Finally!

I spent all day fighting with this freakin' router.  I plugged and unplugged, started and restarted, set and reset.  Nothing worked.  There's a place for the wireless to broadcast, but no light.  No matter what I did.  Finally, when mum got home, I got her to call her ISP.  The guy walked me through enabling the wireless, because they just automatically ship out the routers with it disable.  WHAT?!  Why in the world would you do that, when the way it's set up you can't access the broadcast unless you have the SSID and all from the bottom of this particular router?!  I mean, seriously.

Finally, though, I'm online on my own lappy for a change.   Thank you, Jesus, for small miracles.

New

Mum got a new fridge over the weekend.  I know Jen'll be jealous, so I'm posting the picture.

The ice maker and all isn't hooked up, but still.  It's nice.  It's supposed to have more room than the old one, with the freezer on top, but I'm not convinced.  Especially in the freezer part, because half of it (it feels like) is taken up with the ice and water dispenser stuff.  But still.  It's nice, and it was free.   Which is even nicer. 

Cherokee Steak House

I went out to see dad and Candie again tonight, and we ate at what used to be the very best steak place around: Cherokee Steak House.  It's right on the lake, next to the marina, just past Reba's place.  It was good, but not quite as good as I remembered.  We got steak, baked potatoes, salads, and yummy yeast rolls.  And dad and I split a key lime pie, which was more like cheesecake but still tasty.  I forgot to take a photo while we were there, so I stopped on the side of the road to snap this one on my way home later that night. 

It's worth a visit if you're in this part of the world.  =)

Tennessee Roads

I went to hang out with my dad tonight, out in Gallatin.  It's a decent sized town, but between there and here-- not much.  This was my view on the way home around midnight, as I'm just about to cross the river (you can just barely see the green sign announcing the bridge coming up).

It's weird to be driving again here.  Some places haven't changed a bit, like much of this drive along highway 109.  But other parts have changed so much that even though I should know where I am, I get totally lost.  It's mental. 

Wee Treat

Mum and I ate at Wendy's tonight, and it was yummy.  Especially the fries and Frosty, which are eaten together, obviously.  The lady working the counter wasn't quite on top of things, but it all worked out in the end.

I even got this year's wee Frosty keyfob, so that I can get a free Jr. Frosty whenever I buy anything there.  Which will be fries, of course, to dip in the Frosty.  Duh.  I should have gotten a free one for paying the buck for this, but like I said, she wasn't too on top of things.  Oh well.  I'll get enough free ones to make up for it then year... I hope. 

Not So Green

I guess compared to what it's been all winter, this probably looks pretty green.  But Scotland stays vibrantly green all year round, so this is looking a bit dreary to me.  I'm sure spring and it's blooms are just around the corner, but for now, I'm missing my back garden in bonnie Scotland.

Happy Hour Indeed!

It's a Route 44 lemon-berry slush.  For a buck ten.  And the sun is shining, and I have the car to run errands.  Yes, indeed.  It's a happy hour!

Getting To It

I've started off on the sewing part.  Luckily mum has a new sewing machine I'm getting to break in.

I've discovered that the right tools really do go a long way to making a job easier; now if only I had a seam-ripper....

Sewing Project

I learned how to sew in Girl Scouts, and from my mum and grandmas.  I don't get to practice it very often, not having room or a sewing maching... but I've had this project in mind for a while now, so I figured this was the perfect time to start it. 

I have accumulated, over the years, loads of t-shirts from various places and events.  I love them, but the more I wore them, the more they were deteriorating.  So I decided to stop wearing them and turn them, instead, into a quilt.  A few years ago, to save room, I cut out the designs on them and stored them.  Today, I've started piecing them together to form a large blanket-sized piece.  It's been challenging, like a jigsaw puzzle, because I didn't think to always leave myself a lot of extra border to work with... but in the end, I got something that I think is workable.  Next step will be to start sewing the blocks together.  I think it'll be neat when I'm done, and even if it's only passable, it'll be mine. 

I actually have even more squares, so I'll eventually wind up with another.  Nice. 

'Fraidy Cat

My mum inherited my sister's youngest cat, Captain Jack Sparrow.  He was peeing on everything (including the bed, right next to where I was asleep at the time!) and Jen couldn't take it any more.  So she shipped him off to mum's. 

Luckily, he hasn't been peeing on anything he shouldn't.  But he is the most scaredy cat I've ever known.  He runs if you even shift in your seat.  He's mental.  He'll play occasionally, and he will sometimes sit on the sofa near me.  And very rarely he won't startle and bolt if I move.  But mostly, he's a big ole chicken. 

Bwok bwok!

Noisy Neighbours

They've put this in across the street, which has changed in many ways since I was a kid. 

Once, it was just an empty field back to the tree line, and then pretty dense woods behind that for a ways, with the creek running through it.  There were rock cliffs, caves, old barns and houses, lots to explore, until you finally reached the gravel road.  You could follow that up and around the lake, or further in to the old farmhouses, or eventually out to the interstate way, way out. 

Now, the trees have mostly been cleared.  The old things have been torn down, and the new school built.  The road is paved, and I don't know where it goes or doesn't go now.  It's a change, for sure.

At least the 'Bark Park' is better than letting all the dogs run wild through the area, which is what happened when I was a kid. 

I Think I Can...

This whole crate of books I am giving away.  Really. 

And you said it would never happen.  Well, I showed you! 

(Granted, this isn't even a tenth of the books I have, but it's something.  Right?)

Legal

Mum drove me out to Lebanon today so I could get legal again.  My driving license expired last May, but since I hadn't been back in the States, it hadn't been renewed (they wouldn't let me renew it without a new photo, since my last one was taken in 2000).  So we waited there for a while, and got it done (quicker than I expected, to be fair). 

My New Dream Job

I have discovered a few shows since I've been back.  Some we watched religiously whilst in the hotel in Buffalo, like Dog the Bounty Hunter and American Pickers.  Some I've run across thanks to both having cable at mum's and my sister talking about them, like Ghost Adventures and Ghost Hunters.  I'm sure you're all surprised that I love the ghost shows.  Admit it.  =D 

Seriously, though.  The UK has some great ghost hunting shows, as well, and I always watched them whenever I could catch them.  But here, these cable stations run marathons of back-to-back-to-back shows like mad!  So today, I watched the TAPS guys do their thing. 

I like them in part because they go in to debunk as much as to prove there is weird stuff going on;  they aren't just looking for any little thing to call it proof.  But boy, when they get something they can't debunk, they are well pleased.  It's excellent fun.

I wonder if any of these groups'll give me a job? I could be Dog and his crew's chaplain, or spiritual advisor to the ghost folks... seriously, y'all, I'm in the market!  I'd be an asset!  =D 

After a couple hours of shows, I had to leave the Ghost Hunters... because I went out to get dinner and coffee with high school friends Jenny Ward and Jennifer McQuiston.  We totally closed down the Panera, we sat there talking so long.  It was awesome, and way better than sitting home watching even the best tv.  I hope there is much more of that in my future! 

Reading Material

I borrowed Hearts in Atlantis while at my sister's, because she is a big Stephen King fan and has most everything in hardback.  Nice.  I enjoyed that, and when I got back here I discovered in with my books one that my mum had bought for my sister years ago.  I vaguely remembered that I had started reading it when in Tennessee on holiday, and even though I left it out, it must have gotten boxed up with my stuff after I'd gone.  So I decided to finish it before sending it on. 

I almost always enjoy his short stories, and this was no exception.  Some, of course, were better than others-- but it was a great read.  One a night before bed was the plan, but I found myself reading a lot more during the day.  I couldn't help it.  I love a well-crafted story, and when they are bizarre?  So much the better! 

Well-Organised... So Far

I have dishes and such on the shelves (risky, perhaps, but I'm doing it), holiday decorations and kitchenware and housegoods in front of that, keepsake-type stuff in the tubs to the back corner, and then books.  And more books.  And, what's that? Even more books. 

Looks good, though, doesn't it?  Well-ordered. 

I Just Ran Out of Room...

and I'm too cheap to pay for more space for my photos from Google.  I thought about moving this blog here, but honestly I can't be bothered right now with keeping up blogs on two separate sites (not that I'm very good at keeping up with more than this one, and even that... well, you know.  You follow.).  So instead I decided to take the plunge and make my first blog book.  Thanks to my friend Becky, I knew that Blurb does them... so I checked them out. 

And I loved them!  It was so easy!  They imported everything for me, and then I could tweak it.  There were lots of choices, and I think it's gorgeous.  See for yourself, if you like, right here. 

So I think I'm going to just keep doing this every so often, as I run out of room and as I have some spare money.  I've already deleted the old posts from my first six months, because really, who goes back and reads those on here?  I don't even do that.  But in a book, I'll not just have them but actually look at them.  I really recommend Blurb, and not just for blog books.  =)

(Although I'm going to post this in the place where I ran out of space in my dated photos, it was actually 24 March that all this happened.  Because yes, I'm that far behind.)

The Office

Not in the funny UK tv show way, or even the US remake way.  Just the plain old everyday way:

This is where I get online, because even though there is a wireless router, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get it to broadcast.  And I'm usually pretty good at this kind of stuff.  So, instead, I sit here.  And use mum's desktop.

It's a hard life, people.

Childhood Memories

Most of the house has been redone in the past several years, including new laminate flooring in every room except the kitchen (which has new linoleum) and the baths (which are basically the same).  However, I found in one wee closet a bit of old carpet left, and it made me smile. 

Yes, this used to be in every room of the house, except the kitchen and dining room.  Nice stuff, no? 

Going, Going...

soon to be gone!

These are my boxes and bags of stuff to give away... so far.  It's a pretty good lot of stuff, to be fair.  Now to get it Goodwill, and make a list to deduct it from my taxes next year...

'My' Room

Just in case you're wondering where I've been spending most of my time...

Some Done

This is the utility closet off the garage, where I'm putting the things that are truly keepsakes and won't need to be unpacked if and when I move.  Things like old Barbies and Strawberry Shortcake dolls, baby clothes and stuffed animals. 

There are a few things on the ends, like Christmas decorations, that I can get to easily.  And the stuff on the very outside ends belong to mum.  But I'm really letting my J-ness go wild here, and organising like mad.  It's a refreshing feeling. 

Work in Progress

I have a lot of stuff. 

I guess it depends on what you're judging by.  I just unloaded and unpacked some of all the bunches and bunches and bunches of stuff my sister and her family have, and was totally overwhelmed by it all.  Too. Much.  Stuff!  So here at mom's, I have a lot of stuff.  Not that much, compared to Jen, but still.  Boxes and boxes and boxes.  I'm trying to sort it and repack to keep or give away and just see what I've really got-- mostly it's books, surprise, surprise. 

Here's a look at it in action-- I take a box or three from the garage, and open it.  Then I sort the contents into other boxes:  Christmas, same genre books, kitchen goods, Goodwill.  It's a big project, but I'm a J.  I like to be organised.  And I want to know what I've got when I grab a box, so I'm making lists of what is in every single one.  That way, if I ever get to move somewhere into my own place again, I'll know what to take first, and what all I have. 

Plus, it's good busy-work to keep my mind off other things. 

And Lots of It

I've started going through my boxes of stuff that have been, unopened, in mom's garage for six years or more now.  It is an interesting job.  I've found things I had forgotten I had, both for good and for 'why in the world do I have this?', which means I'm accumulating a big pile of stuff to give away.  Or throw away, in some cases.  I've also found lots of laundry-- baby clothes made for me by my grandmothers, for instance.  And blankets and duvets and linens.  And summer clothes. 

So I've got my work cut out for me now...

The Perk

We arrived back in Mt Juliet tonight.  I can't even begin to say how weird it is, starting with the drive down from Cincinnati and my gramma's to being in this house.  Weird.  And disconcerting.  And... weird. 

The perk is that I get the big room and the big tv.  No seriously.. this thing is a monster!

It's great for watching Ghost Adventures and Criminal Minds, though. 

Good Driving Weather...

Not. 

This is what we woke up to, and knew we'd be driving in at least part of the day.  We had rented a Santa Fe to put as much of my stuff in the back as possible (I have a lot of things that've wound up at Jen's over the years, from books to clothes to furniture), and loaded up in the snow.  Luckily it didn't last all the way to Cincinnati, but still.  Not the greatest start to a road trip.

Big Send-Off

I've been in Buffalo for five weeks, and it's been great being with the kiddos and Jen and Saum.  Mom has been up this week helping with the move, and we leave for Tennessee in the morning.  I know I'm going to miss the B's, and I think they're going to miss me... so Jen decided we needed to do something fun to make up for the fact I was leaving, to soften the blow, so to speak. 

What did we do, then?  Went bowling in Eden, of course!  And got pizza for dinner, with whoopee pie from scratch for dessert.  Good times! 

Although I have to say, a deserted bowling alley is a very creepy place...

The Real Thing

My sister and her family love wings.  I took them to Buffalo Wild Wings once in Lexington, and they've been eating them wherever they live ever since-- at chains or local joints, or making their own.  It's not so surprising they wound up in Buffalo, considering. 

So of course we had to go eat the original wings. 

I'm not a huge fan of the Buffalo style wings, to be honest.  But eating the real deal was an experience.  The place in itself is something to see inside--  madness.  And the wings were fine, of course.  Bubbs would happily eat wings every single day, so at least that's a plus.  He's a picky eater. 

Stuck

Poor Maggie.  We just laughed and laughed when we came into the playroom today and found her...

stuck.  Makes me wonder what in the world was going on with the Little People yesterday?!

Necessity?

Jen decided she absolutely must have a snow-blower.  Immediately. 

So we went shopping, and ended up with one from Home Depot.  She used it a little once we got it home (getting it loaded was horrible-- for the employees who had to lift and hoist it in the freezing, bitter, gale-force windy day, while I sat shivering in the car)... but I wonder how much use it'll get this season? 

My New Favourite Invention

There was this thing, sitting on the bathroom floor beside the big claw foot tub.  It was kind of dish-like, and the stopper for the drain was inside it.  Fine, the stopper I knew... but this thing, I couldn't figure out.  Then, when I was soaking in the tub to cure my aching back, I started wishing I could fill the bath up higher than the silly little overflow drain allowed.  It's not like it's going to go over my head, and I would very much like it to cover my shoulders, anyway.  Just up to above that wee drain thing would work beautifully. 

Then I saw this beaty again, and everything just clicked.  Why, yes, it does suction over the overflow drain perfectly, and it does give me a couple more inches of water!  And yes, it does have a hole on top, so there is still an overflow drain.  Just higher up, which was perfect! 

Now I want one! 

Jen's Idea of Unpacking, Part 2

Sitting in her comfy, heated, massaging recliner, looking at books and telling me where to put them.  Naturally. 

Did I mention that it was me who brought all the boxes and bins over for her to go through?  And me who had to move them when they were done?  And me that had to put the stuff inside wherever it was supposed to go, or repack it?  And that is was me who had to put them up in the attic if they were being stored?  Yeah.  That was me. 

Adults Day Out

Jen and I got to go to IKEA... on our own!  No kids!  Woo-hoo!  We took out the carseats and everything else, so we could take down the seats to fit in all the stuff we were getting:  a bunk bed, two mattresses, plus whatever else Jen saw that she wanted (several things, by the time we left).  It was a nice day out. 

On the Bus

Today was Bubbee's first day of pre-k, and I think he was more excited about the fact that he gets to ride the school bus home from school.  Mom wasn't quite so keen on that part, but it went just fine.  See?

Clothes Horse

Literally.

I didn't have much room for unpacking my stuff, so I used Neigh, Miss Moo's Christmas pony, to hold my clothes.  I don't think he minded. 

Jen's Idea of Unpacking

That would be sitting around, telling Saum what to do while she plays online on her iPhone.  Obviously. 

Move-In Day

I felt bad for the movers, having to haul the big lorry and the smaller moving truck full of stuff into the huge two story house... so I did my bit to make it easier by clearing the front walk. 

The only problem was the snow shovel was packed, and the ones the people had left Jen had decided they didn't need (and the people who collected most of their left stuff took away last night).  Smart call, sis.  So I had to use a broom.  Not easy. 

I hope those movers appreciated it. 

Junk

We went to the closing on the house today, and were not impressed with how much junk the former owners left... especially since they were already on the road, moving to Florida.  We spent the whole day collecting and moving all the rubbish out to the garage: 

It was seriously annoying, to have to move someone else's stuff out just in order to be able to get our own stuff in.  Thankfully there were three of us to do it, and 'their' realtor eventually got in touch with a relative to haul the stuff away. 

(They took a lot, but not all.  I think the rest is still in the garage....)

The Train Table

We spent a good part of the day in Medina (pronounced meh-DINE-uh, of course) at the train museum.  It's a very cool place.  The owner has a huge collection of train and firefighting memorabilia, plus an enourmous model train that takes up the whole place.  The volunteers make the models all themselves, and it's quite amazing. It even has places you can hit buttons and make things happen, as well as two separate tables just for kids to play. 

If you're ever in the area, you should go.  If you like trains, that is.  Even if you don't, it's still interesting. 

Pro Packer

I've done a lot of packing and organising in my life.  I've moved a lot, and I just can't stand things being disorganised for very long.  So Jen was lucky to have me around to do the dirty work and heavy lifting. 

This was my initial work in getting the boatloads of stuff from the hotel into the car to move to the house.  We added more later, not to mention the other car... but I'm good.  We only had to make one more trip, and for fitting three months of hotel life (including Christmas!) into two trips?  I should be a professional organiser. 

Silly Sausage

The kiddos are mental.  Seriously.  You need proof? 

What a goof.  =) 

And by the way, this is while we're eating fantastic subs at DiBella's.  Delicious.  Some of the best sandwiches ever.  Yum. 

I Follow Orders

We ate out.  A lot. 

The hotel served dinner to guests from Monday to Thursday, which was really nice.  Free food!  But we ended up eating out some of those nights, anyway, if Jen didn't like what they were serving.  In chatting with Paige on Facebook, she instructed me to go eat at Cracker Barrell for her. 

It was goooood. 

Swimmin'

The hotel had a pool (the 'cold pool') and a hot tub (the 'hot pool').  The kiddos were pretty wimpy, and so they spent most of the time with their equally wimpy mum in the hot pool-- although the did sometimes play with me in the cold pool.  Once they got out I swam some laps, and then got in the hot pool. 

It was always a nice way to spend an evening, before going back to the room for some American Pickers or Hoarders or Dog the Bounty Hunter, of course. 

Evening Commute

Since we were staying in a hotel close to downtown, we went around the city a lot.  One day (but luckily only one day) we got stuck in actual traffic on the interstate:

Still.  It could have been worse.

Ready For Launch

We spent the afternoon playing around at the Buffalo Museum of Science.  They had a Narnia exhibit that just opened today... but, to be fair, the whole experience was pretty underwhelming.  Ah well.

Sledding

Down the wee hill across the field beyond the car park... it would have been great, if it hadn't been 7*.

Mmmmmmmm

Chips and salsa.  Sweet tea.  Oh yeah. 

Winter Wonderland

We drove out to East Aurora to get Little People (or, 'old people', as Miss Moo calls them) at the Fisher-Price factory outlet store... but the drive was the better part. 

Suppertime

For the 10th anniversary of my sister and brother-in-law's first date, guess where we ate? 

Double-Decker

The kiddos have matching hats... which my sister decided to put on at the same time.  As one does, of course.

Frozen Falls

'Nuff said.  The bottom literally was frozen.