{Not} Living Vicariously

Visiting the lake house . . .

For about the first ten years of Aaron's life, he lived on the TN/MS border in a house on a lake. This has been a family home, passed around similar to what we call the "Five-Year" house in my family, and is currently owned by his Uncle K. and family. We had to go to Memphis this past week and several of us camped out at the lake. An absolutely beautiful spot, it was great to spend time there and enjoy each other. With only one bathroom (the other is under construction) and ten of us plus a dog and a cat, we were in close quarters which only enhanced the camping aspect. Many memories were shared while we were there, every one of them special.

While I did not take pictures of the house, I did snap some of the lake, I would never have guessed it was man-made if I had not been told.

What a peaceful spot it was.

Yay for Land's End!

Yes, friend Nicole was correct in that LE would come to my rescue. Chinos at LE are what I've always called Khakis and shortly a new pair will arrive at my doorstep - because the standard 31 inch inseam is just slightly too short for me and LE will send them to me with a 32 inch inseam. Woot! Have a great day y'all.

when did my Gap store stop carrying khakis?

My work's dress code is "business casual" which means I can wear corduroys in the winter and khakis in the summer. I'm quite pleased with this as I wouldn't know what to do with a suit. I do get to wear skirts and dresses also, as well as dressier pants, but I love being able to fall back on corduroys and khakis. My favorite pair of khakis were showing their age when they managed to get a salsa stain on them that I couldn't get out. No problem, I'll just go buy a new pair. I always buy them at the Gap, I'll go to the Gap. Imagine my surprise when I got there to find no pairs of khakis. They had khaki colored capris . . . which are fine, but I own a pair already. They had khaki colored loose cotten weave pants . . . which are also fine but don't quite fit in the "business casual" mode I need for work. They had khaki colored shorts . . . well you can see how that won't work! So I walked out of there khaki-less. I need to shop around and find a pair elsewhere . . . any ideas? A larger Gap? Or another store completely?

2 hours later

Aaron went to Memphis on Saturday, but I stayed home with the fur babies. I've been working some really long hours recently and desperately needed to catch up on home chores. However, those long hours have been stuck sitting in front of a computer for hours on end and I also desperately needed to get some exercise. The weather was nice, and I was up around 7 am anyway, so I packed the pooch in the car and hit the Greenway about 8 am. It started to sprinkle, and I got concerned, but then the rain went away and I was able to accomplish my master plan. We started our "adventure" at Old Fort Park and headed up the trail to Cason Lane - a 3 mile trip one way. We actually went past the Cason trailhead until the trail ended, maybe a 1/4 mile later. Then we turned around and headed back. All told, we walked for almost exactly 2 hours. I haven't timed us recently but we used to walk a 17 minute mile, which allows us plenty of time to smell the roses, the trees, the grass, the weeds, the river, and everything else a dog needs to sniff in order to have a happy walk. That would put us at having done a 7 mile walk all told, adding in the length from where we parked to where the trail starts, that seems about right. The dog was thrilled, and slept most of the afternoon. I worked all the kinks out, and then added some new ones. I don't quite think my body was warmed up enough for 7 miles this early in the season. However, I've been a good girl and walked both days since then trying to warm my muscles up. In fact, we have just returned from 1 1/2 miles and Lindy's only complaint is "why so short?" If the weather continues to be nice, I'll have to take some pictures the next time we are out. I continue to tell others how wonderful the Greenway system is down here in M'boro. It truly is well done. I hope it continues to grow . . .

Did you know you can wash a Vera Bradley purse?

I have several pieces of VB in the Java Blue pattern. The other day we managed to spill coffee on my purse and weren't able to deal with it right away. It had not occurred to me to wonder before but as they are fabric, I realized there must be a way to wash them. So I went investigating. Typically enough, I started out online only to be told that there were washing instructions on a tag inside the purse -- just like there are on garments. I went looking and yes, "wash in cold water and line dry". I did not use detergent as I did not want the pattern to fade. Instead I washed it on gentle, along with some other delicates, in white vinegar. Not only did the purse come out looking better than it was prior to the coffee spill, the rest of the load was also in great condition. So . . . yay for being able to wash the coffee out of my purse! And yay for being reminded about the joys of vinegar in the wash.

Boy have I gotten boring

However, we've been busy! Once again we are one step closer to owning a new home. We survived the home inspection last night. I hoped to have lots of pictures of the house, gave the camera to husband, forgot to tell him that people were asking for pictures so when we got home, this is what I had:

Yes I do plan on cleaning up and out that flower bed. Not exactly the curb appeal I'm looking for!

Drat that cat!

We had company this past weekend and one of the guests is highly allergic to cats. We knew we'd be spending most of our time outdoors, however we did want to give the living/dining area a thorough cleaning so that any time spent indoors would not be covered in fur. After completely scrubbing the dining table and benches, I walked away to work on the kitchen. Imagine what I came back to:

I believe I've been informed, in no uncertain terms, that her fur belongs everywhere and I should just give up the fight.
 

Next steps

So, one week later, I'm still a bit dazed that we have bought a house. However we are a few steps closer. We made it through a few humps on paperwork and believe that a home inspection will take place next Monday. They still want to close in about 45 days so by Mid-May we should be done. I have no pictures yet, sorry folks, but soon I hope. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed that we don't get horror stories after the inspection!

a ring of daffodils

Remember the forgotten plantings post? Well the flowers have come up and make us very happy!

In fact, we're already planning a similar look at our new house. Along with some fruit trees and berry bushes as well as our standard tomatoes, basil, etc. The seed catalogs are making us impatient. Anyway, I know we're going to have another cold spell -- we always do -- but for now I'm happy that "spring has sprung."