Good Evening

We made it to Hotlanta and are enjoying the company, the food and the views from our room.

We were upgraded to a suite way up high, thanks to the hub's worldly travel.

Ya know I love my W's.

We decided upon FLIP Burger Boutique, run by none-other than my fav Richard Blais. He wasn't walking around the place like he did at his Home restaurant way back when Amy and I were there, but the food? Quite yummy, of course.

I had the Burger of today,

the Cuban--pork patty, ham, pork belly, Swiss cheese, cornichons, sweet pickles, mojo sauce, smoked mayo and dijon. Oooooof!

. . . with a side salad (like that made a difference in my caloric intake!).

The kids had fries which were oh so good. Can you tell?

We also had a Krispy Kreme milkshake--complete with liquid nitrogen which made it smoky when it arrived! A couple of sips of this is all that was needed! Daig, Krispy Kreme seems to be everywhere in everything!

Our waitress was a sweet young lady who also has a photography business. I told her I took pictures of EVERYTHING and she said "ME TOO!" She then gave me her card, Mac + Cheese Photography. Isn't' that a fabo name??? You need to look at some of her wedding photography. So lovely and creative. I wish I lived down here and were getting married!

It was definitely an all-thumb's-up dinner!

We then high tailed it on over to the Westin, one of the tallest hotels in the United States, or something like that, to watch the sunset from the top floor, which rotates!

We got a little turned around and missed the sunset, but it was gorgeous just the same.

The Sundial Bar was another winner. But now it's time for bed. Savannah tomorrow!

xo
ro

Where Does the Time Go

This morning, I received a call from mom's place saying that they were moving her once again. Geesh. And, I pray, this will be her last move. I suppose, again, this is why I have been putting off hanging her pictures. There's always a little voice in my head that I try and listen to. Anyway, she is right next door, but now she has a window bed and looks out to the pretty little park setting. It is already equipped with a bird feeder.

I was saddened when the director told me why they were moving patients around. Mom's roommate, Mrs. M., the one who just celebrated her 80th birthday on Thursday, passed away early yesterday morning. It is bittersweet. While I am saddened to lose her as she was just the sweetest lady--called mom "granny"--she had been bedridden for almost 15 years at the same facility. She was able to get into a wheelchair about once a week, but that was about it. On Saturday, when mom was asleep and I sat with her, she told me that she wanted me to take this pretty orchid plant that was in her room when the Lord came and took her. I told her she wasn't going anywhere but thanked her just the same. I suppose in some way, she knew she was ready to leave this earth and move on. She went suddenly with no pain, and for that, I'm sure the family is thankful. The kid and I will be attending her funeral tomorrow. We will deeply miss Mrs. M. She reminded me so much of my grandma Rosie in so many ways. And you know what, I don't think I have one picture of her. Go figure. Me who takes photos of every speck of dust. I hate regrets like that.

Mom seemed oblivious to the change except the fact that she enjoyed looking out the window. I'm hoping this is her last move and made my wishes known straight to the director and social worker.

After seeing mom, I had a dentist appointment. Seems I put that off for quite a while! It's been way over a year since my last visit. Oh well. Everything looked good, which I was quite pleased with! Yay! On my way back home, I walked around the corner to the Puffy Muffin and picked up some cookies for the nurses tomorrow since I won't be here on Friday. Mmmmm. Look at this display, will ya? It took everything in my power to walk away from the cupcakes! But I did!

Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day. Mrs. M's funeral is at 10, I have to run by mom's and see her and drop the cookies off and then the CUZ gets here around 1!! OMG. The kid kept telling me she was arriving around 4! Lordy me. I will be shot out of a cannon first thing! Woooosh. Hold on Rosa, it's going to be a wild ride!! So, I probably won't be posting until we get settled somewhere down south.

xo
ro

If You'll Be My Dixie Chicken, I'll Be Your Tennessee Lamb

and we can walk together, down in Dixieland

The cuz is arriving on Tuesday and we will begin our journey South! We are so excited!!

Vallen has me totally hooked on Roadfood.com. Deary me. Look at the places I have mapped out for possible stops!

And food? The South's best.

When we were growing up, the summers were spent equally between my mom's family in Georgia and my father's family in Texas. I remember being really young and going to my grandma Rosie's apartment where she would cook up a "mess" of food for all of us. Well, you know Southerners, Grannies especially. She would just throw it all onto a plate for us kids, not asking what we liked and didn't like--just a big ol' heap of food. I'm sure we all turned white with horror; and my mom would look at us with her gentle brown eyes and whisper "You have to eat it." I guess we all did because I don't remember any incidents of dad woopin' us. lol. Now, it all looks good to me, just a "mess of good eats" on a plate! Larapin, I say go 'head, slap it on!

Val, this is for you!

Cheers to all the memories of Little Feat at the Warner Theatre in DC. These boys were like our home-town band.

xo
ro

Happy Fourth?

Today, I finally got a little done around the house. I went to sit with mom, brought all my magazines because that's what we do on Saturdays, and she was asleep. So, I sat with her roommate for a bit until the nurses had some things to do in there. I got home early and started whizzing around the house getting things in order before the cuz arrives on Tuesday and we leave for our road trip into the southland.

I wanted to get my Fourth of July stuff up since we won't be here--will be at Riverside. I had some things I wanted to make, like a banner and such and look at what I encountered when I entered the office. Why do I do this????? Lord have mercy!

Well it soon became this! I was just so sick and tired of looking at it!

And the banner I did make!

And pinwheels too.

Yesterday I had my annual physical. Seemed everything is ticking like it should. I was happy with that.

Still hot as Hades here. Ooof. Oh well, it is summer!

xo
ro

Catching Up is Hard to Do

Seems I have been MIA. Guess the summer has taken me by storm. It's been a fantastic summer so far and it is only going to get better! Yaya. The cuz gets here in four days and then we hit the open road!

We have been busy doing fun things like bowling (again tonight with the all-you-can-play 9-midnight--but the kid and hub, above showing us up, conked out before 11!), a Pink Floyd laser show at the local planetarium, enjoying visiting friends, sleeping in, trying to keep the house cool with the major heat wave that hit us this week, swimming (the kids, anyway) and . . . well, you get the picture.

We've been on an Italian kick too, mostly the gelato sort-of-kick in truth. Oh my. Yesterday was my mom's roommate's 80th birthday. I decided to take her some gelato (what else?) but she's diabetic; so I inquired about sugarless/fat free. Good luck. Well, low and behold, they had some "custard" type in the back freezer. I tested it to see if it was worth eating; and let me tell you, it was as good as the "front, full-of-sugar-and-fat" stuff. Ooooof. So not only did I get Mrs. M a big ol' bowl, the hub, kid and I had to go back after dinner and get us some!

Well, they got the front full-of-sugar-and-fat stuff, but I stuck with the "hidden-in-the-back" variety.

Oh, and it doesn't stop there, no siree. Of course, I wrack my brain each week on what to take the nurses, ya know. Last week while at the Italian market, the owner told me that he could order a gallon of the gelato straight from Italy which got the wheels turning. Hmmm, what could I do with a gallon of dolce de leche gelato? Well, make gelato sandwiches, of course. And so, that is what I'm doing tonight (after bowling, of course). Deary me. My freezer isn't as cold as those professional ones and the gelato is a tad soft. I learned very quickly that everything, and I do mean everything, has to be chilled. That includes the utensils, the candies to roll them in, the cookies, even the plates you put the candies on to roll on! Ooof. My first try was a no go. I have now transferred everything to my new freezer (after having to move all that stuff to the old freezer). Lordy me. The things I get myself into after midnight! Geesh.

Ok, what else? Oh oh oh!!! I got my hair cut and colored today. Put highlights in for the first time in many moons. Then my lady blow dried it straight as a can be! I loved it. Everyone was freaking out when I got home! So different for me.

And of course, I've been eating things I shouldn't be eating . . .

. . . and drinking things I shouldn't be drinking. But, what the hell. It's summatime!

So sad to hear about Farrah Faucet's passing but I know she is in a better place. Now, as far as Michael Jackson? Still sad, and yes shocking, but who knows where he'll end up. A great loss as far as his talents though.

xo
ro

Midnight Madness

I made the mistake of taking a nap today. A rather late nap at that. So here I am at 2 a.m.

We decided, about midnight, to make some miniature brownie cupcakes. Deary me.

I iced some of them with vanilla buttercream, gave them to the teenager and his friends and then the kid talked me into adding some dark chocolate to the rest of the icing and go for it. Doesn't it look sinful? It is.

I then decorated the rest of the little ones with some chocolate. The kid likes the chocolate icing better, I prefer the plain vanilla.

There were plenty for every taste. I don't think anyone was complaining.

This is a really nice and easy recipe too. Even I didn't mess it up! (Well, I suppose I could have filled the cups with more batter; but with my last fiasco of them overrunning and sinking, I decided to err on the side of less. Of course, this batter didn't rise and there was too much room at the top. Oh vell, always sumfin'.)

Sending all my thoughts to the victims in the Metro train crash in DC tonight. How horrible.

K, I must try to go to bed. You know, when the cat's away, the mice will play. The hub is in Iowa. At least he's in the country this time!

xo
ro

Postscript 3 :10 a.m.:
Now I know why I took a nap so late and was up at 2 a.m. As soon as I finished this post (2 a.m.ish), the teenager comes upstairs and tells me a friend of his has run out of gas on the way home. "Mom, can you drive me to go get him?" Awww, once a mother, always a mother.

Groupings

There is nothing better I like to do than to decorate with groups of "things and stuff," as the hub calls it. Some folks call them vignettes, collections etc. It seems my entire house if full of these settings. This happens to be the family room off the kitchen--kind of the family-grouping area, if you will.

It's filled with mementos from the boys' childhood, the hub's and my wedding and just things that are special to me. --The boys' baby rattles that were given as gifts when they were born. A collection of kitties the family has collected for me over the years. A grouping of smoking paraphernalia given as gifts. A bowl filled with Christening cups, including he boys'. A set of Santons Raphael's family gave to me several years ago. And a few snuff bottles the hub has brought back from China. To anyone else, they would mean absolutely nothing. But to me? They are all special pieces in my heart.

I found all of these sets in Apartment Therapy which seems to always inspire my weekends.

These all make me want to just go through and start all over again. Rearrange all my stuff. But of course, I'm not gonna do that.

The last grouping is the box of cannoli I gave to the nurses on Friday. Yes, I dusted them with my vanilla sugar. No, I did not make them!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Father's Day celebrations. So glad to have the hub home. That's celebration enough for us!

xo
ro