Daily Ooos: Tuesday, October 11

[faerywings]

Have you ever noticed that the vibe in your house or workplace is totally different when you are alone? I had the house to myself for three hours yesterday and I got so much accomplished. Maybe it feels so different since I am literally almost never alone here. The few times that Gary leaves the house, there is usually one kid coming or going. I was trying to explain it to Gary (after I told him he needs to get out more LOL) because he didn't see the difference, since he is usually doing his thing while I'm doing mine.
I cleaned, did yard work, repotted three plants to get ready to bring inside, decorated the lawn with some of the basic gravestones, did laundry, checked on the rats, took a shower, ate lunch, printed the recipes for Cait, *and* scrapped page. Oh-- and I also gathered up a garbage bag of old holiday decorations from the attic to make some more room up there. In THREE hours! I was a dynamo!

I wish I knew what made it go smoother for me, mentally. I know that some of it is me checking in with Gary or the kids- You need anything, want a cup of coffee? Some of it is them doing the same for me (more in the form of Have you seen the XYZ in the kitchen? hehe)

The test drive went well-- really well! Scott is picking up a 2015 4Runner today. He had been doing a lot of research already on "new" cars since his had needed a lot of work in the last few months as it is. He had it pretty much narrowed down to the 4Runner and they pretty much had the exact car he was hoping for with a few extras (trailer hitch and roof rack). Gary seemed really impressed too.

Not much happening here today, he is taking my car to work at the ecology center this morning, then he and Gary are going to pick the car up this afternoon. Cait is off today but she is up to her eyeballs in party prep.
I should clean my office today, its kind of a mess

have a wonderful day!

 

[faerywings]

@LSlycord what a fantastic trip! Shaun must be feeling A-OK for you to leave him
I hope the mountains have gorgeous color, too

@vickyday It's so funny how some kids will communicate and others-- eh, not so much. Whenever my two go camping together, I can count on Caitlyn texting me on and off all day long. Scott- not a word from him so I communicate with him through her. ha!!
But how wonderful it was to hear from everyone on your birthday. ♥
Your blog and photos are awesome, I *love* the one from 1962.

@bcgal00 Poor Bella isn't used to being alone- she must be very attached to Jen and probably senses that Jen is sad.
I hope that you all got through the day as well as possible.
Any tips on how to get the dogs to not bark? Mine are on my last nerve lately, they rile each other up. "Hush" works on W but as long as J is still tearing around the house, it doesn't make much of a difference.

@tanteva how did opening up for work go?

@Cherylndesigns I totally "heard" Housework is evil" in Spongebob's voice hahahahahah!!

hugs!

 

[Cherylndesigns]

Good morning!

Chris @faerywings great news on Scott's car - I love the sound of "4 runner". LOL Sounds very cool and bigger - is it? Like an SUV, maybe? Adrienne just gor a "small SUV" - it's not big, but it's bigger than a regular car. I'm thinking that's about the size Scott got.

Yay for you getting so much done yesterday! I know exactly what you mean - Chuck was gone this morning and I'm so rarely alone either. It's a matter of you knowing you can start a job and actually get it done. That rarely happens to me, either. I did get some laundry done yesterday and some more organizing. I actually found a couple of things I've been looking for. I love when that happens. I had stuck them up on the top shelf in my big closet and found them under a stack of beach towels. I was so happy because they were two of my porch decorations. Good for you for getting so many jobs done.

I went out to dinner with Adrienne, Braden and Alyssa for B's birthday last evening. His actual birthday was yesterday, but we had his party on Sat. He wanted to go out to eat and Roger was gone, and Chuck didn't want to go out. It was pretty funny, we had to go about five places because every restaurant we went to was closed - so many places are closed here on Monday. He had really wanted to go to White Wolf at the Cherokee Casino - it's the best restaurant in town. Adrienne had checked online, and it was supposedly open but when we got in there, it wasn't. We were all so disappointed. We even went to our favorite food truck - no deal. We ended up at a small, family-owned Mexican restaurant and it was SO good. Not the White Wolf, but good at any rate. We all ate too much - we filled up on hot chips and salsa. My cheese cascadia was delicious, though. So, B didn't get his steak, but he seemed happy.

Chris @faerywings I KNEW you'd love SpongeBob!

Better go - I need to get my day pajamas on and then walk on my treadmill before the door starts revolving. LOL

Hugs to all.

 

[LSlycord]

I know it’s late but I sure wanted to pop in. What a fantastic trip this has been. I don’t know when I have been so relaxed. This will make me sound a little strange but I feel like we are traveling with Mom and Dad.

Before kids, Brian and I would vacation with Mom and Dad. Trips to the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Mackinaw Island and the Smoky Mountains. We have taken many trips with the kids, but it is very different. Very focused on what they would like and keeping them entertained.

This trip is amazing. Spent the morning on Blue Ridge Parkway and the leaves are gorgeous. I don’t know that I have ever seen more beautiful trees. And I was delighted when I noticed the leaves falling. I had forgotten how leaves look when they are falling!

Tonight we are staying at Princess Anne Hotel in Asheville. We had a free night to redeem from hotels.com and since most of it was earned from our Europe trip, it had a good value for the night. This hotel was built in 1924 and was renovated beautifully.

There are homemade snacks from the chef that are left for guests to enjoy in the lobby. At 4:30 we will go down for complimentary wine and appetizers. And, in the morning, there will be 4 delicious options for breakfast.

I’m feeling pretty spoiled! I’ll catch up with personals tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing well.

 

[tanteva]

@faerywings well, it ended with me not having to take the first shift. The eveing before the e-mails started coming, SIX of all working at the library was sick. Urban included. I offered to take his evening shift instead (most people are weird enough to prefer the early shift instead of the evening shift LOL).

Tonight I'm beginning to feel a bit tired and freezing. Guess I'm next to be sick.

 

[vickyday]

@LSlycord what a fantastic trip! Shaun must be feeling A-OK for you to leave him
I hope the mountains have gorgeous color, too

@vickyday It's so funny how some kids will communicate and others-- eh, not so much. Whenever my two go camping together, I can count on Caitlyn texting me on and off all day long. Scott- not a word from him so I communicate with him through her. ha!!
But how wonderful it was to hear from everyone on your birthday. ♥
Your blog and photos are awesome, I *love* the one from 1962.

@bcgal00 Poor Bella isn't used to being alone- she must be very attached to Jen and probably senses that Jen is sad.
I hope that you all got through the day as well as possible.
Any tips on how to get the dogs to not bark? Mine are on my last nerve lately, they rile each other up. "Hush" works on W but as long as J is still tearing around the house, it doesn't make much of a difference.

@tanteva how did opening up for work go?

@Cherylndesigns I totally "heard" Housework is evil" in Spongebob's voice hahahahahah!!

hugs!

1962. Yeah, I look totally thrilled to be posing, don't I, LOL! Thanks!

 

[vickyday]

Have you ever noticed that the vibe in your house or workplace is totally different when you are alone? I had the house to myself for three hours yesterday and I got so much accomplished. Maybe it feels so different since I am literally almost never alone here. The few times that Gary leaves the house, there is usually one kid coming or going. I was trying to explain it to Gary (after I told him he needs to get out more LOL) because he didn't see the difference, since he is usually doing his thing while I'm doing mine.
I cleaned, did yard work, repotted three plants to get ready to bring inside, decorated the lawn with some of the basic gravestones, did laundry, checked on the rats, took a shower, ate lunch, printed the recipes for Cait, *and* scrapped page. Oh-- and I also gathered up a garbage bag of old holiday decorations from the attic to make some more room up there. In THREE hours! I was a dynamo!

I wish I knew what made it go smoother for me, mentally. I know that some of it is me checking in with Gary or the kids- You need anything, want a cup of coffee? Some of it is them doing the same for me (more in the form of Have you seen the XYZ in the kitchen? hehe)

The test drive went well-- really well! Scott is picking up a 2015 4Runner today. He had been doing a lot of research already on "new" cars since his had needed a lot of work in the last few months as it is. He had it pretty much narrowed down to the 4Runner and they pretty much had the exact car he was hoping for with a few extras (trailer hitch and roof rack). Gary seemed really impressed too.

Not much happening here today, he is taking my car to work at the ecology center this morning, then he and Gary are going to pick the car up this afternoon. Cait is off today but she is up to her eyeballs in party prep.
I should clean my office today, its kind of a mess

have a wonderful day!

I L.O.V.E. being here by myself during the day.....and even while Mark is in the woods til dark! I can get more done when not being interrupted to find something that is "hidden" right in front of your face!

 

[vickyday]

I know it’s late but I sure wanted to pop in. What a fantastic trip this has been. I don’t know when I have been so relaxed. This will make me sound a little strange but I feel like we are traveling with Mom and Dad.

Before kids, Brian and I would vacation with Mom and Dad. Trips to the Black Hills, Yellowstone, Mackinaw Island and the Smoky Mountains. We have taken many trips with the kids, but it is very different. Very focused on what they would like and keeping them entertained.

This trip is amazing. Spent the morning on Blue Ridge Parkway and the leaves are gorgeous. I don’t know that I have ever seen more beautiful trees. And I was delighted when I noticed the leaves falling. I had forgotten how leaves look when they are falling!

Tonight we are staying at Princess Anne Hotel in Asheville. We had a free night to redeem from hotels.com and since most of it was earned from our Europe trip, it had a good value for the night. This hotel was built in 1924 and was renovated beautifully.

There are homemade snacks from the chef that are left for guests to enjoy in the lobby. At 4:30 we will go down for complimentary wine and appetizers. And, in the morning, there will be 4 delicious options for breakfast.

I’m feeling pretty spoiled! I’ll catch up with personals tomorrow. Hope everyone is doing well.

I'm so glad to hear that the Parkway is showing you it's beauty!

 

[vickyday]

It is VERY late, but popping in here for a few minutes.

Good Evening!
I took Ilene and Carolyn to the widow's meeting at the church that is an hour away. The ladies so enjoy getting together! And today it seemed they just didn't want to leave the meeting! The pastor's wife always has such a nice luncheon for everyone.

When we did leave, we made a couple of stops along the way home. One to take pictures of the cotton that is growing in the place of the canola crop that is usually there. Have you ever touched a boll of cotton? I couldn't believe how soft it was! We went to the house to ask if we could have a branch but no one would come to the door. I can't much blame them in this day and age, but what are 3 "little old ladies" going to do to them, LOL!

Our next stop was at a roadside market that was selling pumpkins, mums, tomatoes and a few other things. I wanted a picture of the pumpkins to scrap. I asked permission to take the pictures, but I also bought one of their plants as they were beautiful and fully loaded with buds! I can't wait for the color I chose to be fully in bloom!

From there we traveled to Ilene's house to drop her off, but Carolyn and I decided we had no other plans, so we stayed and played Rummikub with Ilene the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. We didn't leave there until 8:30! Mark had spent the evening in the woods anyway, so he told me to stay as long as I wanted and to have fun! What a guy!

The moon is gorgeous tonight! I love that there are some clouds out, too! Love the glow of the moon behind them! I'm waiting for it to get higher than the trees so I can get some pictures!

And that about wraps it up for me today!
Hope everyone had a wonderful day!