Back to Winter

Well, I guess when I said spring break was over, the weather overheard me! It's been quite chilly and rainy here since the weekend. We almost had a freeze the other night, which is not good for all the budding plants. I'm learning so much in my Master Gardening class, but now I just have more things to fret about! I was blissfully ignorant of just what such an early warming/late freeze can do to all the orchards, berry bushes, and ornamentals. It's not only bad news for the beautiful flowers, but more importantly the commercial crops. We're already paying higher commodity prices; hopefully we don't add produce prices to the list of escalating costs!

Delicious in Decatur

We have a world famous BBQ joint in our town! It's won numerous awards and been featured in untold number of food shows, TV programs, newspaper articles, etc. I had been in once to pick up some meat to go and take it to an older friend of ours who no longer lives in the area and missed the food, but we had never eaten inside ourselves.

Jeff's mom is a big fan of cooking shows and food TV, and she had heard about our local Big Bob Gibson on some national programs. So of course we had to go! It's nothing special inside as far as ambiance goes, but since it's been around since 1925, you know they aren't coming just for the decor. The food was wonderful and quite reasonably priced. I had the BBQ Stuffed Potato, which is a huge baked potato with all the toppings, plus smoked meat of your choice and options of their three renowned sauces. It was so large I only finished half and took the rest to go! I can't say much for their pies, but with main entrees so good, why leave room for dessert? Come visit us sometime and we'll be sure to take you for a finger-lickin' good time!

Big Bob Gibson, winner of:
Today Show Challenge 2009 Champions
National Barbecue Restaurant of the Year
Fiery Foods 1st Place Champion Red Sauce
Chili Pepper Magazine 1st Place Mustard Sauce
and many, many more

Spring Break!

Jeff is on Spring Break this week, a well-deserved respite from the semester grind. His mom is visiting for a few days, as it's her spring break also. A nice coincidence that they correspond, since it's different schools at different education levels in different states!

We've planned a nice, relaxing stay-cation (or holistay, as they apparently say in the UK, which is quite cute). Since we're anticipating a trip to Italy in June, we didn't feel the need to go anywhere or pack anything extraordinary into the week. A few meals out, some days on the town exploring local attractions, and lots of rest are on the agenda. I still have Master Gardener classes and an equine workshop this week, and our regular dance lessons and tennis practice take up some other evenings, so we aren't straying too far from the norm. But just a little break from the routine and little R&R will go a long way!

Double Date

We had a lovely weekend with two dates in two days! Saturday evening, Jeff took me the symphony for the last pops concert of the season. It featured two soloist and a choir performing music from Broadway, musicals, filmscores and Disney movies. The female vocalist was the woman who performed the original Ariel in The Little Mermaid! That is probably the first movie I remember seeing in the theater. I was about 9 or 10 and my mom took my sister and me to The Little Mermaid while my dad took my two older brothers to a Star Trek movie (I think that's what it was; some sort of sci-fi anyway).

Jeff and I had great balcony seats for the performance, but we also had the trifecta of concert difficulties; loud talkers behind, tall people in front, and a woman with overwhelming perfume beside! At the intermission, Jeff moved us to some empty seats that had an even better view than the ones we had paid more for, and we were able to thoroughly the enjoy the remainder of the concert in perfect comfort.

Sunday evening, we went to dinner followed by the UAH semi-finals basketball game. It might not sound like much, but the UAH team is ranked 7th in the nation for Division II basketball. That's pretty impressive for a bunch of short, white engineers. Okay, they don't all fit all three of those categories, but I think every one of them fits at least one! It was a very exciting game with UAH finally winning by 3 in overtime. We're off to the final game of the regionals tonight to see if they can hold off Stillman!

The win!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

I am in the (admittedly privileged) position of having a few too many clothes! We have some incredible thrift stores and consignment shops in this area so I rarely pay more than a couple dollars for name brand outfits. With cost not a factor and storage not a constraint (we have three large walk-in clothes closets in the house, plus many more miscellaneous ones), what is to keep me from becoming the Imelda Marcos of the apparel world?

I'm not anywhere close to that level yet, but I want to take preventative measures. Several people at church have commented that they rarely (if ever) see me in the same outfit twice! In my defense, I do wear some core pieces many times but always try to pair or layer or accessorize differently. And I am not a shoe person (I would go barefoot if I could), so the floor of my closets are tidy and bare.

On a regular basis, I strive to pass on or consign clothes that I don't wear. But now I've come up with a new strategy. For each new item I bring into the house, I have to get rid of two. So, that means that the new article must not only replace something I already own, it must be so worth keeping that I'm willing to part with an additional item.

It's already helping my closets look a bit slimmer, just in time for spring and realtor showings!

Homewrecker

I feel so bad. I've been working around the house today, and on my several trips into the garage, I kept noticing a bird flying quickly out as I entered. We've had birds occasionally venture into the garage during the day when the door was up, or even get stuck in overnight a time or two, so I didn't think much of it. But on my way to the corner cabinet to obtain a paint can for a touch up, the bird flew by in a hasty exit for the fourth time today. I looked up, and finally noticed the evidence of a nest being constructed on the top of the large rug rolled up and stacked vertically in the corner. As I stood there trying to decide what to do, she flew back in, landed on the highrise nest, and neatly arranged another leaf in the concentric pile of pine needles and yard debris. She looked down at me, then flew off in search of more construction material.

We decided it wouldn't be fair to her to leave the nest. As cozy and perfect a spot as she had located, we couldn't leave the garage door up indefinitely. She would be constantly either trapped inside or excluded from her nest and subsequent young. So we carefully carried the rug out, gently removed her cozy home, and left it where she could reconstruct it.

I was sorry to have dashed her little avian hopes; after all, she had scouted out what must have seemed like the ideal setting and spent all day diligently building it. But Jeff pointed out that birds are much more resilient than we humans and she would just go build somewhere else. I guess we can take a lesson from the bird, as well as the ant.

Dining Dream

The dining room is completed and back together. Jeff got home from CA yesterday evening and stayed up late to get the quarter round molding cut and installed. I caulked and touched up this morning and moved the furniture back in, all just in time for company this evening. It's coming together very nicely!

We've been meaning to do this flooring for over a year now, so it's nice to have it completed. It was the same situation back in Arkansas; we got all the lingering projects done just to pass on the beauty and convenience to new owners. Ah well; if this house doesn't sell, then we simply get to enjoy it ourselves!

The overview
(I know the area rug is too large, but it's what I had extra in the garage)

Come on over and join us for dinner!

Promised Pics

I know I promised photos, but I didn't want to frighten any of you. I was waiting to get some nice glamor shots of the old lady, but I think she really needs a face lift first (or perhaps major reconstructive surgery, as you'll soon see)! I love all the little details, though, like the built-in twist ringer on the door and the skeleton keys (that have survived 85+ years of misplacement and are still hanging on a little hook in the kitchen ;-).

The Good

(Okay, I had to photoshop her portrait just a little to smooth over some blemishes)
Good bones, deep porch, large lot, many windows

Three fireplaces..........French doors

Built in china cabinet..........Fabulous original kitchen

The Bad

Dirty, dated bathroom..........Odd paint choices

The Ugly

Horrible laundry room..........Water damage (and clutter!)

The Potential

Great future foyer focal point..........Gardening galore

Future master suite!..........Jeff's Man Cave

(oh, the possibilities)

Dining Done (almost)

The floors are done! The quarter round trim still remains (the paint is drying as we speak), and the transition strip to the family room carpet needs to be cut and stained, but that is much less back-breaking and knee-aching work, so I don't really count it.

I almost had the job done in one day. I could have, too, except yesterday was the quarterly evening Master Gardener meeting and I had to stop to clean up and get decent, make something for the covered dish dinner, and attend the two hour plus gathering. So when I installed the last piece this morning before 10:30, I was rather pleased with my pace overall. Especially considering that this flooring was purchased as seconds, so I was constantly hunting for a board with the "right" flaw that would be cut off or hidden. I can only imagine the luxurious ease of installing perfect flooring where you can grab any piece you want. Maybe on the next house!