Where I've Been

Marriott's Grand Dunes Resort and Villas in Myrtle Beach - is where we've been for 3 days. Mr. kenju, me, our daughter and one granddaughter (all her siblings and cousins are at camp in the mountains of western Virginia for two weeks.) The weather on Sunday was perfect, but we didn't get there until about 3pm that day. Monday was overcast - as you can see - and we had spent about 20 minutes on the beach when it started to sprinkle. We stayed there for 10 more minutes, hoping it would blow over, but we had no such luck. So, up to the indoor pool and hot tub we went. It sprinkled off and on for an hour, and the sun didn't show its face again until well after we went to dinner. Can you believe that I still got a bit of sunburn?

That crane is hard at work on the third (or it maybe the fourth) building in the vacation villas section of the resort. I haven't been in the villas yet, but Mr. kenju and our daughter were there 2 months ago and they said it is perfect: 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a full kitchen and nice size living area with a full balcony fronting the ocean. The villas have their own heated pool and hot-tubs with outdoor grilling area and tables.

Here are the two outdoor pools; one is fresh water and the other is a salt-water pool. They also have an indoor pool with hot-tub, and a second hot tub outdoors, as well as a kiddie pool and a water slide, which is a very big hit with children., and some adults. Our granddaughter must have gone down that slide at least 100 times!

When we left there today around 11 a.m., the sun had come out again and it was proving to be a gorgeous day. Isn't that always the case? No one minds leaving the beach in the midst of rainy weather, but most of the time when we leave, it is so beautiful you can hardly tear ourselves away!

I didn't get much sleep last night and tomorrow morning, I have to take my daughter to the airport at 5:00 am. I hope to get to bed early tonight, so wish me luck!

See You Later, Alligator!

Post will be late today.

Before (but no after)

The first three photos show the right side of the garage before cleaning and sorting.

You can see what a mess I had to go through. It piles up over the winter and every spring or summer finds me sorting out and throwing away, and donating to Goodwill.

Below is the last of three loads I took to the landfill. Those boxes weren't empty either!!

There is a storage room off the garage too, and here you see it - also before cleaning. I don't know when I'll get to that one! But it sure needs it, since I can barely find what I need from it.

Storage room, from top to bottom.

I'm not sure why I am showing you these, except that I hope it will motivate me to complete the process I started last week! I've at least 5-6 hours to go.

From Hawks to Herons

My neighbors and I went to Herons for lunch on Thursday, to celebrate the birthday of my next-door neighbor, who came here from Sweden when she was a young woman. Herons is in the boutique hotel The Umstead, which is owned by some of the people who started SAS Software. It is a lovely , modern place; full of original art. They have a brochure in the lobby, showing the location of each piece of art and naming the artist.

Even though they spelled my neighbor's name wrong, the cake they baked for her birthday was luscious, both in looks and the way it tasted. Most of the others could only manage to eat a few bites of it, but I, Ms.Piggy that I am, ate the whole slice and wanted to lick the plate. It really was the very best chocolate cake I have ever eaten. Our handsome waiter, Diego, from Costa Rica, presented it to the table and then took it away for plating. When he brought the plates back, the 2" thick slices were sitting in a bed of raspberry sauce, and were topped by raspberries and blackberries. It was most excellent! I wish I had not eaten lunch first....LOL

I ordered a spinach and steak salad, and it came with sliced grape tomatoes, marinated mushrooms and Deep-dried onion rings on top. Yummy. The dressing was home-made buttermilk ranch, and just the right amount. Some restaurants use too much for my taste. The others ordered several different types of sandwiches, and most were pronounced very tasty. The portions were certainly large enough, and sandwiches come with home-made sweet-potato fries or their own potato chips. I forgot to take photos of the foods, as usual.

This is me with my neighbor of 27 years, and you could seldom find a better one. In the top photo, she is the woman on the left in a wheelchair. It was just a precaution, since she had a hip replacement in June, and can't walk far at this point. We were very fortunate that she was able to accompany us for this luncheon, and we hope she'll be around for many more.

Another Visitor

Edit below

The hawk is not new to the neighborhood; he's been around for 7-8 years, and keeps us relatively free of snakes, squirrels and small rodents. He was sitting on the fence in the corner where the foxes used to bring their babies to play, so perhaps he's waiting for lunch to be delivered. He'll wait a long time for those fox kits! He used to sit on the ball atop our deck umbrella, and this is the first time I've seen him so low to the ground, except when flying and swooping down. I couldn't get any closer than this and it is really too bad he didn't spread his wings for us, because he is a magnificent specimen! I was about 40' away when I shot this.

A new follower popped up today, but I can't tell who it is. Would you identify yourself please, so I can thank you?

More Ephemera

Front and reverse of a card that came with a set of silver plate that belonged to my grandmother. I wonder what it's worth today? Wouldn't it be nice if we could buy sets of silverplated ware for $39.75!

There have been many times I wished I had one of these summonses to place on the windshield of a car that was parked in a sloppy fashion. Too bad that pad has been stuffed in a file cabinet. (for at least 25 years!) From now on, it will be in my car so I can get one when I need it!!


And another thing......

I was reminded today how much it bothers me when people decide to make a left turn but they don't get all the way into the turn lane, so the back end of their car is sticking out into my lane and I can't move until they do. There oughta be a law!$%^&*@#$!!

And would you remind me not to eat like a fat pig next time I go out with my neighbors? I've been paying for it all day!

The Keys to My Karma*

*That's the name of my current toenail polish - but it makes a great post title, doesn't it? Click photo to embiggen.

I found all these keys on Tuesday when I was cleaning out a cabinet in the garage. All of them came from my parent's house after they died, and the last one was in 1995, so it's been over 14 years. The one on the upper right is my old skate key, and it says "Chicago Skate Co." on it. It's at least 63 or 64 years old. I got my first set of skates when I was about five.

The round thing to the left of it is a screwdriver, made to be placed on a key ring. I used to have it on my key ring and then took it off. Of course, I needed it the day after I removed it. (and then misplaced it). Always happens, doesn't it? I think you can read it if you click to enlarge. The opposite side has a four-leaf-clover and says Made in U.S.A.

The one in the middle, with a "handle" is a clock key. It says PM (enclosed in a circle) and the words Made in West Germany, with the number "7" on the opposite side. The key just to the lower left of the skate key says Atkinson Long Mfg. Co. New York, NY, with the number T6662. The opposite side says "Everlasting Lock".

Two of the skeleton keys say "Corbin" ; one has the number P12 and the other says H50.

Thanks to a tip I got from Grannymar on Wednesday, some of these keys will be spray painted, and hung on my Christmas Tree with ribbons come December.