Week 31 - Sis

It was a good week with my daughter Yolanda here for a visit and some sightseeing. She hadn't seen the new MLK Center and we spent considerable time there including a visit to the old Ebenezer Baptist Church. We have tried seeing this church for sometime and thankfully both my daughters and I finally achieved the wish. All I can say is God bless the women who climbed up and down those stairs for services because you know it was in high heels! Our trip to Talluhah Falls and Goats on the Roof proved to be the biggest kick for her. She enjoyed seeing old toys, games, candy, gum that are for sale at the first site and laughed at the crazy goats at the second site. The meal at Cafe Lily's was a delight for her, finishing it with that wonderful coconut cream pie and the best tasting coffee. The weather made it, as we all know here, a little hard to enjoy being outside but we muddled through. We never have a bad time together with basically the same sense of humor, interests and memories. Have to admit it would have been nice to have had a house to share while she was here, would have been more like old times.

Week 31 - Lisa

My sister came to visit this past week.  We laughed a lot!  Ate a lot!  And sweated a lot!  She came right smack in the middle of this heatwave.  Getting out and walking to see Centennial Park and other sites was not feeling to appealing with it being 95 degrees with what felt like 90% humidity.  So we kept the activities light.  Couple highlights was Goats on the Roof, Tallulah Falls and Cafe Lily.  We also went to see Twyla Tharp's tribute to Frank Sinatra, "Come Fly Away."  We all walked out scratching our heads.  I get interpretative dance but this just didn't hit the mark for any of us three.  We still laughed and enjoyed our own show review afterwards.  Oh we went to Mary Mac's for dinner - blech!  What a disappointment that was.  Live and learn.  As you can see below sunii & oneeya had a hard time warming up Landa.  ;>

Week 30 - Sis

Animals have always been in my life, either as family pets or in areas I've lived. I know people think children are big responsibilities and I couldn't agree more but so, also are our pets. Lots of people love animals and like some parents, of children, it doesn't mean they always get the care that is needed. If that love doesn't include care of either's well being, mental or physical the results will be seen quickly with behavior problems, health issues, etc. When the care and love of a pet is given it's rewarded quickly with loyalty, comfort and devotion. Now with kids that may take a few more years. ;- Of course a pet cannot carry on the family name, business or memory but it takes care of you in many departments of your life while it lives. I write this as a tribute to a person I do not know personally but through someone we relate to and share as part of our lives. So for you Laura, my deepest condolences on the loss of your baby recently and thank you for the generosity you have shown to my pet, even with a broken-heart. oneeya sends a big sloppy kiss as a thank you also. May you find comfort in all the memories.

Week 30 - Lisa

Spend my Sunday cleaning in anticipation of my sister's visit this week.  So excited.  Also spend a large portion of the day trying out this recipe from Food Network magazine.  I hate baking so making my own pie crust was an adventure.  I know you bakers will laugh.  I had no beans so I had to use coins as a weight.  Aye yi yi.  Here's the picture of the Tomato Pie published in the magazine.  Underneath is my result.  LOL!  I think the recommended 2 lbs of tomatoes is way more than needed unless they are small.

Regardless of the lack of picture consistency, it was DELICIOUS!
Here's the recipe if you are interested!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/heirloom-tomato-pie-recipe/index.html

Week 29 - Lisa

I wish this week would have had more kicking back with our doggie in my lap but unfortunately it was wild and crazy for me.  So not a whole lot to share this week.

Am in New Orleans?  Nope, downtown old Stone Mountain.  It was a beautiful hot summer night eating dinner at a favorite restaurant - Wells Cargo.

Week 29 - Sis

 For two weeks I was looking for my iPod, praying I didn't lose it. My daughter was convinced I did and with my past history for losing items, it would seem to make her opinion valid. You know how it is, searching everywhere you can think you may have possibly put or dropped it? Usually I put it with my camera on the desk that holds the computer, printer and office supplies. When I first noticed it was missing I tried just about every place, even the remotest areas in the apartment, truck, etc. No music, no life! This past week I reached over to get something and there it was, under the printer. I swear that was one of the places I looked multiple times! My suspicion is my daughter moves my stuff around every once in a while as a sick treasure hunt so I don't get bored at home. Maybe it's payback for not thinking her cat is the smartest, prettiest or for me hooking the cat on catnip to the point of addiction. Or could it be she doesn't enjoy hearing me singing along, too loud and off key? Oh yeah? Then go to your room Lisa!

Week 28 - Sis

I've always thought my love of potatoes, any kind, was one sided. Apparently not!

Week 28 - Lisa

I'm in the middle of a three week run of Kaizen events @ work.  I love Kaizen!  It's a ton of hard work but the discovery, the opportunities, the teamwork and results are always worth it ten-fold.  I love the process and mind-set of continuous learning.  So while it can cause late nights with mental and physical fatigue along the way, I always feel rejuvenated afterwards.  Right now on day 7 of 12, not so much.  But major celebration come day 13.  LOL

Week 27 - Sis

Well it seems a week has slipped by without a post from me. I know, you were probably moaning and suffering horribly from the withdrawals that I have caused. So let's see what I'm itching to bring you about the other thing that "bugs" me here. See this luscious, juicy, colorful watermelon? I have come to believe that this is what I look like to the insects in Georgia, round, sweet and delectable. Okay the round part is not a mistake, the sweet and delectable our a matter of opinion and NO, I do not need to hear them. I swear the little critters are on 12 hour shifts because no matter what time I go out, and having a dog it's usually at least three times a day, they immediately go to work. Any exposed part of my body is a target but the ankes and arms seems to be the prime cuts for them. From what I have learned the main culprits in the area are: mosquitos, biting gnats and the, WTH, "no-see-ums." I am not kidding, bugs you can't see but bite just like the big guys. I have to buy some OFF spray very soon or get a transfusion, geez. Figure I will soon have a degree in bugology from the state of Georgia and scars to prove it.

Week 27 - Lisa

To counter or not to counter?!  This week was our version of Shakespeare's infamous "To be or not to be."  Well, after three years for me and two for my mama we finally found, agreed upon and made an offer on a home.  We had probably drove by, pondered and viewed on line more than two hundred homes in our quest to find our little slice of JoJah.  So if all goes well we will begin the process of revamping our new digs in the middle of August, hopefully moving in some time in September.  It took several back and forths between buyer and seller to land on an agreeable price but the deed, no pun intended, is done!

Week 26 - Lisa

Charlotte came over for coffee this week!

Week 26 - Sis

1. A week of nosing around the complex and what I found.

2. White cap mushrooms or toadstools growing all over. Where's Alice?

3. Emergency escape route, maybe a problem for larger and taller residents.

4. Can't tell if this was caused by no brakes or no brains?  I think the later.

5. Sun was fighting hard not to go down on this very warm evening.  Lost in a magnificent way!

Week 25 - Sis

On week 18 I bought this "Topsy Turvy " tomato planter because I love fresh tasty tomatoes, the smell alone sends me down memory lane. At the time I didn't realize the seedling does not come with this bargain or the soil. Okay, so for under $20 it was something that didn't take up much space and I see many of them hanging throughout the complex we live in, good sign of success ahead. When I purchased the seedling, which actually was a little bigger than a seedling, there were two plants in the container, so I threw one in an empty planter I had with a bit of soil and placed it on the Topsy Turvy box. So here it is seven weeks later and after now buying a plant stand, bigger planter and more soil, the extra seedling is far outgrowing the "easy to grow" seedling. 

Oh let me mention, in order to water my planter, my daughter purchased a 3 step ladder for me to reach the opening to pour the water in. Sigh, and in order for me, the vertical challenged gardener, I have to stand on the top step to do this watering. Thankfully for the summer storms the watering times have been shortened, along with the multiple trips, in and out of the apartment to get the water with the two watering containers I have. Of course the benefit is my calf and quad muscles are improving because I must climb the step stool three times to water it properly. Oh, you can multiply that climb by three since I also have two flower planters to maintain. It's now has cost over $100 for my small tomato farm. In addition to my aching muscles, gallons of extra water appearing on the water bill for a crop that hasn't made an appearance yet, I will have to make another trip to the store to buy stakes to hold up that extra plant. That's it, I'm applying for a farm subsidy! Oh the basil is producing a bumper crop. ;-

Week 25 - Lisa

Fireworks IN the grocery store?  Never in my entire 48 years have I seen this in California.

Wonder why the picture below?  This bar has been a form of contention in our apartment complex since I moved here.  Until this pictured metal bar was inserted about two weeks ago they had always used wood.  You'd drive up on any given day and find it broken, splintered, half the board down the lane.  People would blow through lacking patience for it to lift.  This was cause for constant conversation between my mom and I about the idiots who break it. I noticed that the bar is taking a really long time to come down  as the cars ahead of me pass through.  So the other day, a small sedan of some sort goes zooming through in front of me, thinking I had plenty of time, I went through too.  All of a sudden that evil possessed metal monster comes flying down.  We hear this loud thump!  I just know this thing karate chopped the roof of my 4Runner in half.  Then I hear it again.  Oh crud, it hit so hard it bounced up and came back down again.  As I look back in my rear view mirrow I see that the metal bar is now bent at the spot it hit the corner of the roof.  Uh oh.  I wonder if there are video cameras?  Will I be in trouble?  We park and I look for damage, nothing any more scratched then the rest of my beat up truck.  Fast forward a couple days and we drive up and I notice the bar is a lot shorter.  I tell my mom, "Well I wonder what idiot broke the bar this time?"

Week 24 - Lisa

I know not everyone is a pet lover but the longest I've ever gone without having an animal in my house was the 1.5 years I spent in a hotel before my move to ATL.  I was going crazy.  Now that we have a cat and dog the entertainment is endless again.  sunii is the pushed out of shape Diva kitty and oneeya is the happy go lucky doggie that never ever barks.  They have worked out their issues and now cohabitate peaceful.  sunii was here first and she tries to dominate, oneeya is a part corgi so she's a herder; this makes for Comedy Central most nights.  sunii being with my mom all day long for one full year has grown very attached, so oneeya coming into the picture has created quite the competition for my mom's attention.  As you can see in the picture below. No matter what trick or play time activity my mom tries to teach oneeya, sunii is never far away performing whatever my mom is saying.  "Look grandma, hey, hey, I'm over here, I already got it.  Stupid dog!"

Week 24 - Sis

I mean how are you suppose to react? " You know if you're going to get skin cancer this is the best one." HUH? Is a trophy given for this? Yep, went to see a dermatologist a few weeks back because I had a growth on my face, the size of maybe a pencil eraser, and a biopsy was done. Two weeks later the growth was removed and I was told again, the basal cell cancer is the best kind because it doesn't get into your blood system and spread. Okay, I had to sport this attractive dressing for two days. Not bad although it was pretty bulky and so tight, pushing my left nostril closer to the right one. I could only inhale properly through the right nostril! Two days later I was able to remove the dressing, breathe normally and get the stitches wet. Now it looks like I went a few rounds with Manny Paquiao. I am hoping this doesn't affect my close-ups after I have the stitches removed. :-/ To those in my family and friends I didn't tell about this-SURPRISE!!!! I wasn't going to bother anyone with the news since it's the best kind of cancer you could have and wouldn't want to make anyone envious.;- So please remember the sunscreen everyone and if you don't want to show every flaw in your skin do not take a picture with a Canon Powershot. LOL.

Week 23 - Lisa

Everything is in full bloom!  Gorgeous to drive around and see all the pretty flowers. Course a co-worker decided that the huge beautiful magnolias outside our office door would look pretty in a jar near my desk.  I'm pretty sure this was an act of cruelty but I can't prove it.  I instantly had a nose that made me look like Jimmy Durante.  Below are two favorites I took on my drive home from work.

Week 23 - Sis

I'm pretty sure the real purpose of me living in this state is to keep the bug population thriving. There are days I feel like the bug buffet specialty menu. Can hear them as they circle, "I'll take a few bites of the forearm, oh look elbows tonight and ankles, oh I do so love ankles!" I mean, I get that I'm aged and well marbled but more bumps and lumps on my body are not needed. I'm beginning to think the sunblock, that's suppose to protect my skin, is actually tenderizing it!

Week 22- Sis

Lisa's blog has touched on the sad housing losses of many and I'm sure all can emphasize with her thoughts. In the past two years I have seen this once complete enclosure end up looking like a picket fence or maybe I should say, "pick it" fence. So where are these fence planks? Were they taken to build a smaller, cost free, one? Did they fuel a fire to warm a home? Someone build a raft to float down the filled rivers? I am totally perplexed by this mystery and also wonder where the handicap sign went that use to be attached to this post. Is it being used to ensure a mooring slot for the missing plank raft now owned by someone with a pegleg? 

Week 22 - Lisa

After much contemplation we decided to start house hunting again.  I will not go into the reasons why but we plan to stay in ATL for a spell.  One thing for sure is apartment living is wearing thin.  Just adding a dog has somehow made the place shrink a bit.  And we keep adding things to our household that are sitting in storage - aggravating.

In the 1.5 years after we stopped searching much about the market has changed.  Homes we looked at in the 200k's are now in the 100k's.  That "should" make me feel happy but I feel sadness and frustration.  My sadness is for the people who have lost these homes.  We drive up and see basketball hoops with cobwebs, old toys, broken fences, empty hot tubs, unattended gardens and you cannot help but wonder about the lives that abandoned these once lovely homes.  You think about whether their life situations are now better, the same or worse?  Then there's the folks selling their homes. The stress and agony we went through trying to walk away with a decent profit; after pouring our heart, souls and cash into improving our property and not get what you want is heartbreaking and I so feel for those in the same situation.  Especially when you walk through homes where you can see the efforts they made to upgrade or just the care they took in maintaining it.

My frustration is that even though the prices have dropped and we were blessed to make a profit on our house sale in California, the reality is I could be unemployed and living here so we have to be able to  afford it even then.  We are looking in neighborhoods that are older, more established; haven't been bitten too badly by foreclosures and look like they might spring back to life when we are ready to move on.  It is exhausting!  Yet still the homes here are unbelievably priced compared to anything we'd find in California.  

So while we most likely will with time find a home to our satisfaction (the market is just too full for it not to happen), it's going to take a lot of sage burning and pray to make me feel ok about how I netted a home here when I lay my head down to sleep at night.  I know I've done nothing wrong but I cannot help feel that I'm benefiting due to the unfortunate circumstances of others.  It's definitely a strange trip we are on.  <sigh>

Week 21 - Lisa

What do I despise more than a root canal?  Or plucking eyebrows?  Or grocery shopping?  Or frying an egg?  SHOE SHOPPING!!  Yep, revoke my female card.  I realized something while walking the aisles of Shoe Carnival this past weekend.  I have more in common with Mickey Mouse than just Walt and Disneyland.  We have the same FEET!

After watching my mom try on shoes left and right (no pun intended), I just grabbed the same old New Balance tennis shoes (aka waffle stompers) and Ked's low profile tennis shoes boxes and head for the checkout line.  After picking out her sneakers (not an easy task for her considering her own foot issues) my mom just walks over to the sandals and grabs whatever cute pair she wants.  Me?  I gave up after sticking my foot in one sandal after the other trying to squeeze my Cinderella evil step-sister foot into another psychologically damaging glass slipper.

Why is this such a traumatic experience you ask?  I have been blessed with a high instep.  Like a super duper high instep.

So I cannot wear the super cute thin band sandals with do-hickeys, beads, multiple strap type. No Cleopatra up the ankle tie jobbers for me.  No, I get to wear the following styles:

Don't those just SCREAM sexy-mama?  Or even half-way nice looking lady with cute shoes?  <sigh>  So, I just keep ordering my Nike flip flops in multiple colors and calling it a day.  Happy Summer ya'll!