit, biscuit, biscuit!" That bit of silliness is sponsored by Biscuitville...naturally...and when it happens, everyone in attendance gets a coupon for a free sausage and biscuit. Yippee! Make that two, please! [Added to the 50% off our Saturday pizza order fom Papa John's...given when the Hoppers struck out five batters in a row...and vouchers for a free basket of Buffalo chicken tenders from Stumblestiltskins (given out to those sitting in our section when the other team made an error...or the "Stumble" of the Night!), we really hit a home run!]

We got to the Garden just before 11:00. All moms got free admission...hooray...and the first 250 got a free plant. I didn't think we would make that second list, but we did...and I got a pot of peppermint for my herb garden. We picked up our preordered picnic basket and drinks and headed to find a nice location on the grounds. We were fortunate to find a cool, shaded area, just beyond one of the walled gardens ...where we could hear the fountain on the other side of the hedge! We had taken our collapsible "shade" chairs, which have attached awnings that can provide shade if needed...but the maple overhead did a fine job of that. Such a pleasant day...the only things missing were Missy M (who started her new job in ATL today) and maybe a nice bottle of wine (which you aren't allowed to bring onto the grounds).

Never fear: we had registered for the Wine Walk! Beginning at 1:00, we strolled the grounds, past wine "stations" which were serving six varieties of NC wines, starting with a Chardonay (white) all the way through a Merlot (red). Our favorite...no surprise here: the Riesling. The stations were set up to draw the Wine Walkers through the gardens and allow us to drink in their beauty...pun intended. Here's the long view of the Fountain Alley, looking from the Riesling station toward the Cabernet station. 


We passed on the carriage ride (too warm by this time) in favor of finishing our day and chilling out with mango gelato. The drive home gave us plenty of time to worry about whether we would still have a home...since we had experienced Doggie Wars between Abbie and Ella Rae on Friday...at 5:45 a.m.  After that, ER had begun staying under the deck...and inaccessible. Sigh. Guess it was inevitable. But I was sad nonetheless.

Thankfully, when we returned to HPNC all was well. Well...sorta. Apparently the Fab Five had banded  together in common pursuit of disturbing the peace in our neighborhood. Our neighbors had just returned from the beach, with their arrival revving up the dulcet tones of the protective beasties...including Dixie, Missy M's beautiful Basset, who carries on when barking 'enthusiastically' as if someone were removing her toenails without anesthesia. Double sigh. At least the pups were getting along again. Reasonably well enough.

Life might not be a picnic yet, but we are on the right track.

===================
* Speaking of gardens...we were, weren't we? Check out the latest post to our gardening blog, Gardening with the Giants here: http://gardenwithgiants.blogspot.com/2014/05/may-has-arrivedfinally.html

Friday, May 2, 2014

I Love a Picnic

Look at that: just flipped over another month on the calendars. Goodbye April, you with your wild ride of weather. The merrie old month of May has arrived! And we welcome thee!

May usually means the first iris blooms, the first flush of roses, and pollen. Lots and lots of pollen. Ah choo! No disappointment on any of those counts around here. The rain this past week helped wash away the top layer, but everything still has a fine yellow dusting. Allegra-D anyone? 



I took this picture of the purple irises (names unknown) along the front walk (with the last of the flowers on the dogwood in the background), and both the Beverly Sills and the Rock Star iris are in bloom at the mailbox. The heirloom bronze iris (the ones I treasure because my cousin Betty Jean gave us the original rhizomes, years ago) have started to put on a show in the Way Back, and we had our first rose to bloom in the Rose Garden this morning: one of the white 'Susan Ellis-Williams' English shrub roses from David Austin...which, according to my Garden Journal, was the first to bloom last year, too.

May is also the month of picnics, in my mind. While we have enjoyed our share of lavish Mother's Day feasts, my fondest memories are of the picnics in the park: fried chicken, cole slaw, potato salad, rolls, deviled eggs (ok, so I'm the only family member left to like that last one...;-)...all served on a red-checked tablecloth. 

The very first 'second Sunday in May' that I spent as a mother included a picnic at Shelby Farms in Cordova, TN; and, if being a first-time Mom wasn't memorable enough, that was the very same day that Baby M...all of 7 months old at the time...took her very first steps! And she hasn't stopped moving yet...pah-dum-pum...;-)

So, I have this image of love and warmth and good vibes when I think of picnics...and I try to plan one at every opportunity. Like, when we were driving back to NC from (no longer 'Baby') M's house in Louisville. It was a clean-out-the-refrigerator-before-the-movers-come mentality that prompted me to make thick ham-and-cheese sandwiches on honey-wheat bread and to pack chilled, diced pear fruit cups. Wouldn't this be the ideal time to have a picnic? Stopped at a rest area, while the dogs rested in the shade of a nearby tree?

The dogs. The five dogs. Sometimes I can be so silly. 

Stopping at a rest area with five dogs was difficult in the best of circumstances. They all wanted to vault out of the vehicle at the same time...kind of like circus clowns from a VW..., and we learned the hard way that we had to leave them leashed together to keep them from making a mad dash when the door was opened. Of course, the tangle of tethers was worse than when some of my knitting projects get jumbled in their pouches. Good grief!

Once released, none wanted to TCB when they were supposed to. Way too many new and intriguing smells to be investigated. So each 15-minute break turned into a half-hour (minimum) halt.  And my idyllic idea of a refreshing and relaxing picnic along the way? Pish tosh! We were otherwise occupied in trying to cajole the canines to p-o-t-t-y. Found ourselves fortunate if we could eat & drive...making those delightful pear cups totally impractical, since you need a spoon to consume. Forget the tablecloth!

Ah well, we made it. Arrived alive, although it took 10.5 hours for the 8-hour drive. All are in residence at Casa 3917, and after an initial digestive woe or two, settling in for the duration. And how long might that be, several have asked?

Who knows? As then-candidate Clinton said: "it's the economy..." Missy M is working hard to get her house and property in perfect order to sell quickly, but there is only so much that is within her control. She cannot control the economy. She has to be in ATL to start her new job a week from Monday, so she made her lists and checked them twice. Interviewed candidates for realtors, moving companies, and service providers over the past week, while divvying up her possessions into To Move To GA, To Donate, To Keep To Stage This House (putting blue painters' tape Xs on the stuff that was staying off the truck — as you can see in the bottom picture below), To Send To NC, and To Toss. She's had the movers in yesterday and today (see photo below); carpet cleaners, painter, and Merry Maids are coming in early next week; and she will stage her house and make her decision about realtors, so they can plant a For Sale sign in her yard...and she can bury St. Joseph under the sign*...before she heads her Honda toward the highway.




Meanwhile, we will keep her fur-babies happy here. Just as a reminder, she provided a refuge to our three Bassets (as well as Nana) during our last move from MO to NC: from Thanksgiving to July 4th. We owe her big-time, and it's our pleasure to take this worry off her mind. That's what families do, right?

Since May is such a busy month here at home, we probably won't feel too tied down. We have a lengthy To Do List for our own property, including some catch-up gardening chores. Our first Grasshopper game is tonight, and we will enjoy the nice weather (for a welcome change), the fireworks, and our time together. Next, I am attending the NC State Master Gardeners Conference in Winston-Salem next week, serving as a Tour Guide on Monday, and will then be helping get ready for the annual Guilford County EMGV Passalong Plant Sale next weekend. 

I'm looking forward to my return to business-as-usual in the Land of the Sighted after my one-month follow up with my eye surgeon. He is pleased with his work, has taken me off all eye drops, and wants to see me in six months. I, while also being pleased with his work, still await seeing clearly. I am happy to report that the headaches have stopped (thank heaven), the floaters have either reabsorbed or been assimilated by my brain (either way, result is the same: I don't notice them much anymore), and my depth perception is slowly returning to normal (although you might not know that by watching me walk). My left pupil still appears to have "a sluggish response," to quote the Dr. (who continues to quote the four-to-SIX week recovery timeframe.) I should see (pun intended) some more improvement in the pupil (and consequently, in vision clarity) after stopping the steroid drops...and when my new lenses come in next week. 

I think I'll begin planning our Memorial Day picnic. Missy M will be here then (unless her house sells in the interim, and she has to hot-foot it back to KY...oh, wouldn't that be wonderful?!). To simplify it, we will probably picnic in our own back yard, with dogs as guests instead of ants. Still I think I'll pull out that red-checked tablecloth. 

Another fine memory in the making.

====================

*About "Burying St. Joseph": chuckle if you will, but many realtors swear by St. Joseph's ability to help sell your house. Read more about it here: 
http://saint-josephstatue.com/Where_to_bury_a_St_Joseph_statue.html

Did make me wonder, though, if the Realtor shares commission with St. J? Just sayin'...

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