It is 5 freezing degrees right now and I’m getting ready to venture out of my little warm hut and walk down to have coffee. I’ll have to say it’s a toss up right now, freezing cold and hot coffee or keeping nice and toasty warm in my pj’s. Well I do have a coffee pot in my room with a coffee bag mix but it just doesn’t taste as good to me as the coffee down there. The freezing cold and hot coffee is winning and I’m going to have that cup of coffee. I figure it will warm me enough to get back to my room. Plus I’m meeting my friend down there too and that’s worth getting out for as well.
Jennifer and I will be meeting for lunch today at a nice cozy little log cabin sort of restaurant. And that is definitely worth getting out for today. I have a nice day all planned out no matter the weather! And the beautiful thing about this day is that I see beautiful sunshine in spite of the weather!
I was so pleased with everything I got accomplished yesterday. Everything on my errand list was accomplished and my laundry and ironing were polished off by early afternoon.
My friend Evelyn and I met downstairs for breakfast this morning and then we were off shopping ‘til early afternoon. We made our way to an awesome Christmas Store that has the best deals around! Jennifer called to tell me about that new store and the Grand Opening right before our trip home for Thanksgiving. I didn’t get a chance to run by there but I didn’t forget about it. I’ve decided to just look and not touch this year as we won’t have that much time to enjoy Christmas decorations in our new apartment as we move in on the 12th and I head south on the 17th. Also, we don’t have tons and tons of storage so I don’t plan to purchase anything that needs our much needed space. But just because I don’t want anything doesn’t mean I can’t look, we had oh so much fun in that store.
My buddy Evelyn had to get back home as she had a Doctor appointment this afternoon and I decided to continue shopping. So I looked up the Olum’s Clearance Furniture Store that Jennifer just told me about today and checked out what they had available. They had some really cool stuff and I’ll have to take Hubby over there perhaps sometime this weekend. Hubby and I are shopping for a bed this evening and I sure hope we find one soon. We continue to plug away and before long we’ll be all settled in.
I’m having quite a busy week getting ready for our trip. However, today my friend Evelyn and I went to a nice little restaurant for lunch. The restaurant is an old home converted into a restaurant and a gift shop fills the upstairs portion. The inside is so cozy, warm and so inviting. Each table is an old table from the 50’s era and the décor inside suggests that era too. So from the old wood floors and beautiful area rugs to the decor, it’s the perfect place to visit with friends.
The front of the restaurant has little benches lined in front of the parking with boots on each one. It sets the mood for a nice visit once inside.
This is truly a lovely atmosphere
And my autumn bisque soup in a bread bowl was positively delicious.
Lucky for us we went for a very early lunch as I was able to take the pics before we ordered. It’s a good thing because it was packed with people lining the front entry when we left.
Today was a leisure day where I didn’t have to be anywhere at any certain time. Hubby left bright and early on his trip to Maryland for a few days so I went with the flow.
I started off by crawling back in bed as Hubby left before daylight and got a few more z’s before starting the day. I went down to breakfast around 10 and met my buddy Evelyn down there. We had a nice little visit until sometime around 11:30 or so and then I was off doing my thing. I went to the mall and splurged on a few clothes and enjoyed browsing through all the wonderful holiday displays.
Then it was time for a little drive where I ended up taking a few more pictures. It was truly a peaceful day filled with lots of blessings.
I thought all the leaves would be gone by now but the beauty hangs on a bit longer.
I also took time along the way for some pretty flowers
I’m still clearing my throat a smidge and the Kleenex box is not being reached for as often today so I’m hoping the rest of this stuff clears out soon.
It’s a bit gloomy and the rain has come and gone off and on today so I’ve been getting nice and cozy and doing a little bit of reading and scrapping. I dredged up an old picture of friends at a Thanksgiving banquet and made a little page of us. We girls had on about every color in the crayola box so I antiqued our picture for scrapbooking purposes.
One moment in time friends stopped what they were doing for this picture. And that moment was captured many years ago. I just wish all my buddies were in this picture. Happy times indeed and this brings back so many fond memories of days gone by. I’m so thankful for my life and the wealth of all my yesterdays memories have surely added so many treasures for my tomorrows.
I still have symptoms of the nasty bug and woke yesterday unable to breathe out of my nose. Wasn’t feeling all the greatest so I went back for a mid morning nap. I woke just before noon feeling in the mood for a drive so that’s just what I did.
I made a little lunch for myself before my trip, cleaned up and away I went early afternoon. I enjoyed the beautiful blue skies and the cool fresh air and the sights I saw almost melted my sickness away.
Here are some pictures taken from my afternoon drive.
Couldn’t Resist This Barn
I pulled my truck over and got out to enjoy both the pond and the babbling brook. What great alone time I spent at both of these places. I love the reflection of the bench in the pond and the views were amazing from my point of view.
I also captured this pond but the sun was not in the right spot for me to get a clear picture.
The leaves continue to fall fabricating a beautiful colorful quilt above the earth.
I believe these are going to be the last of the fall pictures this year.
Hubby called on his way home from work last night saying that Donnell and Michelle just called to see if we would like to join them for dinner. Hubby and I both were thrilled and me especially as I was just telling Hubby over the weekend how I would like to go there next weekend. While we were on our way over to the restaurant, Donnell called to say that the restaurant was closed on Monday evenings. So we met at TGIF instead and enjoyed a great meal and conversation with our buddies. Now we get to have another dinner date with them this weekend because we’re dying to go back to the Asian restaurant.
It’s so good to be surrounded by friends no matter where I go. This morning Evelyn and I made it down to breakfast at the exact same time and we sat enjoying the early morning hours in our own little space. People came and went but we sat until after everyone had left having such a pleasant visit.
Breakfast Line Includes: eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, biscuits, sausage gravy, waffles, French toast, pancakes, cereal, oatmeal with nuts raisins and brown sugar on the side, muffins, bread, bagels, donuts, fresh fruit, yogurt, boxes of skim, 1%, whole and chocolate milk, apple and orange juice, and packaged pop tarts, granola bars, and pastries to go.
Some of the tables with a fireplace in the background
Each table is adorned with a pumpkin that’s filled with autumn leaves. It truly is a wonderful atmosphere.
I just enjoyed a wonderful meeting with Jennifer at a fabulous country store where many really neat trinkets and you name it were carefully displayed throughout. They also have a fine place to dine for breakfast, lunch and dinner and they also have a really cool furniture store on the far side. The whole place is actually in the same beautifully built log store and the atmosphere was so calm and peaceful. After we had our fill of browsing, we carried on over to a very good Italian restaurant . From there we continued over to a store called ‘Make & Take Gourmet’. I have never heard of this place or anything like it in all my life and whoever came up with this idea is GENIUS! Thanks Jennifer for introducing me to this fine Gourmet Kitchen!
“What to expect” ~ taken from their Web Site
What we do:
Plan and ShopWe develop a menu of 16 entrées each month. We then shop for the highest quality meat and produce to deliver the freshest ingredients.
Prep all the ingredients Our culinary staff does all the hard parts of cooking preparation so that all the ingredients you need are sliced and diced and ready for you.
Supply the pansAll of our dishes go home in aluminum pans with lids or zipper bags to help with freezer space. We also supply cooking instruction labels for each entrée.
Clean up You leave the mess. We’ll handle of all the clean-up. That’s what friends are for!
We supply the fun Come in and enjoy. It’s a social event. Spend time with friends you bring or friends you meet while preparing your meals together. Feel free to bring a bottle of wine or beverage of choice with you.
What you do:
Schedule your kitchen session Choose a date for your session from our calendar. Select 6 or 12 of your favorite entrées from the menu. Place your entrée order via website or phone. Or you can choose to have your order prepared by our staff and schedule it for pick-up. Each session is limited to 16 people. So if you’re bringing a group, check to make sure there is room OR contact us for a private session for you and your friends!
Arrive at the kitchen for your sessionGrab an apron and prepare to have fun. You’ll receive your personal dinner card that shows what entrées you signed up for. Many people take this card home and hang it on their freezer as a reminder of all the great dinners inside.
Assemble your meals Travel from station to station and put your meals together with our easy-to-understand recipe cards. If you need anything while you’re at our kitchen, from advice to ingredient refills, we’re here to help.
Customize your entrées Think the recipe needs more cheese? Add it! Do you hate mushrooms? Leave them out. You will be able to package your meal in full (4-6 servings) or split portions (2-3 servings) to suit different family sizes.
Cover and label your meal Put the provided cooking labels on your meal and place it in our refrigerator. Each label will explain how to cook the entrée and will have serving suggestions.
You’re done!Pack up your fabulous meals in the cooler or laundry basket you brought with you. Off you go with lots more time to enjoy all the other fun stuff in your life!
What a wonderful way to spend the morning and early afternoon with my buddy. We did not ‘Make and Take’ anything today but I do plan to indulge in the future. Oh yes, and they also have Make and Take cookies too! How cool does this place sound?
Check out some of the pictures of this cool place that I downloaded from their website!
My poor car died over the weekend. Well, it just wouldn’t start when we went to leave Saturday morning. All it would grunt out was a bunch of ticking sounds. When Hubby looked under the hood, the problem blared out and was the battery just like Hubby suspected. The battery had oozed out all kinds of blue salty looking stuff and completely coated the area where the bolts were.
This was a challenge for Hubby, my guy who has every tool known to man back home in TX. Off to Wal-Mart we went to purchase tools to get that old corroded thing off. We came home with all sorts of stuff including several different vice grips, WD-40 and who knows what else.
Hubby hovered over that battery with his brush and WD-40 cleaning and cleaning the threads and he was still unable to free the bolt with his new vice grips. He decided not to fool with it over the weekend and decided to take it in this morning to a shop close to where he works. So with his handy dandy jumper cables and the new battery he purchased for me, he was able to jump start it this morning and away he hobbled with my car.
We went downtown over the weekend and discovered that huge spiders are taking over a couple of the buildings.
Purple Spiders No Less
We enjoyed a wonderful date Saturday evening with our friends Doug and Evelyn. Evelyn and I had breakfast this morning and we hovered over our coffee and conversation until sometime around 11am today.
I’ll be off in a bit to run some errands and then I’ll be home in time to finish up my laundry before Hubby gets home for the evening.
This week has almost come to a close and I’ve been looking forward to the weekend ever since Monday! Well, it hasn’t been that bad as I’ve had several outings this week to keep me occupied. Sunday marks our 7th week here in the hotel and I think we’re doing peachy, all things considered. I just have to say how cute Hubby was the other night. He puckered up his face, his bottom lip drooped and in a sad tone he uttered “I wanna go home… I wanna go home… I wanna go home”. It was just too cute and we both started laughing. I know once we finally get all situated here that it will be home. We both like moving around and we are neither one homesick but I think the biggest problem is that we feel a bit homeless at this very moment. This too shall pass and one day we will be all back to normal with a place to call home sweet home.
I spent a couple hours with my friends Onna (sp? It’s not Anna and is pronounced like on na), Ava and Sophia at breakfast. Onna is such a pleasant lady that always has a smile and she is blessed with two of the cutest little girls, Ava (who is 3) and Sophia (who is 1). They both became my little buddies and Ava became my pal almost instantly. We played, and Ava pretty much was on my lap from the time I finished eating until we left. She got pretty occupied with my face and she just loved squishing my lips and cheeks together and then asking me to talk. I had Donald Duck lips, fish lips, clown lips and pretty much all sorts of lips and noises going on. Right at the end little Sophia warmed up to me and walked up to me holding out a little flower that she had picked for me to take. Onna, was so surprised that her girls were so taken with me saying they never go to strangers. Ava took my hand as we were walking out and said she wanted to come spend the day with me. I don’t know if I’ll ever see these ladies again as all of the girls are going back to their home for about 3 or so weeks and I think we might be gone by the time they return. Her husband is assigned here for 3 months and then they will go back home to Maryland when his assignment ends.
Hubby wanted another lunch date with me today and I’ll tell ya, that does a Debbie good. I may take a little nap this afternoon and before too long Hubby will be home for the weekend!
I usually go to breakfast by my lonesome, except for on the weekends as Hubby leaves the house (hotel) without breakfast. I always have friends to chat with down there and I’ve never been one to mind doing things by myself. This morning I met yet another friend Sally Pullano (sp?)! We somehow struck up conversation when she asked if I was alone and could she sit with me at my table. She and her husband just moved back here from England and we bonded beautifully. We sat down there sipping our coffee long after our breakfast was finished and had such great conversation. They have already been here at the hotel for 2 months and leave this Thursday. When I asked her how in the world I missed her as I’m always down there ~ she replied “I usually come down for a later breakfast” That explains why I’ve never seen here in all the 5 weeks we’ve been here. The beauty of staying where we are is that we have truly met and made some wonderful people.
I’ll be leaving in just a bit for more house hunting but pretty soon we are going to be telling the Realtor “Land Only” for us please. We feel things are moving in that direction and we couldn’t be more excited.
We keep making new and wonderful friendships. Tonight at dinner (the hotel where we stay provides a complimentary dinner Monday through Thursday) we sat with a new couple (Evelyn & Doug) we just met a day or so ago. They asked if they could join us at our table and we sat down there 2 hours enjoying some really good fellowship! And she’s a potter too! They are currently looking for a home like us and she’s already committed to making dinner for us once they get settled in. We’ve already invited them over for a BBQ when we get settled into our home. We now have plans to go with them this weekend to the Gallery night downtown and oh what fun that’s going to be!
We spent another great evening with our friends Donnell and Michele. We met at our favorite Thai Restaurant and had a wonderful dinner. I’m already looking forward to our next visit. The more we’re around them the closer we get and the more laughs we have. They have already moved away from the hotel but we’re so happy they called yesterday to set up our date for last evening. We’ve exchanged numbers and we will definitely be doing this again.
They have been approved for their loan and should be closing on their house this week. Michele was telling us everything that needs to be done like rip up the pink carpet and paint over the very pink walls and on and on. But she’s already talking about fixing dinner for us one evening in the future. What FUN!
The last couple days were filled shopping, house hunting, errands and whatnot. Tonight we arranged to go out with our friends Donnell and Michele again and we truly had such a wonderful evening. We met at our favorite Japanese restaurant and enjoyed the entire evening.
Donnell and Michele will be checking out of the hotel next Saturday and I know we are going to miss seeing them around. We’re going to swap numbers so that we can continue running into them long after we’re out of here. It’s been pretty amazing meeting new friends along the way and we know there are more friendships to come.
I’ve been getting the royal treatment from Jennifer from the day we arrived here at our new destination. I can’t begin to express what a wonderful day I had with Jennifer and her friend Jill who I just met this morning. Jennifer invited me to join them in Old Historic Downtown for some fun shopping and lunch.
We strolled down the streets and shopped in the old-fashioned shops where lots of goodies did abound. We also visited some wonderful galleries where many different kinds of art were so beautifully displayed. We also visited a wonderful gallery where two gentlemen were painting and they were so gracious to allow me to take their pictures.
My New Set
Everything about this day utters perfection – From the beautiful sweater weather and the warmth and coziness of quaint little shops to the wonderful autumn aroma that filled the air and the best company topped it off. There’s something about autumn that beckons a hint of pumpkin, cinnamon and spice mixed with a blend of cooler weather and today was just what the Dr. ordered.
