Big, Happy News !!!

Hello, Everyone,

I have some BIG, HAPPY NEWS today---- Sam and Alex are engaged!!!

He proposed to her last night, after asking her daddy for her hand, and she said, "Yes"!

We are all in love with Alex too, so this is a joyous time for our family. Sam will be 29 when they get married, so he waited for the right woman to come along.

Stay tuned, and I will keep you posted during the coming months....

Weekend At The Farm

Recently Randy and I were invited back to the family farm of a friend. "The Farm" was the home of Rhonda's grandparents, and it is located way out in the boonies in central Georgia. We had not visited there in about 10 years, and we were so excited about going, and we looked forward to it for weeks. The farm is pretty, the big, fishy pond has a zillion bass, and the solitude is nice. But the best part is getting together with great friends we don't get to see very often. Randy and I live on a farm ourselves, so we're used to the peace and quiet, but I would love to have these special friends around more often. They are all crazy and fun to be around.

I'll show you around the farm and introduce you to my buddies.

This is Hippy Howard setting up his tent. He is a certified, bona fide crazy man. Howard loves the simple life, so he prefers the camping mode.

And, here's where we made Hippy Howard go when he misbehaved.

The fishing pros......Randy and Howard. We never actually SAW any fish, but we take their word for it.

We had a handsome mascot for the weekend. Say hello to Mr. Dumpster:

More on his mama later.

Dumpster's daddy, Fred, is on the left in the photo below. Fred is the one who saved Dumpster from the dumpster. I don't know who that strange man is on the right. Ohhhh......that's Steve. He's a practicing goof-off golfer these days, so he needs a lot of rest, as you can see. zzzzzzzzzzzz

Here are our gorgeous hostesses, Rhonda and her mother, Aurelia. Aurelia is the best cook! We enjoyed her pecan pies, brownies, and banana pudding. I'm going to invite her to my next party for sure.

This "circle of friends" that you see below gives you a good idea of how we spent the majority of our time....sitting and talking, talking and sitting, eating, sitting and talking some more....haha. Sometimes the circle was complete, sometimes it had some vacant seats. We drifted in and out at our pleasure.

Notice the sista girl on the right, putting on her lipstick. We can't live without it. It's the staple of southern womanhood.

And, below you see Laura, Dumpster's mom. Dumpster was found years ago....guess where...yes, at the dumpster by Freddy, Laura's husband. They are both suckers for a sad-eyed animal. Well, ever since that day, Dumpster has lived the life of Riley. He is King of the Castle and a mighty sweet doggie-person.

The pretty bouquet below was created by Laura, our family designer. Mona provided the coke bottle vase. Reuse. Recycle. Repurpose.

I love this old barn. It was the perfect back drop for our photo session! You can see just a little of THE Pond behind it.

This is Mona Lisa.....she's the one who puts up with Hippy Howard on a full-time basis:) Mona does not like...wait a minute, let me rephrase that....Mona HATES having her picture taken, so I'd better frame this one because it may be a long time before I get another one. Don't you agree she is "cute as a button"?

Susan looks so cute and sporty in this photo....I love it! We didn't include her husband, Steve, because he would have messed up the photo. haha

More pastoral scenery! I'm not sure what this cow's name is, but she was checking us out for a long time! Moooooo!!!

"Stop! In the Name of Love" ! This is one of the few times I was standing up over the weekend. Most of the time I was sitting in the Circle either talking or eating. I forgot to mention that Randy boiled lots of peanuts to bring to the farm, and they were very yummy.

I'm being very, very sweet to Randy as always. See that happy smile on his face? He is a lucky man!

Rhonda scooted around the pond, checking everything out. She was our Great Protector, killing a mean looking snake with her handy dandy shotgun.

Princess Lindsay. Yes, without a doubt, she was the cutest one there this weekend, but even she would have to admit the rest of us are hot mama's.:)

Lindsay is Hank's friend, and Hank is Susan's son, so, anybody Hank likes, we like 'em too!

And, here's Hank the Hunk getting ready to enjoy Laura's wings and Aurelia's sweets. He had been soooo sick all week, but I think this food cured him.

And, here we are....the Heavenly Hotties of The Farm.:) Thank you. Yes, we know we look much younger than our actual ages. Our secret tips to youthfulness will be published soon and proceeds will go to cover our Assisted Living Mansion.

Thanks, Rhonda, for such a special weekend at The Farm! Thanks, girls for being in my Circle of Friends. Love you all.

Vacation in B.C.

Randy and I love to travel to the west and northwest -- probably because it is just so very different from hot, humid, gnat gnawing south Georgia. This year we headed north to Vancouver, British Columbia. Our main goal was to explore Vancouver Island, so we did not plan to spend much time in the city of Vancouver.

Our first destination was Salt Spring Island (http://www.saltspringisland.org/), and the only way to get there is to load up on the ferry. In this case, our ferry was almost a luxury model, so we had a nice 3 hour cruise, stopping at two smaller islands enroute. I had discovered Salt Spring Island by researching for the trip, and I especially wanted to visit the Saturday Market. Many artists and organic farmers live on Salt Spring, exhibiting at the Saturday Market , so I couldn't wait to get there!

I was not disappointed in the late summer fare offered on Salt Spring. Because their weather provides for almost pest-free growing, they are able to produce

extra large, perfect veggies and fruits. A feast for the eyes!

And, that's not all. Tables loaded down with artisan breads and cheeses tempted us. Artists displayed their wares, from jewelry to paintings, wool scarves, and whimsical buttons and cards. One of the cutest things at the market was the table operated by three young girls around 8 years old. They create colorful cards that depict life on Salt Spring. You know I had to purchase several!

Besides the Saturday Market, Salt Spring is a great little town with coffee shops, galleries, and restaurants with fresh, organically-grown food. All of this heaven is surrounded by water (thus, the island:) and viewable from the streets, so it feels like stepping inside a postcard. We forgot diets while on vacation and particularly enjoyed some fresh-made sugared mini-donuts being made on the street corner. Yummy!!

We stayed one night on Salt Spring at a B & B (http://www.bbcanada.com/pineplace), and explored the island more the next morning.

We left Salt Spring Island and traveled again by ferry to Vancouver Island. Upon reaching the island, we set out traveling north so that we could reach the northernmost town of Port Hardy, then trek our way back south again. There is one main highway running north and south, and one highway crossing the island to the west and the Pacific Rim National Park. The island is a thick forest of Douglas fir with sporadic spots of towns and lakes. Our favorite was Campbell River which claims the moniker "Salmon Capitol of the World". Randy takes issue with this title because he believes Alaska is the more likely salmon capitol. But, we found Campbell River to be pretty, friendly, and weobserved some folks fishing for salmon in a cold and gorgeous river. At that same spot, we encountered wet-suit clad college students diving in to try to view the salmon running up the river. They were quickly carried downstream with the current, passing the fishermen on the way. The fisherman below traveled to Campbell River from Switzerland, just for the salmon fishing.

The huge rock below was also in Campbell River. Yes, our names are now written on the rock!

We thought this fish and salmon carving was great symbolism and a fun play on the typical shots of bears catching salmon!






After leaving Campbell River, we continued south on the island, then cut across the width to the west and headed for the Pacific coast and the town of Tofino.

Another artsy, laid back coastal village, Tofino was a fun place to explore shops and grab lunch at Big Daddy's Fish Fry.



We especially wanted to see the beaches because the Pacific can be so wild and nature is in close-up view there. We were lucky there were no storms or we would not have had the good fortune to stroll the beach and climb the rocks.


This tree had been here a long time!





And, look what we saw a little later!


We were ready to head back to the ferry and return to Vancouver, bidding the island good-bye. We chose not to drive all the way to Victoria as we had visited there a couple of years ago while touring Washington state. Victoria is a beautiful city, a hallmark of British parliamentary architecture and a vibrant arts community as well. Not to be missed!

We ferried back over to Vancouver and headed out of the city--- Now it was time to conquer my last, but not least, vacation goal: walk the Capilano Suspension Bridge. It was fun, a little shaky because some airheads were shaking the bridge of course, but I expected that:) And, after walking across the bridge, we got to experience Treetop Adventures, which was also awesome. It's quite a thrill to walk amid the tops of ancient trees, some of which are over 200 feet tall.


We saw some fabulous murals. Here are a couple of them.




And, last, but not least, we went to Granville Island inside the city of Vancouver. Man, oh, man......there is a public market there that would make New York City sweat with fear. Thousands of square feet of fresh produce, fresh flowers, prepared foods, pastries, breads, spices and herbs from around the world......I cannot describe it. Randy and I just walked around in awe and then started grazing!! I finally left there with a pint of blackberries......fruit in the northwest is twice as large as here.....I was still eating those blackberries on the flight home! And, the public market is not all. There are artist galleries, eateries, business offices.....they have it all. If you can't go there right away, take a tour:
http://www.granvilleisland.com/en/node


So, our trip to Vancouver and Vancouver Island was lots of fun, and it was good to escape the daily grind for a week and just enjoy each other and the beautiful northwest.

The Big 37

37 years ago on August 10th at 2:30 p.m., my favorite daughter, Jill Suzette, was born. At the time we were living in Homerville, a very small town in south Georgia. After she burst forth into the local Homerville-Clinch County Hospital delivery room, and I figured out I had not actually been run down by a semi-truck, I did realize a couple of things right away. I was all of 19 years and two months old and not quite finished growing up myself, and second, I was pretty sure I was not smart enough to know what to do with this little baby. On top of all that great philosophy hitting me square in the head, the moment she was born Dr. Greer said, "We've got a red-head!" Back then they knocked out mama's-to-be with gas, so I was not concious enough to see her immediately, and the nurse whisked her away for a few minutes to clean her up. Since the only red-headed little girl I knew at the time was quite the UN-cute version of "Annie", I was a little afraid of what my brand new little baby would look like.
Yes, I'm ashamed of thinking all that now, but when you're 19 and scared to death of the unknown, you don't have good sense anyway. Of course, it turned out that Jill was a little beauty. While we were in the hospital, every nurse in the hospital came to my room to tell me what a pretty baby she was. They were all so excited to have a red-headed baby born there. I got lots of attention and Jill did also.
So, you have figured out by now that since she's just had her 37th birthday, I did not kill her with my lack of mothering skills way back then! She is a talented photographer, so, be sure to check out her website at: http://www.jillhiggins.com/
You can also see her photo on there, and you will see that she is a beautiful, talented woman who makes her Mama very proud. Happy Birthday, Jill !!!

S. C. Weekend

I had a double-fun weekend recently. My good friend, Mona, and I traveled to Charleston, S. C. to visit my one and only daughter, Jill. Jill and her husband, Brian, are in Charleston because Brian is in the Air Force. They love it there, and I am lucky that I get to visit and don't have to find a hotel room:) Brian was ready and waiting, having prepared a cooking lesson for us. He had ingredients for home-made fresh pasta and put Mona and I straight to work. This is the gist of it:
a) dump about a cup of semolina pasta flour on a clean surface
b) make a well in the center
c) break an egg into the well
d)begin mixing the flour into the egg, continuing until you have eventually created a moist ball of dough
e)knead and work, knead and work, knead and work for about a day:)
f) when the ball of dough is very soft and pliable, it is ready to be put through the pasta machine.
g) Brian takes over because we know nothing about how to work that machine.
Brian and Jill then used the prepared fresh pasta to make a delicious lasagne fit for two visiting queens, except Mona only eats from a basic food list so she had a boring hamburger instead. The lasagne was wonderful.
Not only is Brian a wonderful cook and dedicated military man, he is hooked on gold prospecting. Hooked so much that he put together a website that is devoted to gold prospectors and the site has drawn a huge following: www.goldgrubbin.com
Jill is a photographer (www.jillhiggins.com), so she was busy on Saturday, meeting a potential client in the morning and shooting a wedding at Alhambra Hall in the afternoon. Before going to her wedding, Jill took us over to Ulta, introducing us to Bare Minerals make-up products, and Mona and I both got a new face:) We both looked so beautiful that we purchased the products.
After we dropped Jill off at the wedding location, Mona and I did the typical girlfriend thing----shopped away the afternoon. This was Mona's first trip to Charleston so we drove downtown, cruised the Battery area, admiring the historic waterfront homes. We then parked and strolled through the old city market and the shops on Market Street where we found a combination of new and handcrafted items for sale, including the handmade sweetgrass baskets that the area is famous for. One of my favorite stalls was Tanner Bananer, personal and household items made from vintage inspired oilcloth(www.tannerbananer.com). Mona fell for a silver bracelet with interchangeable, fixed charms. She will put that on her Christmas wish list. We walked on over to King Street and admired the high-end, upscale shops located there (no, we did not cave in and buy anything). However, we needed an afternoon munchie and discovered some great little cheese biscuits at a BBQ restaurant that I've forgotten the name of. By that time we needed to leave to pick Jill up from the wedding, and we drove back to old Mt. Pleasant.
We had a great day Sunday too. Terry, one of Jill's friends, invited us over for a very tasty lunch and a tour of her new home on Daniel Island----gorgeous! Terry has done a beautiful job decorating her home, and I learned she is a very talented seamstress and quilt designer as well. Then we all went over to the Southern Living Idea Home, also on Daniel Island. Very, very nice and priced at $2 mil! Since I live in the country, it's interesting to me that folks invest that kind of money in a house that is spitting distance from the neighbor.
Monday morning we left for home, hugging our good-byes and hoping to see each other again soon. I always feel very blessed and lucky to have Jill as my daughter and Mona as my friend.

Cleve's Heavenly Home

Jenny, a woman who loves her children with that "deep-soul love" only a mama knows, very recently experienced the death of her son, Cleve. All parents recognize this as the absolute most dreaded, most horrible nightmare we could possibly go through. In talking with mutual friends who have been close to Jenny and her family, I've learned of quite touching and surreal happenings, events, that, when looking back to the day of the tragic death, seem to have been a part of a bigger scene than one could possibly realize at the time. At the death, especially of a young person, we pause, listen, and think deeply, thoughtfully, prayerfully.
It should not take a death, a tragedy to make us pause...but many times that's just what it takes. This world we live in of "fast and furious" is wearing us thin, making us weak. Our pursuit of success, happiness, and fulfillment is draining us of the very thing we crave. We are all guilty as charged.
Why did Cleve die? What, if anything, did his death prepare his friends and family to handle, to face? Cleve was a handsome, charming, very sweet and caring young man. Still in college, his entire future waiting before him. A beautiful life just around the bend. His parents would have chosen to die first. "Please take me instead," would have been their plea if they had had that opportunity. That choice was not theirs to make.
I'm not an expert in "why bad things happen to good people". But, I know what I believe. No doubt many questions have been asked since Cleve's death. Some may ask, "Why would God allow this to happen?" I don't believe God wanted Cleve to die, and I surely don't believe God wanted Cleve to die in the way he died because the pain of it stretched far and wide. God is not about pain and suffering. The devil is about pain and suffering, and there is tremendous evil working in this world today. Although God could not stop what happened, he made sequential, uplifting, surprising events and revelations happen surrounding that fateful moment that will be forever burned in the minds of those who knew Cleve. God does not cause evil and pain, but God can use events to bring about enlightenment and good in the world. God can create "Cleve moments" for the believer who will have absolutely no doubt that Cleve's presence is there and will always be there.
Cleve is in heaven. He has a warm, comforting, sweet, gospel-filled, joyful home in God's heavenly mansion. To all mama's out there---Jenny needs our prayers. Let not let time or fast and furious days lead us to forget Cleve's mama---not for a very long time. Pray for Jenny. Pray for peace and love to radiate in a million shining lights from Cleve's life lived on earth.

Road trip to N.C.

My long-time friend Barbara and I recently traveled to Gastonia, N.C. to visit her sister, Marjorie, who is also my long-time friend. "Long-time" translates to eons. We have known each other since high school and we are all in our fabulous 50's now. So, we've got memories together that go back almost 40 years. Heck, our memories are antiques!
Barbara and I live about 200 miles apart, and Marjorie lives about a million miles from us (at least it seems like it).
Marjorie's husband Loring was there, so he had to put up with us for three days. We talked about everything, discussed how to decorate some rooms, ate some wonderful food, shopped, ate some wonderful food again and laughed a lot. I was reminded how precious old friends are. We share history. We understand what the other means when we roll our eyes at the mention of someone from the past; we know who the bona fide idiots are--a couple of them are ex-husbands. ha! We can share notes from 40 years of life. A lot happens in 40 years.:)
We girls drank a little wine, a little this, a little that and worked out a few life issues over three days before saying good-bye. We both wish Marjorie wasn't so far away. Barbara and I had a long drive home, but it didn't seem long at all because we talked all the way. We understand each other ...our lives, our children, our husbands, our families.
Thanks, Barbara & Marjorie--it was fun! See you again real soon.

Don't call Mr. Fix It

I sometimes need to hire someone to do carpentry, plumbing, electrical or painting either at my own home or rental property. Here is a big clue for you if you are looking for those services: Forget it. Just forget it. Or, at least forget getting good customer service and respect.
Five weeks ago a carpenter promised to begin repairs the following day. He showed up yesterday---only 5 weeks late. Not a phone call to let me know he was delayed.... nothing. I had finally located someone else to do the job (after calling the first guy once to ask when he might start and being very patient for four weeks and 5 days) then they both showed up on the same morning! No problem. I have plenty of work to be done so I put them both to work. No....wait a minute....I put me "to wait" again. Wait on one to go check another job, wait on the other one to find materials, wait, wait.
I hired a painter several months ago. He disappears for weeks at a time. You might say, "you should just hire someone else". Well, you believe they will show up when they say they will. Then, when they don't, you call and they tell you they "will be there Thursday", so you wait til Thursday when they also don't show up. The painter already has the paint you paid for, so you if you hired someone else you may be buying paint again. On and on and on.
One week ago I entered into a signed contract with someone to do some brick work. The contract specifically stated the work and payment terms. Three days later, he's calling me asking for $150. "Not in the contract, sorry," I told him. He wasn't too happy, but I was not handing over any money.
My husband and I have one very solid, very wonderful carpenter who is brilliant. He shows up when he says he will. He charges a fair price. He cleans up after the job. He can do anything. There's only one problem: he is so busy we have to wait in line. And, no, I will not give you his name and number:)
If you call Mr. Fix It, here's my advice: enter into a signed contract no matter how simple the job; don't part with a dime until a satisfactory phase of the job is completed; include a timeframe on completion of the work and make payment dependent on meeting that timeframe; if timeframe is not met, include a penalty fee; and if the timeframe is met and the work is satisfactory, provide a bonus.
"Good work ethic" has gone to hell in a hand basket.

Boston, Georgia

Welcome to my blog. Are you a blog browser? If so, you are way ahead of me. I think I will have fun with this and attempt to share a little light hearted information that may be interesting or helpful.. So..with this blog I'm actually writing a note to the world....possibly.
I just got back from Boston...., GA. Surprised, aren't you? I bet you didn't know there was a Boston, GA. If you love visiting small towns that are resurrecting business vitality and drawing folks in you should come to Boston. It's just a few miles north of the FL line and Tallahassee. Here's a sampling of what you will find:

• Boston Cafe---yum, yum. Busy every day for breakfast and lunch. Hometown, home-cooked, and home buzzing. Specials, desserts, sweet tea...you name it, you can have it here.
• Hollaway Hill, the kitchen ++++ store. Name it, Lynn has it. You will not find a better stocked kitchen store even in the big city. And while you are there, sample the fudge, coffees, smoothies (I just had a peach smoothie today). Lynn always has something new going on. She just got back from a visit with Paula Deen in Savannah and she brought back some special Paula Deen treats to share with you.
• Dragonfly has just opened and has whimsical, sweet gifts for mama's, teens, and babies. You will love being inside this restored building with it's original brick walls and beautiful pine floors. Tina is going to work hard to make sure you have fun in this store.
• Turtles has pizza, sandwiches, and other delectables for your palate. Open day and evening, Turtles will make your palate sing!
• Boston Hardware is a great place to browse for your everyday items for farm, home, and garden. Be sure to make some time for this down home store.
• Reflections on Main Street rivals any well-stocked and junk lover's paradise that you've ever traipsed into. From cherished framed oils and prints to vintage dressers, chests and bric n brac. Two floors of unique items you won't likely find anywhere else. Stop by and visit Ann for a chat, a tour, and extra special attention.
• Two more antique stores are filled to the brim with junker's dreams. You may find a treasure here that exists nowhere else. Don't take the chance of missing out!
• Boston Pharmacy is open and ready to fill your prescription, provide soothing balm, and ointment-ize your world. This small town drug store carries a variety of items to suit your personal and home needs.
• Need to promote your business or your fantastic self? Go by Marketing Communications and talk to Amanda. She can fix you up with promotional items that will tell the world who you are and how to find you. You gotta have buzzzzzzzz.

Front porch swings and caladiums. The perfect picture of a southern summer. All this and more in picture perfect downtown Boston, Georgia. For info on events, festivals, and goings on, go to www.bostonga.com