Since I Have To Be On the Quiet Side.....

Amy is on a telephone conference so I am working on being real quiet.  She says I tend to make a lot of noise.......

So time to update you on what Amy and Leslie are up to in Hillsborough, NC.  Number 1 ~ it is hot hot hot.  But, since it is hot everywhere, how can we complain?  I like it hot and sweaty and it sure is! 

We helped Jesse and Megan celebrate their engagement:

Jesse and Megan

The Party

The Lemon Cake made by me!

We thought the cake was good (thank you Carole for your Meyer Lemons!) and apparently so did everyone because I am making Maren the lemon cake for her wedding and making Megan the lemon cake for her wedding in August 2024!)

Maren and Patrick ~ their wedding will be September 23, 2024

We have decided that our sofas are just not working anymore so Amy bought a new sofa and a recliner (that I think will help her back).  The old sofas and two end tables are leaving tomorrow.  Also coinciding with the arrival of the new sofa and recliner.  Any guesses on if it all happens at the same time?

So, I am getting the end tables ready to go:

This was all on the end tables....must find new storage

And here are some signs that fall is coming...

Very early Halloween decorations on Cole Mill Road, but cute!

'

This tree is at the end of our block.  First one to get glorious for Fall!

Yesterday, I took Amy to Duke Spinal Center.  Her doctor decided to kill some nerves in her back, so hopefully a lot of the pain in her back will disappear.  Cross your fingers!!!

And of course, one of the first football games of the year is Notre Dame vs Navy in Dublin, Ireland.  You know how we feel!!!!!!! 

Much love,

Leslie

A Little of Everything

 Happy August everyone!  And apparently it is hot hot hot everywhere!!!!!! There has been a lot going on, but it seems just to be a mishmash of stuff.  Never let it be said that I do not share what is happening in my world...

First, here is Maren deciding on her dress in Anthropologie.

Absolutely gorgeous!

And there is more wedding stuff going on!  Jesse and Megan are having an engagement party this Saturday (August 13) and I am making the cake.  She wants a lemon cake.  So, off to Martha Stewart I go!

First layer

And boy is it good!  When I ice it and it is ready for the party I will take the real photo.   And, apparently Maren wants a lemon cake also for her wedding, so I will make her one.  Plus, a chocolate one for Patrick.  

On Saturday, Rhonda, Amy and I went off to Furniture Land South ~ the mecca for all things furniture.  The place/places is enormous!  We were looking for the perfect leather sofa.  Amy tested every sofa there, so there may be a new sofa in our future!

Nancy is feeling better.  Her doctor gave her the ok to drive short distances so she went to the Post Office ~ and she loved it!  He also gave her the ok to vacuum and that did not go so well.  Needless to say she is not going to vacuum for a while.

And, for a moment in time, August 5, 2923....these are the standings in the American League East.  Please take off you hats and hold your hands over your heart....the Orioles are in first place and the Yankees are 10 games behind.  I wonder how this will look as a tattoo.

And, I asked Val what his neighborhood is called in Brooklyn.  He wasn't sure but he sent me a picture of his street:

Val's street in Brooklyn

Try to stay cool people!

~ Love,

Leslie

Weddings.....

 When was the last time we mentioned weddings????? Looks like we have two to look forward to!  Maren is marrying Patrick on September 23, 2023.  I have pulled out Mom's wedding dress ~ darn she has already found her dress!!!!!! But I hope she will try it on for the memory factor!!!

Sept. 7, 1957 in Miami, Florida

Love,

Leslie

It is HOT HOT HOT!!!!

 It is hot and it is July.  Nothing new there.  However, did you see the lady who baked a loaf of bread in her mailbox???????? Wow!!

Amy felt that Gypsy was getting too hot.  Evidently her coat does not blow out like Loki's does.  So the search was on for some good clippers.  Thank you Prime Day.  Then I come home to this:

Lots of hair on the rug.  A hint of what went on.

Look what happened!

She got clipped!  But she is happier and cooler.  And yes, Amy bought her T-shirts to wear when she goes outside.  I think she looks like one of the dogs you used to see in the bag window of a car with a bobble head.  

Our neighbor, Rhonda, had seen the Savannah Bananas on 60 Minutes and wanted to go see them.  I only remembered the Savannah Braves, the Single A affiliate of the Braves when we lived in Statesboro.  Amy got us tickets.  She paid $75.00 a piece for VIB (Very Important Banana) tickets.  So Rhonda and I go.  We go early so we can enter at 5pm when the gates open because we have no idea where our seats are and really no idea of what is going on.  We get there and Gate 1 is completely SWAMPED and CROWDED ~ it is a mob scene!  We go to the gate closest to us which has a T-shirt kiosk and I tell Rhonda I am getting Amy a t-shirt and Rhonda says she is going to check with the usher what we need to do.  I get in line and Rhonda calls me to "Come ON!!!" The usher is taking us to the front of the line and letting us in FIRST!!!!! So off we go.  Evidently our tickets give us on field access to the team and any seat we want.  

Let me tell you, what  a show!!!!! It was an incredible fan experience ~ the players were wonderful with ALL the fans and the fans....OMG I have never seen so many Savannah Banana jerseys, t-shirts and banana decorated clothing in my life!  The stadium was a complete sell out ~ 10,000 people were there for the Saturday game.   It was amazing!  I just got on the list to get season tickets in Savannah.  It is almost like when Dad wanted Redskins tickets but the waiting list was 14 years long!   So we wait.  But we are going again!!!!

This guy is balancing this full aluminum ladder !

So if you ever get a chance to go and see the Savannah Bananas, RUN!!!!!!!!!! PAY!!!!!!! Totally worth it!!!!!!

Ready for laying by the pool!

Much love,

Leslie

Finally.....Summer

 It is a quiet Sunday morning.  A friend from the Compost table brought me two cucumbers that she had from her garden so I cut up cherry tomatoes, the cucumbers and added little mozzarella balls for salad.  It will be delicious!!!!

Summer has barreled in!  Hot and sweaty with thunder that sometimes brings rain and sometimes not.  I have cut back the lambs ears and the roses ~ and have more roses to go.  The Japanese beetles have been fierce but the end of their season is approaching.  The black-eyed susans are getting ready to bloom like crazy.

This is the end of my raised bed.  You can just see the edge of Jane's oak tree on the right.  You can see literally one tenth of the black-eyed susans and the dill that is blooming at the top.  I need to go and check and see if the butterfly caterpillars have found it.

My neighbor, Rhonda, called and asked me to go with her and her granddaughters to go to  Maple View Farm and get ice cream.  Of course, I said yes!  Amy was busy working and could not go, but I did bring her back cartons of chocolate and mint chocolate chip!!!!

The view from the rocking chairs on the front porch of the ice cream shop.  The view was what was the farm with all the cows that made the milk for their ice cream.  Now it looks like they are planning a winery.

Quinn is loving her ice cream!

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Big news!  Val is back in New York!  Drew and Val went up on the train where they met the movers and the POD to move Val into his apartment with his friends in Brooklyn.  

The room of his apartment looks great ~ maybe one day we will see the apartment!  His address is:  314 Decatur Street, Apt. #2, Brooklyn, NY 11233.

From the back:  Megan, Jesse, Jim, Maren, Patrick, Thomas with David, Carolyn and Lori.

Thomas with Carolyn

And, on the Nancy front ~ she said she was feeling frustrated because she cannot drive yet and she can't lift anything.  Sounds like she is feeling better!!!!!!! And we all know the only reason the move to Brooklyn for Val went off successfully was because Nancy planned it!!! So, feel much better soon!!!!!!

So, have a beautiful rest of July!!!

Love,

Leslie

Paint Job

 Some days you get nothing and some days you get alot!  First off, Happy Father's Day to all you great dads out there!  You are the best!!!!!!

Second, Amy decided to get her room and bathroom painted.  I bet we went thru 3 weeks of paint swatches while she was deciding what color of blue, blue gray, gray blue, green blue gray or blue green gray that she wanted.  Revel Blue was finally decided on and the paint date was set.

First, she had to empty her room.

Then the work begins.  Amy leaves to take her trailer to get new tires.  I am here with the painting crew.  I see the work.

It is the wrong color.  It is a royal purple.  The crew goes to lunch and luckily Amy comes home.  Evidently, Sherwin Williams mixed it incorrectly.  New paint is retrieved and the work begins again.

Perfect

And now the job is done.  There are a couple of glitches.  Someone broke the lid to the new toilet.  I think someone stood on it to paint.  We really like the crew that painted, but the supervisor not so much.  Vivar ~ is his name.  Need to remember it

But, Amy is very happy.  Now Gonzo is coming to install the new bathroom light fixtures, tv and fans and Rhonda and I are going to hang the art work. I will definitely send pictures.

Baseball is calling my name.  Much love to all!!!!!

~Leslie

Happy June

 First off, I had a wonderful birthday!!!!!! The weather finally cleared up and summer looks like it is arriving!

Exciting news, Jesse is engaged!  His girlfriend, Megan, said "Yes", to his proposal in Cancun while they were on vacation with her family.  Her family is from Tampa, but Megan says she wants to have their wedding in the Hillsborough/Durham area.  Works for me!

Taken at my birthday dinner at Lori and Jim's new house.

Maren and Patrick are buying Lori and Jim's old house and rumor has it that they will be having a wedding on the farm in September.  When I find out more details they will be forthcoming.

Birthday bench from Rhonda

Nothing like two fur coats on a summer day

Check out Amy's new ride.  Yes, she has a helmet to wear when riding.

Jake canoodling with Amy while in rehab

Much love to all!

~Leslie