Alone....at Last!!!

My Ski is the most amazing guy!!

Last November, he had planned for us to go away. Unfortunately, I broke my leg and badly sprained my ankle and we had to cancel our plans. It was such a sad time for me. I had been looking forward to it a great deal and between my disappointment, medication, and the frustration of a broken leg, I really cried over this. However, Ski rescheduled and while the location was different, we had a great time. Through research, I found a great little inn with even better prices. They even gave Ski a discount on the rate that he saw. It wasn't overly fancy, but it was just what I needed.

You see, we have only been away overnight by ourselves twice since having children. Once was when our son died. My parents very graciously watched our three oldest children while we went off to Blowing Rock. All I remember of that trip was basically that I cried the entire time. It was a very sad time, but my friend HIGHLY recommended that we do this and I am so glad that we did. It was the only extended time that we had to grieve together without the children being around us. The second time that we tried was when our youngest was about 1yo and he came with us, so I guess technically, this doesn't count. It was around this time that we had begun realizing that he had food allergies. He wasn't the best companion and to add to that, our hotel room had a power failure and we were moved TWICE during our short stay. This did not make for either a restful time or a happy husband. Oh, and it rained and it was cold...October at the beach.

But this time we had a splendid time. Just the two of us for two entire days. Yes, it rained and sometimes it even poured. But we still had the best time.

We ended up spending one day poking around little shops in Black Mountain. We stopped in a German restaurant where I think I had the driest sandwich on earth. Ski had a Reuben which I think I would have liked, but it was not to Ski's liking. But still we laughed while I took great gulps of drink to keep from choking. There is a cool old fashioned hardware store that was neat to look at. We went to the thrift store and the used book store, of course. The guy in the bookstore told us all about Black Mountain College and showed us books and told us what he knew about it. In that store, I also found a copy of a book of Kate Greenaway plates. It was nothing to look at on the outside, but inside, it was just beautiful. Oh, my!!! I could barely hold it and I could NOT afford to buy it. When I gushed about the book to the store owner, I think it pleased him. When a lady in a Earthy/stone/crystal/gem kind of store found out it was my birthday, she let me pick a stone out. I didn't think about it at the time, but we went back the next day to ask her to make a necklace out of it, but they were closed. I think Christelle will try to make one for me, though. I thought that we could use some silk cord to do it so I could actually wear it. LOL.

We thought about eating at our inn, but it looked kind of fancy and we had brought only jeans along, so we ate at a Mexican place that someone recommended to us. All I can say is WOW!!! It was awesome food!! The owner is Mexican, I guess, and it was authentic food and CHEAP and FAST!! There were lots of locals eating there, so you know it was good. I had chicken mole with poblano peppers and it was soooooo good. I do NOT like hot things and this was really spicy to me, but it was so good that I ate all of it. I just ate lots and lots of chips and went through 3-4 drinks.

In the morning, we were served an awesome breakfast. We were the only guests there that morning so we had the restaurant all to ourselves. Imagine eating breakfast to Frank Sinatra under blue Christmas lights. It was so cool!!!

After checkout, we bought an umbrella at the hardware store and made our way to Asheville. There we toured Biltmore. Since this was only the second time we were there, we were surprised to see that there were Spring flowers in all of the vases. Someone was playing the organ in the Banquet Hall, and we saw four new rooms that were just opened. I had asked Ski if we could see the Gardens since last time, we were there in Feb and there were no flowers. I have been wishing for a visit to Longwood Gardens, or as my father calls it, Dupont Gardens. Growing up, my family would often visit Longwood almost any time of year. My mother loves orchids so she loved to visit in winter when the orchids bloomed in the greenhouses. I really miss having that wonderful place nearby. So I really wanted to see the gardens at Biltmore. Before we even arrived at the gates to the gardens, we could smell the scent of roses wafting up to us. We chatted with one of the gardeners and complimented her on her work. Only two people tend to the two HUGE rose gardens. They only use extra help when they have to dead head. I was impressed!! I noticed lots of lavender on the walls near the rose garden and I can only imagine how wonderful the aroma of both roses and lavender commingling would be. I wish that I could bottle that scent and take it home with me. When will someone invent smell photos?!?!!! Once again, we didn't make it to the farm, but we did stop by the winery.

I will stop here and I am sure that Ski will share more and the pics that we have from the trip.

Howz your week?

Things are CA-RAY-ZEE for us at the moment. Lots of activity going on this weekend through next week. The family's going on our annual trek to see the spider lilies, B and I are getting away for a few days, plus we have an annual pest inspection, vet appt., friends graduating, etc. etc. etc. WHEW!! I'm tired just thinking about it!

So to help you smile your way into the weekend, here's another "so stupid it's funny" video from Ski. Enjoy!

It's those eyes

Ok, we have a newsflash for y'all. We have a dog. Actually a puppy.

A BIG puppy.

Her name is Belle.

Someone on our neighborhood Yahoo group was giving her away for "free" after their son brought him home without checking with his parents (who already have a dog). She's supposedly nine weeks old and is pretty much crate trained and housebroken. The headline of "free Basset" caught B's eye and when she looked at the pictures, that was all it took.

So after three days of new dog ownership, we're all learning about authority, mercy, patience, and unconditional love. We had an old, grumpy basset years ago that liked to play mind games with us (hunger strikes, biting B, etc). We eventually brought him back and he lived his remaining year or two with a single guy, and was grumpy 'til the day he died. We've been burned by canine ownership before.

But so far Belle has been a very sweet, quiet, and quick-learning addition to our family. She seems to be a mix of basset and some breed with brindle (maybe she's a pitbull (= ). She definitely has some hound in her 'cause she sniffs and tracks almost constantly on her walks. Mistletoe, our indoor cat, is still very fearful of her and is temporarily eating upstairs. But Belle and Mocha, our outdoor cat, are slowly coming to an understanding of each other.

Of course H and C are thrilled. They've been asking for a dog for years. And I KNOW it's not free. The receipt for the crate, food, toys, leash, collar etc. etc. etc. show that. And her first doctor visit is on the 29th (yay).

But we're still happy to have her as our newest addition and for the lessons that she, and we, are learning. Enjoy the pics.

Strawberry Picking and Lessons in Ethics

The other day, three of my children and I went strawberry picking. The other three chose not to go. Iz stayed home even though he went last year. I guess he doesn't have fond memories of the experience. At the place we pick, they tell you which fields that you are allowed to pick in. I explained to the kids how to pick and how to look at the berry before you pull it off. After we had been picking a few minutes, Si said to me, "You're not allowed to eat while you pick." Realizing that I had forgotten to mention this detail, I asked him why he said that. He told me that he had seen a sign of a berry with a bite in it in a circle with a line through it. I told him that was correct. I explained that since we pay by the container that if you eat berries before you pay, it is like stealing.

Not long after that, I noticed Simon walking towards field #3. I called to him and said that we were only supposed to pick in fields #1 & #2. A woman who was already picking in field #3 was very close to him and I am sure she heard me, but kept right on picking. So when we left, we saw the woman with her HUGE basket of contraband strawberries.

After I paid, Lydia asked if she could have some strawberries. I told her that when we got to the car, she could. The lady in the stand said, "Do you mean to tell me that you didn't eat ANY while you were picking?!?!?" The kids said "no" and I told her how I had explained that it was stealing to eat while picking. The lady said, "Of course, you can eat while picking!!! You just can't eat ALL of the berries." If I had my wits about me, I would have asked her about the sign and if I should have had my kids disobey the signs posted in the field. I am glad that my kids still felt it was wrong to eat them if the SIGNS said not to.

My kids are CRAZY!!!

I went to a home school used book sale this afternoon that was a few towns away. It was pretty much a bust, but that's ok. Five of my dc went with me and we had lunch in the town park.

On the way home, I ran some errands. I stopped by a plant store that was really cool. They were sooooo nice there. Then I picked up a few groceries here and there. Between the long trip, a busy weekend and the fact I took zyrtec, I was extremely tired by the time I got to Walmart. All I wanted was something fast for dinner and something to wake me up. But, as we always say, Super Walmart sucks you in and never spits you out. It was not a good shopping trip. My kids were worn out and were wearing me out along with them. After awhile, they started to play a game. They followed single file. If I asked a question, apparently, they were to give an incorrect answer. If I said anything, they were to repeat it. If I asked someone to get something, they then went to the back of the line. At one point, I asked how someone got sent to the end of the line and they told me the rules. Si and Lyd would keep stepping on my sandals so I asked them to get things. Ha, ha, ha!! Another thing that they would do was to sway back and forth while they walked behind me and they sang "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." I don't know why. It was peculiar. And wow did we get some bizarre looks from people!! But at least they weren't bickering and complaining. :D

Cinnamon buns are yummy

Took C to her first visit to our area IKEA store on our daddy date tonight. I bought some candles of various shapes that were marked down to $1.99. We had a good time pulling open all the drawers in the model kitchens to see where the room designers hid all the pots, utensils, food storage containers and other items. It was pretty fun.

After checking out, I decided to see if their cinnamon buns tasted as good as they smell. While they have less goo than the delectable Cinnabon ones in the mall, (and really, who over 40 goes to the mall any more?) they were pretty tasty--and only a buck. I'll be buying a pack to bring home to B next time if I'm there with our teens.

Our semi-wounded warrior

Thursday night IZ took a tumble off of a slide in the backyard and seemed to be crying more than normal about his arm hurting. Fearing it may be broken, we brought him to an Urgent Care center for an x-ray.

The x-ray came back negative which is a good thing on several fronts. Since B will be going to her last orthopedist appt in early June, it would nice if no one had any ongoing bone injuries to follow up with.

The other positive thing is we now know IZ's bones are good and strong and not brittle even though he can't have any dairy in his diet. God has been so good in keeping him safe and helping him grow strong.

We're keeping his arm wrapped for now and giving him some Motrin to help with the pain. I guess he just has a bad sprain.

WooHoo!!!!

The 'Canes are in the finals!!!
Gotta Love It!!!

Maybe I'll actually get to see a game now.....!!!

Gardening again

Saturday afternoon I saw a neighbor out. I have always admired her yard so I went down to tell her how much I liked it. She ended up taking me into her back yard and I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO Jealous!!!!! Her dh used to be a contractor and he apparently loves gardening and projects. They have a nice hill in their backyard. It is kind of steep in one area so they dug a deep pond and made a waterfall. It is absolutely gorgeous. She said it took them a long time to do. It is made with flat stone and the walking surface is slate. They have a bunch of Koi and one is even 10 years old. Her dh also made a pergola and they are training Wisteria to grow up it.

She was really sweet and gave me some plants this evening that she dug up. I have no clue what they are. She doesn't know either. She told me that if she sees a plant that she likes, she asks for a cutting or to divide it and then plants it in her yard. These are green leaves that remind me of hostas, but they grow a large yellow flower.

In my yard, I am now desperately trying to think of how I will make my little perennial area beside my house. I have a Southern exposure and along part of it, I planned to plant some Purple cone flowers. I have them started and they are doing well. I think I will also add these new plants, but that means I need to get busy digging!!!!

I have also been thinking about a rose bush on this side. I have a terrible looking area in my yard that we call the "weed garden." It has some rose bushes in there that smell lovely, but are not very pretty. Plus, they are overrun by bugs. Blech. Also, there is wild mint and wild berries that never get juicy enough to eat unless you are a bug or bird. I was thinking of transplanting the roses, but I am not sure. I have been hearing lots of good things about the knockout rose and I saw one today at the neighbor's house. It is lovely and smells wonderful. I am considering planting one of these and ditching the entire contents of the "weed garden" with the exception of the daffodil bulbs that are buried somewhere in there.

The girls planted their tomato plants in pots today. And yes, I relinquished the cucumber to dd. I also looked closer at my cucumbers because I stuck a trellis in the tub. It turns out that one of them is a pickling cucumber!! I had not planned on that. My mom made pickles once and I didn't care for them. I am not sure if I am up to pickling cucumbers!!!


BTW....I wrote this post earlier, but didn't post it. My friend tells me that the plants my neighbor gave me are cannas. After reading about them, I debated whether to plant them by the window. Apparently some varieties can grow up to 15 feet!!! I am hoping that this is not the case with mine. If they grow too tall, I will dig them up and plant them somewhere else next year. But for now, they are staying.

And speaking of tanks....

No, thank goodness, not another post about, ahem, well, you know.

This one's for my "big bro'" JayPa. He has a really cool blog about roller coasters that is currently kinda quiet since he's currently between jobs. In the meantime, he's serving B's family so well by laying down his life and caring for B's mom and dad as they deal with some medical issues. So it's my privilege to pump up his site to our readers. (BTW, If you're looking for a writer, editor, photographer PLEASE contact him)

Anyway, The Koaster Life did a story in February about the new Manta ride at Sea World. Orlando Attractions magazine recently posted a video of the new attraction's opening. So as a follow up to JayPa's post, here's a (somewhat grainy) video:



JayPa, someday you, me, and any brave ski-bum have to ride this thing together!! (=

Just a Few Things to Add..

I really must reiterate how proud I am of Ski.
His persistence was really amazing. I thought I was going to cry when he said "One more time," but he triumphed over the porcelain!! It was a project that was beyond frustrating -- esp since our bathroom is the size of a pigeon hole. And though it was a tight squeeze and plumbing is not Ski's favorite way to pass the time, he got the job done. BTW, we both think that toilet removal is by far the easiest part of this job!!

Through it all, I learned all about flanges and that they are so named closet flanges after the water closet. I also learned that there is such a thing as a toilet shim. And while someone told me that wax rings smell, I learned that this is only the case if it is old. New ones have an unusual odor, but it is neither strong nor offensive. Oh, and I learned that it is really important to read a box before you buy and that bigger is not always better. The extra wax reinforced rings are for commercial toilets and not your run of the mill household toilets.

I think that there is an old lady who works in a Lowes near us who is concerned for out sanity. After so many visits and issues with our installation, we were getting a bit goofy because this is what you need to do or you will become angry or cry. So, we were telling her how we were never going to return to Lowe's again. I think she is convinced that we had been sniffing too much sewer gas.

But God is really good to us. One small example was when, at the last minute, I noticed that the rag was STILL in the sewer drain. Ack!! That would have been bad news. But before we set the thing down, I saw it and pulled it out. Oh, and when the toilet was a bit uneven, I remembered the silly Home Depot book had mentioned toilet shims. Who would have thought it!! Oh, and another thing that I think was completely miraculous is that with the number of times we did and redid this project, we did not break a thing!!!

Oh...and just so you know...the pic above is NOT our bathroom. I want you to know that just in case you are thinking like I am that their bolt looks a bit crooked. LOL

Man Beats Toilet in Ten Rounds

**Fade in background music, "We Are The Champions" by Queen....."

It took 4 days, 10 trips to Lowes, (plus one to Walmart and Home Depot)....

...two assistants (B & NateGeo to help "line things up" and keep me from my "paralysis of analysis" tendencies by answering nagging questions in the back of my mind during the process)...

a new mini hacksaw and caulk gun plus misc. plumbing supplies.

But aggravation, from starting the process over three times, and gas, plus Starbucks $$ aside, I think I saved the $97 I would've been charged from a plumber install it.

Yes folks, I've successfully installed a toilet!!! This project kicked my butt two times, but the sweetest thing B said to me afterwards was she admired my perseverance in that I WANTED to try just ONE MORE TIME (though I was ready to call in my friends to rescue the project if I messed it up this last time--three strikes and I was ready to be out!!)

SO please pardon my posting a picture of my new commode on our blog (hope none of you are eating). All tests seem to indicate this was a sucessful install. We're still letting all the sealant dry for at least 24 hours before anyone will be given permission to use it.

(But seriously folks ---God is gracious to me, a man of unclean lips. To Him I give credit, thanks, and glory for His everyday grace shown to me, as I bring absolutely NOTHING to the table on projects like this!!!)

I'm a cotton-headed ninnymuggins

I am NOT Mr. Fixit. It took me HOURS to replace a ceiling fan a few years ago (with B's help) 'cause I didn't know about the correct "existing electrical" box. But it works great now and I had the confidence last year to replace our bathroom light fixture--which was not to hard.

Friday I got a call that our downstairs toilet was leaking when it flushed. We had suspected IZ was "missing" when he used the bathroom, but we were wrong. Not knowing if there was any other damage, I thought we'd buy a new commode. Everyone assured me it was EASY to replace the wax ring seal and set the new one on the flange piece, which in our house is made of PVC and you put your bolts up through it to anchor the toilet. Sounds simple huh? Well, as one of my favorite phrases says, "Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool." and I am one!! Not only are my knees old, my shoulder's too big to squeeze in to the tight spaces of our half bath for "good tourque". But the worst thing I did was install the new wax sealing ring, that was probably the cause of our old one's problem, UPSIDE DOWN!!

SO tomorrow we'll go back to Lowes for a fifth time in three days and see about buying a new wax ring (and maybe some bolts). So far I haven't spent more than the $97 it would've cost to have a plumber install it--unless you can put a price on frustration.

I'm glad my Lord and my dear wife love me, not for my abilities and talents (or lack thereof). The attached pictures show me still smiling after Lowes trip #4 (for an extension to our water hookup). But aside from God's grace, and B's company, check what's in my hand that also helps me through this humbling exercise. (it rhymes with "car ducts") (=

One tomato, two tomato, three tomato.....

I tried to start some seeds this year in peat pellets. I must have done something wrong because they began to die before I had a chance to plant them outside. I didn't even get to the two pairs of leaves stage. Maybe next year? Funny, though. I started some flowers not long ago and they are doing VERY well. Go figure....

Last weekend, we (Ski, the younger kids and I) went to the Farmer's Market. The big kids were sleeping in. LOL I had heard that they had good deals on plants. Since my seedlings died, I needed to purchase plants because it is getting late. I had never looked in the plant shed there, so I thought I would try it out. I was in search of some plants for my garden at a better price. Almost as soon as I walked in, I found some lovely Roma tomato plants. I bought 9 Romas and 3 peppers and 6 zuchinni. What?!?!?! Am I crazy buying THAT many zuchinni plants?!?! I hope my friends love zuchinni!! Anyway, I paid half the price of plants at Lowes. They were selling them for $1.50 for my big, beautiful tomato plants and $1.50 for three smaller plants like my peppers and squash. Unfortunately, they didn't have any cherry tomatoes. Boo loves cherry tomatoes so I decided that I would grow one plant just for her. We did find one at Lowes and I also got some cucumber plants there.

Well, I thought I was done with tomatoes. Not so!!!

Yesterday morning, the girls and I went to a program at our local library. They had a seed wholesaler speak to us about gardening. It was very interesting. One thing I learned is that you do not need to plant two squash plants. You can just plant one!! But if you only plant one, you need some pretty flowers in order to draw the bees to your squash. Huh!!

Anyway, the guy really likes tomato plants. In fact, he has 150 plants in HIS yard!!!! That's a TON of tomatoes!!! So he really encouraged all of the new people to plant tomatoes because he thinks that they are so easy to grow. He was also really excited to see kids there. He wants them to be interested in gardening. When he left, he gave all of us, including the kids, a cherry tomato plant. So now I have 14 tomato plants!!!! Of course, the girls say that they are not MY plants. We are going to grow theirs in containers so we have only planted one of them in the garden. I need more containers and dirt for the others. My plant went into the garden.

Any ideas on where to fine cheap large containers?

Oh, and the librarian gave me some bean plants and a cucumber. I was going to put the cucumber in my tub with the others, but one of my girls wants it. We will see....

Increasing my carbon footprint--ttttthhhhbbbbppp!!

Ok, I tried. We had an old lawnmower that died. My friend who can fix tractors couldn't even figure out what was wrong with it. So I drydocked it in our garage (with a nearly full tank of gas of course) and caved in and got a reel lawnmower.

No, that's not a spelling error.

Since gas prices were going CRAZY, my sweet B thought we should look into a push mower. Hey. they look pretty impressive in the videos. So, since my young buck, N is doing the yard (with me breaking trimmers right and left--but that's another post) he liked the workout and used it all last summer.

The problem is if you don't spend inordinate amounts of time (and $$) on your lawn so it's like a shag carpet (and I don't), you get tall weeds, clover, and crabgrass, which, hey, I don't care. The reel mower however just bends the tall stuff and leaves it alone so you finish with the job and you have these lone tall grass shoots sticking up--especially if you have a hill, tree roots and other "imperfections" in your yard.

So you now have four options: 1) do the whole thing again 2) ignore it 3) follow up on the long stuff with the weedwacker/trimmer--which was what we did or 4) spend even MORE $$ and get another gas powered one.

Since, after much hassle, the State of NC finally believed we had six kids living in our house, we got our state tax refund (after almost two months of waiting). One of the first things I did (aside from replenishing our poor savings account) was to run out to WalMart and BUY A NEW MOWER!! (yes, I know, I still don't like WalMart but I've been checking prices and models since we bought the "earth biscuit mower" so I knew what I wanted and how much I was willing to pay).

We're still keeping the reel one. Maybe next year I'll start S on it.

Now I just need to figure out the easiest way to drain the gas out of the old one.

Here's Some Pics

These are for my mil who wanted to see the Clematis.
She bought this for me a few years ago and the year we planted it, I thought for SURE it died.

Well, look at it now!!













































BTW, the color is more dark purple than it looks in the two close up pics. Also, it is getting a little overrun with Black-eyed Susan down there so I should call my friend to come over and dig some up.

My Recipe Creation

Last week, I had a day full of shopping.
These are my least favorite days. First of all, I don't really like to shop. Secondly, when I arrive home after a long day out, I KNOW I will have to make dinner. Anyone who knows me, knows I am not really a planner. So, I rarely plan ahead for what I will make when I get home from shopping.

So, last week while I was shopping, I found some chicken legs marked down. So, when I got home, I did the following....

In my pressure cooker, I sauteed onions, garlic and zucchini. Then I put the chicken in and poured two cans of diced tomatoes on top. Cook for 20 min and eat. It was sooooo good!! I wish I had a bigger pressure cooker so I could have put more goodies in it.