oneoliverii.com

May 6, 2011

We can tell it must be time to come home because we're looking at the weather every day-haven't done that since we flew to Michigan for Christmas! We're busily sorting, packing and cleaning this week, with some time off to make a last few trips to the beach. Tonight is our Homeowner's Association meeting and party so we're going with our neighbors. I've also been walking around the neighborhood taking pictures of some of our beautiful flowers, so that I can enlarge them and hang them in the bathroom here. My next post will be on a new page-I think it's time to change to Spring/Summer 2011!!!! See many of you soon!

Here's Skipper, doing his impression of Couch potato

And here are some of the beautiful flowers

May 1, 2011

Happy May Day to all! Our Pastor gave a wonderful children's sermon this morning about May Day and flowers. We so enjoy our Lord of Life Lutheran Church here and we adore Pastor Paul-he works very hard to make the service relevant, interesting and cohesive and we will miss attending every week, although we are looking forward to going back to Christ the King as well. The sanctuary was re-modeled last year and now the narthex is being refurbished-it will be done after we leave so we'll have something to look forward to next fall.

The narthex under construction

The nave and chancel

The outside of our very beautiful LoL

We are sadly starting to pack up to leave but did find time to enjoy the beach a couple of times this week. Tomorrow our wonderful house watcher, Betty, is coming over to review what needs to be done while we're gone, Tuesday we are meeting with the kitchen man to talk about the remodel we will start as soon as we get back in the fall, Wednesday the doggies get groomed and Friday is the neighborhood homeowner's association meeting and party. We plan to leave on Monday morning and be home Wednesday afternoon. We are so looking forward to seeing all our friends and HOPING for nice weather!!

Thanks for stopping by our blog.

April 27, 2011

We have had a wonderful few days with my sister Nancy, niece Libby and greatniece Erin here. They arrived on Easter Sunday, to beautiful weather, and we enjoyed time outside after Erin looked at the basket the Easter Bunny left her.

On Monday we went to the beach for Erin's first view of the ocean! She dipped her toes in the Atlantic. Uncle Oliver had made a special umbrella for her and it kept her nice and cool.

A big ship came by and we found out in the paper that it is the world's biggest RoRo.

Yesterday we went into the village for lunch and to shop around. While we were eating, it POURED rain but then the sun came out and we were able to visit a few shops, where Nancy and Libby found quite a few treasures. We sat by the fishing pier for a bit and saw one of the RoRos coming so Nancy and Oliver ran out onto the pier to take a picture. I took a picture of them. Note the pilot boat up against the ship.

After the pilot got onto this boat, it dropped him off at the end of the fishing pier and then took off after the ship again. When the pilot walked down the pier, I stopped him to ask how it all worked and he told us that he had brought the ship out of Brunswick, with another pilot on board. He got off at the Island because his car was there, and the other pilot was taking the boat out about 10 miles, where he would get onto the pilot boat and then onto an inbound ship. Very interesting.

We took Erin to the park for her first swing and she enjoyed it very much.

Today Uncle Oliver took us for a tour of the island. We visited Christ Church and let Erin get a little fresh air. We just found that they will have to leave tomorrow instead of Friday, because of flight loads but we have had a wonderful visit. Tomorrow morning Erin will take her nap and Libby and I will run into the Village for a little more shopping time before we take them back to Jacksonville.

By the way, I know you're wondering, RoRo stands for Roll On Roll Off and they are ships that carry cars, and big equipment like bulldozers and such.

April 23, 2011

Here's a better picture of Cooper, with his Daddy

April 22, 2011

See the picture of the "girls"in Vegas. Note that my niece Ashley is pregnant. Now note that we have been home just a week. And surprise!! I now have a new great nephew! Cooper Tomlin Fouch was born yesterday morning at about 4:30AM. He needed to come early,so he only weighs 4 1/2 pounds and is a little over 16 inches long,but he's healthy and so is Mom. He will go home in 10 days or so and I can't wait to get to Grand Rapids to see the little peanut.

April 16, 2011

Well, our girl's trip to Las Vegas is now just a pleasant memory! On Wednesday, Mary and Carol flew from Grand Rapids and arrived at 10:30AM. Nancy flew from Chicago and got in at 11:30, followed closely by my niece Ashley. I was supposed to arrive before noon but due to a 2 1/2 hour delay out of Brunswick, I didn't get there until 3PM. I love our little airport here but having only 3 flights a day DOES have it's drawbacks! Wednesday night we walked over to Caesar's Palace and had dinner at Rao's, an excellent Italian restaurant. Then we walked across the street to Bally's and saw the Vegas extravanza show Jubilee. It is the show that you think of when you think Vegas-beautiful topless dancers wearing enormous headdresses, millions of sequins and the most amazing set decoration you can imagine. There were also other acts, like the Argentinian bolo acts,2 amazing guys who did balancing tricks, and a guy that soared around the stage holding on to long scarves that came down from the ceiling.We all really enjoyed the show but turned in early because we were all tired and with the 3 hour time change, it was after midnight. Here we are at Raos.

Thursday morning we ate breakfast in oneof the beautiful restaurants at the Bellagio, where we stayed. Then we set out for Paris-the hotel across the street from our hotel. Mary, Nancy and Carol took the trip to thetop of the Eiffel Tower, while I started my downward spiral at the slots. Then we walked down the Strip to the Venetian, where we rested a bit in front of the canal where the gondolas moved by every few seconds. Here are Mary, Nancy and Carol

Carol and Mary enjoying time together with a gondola in the background

Mary, Carol and I

I just noticed the Godiva shop behind us-I gave up chocolate for Lent and I am SUFFERING!

We peeked into a few of the shops and then walked through Caesar's Palaceon our way beack to the Bellagio.My niece Ashley is 7 months pregnant, so she had been resting but we all had anice lunch. This is the only picture I got of Ashley-she will kill me for posting it!

Mary needed a little rest and Carol and Ashley wanted to spend some time at the pool, while Nancy and I sat at a bar and lost more money on the poker machines! Later we all met in the casino and spent more time (and money) before going to FIX for dinner.We had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed chatting for a long time. We then adjourned to Mary and Carols's room, which overlooked the beautiful Bellagio fountain. We watched a couple of the fountain shows, complete with the musicon the TV. Ashley had a red eye back to Grand Rapids and after we saw her off to the airport, we visited the machines again to complete my losses. I think Nancy actually won but I think the rest of us lost. We finally went to bed where Carol and Mary watched the fountain show until they turned it off for the night! Here we are in their room

Our trips home were not as good as the rest of the trip! Carol and Mary were supposed to leave at 9 and arrive home by 9:30-instead they were delayed 2 hours, missed their connection in Minneapolis and finally got home around 11. Nancy's flight was also delayed and she arrived in Chicago 3 hours late. My flight was on time but about half way through, I noticed we were over the Gulf of Mexico-NOT the route between Vegas and Atlanta! We were dodging the very bad storms that covered the entire middle of the country but made it to Atlanta, only to find that all flights were seriously delayed. My 8:55PM flight turned into a 10:45 flight and after a VERY bumpy flight, finally got into Brunswick close to midnight! Today was a real chore to get through-SO tired but had such a nice time.

Next up-Nancy, Libby and baby Erin arrive next Sunday to visit for the week. I'm excited to see Erin, who was only 3 months old when we left for SSI.

Hope that everyone was spared the worst of the storms and thanks for visiting.

April 7, 2011

I'm so excited that I got space for 1000 more pictures! I take my camera with me more now. Today we went to the beach again-it was partly cloudy but very warm here and is supposed to be 88 by Sunday! We packed our lunch and books and enjoyed people watching, and got to see one of the big car boats come in. Brunswick is a huge port for imported BMWs, Volvos and Mercedes. The boat comes about every week and can carry as many as 5000 cars! My goal before we leave is to be down in the village when the boat goes by-the channel is very close to land-but these are my best pictures so far.

We came home to find our well diggers here and at work. Water is VERY expensive here. Last summer, when we weren't even here, our bill was over $100 a month. That's for our sprinkler system and having our caretaker swish and flush our toilets once a week. So we decided to put a well in to handle the sprinkler system, and then we can turn the water off when we leave. Today they drilled a 40 foot hole and tomorrow will hook it up to the pump and are expecting water-we'll see! Here they are working (and sweating) away.

Marina and Skipper spent most of the day resting. Skipper likes the back of the sofa-Marina likes the comfort of the bed!

Next week is my girl's trip with sisters,niece and mom. Be sure to tune in because what happens in Vegas----------

will DEFINITELY be on ths blog!!!

April 4, 2011

We've had a busy but fun week. Phyllis came on Thursday and we just hung around and then had dinner. On Friday we went down to the village and shopped around a bit-I found 3 pictures I really liked and bought them. We took the Trolley tour (our 3rd time!!) then had lunch at Barbara Jeans and then drove up to Christ Church to see the inside. We went home to hang the pictures and then Phyllis left to drive up to her daughter's house in Savannah. Her granddaughter's senior prom was Saturday night.

On Saturday afternoon, we drove over to the RV park in Brunswick to pick up Jim and Barbara,some friends we met in Connecticut when we stored the boat there. They did the Loop the year after we did, and I enjoyed folllowing their blog. Last year they bought an RV and spent a few months in Florida. They were on their way home and stopped just for 1 night so we took them into the village, walked around a bit and then had dinner, before taking them back to the mainland.

Yesterday we went to 8 AM church, then walked the dogs and then went into the village for an antique show in the park. We didn't find anything we wanted but the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed walking around. Today it was hot and sunny so we went to the beach for a few hours. There were a LOT of people there, because it's spring break here. Oliver is a big "people watcher" so he enjoys it when there is a lot of watching to be done! Tomorrow is supposed to be stormy so we will do our grocery shopping, a few errands and hopefully find some dry time for dog walking. Then the sun comes back so Thursday will be another beach day. This week-end there is a big art show in the park that we plan to go to.

We've decided to leave for home on May 9 and Oliver is sad! Here he is soaking up some rays today.

March 27, 2011

I'm checking to see if I actually have space now for 2000 pics so I"m going to put a few of the house and one of my new puppy-niece. Not too much has happened since I last posted-the weather was great so we spent the afternoon at the beach yesterday-it was packed so we had fun people watching. Went to church today and then walked the dogs but it was too hot (around 85) so we had to cut it short. We had some rain a while ago so hopefully it is cooler now. My BFF Phyllis is coming on Thursday so I should have more interesting pictures then.

Here's Sunnie, my sister's new baby collie. Isn't she precious? (Both of them, actually)

Here's our guest room-in case you are fussy, want you to see what you'll get here!

Guest bath-I put the fish puzzle together!

This is the other side of the room with the red desk

It's not easy to find matching lamps but I think these are perfect!!

March 24, 2011

Thanks to a couple of you who let me know this site was down. I emailed my host and found that although they are supposed to automatically bill my card for the domain name, they were waiting for me to do it so we were at an impass! Not only did they fix it for me, but we also worked out a dealfor 3 more years of service AND another 1000 pictures! I've been skimping on pics because for every one I added, I had to delete one. Now the skys the limit, so look out!

The weather continues to be hot and sunny, so we took lunch to the beach again. The wind kicked up and by the time we got home, we were pretty sandy! I had to take a shower with my flip flops and my bathing suit on-I definitely got my nitty gritty! It was a lot of fun, though, and we are enjoying our time at the beach verymuch.

Tomorrow we are going up to Savannah, so that Oliver can help John put a doggy door in for Patrick, his big boxer. We'll have dinner and then hopefully get home before dark.

Here are some of our beautiful azaleas, just about in full bloom.

March 18, 2011

I had a real nice birthday and thanks to all for the messages, cards, calls,etc. The weather has been so very nice for the past week so we have been enjoying being outdoors but we've still been working on a few things indoors. Last week we visited our favorite antique shop and found adesk for the office upstairs. Poor Oliver has been "in the closet" since we got here-his computer and printer, and all his paperwork, have been on a shelf in his bedroom closet, with all his clothes and the laundry basket. It got quite hot for him so we have been looking for a desk that would work in our second spare room upstairs. Finally found one and we brought it home and sanded and painted and he loves it! We found a chair at the consignment shop we frequent and painted it as well. Here they are:

Yesterday we had lunch and spent the afternoon at the beach. It was wonderful, with bright sunshine, warm temps and a gentle breeze. There were quite a few people as the day wore on,as it is spring break for UGA and it seems many of the kids chose SSI for their vacation.

We have also been trying to find just the right something for the very VERY tall wall over our fireplace. We have been looking at paintings but recently decided maybe a big mirror would be nice. So yesterday morning I opened our front door as we started out to walk the dogs and right across the street, in our neighbors driveway, was a huge mirror! They were having a yard sale so we went right over and this great mirror was leaning up against their car so we bought it immediately,carried it across the street and went on with our dog walking. Oliver has been trying to figure out how to hang it ever since. After 2 trips to the hardware and some time in the attic figuring out where all the 2x4s were behind the wall, we finally managed to get it secured and we love it! That's another big project we can check off our list.

Today was the first day of an invitational arts and crafts show in the Village so we walked the dogs early and went into town. There were lots of fun things to look at and we bought a few things, walked by the sound for a while and when it started getting VERY crowded, we came on home. Had a lovely afternoon on the porch, watching the dogs play while we grilled some yummy spareribs.

Looks like this week should be very nice so after washing down the front and backporches,and washing The Beast, we'll get some more beach time in. We only have another 6 or 7 weeks here-Oliver does not want to leave at all but we know we have things to do in Port Washington, so we are hoping the weather is getting nicer there!

Here's a freighter cruising past Neptune Park this morning.

March 10, 2011

I'm way overdue updating but we've been quite busy. After coming back from Charlotte, we spent a few days getting ready for my sister,BIL and stepmom to arrive. They got here on Friday and we enjoyed catching up before having dinner here and then quite a late night. We had a ball on Saturday. Oliver, John, Bunny and I walked up to Starbuck's for coffee, then we all got cleaned up and went into the village. We walked around a bit and then went for the trolley tour. Oliver and I had done that when Sue and Vicki were here and Wally was our guide then. This time Bunny (not my sis) was our guide and we learned a lot of different things. After the tour we had some lunch at Barbara Jean's and then shopped around the village. That night we had an excellent dinner at Crabdaddy's. Bunny and John left on Sunday and Mary, Oliver and I took a little walk and then rested before we had dinner here. After dinner we sat and chatted and Mary told us about her early li8fe and about her connection to Frank Lloyd Wright-her dad was a builder and built a couple of Wright's homes. On Monday we went driving-showed Mary the north end of the Island, shopped for books for Oliver, a watch for Mary and sweatshirts for both Mary and I, had lunch at Brogan's and then a wonderful Mardi Gras dinner at Blackwater Grill, a cajun restaurant. Tuesday morning we drove down to Jacksonville to take Mary to the airport. We were all tired but sure had a great time.

Next month sisters Nancy, Carol and I,sister-in-law Jana and niece Ashley are taking Mary for her first ever visit to Las Vegas! Carol just told hertoday, with an early Mother's Day card that included a picture of the Bellagio, where we will stay, and an invitation to join us all for some fun. We are looking forward to a really fun girl's time!!

Oliver, you shouldn't pet that whale!

Oh no, I knew that was a bad idea!

Oh well, so much for that ambidexterous thing

Well, Bunny didn't seem to have a problem

Here's the group at Crabdaddy's

The beautiful and historic Christ Church

February 27, 2011

After we took our days off, we went right back to work-me painting the half bath and Oliver doing the front porch. On Thursday we drove up to Charlotte so that Oliver could help Debbie build bookcases for her new apartment. As soon as we got there, the two of them took off for Home Deopt to buy supplies. We went out to dinner and turned in early. On Friday, my BFF Phyllis came to pick me up to go shopping. Debbie and Dad got to work on the bookcases. Midway through, Debbie had to leave to get her hair done and Oliver had to re-do a couple of mistakes they had made. After shopping and lunch, Phyllis made 2 pillows for me for my new sofa sleeper. Then Oliver and Debbie and her friend Keith joined us at Phyllis's house for a yummy dinner. On Saturday Deb, Oliver and I went to Home Depot for paint for the bookcase and then to Kohls(there is no Kohls near us here and I was desperate for new jeans and new jammies), and to Costco(there is no Costco near us and I was desperate for jelly bellys-I ate the 8 pounds I brought with me) and to World Market for coffee cups and a new bathroom rug. Had hot dogs for lunch at Costco and then back to the apartment to paint. Oliver was too tired to goout for dinner so we ordered pizza. This morning we stopped for coffee at Phyllis and Bobby's and got home at about 2:15. Unpacked the car and picked up our doggies,who had boarded in the same run for the first time ever! I was a nervous wreck but I think they enjoyed it-at least they sure are tired! On Friday my sister and BIL and stepmom are coming and I am VERY excited about it. Hoping for good weather so we can goout and have fun but we'll have a great time no matter what!

The weather is beautiful and our azaleas are starting to bloom

Here's Debbie arranging her books

February 19, 2011

We finally made ourselves take a few days off and have we ever enjoyed it!! Thursday morning I finished my painting and then we went into the village for an outside hamburger at one of our favorite restaurants. Had a hilarious conversation with 3 ladies at a tablenext to us, two of whom were from Saugatuck!! After lunch we browsed through a few shops andI picked up a doggie place mat that the lady at Island Dog had ordered for me and then we came home and just sat around like beached whales! here we are at lunch.

And here is the picnic area in Neptune Park. This was re-done last year and there is this beautiful picnic area with grills and tables and big trees and also a swimming pool, a big playground and aminiature golf course. They are currently re-doing the fishing pier so all will be very spiffy when tourist season starts.

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the beach,enjoying books, snacks and a couple of adult beverages. It was warm with a gentle breeze and not too crowded,although there were a lot ofpeople there especially later in the afternoon. We camehome about four and rested untilOliver's favorite shows were on-Gold Rush and Flying Alaska.

Oliver has gotten VERY interested in the local history here, after taking the trolley tour and reading the St. Simons trilogy by Eugenia Price, so today we went over to Fort Frederica for the Living History Festival. Fort Frederica is a National Park and preserves the archaeological remains of one of Great Britain's strongest forts in the colony of Georgia. It was established in 1736 and in 1742, British troops from frederica and nearby Darien defeated the Spanish Floridians in the Battles of Gully Hole Creek and Bloody Marsh. Ironically, although these battles saved Frederica from destruction by the Spanish, they doomed the town and fort to ruins. Without a Spanish threat, Britain pulled Frederica's soldiers out of the fort and the settlers left as the town's economy suffered. Time has worn down the earthworks protecting the town but the ruins and foundations of the buildings remain. Yesterday was the 275th anniversary of the founding of the town of Frederica. There were re-enactments and costumes, games for the children and demonstrations of life in that era-a very interesting afternoon.

Here are 2 of the Frederica militia firing their muskets. off in the distance you can see a fishing boat that was heading our way. I bet they got quite a scare!

The Spanish fired this big 3 pound cannon. We were told to cover our ears but I had to take this picture. Oliver said I jumped about a foot into the air!

These graves are over 270 years old!!

I just adore the massive live oaks draped in Spanish moss. The battleship Constitution was built from St. Simons Island live oaks, the stern being from one giant tree alone. They are beautiful and historic masterpieces.

February 16, 2011

What the heck is this thing?

That is part of our old air conditioner/heat pump which we had replaced today. What ever this stuff is came out of the attic and, after much pushing and pulling and grunting by 3 guys, some new stuff went up! And the old compressor went away and a new bigger one was installed. I know we needed it, and the new one is much more energy efficient, and the old one was too small, but it sure is NOT a fun way to spend money. Not like buying furniture, or clothes, or trips. While the 3 men were working away, I was PAINTING again! You would think this was a big house as much as I paint instead of a pretty small house. Anyway, did the guest bedroom today and fortunately I liked the color and was able to match it, so it was fairly easy. Just one more bathroom to paint and I'm done!

Oliver meanwhile was working on the valences for the upstairs bedrooms. I wanted them covered in some fabric I bought but it turned out to not be as easy as I thought. Oliver had to go to the store for paint to match the fabric so we will try again tomorrow. He also finished a table he made for me-here it is

It looks as nice as the Stanley table that I am now trying to have replaced because it's not right--but it didn't cost $400!!!! If he could only upholster, I would have him make all my furniture. Speaking of upholstery, here are my new chairs

The pillows are in them to keep the dogs off-they insist on"inspecting" everything we get!

Tomorrow we have errands to run but we are taking the day off Thursday and Friday, as it is going to be sunny and in the 70s. We plan to eat an outside lunch at one of our favorite restaurants and stroll through the shops and maybe go to the beach. We definitely think we need a break!

Hope everyone reading this is well.Thanks for visiting us.

February 9, 2011

We are becoming very afraid to ever leave the house, as it always seems to lead to spending money! Tomorrow our sleeper sofa is being delivered so we went antiquing today and found a barn wood chest that we will use as a coffee table in that room,and then we found an end table at TJMaxx. I have the room painted so will take a picture tomorrow after the delivery. Then we came home and Chris came to plant some flowers for us. That's nice because I like flowers but ALSO because it means spring is almost here!! See how pretty my newflowers look.

February 5,2011

We are real Southerners!! We had 2 palm trees put in yesterday. Oliver has wanted a palm tree since we got here so finally had our yard maintenance guy/landscaper/fence builder extraordinaire Chris do a little "oasis" in our front yard. It looks great but I fear that Chris will not want to keep working with us, as every time he does extra work for us,he and his team end up being here after dark on a Friday night! Here they are planting:

It takes a lot of people to plant an oasis!!

Have I mentioned that I HATE PAINTING!!!! Tackled another bedroom today. We bought a sleeper sofa the other day and it will be delivered Thursday,so I needed to get the room painted. I think that "Builder's White Flat Paint" should be outlawed and any builder who uses it should be sentenced to a million hours of community service, all spent painting for those of us who are covering their s%$#@&t ! I had to use 2 coats of paint, even though it was the kind with primer already in it, because the walls just sucked up the paint as quickly as I put it on. I did get it done, though, and it looks nice. I have to laugh though, because I have used several different colors of paint, with names like Affable Beige, Misty, Tony Taupe, Upward,as well as a color I mixed myself, and every time I show a roomto Oliver, he says "that looks green to me". The one color I HAVEN'T used is green!! I have another bedroom and 2 bathroomsto do and then I will be done!

What do these look like to you?

If you said little bitty tiny church pews, you are not right! These are valences Oliver made for the windows in our upstairs bedrooms. I have ordered 7 different fabric swatches,and when we pick a couple, we will cover the valences with them and then he will install them. And the work continues!!

Hope everyone enjoys watching the Packers win the Super Bowl!!

February 2, 2011

What a beautiful day it is here! It's sunny and warm and we were able to walk in shorts and tee shirts. Not only that, but we went grocery shopping this morning and saved $89.65 on our $300 grocery bill AND earned 85 cents a gallon fuel discount! And after all that, Oliver didn't go for the $995 desk I found in the furniture store next to the grocery store. What a scrooge, huh?

Oliver ran into our realtor in the grocery store and it reminded me of one of the funny things that happened while Sue and Vicki were here. We looked at a house and it seemed to be empty, so we walked around back to look at the pool. Sue walked up the stairs and pulled on a sliding glass door and it opened-so in we went! It had a big sign that said it was protected by ADP but we didn't hear any sirens, so we took our time looking upstairs and down. When we got ready to leave, Oliver thought it would be funny to hit the panic alarm on his truck. But then--he couldn't turn it off! So there we stood in the driveway, with this enormously loud horn blaring, for waht seemed like 30 minutes! He finally got it turned off and we jumped in the car but thought we saw somebody down the street watching us-figured they were going to get our license plate number but it turned out to be a little girl, so we made a clean getaway! Our realtor's daughter is a Magistrate Judge, so she probably wouldn't have thrown us in jail or anything.

Hope all our friends to the north are digging out and have power. We wouldn't mind seeing aboout 24 hours of pretty snow but the darned stuff just doesn't leave quick enough!!

January 29, 2011

We are sitting here trying to stop our cheeks from hurting from all the laughing we did while our friends Sue and Vicki were here!~ It was a great girl's getaway plus our manservant Oliver! They arrived Wednesday afternnon. The first thing we did was get a little lost coming home from what turns out to be a WONDERFUL little airport. We had a traditionallow country boil dinner and wentto bed early. Marina was pleased to be invited to sleep with her Auntie Sue,whom she has missed greatly.

Thursday morning we walked the dogs, after I made a baked oatmeal from a recipe that Sue and Vicki brought. It was chilly but nice. Then we decided to drive over to Jekyll Island which I have heard about forever and which we all had heard was upscale and swanky. It cost us $5 to get on the island and we should have been suspicious when the money-taker wished us a good afternoon! The entire north end of the island is totally torn up as they build a new convention center. So, we headed for the :"historic district." There are a few shops, one of which was closed for lunch and one which is for sale. So back into the car we went, thinking we must have overlooked the "good part" of the island. We found the shops that had been displaced by the convention center-they all, including the IGA, were housed in construction trailers-although they DID overlook the ocean! So we retraced our steps and after driving through some construction,found the Jekyll Island Club,where they were playing croquet on the lawn in their whites. We should have gone in to look at the hotel but by then we were just laughing too much, and we were afraid that they were going to charge us even more to get OFF the island so we headed back. Our afternoon lasted all of about one hour. We decided that perhaps we were just too shallow to appreciate the natural beauty of the place. Although, we stopped at Brogan's here on SSI for lunch and our waitress said she used to work on Jekyll and "there is nothing there". We shopped a bit in the village and Sue and Vicki both found a few things. I unfortunately came down with a bad cold and sneezed my head off all afternoon. I'll feel terrible if one of their "souvenirs" is a bad cold.

Thursday night Vicki and Sue treated us to lunch at Frederica House and it was very nice. We all had seafood and it was excellent. Friday we took the dogs on an abbreviated walk and then headed to the village for the Trolley Tour. The weather was quite nice and Wally, our tour guide,was interesting,to say the least! He was so informative-we learned so much about the island and saw all the important sites. After the tour,we enjoyed lunch at Barbara Jean's, one of our favorite places. Wally had recommended it and every person the trolley was there!! We set out then to look at a few houses on the island,and after several confusing twists and turns,we managed to look at about 10 houeses on every part of the island. After cocktails at home, we headed for Tramicis,an excellent Italian restaurant. After a wonderful meal, we were pleasantly surprised to find that Tom had treated us all! Home for some TV before turning in.

Sue and Vicki had a 10AM flight this morning so we had a quick breakfast and then went to the airport. We had so much fun,laughed so much and learned somuch about the island with our "guinea pig guests". We hope they will come back and bring Tom and Paul with them.

They were loaded with gifts for us when they got here! Sue brought Oliver a yummy bag of nuts and meat and chocolate. She brought Marina and Skipper a big stuffed Nemo, which they immediately started a tug of war contest over. The best of all was "Wooly Skipper and Marina". This is a felted stuffed EXACT replica (except for Marina's legs) of our furkids. Shje also brought "designer" wine glasses for the 3 girls and Vicki brought usall sparkly tee shirts. We carried our wine glasses with us EVERYWHERE and tried to keep them filled as much as possible!

Here are Woolly Marina and Skipper (and woolly Nemo)

Sue also made Packer bandanas for the doggies for the big game

Sue and Vicki

Here we are on the Jekyll Island Trolley. Where are all the other tourists?

Here is our Bling shirt

And here we are enjoying our wine

January 24, 2011

What a happy day here in SSI!!! GO PACK!!! We almost both had heart attacks yesterday and thought the game would never end. Still waiting to see of the rest of my Bears-loving family is still talking to me!!

The painting continues. I hope to finish the trim today and then will stop til after Sue and Vicki are here. My furniture was delivered Friday and I love, love, love my dining room chairs! I forgot how pretty they were since I ordered them back in October.

We went to a bunch of antique stores on friday and found some headboards for the guest room and a chair I loved (but did not buy--yet) for our bedroom.

Next update should be more interesting, as we will be touring the island and visiting Jekyll Island with Sue and Vicki.

Here's my dining room, with chairs and cushion for window seat.

January 18, 2011

Well, it seems like it's always 2 steps forward and then 1 step back! Got a call yesterday from the shipping company to tell me that they opened the case goods items to check for any damage before they loaded them onto the truck and wouldn't you know, the end table and one of the nightstands were damaged. So, they are delivering the ottoman, one nightstand and 4 dining room chairs on Friday but the end table and the other nighttable will be coming with the other 2 living room chairs. Arrrgghhhh!!! On the positive side, though, I did get a cushion ordered for my window seat and it should be ready by early next week. Oliver and I spent over 2 hours at the upholsterer looking at fabric. I finally found one I liked--only to find out that it was $95 a yard, which seemed a bit extreme for something that people will sit on!! After spending all that time, I finally picked out a fabric that is almost identical to the one I have on the stools for the kitchen! It's not imaginitive but it was a safe pick! I can't get the other fabric out of my head though so think I will have a roman shade made out of it for the kitchen window-that will take about 1/3 the fabric that the cushion required.

Today my house painter Jeannette (who also happens to be son John's girlfriend) is here painting the living room. The vaulted ceiling is 18 feet high and NO WAY was I going up and didn't want Oliver to either. And she is a professional painter so the end result will be better for sure!!

I got a new lamp that was supposed to go on my end table and is to big for the other little end table, so Oliver went out into the garage and net thing I knew---he made me an end table!! I'll use it in the living room until my other table gets here and then we'll put it outside with the rockers. isn't he amazing?

Hope everyone is doing well. Let's all root for the Packers on Sunday-although this is a little like the Civil War in my family since we are split bewteen diehard Bears fans and those of us who REALLY understand footbale!

My housepainter (and my new lamp-I promise I'll take the cellophane wrapper off of it!!)

My new end and/or porch table. It also has a very cool tray that sits over the top-I'll include that picture net time.

Here's the table with the tray on it. It can slip on and off, depending upon where we want to use it. The tray atually has a small table with short legs that goes with it and is for serving breakfast in bed. Guess I won't wait too long for that!!!

January 14, 2011

It's cold here!! The other day I had to wear a frigging hat!!! We are ready for the 70 degree day that supposedly is coming on Tuesday. We actually saw ice yesterday -- our sprinkler system came on at 5 AM and it was so cold that it froze on the driveway!

Oliver continues his projects. He finished my very beautiful window seat-now I just have to get a cushion made for it. He also put up some beadboard wainscoting in the living room which I painted the custom color I mixed.Next up is a bench for our bedroom and some storage ottomans for the guest room and I need to do more painting.

I have more furniture coming next Friday. FINALLY. Dining room chairs,nightstands, an end table and hopefully an ottoman. The only things left will be the 2 chairs for the living room. They were done but they decided the patters didn't match so they are re-making one of them. At least when our feiends Sue and Vicki come, they won't haveto eat standing up!

Hope everyone is well and staying warm.

My beautiful windowseat. He is so talented-doesn't even have his fancy tools here.

Wainscoting.

January 4, 2011

Hmm-had to backspace and make it 2011!! Happy New Year to all! We had our usual quiet New Year's Eve-if we make it til 10, we consider that a late night. The weather has been nice-we've had some shorts and t-shirts days. Oliver finished the fireplace so today I took him to Lowes and Home Depot and we got the materials for 3 more projects-some bead board wainscoting for the living room, materials for a window seat in the dining room and shades for the door to the screened porch. Should keep him busy for a week or so!! We have a few friends scheduling trips to see us so will be accepting reservations on a first come first served basis!!

Had our first fire in the new fireplace.

December 28, 2010

Back from our trip to Grand Rapids. Hope everyone had a merry Christmas. Ours was nice but we missed my Dad very much. The horrible weather in the east caused our Atlanta-Jacksonville flight to be canceled, so we rented a car and drove back. Still got home in time to pick up the furbabies and settle in. Oliver was up and at it early yesterday morning and today the fireplace is about 90% finished. He has to do some trim work and wall repair and I have to try to pick out a wall color. Our weather is warming up now-we had to cover our ferns again last night but it is supposed to be 70 by Friday so we're looking forward to that. No plans for New Years Eve, but then we rarely go out that night. Happy 2011 to all!

Here's Oliver working this morning

Alsmost done

Everything is attached

December 22, 2010

Just a fireplace update. Wow, things have changed a lot from when I started this blog for the Great Loop and it was excitement every day! Anyway, Oliver got up at 5AM today to start work. Got all his Duroc screwed on and then started the Quickset concrete. What a mess that was! It took us several hours to get it smoothed out and even enough. Now it dries until we get back from Michigan and then he can start on the granite. Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas.

The Duroc

The quickset. Yikes-that's CEMENT in my LIVING ROOM!!!

December 20, 2010

After sleeping on it for a night, we decided to try to lift the granite out of the truck. the fabricator told us it weighs between 150-180 pounds. Apparently I am much stronger than I look, because we managed to get it out of the truck and into the garage without dropping it. (Although Oliver thinks he might have a hernia!) Then, after thinking about it for awhile, back into the truck we went and back to the granite place, where we had them cut FOUR more pieces of granite for us. Oliver picked them up today, all cut and polished, and we have themall in the garage. he also spent several hours at Home Depot and Lowes (a daily occurrence) getting all the wall board and tools he needs. This morning he went back to pick up the granite. hel oves it there-they let him come into the shop and they showed him all their tools and they talked "shop" and advised him on thinset--he was in heaven! After hje camehome we drove to Savannah to drop off Christmas gifts and tomorrow he starts his new career as a granite installer!

Her4e's the mantel and surround-not installed, just leaning up against the fireplace.

Here's our little granite warehouse in the garage.

December 18, 2010

We spent a LOT of time at the flooring store picking out tile for the fireplace. While waiting for the estimate to come, we saw an ad for a granite fabricator having a remnant sale so we thought we'd takea look. Oliver found a piece he just loved and since this is "his" fireplace, I agreed. They cut and polished and loaded it into the truck--and it's too heavy for us to get it out!!!! Now we have to wait for the big strong young man next door to walk outside and Oliver will pounce on hime and get his help!!! In the meantime, he has torn the old fireplace apart, so there's no turning back now!! The pictures in our heads of this house are very different so it may be quite a mishmash of styles but I guess it'll be us!!

Here's the demolition as is stands now.

December 14, 2010

It's been a bit cold here for the past few days. Yesterday I finally broke down and went to Target and bought a pair of gloves and a hat-by the time we got home in the afternoon, it was 40 degrees, sunny and calm and I didn't need them!! We had a busy week-end, visiting with son John on Saturday, to celebrate his birthday which was December 6. He fixed us a wonderful meal and we visited with him and his girlfriend Jeannette until it was time to change for our next party. We went to our dear friend Phyllis's daughter's house for a cocktail party, which I had THOUGHT was the night before. Fortunately, I got the invitation out to put the address into our GPS, and discovered my mistake! Katherine and her husband own a 200+ year old house that was once a plantation and also was owned by Henry Ford. It is incredibly beautiful. Phyllis came down here on Sunday and we had a nice visit with her until she left on Monday.

Now it's back to working on the house. Oliver has hated the fireplace since the first time we saw the house and he finally ordered a new mantel and surround. We disagree on what to do - I wanted to paint it white and he wanted to stain it. Since he NEVER gets his way with these things, I gave in and it will be stained. Now we have to pick the tile for it and he has to tear out the old one. Hopefully we'll have it done before the end of the year. I'm working on the kitchen remodel, hoping to get the plans started before we leave in May so that the work can be done next fall.

We are looking forward to going to Grand Rapids for Christmas-hoping that the weather will cooperate. We hope all our friends have joyous holidays.

Here's John, Jeannette and our grand-dog Patrick.

Phyllis and Me

Phyllis and the doggies-note that I am losing the battle to keep them off the furniture

The ugly fireplace

The soon to be beautiful fireplace

December 4,2010

According to the paper, winter is just about here in SSI.

So we bought our first Christmas presents and then came home to sit on the porch. Note that Oliver has his winter clothes on!

December 4, 2010

We arrived home yesterday from our brief cruise to the Bahamas and spent the afternoon doing laundry,grocery shopping, etc. We had a great time, although it was a very different cruise than we usually take. We like to see new and different places and keep moving but this trip was all about relaxing-which we're not very good at! We left from Port Canaveral, so we drove the 230 miles on Monday morning. When we were about 5 milesfrom the port, it started raining and was pouring down as we pulled in to the parking lot. Oliver had to go to the bathroom and fortunately we parked right by a port a potty so he jumped out of the car and went. I gave him an umbrella when he got back and he stood outside the car and kept telling me that it was letting up. I'd get out and it would get worse so I 'd jump back in! This went on for about 30 minutes until finally it really did let up and we went the short distance into the terminal. Here's poor Oliver standing in the rain while I'mnice and dry in the car.

Things improved from there. We were seated at a table with a very nice couple from Ohio, Rich and Karen. This was their first cruise and their 3 daughters had surprised them with it for their anniversary. There was supposed to be another couple at our table but they never showed up. The next day was spent anchored at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean's private island. It was warm and sunny but windy, so we spent much of our time in a cabana, reading and watching the beautiful ocean. We had lunch and right after Oliver refilled his plate with rice and peas and barbecued ribs, the wind picked it up and plastered it across my chest! I was covered in rice and red barbecue sauce.We decided to go back to the ship so I could rinse out my coverup before it dried butjust as the tender reached the boat, a lady fainted and we sat for a while as she was tended to and carried off. We think she was going to be fine but we felt very bad for her. Spent the rest of the day by the pooland then went to dinner and the show. We were impressed with both the food and the entertainment on this ship-both as good as or better than some of our longer cruises.

Wednesday we were in Nassau for the day and we just walked around a bit-we've been to Nassau before- and then had a drink at Senor Frog before more pool time and dinner and the show. The Norwegian Gem had left port a while after we did, and was anchored next to us at their private island and was next to us in Nassau. They were due to leave at 6PM-pulled their gangway, slipped theirlines and started moving. Then stopped, opened the door, dropped the gangway--and here came a golf cart with 2 people who jumped off the cart and ran up the gangway! We could hear people on the ship cheering. The ship left and we went to shower but an hour later, here she came back into her slip. An ambulance pulled up, the gangway went out and a person was carried out on a stretcher. Two minutes later, the Gem pulled out again. Again, we felt very badly for the unfortunate person. What a nightmare to be hospitalized in a foreign country.

Thursday we were at sea and we went to a few fun events-Music trivia and the Captain's Q and A - and spent time at the pool. We pulled into port yesterday at 6:45AM and because we had our car and carried our own luggage, we were off the ship and into the car before 8AM. We really enjoyed ourselves. Oliver said it was the best $25 cruise he ever took! We had each gotten a cruise certificate for 25% of our fare on last year's Bernuda cruise which had been shortened by 10 hours because of Hurricane Ida so this cruise really did cost us each only about $100, after taxes and port fees, etc. And of course,we did have a bar bill when we departed!!!

Now it's back to work on the house. More painting for me and a fireplace redo for Oliver. We didn't take a lot of pictures but here are a few in Nassau.

November 24, 2010

Painting Fiasco!!!! I decided it was time to paint the bedroom and bathroom so off I went to Home Depot to get the paint I was SURE I wanted. Came home,cleared out the bedroom, set up the ladder and supplies and......HATED the color. After a minor little dust up with my spouse, and checking the bathroom color which I ALSO hated, off I went to HD again. They re-tinted both paints and this morning I set everything up again and success-sort of. I like the color but ran out of time and paint before I could get the second coat on. In the middle of it, our new TV was delivered. We had a little 21" TV in our bedroom and I had to get out of bed and walk over to see the guide. No problem with the new one!! Didn't get a chance to check the bathroom paint, so no telling how that will turnout.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We are blessed with a wonderful church home here and will be sharingf Thanksgiving dinner with many of our new friends there. Wishing happiness to all.

Here's the beginning of the paint fiasco. This is when I realized the color was wrong.

This is the ugly yellow paint I was covering up, and the tiny TV.

And here's the new paint and new BIG TV!

November 18, 2010

Today is Skipper'sbirthday and he is getting a new fence as a present!! It's just about dark now and they are finishing the gate on one side but will have to come back tomorrow for the other side. So, one more morning of walking the dogs before sunrise!! We're very excited.

We have had more busy days. Oliver has trimmed all the windows in the house, which weren't done because of the plantation shutters. Then today he switched one of the closet doors in the bedroom, which opened INTO the room and was going to interfere with our end table. Tomorrow we will start painting,I think.

I spent quite a bit of time on the computer on Xbids-thanks to my BIL John.I had never heard of it before he mentioned it last week but today I bought a BluRay disc player for $1.86!!!!

The dogs are enjoying it here-I think it's because we have a king bed here.

The weather has been fabulous. In the 70s and sunny every day and it cools off so nicely at night. We haven't had either the heat or the AC on yet. The dogs like it when we sit on the porch.

Skipper opening his birthday present from Cody and Aunt Sue.

Skip's other present being built.

November 11, 2010

We arrived in St. Simons Island on Monday after spending 2 days in Grand Rapids, 1 night in Elizabethtown, KY and 2 nights in Atlanta. We were sure happy to be here and made a beeline to the village for dinner at Barbara Jean's-I couldn't wait to have their yummy shrimp and grits. We took a lovely moonlit walk along the new boardwalk by the ocean and watched the refurbished lighthouse work it's magic light. Tuesday was unpacking and shopping day, as was yesterday and likely today! Oliver is busy meeting with fence builders, a surveyor and our Architectural Review Committee. If we get a fence built, it will mean that neither of us has to get dressed at 5 AM to walk our dogs, who are early risers! I'll try to get a few pictures of our beautiful new village park and boardwalk one day this week. We also want to go for a walk on the beach while our weather is so beautiful.

God bless our veterans and service men and women today, and every day.

October 22, 2010

I'm not sure whether anybody checks this site any more,since it has been so long since I posted, but I will keep it as a record for myself. We had a difficult summer, as my Daddy was ill from April on,and he passed away on September 24. I was blessed to be able to spend quite a bit of time with him, and to be with him at the end. It's very difficult to not have him with us any longer, but he was a wonderful man and had the life he deserved, and I know I will see him again one day.

Other than that, the summer was quiet. We took the boat to Bay Harbor, Michigan, for a boat show. She is for sale and we have had a few serious lookers but will have her until next summer. If she doesn't sell early in the summer,we will likely make a trip out to New Jersey, which we actually would enjoy very much.

Last week-end we flew to North Carolina for Oliver's 50th high school reunion, and had a great time. Turns out he has aged really well!! we also visited with our best friends, Phyllis and Bobby, had lunch with Oliver's sister and her husband, and had time with his daughter. Also, we bought a LOT of furniture for our St. Simons Island house!!

We are in the process of packing for our winter in Georgia. We plan to leave on November 3 and will make stops in Michigan and Atlanta on our way. We are looking forward to it very much, especially as it is starting to get cold here!! The forecast calls for a "wintry mix" next week!! Yikes-time to go!

Will keepposting, just in case anybody cares!