Balloon Festival

Last Sunday afternoon, my friend Mary and I went to Statesville to the 35th Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival. Not having been before, I was not sure what to expect. Statesville is kind of a hick town with a small airport, so I guess I thought this was going to be some small event with maybe 3-4 balloons. When we got there, which was way out in the sticks, we were parked in a large field alongside the airport. There were no balloons in sight. Great, I thought, I'm spending $8 for a look at a couple of balloons but, hey, they probably have vendors with great "fair" food!! We brought lawn chairs, as the website suggested, and hauled them on our shoulders through the large parking lot field. Beyond the tree line at the side of the field, there was another field with food vendors, and white event tents set up all over the place. To one side was a stage...but not one balloon in sight!!!

We bought food tickets and a wrist band for the wine tasting tents. There were three local NC wineries set up so you could take your Balloon Fest etched wine glass and taste their goods. Muscadine and Scupponaug grapes are plentiful in NC, so one of the wineries had quite a few of those wines. The other two wineries had the traditional chardonney, pinot noir, etc. All were very good! We then found our way to the food vendors to check out what they had to offer. The smells made me think of the Woodstock Fair....peppers, onions, sausages all cooking and enticing you to try some. The gyros and deep friend mushrooms; traditional burgers and franks; and, of course, french fries. We found a vendor offering gyros and wraps. Their french fries--which they called butterfly fries--were made by putting the potato on the end of a rod which was attached to an electric drill. After the potato was put on the rod, a disk was placed on the end and the potato was "drilled" against the disk to produce thinly sliced potatoes (much like you would use an apple peeler attached to the table). The long trail of these sliced potatoes were put in the hot oil. They were very crispy and delicious!! We found a place to plant our chairs by the stage and began our feast. We were entertained by the "Cookie Band". The band of about six afro-american men provided music from the 60's and up. They were very, very good.

At 5:00 pm, the announcement was made that the final ascension of the balloons was about to take place. Mary and I looked around at that point, because we had not seen one balloon yet, and wondered where in the world the balloons were. Well, let me tell you, all of a sudden you began to see these amazing yards and yards of cloth began to take form. Why I didn't bring my camera with me is beyond me, so I "borrowed" these pictures off the internet, but the pictures are a true representation of what we saw. There were approximately 40-45 balloons that began to fill with hot air all along the back of the area we were sitting in. It was totally amazing. The colors were spectacular and it made you wish you were the one in the basket taking off. They were so graceful as, one by one, they lifted up in the air!!! Before you knew it, they were all gone. Mary and I both decided that this was an event to put on our calendars for next year. We found out later that on Saturday evening, they have what is called a "balloon glow" where some of the balloons are tethered and as they fill the balloon with the flames, the balloons glow!

Needless to say, this was not some hick event. It was very well organized. Most years, we found out, there are at least 50-60 balloons at the festival. If you have the opportunity to look up in your area to see if there are any hot air balloon festivals, go to it. Melissa and Andrea....your kids will be in awe as they see these balloons fill up with air and take off!!!

Voila! Laundry Hutch....

Voila...the laundry closet turned hutch is 99% done. I know, you probably are looking at the pictures and thinking "it looks done to me!" Well, there is a story behind it that didn't end well, and the result is that there are some minor fixes that will need to be done...but either by myself or someone else. It's nothing I can't live with right now, but the carpenter that I hired turned out to be a slackard...(is that a word, and is it spelled correctly??) He dragged the project out and was not the craftsman he claimed to be. But, all in all, I am pretty satisfied with the end result. It is far better than the bi-fold doors that were there before! It adds to the kitchen instead of distracts from it as the "closet" did. If you know anyone who has a laundry closet right in their kitchen, I would be glad to share with them the picture and article I found in the Southern Living magazine that described this project. Sorry, no plans came with the article, but a carpenter would be able to look at look at it and figure it out. Now if I could only get the kitchen cleaned of all the sheetrock/construction mess, then I could actually throw in a load of wash and sit back and enjoy!!

JUST ABOUT DONE!!

WOW...What a transformation!! The laundry cabinet (hutch) is 99.9% done! What a difference from the before picture! I was actually able to get a load of wash in! The stain is on and tomorrow the carpenter comes back to put the polyurethane on. He is going to paint the wall, put the knobs on the cupboard doors, and any little finishing touches needed. The doors hiding the washer and dryer are bi-fold and then slide into the side of the cabinet so they are out of the way when open. I wanted the country rustic look and the stain came out exactly the way I envisioned it. Now to put the house back together...lots of dusting to be done, vacuuming, floor washing...and I can't wait to see what the kitchen will look like with the table and chairs back where they belong!

Fall in the Carolinas

Trying to capture the beauty of some of the leaves as they just begin to turn here in the Piedmont section of North Carolina. Taking a picture with a camera just doesn't portray the beauty that is seen with the human eye. The first picture was taken with a flash, the second without. As if with a paintbrush, the Artist carefully transitions from the center green to a beautiful yellow and finishes the edges off with a gorgeous red.

It was quite brisk walking Maestro this morning...about 38 degrees!! He thought it was absolutely wonderful, bouncing along, trying to grasp the leash in his mouth as if trying to walk himself. This morning if he could walk himself, I would have let him, as the chill in the air had me dragging my feet and wishing I were still tucked warm and comfortably under my covers in bed!! Once back from the walk, I decided it was time to make some "comfort food", so I proceeded to get the crockpot out of storage and make some of my delicious Weight Watchers Chili. I'll include the "complicated" recipe below.

1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey)

2 cans pinto beans

2 cans kidney beans

2 cans diced tomatoes (with chili peppers is good)

1/2 can of corn kernals

1 envelope Taco or Chili seasoning

1 envelope Ranch Dressing (dry)

Saute the beef or turkey in saucepan. Add onion, if desired. Add the envelopes of seasoning and mix well. Put in crockpot. Add the canned ingredients; stir well. Cook in crockpot on high for 4-6 hours. If you desire a spicier recipe, add canned chili peppers and/or extra chili seasoning. Great comfort food for cold days!!

Enjoy!!

Slow and Steady Wins the Race....

Well, s..l..o..w..l..y progress is being made on the laundry closet. The quoted time frame for completion was the 9th of October. That date has come and gone, and I doubt that the project will be completed by NEXT week.....but, take a look at this picture....PROGRESS IS DEFINITELY BEING MADE!! I know, I know...I get impatient, but the end result will be worth the wait (at least that's what I keep telling myself, and so does my friend, Mary...bless her heart!). It will be nice to get the house back in order again!

I was able to golf 9 holes after work today and as I was leaving the golf course, my eye caught this sight of the full moon. I love full moons....they are soooo beautiful. This one looked like I could reach up and touch it! It had just about made it's debut above the trees! It's interesting that my daughter, Andrea, captured the moon in her blog as well. We live approximately 900 miles from each other and can look up into that big, beautiful sky and thank the Lord for the same moon we all are able to see. Enjoy your "harvest moon"!!

Fall Moon

Fall moon -- not a full moon though! It was such a nice night to sit outside on my patio - warm, but breezy. Maestro and I had just come back from taking our "last walk of the night" and I decided to sit out on the patio with a glass of Riesling. This is what I saw as I looked up at the sky!!! The moon was so bright and awesome, it warranted having its picture taken!! Of course, the picture looks like a black piece of paper with a hole in it!! I wonder how many more of these warm, breezy nights we will have before the winter jackets come out! Seize the Moment!!

On the third day ...

Patience is a virtue. This is a real test of patience for me, but I am told the wait will be worth it!!! I want this hutch to be done ... like yesterday!!! The top portion of the hutch was extended out by 8". The carpenter put 2x8 studs and sheetrock to push the top cabinets out so they would be reachable...and the cupboards are being put into place!! I can hardly wait to see what day four will hold for progress!!!

It has been raining most of the day and is supposed to continue into Saturday. The leaves are really beginning to show color here, but the temperatures are still quite mild in the high 60's to low 70's. Walking through the neighborhood with Maestro tonight, many people have already adorned their homes with Halloween decorations! Some people really go out with the decorations!! I think I will buy a pumpkin and a small pot of mums for my front steps!

Have a wonderful Friday!!

Baby Steps

Okay, so I think I expected when I came home from work last night that the laundry closet would be at least half done!!! Much to my disappointment, the house was AGAIN covered in sheetrock dust (as well as poor Maestro!) and, as you can see from the picture, very little done in the closet. The carpenter did decide to cut all the way up to the ceiling, hence the dust. I'm very curious how this is all going to look when completed! The countertop was put in, and a decision had to be made whether to add 2x8 studs and sheetrock to pull the upper cabinets out so I would be able to reach them without climbing a ladder. I opted to go with the 2x8 studs and sheetrock. Hmmmmm.

Watch for more pictures!

Re-Model Has Begun!

Work has begun on the laundry closet!! Yay!! As you can see, the shelves, washer, dryer and, yes, all my "junk" has been removed from the closet (not to mention the dust bunnies that were found under the appliances ). The contractor has marked up the walls showing where the counter top and cabinets will go. He had to sawzall some of the wall up to the border--about 20". It's amazing how much of a mess sheetrock dust can make! Even Maestro, who is normally totally black, had a layer of sheetrock dust on him when I came home from work tonight!!

Hopefully, the contractor will be back tomorrow to start adding cabinets and character to the closet! I can hardly wait to see the finished product!! Watch for more progress pictures to come!

Fall Leaves...and Leaves Fall

I LOVE TREES!!!

I think I have always had an eye for trees. They have so much character! This one especially caught my eye this past weekend. My friend, Mary, and I took a day trip to Blowing Rock, NC, which is about 2 hours from where we live. Blowing Rock is a quaint town northwest of Charlotte, up in the mountains. There are many small shops to browse through, and this happened to be "Art in the Park" weekend with many artisans selling their craft. As we walked to where the artisans were, this tree caught my eye. As I stood and looked up at it, I marveled at how one side of the tree had just about lost all its leaves, while the other side had color spectacular! (This picture doesn't do the color justice.) It's almost as if this tree isn't quite ready to give in to old man winter!!

It just goes to show that God's beauty is everywhere....even in a tree!!

Ahhhh....Friday!!

I don't know where this week went...it seems to have flown by. Perhaps it is because it is the first of a new month? Or is it that I'm just getting older...and it seems that time passes before your eyes the older you get!! My oldest daughter and her husband just celebrated their NINTH wedding anniversary. How can that be....it seems they just got married last year!! Nine years and three children later....guess it was more than the year that my mind wants to think it was!!

I hear the country & western song I hear on the radio by Kenny Chesney, "Don't Blink" and it makes me think how true that is....."Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap and you wake up and you're twenty-five and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife...Don't blink, You just might miss your babies growing like mine did, Turning into moms and dads .....Trust me friend a hundred years goes faster than you think - So don't blink..." Well, I'm not 102, but the words do ring truth as to how time does fly!

Appreciate and thank the Lord for each day you open your eyes and breathe. Enjoy every day that is given to you...it is a gift! And enjoy your loved ones...they too are treasured gifts! But I am also thankful that tomorrow is the last day of the work week....ahhh Friday!! Enjoy your weekend!!

Laundry Closet Make-Over

Since I have not been able to sell my townhouse, I have decided that I will have my laundry closet re-modeled.

I really think that there ought to be more women in the home construction business! Maybe there are...but it appears that their opinions are not sought more! Tell me why, in a 1540 square foot townhome, you would put the laundry closet in the dining area of the kitchen??? Right there, in the only place you could possibly put your dinette table, are the bi-fold doors to the closet that houses your washer and dryer. And did they design the doors or space to be pleasing to look at? NO!!!!! I am sure that this is a design most women would not approve of!!!

So, three years ago, shortly after I moved into my townhouse, I was perusing the latest Southern Home magazine and came across this one page article on how someone hired a builder to re-design their laundry closet WHICH WAS ALSO IN THEIR DINING AREA!!! What an ingenius idea! You would never know that a washer and dryer were in it!!!

So, toward the end of this week, my kitchen will be torn apart and re-construction will commence. Stay tuned for the "After" picture!!

September in NC

Rain....much needed rain...but as of Saturday, late morning, the rain stopped. We had rain for 2 1/2 days straight! The sun peeked out Saturday afternoon enough to tease us, but then mostly clouds.

Today, Sunday, there is not ONE cloud in the sky!!

As I sat on my patio--my little piece of solitude (I love my patio!)--drinking my coffee, I noticed that my passion vine had several flowers on it, but had not quite opened yet. I read the newspaper, finished my coffee, and looked up....the flower had opened!! I just had to take a picture of it!

I got a good pic also of the hollyhock flower that had opened. They just loved the rain!!!

Maestro, determined not to take a backseat to the flower picture taking, stuck his face in front of the camera as well!!

Have a wonderful day!!

Comfort Zone Sabatoge

You know, sometimes you've just got to muster up the courage to step out of your comfort zone. Why, without taking that leap, you will never leave your lily pad!!!

There are times when I can be very shy, reserved, and just plain boring. And, I've read various cute email stories about "older" women who have reached that point in their lives where it just doesn't matter about certain things...things that the youth of today fret and anguish over...which, happen to be the same things we "older" women did when we were their age!!! But today I stepped out of my "comfort zone" and it turned out to be a good thing... yes!

Over that last few years, I've learned to "say what you need to say" instead of keeping things inside....and that is alright! I've learned to go ahead and ask certain questions, even if the answer may be no. I've learned that sometimes I have to make the first move if anything is going to happen...and that is okay! I've learned to be comfortable in my own skin...even if the skin is bigger than it should be (I am still the same person inside). There are many other things I've learned in my older age, but don't need to go into detail in this blog!

My thought today is, at some point in your life, you need to reach beyond what is comfortable...no matter what the outcome may be. You will never know if it will be a positive or negative experience, or a yes or a no!

I like the words to John Mayer's song "Say What You Need to Say"....some are excerpted below:

"Walkin' like a one man army

Fightin' with the shadows in your head

Livin' up the same old moment

Knowing' you'd be better off instead

If you could only

Say what you need to say ...

Have no fear for givin' in

Have no fear for givin' over

You better know that in the end

It's better to say too much

Than to never say what you need to say again

Say what you need to say...

Even if your hands are shakin'

And your faith is broken

Even as the eyes are closin'

Do it with a heart wide open

A wide heart

Say what you need to say...

(Copyright by Specific Harm Music)

Friends

Ever have one of those friends who, without even realizing it, can do or say something that will change your mood for the better??

I am blessed to have several friends who do that...and it always amazes me how they can come up with such clever, witty remarks -- which seem to happen off the cuff -- like they don't even have to think about what they say...it just comes out and is so funny!!

I was sitting here listening to the sappy love songs playing on radio 102.9, checking my emails, and I get an email message from a good friend, who also happened to be my neighbor before she decided to move to Virginia last year. She is one of those who come out with things that make me laugh right out loud. My friend, Mary, can do the same thing. Boy, are they quick-witted!!! And then there's my friend, PJ, from CT who can call me on the phone out of the blue and get me laughing with her so much I almost wet my pants!!

And I so appreciate that with friends like that, you are never in a "down" mood for very long!!

Laughter truly is medicine for the soul!!!

Senior Moment

Some days I feel that I have totally lost my mind...or that I am blind!! Maybe both :-(

I had arranged to have a "handyman" come to house tonight to give me a quote on converting my laundry closet into a built-in hutch that hides the washer and dryer. I tidied up the laundry closet, rearranging the paint cans and paint brushes so the closet would not look so messy.

When the handyman arrived, I showed him the laundry closet, explained what my plan was for the closet and let him take all the measurements he needed. In the meantime, I was looking through his photo album of work that he had done in other homes. After finishing looking at the book, I looked up to speak to the handyman and noticed...right there on the top of the dryer...in view of all eyes to see...was my black bra!!! Just as I saw it (and felt my face turn crimson), he said that the closet was quite tidy, compared to other homes he had been in, including the nicely folded lingerie!!!! Talk about embarrassment!!! Why didn't I see that thing when I was cleaning up the closet????? We both had a good laugh about it!! But, needless to say, I was still VERY embarrassed!!!!

Fall is in the Air in NC

So, every morning (well, Monday through Friday, anyway...I actually sleep in a little on the weekends) around 6:15 a.m. I take Maestro out for his walk. Maestro is my newly adopted Shar-Pei/Welch Corgi mix 4-year old. As I headed out the door this morning, I immediately turned around, went back in the house, and grabbed a sweater! It has been SO long since I've had to put a sweater on...at least not since May!!

The coolness felt so good in one regard, but my body certainly was NOT prepared for it...and, I must admit, neither was my mind!! The leaves on the trees have lost their shiny luster. In it's place is the dull, almost lifeless leaf, grasping for the last of the chlorophyll before they succumb to the death that lies ahead. Okay...enough of this gloomy talk!!!! Actually, I love the beautiful colors of Fall...the vibrant yellows, reds and oranges! But I must admit, I do not look forward to the Winter that comes after Fall.

Get out, take a walk and enjoy the beauty of God's handiwork on the trees this Fall!!

Okay, so size DOES matter in this case

Okay, so I told you about my shopping trip to Kohl's on Sunday. Upon entering the store, right in front of me was this display of the most adorable camisoles....on a Junior display. Hey, I thought, they have XL...I'm in luck!!! And they are on sale for $4.99....what a deal!!! I bought several in different colors! Great!!

So, today I decided to wear one under my blouse. There is a reason why there is a Junior department and a Misses department.... The bust on a "Junior" is a lot smaller than the bust on an overweight grandma!!!! Whether or not it is XL or not!!! I had to laugh at myself as I tried to get my grandma bust into a junior shelf bra built inside the camisole. Oh well, it was going to be under my blouse and no one but me was going to know that the shelf bra only covered half my bust!! I guess in this case, size DOES matter. Guess next time I'll stick to the Misses department!!

Does Size Really Matter?

Well, it was a day for sorting through the summer clothes to put away and checking to see what fall and winter clothes still fit!! After trying on numerous slacks, blue jeans, and capris, I've decided that I am between a size 8 and 16! Go figure...and speaking about figures, why is it that a 14 will fit over your butt, but won't zip up the front any longer? I KNOW that I am NOT pregnant!!

I made a trip to Kohl's to purchase some work slacks and decided that someone should start a petition to all the fashion designers of the world to standardize women's sizes. Why would I fit into a 12 Sag Harbor (why sag???) and a 16 Vera Wang??? But the strange thing is that my body did not change from the time I tried on the size 12 to when I tried on the size 16! I'd much rather discuss with my friends that I am a size 12 instead of a size 16.

So, I've decided that as long as I find a style that I like and that fits me, SIZE DOES NOT REALLY MATTER!!