Don't they look good together?

I did not intend to get up early, but the guy next door started mowing his lawn at 6:30. That put an end to sleeping, so I got out of bed. Chris had not left yet. I did some exercising, fixed breakfast, listened to an audio, all the usual stuff. And I put a check in the mail. After breakfast, I took my laptop down to the sewing room. I set it on the washer while I took an old towel and made a backpack to fit it. That took up the space of another audio and it was time to plug it back in. I put a load of unwashed fabric in the washer. I had a bite to eat, then went out to sunbathe and do a little yardwork. When the washer was finished, I put the fabric in the dryer on 'damp', and went out to mow the lawn. When the dryer was finished, I carefully laid the pieces out on top of the washer. They needed ironing, but I was in the middle of yardwork. I tried cutting the grass between the surprise lilies with a pair of grass shears that we bought yesterday. I thought it would be easier than cutting the tall grass with a pair of scissors, but I was wrong. The blades don't seem to be close enough together and the grass bends between them. When I had had enough of that, I used the clippers to clean out most of the trumpet vine around the mailbox. I used the mower to cut the weeds growing around it. I also mowed in the ditch until the mower quit. I plugged it back in in the garage. I was hot and sweaty, so I had several glasses of cold water and read e-mail until I cooled off. Then I took a shower to get the chlorophyll off my feet, unsuccessfully. Kermit said it wasn't easy being green. Well, it is easier than trying to get the green off. Chris came home and changed his clothes. I dressed for the quilt meeting. We had some supper, and then he drove us to the dealership. I took a pic of him and his new car, then headed for UAH. The quilt guild met in the small room across the hall from the one that we normally use. And there were lots of us. Lisa brought me a new scoby. I brought her a jar of kimchi and some litmus paper. Deb started the meeting with show and tell. I showed my 4-fabric garden quilt. I guess they liked it because now I am supposed to present a block of it at every meeting. How do I get talked into these things? We were gifted special fabric gluesticks called Lapel Stick to see how we liked them. After the meeting, I drove home. Chris' new car was parked under the carport. He was sitting at his laptop. However, soon we were sitting together on the couch in front of the TV watching Warehouse 13 from Netflix, After two episodes Chris went to bed. Now it is my turn.

To buy a car

We spent the night at the motel. The alarm went off at 5:30 EST, but it was almost 5:30 CST when we got up. I had breakfast and got my stuff together. Chris showered and dressed. He took our stuff out to the car. We were back on the road. We finished the book on CD and pulled out another one. It was "Last Days of Krypton". We had checked it out before but did not finish it. We heard three more discs of it before we arrived at our house. Amazingly it was only 10:30 am. There was still time to put the Monday morning trash out. We carried our baggage in. I put a lot of it away. I started a loaf of bread. I trolled the garden for tomatoes. Mostly they were cherry tomatoes so I ate them. I also found a husk tomato plant which apparently volunteered (since I did not plant it). But its fruits are not ripe yet. The vine out back has taken over the whole section. I may have to cut it back a bit so as to preserve the lilies and garlic growing out there. Chris put a load of laundry in the washer. I was clearing out a box of Michele's stuff when he came down. He carried her boxes out to the 'donate' pile in the garage. And then he was ready to buy a car, so we headed out in mine. He had already been to all the dealerships and knew what he wanted most. First we went to the Chevrolet dealership to buy a Cruise. But they would not meet his price. So then we went to the VW place for a turbo diesel. We spent a lot of time there, but again, they would not come down enough and kept explaining why they couldn't. Neither place had the car he wanted in stock. So we went back to the Chevy place. He made them another offer and they countered. Finally they agreed on price. But just when I thought it was all over, they wanted him to sign papers, one of which had the phrase 'as is'. So more discussion ensued. By 4 pm, and with no lunch, I had had it. I told Chris I wanted to drive home and if he wanted to come, he'd have to buy a car. The receptionist felt sorry for me and gave me her banana. She was very sweet. I decided that I never wanted to go car shopping again. Finally we were taken in the back with a financial person to finalize the deal. They said we can pick it up after 3 tomorrow. I don't know where it will be coming from. So we got to go home. We ate leftovers out of the fridge, and threw out some stuff that went bad over the last week. I was really tired, so I laid down for awhile. Then I cleared out my suitcase. I went back outside to get a pic since I hadn't gotten one at the dealership. I found two cucumbers. I ate all of one, and only part of the other. It had a rotten core from one end to the other. Then we went down to watch TV. We found Mannequin on VHS. It is a good movie, but the tape itself has seen better days. The sound is going soft and mushy.

Heading home

For once, we actually did get up when the alarm went off. It was 5:30 and everyone else was asleep. We dressed, ate breakfast, packed the last few things. I woke up Michele to say goodbye, again. She went back to sleep, and we got on the road before 6:30. It was a long drive, but we continued the book on CD that we were listening to on the way up. And it got hot, but we opened the sunroof. It wasn't as good as having AC. We stopped at a Subway for lunch. Then about 3:30 we stopped at a Holiday in Express in Kodak, Tennessee. We brought in all the foods and most of the luggage. We got a nice room and it had a frig, so we put the cooled foods in there. We took a shower to get rid of the smell of sweat. Because we had the food, we did not have to go out for supper. In fact, we had supper in bed, watching the Syfy channel. It rained hard for awhile. I listened to some audios that I missed during the week. The Damours called to say they had gotten home safely, and to check on our trip. We got to talk to Michele again. Sometime around 10 we called it a night.
* I did not take any pics today, so here is one from yesterday *

Last day at the beach.

I can't remember if we meant to get up early, but we didn't. It was probably 9 by then. I considered skipping breakfast so as not to be full while having our morning swim, but there was a storm passing through. So I had time to eat. We went to the beach about 10:15. The water was cold, but somehow Michele braved her way in. Then James. So I did, too. After a bit, I couldn't feel the cold, or anything else. I don't know how long we swam. Then Michele went in so she wouldn't get burned. James and Becca took Olivia to the pool. That left Cecily and I. We talked until the sun came out and she sought shade. I thought about going to the pool, but was feeling the sun myself. I dried off and dressed for the day. I read some e-mail and listened to an audio and then it was time for lunch. After lunch we did some vacuuming and getting things put away. I fixed tomorrow's breakfast. More e-mail. Cecily and the kids went to the pool for the last time. I swam with them. Then Becca, Olivia and I got in the hot tub for one last soak with the jets on. Chris, Becca and Cecily fixed hors d'oevres to use up leftovers. We had veggies, dips and chips. Then out came the leftover entrees: pizza, burrito meat, salad, chicken, sauerkraut, peas. The one new thing was 2 pounds of shrimp cooked in Bay seasoning with cocktail sauce. We had a time eating all of it, but it was good. And THEN we worked on the leftover ice cream: chocolate chip, and watermelon sorbet. After supper it was time to clean. The common areas got swept, and the rugs shook out. The food was divvied up, both the cupboard items and the refrigerated items. Chris took some non-food items out to the car. Then he set his alarm for 5:30 so we can drive while it is still cool. Since no one else is getting up that early, we said our goodbye's. It was sad to take our leave from Michele. The others we might see at Thanksgiving, but not her. This is it. When I finish this post, I am going to bed.

My poor toe

The alarm did not go off at all this morning, so we slept in without guilt. I fixed my usual breakfast while the kids ate theirs, and then I played one of the audios. I missed Cecily going to the beach. Sadly no one went with her. The kids did not go to the pool, either. At little after noon, we had lunch. After lunch I read some e-mail, and then put on my suit to lay in the sand. I remember one year where I laid in the sand and the sun was hot and it just baked all the tension out of my limbs. I wanted to recreate that experience. Well, the sand was hot, but somehow it wasn't the same. Maybe the sun was cooler? Anyway, I laid out for awhile and got sand all over me. There is an outdoor shower and I made use of it, but could not get all the sand off. But the really annoying thing was that I got splinters in my big toe. But they were invisible. I called Chris down and he looked, too. But there was nothing to see or pull out. No abrasions or punctures either. I tried dabbing my toe with a piece of tape. And when that didn't work, I stuck my foot in the hot tub, hoping the pores would open, or the jets would blow the offending unseen detritus off. But that was also unsuccessful. I lay in bed and listened to another audio. I think I fell asleep for part of it. I also had time to read a few e-mails and do some tapping before supper. Chris made burrito fixin's and corn on the cob. Then we had icecream. After supper the kids ran off to play and we adults sat around talking. We talked until bedtime. Damours make great conversationalists. Then I hobbled off to bed.

Pizza night

The alarm went off early, but we did not get up, again. Do you see a pattern here? I slept late because I have trouble falling asleep at night. After Chris got up and dressed, I also got up and fixed my breakfast. After breakfast Cecily and Olivia went to the beach. I listened to part of an audio, then went out, too. But by then they were coming in to the pool. I swam around by myself for a little bit, but it wasn't much fun. I sat in the sun for a few minutes until I got the idea of walking down the beach to the hotel, then swimming back to where our house connects to the beach. The water was so clear that I could see my feet. And it was just a little chilly when I first got in. Swimming back turned out to be a lot harder than the walk. I was tired then, so I came back past the pool where Cecily was watching Olivia and William. I went inside to start a loaf of bread that I meant to have ready by lunchtime but obviously wouldn't be. Then I went into the pool to play with Olivia. William had had enough and gone inside. Our little pool party broke up at lunchtime. Most of us had sandwiches, but I had my usual slices of cheese and a duck egg mashed with mustard. I read e-mail in my room for awhile, then took several tapping sheets outside where I sat behind the hot tub and did some clearing. I saw James and the kids leave for the kiddie golf place. When I went upstairs, it was about 4 and Cecily was obsessing over supper. We chatted for a bit, then I noticed the waves along the beach were really big. So I threw on a dry suit and went out for a swim. Sadly my arms were still tired from my earlier swim so I only floated in the surf for awhile. Then I went in the hot tub. Chris came to ask some questions about supper, so I knew it was time to change around. When I came up, the Olympics were playing on the TV. I haven't mentioned them before, but that is all that gets played in the main room. How much swimming and gymnastics can a person watch? Thankfully it got turned off during supper. Cecily cooked 4 pizzas, but in two shifts. So the kids and their parents ate first while the rest ate salad. Then the other pizzas finished cooking. I had a chicken leg, kimchi, and sauerkraut. We cleaned up the table. Becca and James went for a walk. I read more e-mail while waiting for Chris, and wrote part of my blog post. I found him watching a movie with Michele. When it was over, he and I retired to our room to watch the second Sherlock Holmes movie - with Jude Law.
Then we went to bed.
*pic to follow*

Full Moon

The morning was full of e-mail, audios and breakfast. Chris needed to go to the post office so I went along for a change of pace. Lunch was a little later. We did not go to the beach in the morning because of the rain. But we went after lunch. The water was cooler, but not too cold. When the kids retired to the pool, I got in the hot tub. Yes, it is new this year. Becca came in later. It was wonderful. I miss my hot tub. Chris made two kinds of ice cream: Butter pecan, and vanilla chocolate chip. I read more e-mail, then sat at the dining room table to sew some star pieces together. Then we all put on nice clothes and went to The Flying Fish for supper. Michele got lobster. Chris showed her how to crack it open. I had a bouillabaisse-type dish. Remind me never to get something with mussels. It looks like a lot of food, but the edible part is very small. We stopped at the store on the way home for a special bread for the kids. The adults had Chris' icecreams for dessert and the kids ate Drumsticks. I had two bites from Chris' dish. Michele, Chris and I watched The Fantastic Mr. Fox. It was different. We were going to follow that with the second Sherlock Holmes movie, but Chris decided it was time for bed since we plan to get up early to walk on the beach.
* The pic for today is on Becca's camera so I will post it tomorrow *