MOVING DAY

Ok, so Ely moved to Huntsville last week and because Lee had to go to Atlanta for work at the last minute, I was called into action.  Here is a recap of our day.

We finished packing up the Uhaul trailer, the Expedition and the Vibe by around 9:30 and took off with Ely driving the Expedition pulling the trailer and me driving Ely's Vibe.  I thought we would caravan there, but I caught a red light and lost Ely and assumed he was way ahead of me.  After a while, he called to let me know he has stopped to get gas, so it turned out I was way ahead of him. The drive to Hunstville was uneventful and smooth.

Ely caught up with me in Hunstville and I followed him to his new house where we dropped off the Expedition and the trailer. 

Next we go to meet Carl (Ely's friend and new roommate) to follow him to the rental office so they can sign the lease. Things started to go downhill at this point.  On our way to the rental office, Carl realizes he need to go to his office to pick up his pay check, but he left his office keys at his apartment and had to go back to get them.  Ely and I decide to go eat lunch while we wait. 

Finally, Carl meets us at the office, where they find out that the carpet has not yet been replaced in the house.  This means, that Ely will have to put his stuff in the garage until the carpet is installed.  We get the keys and head to the house.  Keys won't open any of the doors.  No problem, she also gave us the combination to the lock box, which has a key in it.  Carl uses the combination and gets the lock box off the door, but ......the lock box won't open.  Can this get any better?  Did I mention it was 105 degrees in the shade????  Carl calls the lady and she tells him to make sure his turning the combination to 7's and not 2's.  Well, they've been to college, they can tell the difference between a 7 and a 2.  She says she's send the locksmith out to meet us.  I suggested that we go sit somewhere cool, which we did.

We went to an ice cream parlor and sat for a while and waited for a call from the locksmith.  Finally, after about 45 minutes, Carl just drives to the real estate office to get the new keys.  Meanwhile, Ely and I went grocery shopping at Kroger's.  I'm not a big Kroger's fan.  It was sort of dirty.  I told Ely he should shop at Publix from now on.

Carl calls to say he has the key, so we head back to the house.  So, I think the day is getting better.  But, oh no.  We get in the house and it is filthy.  It was supposedly cleaned beforehand, but not so much.  There are also quite a few things broken. For example, the oven door won't close all the way.  Carl called the realtor and she agreed to meet him there the next day to look over the problems.

We move Ely's stuff into the garage and put a few things in the kitchen.  Strangely enough, the refrigerator was clean.  And, more good news, the electricity was on and the AC was working. 

After we got the trailer emptied it was time for me to drive the Expedition and trailer back to Birmingham.  Didn't really want to do it, but had no choice.  It was a white knuckle drive allthe way back.  I was afraid to go to fast, so I stayed in the slow lane behind a tanker truck all the way back. 

The Uhaul place in Pelham was going to close at 7 p.m. and I pulled in their lot at 6:58, finally something went right!  Got home, and took a long soaky bath.

How I spent my weekend

HOW CUTE IS THIS????

I made this cute little froggie outfit for Two (Eamon's name for his baby brother).  It's made from a new pattern I found that I think is the greatest. 

Also did some reading, finished Janet Evanovich's latest.  Read 'Murder List' by Julie Garwood and one other, but I can't remember the name.  Went to water aerobics Saturday and then got my nails done.  Lee and I went to see 'Salt' on Sunday.  Lots of action and violence, but pretty good.

SUPERHERO

 I found this in my front yard yesterday.

If this doesn't make you smile, nothing will.

EEEK!

This morning when I was walking through my garden to get to my car, I saw the tail of a small, grey snake under the rhododendrum.  Of course, it would be a morning when I had my hands full and the dog by her leash because I was taking her to the groomer.  So, I didn't get to take a picture.  I stood still for a moment and then he slithered away.  Since I am not a snake expert (or lover), I don't know what kind he was, all I know is he was grey.  I looked for a picture of a similar looking snake that I could post, but decided that if I put a picture of a real snake I would freak myself (and others) out everytime I saw it.  So, here is a picture of a fun snake, just for illustration puposes.  Blogs are much more fun with pictures, don't you think?

Getting Ely to the Appalachian Trail

Lee and I drove Ely to Blood Mountain, GA, so he could continue his trek on the AT. We drove up Saturday afternoon and stayed in a neat little cabin. It had a living room, kitchen, bath, bedroom and another loft bedroom. Nice deck off the back with a breathtaking view.

How cute is he?

We got in late and had to drive to Blairsville to find dinner. Luckily, we found a cool place called FATZ. People were friendly, service was good and so was the food. After dinner we went to a grocery store so Ely could get food for the next 6 days.

Lee and Ely on the front deck of our cabin Sunday morning before we dropped him off on the trail.

Ely had a problem with one of his walking poles, so he had to spend some time trying to fix it.

And he's off! What a remarkable guy. Today he plans to walk about 12 miles to the next shelter where he will spend the night.

WE HAVE A PROBLEM!

After we left saw Ely off, we went back to the cabin to pack up. Lee found one bag of Ely's food on the table and was quite upset thinking about Ely stopping for a meal later on only to discover he was missing half of his food. I tried to make him feel better by saying we knew he had some food with him and he would just have to get to a town and get some more sooner than he planned. As we were checking out, I mentioned it to the owner and he said that after Ely hiked 5 1/2 miles, he would come to a highway and that we could drive there and wait for him. So, we did. Ely was so surprised to see us. We he saw us, he yelled from the trail 'Ya'll get lost?' He didn't know he had forgotten his food until we told him and he was so glad we had brought it to him. He plans to hike for 6 days before stopping in a town, and he would not have been able to make it without this stuff.

Ely taking a break after he got his food.

Me and Ely on the AT before he takes off for the second time. See, I was actually on the Appalachian Trail

Lee and Ely on the trail.

Bye, Ely. Again. Hope he has a great trip.

Lee and I went to Helen, GA after we left Ely and wondered around a bit in the little shops. That place was packed with people. Lots of people tubing. On the way out of town we found an antique shop and a winery. We got some free samples of wine and bought a bottle for our next supper club. Next we went to Dahlonega, and looked around a bit. It was a neat little town, we walked around some and bought some candy. There was some gold mining museum that Lee was interested in but it was almost closing time, so we didn't go in. Our next stop was the outlet mall, but we were pretty disappointed in the prices. All we bought was some tongs to use for grilling. All in all it was a great weekend, that area of Georgia is beautiful.

CHATTANOOGA

Several weeks ago, Lee and I took Eamon to Chattanooga for the weekend while Amy and Ed went to Georgia for a wedding. We went to the Tennessee Aquarium and rode the Missionary Ridge train. I think Eamon's favorite event was riding the luggage cart at the hotel.








Eamon pointing to the sting rays.

Lee and Eamon (Eamon sampling the sea water).

Mousse for Dessert

So, I saw a headline today about 'Mousse Patties' washing up on the beaches. I got a little excited until I realized they they were referring oil blobs and not chocolate. Guess I won't be making vacation plans!