Words And Pictures

Hello and happy Monday. I intend to do a catch up maybe tomorrow, or maybe Thursday, or if not then sometime, but not today. Today I'm making the trek back to the lake after a week spent watching my Tennessee grands. 

Not for the faint of heart. 

Also, highly recommend. 10/10. Except when it's not, but it's for sure mostly 10/10. Grandparents reading here are nodding because iykyk. 

Keeping it easy today with a few random snaps that I'm linking with Kym's most recent Everyday Images Photo Prompts. Linking too with Holly and Sarah because it's Monday and some of these pics are weekend related. Today's photo prompts are:

at home (monthly)~in my cup~path ~Tuesday tranquility~ summer~golden hour~

out for a walk (quarterly)

at home (monthly)-

We had a few friends for dinner on a recent Thursday evening and it was a lot of fun. There were twelve of us and everyone brought something. Hubs grilled a cut of meat called a Teres Major and served it with cowboy butter and horseradish on the side. We'd never tried this particular cut before, but the butcher suggested it and we loved it. It's said to be second only to the filet in terms of tenderness and we would agree. 

I also made stuffed shells filled with a mixture of cheeses and zucchini and we had yummy appetizers, a delicious and refreshing white bean salad, a cucumber tomato salad, and blueberry cobbler for dessert. 

This outdoor dining space is one of my new favorite spots 'at home'. 

in my cup-

I rarely drink soda anymore. Almost never. Unless I'm in charge of a two-year old and a four-year old whose parents have been out of town for ten days, then all bets are off. 

This was my last night in charge. A glass of wine sounded nice, but I needed to keep my wits about me so opted for caffeine instead. 

path-

I snapped a picture of this cool piece by the artist Baggs McKelvey at the Discovery Museum in Chattanooga Tennessee. She primarily does large scale, site-specific installations using a variety of materials, which in this case is toy cars. 

Tuesday tranquility-

last Tuesday...

We were en route to Tennessee and stopped for lunch at a tiki bar sort of place about halfway to our destination. The restaurant sits across the street from a popular lake and is all open air which was nice. We had our pup with us so it was lunch in a covered outdoor space for the win. 

summer-

My daughter's garden is bustin' at the seams and we've had so much heavy crazy rain while I've been here that her tomatoes have been overwatered. I'm doing my best to pick and the kids eat them almost as fast as I get them in the bowl. Still we're not keeping up.  

Her okra got ridiculously ginormous overnight. Not sure if these jumbos will taste any good but the kids were impressed. The flowers on the okra plants are so pretty. 

We can't pick the blackberries fast enough. It's also been really wet so I haven't tended the bushes the way I would have if everything wasn't soaked, but we've eaten our share of these beauties too. 

One more summer snapshot, no explanation needed...

golden hour-the golden hour is defined as the first hour after sunrise and the first hour before sunset. It's when the sun sits low in the sky and creates a soft warm glow. If you read here at all then you know this is my favorite time of day to snap a picture. Here's the most recent-

And then just a couple minutes later...

out for a walk (quarterly)-

Pawpaw and one of his grandgirls...

The grandgirls adore their pawpaw. I hope once in your life someone greets you the way these little girls greet their pawpaw when he walks through the door. It's literally life giving. 

I enjoy these photo prompts which are posted every other Thursday.  Hop over to Kym's for a new batch this week. I do have a few grandparent-y related thoughts to share still so will get to that one day this week. Happy Monday everyone! 

Pomp And Hodgepodge

Welcome to this week's edition of The Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Or all the bloggers if you've got the time. Here we go...

 

1. What's one piece of advice you would you give a recent or soon-to-be graduate? 

Congratulations! You don't have to have your whole life figured out. 

You may have to take a job that is something less than your dream job, and that's okay. Your first job is a stepping stone to your next job.  Prioritize your relationship with Christ in this season of enormous growth and change. 

2. May 15th marks the birth date of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. At this point in time are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain. 

I'm going with courage. I want more of it. Moral courage in particular, which feels essential in these turbulent times we find ourselves caught up in, where truth is relative and everything is polarized.

3.  "There's no place like home" is an oft repeated line from Baum's book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement? 

Every time I travel I have this thought. I love getting away, whether for a long weekend or an extended holiday, but it always feels good to be back home, to sleep in my own bed. 

Actually sometimes it doesn't even have to be a trip. When I've been out of the house for a full day I might also have this thought. 

4. May is National BBQ Month...do you own a grill? Who does the grilling at your house? What's your favorite thing to throw on the grill? What's the last thing you grilled? 

Do we own a grill? Ha! We have a Big Green Egg used primarily for steaks and large entrees like pork butts, ribs, brisket, 50 chicken wings, that sort of thing. We have a gas grill we use when we just want to grill a couple of chicken breasts or burgers, a piece of salmon, etc., and we have a griddle we use for a variety of things...smashburgers, fried rice, fajitas and my favorite...

...making pancakes when the grands are all here. Hubs and I were just discussing the griddle the other night saying we want to do more griddling this summer. 

Hubs does the grilling here and also the cleaning of the grill after cooking. My favorite thing to throw on the grill would be a burger, but the last thing we grilled was a ribeye steak on Mother's Day. 

5. What's a memory you replay in your head when you need a little joy? 

There are many, but one of the first things that popped in to my head was daughter1 meeting daughter2 the day she was born. 

My parents brought her to the hospital and it was one of the sweetest moments of my life. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

"The earth laughs in flowers." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 653

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (May 13th) to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. What's one piece of advice you would you give a recent or soon-to-be graduate? 

2. May 15th marks the birth date of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. At this point in time are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain. 

3.  "There's no place like home" is an oft repeated line from Baum's book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement? 

4. May is National BBQ Month...do you own a grill? Who does the grilling at your house? What's your favorite thing to throw on the grill? What's the last thing you grilled? 

5. What's a memory you replay in your head when you need a little joy? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Getting The Wrinkles Out

 We're officially one third of the way through the alphabet with today's letter. Carry on A-Zers...

Day 9-I is for Iron 

Do you have an iron? Do you use it? This might seem like a funny question because doesn't everyone iron? 

No. No they do not. 

Recently there was a question relating to ironing in my weekly Hodgepodge link up and I was surprised at how many people said they never iron, that they haven't ironed anything in years. They just use a wrinkle release or buy clothing made of fabric that doesn't require ironing and I was left scratching my head. 

My daughter2 informed me recently that she actually has two irons. She needed to iron something one day and couldn't find hers so thought maybe she'd gotten rid of it in a move (obviously she wasn't ironing often) so she was forced to buy another. Then she found the one she thought was gone and now has two. Not sure she irons enough to warrant having two irons, but we visit and we iron so we're glad she owns one. Not everybody does. 

She also told me when she got it out to iron something her children were mesmerized. Apparently they had never laid eyes on this particular appliance. 

My hubs would not last a week without an iron. He likes things crisp. Not nearly as much as he did when we were first married, or in all those years he wore a suit and tie to work, but even in retirement he still isn't one to wear a wrinkled shirt. My mother always loved telling the story of being at our house one time when hubs was still working, still wearing real shirts (none of that casual Friday nonsense) and she watched my husband take a freshly starched shirt out of the plastic bag the cleaners had put it in, and iron it just a little bit more. True story. 

So what does this have to do with my theme? Well obviously I own an iron and obviously it's something I'm going to keep, but also it's a tough letter and when I started thinking about what to choose this word came to mind. There's something satisfying about running a hot iron over a crease running down the front of a shirt and seeing it disappear. 

I remember my mama setting up her ironing board in our den. She'd put it as low as it would go and set a chair behind it and have a stack of clothes to iron beside her. She'd also have her spray starch and distilled water and she might watch a little tv while she ironed. I honestly don't remember my mother watching tv when I was growing up except when she was tackling this chore. 

Maybe she appreciated sitting down for an hour? 

My dad was in the Marine Corps and my mom ironed his uniforms to perfection. She ironed a lot of tablecloths too and took such care in doing the job. Ironing a tablecloth is tedious. I send my tablecloths to the cleaners, and it's rare for me to iron a huge stack of anything in a single sitting. We're an iron as you go household so if I'm planning to wear something that needs to be ironed I do it then. 

Thinking about my mama sitting behind her ironing board is a picture of homemaking I don't think we see a lot these days. I suppose when I picture my mama ironing I think of it as one of the very many ways she showed love to her family. 

And that's a memory worth keeping. 

Antiques Homeshow

 Chugging right along in the A-Z Blog Challenge...

Day 6-F is for Furniture

A lot of people when they retire, and particularly when they move from something like the suburbs out to the lake, sell all of their furniture along with their house and just buy new. If you've had somewhat traditional furniture with lots of dark wood it's understandable to want to make a change, find furnishings that are lighter, airier, more minimalist with less mass. 

When we moved to the lake, or rather as we prepared to move, we put everything we owned in storage and lived in a rental apartment with rental furniture for the whole year we were building. We weren't sure exactly what our new finished space would look like so we held on to a lot and figured we'd deal with it on this end. 

We knew we wanted a king sized mattress as opposed to our then queen, so the plan was we'd put our bedroom furniture into one of the guest rooms and buy new for our room. Which we did and we love it, but it's lighter in tone than most of what we own. 

We love wood and we love dark rich wood tones especially. Gray toned everything was really popular when we were building, but we knew that wasn't us. In fact when we were choosing the color stain for our trim and staircase we both pointed to the exact same sample our decorator was holding up at the exact same time. She said, 'well you definitely know what you like'. 

We have a few antiques, purchased when we lived in the UK, and we weren't ready to part with them to make room for something new. So we embraced the wood, and we kept the things that made us happy. 

Like this-

A monk's bench we purchased on a fun day shopping with friends in a little town called Hungerford in Berkshire UK. It was a great day out, despite the hysterical call we got from our daughter1 (a university student on the other side of the pond) as we were on our way home where she finally managed to say she'd had a car accident.  

Waiting to hear how bad it was took about ten years off my life, but no one was injured and we had a little chat afterwards about how that needs to be the first thing out of her mouth as opposed to the last. 

Memories are a funny thing and when I look at this bench I'm reminded of village life, of how much I loved getting in the car or hopping on a train and browsing a new to us town, and also those college years where we lived an ocean away from our girls and we all grew up in ways that would serve us well in the decade that followed. 

We sit photographs on the Monk's Bench now, photos of that same daughter's wedding that happened six years later. It's tucked along a wall beside our sliders and we framed botanical prints to hang above it so it works. 

We had our girl's portraits painted on the very first 'out of the UK trip' we took when we first moved to England. 

They're not antiques, but they are more than 20 years old and still hang in our bedroom today. While the girls in these portraits are now grown married women we look at these paintings and remember that special first trip ...

...the funny hotel room with the questionable television and Thanksgiving dinner eaten on the Eurostar, fish!,  which felt so, so wrong to my kids, but who wouldn't trade the moment now for the best roast turkey in America. 

This clock-

Bought in a little shop in a village very near our home that we frequented often. We happen to have the exact right space for it in this house and I can't imagine letting it go. 

And hubs has this tantalus which I remember the seller telling us was something the Americans were buying up, but we'd been looking for one the whole time we lived there and this one is so pretty. 

It sits on a commode in my dining room. Also purchased on our trip to Hungerford and hubs turned it into a drinks cabinet which is something I love about antiques. Finding new ways to make the old pieces fit into our more modern living spaces. 

We still have the first big furniture purchase we made as a married couple, our dining room set. I know one day it won't fit in our living space, and maybe someday one of my girls will want it or maybe not. We could reno it and make it less formal but for now it makes me happy. 

We've parted with some things through the years, usually by giving to someone who needs whatever it is we don't. I dislike the hassle of selling stuff and in general would rather donate than deal with a sale. 

As I'm writing these posts and thinking about what I hold on to I realize the why is really pretty simple. The things I keep are anchors to the moments and milestones in my life. They're markers in the story of me. 

Linking today's A-Z post with Joanne for Talking About It Tuesdays 

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 648

Here are the questions to this week's Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (April 8) to share answers with all your friends and neighbors. See you there! 

 

1. Egg on your face, putting all your eggs in one basket, a good egg, walk on eggshells, nest egg, or a tough egg to crack...which eggy idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain

2. April 7th is National Beer Day...are you a beer drinker? If so do you have a favorite? Beer battered fish, beer bread, beer can chicken, beer brats...which one sounds good to you? Have you made any of these? 

3. Do you have siblings? What's the best thing about being your sibling? If you don't have siblings, what would you say are the pros and cons of being an only child? 

4. How do you feel about floral scents in products? Do you have a favorite?

5. What's one thing in your home that begins with the letter G that you would say is a keeper, something you'll hold on to? Tell us why. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

The ABC's Of April

For the past many years I've participated in a writing exercise known as The April A-Z Blog Challenge. It started way back in 2010, but my first time participating was 2011. I've participated almost every year since (I missed a year or three in there somewhere) and am going to try again in 2026. 

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the challenge, it's simple. In theory anyway. You blog every day in the month of April (except Sundays) so 26 days of posting, which conveniently is the exact same number as the letters in our alphabet. One letter per day which makes it fun. I like puzzles and this exercise has always felt  a little bit like working a puzzle. 

There are literally hundreds of participants, but you choose the category your blog best fits, and then you can read those blogs that appeal to you. There are a lot of people working on books, a lot of sci-fi, gaming, that sort of thing which doesn't particularly interest me, but there are also categories like family, parenting, personal journal, cooking, and travel and those are more my cup of tea. 

You're not required to have a theme but I like a theme. It brings structure to the many random thoughts I'm trying to capture and I need that. I've never participated in the theme reveal link up before because I'm usually flying by the seat of my pants, still trying to decide on a theme on March 31st. 

Lisa reminded me about the Challenge with her post and theme reveal here, and I decided to commit to one on the spot. I can overthink with the best of them, but had an idea and ran with it. 

The Things We Keep: An A-Z of Ordinary Objects

My plan is to wander through my house and write about 26 seemingly ordinary objects and the stories  behind them. Do I have 26 ordinary objects to write about? I think so. I mean I hope so, but you should also know I tend to wing these challenge posts. That strategy has worked for me just fine in the past and I guess we'll know soon enough how it goes this time around.

Hop back here on April 1st to see where we land. 

Actually hop back here tomorrow for the regularly scheduled Wednesday Hodgepodge. I'll keep that going alongside the A-Z challenge in April, which is always a lot, but the Hodgepodge is my wheelhouse and it's comfy there. 

For more information go here-The April A-Z Blog Challenge...sign ups are March 23-April 4.

No Kidding It's The Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you've answered today's questions, add your link at the end of my post then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Here we go-

1. What's your favorite room in your house and why? 

Does a porch count? Because the porches in my house are definitely my favorite spaces and we use them like rooms. 

We have a covered upper deck, a screened porch off the kitchen, and then the lower level space with a covered patio, a covered dining space, as well as an uncovered patio. Lots of options for sitting outside.

The upper deck is my favorite because it's easy to just step out there first thing in the morning, and the view is so pretty. 

I do love the new lower level space, but we haven't spent as much time there yet. It does have the potential to become my new favorite, especially in the summer months. 

2. What's something that will instantly annoy you? 

Getting behind someone in the left lane driving below the speed limit. Even if they're driving right at the speed limit I can feel annoyed. It's the passing lane. Move over. Please. 

3. May 28th is National Hamburger Day...will you celebrate? How do you like yours? If you're not cooking at home is there a favorite place you like to go for a burger? Did you ever work in a fast food  restaurant? 

A hamburger on the grill is one of my favorites, and I think yes, we'll 'celebrate' (AKA-grill a burger on May 28th).  I like mine with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and mayo. I have never worked fast food, and there's not really one favorite place here for a burger. There is a place that's more or less a sports bar in town and they do make a good burger. 

4. What are three scents you like? 

It's hard to narrow it down to just three, but I'll try. I love lemon (or any citrus really) and also cinnamon in terms of candles and baking. For the third I'm going with the scent of freshly mown grass, which I wouldn't want in a candle or perfume, but which does have the power to wing me back to my childhood in the blink of an eye. 

5. What do you miss most about being a kid? 

I don't know if miss is the right word, because I don't have any desire to be a kid again. I do sometimes have a longing for the sense of carefree-ness I felt as a child. (I looked it up because carefreeness didn't sound like a real word, but it is indeed a real word). 

By carefree I don't mean free from having any responsibilities because I think we're made to have those, and I like having some responsibilities. 

I'm thinking more along the lines of not being weighed down by the world and all its trouble and strife.  The division, the conflict, the endless complaining.  I know that's part of growing up, taking those things on and trying to make the world better in whatever way we can, but the 2020's so far have been more than a little exhausting. 

My childhood was for the most part carefree, and for that I'm grateful. I was protected from the heaviness of the world that, while different than what we have today, was still there. 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

I started this post a little late so will just say enjoy this last week of May...it's flown! 

Happy Wednesday everyone~

Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 604

Here are the questions to this week's midweek Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here on Wednesday (May 28) to add your link to the party. See you there!

1. What's your favorite room in your house and why? 

2. What's something that will instantly annoy you? 

3. May 28th is National Hamburger Day...will you celebrate? How do you like yours? If you're not cooking at home is there a favorite place you like to go for a burger? Did you ever work in a fast food  restaurant? 

4. What are three scents you like? 

5. What do you miss most about being a kid? 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Farewell March and Hello Monday

Good Monday morning friends. Joining  Holly and Sarah on this last day of March, for their weekend recap blog hop. 

We had a nice weekend with sunny skies and pleasant temps. You know I always need to report the weather before diving in to any other topics. 

Friday kicked off with a trip to the donut shop. Until recently this particular donut baker operated out of a food truck, but they were so popular they opened an actual store. We hadn't been since they set up shop so Daughter1 and all her little chicks, plus the hubs and I gave it a try Friday morning. 

Their donuts are ginormous and so good. They're also known for their soft pretzels, but we didn't try those on Friday. 

We made a stop at a little shop I like that sells miscellaneous goodies like Adirondack chairs, lake signs, candles, soaps, etc. but didn't buy anything. Then it was off to a nearby park to burn some energy. The kids, not us. I can't afford to burn any energy these days. I need every drop. 

A pretty place to swing and play. 

The calendar is getting ready to turn so after lunch I started right in on baking the Southern Living cake of the month for March.  Hubs and daughter1 had to run out to the potential new house to meet a painter for an estimate which means there are no photos of the cake baking process. Making a three layer cake with homemade lemon curd, three little people underfoot,  and a meringue icing requires every ounce of concentration I can muster. 

The March cake is a lemon meringue cake which we declared a winner. The cake itself is delicious and filled with a homemade lemon curd, then topped with a meringue icing. In true to me fashion, I didn't realize I needed three 8-inch round pans (I only had two) so I went ahead and used my three 9-inch pans. It turned out fine, but next time I'll make more meringue so I end up with better height. Pretty and tasty nonetheless. 

It took me the rest of the afternoon to clean the kitchen. Hi hubs! He's not a fan of my kitchen messes, but does love the finished product. 

The cake baking episode wore me out so we opted to go to a local Mexican place for dinner. No more cooking. Plus it was Friday and I try not to cook dinner on Friday nights. My son-in-law had a late surgery so he settled for the to-go box we brought home. 

Saturday I drove an hour and a half to have lunch with a friend. She's in Georgia and I'm in SC so we met in the middle, in the town of Gainesville (GA). Neither of us were too familiar with the town so I read some reviews online and reserved a table at a restaurant called The Stag. The food was good and the restaurant was quiet which made it easy to talk. They also had appropriate decor-

I arrived back at the lake late afternoon and started packing for our Sunday morning road trip. Hubs grilled steaks for dinner and I made baked potatoes and salad and then we all had cake, much to the grands delight. The adults had sampled it the night before, but this was their first taste and they gave it two thumbs up. 

Sunday morning hubs and I loaded both cars for our trek to Daughter2's house in Tennessee. Eons ago we told her we'd stay with her littles while she and her hubs have a vacay so yes, we are leaving three grands and their parents in our house while we go to our other daughter's house to watch her two. 

Hubs and I agree we should be the ones going on vacation. 

They'll be home on Friday, but hubs has an event to attend starting very early Saturday morning and the parents won't be home until late Friday, thus the need for two cars. 

We're supposed to finally have some rain at home this week and for that we're grateful.  We are very very near the fires burning in SC and rain is most definitely needed. Authorities have arrested four teenagers for starting the fires which have burned more than 12,000 acres of beautiful forest, threatened homes and businesses, and forced people to evacuate to stay safe. The firefighters have done an amazing job and were not helped by the fact that there are still so many dead trees on the ground, remnants of Helene which the surrounding area is still recovering from. 

Finally, if you didn't see my Saturday post...I've signed up to participate in the April A-Z blog challenge this year. Bloggers post every day but Sunday in the month of April, using the alphabet as their guide. You can read more about the challenge in my Saturday post (The ABC's of April). The challenge starts tomorrow with the letter A so stay tuned. 

Happy Monday everyone!  

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!