A Morning & Early Afternoon Well Spent

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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!


Food Stations & Preparation


Social Area

My Car’s Battery Needs Some TLC

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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.

The Brink Of Another Weekend

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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!

Happy Weekend Everyone!


On Hair Washing

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What ever happened to the once a week hair washing? I still remember back in the day getting my hair washed each Saturday. It was truly a production it seemed. After getting all that hair washed and rinsed, I would wrap that towel around it just so and have a towel head for 15 or so min to get most of the major water soaked in the towel. Then I would sit for who knows how long in mom’s very ‘old-fashioned’ blow dryer. It was the gismo that was sort of like a shower cap, but the major heavy duty kind. That cap had this huge round long hose that attached to the cap from the motor if you will and from that hose would flow warm air. Mom would plug in that antique contraption, flip the switch and away I would go to get my hair dried. I remember it being a long drawn out and tormenting procedure lasting up to an hour, but it got the job done.



As I grew older, I thought it was the in thing to wash hair each and every day. And whoever invented the real blow-dryer I must say, they’re genius! Just 10 min of drying time and I’m done! So yesterday I was sitting in the salon chatting with my new hairstylist (Sonya) telling her that my hair seems to be taking on a different dryness and the ends look horrible. I thought this had to do with me not getting it trimmed/cut very often as I have been letting it grow out for almost 2 years. As of late I’ve had to use my chi flat iron every day just to smooth out those ugly ends. She asked me how often I was washing and I replied once a day. Sonya informed me that that is the problem and to quit washing my hair all the time. She said I’m not giving the natural oils a chance to reach the ends of my hair. She also informed that I should gradually start to wean myself from washing for up to 5 whole days! As a matter of fact, none of the gals in there wash their hair each day and they normally wait for at least 4 to 5 days but the one gal religiously washes her hair every 5 days. Yesterday this gal was on her 3rd day and her hair looked beautiful! She said that if her scalp gets too oily, she applies a little baby powder to her scalp and it really absorbs the oil! However, she told me that with my very dark hair that I could use ______ (I forget) instead of the baby powder. The goal is to allow the hair time to absorb the natural oils and not to constantly strip it each day. I’ll see how long I can start stretching it out. I’m definitely not going for the greasy look but I’m trying to achieve a healthier head of hair. Well I learned something new and I’m off without washing my hair this morning. We’ll see how long it lasts before I give in and wash it.


Down Day Yesterday

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Don’t know how else to word it but I wouldn’t exactly call it a melt down “yet”. I was supposed to begin my day with my realtor to see a new property that just came on the market last week. And the really cool thing is that it was just about 5 min to work! Hubby and I were both so enthused with the looks of the home and the views were out of this world! Well that didn’t happen.

Just as I was getting ready for my appointment, the realtor called to say that that house was taken off the market the day before. The gentleman did not get his relocation like he planned, so he’s going to stay put in that home. That’s just fine and I didn’t take it bad at all as I know something is out there for us somewhere. Hubby and I have always been big fans of patience and we’ve learned time and time again that it pays off.

So yesterday I set off doing my own thing but for some reason the realization of these hotel walls got to me. I began to feel these walls closing in around me and I closed myself in and shut the world off. Not a good thing, but that’s what I did.

By the time Hubby came home from work, I had pulled myself together and was anxiously waiting for him to come home. We had a nice dinner alone and talked about our plan and where we go from here. It was a wonderful evening and Hubby made me feel so much better.

We came back to the hotel and hung out together enjoying a few shows and had fun just hanging out together. I had already decided not to tell Hubby about my down day as I didn’t want to put this undue pressure on him. He’s working hard and I didn’t want to burden him with my little “off day”. Well, right in the middle of our wonderful evening

Hubby asked – Is everything alright?

I smiled and said – Things are fine darling

But he sensed something and continued – What did I do?

Debbie – Nothing honey you’re fine

Hubby – What didn’t I do?

Debbie – Honey you do everything just right. (tear) Kinda had a down day and these walls closed in on me.

Hubby – Darlin’ thank you so much for being here with me and putting up with this hotel – you mean the world to me and I couldn’t make it a day without you, everything is going to be alright.



That just melted my troubles away and I’m back on my feet raring to face this beautiful day. I’m off to the salon in a while to get a nice little cut and some color. If Bobby can swing it, he plans to meet me for lunch. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful caring and loving husband and so thankful he’s really tuned into me. I’m on top of the world today!

How Many Realtors Does It Take To Find A Piece Of Land?

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Apparently more than one. Today makes Realtor number 8! And I don’t think we’re that high maintenance either… Hubby and I were actually referred to this new Realtor by one of our friends here at the hotel. And I think I’ve just found our Realtor whose going to finally go to bat for us.

  • Realtor #1 ~ is no longer in the business and is being sued for over a million dollars. She’s in BIG trouble.
  • Realtor #2 ~ Was a smoker and his car smelled of smoke. One strike and they’re OUT!
  • Realtor #3 ~ was a gal in PA that told us there was nothing available
  • Realtor #4 ~ another gal in PA that sent an e-mail providing a few listing saying this is it.
  • Realtor #5 ~ yet another Realtor in PA that only showed us her listings in PA and told us she would let us know if anything else comes on the market. We think she’s only showing her listings as that’s all we saw so we moved on.
  • Realtor #6 ~ Realtor was so pushy and my personality just did not gel with her at all. I have nothing bad to say about her, it’s just that I felt nervous around her. It’s normally just me out with these realtors and I was wishing so badly that Bobby was with me on that day.
  • Realtor #7 ~ The realtor I just went out with this week and is not providing what we need nor is he returning my calls.
  • Realtor #8 ~ Lets just say we truly hit it off and I felt so comfortable with her right from the start. She was so soft spoken, down to earth and made me feel so relaxed. Thanks to our new friends Doug and Evelyn for recommending this gal, I think she’s the one!

I’ve had a wonderful week. Went shopping for houses, spent a lovely day with my buddy Jennifer downtown where we shopped and had a lovely lunch. She introduced me to what is now my absolute favorite department store. I just can’t remember the name of it but I’ll tell ya, I’ll have no trouble finding it though. I looked for apartments yesterday, a place where we can go when the company kicks us out of the hotel. We have an appointment to look at and a place tomorrow morning so we’ll see how it goes. Hubby called and asked if I’d like to join him for lunch today. We had such a fun lunch date and tonight we have plans to go downtown for Gallery Night. It’s going to be fun and I also get to see my friend’s work displayed in one of the galleries, how neat! Hubby will be home soon and then we will be off exploring.

Here’s wishing all of you a Happy Weekend!


A Warm And Fuzzy Feeling Morning

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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.


New Friends

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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!


Vehicle Hoopla

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What a wonderful weekend we had and this has been such a great Monday. I’m caught up on my laundry for the week and have everything all put away, took a nice nap this afternoon and got quite a bit of research done on-line regarding a place to call home.



Hubby and I are going to try to meet a little after 4pm in hopes to get our cars registered and get our new drivers license. I was not able to finish what I started Friday and Saturday we had trouble getting our vehicles registered. We printed out our proof of insurance but the gentleman at the counter would not accept it as he needed something with the bar code. I made another call to the insurance company requesting the information with the bar code and they faxed it over to Hubby. Hopefully we have everything we need in order to make it happen this evening. And we plan to be have our residence here soon.



I have a lovely appointment with the realtor tomorrow, and looking forward to narrowing something down. In all honesty, we are both narrowing it down to a desire we have to build our next home. And it’s so exciting to think about, unless of course if we find the place that’s already built and it calls us home.


Friends

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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!


Taking Care Of Business

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I’m taking care of more business today like the yucky stuff that needs to get done when one moves out of state. Today I’ve already:



  • Changed our car insurance – Do you realize we save over $300.00 per six months on our insurance premium. I was thrilled! (That’s another reason why we love driving here so much, there is NO traffic and we are so in love with that. And the perk is, we get to see that great deduction in our car insurance because of that!)
  • Called the DMV to see what we need to bring for our vehicle registrations and drivers license.
  • Spent who knows how long on hold
  • Called more people than I can remember
  • Finally got all the i’s dotted and t’s crossed
  • And once the insurance information is available on-line, I’ll be over there with my proof of insurance and all the other stuff I need to finalize what I started out to do.

I’ve had quite a full week and we’re getting settled in by the minute. It’s funny that now we feel like this hotel is home as we refer to it as home all the time now. This coming Sunday marks our 5th week here and before too long our vehicles and we will officially be residents here too!


A Summary Of The Last Couple Days

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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.


Royal Treatment

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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.


More Shopping

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This week has been moving right along. Yesterday I spent a good portion of the day at the mall. I have many clothes to buy more like winter clothes. I’ve been hanging out in my short sleeves from the moment we arrived but we can definitely feel a wonderful change in the air.



I’m off house hunting again this afternoon. Our new Realtor has some goodies to show and I can’t wait. But before my little trip, Hubby asked if I would like to meet with him for lunch today and that sounds like a wonderful plan.


Magic Goes To Sleep

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We had to put our kitty to sleep this weekend; it was time for poor Magic to rest. We remembered all the good times we’ve had over the years but we still had a very sad Saturday morning. But we had such a wonderful day together remembering kitty.

We’ve decided to wait until everything settles before we think about getting another pet. But every time a commercial comes on with kitties, Hubby and I look at each other and smile.