Could Not Post on Facebook ~ LOVE 1-800-Got-Junk

Well, Amy has been unhappy about our garage for ages.  She really wants to put the cars into the garage.  Go figure.

So, today the 1-800-Got-Junk guys came.  If you remember, they came to the house in Maryland SIX times prior to our move.

Today, we only needed 1 and 1.3 of a truck.  Amy is so happy!!!!!!

This is what it looks like right now.  It may not look like much but it is vastly better.  We will take a weekend and straighten it out and we are going to have a Garage Designer come in and take a look and draw out what we need to have installed and then install it.

I do have to say how proud I am of Amy ~ we worked great together and were willing to pitch EVERYTHING.  

Job done.

And we found another piece of Mom's artwork.  I don't want anyone to fight for it, so I am putting out a photo for everyone.

Love, Leslie

Hello Alexa!

Those of us who know Mom know that she loves gadgets.  She has an ipad, a Kindle Fire and now........Alexa.
And I think this is going to be great.  If she wakes up at night...Alexa, what time is it?  If she wants to hear some music....Alexa play 40's music, play opera music, play show tunes.
Alexa read me the news headlines.  And Alexa connects to NPR and they tell the news.  

This is fabulous!  Alexa will also read her audio books to her and I am currently trying to figure out how to make that happen.  Google is helping, but it is not accepting my password. 

There is always something.  But right now, Mom is in her big LazyBoy chair with her feet up and opera playing.

Genus.

Love, Leslie

Is It Spring???? No....but Spring Training, YES!

It has been so warm ~ Amy had the windows open and when the Williams were here it was so nice to go outside and enjoy the warmth.  And now, wham! Spring is gone and winter is still here.  

The Bradford Pears are past full bloom and I saw some Redbud.  And it is supposed to be 26 Friday night!!!!!!!!! Brrrrrrrrrr. 

It does however, look gorgeous in Arizona and Florida!!!! I am loving Spring training.

We just got back from the hairdresser.  We stop at McDonalds after so Mom can get a hazelnut iced coffee (her favorite).  She is probably napping while I do the laundry.  The dogs are napping and so is Amy.  Everyone is asleep but me.  Mmmm.  Maybe I should follow the trend.

This is how he is napping.

Love, Leslie

The Williams Family Desends Upon Durham

Tony, Carole, Jane and Emma came to Durham to visit Elon and Wake Forest and most importantly, to visit with us.  The dogs were in 7th heaven because of all the attention.  

Carole put a bag of Meyer lemons from her own tree into Jane's knapsack:

Gorgeous!

We had a ton of fun and lots of laughs. Amy got Tony to fix a couple of doorknobs and to change the lights over our kitchen counter:

As you can see, the fun interfered with the completion of the job.  The new one is on the right.  We will hire out to finish the job.

This is Emma and Loki on one of their many walks to the Eno River

Bennett helping set up the Scrabble game with Carole ~ the ONLY reason that I might be glad they are gone is so Carole and I can play Scrabble over the internet.

Jane on the back deck

Emma, Maren and Jane at Clouds Brewery

Carole, Jane, Emma and Tony

While they were here, we discovered that my iphone prefers to give directions via the scenic route (not the most direct) and that a zillion drinking glasses were used daily.

The weather was fantastically warm and clear while they were here ~ they escaped the rain and flooding that was going on in California.  

They left this morning at 9am.  To keep some memories going, I am going to try and grow hops in a whiskey barrel and Tony says he is going to send us some of his ginger ale that he makes.  

It is incredibly quiet in the house ~ Amy is working, mom is napping, the dogs are napping.  I am running the dishwasher and getting ready to go outside on the deck and watch the birds.

Bennett has actually gone to sleep in this position and is snoring.  He is exhausted.

Love, Leslie

Hello, Mrs. Santini

Mom likes to sneak around and get crackers ~ when she shouldn't have crackers.  Her doctor wants her to have less salt AND I give her crackers at lunch and again at night when she goes to bed AS PER her request!!!

So, I have a new package of dog treats on the counter:

Mom comes into the kitchen because she is ready for her wine.  I tell her that I will get it as I am going outside to get the bird feeder.  

I take her wine to her.

She comes back into the kitchen to tell me that the cookies that I have on the counter are horrible.  What?????????

Yes.  She cruised over to where the dog treats are and helped herself ~ while I was outside.

I am still laughing ~ Lori thinks they might taste ok with onion dip or pimento cheese.  For certain people.  (Channeling Mrs. Santini..........)

Nancy says "health bar" is an alternative fact.  

I am still smiling.

I ought to do this more often.  This was an accident, but I can see how Mrs. Santini was able to not kill her husband.

Love,
Leslie

Go Brady!

Super Bowl Sunday ~ we had Sunday dinner and sat down to watch the game.  Half were Patriots fans and half were cheering for the Falcons only because the Falcons had never won it.  As Lori said, no one really had a horse in that race.

After halftime, the Falcons were demolishing the Patriots and everyone left.  I kept the game on ~ watching only with one eye.  I made it thru the 3rd quarter and thought "never give up on Brady" so I stayed.

OMG ~ Brady caught fire in the 4th and I made some noise, which made Amy follow the game on the internet.  When Brady tied the game at the end, I went and told Amy that she might want to watch.

My favorite radio guy is Tony Kornheiser and he has said all year that the Patriots would win because he knew they were so angry at Roger Goddell and his complete hazing of Brady and that they wanted Roger to have to hand the Lombardi trophy and MVP to Brady.  So I watched to see what would happen.

The Patriots won in overtime.

Roger Goddell did shake Brady's hand on the field.  But he did not hand the trophy to him. Terry Bradshaw did.  Which I feel was classless of Roger Goddell.

Now, college lacrosse and............baseball.

Love,
Leslie

Somewhat Relaxing

It is a beautiful Saturday morning and I feel somewhat relaxed.  Here it is...Feb. 4th and I have put away (that being the key phrase) all of Christmas.  No boxes or bins in my room.  In fact, it looks somewhat empty.  And, the guest rooms are all clean and ready for guests ~ no bins in there either.  I did leave all the bins in one of the guest rooms last year.  I know, shame.

I have the laundry started.  I did 99% of the grocery shopping yesterday ~ who doesn't carry Fritos?  Honestly, I went to Kroger to get everything ready for dinner tomorrow and they didn't have any Fritos.  Oh well, it will be a one bagger when I go AGAIN to the grocery.

What are we having for Super Bowl Sunday dinner?  Hotdogs, chili, chips, salsa, onion dip, brownies ~ a very typical easy dinner.

All this free time is making me think about the garage ~ my next project.  But, I can wait a bit to start that.  

So, enjoy your day.  I plan on enjoying mine.

Love,
Leslie