We have irises!!!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
North Carolina, end to end
I've had two great weekends in a row. The first weekend of April was spent at Western Carolina, visiting Amanda. Last weekend was spent at the Isle of Palms with Pete and his parents.
Visiting with Amanda is always an adventure. This one involved flying meat and a roll of toilet paper. ...
The first night I got there, I met a bunch of her friends and we explored Sylva. The courthouse had a massive staircase and we promptly made an Amanda-Tiffany version of "Rocky." I also found a sign outside a dance studio featuring stuffed dance recital bears, claiming they are "the gift that lasts!" Thank goodness; no more sweating those last-minute gifts.
We planned to participate in Relay for Life. We walked around a bit, realized no one needed our help and went to Ryan's for dinner. Prices went up since I was there last, ... you know, all of three or four years ago. Then we went to the local Walmart where we shuddered at ultra-short zebra print shorts fit for a size -2.
The next day we met up with Amanda's friend, Betsy (who is sweet as pie) and attempted a picnic on top of Max Patch, a beautiful spot on top of a mountain that takes half an hour of windy dirt roads to get to. There were still patches of snow on the ground and it was SO windy that we decided not to re-enact a picture of Betsy jumping in the air for fear of blowing away. We barely got the blanket on the ground and cracked open our lunch meat when we decided it was miserable and the chips would blow down the hill. We ate in the car and descended the mountain, stopping at a free-standing stone toilet on the way. The door was nearly impossible to open, and when we finally did open it, we found a disgusting bathroom FULL of dead lady bugs and decided to hold it. We did leave a roll of toilet paper inside since Betsy had a value pack in her trunk.
Next on the agenda: The Road to Nowhere.
Basically, it's six miles of a promised 32-mile road that was never completed around the time of World War II. It literally just ends after a tunnel, but there are some trails that people hike or ride horses around. The tunnel was spooky, and a little boy walking out with his family said in a perfect Southern twang, "Some say it's haunted."
That night, we met up with another friend of Amanda's, Andrew, and went to Soul Infusion Tea House and Bistro. Yum.
The next day was church, more walking and heading home.
Jumping to this past weekend, Rik and Karen came to visit from MN. All I can say is that I have awesome in-laws. I was sad to see them leave. They helped our yard look fabulous with some real flowers instead of fake ones and a little sprucing up here and there. Beautimous! We still need grass, but at least we don't have faux flowers that blow away when it's windy.
Then we went to Isle of Palms and Charleston, still one of my favorite cities. We had great weather and discovered a wonderful restaurant on the water called Huck's.
There was also an incredible kite some guy had on the beach back at Isle of Palms. (See video.)
I have a couple of other things to add. At the beginning of March, Pete and I went to Knoxville to see my friend, Morgan, get married. I met Morgan in fifth grade, but lost touch with her when we moved to Charlotte. She found me on Facebook last year and came to visit. I also saw a couple of other girls I went to elementary school with, but we were never close. I decided not to tell one of them that I remember her with huge glasses.
Before the wedding, we drove around to see some of the old stomping grounds. I saw the playground at my old school (which is now the older of two elementary schools along the same road) and our old house. I think the new homeowners should have left it painted yellow. 
I am also proud to announce that Pete qualified for a statewide Skills USA competition in Greensboro earlier this spring. He competed against other students to diagnose malfunctioning vehicles and do electrical work. Team members also took written exams to test their automotive knowledge. He had an interview at a BMW dealership the next day, so I made him some brownies. :) Chocolate celebrates everything.
Last but not least, I snapped this picture several weeks ago at work. Elementary school students wrote to our paper to thank us for what we do and here's what Brianna wrote: "Dear Enquirer Journal thank you so much for telling us how many people get killed and where so we know not to go there also thank you for telling how many students got a b onaroh (A/B honor roll)." Glad to be of service.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Victory! ... And daffodils
Pete and I each had a victory this week. His was installing a fan in his office. (This is a crappy picture, but I do what I can. It looks better in person.)
The box said it would take 5 minutes, but in Pete's words, "That's a lie." He did all the work while I complained about holding my arms straight up for more than a minute at a time. Hey, the motor is heavy, OK? I need to start using my hand weights in Zumba.My victory was winning a dollar from Pete. Here's what I posted on Facebook on Friday:
"Due to an ongoing spousal tif, Pete and I are soliciting feedback about a couple of canvasses hanging in his office. He says they don't match because the borders and browns and blues aren't the same. I say they do because they are similar -- they have the same kind of pattern and general colors. Pete also acknowledges that one has a glossy finish and the other has a matte finish. I say you can't tell. Opinions, please!"
Here are the canvasses up for debate.
And so my dear friends went on to comment:- Stephanie Washco Randall The one on the left takes away from the one on the right and the one on the right takes away from the one on the left...Friday at 10:05pm ·
- Stephanie Washco Randall After glass of merlot..they totally look amazing and complement one another..What was I thinking before...?Friday at 11:10pm ·
- Alan Jenkins Three lines of dialogue from 'O Brother Where Art Thou' come to mind.
Pete: Suits me. I'm voting for yours truly.
Everett: Well I'm voting for yours truly too.
Delmar: Okay... I'm with you fellas.Friday at 11:11pm · - Julie Olson I think they do compliment each other. The motifs are very similar and follow the same pattern. They look like they come from the same collection. Even though I'm not an expert, I am majoring in art history. I'm on your side.Yesterday at 1:09am ·
- Kenn Ray Bowers The differences in the two are what make them a better pair. Pete shouldn't want 2 that are exactly alike. Art should inspire thinking and in that sense, these two pieces are successful!Yesterday at 10:22am ·
- Jessica LarsonThey definitely complement each other even if they're not exactly alike but you can tell by the black scroll and the style of the paintings that they can go together...you don't always have to be matchy-matchy for it to go together.
This is why you will always do the decorating at home! Sorry, Pete. :)Yesterday at 10:33am · - Amanda Everhart I like the way you have them positioned. They both incorporate elements of each other so it's legit. Basically I hate art and I think it's Ok so that should say something.8 hours ago ·
- Amanda Everhart Yeah... I think he owes me one too:-) Sorry Pete. Next time I'll side with you just to even it out.4 hours ago ·
Pete gave me a dollar earlier, but noted that almost everyone who commented was a female. I told him that's because males are too scared to comment.
P.S. We also have daffodils now! I decided they are one of my favorite flowers. I did absolutely nothing and they grew all on their own. :)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
To shoot or not to shoot
Remember the woodpecker I wrote about? The one who continues, day after day, to drive us insane by running into the window 100 times in a row? Well I'm off work today and found that it's not just a morning thing. Apparently, it likes to come back for more in the afternoons. We now refer to the woodpecker as "that stupid bird," and Pete says he's going to shoot it. I wouldn't normally back the idea of shooting small animals in the backyard, but I support this one.
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