A New Adventure | Peaches Prattlings

{October 8, 2013} Another stellar Girl Night Out!

Tonight we had another great GNO! It was quite creative!

We went to Mudslinger Pottery, http://www.mudslingerspottery.com/, in Louiseville, CO, about 10 minutes from us and a WAY cute town! Lots of shops, restaurants, pubs, actual tree lined streets, it was charming! I found out that Louiseville was named the number 2 safest city in the country! I can see why. http://www.louisvilleco.gov/

We started with a lecture that lasted about 40 minutes, we learned about the four S’ s [scoring, smoothing, something and something], then we learned about throwing clay, the wheel, sponging, making sure clay is centered. We would ‘leave’ with having potentially made 3 items [we left them there to be ‘bisqued” so we could come back and paint them – you know when you go to a paint your own pottery? Those are bisque so that you can paint them]. We will go back next month to paint.

We took our ball of clay and worked the clay into a cup of sorts, get the feel for sides [by putting your thumb through the center and working out], I made mine more into a petaled cup, I liked it. Then we worked on the wheel, I had serious issues for 2 balls of clay, bad when they go flying and the guard goes flying too! Third time’s the charm! I scored the bowl on the inside, way cool!

Then…i decided to make something on the tableetop, i cut out pieces, using the rolling pin, scoring, smoothing, and imprinted this cool flower stamp on the base and the back, I was inspired! I then put 9 holes in it, MG’s menorah!!! I can’t wait to paint it and give it to her! [For EJ, I made her a bunch of animals out of fimo] It’s going to be fun!

We had a great time, I had clay all over my face, we had Ghost moments, clay everywhere, good food and lots of laughs and some great pictures, you should join us next time! [not telling you what we’re doing, you’ll have to tune in]

{September 19, 2013} I came in 5th! Call, Raise, Check, Can I fold now?

I don’t know if you remember me telling you about DCM and his love of Texas Hold ’em.

Back in Atlanta, he would run a game once a month with some friends, he controls the entire thing and a few weeks ago I told you about finding Blackhawk and DCM entering a poker tournament, where he didn’t have to run a game, it was a new experience.

A while ago I had blogged that since he is so into playing Texas Hold ’em, I probably needed to learn to play, so…one Saturday night, he remembered this comment and decided that it was time to teach me to play. He pulled out the table top, full chips, chip holder, the whole nine yards and we sat down and he taught me to play Texas Hold ’em.

Well, he’s been jonesing for a monthly game again and has trouble scheduling one due to…people’s schedules. He sent out the invite two months ago, he had 3 people attend, it just didn’t work out for a bigger group. This month, he sent out the invite and we had 12 people total, including us. It was a lot of fun!

I wasn’t sure if I was going to play, but I knew we were having people over, so I had to be a hostess and feed the masses! We went grocery shopping last night and as I told you, I made hummus and baba ganoush, among other things, shoot, I should have taken a picture! There were dips and chips and popcorn and pretzels and cookies [oh my!], just to name a few! DCM said when he hosted, he put out a few bags of chips and pretzels, I on the other hand, put things in bowls and on platters! Even JS commented on it. How could I not? I come from a long line of women who like to entertain!

I didn’t get a chance to stop at the bank to get cash, so DCM helped me scrape together $20 [we raided the change bucket!] and I was in! Everyone started to arrive, JS, her husband PS, EL, unfortunately, TT wasn’t able to make it, MH and GW were the newest members of the CEC family, DW and MD, MB and BR and his wife NR rounded out the group.

DCM entered everyone’s name into an app he has on his iPad, which assigns people to tables, [one table was made by DCM, it’s really nice: blond wood with a purple velvet center to the top and cup holders cut out, the other is a nice table top that I got him for father’s day.] keeps up with the blinds and times everything [please don’t ask me what the blind is, I’m still trying to figure it out, I just know when I need to put my chips down and how much.

We went to our assigned tables, EL, who was ready to “take DCM down!” was at one table with all the guys while NR, JS and I were at the other table. NR swore she was a novice, but that was not the case, she held her own quite well! Her husband, BR said that she always wins and when they go to a casino, he never loses! GW kept getting dealt the same two cards, at least 7 times! It was driving him batty! MH was a monster, when we consolidated tables, he needed two chip trays!

JS was a monster as well, as soon as she was out, she was the dealer for the table, it went by quickly! After about 1.5 hours, we were down to the next blind and we combined the tables, guess who was moving on to the next table? Your truly! Can you believe it! I would like to think that I didn’t play too much like a newbie! I have a pretty good idea when I should play and when I should fold, I don’t think I made too many rookie moves/mistakes which sometimes frustrate seasoned players. But…it’s still funny when I show my cards, not realizing what I have and I’m told I won because I had a flush!

There was a lot of laughing happening, you know me, to the point of snorting! Here we were getting down to the wire and there are 5 of us! Me, PS, MH, GW and BR! Can you believe it? Me at the table with the big boys! My next hand, I had a pair of 4’s, the blind was something like $3,000, I ended up going all in [including my chip tray!], why not, I took a chance and when I saw the dealer throw a 4…I about lost it! I won about $7,000 on 3 of a kind!

I ended up going out after going all in again with 2 pair, one pair in my hand and one that matched a card on the table [I know I’m saying this all wrong, but for those of you that don’t play poker, maybe you’ll understand] which would have given me 2 pair, pretty good and someone had the same hand, but Ace high, pook, I was out!

The game went on another hour, thinning the crowd out until it was me, DCM, JS and NR watching and PS, GW, MH and BR down to the wire, we were pulling out the black chips at that point! PS finally went all in and lost, he and JS went home.

In the end it was MH first, BR second and GW happy because he doubled his money! [$48, $72, $220] Not a bad payout for a few hours of fun and the chance to take home a little green [and silver in this case!].

I don’t think I’ll be watching too much WSP [World Series of Poker for those of you not in the know] or Poker after Dark, but I just might play in next month’s game!

I came in 5th! No money, but bragging rights! Sounds good to me!

{September 4, 2013} A first grader!

There were other things to tell to about my weekend,but I have to tell you something way more important!

I am the aunt of a FIRST GRADER!!!

Am I crowing? Am I proud? My sister is the mother of a first grader! I still remember the day we brought her home from the hospital! What? I remember meeting EJS for the first time, she was two weeks old and today..she got on the school bus and went to her first day of school and she was a champ!

The day started early, I set the alarm for 5:45 so I could call EJS and wish her well on her first day of school. The first thing she said was “I know what I want to be for Halloween!” My sister said, “slow down! How about Hi auntie J, how are you?” We were laughing so hard! “Hi Auntie J, how are you?”

I asked all the questions I could think of: What are you wearing? What’s in your backpack? What’s for lunch? What are you most excited about?

While we were talking, MGS wanted to show me all the dolls she was playing with and said “I can’t see you!” She thought we were doing FaceTime and couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t see me!

EJS and I talked a little more about school and what she was most excited about, I was so excited for her and I couldn’t wait to see pictures! After she was done talking about school, it was time to get down to the next important order of business…what she wanted to be for Halloween. This is a very important discussion and as I am in charge of getting the costumes, I need to know what she wants to be!

When she was little, I used to get costumes, I had a lot of fun choosing, now that she’s getting older, she is making the decisions, which makes things a little easier for me! I miss picking something myself, but it is great to see her making her own mind up and this year, as of right now, it’s the pink power ranger, did you know they were still around?

Then as quickly as we started talking (I think this post is longer than we were on the phone!) it was time to go to get on the bus, good luck, I’m proud of you, have fun and I love you!

Photos went out, I asked how she did and GES said she was a champ! I expected nothing less.

In the afternoon, I checked to see if they were home and they were, FaceTime! EJS was excited and told me all about her day, riding the bus and making a friend, coloring, meeting the principle, gym, lunch, after care and mommy picking her up. I asked what her favorite part was and it was lunch, because being in the cafeteria with everyone made her feel grown up.

After telling me all about her day, she was done with me! I got to catch up with my sister and then, as luck would have it, about five minutes later, in comes MGS and we got to chat for a few minutes until she was done with me!

I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling! I have a niece who is officially in the big leagues and I am so very proud of her! (And my sister for keeping it together!)

{September 1, 2013} Is it snowing yet?

Oh friends, as I was writing tonight’s post, I realized I was digressing left and right, sorry! But now you’ve been warned!

No, I’m not wishing the fall away, promise, it’s my favorite season! [and not just because because my birthday is in this month, but I love when it starts to get a little cooler, there is a crisp chill beginning to be felt, i might have to start wearing a sweater with the top down in the beetle bug! the leaves start to change, are you sensing a pattern?] [so many people are apparently excited because there are pumpkin flavored drinks happening, not my taste, I’m waiting for Starbucks Eggnog!!!] wow, what a digression!

Today, I had an Aunt Selma moment. Ok, a little back story and family history here. My great aunt Selma was my grandmother’s sister and my cousin JFS’s mom, she was an interesting woman and as stubborn as the day is long, hmmm…just like her sister, family trait? Well, one day, my dad was taking Aunt Selma to pick up a cake, he parked the car, she got out, walked into a pizzeria and came out with the cake! [one of my favorite stories to have him tell!]

So, for my Aunt Selma moment…DCM had something to do at the Boulder array, something technical of course. Digression…what is an array you ask? Well, the company he works for is Clean Energy Collective and they build solar arrays, rows and rows of solar panels. It’s a really cool company, check out the site. http://morecleanenergy.com/. We went to the array, he gave me a tour and about 30 minutes after we got there, I went into Boulder to get a pizza from a great pizza joint, Abo’s Pizza, LOVE it! They have real NY style and size pizza and DELICIOUS! http://abospizza.com/.

I ordered the pizza and headed out to kill some time. I killed some time by heading across the street to Sports Authority, having a huge tent sale on winter sports equipment! Uh oh! One of the things I was most excited about moving to Colorado was the opportunity to get back on the slopes and ski, ski, ski!

My sister and I started skiing when we were kids and loved it! We kept skiing, my sister even met her husband at a ski house! My senior year of college, needing 3 credits to graduate, I took skiing, painting and dance! Once a week, we went to a slope, had a lesson and skied for an hour, what could be better. Unfortunately, I haven’t skied since I moved to Georgia, it’s time people!

So, in I go to just take a peek at what they’re offering and we’re talking half off or more on skis, boards, boots, poles, clothes, everything! R was a very nice guy who helped me fit boots and…my smartfeet fit! I am set! I also found out that my left foot is half a size bigger than my right, who knew! I now have Salomon boots! They were $189 marked down to $89! Wahoo! After the boots, I needed skis, we walked to the appropriate section and in about 3 minutes, I had Salomon skis that had retailed originally for $499 [$699 on Salomon’s website] and I got them for…drum roll please..$99!!! I got poles for $30. I also got the 2 year package for adjustments and they are fitting the boots and skis as we speak! All in all, I walked away with a new package for $283! I saved $430!!! Go me!

Next, I’ll go back for clothes and the last thing will be a slope pass!

So, there you have it, my Aunt Selma moment…as DCM said…I went for a pizza and came back with skis!

Sorry for all the digressions, but would you have me any other way?

{August 31, 2013} A trip to the mountains

Today was a good day to explore.

Remember last week when I told you about going up to Błackhawk, CO to check out the mountains and the casinos? Well, someone, not saying who, but I’ll give you one guess, has been jonesing to play poker in a tournament for a long time, to just play and not run the game. There is WSP, World Series of Poker, for those of you not in the know, Poker After Dark either on the TV or DVR most nights, something had to be done about it.

Well, today, that desire was fulfilled! DCM headed up to Blackhawk to participate in a Texas Hold ‘Em tournament. Let’s just say he had an absolute blast! He didn’t have to do anything except play (normally he runs the tournaments, controls the blinds, please don’t ask me what that is! keeps track of the players, everything) and when he was through, he came in 16th out 56, not to shabby!

Well, while DCM was live out his WSP dreams, I headed in the same direction to the mountains, took a left at the sign for Idaho Springs. It was a great drive with the top down on the curvy roads, seeing the people in the water, hiking and climbing the rocks, very nice.

My first stop was the Idaho Springs visitor center. There I learned that Idaho Springs was the place where the gold rush started; they had a population. Of 14,000 and now, 2,000, it got too expensive to live there, they were hit hard with the gas shortage back in the 1970s.

They had a letter from 1924 regarding the ballot for the presidential elections 1896 and the list of nominations, amazing! There were gems and minerals from the local mines, a pricing sheet for minerals at the time, costumes for women of the day, a car, fools gold, all very interesting, I’m looking forward to going back.

I started to drive through town, decided to park and then walked around. The town was cute and charming, had a nice small town feel, lots of shops and restaurants. I walked to the end of town, then started back down the other side of the street.

I stopped at the Underhill Museum, it was a business/home that was preserved as it was back I the early 1900s. I learned about the owner of the house and his family, it was charming.
http://www.examiner.com/article/museum-monday-underhill-museum-idaho-springs

Right outside of the museum was a sweet azalea bush, ok, it might not be an azalea bush, but I’m going with it, and flying around the bush was a hummingbird moth, it was amazing, looked just like a hummingbird, but it was a moth!

I walked the full length of the town back to my car, dropped off a letter at the post office for a nice woman looking for a post box.

http://www.idahospringsco.com/

I started driving, I was going to head up to Mount Evans, but I ended up driving to Georgetown, CO, another very cute and quaint town. The great thing…as I was driving there, is saw all the signs towards the different mountains that feature…skiing! I cannot wait to get on the slopes this winter, it’s been a while!

When I was in Idaho Springs, it was warm, when I got to Georgetown, the sweatshirt came out, the temperature had dropped at least 15/20 degrees, it felt like and it was raining a bit. I did learn that even in the summer, it gets down to the 40s in Georgetown, sounds good to me!

Georgetown, like Idaho Springs, which I didn’t mention, the main “drag” is about three to five blocks and just as charming as it could be! I found free parking, wahoo and got out to walk around. Right where I parked was the Hotel de Paris.

The Hotel de Paris museum that was a hotel that dated back to the mining boom with a first class French restaurant, showroom for traveling salesmen, and high dollar patrons in the hotel. The owner, Louis Dupuy, was an interesting man, had quite the checkered past! One of the really interesting things was that he didn’t have any family, so he left the estate to his main, Sophie, who he was very close with and since she was illiterate and couldn’t run the business, she was so stressed out, she died four months after he did!

There was only one way to tour the museum, guided tour, the reason, everything was open and very few things were roped off and everything was original to the museum, the only thing that had been replaced was the carpet in one room and some of the support beams in the basement.

It was a great learning experience! They had some great features like the hide-away beds that folded to look like dressers, so cool! Louis Dupuy even had his own ranch with cattle and once a week would go to his ranch, slaughter her own cattle and serve it in his restaurant, talk about full service!
I highly recommend this tour if you have the opportunity.

Home

Since the tour started at 3, I had some time to kill, so I walked around town, into some of the shops and galleries,and after the museum, I walked the rest of the town. I didn’t buy very much in either town, but in Georgetown, I did buy some local honey, it’s some thing I like to buy when I travel.

I treated myself to a cup of hot tea, it was definitely needed and a homemade peanut butter cup, yum!
http://www.town.georgetown.co.us/

After walking around a bit more and chatting with some of the people in town, I headed home, a beautiful drive, incredibly scenic.

{August 8, 2013} It’s girls night!

Tonight was that time honored tradition…Girl’s Night!

I think we talked about this a while ago, the night the ladies get together and go out and do something fun! The cool thing about Girl’s Night is we make a decision on where to go, someone takes charge and we all show up. Then we decide what we’re doing next month, someone is in charge and so it goes on from there…

(Welcome, Girl’s Night participants, to my world of random musings!)

Tonight, it was JS who got us started on Girl’s Night at Posh Splat in Boulder. This is a place that you go and they walk you step by step painting the selection of the evening. Tonight it was a group of trees in a field, I was told they were some sort of Aspen something, I was corrected as I thought they were Birch. See friends, ya loin somethin’ new every day!
http://www.poshsplat.com/

The thing I really like about these nights is that you don’t have to know how to paint, the instructor, tonight was Chelsey, walked you through everything, step by step. It was almost like paint by numbers, just without the numbers or the outlines, hmm…
How many comments do you think there were about “a tree, a happy little tree”. Nod to you HW!
(i added some step by step pictures)

To start us off right, TT sent out a link to Ladies Night by Kool and the Gang, who doesn’t love that?

This was a good group of women, we laughed and shared and had a great time! JS, her husband PS and DCM all worked together many moons ago and have stayed friends ever since. DCM and PS have worked on many projects together and worked together to build CEC what it is today. JS is an integral part of the CEC family, kind of a Jane of all Trades, you should see how she designed the office, the little details and touches that make it a fun and green place to work, she’s got great ideas and is incredibly passionate with everything she does. She’s also a runner and I mean a runner, you know, 20 miles just for fun! She’s about to participate in her first full marathon soon, on her birthday, good luck!

The rest of the group I had met briefly at CEC’s grand opening/open house, I don’t know as much about them as I will going forward, I look forward to getting to know them each time we get together.

TT is part of the CEC family, we sat next to each other and became fast friends. She has an in with race promoters and said she could get me into almost any race, who do yo think is going to be my new best friend?
Can you guess what my suggestion for a girls night was? (If it involved fun, a team name, team shirts and a t-shirt at the end of the 3.1 miles, you were right!) (doesn’t 5k sound further/farther than 3.1 miles? This would definitely classify as a random musing!)

JS’ stepmom, PH was there, she is quite the talent! She seemed like a lovely woman and we shared some laughs over some of the cards they were selling.

CD’s husband works for CEC. She is a real estate agent who was fun to talk to about real estate, Colorado, Atlanta and races and she is the lucky girl who is organizing our next girls night!

I met NP when we did the Epilepsy 5k when I first moved to Colorado, her husband, BR joined CEC a few months ago and her painting…I think everyone would agree..pure perfection! She added her own touches, the rest of us stuck to the script, you go girl!

LA’s husband MA works for CEC and they have a beautiful and very cute little boy named P, who loves Mac-n-Cheese boxes! Like the rest of our group, a lot of fun to talk to, joke with and have a good time.

As I mentioned, we laughed a lot! Thank you for including me in this time honored tradition, it was my first “night out” in Colorado and made me feel good (and miss my girlfriends back home in Atlanta, you know who you are!). I really am looking forward to next month! (I hear there is pampering involved! Jealous?)

{June 6, 2013} Living in an apartment

It’s been a long time since I’ve lived in an apartment.

Now that I am in one again, I remember what I liked and what I didn’t. I’ve only been in the apartment a total of 6 days, but there are things I’ve noticed and things that bring memories back, the good and the bad.

I said its been a long time, and I wasn’t kidding, it’s been about 14 years, I bought my first house in 1999. First house…makes me sound like I buy and sell houses like crazy, nope, only had 2, trying to sell the one I have, wanna buy it?

When I tried to sell the first time, I thought about finding an apartment somewhere near the beach, a little 2, maybe 3 bedroom. A bedroom, office/guest/hobby room, definitely with a back deck/patio. If I didn’t have a mortgage, I’d get any kind of job, maybe beneath the apartment I was renting, just need something to pay the bills, is that wrong? Have a job with no pressure, get to do whatever I want and ensure everything is taken care of, sounds pretty good to me!

So, back to the apartment. I know people who have owned homes, sold them and are now in apartments and don’t want to go back, despite the benefits of owning a home, especially financially.

Let’s see…with an apartment, sometimes all or most of your utilities are included, there’s no yard work, if something breaks or needs repairs, like the A/C or dishwasher, you call someone and they come and fix it. Exterminator, routine maintenance, general grounds work, not your problem.

On the other hand…you can hear almost everything, the sound of bodies being dragged down the hall (I know it was luggage, a cart, maybe a dolly), voices in the hallway, someone hammering on the wall next door at SIX AM! really? We have no lights in the living room, either bedroom, not even sure if there are no, I so cannot remember the word at the moment, the thing that you can attach a light to,there are light switches, but no lights. Our bedroom has a very nice walk in closet, but the other bedroom closet is smaller than a hall coat closet; there is no place to put linens.
Did I mention the stupid pet fees?

I will say, it’s not horrible, but it’s a bit of a haul to get from parking to the apartment, mainly when toting a lot of groceries, haven’t gotten a wheeled cart yet, left the others back in Atlanta, but I can walk to the grocery story, restaurants, shopping, incredibly convenient and their is a very nice gym that is down the road and we get a discount for living here.

On the other hand…there is the opportunity to make friends easily, saying hello to a new neighbor, maybe at the pool, there are a lot of people with dogs, that’s a good way to make friends. Sometimes they have social events you can participate in, the funny thing is, in this place, they put those notices in the elevator, which we only used to load in our stuff when we moved.

We’re limited on space, as you know, I put most of my stuff in storage, so I have very little here, especially in terms of my crafting items. I selected the specific things I wanted to work on until I can get to my things (DCM said that if he’d known how much crafting stuff there was, he would have bought me more! If he’d told me that before we loaded up the truck…). It does seem a little odd going from almost 3,000 square feet to a little over 1000, but so far, it’s been good. There is a bedroom, an office (which will be a guest bedroom for you to crash in when we get a pull out sofa in there!), a comfortable living room, an eating area, a nice sized kitchen with lots if cabinets, a laundry room with a washer and dryer and a balcony to enjoy, do we need more?

Did I mention covered parking? Annie will be so happy in the winter!

I’m almost done unpacking boxes and once that is done and we can throw away or put into storage what’s left and get some furniture: I am an admitted bed snob, I am 5′ 1 1/2″ tall with a king sized bed and I like it that way! Bedroom furniture, lighting, some shelves for books and one for my plants on the balcony, hang some of the artwork we brought, a little shelf for me to put my crafting projects, keep them organized, I think we’ll be in business.

It’s all new for the cats, but they seem to be adjusting well, Peanut loves to jump in, over, up, on all the boxes, they’ve found places to hide and sleep, especially by the sliding door that leads to the balcony, plenty of sunshine! the life of a cat is a tough one!

All in all, we are settling in quite well, we’re cooking dinners together, only been out to eat once so far, I’m learning the area, where to go and how to get there, I know you’re not surprised at that one. So I can say, it’s not bad in an apartment, kind of like riding a bicycle, comes back to you.

{June 6, 2013} The day got away

Good evening friends.

Apparently the time change, unpacking, early mornings and other factors are catching up with me, I started typing and next thing I knew, DCM was tapping me on the shoulder, I had dozed off on the sofa!

I am going to get some sleep and I will type at you later!

Happy Wednesday!

{June 3, 2013} Pack, move, throw away, birthday brunch, fly home

What a day!

No chapters today, the telling won’t take as long!

I got up at 7, started moving things downstairs and to the garage, spread out more rubber mulch (looks good!)at 9:45, my good friend, CMD came over and we went over everything that needed to be done: cleaning, moving, etc. I left everything in her capable hands, the house looks great! Thank you! You’re awesome!

Off to brunch with the girls, a surprise for CKM’s birthday, it is the 18th, but I’m here! SDL and hr sister DJL, Miss A, TS and AL. We went to Pastry a Go Go in Decatur, we had a great time talking, catching up, laughing. For dessert, we had to sing happy birthday, so I found a birthday candle app, we sang, took a picture then everyone went on their way.

CKM and I ended up walking across the street to Heliotrope, that store that has all the things you didn’t know you needed until you went to this store! We walked to The Cook’s Warehouse for a few minutes to dream, then I realized what time it was! I had to get to the airport!

I made it to car return, then bag drop with literally 2 minutes to spare! Made it to the gate, flight was delayed 20 minutes. We get on the place, I fell asleep and when I woke up and hour alter, thinking we were well on our way, we were still sitting there we took off eventually and got to Denver about 1.5 hours late. DCM was there at the top of the escalator waiting for me, sigh. He was laughing, apparently I was shaking my head/trying to flip my hair, not possible!

We stopped by the store for sandwich rolls, made some dinner an now we’re watching the end of The Return of the Jedi, what could be better!

Mentally, I know it’s 11:00pm, MT and I want to keep thinking that way, to adjust, but my body knows its almost 1:30 am. So, I bid you a very good good night and keep your fingers crossed Saturday, I get to sleep in!

{June 1, 2013} A day full of surprises, a tradition, silliness, visiting and I’m not done yet!

Ok folks, you may need to take a nap before you read this or during! It has been a very long day and it’s not over!

(I was thinking about chapters for this novella, so here goes!)

Chapter 1
So, another yard sale was planned for this morning, (yes, I have thatmuch stuff left over! The alarm was set for 7, I was having a dream about sleeping and CKM says something about getting up and I realize that the alarm is going off and it’s 8! Oh no! I throw on some close, run downstairs, open the garage and start moving things around.

Two people showed up to look at stuff, just browsing, my new friend TP showed up to talk about some stuff I want to put on eBay and he is the king and enjoys it. I am not and don’t want to do it and I will give good commission! When he showed up, I said, screw it, I do not want to do this and closed the garage door. I’m ok with it, I may try to find someone to do another yard sale for me, or have The Salvation Army pick it all up and have mondo (my sister used to love that word) write offs for my taxes next, that may be worth more, already have made 3 runs there, wedding dress and all!

TP came inside and caught up, so much to talk about since we just met last Saturday, but you know when you meet someone had have that connection? And talked eBay and he was on his way.

I cleaned up and headed out the door.

Chapter 1A
As I was getting dressed, I realized I needed something new to “hold up the girls”, I am excited to say that I am no longer a 40…(none of your business) and now a 38! Wahoo! The girls are sitting pretty and I think I look better!

Chapter 2
I headed out to meet CKM for my traditional biannual (I had to look that word up, it always gets me!) haircut and donation, we’ll talk about that in minute, chapter, whatever. I get in the (rental) car and stop at the entrance of the neighborhood, to get the yard sale sign. I did something I have NEVER done before, I got out of the car, while it was still running and DID NOT roll the drivers side window down, got out to get the sign and…the door locks itself! What?!? So, I proceed to try to find a way in, turns out the trunk was open, how, I don’t know! But I tried, no lucky! You can get out of the trunk by the release,but not back into the car! (Just so you know, every time I try to type car, I keep typing cat!) I call Enterprise, they schedule someone to come out, which will cost me $57 because I didn’t get the roadside assistance, which I have NEVER gotten, because I have never needed it, of course! I asked if there was a remote unlock…nope, in GM, yes, Nissan, nope, go figure!

Sabrina, the nice lady helping me asked if there was anything she could do, yeah, make me feel less stupid! I’m over it!

Meanwhile, so many people stop to ask if I need help, I love is neighborhood! PL, one of my neighbors and his twin brother, didn’t know he was a twin! Stopped to help, even got into the truck themselves, and they’re not little boys! No luck. The said if I wasn’t in by the time they got back from Home Depot, they would find a way in. Luckily, the guy showed up and it took him about 3 minutes to get in to the car, really? He used something to pump the window open, used a snake like thing, and I was in.

The car was like an ice box! I had the AC going and the radio on, I heard the end of Car Talk and the beginning of Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me on NPR. If I had child or animal in the car, they would have been fine, scared maybe, but fine. I could see myself trying to talk to the child to get them to open the door!

So, an hour after I was supposed to leave, I was off.

Chapter 3
While as I was waiting, I got a call…KT had her baby at 9:52 am! DCM was a grandfather a second time and that made me a grandmother too! (Two!) JJ was excited! He called me last night that her water broke at 9:30 last night and we were on baby watch! He sent a picture, what a cutie! I of course forwarded that on! AJH, 8 lbs, 3 oz, 20″. How fast do you think it took me to forward that picture and brag! (Kvell is another great Yiddish word, it means swell with pride!)

I sent a message to KT via Facebook and told her I couldn’t wait to meet him! I told DCM I would it go to the hospital later this afternoon and represent.

Chapter 4
After I got back into the ice box, I headed out to meet CKM, my photographer for the event, she was with me the last time, it was a nice tradition. First we met for breakfast at Thumbs Up! in Decatur, the food was good, service left something to be desired, it may have been his first week.

We walked across the street to Super Cuts, signed in, took a few pictures and waited my turn. The woman who cut my hair was very nice, I told her that I was donating my hair and go as short as she needed to. I told her why I had to cut it today.

My mom, EMS passed n June 1, eight years ago, from Multiple Myeloma and every 2 years on June 1st, I cut and donate my hair. There wasn’t quite 10″, what we needed for Locks Of Love, but there are companies out there I can send it to and I will. I love and miss you mommy.

While I was in the chair, CKM snapped photos and she was great to stop when i started tearing up, it always gets me as the first snip goes through my hair. As more and more hair fell away, I saw my mom more and more staring at me, it happens every time, you’d think I would be used to it!

She kept cutting and kept cutting, she even used a trimmer on the back, I la la la LOVE it! My dad said it looked great, my sister said the same, great cut for the summer! CKM too and DCM liked it a lot, those are important opinions to me. I can’t wait to see the reactions on Facebook!

It’s fuzzy in the back! My neighbor, DG, when he cuts his hair, he gets a buzz cut and our tradition is for me to rub his head! The back of my hair is just like his! Tonight, I keep rubbing it, maybe I’m hoping to get a wish!

An emotional, therapeutic, enjoyable experience.

Chapter 5
After the haircut, we went to the Michael C Carlos Museum at Emory, someplace CKM had on her list of things she wanted to do, who am I to deny a birthday list! We and a lot of fun, through the Greek art, Egyptian, African, mummies, jewelry, waaaayyyy too many ear spools! Those are the things that expand your ear holes, no thank you! And a lot of Lime Sticks! Enough said!

Quite enjoyable, but only one floor and one special exhibit up a LONG flight of stairs, slightly misleading.

Chapter 6
We parted ways and I went to Kennestone Hospital to see the new grand baby! The hospital is huge, I had to ask two people how to find maternity! I finally found it, parked and saw HB, KT’s step brother and we went to the room together. Everyone was there! CG, KT’s step mom, the new daddy, J, KT’s boyfriend, DCM’s youngest, DCM (yes I know, you need a chart!) some friends and now me!

We all agreed we couldn’t wait for LB to see her new cousin, she’s been talking to KT’s belly, telling him to come out and play, she can’t wait to meet him!

What a cutie! He has brown hair, blue eyes and really long fingers and fingernails. I was third in line to hold him and how sweet to hold and feel the soft skin and watch him sleep, what a joy! I got someone to take my picture, sent to to DCM and he posted it on Facebook. Of course everyone wanted to know who he was, so I bragged!

The funniest thing, DCM is a Falcons can, KT is not, so he will make it a point to get lots of Falcons stuff for AJH, well, her boyfriend is a DENVER BRONCOS fan, she said, “that’s ok, I’ll talk to JJ” you know it! I’ve got your back, KT! Already taken care of that!

I’m so glad that I was I Atlanta for the birth of KT’s son, it was exciting for me to see them! I know that she wanted her dad here and I know he wanted to be here, but I hope that I represent him well. We’ll be back in July, so it won’t be long before he gets to meet his grandson! And of course, there is Skype and FaceTime!

After about 1.5 hours, I headed home, it was a long drive and I have a lot to do still! I did feel bad and apologized to DCM, I said I would pick up flowers and I couldn’t find a place anywhere near the hospital to buy flowers, I’m sorry (hanging head).

Chapter 7 (you still with me?)

I hit traffic every which way! Took me almost 2 hours to get home. I stopped at Home Depot for more mulch, got there just as the gate was closing, got 10 bags and headed home. On the way, on a side street there was a huge branch in the road, I stopped the car to move it out of the way. It was cool, cars stopped in both directions so I could move the branch.

I stopped by my neighbor’s house, PT and her husband JT, I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye before I left, so I stopped in to catch up, what was supposed to be a quick visit turned into about 1.5 hours, it was wonderful.

We used to get to spend more time together, this past year has been crazy for both of us.Her husband had had some health issues, but he’s making great strides and it was so good to see him and it was fun to banter back and forth with him.

The great thing about Facebook is we can keep up with each other, hope to get a Skype date with her!

Chapter 8
I got home, started packing more stuff, the goal is to get everything out of the house that needs to be out of the house, staged and all. I got a phone call and sold a piece of lawn equipment, not a total waste today (yard sale wise)!

I talked to my dear, sweet friend CMD, who is going to come tomorrow to see what needs to be done and get the house sparkly clean to have pictures taken so it can sell, sell, sell!

Now, it’s 12:30 and I decided to sit down and write you a novella before it gets too late! I’m about to get back to it, get everything to the garage, wish me luck!

Hopefully tomorrow’s post will be a lot simpler, especially after you’ve had a nap!
Sweet dreams my friends!

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