Daily Mountain Update

Hey ya'll!

Greetings again from the Georgia mountains. I had hoped to do a pictoral update but I dont have a way yet to transfer photos from my camera, so I'll do a photo album at the end of our trip. Hard to believe it's the middle of our vacation already!

On Tuesday Andrew made the 600 mile ride up on his motorcycle, and after a nice dinner we headed to the Swan Drive-In to watch Pirates of the Caribbean -- 3 hour movies aren't so bad when you're in your own car. Drive-ins sure have changed though since now you tune your radio to hear the movie instead of those old sound boxes.

Yesterday we had seats on the Blueridge Scenic Railway, which is a train ride through the mountains north to the border towns of McCaysville, GA and Copper Hill, TN. We rode in the open-air cart which was really nice since the weather was gorgeous and there was enough wind each way to stay cool. We had lunch at the "Nifty 50's Diner" where I introduced the family to a GA speciality -- the Slaw Dog (cole slaw on your hot dog. YUM!) We walked around the area but made sure to be back on the train in time to depart back for downtown Blue Ridge. I got great photos along the way and can't wait to post them.

Once we got back we dropped Mom, Dad and Andrew off to go tubing down the Tococoa River (the water level is real low due to a drought, so they got the solid bottom inner tubes so they wouldn't skin their bottoms.) Tim and I then waited a while at the cabin and then took Cooper to the "rapids" again so he could bounce on the rocks and get wet while we waited for the family to float the rest of the way down. I got neat pictures there too of Coop and Tim hopping rocks, and of Andrew coming down the rapids on his tube.

This morning we slept in (well, went back to bed off and on since that stupid rooster from the nearby farm insists on waking us!) And then with Andrew gone on a day trip to TN for some wicked windy roads on his motorcycle we went up the mountain to see a nearby family's cabin and then into Cherry Log to eat at a great local BBQ joint --- the Pink Pig! Great food, awesome sweet tea, and leftovers for later!

Now we're back at the cabin - dad's working on his pond (his newest full-time hobby when he's supposed to be relaxing!) and I think mom's watering grass and Tim and Cooper are taking a swing in the hammock (yep, got pics of that too!) Tonight we're grillin' and chillin' and maybe tomorrow Tim and I will venture up to TN to this strange Bible place where this guy in the 40s built the world's largest Ten Commandments... it's the size of a football field from end-to-end and carved in lime to the side of a mountain. Now who would miss a chance to see that? Today we skipped it since the smoke from a wildfire is so thick - you can barely see the tops of the mountains in the distance!

Photos to look forward to: action shots of hummingbirds at their feeders, Cooper tubing down the river, Tim and Andrew crossing the tracks.

Until next time!!!

Greetings from the cabin

Hi all. We're officially on vacation - our first real "no purpose" vacation in more than 5 years. We're up here at the Scott cabin in the upper mountains of GA, and what a world away we are from our typical suburban jungle.

Our adventure started Sunday when we drove 6 hours in two cars so we could drop off Tim's work car at a place where Tim will spend some time after our week at the cabin ends, we stayed the night there and since we hadn't been to that region in about 5 yrs we decided to head out and see what we could remember. We went to St. Simons Island, saw the lighthouse, ate at the Outback as a treat, and noticed our favorite pizza place has somewhat closed down and is now renamed to possibly hint at new management. We were both bummed, but a quick visit to the local DQ made it all better -- banana pudding blizzard - MMMM.

I wish I could report that Cooper did well on his first hotel overnight stay but, sadly, he decided to pick last night to become the protective "big dog" that he's never been at home. About 11:30 he scared both of us from a deep sleep and shattered all my hope of getting enough sleep to feel rested for the 6-hour drive we had ahead of us on Monday. I'll forgive him, but I was sure pissed at him Sunday night.

We split the 6 hr drive on Monday and made it to the cabin by mid afternoon... what a gorgeous place (photos coming once we get home - didnt bring my transfer cord... silly me). We took a car ride over to "the rapids" which is basically a small river, especially since there's been quite a drought the last few months, and Cooper helped himself to a little swim. We also visited where the Scott land had been before purchasing this other cabin... and we saw A BEAR! Running pretty fast, large brown bear, about 300-400 lbs. That really underscored that we're in the wilderness (and it's easy to forget with the satellite TV, hot tub, hammock, and other comforts of home.

So, the agenda for the remainder of the week - NOTHING. We'll visit the drive-in theater for some corn dogs and funnel cakes, maybe go back to the main street area, or take the historic railroad tour up into Tennessee...

SO long for now "ya'll"...

Congrats Tim!!!

It's a big day for Tim as he "graduates" with his certificate from paramedic school! It's been a year of hard work, LOTS of studying, and tests, ride-alongs, IV sticks and, of course, working his regular job full-time. He's not leaving his current line of work, this is just something he's always wanted to complete and he does use the skills on the job so it's a great situation for him.

Congrats Tim!!!

Photo update

I've been working on our "lounge" in our home... ever since I ended up with my mom's piano I've hate how that room looked - modern on one half and traditional on the other. So it was time to marry the two... It's coming along nicely. I still have about 2 drapery rods to hang and 3 panels to iron (silk/nylon takes forever to get the creases out!)

First, I hung nice panels in the dining room in preparation to blend into the lounge:


Here, the piano is on the left side of a long rectangular room and there is an entire wall of windows leading to the back yard, which already has wood blinds, but needed some softening up of the harsh angles since I was merging with the traditional style of the piano... now to have that ugly pink cushion covered in something more understated.


Then, I purchased and assembled two traditional walnut round tables, split the sectionals to be more like separate chaise longe chairs... with the tables and nice modern black frames with pics of us on various adventures.




And we used the hot tub this weekend, here after we put chemicals in it looked like a bubble bath! Anyone for a dip?

Random photo of the day

Hopefully not a sign of things to come!

I did something for the first time in my life today… I ran out of GAS! The truck we’ve had for a while is about 11 yrs old, and the fuel gauge has never worked… it says ¼ tank, you step on the gas and it goes to E, then back up to ¼ or whatever…. So I didn’t even think twice since my commute is only 9 miles… well, it started to choke when I was about 1 mile from my office and I was worried it was an engine thing. It was much like riding a bucking bronco! But it kept going so I just prayed I could get to the office safely.

The “idiot light” never came on! I was able to make it to the station next to my office before everything shut off and the steering wouldn’t work so when I coasted in at a pump I was of course on the wrong side of the car!!!

I had to go in, buy a $6 tiny red can, and put maybe 2 gallons in… mortifying and really frustrating. Now I don’t trust the other gauges in the car either. And why didn’t that light come on?? ;)

In other news -- Tim finished his paramedic class and had the highest GPA in the class!!! We celebrated a little with others in his program last night at the Ale House but then it's back to the books for him because he has scenarios he has to complete and then the state and national registries to test before he's officially a paramedic but I'm so proud of him because it's something he's wanted to complete for more than 7 years, and he did it with such dedication.

It's been a tough year for us both -- with him in class 2 nights a week, I have a Wednesday night church committment, then we're down to maybe Fridays together... has maid for a rough year but we're a strong couple with God on our side so we've made it through no worse for wear. If anything these experiences bring us closer because we ask the other to pick up the slack without resentment. We were taught a great principle by the pastor who married us who said marriage isnt 50-50 it's 100-100 and it's fair to say "I'm having and 80% day" and the other person knows to pick up the slack. That's how we've handled our entire marriage so I knew the year of Tim's program was going to mean even more responsibilities would be put on me. There will come a time when I will return the favor and he'll have slack to pick up (usually the months of Oct-Dec when I'm heavily involved in our Christmas pageant!)

On the homefront: our microwave has died and the washer is leaking. Thankfully, I got a home warranty that kicked in the end of last month so for $55 they are coming to look at both and will cover most of the cost of repairs AND if they can't repair it, they replace it! Best $400 I've ever spent!

Our mortgage goes up $450 a month starting in June so I at least need all my appliances working since I can't afford to do anything but sit at home now ;)