Sunday Shopping

Mr C and I were up early this morning... actually, HE was up early and I slept in until 7:0), when he woke me to see if I was going to go buy groceries with him. We usually buy groceries early on MONDAY morning, because there is virtually no-one shopping at the SuperCenter at 7:00 am on a Monday.
Since we were so out of everything, we pretty much had to go today.

I made a cup of tea for the road, and off we went, list in hand.
Then we got home... and started a brand new list.
It always seems to happen that we forget an item or two. Today, before we had been home an hour, we had a list as long as the one we had left with. So we may be repeating the shopping trip in the morning. *sigh*

I really have avoided mentioning how things went on our house hunting trip. Basically, nothing was really practical and in our price range. The internet is a wonderful tool for wasting ones time... a picture or five on the internet can make a place look like it is worth looking into... until you get to it and see in person that the best hope that house has of selling at all is as a cleared lot after a kerosene bath and a match. Really, some of the places were THAT bad.

My secondary position interview went well, but they won't be starting to work until later in September. Whether with or without me is still to be determined at our end.

I found a nice roast beast at the grocery store- one of the prettiest I have seen in awhile. It is in the slow cooker, smelling up the house with wondrously savory scents of beef, onions and garlic.
The weather here is warm... mid 90's. Can't complain when I see my family in Texas is still whacking 100+ every day.

I was sent a telephone photo of Grandson Gavin on his first day of school. Grands Connor and Alana had their first day pictures noted as well. Everyone is just getting so grown up. Even Tyrel is starting the very basics of schooling at home. I remember Chris and Bill starting at Gavin and Ty's ages... more than 25 years ago! Gabs has a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks; Sept. 11th, same as my brother Robert.

Mr C continues to look at houses online. Nothing new has leaped out at us.
Guess that's about all my rambles for now! Thanks for reading.

Pictures from the hike to Rockbridge

Orange flowers



The Rock bridge, side view



standing below the rock bridge

looking up at the rock bridge



signpost: (ignore the sideways!) We forgot the required rocket packs and cane for the hike



Hiking to the Rockbridge... or, "Gee, mom can sure run!"

Our last day in Ohio, we went to a sight we hadn't hiked to before, the rock bridge... located aptly enough, in Rockbridge. It was supposed to be 3/4 of a mile from the parking area to the bridge, taking the shorter of two loops.
The intrepid hiker twins forged ahead, leaving Mr C and I huffing along behind. I am amazed at how quickly one loses tone and endurance when walking is cut back from almost daily, to once a week or so. A few of the points in the trail were... steep. (huff hufff huff). Mr C soon got ahead of me as I stopped to catch my breath take pictures of interesting flora along the path. The path wended its way along the side of a pasture through fifteen foot high ragweed, which was just bursting into full bloom, and then into deep, shady woods. It was uphill every step of the way, in both directions.
Really.
So Mr C calls back to me, "Watch out, there is a hornets nest here by the trail! YEOW I just got stung by a hornet!"
So I stopped. I was fifteen or twenty yards from the nest. The hornets in Ohio build big paper nests, like deformed basketballs. This one was cantaloup sized, and not two feet off the trail.
Tom moved on ahead.
I stood very still several minutes, then detoured around the trail, giving the hornets nest a very wide berth. Hornets don't much seem to care whether you are trying to avoid them. They don't even care that you have stayed far from their nest... at least as far as one can get on a steep rocky hillside in the woods. They came after me for even daring to be within sight of their nest!
I will never be able to tease Chris about his fear of wasps again.... I screamed like a little girl and RAN, feeling them tangling in my hair as I swatted wildly around my head, running full tilt, pell mell down the steep trail towards the already stung Mr C. (Shhhh, I didn't say down the trail... It was up the trail... uphill all the way, both directions!)
I mentioned heavy woods and steep hillsides already didn't I? You know, these trees are supported by these pesky things referred to as roots. The path is choked with roots. The roots are all that keep the dirt from washing down the steep paths into the creek at the bottom.
The roots also make it really difficult to stay upright when running shrieking through the forest swatting at ones head, pursued by hornets. Especially when you hit the mud on the trail next to the footbridge.
 I did a lovely trip slip flip slide right into the mud at the end of the bridge.  I was flat on my back in the muck. Tom stomped the hornet that I slapped from my hair.  The rest of the (flock? crew? pursuers?) gave up and went back to guarding the trail.

Took me a minute to get up.
I was covered in mucky mud from shoulders to toes... looking every bit like I may of slid into second base on a close call in a rainstorm.

We hiked on to the rock bridge, where Dan and Sam waited. They hadn't seen the hornets nest at all. I got several pictures of the bridge... a natural expanse of rock spanning a creek, forming a rock bridge that people are actually allowed to USE.

We took the longer loop back from the bridge, and warned other hikers we encountered that they might prefer the longer route to the bridge... even if it was even more uphill all the way than the shorter route.

I am fine, no broken bones or other injuries, other than sore muscles from my muddy impact. Too bad the twins missed seeing the sprint... I bet they have never seen Mom run!

I was going to post pictures of the rock bridge, but it blends so perfectly with the sides of the gully it spans, you cannot tell by the pictures that there is even a bridge there.

Howdy Y'all

I am at the library near my MIL's house, just for computer access.

I have tracked down all the houses in our price range for now, and have another five on the list to do drive by's on, as well as two set up for this afternoon and tomorrow that are "for sale by owner"s. (There is currently only ONE place left in the running on the list of all the places we had to see... a very small trailer house with a couple of magnificent garages.... one set up to be a "game room" or overflow sleeping for extra guests. If we have to take this place, the boys will get that as their bedroom. The property, now that is great.)
Why yes, we were planning to be on the road home Sunday... my bad. I got a response to an email I sent to my potential new employer, asking if I were interested in interviewing for a DIFFERENT position. It will be with an entirely different person than the previous interview... so I will be doing that on Monday morning... THEN we head for home. (Still gotta let my boss know that. Tom has cleared it with his.)

In the "yes, I am Bill's Mother" department... I have developed a UTI while here... and hoping to have that knocked out with some OTC medication., as well as fallen (TWICE) and jammed my wrist. It is much better... but sheesh!

I hope everyone is well. Keep us in your prayers for God to show us just where he wants us!
Thanks for reading!
 ~Tammy~

Nothing new....

So far, as of the time I am typing this... we are taking a load of stuff next week to Ohio. This is of course, subject to change... and has changed at least three times in the past week. Good thing I have had a lot of practice at waiting to see what comes out in the wash.
Why yes, it does drive me crazy. Can't you tell?

Today, my step mom is having her eyes operated on... simple cataract removal. My Mom and step dad have gone to East Texas to help out my Dad and step mom for the week. I am glad that both of my sets of parents get along so well.

(Public) School will be starting around here soon. Not that "we" took a summer break this year. I have tried to keep the boys going all summer... but we have probably averaged two to three days a week so far. Better than quitting completely.

Daniel is learning all he can about hiking the Appalachian Trail. Sam says he will hike it with Daniel. "Their" (read: Dan's) goal is to do this in the next three to five years. I'd love to do something like that. But I would start with my own dream first- hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back out.

I think I am about as packed as I can get inside the house, and still live here. I need to pack the outside stuff... empty the potting soils and box up my planters, gnomes and bird bath.
As you can tell by my happily boring post... nothing much is going on with us as we wait to hear from this job. I hope to report soon that we have actually looked at houses and chosen one to make an offer on... rather than just scoped them out online.
That's all for now, thanks for reading!
~Tammy~

Here I am

I noticed yesterday that it has been at least a week since I posted. We have been through at least two "waffles" on the move, it is now back to the same thing I posted last week.
Tom is changing the brakes on my car. They were not as bad as I had thought. Still, better to get the parts while I can do so at a discount!

I went through my closet yesterday and put a bunch of  clothes into my give away pile. Some I put on eBay. (There is no way Tom is going to get down to a size 34 waist for some of the dress pants he has had forever.) Guess I ought to list my old Eagle uniforms... or see if anyone still at Eagle can wear them.
I hadn't seen the floor or back of the tiny closet in my room since we moved in!

We had chicken fried steaks for supper last night. SO good. I don't make them very often, as it is a very high calorie meal.

Nothing else new going on!
 Have a blessed day!

So...

Mr C is going to see about taking a few vacation days either next week, or the following week. We will see about looking at a few houses in Ohio... I have a list of a good dozen to consider at the moment.
We are optimistically hoping the delay in the job offer is waiting for the US Government to decide what the heck THEY are doing. (If the govt isn't paying SS checks and military... no one will be buying computers. Their current employees can handle the current workload until then. At least that  is our idea!)
So, still... no real news.
Have a blessed afternoon!
~Tammy~