Tap Tap...Is This Thing On?

I was looking back at my recent posts and they're pretty much all Hodgepodge all the time, and I guess that's because life here lately has felt a bit 'hodgepodge'. Here's some of what we've been up to in February.

Well there's been no down time lol. 

We pretty much just drop where we are these days. The 'kid's are still here with us, and while I'm not in charge of the littles there is still so much that needs doing on a daily basis. I know my daughter manages all the everyday type of household and childcare chores on her own on the regular, but we're all here together so we're trying to help where we can help. 

They're somewhat unpacked here, but they also have bags in the garage and some stashed in the storage room, and things in the attic all of which hey've needed to access since the weather has warmed up. Everything else they own is still in storage and I know they are just so ready to be settled into a home of their own. 

Waiting is sanctifying. Patience is grown in seasons of waiting. I explained to my oldest grandson recently that we learn to wait by waiting. That even when we feel like nothing is happening God is always working out His perfect plan for our lives, which might even include something as simple as what house we will live in next.  

making lemon bars with my granddaughter using lemons picked right off our tree 

Hubs and I know this time together is a gift. Yes it's exhausting, and yes everyone will be glad to resume (or establish) more normal routines, but we also know love that runs deep, that sense of security and precious relationship are built moment by moment. I keep that thought front and center and am so grateful for all these moments. 

marshmallows in the firepit

In other news...I'm buying a lot of groceries. A lot. The first couple of weeks the total was shocking, but now I'm just like whatever. We're not eating out much so I'm sure it all balances out in the end. My daughter and I have been going to the store together and sharing the cost and when we finish paying and combine our two receipts we both kind of gasp. 

Besides all the meal planning and meal making and meal clean up there's laundry and our usual weekly commitments with volunteering, real estate-ing, dinners with friends now and then, and grandchildren wanting our attention. It's nice that we can fill in whatever gaps need filling. We can keep an eye on the 2-year old while momma showers, make breakfast for the whole big hungry crew, I can be available to stay with the kids while the parents run with hubs to look at a house or two, that sort of thing. My son-in-law has a birthday this week and we told them to go out to dinner one night. Alone. Happy birthday!

Speaking of real estate...there's not a lot on the market here currently. They found a house they wanted (mostly). It wasn't perfect, but we've all let go of perfect, and the house was warm and lovely and only 2 miles from us. It was overpriced and the seller wouldn't come down enough to make it make sense so it wasn't meant to be. 

Hubs and I have bought and sold a lot of houses over the course of our married life, and whenever we house hunt I tell myself if it doesn't work out for whatever reason then it's not our house. It can still be disappointing though, as you really need to imagine yourself living in a place before you make the offer, and once you do that you can't help but get excited thinking a place might be yours. 

Typically this is the time of year where the market picks up and we're hoping that's the case this year too. I've enjoyed seeing some of the homes they've considered and we've taken the kids to a couple too. As my daughter says, 'it's good to know the kids can be happy in any house' ha! While mom and dad don't mind a few projects some of these homes are in need of far too much reno. One was also in desperate need of a thorough scrubbing (shudder!), but the kids look around and claim bedrooms and check out the outdoor space and declare it all GREAT!  

Besides all the busy-ness with extra peeps in the house, hubs and I have been working to wrap up our tax organizer, secure a beach house for a summer holiday, track down the covers we need for our outdoor furniture before the pollen really falls, finalize plans for a wine dinner for 20 we're hosting with another couple, manage a huge tree removal from the backyard (these tree guys are amazing)...

 ...and honestly about a hundred other 'things' both large and small. 

We've also had some friends dealing with a really hard thing that's left both hubs and I feeling a little bit down. And then there's America, mad all the time and filled with so much bickering and whining my brain hurts from trying to understand how we've gotten to the place we're in and can we even find our way out? Is this the new normal???

Daffodils are blooming. 

It needs to be said.  Spring is a reminder of so much goodness...hope, beauty, warmth, light, forgiveness, new growth, fresh starts...

Last week some friends invited us to join them for a couple of days in North Georgia at an Air B & B they'd rented in a pretty little vineyard (Buckley for anyone local reading this). 

What a fabulous get away and a beautiful venue! The cabin was so well appointed and the view could not have been nicer. There's a screened porch that overlooks the river and you can make the short walk over to the tasting room if you feel like it. 

We drove down on Tuesday and once we'd dropped our bags we headed in to Ellijay for lunch. 

We sat outside and had a fun waiter who loved to talk. Hubs and I split a salmon BLT and an order of Brussel sprouts and the summer-like day called for a glass of Rosé. 

We came back to 'our' winery after lunch and enjoyed a tasting there in the sunny sunshine of the vineyard. 

We had dinner 'at home' both nights we were there, courtesy of our friends as she had done most of the prep work at home. Easy peasy, for us anyway. Tuesday night we played cards after dinner and talked and it was just so nice to be with friends we've known since college. We've lived a lot of life with these two and they are definitely our people. 

Wednesday we drove into the nearby town of Blue Ridge and meandered through some of the stores we enjoy. I bought these imported Italian chocolates with balsamic which might not sound good but trust me, they are super delicious! 

The center is soft and nougat-like and the balsamic isn't overpowering but it's definitely there. The taste is somewhat similar to a chocolate covered cherry, not as sweet and minus the liquid you get with those. 

We grabbed lunch on yet another patio, sharing a charcuterie board and a small flatbread pizza. The weather was absolute perfection both days.

After lunch we made our way to a hillside winery called Roo Mountain Vineyard.  

Their tasting room is beautiful (no kids allowed here) and their outdoor space has an absolutely gorgeous view. 

It was hard to peel ourselves away, but we eventually managed that and spent the pre-dinner hour sitting beside the fire pit behind our sweet little cabin. 

There were more cards after dinner and we crashed pretty early. Everyone was up and on the road to head home after breakfast on Thursday. 

It was a perfect little break. 

When the noise in your head grows a bit too loud tell it to hush and get yourself outside...

With friends you've known forever. 

I highly recommend. 

This post is linked with the Hello Monday party hosted by Holly and Sarah. Hop over there to read more or add your own weekend recap to the blog list. Also, because I haven't spent much time online this past week my reading list is long. I likely won't get back to read the posts I've missed so if you wrote something recently that was great, newsworthy, funny, or even only slightly interesting let me know and I'll hunt it down.  Enjoy your day!