brings a smile to TJ's face

Installation of the new mail box

<~~post filled with 20# of Quikrete, waiting for this to set before lowering into the hole

<~~inspecting rigging to remove old broken off concrete (see youtube)

<~~TADA, the rebuilt post held up with 620# of quikrete. Waiting for this to set, so the 130# mailbox can be welded to the post. Hit this one!

Franklin NC

We headed back up to Franklin NC this weekend with Mark and Brenda for their Pumpkin Festival expecting to find a large variety of pumpkin things to eat. Nope. The only pumpkin thing we had was a pumpkin bread/cake thing at Rathskellers, the coffee/pub place we like. We walked the town, took a nap, headed to the falls, walked the green way, searched for treasures at the Whistle Stop http://www.whistlestopmall.com/ and ate foods we loved and things not so much loved. It was a great weekend and the work of HIS hands kept me in a state of awesomeness most of the weekend. It was a real treat for TJ to not have to drive the entire weekend. Thanks Mark for giving TJ the chance to sit back and relax.

<~~at Dry Falls

<~~headed to Dry Falls

<~~at the Whistle Stop antique mall

Camping @ Crosswinds

We left the house on Wed heading to Crosswinds campground at Jordan Lake S.P. It was quiet, that was until Friday when the families with the screaming children showed up. But otherwise it was quiet, that is until the planes from the Raleigh/Durham airport traveled the flight plan that was over the campground. But otherwise it was quiet.

We had a nice looooong weekend to sit, eat, bike, hike, did I say eat, and watch a campfire. We headed into Apex to check out the local coffee shop and then headed down to the bakery. This place is AWESOME!!

We....I mean I played with toads, snakes, and one anole. We watched herons, ospreys, hawks and one deer. And just enjoyed the time away from work and us together. I think we'll be back to Crosswinds campground, but next time it will be spring/early summer.

<~~found a rough green snake while hiking a path

<~~site C53

<~~he's my Awesome!!

<~~sunset @ Jordan Lake

hard day

I didn't realize it was such hard work to have a yard sale. Get up early, display things, then sit around for 4 hours or so to hang out and talk with neighbors while drinking coffee and eating doughnuts, and muffin tops. Hard work!! We didn't have many folks show up or make much money (Goodwill made out though), but it was good fellowship with Betty & Pat. TJ also hung out with us as our security guard (his reason to eat doughnuts).



Maggie and Oliver as my feline comforter.

Meant to be........

In 2003 my neighbor Betty was camping with her family in the Mountains of NC and stopped into a place that sold handmade wood items like this cool hornbeam "ironwood" cup.

Well this weekend we're gonna have a yard sale and when I was over at Betty's I saw the wooden cup and told her I thought that was really cool, but the rule is that we don't go home with each others stuff since we're purging our homes of stuff.

Back in 2003 this was going to be our Christmas present. Betty thought that maybe we would relate this to the Holy Grail (Indiana Jones had a simple wooden one), but then her Mom said that we might think this blasphemy since we were really "religious" people. So Betty kept this, didn't like it at all, but just kinda tucked it away here and there. At one point it was in her living room (I never noticed) but then once she got to know me, thought she couldn't give it to me now, I might think that she was just giving me some of her old used stuff. (I like used stuff).

We both laughed about it and now I have a candy dish that is really cool. It was mine all along. I just didn't know it. In this home we call that a Godincident.