Oh, what a day

What a day. There's a price to pay for ignoring your house and just having fun on your days off. My house is always neat (don't look in my closets, OK?). But clean? My kitchen floor finally bothered me enough that I knew it was cleaning day, like it or not. I didn't like it. The day started with Rob and me sitting on the porch. Breezy and nice. We cleared some stuff out from under my deck that I hope trash pick-up will take tomorrow. Rob stacked the extra bags of mulch that have been on the side of my driveway since Spring under the deck. He left and I got to work. I worked non-stop for hours. You know how one thing leads to another? You mop the floor and notice the grill thingie on the bottom of your refrigerator and can't believe how dirty it is? Then when you're down there cleaning you see how dirty the outside of your refrigerator is? And you open the door and see all the crumbs and stuff on the shelves? And how dirty it is around the handle of the pantry door? You vacuum and see all the spots on your carpet and get out the Woolite spray rug cleaner and start on each spot? Then you lift up the couch cushion while you're down on the ground and see all the crumbs? You move the big over-grown plant while you're vacuuming and see all the dead leaves that have to come off? It was that kind of day. And I was so hungry, but every time I thought of eating, something else caught my eye. I got a lot done, but there's so much more. I'm going to write a list, and do some every day. Or so. And shoes off!! And no spilling! It was such a beautiful day. My plan was to clean for about 2-3 hours, then mow the lawn, then go to the pool. I was going to bring my bookclub book that I don't want to read. By the time I finished cleaning it was at least 4:30. The sky was looking iffy. I put my shoes on to mow. Then I thought, NO. I'm going swimming. If it's going to rain, I want to spend my outside time swimming laps. So I threw on my suit and went to the pool. The sky was magnificent! Layers of every kind of cloud. The whitest-white blossoms of clouds, alongside dark ominous ones. I wanted to take pictures. I thought how cool it would be looking up while doing the backstroke. The pool was almost deserted. The two lifeguards were throwing around a football. There was only one other person there. Perfect! Except I couldn't find my goggles. That's never happened. I keep them in my bag. Always. I had to go home. I couldn't find them. I couldn't find my other pairs. I decided it just wasn't meant to be, and resigned myself to mowing. In my cover-up. I sat on my porch afterward, sweating. I saw a hummingbird moth and decided to take pictures. I couldn't get a good image, then decided to take pictures of my inanimate garden creatures. Without bug spray. In a sleeveless cover-up. Not a good idea. I thought the shower would relieve the crazy itch of a million mosquito bites. Nope. Willpower did that.
Garden buddies

I made dinner. In order of what tasted the best? Shrimp, tea, squash, cantaloupe. The first two were great. The last two not so much. It left me wanting candy.

I made my lunches for the next two days. And here I am. After I post this I'm going to read in bed. Yeah, that book. And listen to the rain.

It really wasn't a terrible day. It was a necessary one.

A note on my Friday

So I went to Stone Harbor. When my cousin asked me to visit on their first day of vacation it sounded like a great idea. I can't believe I drove from Cape Cod to the almost-southern tip of the Jersey shore. I also can't believe I didn't take into account that the shore was a place people would be driving to on a Saturday afternoon to check in to their beach rentals. I got caught in 120 miles of traffic on the Garden State Parkway. Duh. It was pretty darn miserable. I finally got there and beach chair in hand, met my cousins on the beach. Cousin Brian and I grew up best-friend cousins-he in NY, me in MD. We're the same age. The same kind of people. We've shared a bond that stretches more than half a century. The last time we saw each other was 4 years ago. I can't tell you how many times we looked at each other during my visit and just smiled and said how happy we were to be together. I have a series of pictures of the two of us, starting when we were about two. Here's the latest.

Brian, his wife Maureen, and I get along great. We need to plan a real visit, not just an overnight. I hope to visit them again next year on their vacation. A few days would be great. You know how I love vacationing. Stone Harbor is only 3 hours away.

I'm sitting outside on my porch. It's a drizzly, humid eve but only 73 degrees! I'm covered in bug spray. The hummingbirds are really active. It's been so hot, hot, hot here and I've been away so much, that I've missed my porch time. I've got a lot of making up to do before the cold of winter chases me away.

I went to Borders after work today. I had a small latte with an extra shot. At 5:00. I'm gonna pay for that! I called Emily while I was there and we talked on the phone for 32 minutes. Do you have any idea of how big a deal that is??? Do you remember how awful our relationship used to be?? Everyone told me it would get better. I knew it wouldn't. It has and I'm amazed.

Well, I'm in now. It got too dark to see my keyboard. Time to wash off the OFF. Before I go I want to post pictures of my adorable grand-nephew and grand-niece. I sure wish I could see them in person.

Liam

Bea

Still catching up

I'm settled back into my routine at home. Except for my Monday coffee withdrawal, the transition has been easy. The weather, though? Yuck. So hot and humid here. It's been a bad, bad summer for weather in MD and so many other states. We work up to a severe thunderstorm this morning and my first thought was: SO glad for the rain and SO glad that I wasn't driving in it. I was amazed to see how active the hummingbirds were. How could they hover and feed at the feeder in the torrential rain? I don't know but it was great to watch all the activity. They must like the rain? The sun is shining now, and it will probably be another hot and humid day.

I'm working my day off  to make up for some of my vacation time. I worked an extra day before I left too. I work commission so when I don't work, I don't get paid. That means today is a no-coffee day, boohoo. Coffee is one of the reasons I like Thursdays. Can't wait till Saturday after work!

I still have more vacation pictures. We woke up to a beautiful day on Friday and decided to head back to Chatham and the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. Yeah! Chatham has one of my favorite shops, Yankee Ingenuity, and it was so crowded earlier in the week that I was glad to have time to go back. I bought lots of stuff. For myself :) We headed to the Refuge and waded through the surf to a boat to take us out to see the gray seals. The boat idled a short distance from a large group of pregnant seals. All we could see were heads! The water was shallow, and the 500 lb girls just hang out. The captain was humorous, and the seal facts were fascinating. It was so nice to be surrounded by water and sand bars and nature. We stopped at a favorite Pie shop on the way back for more 7 layer bars. Then to a waterfront restaurant for fish and chips. It was another great day on the Cape. If you'd like to see my pictures, you know what to do.

Last day on the Cape

No more on the road again.

Yes, another slide-show. You know what to do!

Cape Cod Day Day 4

I'm home and I have Internet, but I have no energy. I'm in the throes of caffeine withdrawal big-time. I want a headache like everyone else instead of this inertia. I feel drugged. This is my planned recovery day and I've spent most of it on the couch. I'm resting up for tomorrow when I'll need my energy for real life. Work! I don't regret one of the many, many, many iced coffees and hot coffees I had during the week. Well, I didn't while I was having them.

I wound up taking a slight detour on my way back to MD. Not so slight. I drove from the Cape to Stone Harbor, NJ to visit my cousin and his wife.

I got stuck in 125 miles of beach traffic in South Jersey. I don't think that was the kind of traffic Google meant. I was in Stone Harbor for a wonderful 21 hours. Then I drove to Rob's. Then home. It's no wonder I'm tired. I drove more than 1,200 miles, all told. I didn't mind the drive. Fortunately, the only problem I had with my car was the flat I found this morning. From a stone in my cul-de-sac. Go figure.

Time to nap. I'll catch up later.

More and more fun!

Just a quickie from me. The Internet service is too slow in the house to upload a photo album. I'll do that another time. Yesterday was spent in Falmouth and Woods Hole. This morning we're getting ready to go on a seal cruise departing from the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. Later!!!

Catching up...days 2&3

Having a great time. Wish you were here.
I love Cape Cod. I get it. I know now why people vacation here. I didn't quite get it last year. The beauty. The landscapes. Ponds and tidal creeks and salt marshes and sand dunes and bays and ocean. Flowers and picket fences and shingled homes. So much color. And lack of color. And so much history.

I have a great big rock in my backyard strand of trees. A small boulder. Would you call something 2 feet high and 4 feet wide a boulder? If so, I have one. I don't have a lot of rocks. I really like rocks. I started collecting rocks for my garden when I first moved into my house. My development was still being built, and as I'd take Emily for walks in the stroller, I'd put all the big rocks I could find in the stroller basket. I didn't get a lot, but they're in my garden. I recently tried to build a toad house, and the pickings available for it were slim. No more.

Before heading to the Sandy Neck Beach, we read about some of the hiking trails. I think there was an 11 mile one. That was a big no. I only had flip flops, but decided I could do a mile or so in them. We set out on the off-road vehicle road. It was all sand. We were surrounded by sand dunes and scrub pines and bayberry bushes and grasses. It was so windswept and wild. And the road wasn’t a road. It was sand, and extremely hard to walk in. We had to laugh at ourselves; we were such a wimpy sight. There was no way on earth we could have hiked. We were lucky to make it up the ‘road’ then down the ramps to the beach. It was all worth it when we saw the rocks. The rocky, rocky, rocky beach at Sandy Neck Beach was rock paradise. I never thought I'd see such a landscape in my life. It was well worth the $15 parking fee for the rocks alone. What makes a beach rocky? Well, I don’t know. I started off by putting one rock in my backpack. Then another. Then another. Then I put some in Bernice’s. And some in my arms. We walked up to the car and put the rocks in the back. It was very hard walking with all those rocks. Bernice waited in the snack bar while I went back for more. What I’ll do with all my rocks…I’m not sure. Check back and you just might see. We came home from that beach and I went to the one a few blocks from the beach. It was very windy. This beach has shells. I had to hold onto my hat the whole time I was there. If you read my last post, you know the rest. A trip to B&N to upload my pics and post.

Today was a quieter day. We hung out at the house before heading into town. The main street of Hyannis is just a few blocks away. We went into most of the shops. I bought a sliver ankle bracelet with 4 silver beads. I’ve always wanted one, and I love the one I found. Bernice bought a Cape Cod bracelet, something she’s wanted for a while. I had a fabulous fresh tomato, mozzarella and basil panini at a little Italian café with wonderful iced coffee. We spent hours walking. I bought a gallon-size container of a lavender soap I bought last year that I loved and ran out of. This should last me at least 2 years! I’m so happy to have it again! (Simple pleasure) We came home and Bernice went to her swim class while I went to the local beach again. Windy again, but OK. Nothing like Myrtle Beach as far as water, shoreline, sand, etc…Very different. I wouldn’t think of going in the water here, although that’s what vacationers here do. Bernice and I went out for dinner when she came home. I’m definitely gaining weight on this vacation! I had an Italian Grinder. Finger-licking good. At one point the ‘hots’ were so hot that I got goose bumps from my wrists to my forehead. Delicious! We went to Borders afterward so I could upload my pictures. Home now and I just finished my second bowl of ice cream. Life is grand.

More pictures. Big slide show is probably the way to go, though again, I don't know if you can view the comments. Let me know.

Cape Cod Day 2

Day One and Pictures.

Cape Cod Day 1

It's Tuesday night and we're at Barnes and Noble. We're here so I can use their Internet. Their fast Internet. Thank you Barnes and Noble.

Click on the picture to see most of Day 1 pictures. It's probably best as a large slideshow. I'm not sure if you see captions in the slideshow. As it turned out, I've run out of space on Google to upload more pictures. Fortunately it's only $5 per year to have lots more space. I have to wait 24 hours. The downside.

Today was pretty wonderful. We went to Sandy Neck Park in Barnstable. Hyannis is in Barnstable. It was amazing and I'll post Day 2 pictures soon. It's the only beach I've ever been to that was totally rocky. I love rocks. I loaded up my backpack twice with rocks. I now have a box of rocks in my car. Granite rocks. Rocks I'll have to research. In my 'spare' time. I was fascinated by the beach. The dunes. The land. You'll see. It was very windy. And sunny. It was in the mid-70's. It was delightful.

I went to the beach that's a few blocks from the house when we got back. It was very windy. I didn't stay too long. I made Tomato Pie for dinner. It might have been my best yet.

Tired. Goodnight Barnes and Noble. Goodnight great day 2.

Cape Cod, here I am!

I had so much anticipation of my Myrtle Beach vacation that I could hardly stand it. Going to work everyday for the week leading up to it was so hard. It was a wonderful, relaxing vacation; one of the best ever. The transition back to work was easy. I knew, of course, that I was going on another vacation in 4 weeks, to Cape Cod. The time approached, but my feelings were really one of denial. I’m going to drive 9 hours? I’m taking another week off of work and losing the income? I had a great time in Hyannis last year, but I didn’t feel at all ready for another vacation. I did know that it would all work out.

I left Rob’s at 7 AM after a totally sleepless night, wired. The drive was easy. It didn’t really seem that long. I ran into two showers that lasted minutes. Rain and the thought of an accident and never coming home to my life at home were my worst fears. That’s something that’s unusual for me to think, but I was extra careful because of it. I took a few driving pictures while holding my iPhone up, and snapping but not looking. I passed some amazing clouds. I met my Aunt Carolee for lunch just off I-95 on the Connecticut/ Rhode Island border. It was wonderful to catch up with a favorite aunt that I never get to see.

From there it was a two hour drive to Hyannis through scrub pines, old bridges, flat road and blue sky. I came, full of energy and ready for anything. And here I am!

We walked to town for a dinner of seafood stew and lobster rolls at Spanky’s Crab Shack. The stew was especially wonderful. We browsed some art shanties. I was cold, though (such a strange sensation) and we walked back to the house for sweatshirts. We drove back to Main St. and browsed some shops. From there we drove for a very decadent ice cream dessert at a local institution. Nice start to a vacation I’m SO glad I’m on.

Yesterday we set out for Chatham, a wonderful town with lots of memories for me from last year’s visit. Did I mention it was about 75 degrees with clear blue skies and no humidity and a breeze? Yes it was! Bernie and I have very similar tastes in the kinds of shops we like to browse. I bought some stuff from the same store I bought some favorite things from last year. We had lunch at a café and ate the same thing. Again. I took many pictures. We did a lot of walking. It was wonderful. We meandered in the car and found the North Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. We explored. We took the stairs down, down, down to the beach. We walked. We’re looking into a boating excursion to see salt marshes, dunes, seals, lighthouses, etc. We’ll stay away from the sharks. If you look at the map, we'd be exploring the spit of land below Chatham. It’s so nice being on the Cape with a local. On our way back to Hyannis Bernie drove to places she knew I’d like to take pictures of. I loved it. We made our way back to Hyannis and ate out, again. Went grocery shopping, and then came home exhausted. I slept a wonderful sleep. It’s a new day now. It’s time for another adventure.

Later, when I'm at Borders or Panera's or someplace with a better Internet connection, I'll put together a Picasa Web album so I can really share my vacation with you.

I love sweet tea

I just looked at my blog and was amazed to see that it's been 8 days since I've written anything. I'll chalk it up to summer. And having a boyfriend. And changing priorities. Well, mostly the first two.

It's been a great summer so far. Emily got out of school on June 10, and summer seems to start when the kids are out of school. So this year, it was really early. I left for my beach vacation on the 23, and that was just wonderful and relaxing. It was one of the best beach vacations I've had in years. As much as it's great for my mom to be on vacation with us, and as much as my sister and I love her having the experience, it was a true vacation not having to take much care of anyone. The kids are all over 16, and good kids, and my sister and I were really able to leave them up to 'their own devices'. Meals were all about sustenance rather than effort. We all relaxed.

The three weeks that I've been back have flown. Work has been as always: steady, fulfilling, and predictable. I'm all about routine, and I can count on that at work. No drama. Great clients. Co-workers that are easy and fun to work alongside with. As I always say, I have the perfect job for me. How great is it to have a job where your clients love their time with you and the feeling is mutual? Very great.

I've been swimming at my community pool 3-4 times a week. I'm up to 28 laps. I find the fact that I'm doing that amazing. It takes about 45 minutes. I alternate the breast stroke and the elementary back stroke, which is done body up. I think it's a little known stroke, but I love it. You know me...I get to see the sky and the trees while I'm gliding through the water, and that makes me happy. I love being in the water. If my shoulder continues to hold up, I'll join the indoor pool after this one closes.

I have no home projects going on. I barely clean. The house is neat with most things in their place. I just don't spend any time on it other than what I have to do. It's summer! I play. Swim. Look for frogs. Take pictures of the sunsets and the clouds. Watch the hummingbirds. Grill. Sit on my porch. Time flies. I don't read. Don't watch TV. I spend time with my parents, but not nearly enough. That's my one guilt, and something that I will have to change. After my next vacation.

Rob comes out here every weekend. When I think about it, I'm amazed that I'm in this SO happy relationship. Remember that I didn't date once in at least 9 years? That I was happy alone? So, it is amazing. And it's not just any old relationship. It's a relationship that I believe most people never get to experience. He's just that wonderful to me. Here's some of the texts I wake up to in the mornings: "What a gift to have you in my life" "Good morning sweetie" "Good morning beautiful!!!!" "Good morning my most beautiful lady. Happy day!!" How many men tell you they cherish you every single day? Mine does. So, things are going good on the relationship front. I'm still taking it one day at a time...no future plans. Just happy as it is.

For right now, for this time in my life, life really is good. I'm appreciating every moment of the good. It's been bad. The medical times with my parents were stressful beyond belief. This reprieve from those times will be short-lived. I don't think either parent is really well, and the decline in both is very evident. It's just a matter of time for another crisis, and that's something you're never prepared for. So, I'm living life large when I can, ya know?

I could write more, now that I've gotten started, but work beckons and I have to beautify myself. Well, try :)

Happy Day!

Honda happening

Yesterday was the big day. After much searching and angst, we found the car for Emily. Actually, she was the one that found it on the Internet and contacted the salesperson, Christen, at Brown's used cars of Glen Burnie. We went there on Saturday to check it out, then yesterday morning to bring it to our mechanic. All was well with the car. We brought it back to the dealer where they replaced the spare, had their traveling window guy fix two tiny nicks in the windshield, and glued something on the inside. All with no hassle. The car was detailed and gassed up while we filled out the paperwork.

Emily is the very, very, very happy owner of a silver 2001 Honda Civic EX coupe. We have a Honda house now!

In other news...all is well. Today starts another work week. Bring it on!

Yeah, it really is all that.

I'm back to blogging in the chair on my porch that no longer has a hornets nest above it. I have a clear view of the hummingbird feeders and they love to come out at dusk. I'm sprayed with OFF! and my chlorine-soaked hair is air-drying. I threw on some clothes from the laundry room floor when I got home from the pool. I'm not fancy.

The quest around here has been to find a good used car for Emily. Her dad and I will contribute about equally with what Emily is putting in. Her dream car? A 2003-04 blue Honda Civic EX coupe with a spoiler. Not that she's picky. As it turns out, older-model Honda Civics are very hard to find because they last so long that people hold onto them. We thought we found a good one at Heritage Honda in Westminster, which is about 45 miles away. We saw it last Saturday and I went back for it Monday morning so my mechanic could check it out. Turns out it had been in an accident and had some other issues that were undisclosed to us. They acted surprised when I showed them what was on my mechanic's print out. Of course they knew it had been in an accident. It seems like they should have to disclose it by law, just like you do with a house when you know something's wrong. I was nice. They didn't offer to negotiate, and I didn't feel like bothering. It was all quite civil. Oh, and I drove in a horrendous white-knuckle thunderstorm the entire way there. I drove in rush hour traffic on the way home. Wah. Last night I found two cars. One, a 2002 blue Camry LE on Craigslist and another, a silver 2000 Acura Integra LS from a place called The Park 'N Sell. Both were priced right, and the Acura was beautiful. The Carfax report was online and it was good. I called to ask a few questions, including if we could bring it to my mechanic, and told John we'd be there when they opened. We drove by the Camry and I thought it was great, but it wasn't what Emily wanted. Boo. We drove to The Park 'N Sell and there was the Acura. Sporty. Sweet. The paint was peeling a little around the side-view mirrors, but John told us he'd paint that or take $100 off. There were a few scratches on the bumpers, but normal for a 10-year old car. Emily and her dad took it for a test drive and were impressed. Next stop...my mechanic. We hung out at a nearby shopping center while waiting for the news. Dann, my mechanic, called and asked us to come in while it was on the lift. He's pretty thorough. He asked us if we saw the broken antenna. We hadn't and he told us they should definitely replace it or knock $150 off the price. He pointed out the dog smell and hair/dust, but that was OK. The car drifted left a little, but it could be the road, which is heavily used by trucks. The A/C had minimal cooling but Dann said it probably just needed recharging that would cost about $130. There was the beginning of some rust by one of the quarter panels and that concerned me. The rear tires passed inspection but would need to be replaced very soon. There was a nail in one of the front tires. There was some other stuff underneath that would need some work that wouldn't cost too much and would again be in line with what you'd expect in a 10-year old car. I really wanted Emily to want that Camry. We drove around the corner to the body shop that fixed my car when I had my accident last year. Johnson's Auto Body. The owner, Doug, is a great guy. He looked at the peeling paint by the mirrors. He said, have them take $100 off and I'll do it at no charge. He also said he'd fix the rust. He said they should definitely replace the antenna. I felt better after talking to him. Tony and I discussed it, and felt we should ask for about $400 off, mainly for the cost of replacing the tires and fixing the AC, plus have them replace the antenna. I was going to do the talking :) When we walked in, there was another worker at a shared desk. The first thing John said to us was, what did you do to the antenna. I told him that the first thing the mechanic pointed out to us was that the antenna was cracked and broken. We all sat down. I told him that we really liked the car. I told him that the antenna would need to be replaced by them. He said no. Just no. You could tell right away that he had his back up. He asked what the mechanic had to say. I started to say that the mechanic found some things wrong. He took the sheet out of my hand and said, dog hair? The other guy said, did he tell you all the things that were great instead of all the things that were wrong? Did he tell you how outstanding it was that the timing belt had been replaced? John said, what does this mean? He was looking at the paper from the mechanic. I thought he couldn't read Dann's handwriting. I started telling him. He said, this is not negotiable, and stood up. He said, I don't want to hear this. There's nothing to talk about. Tony said, you're kidding? You're not willing to negotiate at all? That's crazy. The other man said, this is private property and I'm telling you all to get out now. Tony again asked if he was kidding. He clearly was not. He told us to get out NOW. Tony said something about writing an Internet review of www.theparknsell.com and John said something to the effect of, they sell 70 cars a week and he wasn't scared. Tony and I walked out. Emily had a few choice things to say to them after we left. I can only imagine. We were stunned. It all happened so fast and with such venom on their part. Had The Park 'N Sell displayed a sign stating, "Absolutely no negotiation on any vehicle" we would have saved the $83 we payed to our mechanic and saved the hours invested in this car. We're not wheelers and dealers. We just wanted fair. The place bought this car at auction and I have no doubt they could have afforded lowering the price to make this deal. Rude doesn't begin to describe them. Emily was pissed and crushed. She loved the car. We thought she'd be driving it home.

I found a nice Nissan Altima SL on Craigslist when we got home. Tony and Emily were done with cars for the day so they went their separate ways and I went to check out the car, which was nearby. It was blue. It was in great shape. It had a V6 engine. It was too big for Emily and too powerful and doesn't get good gas mileage. I drove it. Nice. For someone else.

So, the car quest continues. We'll keep on paying Dann $83 to check out our finds. I hope it doesn't take too much longer.

I had a Rita's Ice for dinner, then went to the pool to swim my laps. 25 tonight. I have pain with swimming, but the gain outweighs it so far. I love my pool. I love to swim. Yeah. It's all that. It made up for the morning and afternoon.

Time to shower off the bug spray and chlorine. And I'm hungry.

Not much, but something

I'm so far behind in posting posts. And reading posts. Last night I spent so much time editing pictures to include in posts that I had no time to post. Geez.

All is well here. Work is easy. I had a great weekend with Rob. Spent a lot of time on a quest for a car for Emily. Went to the pool. Normal mundane stuff.

Hummingbird nest at the neighbor's house and not mine.

This is a snippet from the Seattle Times: "Shaped like an open cup, the nest is fashioned from plant down and other material, all secured with spider web and covered with lichens on the outside." So I'm the neighbor with all the feeders and the birds decide to build a nest across the street. I'm envious, of course, but happy that it's in a place I can see. I hope it's not been abandoned. I walk over every once-in-a-while to see it, but so far it appears to be empty.

Rob's got a new shorter haircut that I like much better.

Rob had been growing his hair out. I liked it better short. As it turned out, so did he and he asked me to cut it. He's one picky client. It's a good thing I like him. I grilled chicken for dinner and our little faux family of three ate out on the deck. Rob got a bad splinter. We forgot to tell him we never go barefoot on the deck.

I loved this hornet/wasp nest. I was lucky I didn't get stung. It's gone now.

I got up real close to take this picture. I didn't realize how dangerous that could be. Fiwa set me straight. I'm glad I got this picture. I sprayed the nest with bee killer this morning. The wasps fell dead to the ground. I took down the nest tonight. It was a little sad. Too bad they picked the corner of my porch to build. That's my spot!

It's past my bedtime. Come back time. I want more of you.

Two. It's true.

Can it really be that I'm posting twice in one day? I'm impressing myself. I impress easily :)

I wanted to post a picture of the July 4th parade. That was impressive.

On our way back from PA we saw signs that said, 'Fresh Oil and Chips'. Who ever heard of such a thing? I couldn't get a picture of that but pulled over and ran out to get a picture of this sign. Fresh oil, huh? And what's a Red Detour? I think it's a Pennsylvania kind of thing. I don't mean that in a bad way.

My mother let her hair color grow out and went gray over a year ago. It was kind of my idea. It was just too hard to do at home. Too hard to wash it out in the kitchen sink. Too messy to do in the shower. Most everyone loved my mom's silver and gray hair. About 2 months ago she told me she wanted it colored again. She said she felt old when she looked in the mirror. I didn't think she should do it. My sisters didn't think so either. Her brother and SIL were the only ones who told my mother they didn't like it gray. They told her that every time they saw her. I got to thinking about it and realized that there's so many things in my mother's life that she has no control over, and that she should be able to do what she wants with her own hair. So.... today was the day.

Before

After

She's really happy and we all agree that it looks great. My mom has always been "Laura the redhead". In a way, she's back to 'her old self', as she would say.

After cutting and coloring my mom's hair, we all went out to a Chinese buffet for lunch. That was great. I left shortly after getting back. I hung out with Emily, then went to the pool. I swam my 20 laps. I don't know how I ever swam a mile, which I think is 36. I like the 20 lap goal. I did laundry for the first time since being at the beach! Made dinner. Watered the garden.

It's bedtime now. It's been a good, good day!

A real blog post. Really.

It's Thursday morning and here I am, lazing around, just like on vacation. Drinking coffee. Wish I were doing it on the beach, but I'm on my couch. Darn. Wish I had a water view. So glad I have a home. I know what to be thankful for.

I'll conclude my vacation blogging by saying it was simply relaxing. I just stopped. I have no clue how I sat on the beach day after day doing nothing. I didn't read. I spent time in the water, but not too much. I sat on my chair under an umbrella with my sister and looked around. Listened to music. That's it. Simply wonderful. I spent one day at Brookgreen Gardens, and that was hard because I hated taking a day away from the beach. I'm so glad I did. I love the Lowcountry, and the gardens were draped in Spanish Moss. I followed Summer's advice and bought fresh shrimp, went to the Myrtle Beach boardwalk and saw the Second Avenue pier. Summer is the Myrtle Beach queen. Wish I could experience it with her. One of my quests during the week was to find a longleaf pine seedling to bring home and plant in my grove of trees. There was no good place for me to pull over and 'pull'. Better luck next year :) The teens got along so well all week long. Bringing Emily's boyfriend was a great decision. It made Emily very happy and the boys really liked him. The week flew by, as usual. Our rental ended Saturday morning but on Friday I made a quick decision to leave that night instead. So smart! We were out by 8pm and at our very budget motel in Smithfield, NC by 11. It was great to miss all the vacationers leaving at the same time and to have a 3 hour head start on our trip home. Saturday's drive was easy and a bright blue sky kind of day...my favorite. Unpacking was easy. I finished the day by swimming at the pool and having my DQ.

I spent July 4th in Havre de Grace with Rob. We went to the parade. It's a small town and the parade is a very big deal and huge. It lasted 2 hours! We were sitting in the shade of a huge tree, thank goodness. I got to meet some of Rob's friends. Got to meet his son. Rob loved having me on his turf, and I was glad to be there. We left after the parade and drove to West Chester, PA and I met his family for the first time. They were having a cookout so I got to meet all the people I've heard about including his parents, sister, aunts, cousins, etc. It was great. I found it funny that they were fascinated by my hair. I guess they've never seen naturally curly hair close up! Everyone was very nice and it was about time I met them! We stayed for about 2 hours then drove back to Rob's to watch the fireworks. I drove a few hundred miles that day, but didn't mind at all. I spent the night at Rob's for the first time. He really loved having me at his home and I was glad to be there.

Monday was spent in a haze of caffeine withdrawal. I know from experience that it affects me by zapping my energy. I couldn't do a thing. I laid on the couch. It was depressing. It was too hot to be outside. Finally, after dinner, I went to the pool. That was great. I swam laps. I got happier. I came home and had a great night's sleep.

Back to work has been just great. I love my job. Have you heard how hot it's been around here? Crazy hot. Working in a very nicely air-conditioned building is a great way to spend your days. I went to the pool last night after work and swam my laps. So nice. I picked up Emily on my way home and we went to Dairy Queen for Blizzards. So much for burning up calories!

Well, my lazing time is over. I'm about to head out to my parents. I haven't been there since before vacation. I'll be doing my mom's hair. Maybe going out to lunch. I'm bringing my bathing suit along in the hope my mom will want to go to the pool. I have the whole day ahead of me and I'm sure I'll stay busy. You know me.

Happy Thursday!

Pictures

It just seems like I disappeared. I didn't and will be back with tales to tell. All good. In the meantime, I've been working on my pictures. The easiest way to share them is thru my Picasa Web albums. So, here's the link. There's an album from Brookgreen Gardens, and another one from the beach. It's best to view them as full-screen slide-shows. I've put some captions in. If you're interested, there's other albums you can see. My life is a (mostly) open book.

Today was my first day back to work. It was really good. I'm pooped and will be asleep in a few minutes.

Be back soon. Promise.

There's no place like home?

We got back yesterday from our great vacation. There's no place like home, except for being on a great vacation. Did I mention I go on another one 4 weeks from today? Happy me.

I'll post soon and include pictures.

Happy 4th of July to our great country!

Time flies

It really does fly. Whether you're really busy, or if you're sitting on the beach for hours on end. How can it be late Wednesday night already? Didn't we just get here?

Tuesday turned out to be another long and satisfying day at the beach. We got a late start...maybe 10? I think I read one page of a magazine. I don't know how I occupied the hours, but time flew. We picked up subs from Jersey Mikes. They're the best. I floated on my raft. Listened to music. Same old great way to spend a day. I'm happy to say that no one has a sunburn. Yeah! We go through a lot of sunblock. And my sister and I use our umbrellas.

Last night I made steak and chicken quesadillas for dinner. Much better than the hotdog meal from the night before. Our entertainment for the evening was outlet shopping. Not my cup of tea. I spent my time sitting on the benches with the men. I'm not a shopper. The kids wanted to go, and the boys were the ones who got stuff.

When I come to the beach, I only like to spend my days on the beach. I went to Bethany Beach for about 8 years. I never took a day trip to any of the interesting places nearby. Like Cape May or Assateague Island. This is my 5th year at Mytrle Beach, and ditto. Day in and day out on the beach. Today I made a change. My sister and I drove about 30 miles south to Brookgreen Gardens. I'd passed it a few years ago when I came to Myrtle Beach from the south (Edisto Island). I'd heard wonderful things about it. It's a National Historic Landmark. I love flora and fauna and everything about the SC lowcountry. The place was amazing. Check out the link.

We spent hours there, then drove south to Pawley's Island and went to the hammock shop. I have a Pawley's Island hammock; I bought it there a few years ago. We headed back and stopped at the town of Murrells Inlet. We ate at a local's place on a salt marsh. We bought shrimp that were swimming yesterday to cook for dinner tonight.

All in all, a great day. We got back to our condo and were on the beach at 5:00. We stayed till 7:00. It was the perfect time of day to be on the beach. Heavenly. I laid down in my beach chair and listened to Nicklecreek on my iPhone. Sweet. We made shrimp, cheese grits and broccoli for dinner. Had brownies and ice cream for dessert. Took the kids to miniture golf. And here I am. Ready to go to sleep and wake at 8 again. I hope.

Lots of pictures to follow.

Monday update

What a lazy beach day! After all the rain and storms of yesterday, today bloomed sunny. I woke up late again (yea!) and got right into my bathing suit. Cup of coffee in hand plus chair and umbrella, I was on the beach at 8 AM. I came up for a quick breakfast later on, then stayed on the beach till 4:30. How's that for a beach bum? I read about a page of my book. I didn't read a magazine. I sat in my chair under the umbrella. Talked to my sister. Laid on the raft in 6 inches of water and smiled. Laid on my back and my stomach that way. Yes, I was probably a curious sight. I laid on the raft on the beach with a towel underneath me and listened to my tunes. It was a completely relaxing day in every way.

We had an unappetizing dinner of hotdogs, frozen fries and canned baked beans. Cooked. It was perfect. On paper plates. We went to see a show, Le Grande Cirque 'Adrenaline' at the Palace Theatre. It was pretty amazing...male and female Chinese acrobats doing amazing things. It was way too expensive. Every year we see some kind of live performance here. I think I've seen enough.

Will tomorrow be another lazy day or will we 'do something'? We'll see. The kids are happy. As long as they're content, my sister and I are content. Let's hope it's another great weather day. The forecast for the week is for a chance of scattered thunderstorms every day. I'll hope for sunny skies.

They say it's your birthday!

As most of you know who read my blog or see me on Facebook, today's my birthday. It's really such a non-event to me. When you get past a certain age, it's not so much fun. Then again, I have to think of my friend Kim. She passed away yesterday after a 13 month battle with cancer. She would not have minded having many, many more birthdays. Being alive would have outweighed growing older. I can't believe she's gone. I'm very fortunate to be mostly healthy and mostly happy and mostly optimistic and mostly energetic. As long as I'm mostly counting my blessings, I'm mostly very fortunate.

The trip from Smithfield, NC to North Myrtle Beach, SC was easy. We were on 1-95 for about 40 miles. The rest of the trip was on secondary roads, and scenic. I love scenic. Lots of old barns. Mobile homes. Lots of pine trees. I Googled NC pine trees and found that they're the state tree, generally. I especially like the Longleaf Pines, and tried to find a place to pull over so I could pull out a sapling. I'd love to have one growing in my back yard. No luck. The link has some really fascinating information, if you're into nature. I'm into nature. We went through Tar Heel, NC. It's a tiny little town with a famous name. The trip was about 3 hours, and we ended by hanging out at a Starbucks while waiting for check-in. The management was nice enough to let us into our condo hours early. My sister Ilene and her son and his friend arrived at the same time! We worked hard and unpacked and settled in. The kids settled in without unpacking. Go figure.

There was a full moon over the ocean last night. It was beautiful.

My sister and I went to a Walmart Supercenter and did all the grocery shopping this morning. I came home to find many birthday wishes on Facebook. Birthday notifications is a nice FB feature. Emily gave me my gift a few days ago: a beautiful necklace with a hummingbird charm. Rob sent me flowers. Ilene gave me a birthday mug and a box of Jelly Bellys. All great, thoughtful gifts. My parents gave me money. So far I've bought my iPhone case with it.

We spent a few hours on the beach today. Emily and Phil took a long, long walk and came back with a dead stingray. It was bleeding. Kind of like a cat bringing back a newly-killed bird. Yuck.

Jonathan and his friend walked to the fancy resort down the beach and enjoyed the lazy river and many fancy pools. I've done that before and might do it again while we're here. The weather was nice for a few hours today, then the thunder started grumbling. We decided to move to the balcony, and hours later, we're still here. It's been drizzling. People are still out. In the ocean. Outdoor pools. Playing Frisbee and soccer. I dropped the kids off at Barefoot Landing. I took my mom's advice and am 'celebrating' my birthday with a glass of Arbor Mist 'wine'.

It's pouring now. Thundering and lightning. I'm still on the balcony. I think I'll close for now and shower. I'm sticky and salty and my hair feels like straw.

Not waiting for a latte after work

I've never started packing for a vacation so late or cleaned house so well. We were out at 8:45 in the morning. We swung by my parent's house to drop off the car Emily's been borrowing, then we were off. I stopped at a Best Buy to buy a case for my new phone. We stopped by Einstein Bagels for breakfast to go. I ran into Borders for a latte to go. We stopped a few times for gas and bathroom breaks. Burger King too. In other words, it took a while to get to our overnight destination: Smithfield, NC. Emily was super-hyper for half the trip, asking a million times how long till we got there. We got there.

On the road.

An abandoned house across from a gas station in the middle of nowhere. It made me wonder about the people who lived here and what their lives were like.

Yes, Emily's boyfriend is vacationing with us. And yes, Emily did put her seatbelt on.

At Burger King. No, my sandwich was not this big. And I hope I wasn't that shiny.

The hotel we're staying at is really nice and in the middle of a mega outlet center.

We did some shopping. We bought lots of clothes at the GAP outlet at bargain prices. Emily and I got matching sundresses. No, we won't be wearing them at the same time unless it's for the sake of pictures (you know how I am about pictures). We had dinner at Cracker Barrel. Dessert at Dairy Queen.
It was a great night.

Too bad I woke up at 3:30 this morning. The good thing was that it gave me time to post this. And at least I get to have coffee when it's the real morning. Kit's niece Lyssa messaged me last night to say she lives close by. She and her son will meet us at the hotel at 8:00 for breakfast. Nice! After that, it's back on the road again. Our trip so far has been about 300 miles. Only 150 more to go. Myrtle Beach, here we come.