Thursday, June 25, 2009

Fun in NC!

Just back from a quick Mimi and Grandad babysitting adventure with the grandkids! Will is in town for the summer and Jen needed a little help. We had a blast. Riley is doing well with her riding lessons too...Marbles, her horse, is the pudgiest thing I've ever seen. I asked the stable staff if she was pregnant! I'll post pics later. Grandad took Molly, Sebastian and Riley to see UP and also to play at Monkey Joe's while I worked a bit. I babysat the dog, drove Will to camp at the club and worked! I think I got the better end of the deal...you should have seen how pooped Grandad was at the end of the day!

We came home through Lake Lure, NC and had a delightful lunch and walk about. The shops there are precious, but there weren't many tourists. We drove Dragon's Tail again, 19 or so miles of twisting, steep and hilly road! The wild rhododendrons were in bloom finally...this is our third visit to NC in the last month and a half...I thought I was never going to see them. Our drive home was uneventful...I love meandering.

Loving the pool...we're using it a lot with the temps so high! We've found the late afternoon is the best...less sun for my white white self. I just exercise and paddle around and feel so rested. As we say...why did we wait so long!

Stay cool!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Hot Fun in the Summertime!

We've been remiss! I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've updated you on the exciting life we lead...tee hee! Part of the issue is that I've discovered FaceBook!!! It's so much fun and all the kids, family and old friends are on! It's a great way to communicate since no one ever calls anymore! Check us out...our page is under Pat Hudson Edens. Hudson of course is my maiden name so all my old boyfriends from high school can find me...don't tell Woody of course.

Memorial Day weekend was great. We headed to Harrah's Cherokee Casino in Cherokee, NC http://www.harrahscherokee.com/casinos/harrahs-cherokee/hotel-casino/property-home.shtml for a Miranda Lambert concert and a little gambling...too bad the losing was big! We had a great time and did a little urban hiking as we like to call shopping. That way we hike but don't get muddy. Certainly not Yellowstone, but we love the area. Once again though we just missed the rhododendrons.

We're finally through with the yard other than continuing to weed the flower beds...one pesky neighbor has bermuda grass in his yard and it's infiltrating everyone's yards and beds. Everything is hanging in from our transplanting the roses, although our biggest bush looks a bit yucky. Hope it makes the cut. Last night we harvested one large green tomato and fried that sucker, and two cherry tomatoes for our salad from my porch pot! We've had 90 degree weather lately and I realllllly don't like it! We've spent two years chasing 72 so being back at home in the summer is a shock! And of course, our air conditioner died....but at least this time the repair people figured out we had a freon leak and fixed it...previously they just would fill us up and it would trickle out over the summer! Hopefully, now we'll survive August! If not, we'll gas up the beast and head north.

We still love the pool and are trying to be religious at doing our water aerobics. I'm dieting and Woody is pretending to diet! I am realizing that I'll never be tall, thin and blonde, but I would like to not be mistaken for a beach ball in the pool!

I'm going to be working a bit this summer for The Oncology Group http://www.theoncologygroup.net/ one of the very best consulting groups out there. Woody and I are planning a Panama Canal cruise that won't be cheap so this will take care of the fare! In my case, it's "will work for play"!

Now, I do have one question...just how the heck do I get the DVDs we rent to show full screen without those black bars at the top and bottom? We so rarely rent because we go to first runs we want to see, but we're still catching up from Montana when we could only get one new family movie a week without driving to Bozeman!

This weekend we're embracing our love of country music by going to Fan Fair www.cmt.com or whatever the new name is for the concert series at the stadium with all the crazed country music fans from all over the world. Our friends Lou and Cindy got us tickets in a luxury box so we'll be hanging out in air conditioned comfort and watching Kenny Chesney and Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert...are you beginning to see that Woody has a thing for Miranda? Will let you all know how that goes!

Hope you're having a wonderful summer.