A few days south

Last Wednesday, my new contract position brought me to the hot city of Atlanta Georgia. For two days I had continuous meet and greet meetings so when Friday rolled around I was pooped. Once I got back to the hotel, I slept for two hours. I awoke hungry and decided to go across the street to a big 200 store mall to find food and clothing.

I stayed on over the week-end as I had arranged to meet with blogger Anne Marie's in-laws, Herb and Gwen who live in the Atlanta area. I had met Herb and Gwen many times before on week-ends in Port Dover, Ontario.

We met up just east of Atlanta at Stone Mountain, a bare quartz monozonite dome. It's elevation is 1,686 ft (513 m) above the surrounding area and its circumference is more than five miles (8 km) in circumference at its base. We took a gondola up to the top where we were stranded for an hour due to safety as a violent thunderstorms in the humid 95 (35) heat rolled nearby.

One of the few trees atop Stone Mountain

On our way to the top!

After getting down and eating some southern fare at the base, we dropped my car rental at the airport and then continued south to Herb and Gwen's home for a reprieve from the heat and humidity, except for when I took their little white bundle of joy out for a walk!

Westy, looking at me and wondering why we had stopped walking!

Since we had southern fare for lunch and it was suggested to me that we have Mexican, that's what we did. The music was blasting inside and luckily as the sun was setting, the heat was going down too so we ate on the patio.

Herb and Gwen on the patio

The next day, Herb insisted that I drive their new golf cart along their 18 hole golf course. It was about 7:00 and not too hot. My biggest regret is not having my camera because the golf course trail took us to some marvelous sights along the greens and through the wonderful Georgian woods.

We then talked and chatted in their sun room, which looks onto some woods

Herb and Gwen just love their new retirement (55 years+) community. They took me to see the model homes and the well equipped amenity centre after having lunch and before I was off to the airport.

Golf Course view from Amenity Centre

Herb and Gwen's new home.
(much larger than the camper they had for four years)

It was a lovely visit and I am thankful that my work took me to a place where I was able to visit Anne Marie's in laws. They are lovely people and truthfully feel like extended family to me. They certainly adore Anne Marie as well.

A new temporary post

Needed to put a new post up so that I didn't have to look at that creature in my previous post. Everytime I saw it my skin would crawl.

guess I really don't like that Gargoyle although I have to admit that there are some out there that are a lot better looking.

some people have a "thing" about clowns, I have a similar "thing" with these creatures.

A new real post coming soon

:)

Why I hate gargoyles

I had to look at this humanlike gargoyle when I grew up. It wasn't so bad in our first home as it wasn't in a highly trafficked location. However, in our second home, my parents nailed it to the wall at the top of the stairs so it protruded outward, staring out and below to you. I think it's ugly and really gave me the creeps. It also made me swear off gargoyles for the rest of my life!

Another brick in the wall,.... no step in the garden project

I've finally covered the black tarp with wood chips. Some the plants I put there are dead and others are showing signs of bloom. Now is the time for patience as most of these plants are very little things. It's been a glorious weekend with warm temperatures, but we're in need for some rain to help the flora along.

I'll never view organ donations the same way ...

What a shocker ....

This week-end I went to visit my folks in the beautiful Laurentian Mountains on Lake MacDonald. The weather was gorgeous, the nights clear and the stars at their brightest. The first evening I was there I went down to the water's edge to look at the stars reflected in the still lake. I also saw the refection coming from a house that hadn't been there the last fall, so the next day I went over to investigate.

It was a new house, built by one of my best childhood friends, who had just inherited the land from her father who had recently passed. Ellie and her husband Norman were good friends who I had lost touch with recently .... for that I regret!

Norman walked out of the house to greet me and was as skinny as can be. He had bandages on his neck but was in great spirits. He invited me in and began to tell me about his winter ... what a winter ....

In the Fall, he had become extremely ill. It was his heart, which wasn't pumping properly so it was causing all sorts of problems. ....

To make a long story short .... he ended up having a HEART TRANSPLANT !!!!!

My God, a friend of mine, who I've known for over 30 years (I attended their wedding almost 31 years ago), who is only in his mid-fifties has a new heart. I couldn't believe it! The operation was in mid-February and he was only out of the hospital for one week when I saw him. He had complications with the surgery and it was "touch and go" for awhile. Poor Ellie had to make some very tough decisions, which could have ended Norman's life - but luck was on his side.

The doctors now saw he is healthy and his new heart is doing "just fine".

It's made me realize that I shouldn't lose touch with those I really care about because, for example, when Ellie and Norman could have used my support - I wasn't there. (I drifted away during a time when I was in a bad relationship with a man).

It also made me sign an organ transplant option on my driver's licence, which means that if I die, I can hopefully provide an organ to someone in need, just as someone did for Norman.

I thank god that Norman is healthy, and thank god both he and Ellie come from close, huge families so there was lots of support around them.

I pray that Norman will remain healthy so that he and Ellie can have at least another 31 years together.

Crazy Woman goes overboard

While the photos can't really show the true efforts of my work, yesterday I spent approximately 8 hours planting about 70 plants in what I hope to be a beautiful rock garden. One of the reasons why it's hard to see is because I have a black tarp over the ground to help minimize weeds from crowding in. Another reason why its hard to see is because I bought the really small plants that have yet to mature and spread; more economical this way.
Today I still have more to do along the side of the driveway, where I've installed some patio stones. Maybe I'll post more pictures below. But, I can assure you that I am walking somewhat like my grandmother did during her latter years of life!

The bottom photo is of some stones that I installed next to my driveway. Great for me to step on to when I get out of the car ... and also great to deposit snow in the winter after shovelling the driveway!

May 14, 2010
May 15, 2010

Yes, I am alive ....

.... things have been busy these last few months as I negotiated a new employment contract, finished up the curling season and dusted off my gardening tools. As you can see I have a lot of work to do - even tho I planted 5 rhododendrons, 12 hostas, one boxwood and some grass seed. I also have a bit of a trench at one side of my front square of dirt as I'll be putting in some tile there. Yikes, all the dirt I have there and I don't even have a big and active dog to blame it on!