Let's suit up!

What a great blessing this week! Jeff has been needing some new suits, but with his tall, slim build it's always been difficult to find something that fits him. Our best best has been off the rack suit separates because we can get a jacket for his wide shoulders and long pants with a narrow waist. But we haven't been thrilled with the quality or selection available in this style.

After a few fruitless shopping expeditions, I happened to look at the JC Penney outlet store that we have locally. I wasn't expecting much, but I found three suits that look great on him and only require minimal alterations (outside of the mandatory pant hemming, of course). Best of all, they are great quality at outlet prices, and I had a 25% off coupon to boot! So for the price of one decent suit, I got three (and one is a three piece with the vest and all; he'll look so dapper ;-).

Picnic in the Park

Sunday was an enjoyable day spent with the combined Nashville and Knoxville brethren at Cumberland Mountain State Park in Crossville, TN. We had a potluck picnic with grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and all the delicious side dishes and desserts that Southern cooks are renowned for.

We were in charge to purchase and transport half the supplies, among them the buns. 176 buns riding in a warm car really make the vehicle smell like a bread truck!

After a filling lunch, there was much fellowship and ball-playing. The pavilion was perfectly located next to the baseball field, the basketball goal, and the tennis courts. It was a wonderful afternoon with good attitudes, great fun, and surprisingly tolerable weather. Can't wait to do it next year!

Just a sampling of the food

Serving at the drink station (courtesy of S. Bonnell)


Hitting it out of the park (courtesy of S. Bonnell)

My new boy

I'm now the almost, kind-of, part-time owner of a horse! Okay, it's just a half-lease, but it's a phenomenal deal and a great opportunity (hopefully for both him and me).

I've been riding hunter/jumper and dressage on and off since my teen years, as my budget and schedule would allow. I couldn't find a stable here in Alabama when we first moved, but through some connections I finally located a great instructor last year. She's actually one of the best with whom I've ever trained, so it's a real blessing. Just last week she offered me a half-lease on a lovely Arabian gelding at a great price. He needs a bit of work to really refine him, hence the good deal. I'm flattered that I'm to the point where she thinks it will be an asset to have me work him!

Here are a few photos of Flame. He's just over 15 hands, 9 years old, chestnut in color, and a real sweetie. And he's all mine in the mornings any day I want! The stable is only 15 minutes away, so I'll be riding three or four times a week. Hurray! (And thank you darling husband for supporting and encouraging my habit!)

Here's Flame grazing:

Checking out the camera:

After our workout and hose-down, waiting for his sugar cubes:

It keeps going, and going, and going...

Well, we only had to suffer the heat indoors for a few days last week. Somehow, miraculously, the air conditioner started working again sometime on Saturday. We were gone all day, and when we got home we noticed that it was quite comfortable upstairs. When it was still nice and cool and dehumidified the next day, we started to get excited. It's now four days later and still going strong. We're prepared for it to give out again soon, but it's a nice reprieve. We won't look a gift horse in the mouth (or the HVAC in the vent, as the case may be)!

In the heat of the night...

With daily highs in the triple digits for the past week (and heat indexes of 110 for three days running), our upstairs heat pump finally gave out. We have been limping it along for a year or so now, having refrigerant added several times and a hard start installed. But this afternoon it must have officially died. I quickly noticed the increased humidity even before the temperature started to climb inside.

But thankfully, since we have such a large house, we also have two independent HVAC units. We had the downstairs unit replaced just last year, so we can enjoy the efficient, cooling, dehumidified drafts while we wait for the upstairs replacement.

For fun (and comfort), we decided to "camp out" downstairs in the living room. Since it's more formal than the family room, it gets less use, so it's about time it pulled its weight; I just never thought it would be as a master bedroom!