So, How Did You Spend Your Long Weekend?

After spending last Fourth of July weekend fighting the crowds at St. Simon’s Island, we decided to spend the weekend at home this year.  No plans at all, just spending a four-day weekend at home, relaxing.

Our weekend began early on Friday, with an early morning trip to Wal-mart.  Oh-my-goodness!  I couldn’t believe the crowds–on a Friday morning!  Apparently, everyone else had the same idea–go early to beat the crowds!  So much for a relaxing morning…We grabbed what we needed and got out of there!

While we were out and about, we decided to check at the Big Lots store to see if we could find a couple of  patio chairs for our new back porch.  Sure enough, we found a set on sale, and decided to buy them–if they would fit in the back of the PT Cruiser!  They did, along with a small table, two matching, folding lawn chairs, and our groceries!!!    It never ceases to amaze me what we can fit into that little car!  We came home, put on a large pot of peanuts to boil, then sat in our new patio chairs.

On Saturday, my hubby decided to tackle a home project.   We’ve had a long counter with a pot cabinet underneath it, on one side of the kitchen, that didn’t have a middle shelf in it.  We’d bought the base cabinet 4 years ago, and never bothered to add a shelf.  All of that was about to change!  It took hubby most of the afternoon, but by Saturday evening we were stacking pots on the new shelf.  Why in the world didn’t we do that sooner?  Now I have twice as much storage space!

On Saturday night, about bedtime, my husband heard the sound of “rain” inside of the closet that holds our heating/air conditioning unit in the hallway.  Not a good thing!  Upon investigation, he discovered the condenser coils weren’t shedding water properly, and the result was a very wet closet area!  Water was literally falling like rain–inside of our house!  Hubby dried the floor the best he could, put down plastic, towels, and we went to bed.

Sunday morning we awoke to another flood inside of the closet!  Hubby mopped out a couple of gallons of water, then called the  A/C repairman.  For a mere ninety-eight dollars an hour, they would be glad to come out and check our problem!  We had no choice but to say “okay”.  It turns out that our condenser coils had developed a “film” on them which prevented the water from “sheeting off”  properly, and draining into the tray/pipes.  The repairman sprayed the condenser coils with something called  Electrasol, and the water began sheeting.  He told us he’d only seen this happen one other time.  Lucky us!  He also checked out our unit thoroughly, then left.  Just like that, problem solved–with a can of Electrasol.  So…ninety-eight dollars and a can of Electrasol later, we are now left with the chore of drying out our closet!  We are also left with a slightly unlevel floor area in the hallway…wood tends to buckle when wet!

Today is July Fourth, and hubby and I are spending it quietly at home, as planned.  We began the day by watching the prosecution’s “rebuttal” argument of the Casey Anthony trial.  I’ve watched the trial non-stop for the past three weeks, I certainly wasn’t going to miss watching it to the very end!  I’m still trying to get over the fact that court was held on Sunday and a holiday!

I’m about to take a nap.  It seems like a nice way to spend the second part of the afternoon.  I can hear the hum of hubby’s tractor, as he drags fallen trees out of the woods near our home.  That’s his idea of relaxation!

Late this afternoon, hubby will cook us a nice, meaty slab of ribs on the grill.  Umm…I’m excited about that.  That’s my idea of a great way to end a relaxing Fourth of July!  I hope you are enjoying your day, as well.  Happy Independence Day, everyone!

More Crowds On The Fourth…

One of the funniest moments of our recent Fourth of July trip was bedtime.  Everyone got their beds ready, and settled in for the night–with five people sleeping in each room.  My husband and I shared the bedroom with our daughter, Brandy, and her family.  Each couple had a double bed, while granddaughter, Madison, slept on the floor on a small mattress.  We were talking back and forth from our beds when suddenly Madison said, “OK, you guys cut it out!”  We all burst into laughter.  Within a few minutes, all was quiet…except for the snoring of the two men.  It was a back-and-forth  “snoring concert”… suddenly my daughter and I burst into laughter once again!

It turned out that our snoring concert from the bedroom disturbed some of those in the living room!  I snore, too, so apparently I joined in the “concert” at some point during the night.  All of the snoring woke Madison up, and she got scared!  My oldest son said he spent the night getting up and down,  turning the air conditioning lower to drown out the snoring noise from the bedroom.  When we all woke up, the condo felt like a freezer!

After cooking and eating breakfast, our family decided that we would, once again, try to take the children to the beach for a little while.  It was  a little after ten when we arrived at East Beach–all of us driving different cars.  Our daughter’s family found a parking place in the parking lot, while the other three carloads of us did not.  The police closed the lot because it was full.  We parked down the street a bit, and were unloading our cars when some lady began yelling at some of us that we couldn’t park there!  It wasn’t posted, and many other cars were parked there, but we moved anyway.  We decided to reload our cars, and go back to Massengale Park because it appeared to be less crowded.

the grandchildren playing at the beach

We finally made it onto the beach around 10:30!  It was already getting crowded, but not as bad as the day before.  However, by the time we left two hours later, people were still coming.  We gladly gave our spots to new people, and went back to the condo for a bite of lunch and another swim.

Later in the day, after lunch and a swim,  half of the family left to go back home, while half of us stayed.  Some had to go to work on Monday, while others insisted that they needed to go home and get some rest before returning to work on Tuesday. 

Those of us who remained,  planned to attend the fireworks in the Village, down by the ocean, that evening.  We had been warned not to try to drive our car down there, and to get there early.  We parked our cars some distance away, and walked down to the Village around 5 o’clock that afternoon–four hours before the fireworks were to begin.

the crowd at the Village--4 hours prior to the fireworks

  Once again, we saw crowds of people everywhere–some of whom appeared to have been there all day long!  We quickly decided that no fireworks were worth fighting that crowd to see, and we went back to the condo!  The rest of the afternoon we watched a steady stream of people walking down to the Village–just as we had watched crowds walking to the beach the day before!  I shudder to think how many people were down there by the time those fireworks began!!!

Later in the evening, my husband decided to walk out to the road in front of our condo,  to see if he could see any of the fireworks.  He noticed a few people in lawn chairs across from our condo, and came back to tell me.  Sure enough, once the fireworks began, we could see many of them–and we didn’t have to fight the crowd to do it! 

The next morning we left that crowded little island, for the uncrowded sanctity of our little country home… There truly is no place like home…Fortunately, all was well when we arrived at home shortly before lunch.  Bobs, the cat,  seemed to have endured my absence a lot better this time, but she was still very glad to see us!

I’ve already decided that our next Fourth of July will be spent at home.  I prefer a backyard bar-b-que and relaxing in the country–over fighting a crowd in the city anyday!  Life here is good, and very uncrowded–and we like it that way!

One Word Describes Our Fourth Of July…Crowded!

When I last blogged, I was getting ready to go on a two-day beach trip to celebrate the Fourth of July.  I  rented a small condo on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia for the weekend, and eventually invited all of our grown children to join us.  Saturday morning found four carloads of our family headed south to the beach!

Hubby and I were the first to leave, at about 7:45 that morning.  I woke up in a melancholy mood, because I hate leaving my animals unattended, especially Bobs the cat.  (After our trip last month, Bobs was so distraught that she threw up, then pulled out some of her fur.)  I was also reading the last chapters of the Nicholas Sparks novel, The Last Song, which is very sad–and I really “get into” books when I read them.

My mood peaked just fifteen miles down the highway when a coyote ran out the woods and onto the highway forcing my husband to run over him–despite Ed’s best effort to dodge him!  I hate that sickening “thud” sound!  I held my breath, as we stopped and checked the car for damage.  Fortunately, there was no damage to the car, but I cried  anyway, then we resumed our trip.  Strangely, I felt better after having my little cry. 

We arrived at Massengale Park shortly before 10:00 that morning…to find the picnic area already full!  Fortunately, we spotted one last table, over near the bath house area–and we quickly grabbed it!  Had we been five minutes later, I am sure we would’ve been out of luck.  From the time we arrived at the park, which is located in a beach access area, there was a steady stream of people headed down to the beach. 

Before long, most of our family safely arrived at the park–except for Brad and Jenn, who came later.  We were fortunate that our picnic table was shaded by large oak trees, and a cool breeze was blowing.  We unloaded the supplies for lunch, as well as the bean bag toss game that we purchased on our last beach trip.  Some played bean bag toss, while others got lunch ready.  We dined on grilled hotdogs, chips, and goodies that Christina and I baked and brought from home.

Our original plan was to take the children down to the beach after lunch, and let them play in the sand and surf…that was before some of us walked down to the beach and took a look at the crowd…This picture doesn’t do  justice…We saw wall-to-wall people– from the sand to the water– as far as we could see…It was impossible to walk without stepping on someone.  I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!  I was so glad that I had my camera with me so I could take a few pictures. 

We quickly decided to just skip the beach, and head for the condo!  By then, we were just a few minutes away from check-in time anyway…but wouldn’t you know, when we got to the condo, the cleaning lady wasn’t finished!  Some of us sat on the terrace of the condo, while others headed for the cool, inviting,  water of the pool…

That’s our little family group surrounding granddaughter, Madison, who is wearing the pink swimmies.  The rest of us were either on the terrace of the condo, or sitting around the pool.

We had a wonderful time at the condo.  The unit that I rented was located beside the pool, it’s actually in the (above) picture of the pool– the second one from the left.  In addition to the swimming pool,  a lake, a gym, tennis courts,  and a children’s playground are all located on the grounds of Ocean Walk Condominiums.

Even though it was only a one bedroom, the condo unit had two beds in the bedroom, as well as a futon, couch, and a loveseat in the living room.  We brought along a blow-up mattress, and a small children’s foam mattress so everyone would have a place to sleep.  Being in the condo continued the “crowded” theme of the weekend, but we all had a good time being together, and we managed “being crowded” quite well!   Stay tuned for part two of our crowd-filled adventure…there’s more!

Six Word Saturday…July 3

 

 

Thanks for stoppng by… I am posting a photograph of my “year round tree” decorated in a patriotic theme.  In addition to the photograph,  I have six special words just for you…

 

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