Retirement Travel and a Weird Mix of Other Stuff
When I stumbled across them the other day, they made me chuckle. I thought y’all might get a kick out of them, too.
We were just watching TV. But when I looked over at Hubby in his chair. I just HAD to grab the camera, which, luckily, was close by.
It really is three separate pictures. The second one is the look I got after the flash popped up and fired.
Enough said.
When Hubby popped out there last weekend to check for storm damage (we had none), he was not happy with what he saw. I mean, he was thrilled there was no storm damage, but not-so-thrilled at the general state of affairs.
Cobwebs. A bird’s nest. More cobwebs. A moss- and lichen-covered back patio. Still more cobwebs. Weeds.
And that was just the outside. The inside was dusty. The floor still had muddy dog footprints from our last visit (whenever that was).
After seeing the pictures, I knew what he meant. It was sad. Our little house in the woods, the one we’d lovingly built with the help of family and friends, looking so, so, unloved.
We both agreed something had to be done, we just didn’t know when. After all, this is summertime. We’ve got home projects, travel plans, motorcycles just itching to be ridden…
Of course, we’ve also got heat. To the extreme.
So, rather than putz around the VA house all weekend, or sweat buckets riding the bikes, we decided to don our old laborer hats. The girls were beyond excited. We had the blue bag packed and ready. They all know what that means.
The WV Place is Meg’s favorite place in the whole world. K really, really likes it, too. Belle likes it, but her top priority is always hanging with her people. When I’m willing to go outside, she’s in “I love this place” mode.
Bright and early on Saturday morning, we loaded the truck and off to West Virginia we went.
It felt good to be going back there. I’ve missed the place.
We got there around 8:30, I think. And already temperatures — in the shade! — were approaching 90 degrees. Ugh.
There weren’t nearly as many spiders and/or spider webs on the inside as one would have feared. When we built the place, Hubby sealed it up pretty tight. They do still get in on occasion, and there are quite a few in the garage, but after all of that inactivity I was thinking there would be more.
It’s hard to see with the lighting in that last picture, but there were spider webs all over the outside of the kitchen window. There were bits of mud still stuck to the frame from the bird’s nest Hubby knocked down last week. It even looked depressing from the inside.
While Hubby got right to work, I had to poke around a bit. I wanted to see what had changed since our last visit. See what, if any, critters had moved in. Plus, I love watching the girls in their glory.
That snakeskin shed was the first evidence of critters that had been around in our absence. I didn’t venture far into the woods at all. This was only about 20 feet from the house. Judging by the looks of that skin, it was a pretty big snake.
It’s sort of funny, the thought of encountering snakes doesn’t keep me out of the woods. It’s worrying about ticks. I HATE ticks. Snakes I can handle. I am always, ALWAYS very careful to watch where I walk. And I would never put my hand on a tree, grab a downed limb, turn over a rock, etc., without looking closely first.
The porch columns needed painting. They didn’t look as bad as they do in that picture , which is after Hubby power-washed the dirt and loose paint away. But they were in need of a fresh coat of paint.
We had a plan. Hubby was going to power wash the front porch area and then I’d do the back while he painted. We forgot to factor in time needed for the wood to dry. So he cleaned the back wall and miscellaneous areas around the patio while waiting. And I got to work cleaning the inside of the house.
I have no clue what you call that green stuff that gets all over patios and sidewalks. Moss? Algae? Lichen? Green scum?
Whatever you call it, there was lots of it. And Hubby had cleaned the patio last year. The way it looks in the next image, you’d think we never cleaned the thing. That’s what lots of shade will do…
In the next shot, you can very clearly see the difference.
One of the things I did was wash the covers for all of the dog beds (three in the house, and two in the truck) which get rather stinky. Since I was cleaning the floors, too, I piled the beds in an out-of-the-way corner.
It didn’t take Belle long at all to discover the stack. She’d rather be inside with Mama where it was cool than outside stirring up trouble with K.
See that smile on K’s face? She was quite proud of her trophy. Which, let me tell you, stunk to high Heaven. Really.
I think that shot was taken after lunch. Hubby had resumed working and the girls were just milling about. Shortly after that, Meg went off to make her rounds of the neighborhood. When she came back, she was exhausted.
Even though I was ready to put the cover back on her bed, I didn’t have the heart to make her move. She just looked so comfortable. And pooped out.
Later, I walked down the hill (driveway) with K and Belle.
K had been outside ALL DAY. She’d pop in every now and then to make sure were still there, then off she’d go again. She was in our yard, most of the time within sight, but she was hunting. For K, that’s the equivalent of doggie heaven.
Belle likes to hunt, too, but not nearly as much as K.
Late afternoon and K still had tons of hunting energy left.
I took the next picture around 5:00 PM. That thermometer is in the shade. It’s just over 100 degrees F (about 38 degrees C).
By the next day, you could really tell how much better the place looked. Inside and out. Although I didn’t take many indoor pics for some reason…
Yes, we spent the weekend working. But it was a labor of love.
Now we just have to make time to visit again. For fun.
That’s quite literal as far as the dogs are concerned. The mulch smells so good to them that they are eating it!
Dumb bitches.
I hope the stink wears off soon.
And K has discovered that there’s a Cardinal family living in our honeysuckle.
I posted that pic on Facebook the other day and said something like “those birds don’t stand a chance.”
That statement was more prophetic than I realized.
One baby is now deceased.
Belle hasn’t gotten much face time lately, so I figured I’d post a picture or two of her for a change. Here she is napping next to Meg. They sure love those beds.
K’s bed was empty because she really is obsessed with those birds.
She looks rather pathetic laying there staring up at them. Every now and then, it gets the best of her and she’ll start to cry.
Hubby decided he’d show her what was in there, hoping maybe to dissuade her from wanting to spend every waking moment staring at that bush.
It was a solid hypothesis.
But K is no less obsessed.
When Belle saw Dad holding K up there to see, she was jealous.
She was interested, just not as much as K.
As much as Belle loves being cuddled, she quickly grew tired of her elevated position.
K just wanted them both out of her way.
Think I am exaggerating her degree of obsession?
Think again.
Belle is perfectly happy watching from a slight distance. She’s more easily distracted than K.
As for Meg, she could care less. Live critters freak her out. Ever since she went to examine a squirrel she thought Belle had killed a few years back.
The thing was laying belly-up in our backyard when Meg moseyed over for a sniff. Much to her dismay — and our amusement — the squirrel had been faking. It miraculously came back to life, grabbed Meg’s nose, and freaked her the hell out. Meg bolted and Belle returned for the kill.
Ah, life with dogs…
To give Meg something to do, I took her around to the far side of the house to help demonstrate the STUPID positioning of one of our hose bibbs, which I discussed in my previous post about our newly updated yard.
I shot that pic while standing at ground level. Meg is sitting on the edge of the planting bed. See the hose bibb way above and behind her?
Here’s a view from just inside the gate.
See it there on the wall? It’s about 15 feet away from the back corner of the house. And like four feet off of the ground. It’s actually much easier to reach now with the planting bed there. Before, we had to scale a very slippery hill.
Hubby will relocate it one of these days. He’ll have to rip out part of the ceiling in the basement to do it, so he’s in no hurry.
In the meantime, we’ll just have to make do.
First, I joined Hubby for a trip to the dump.
Yep, I am living large now!
That’s where I saw this…
What a great idea, eh? I’m just not convinced that the landfill is the best place for that thing. Why not the lobby of the post office? It’s open around the clock for folks who need access to their P.O. boxes. It seems to me that more people would be aware of it at the post office. But then, maybe more people frequent the landfill than I realize? Either way, I never knew there was a retirement program for flags.
Once we left the landfill, we drove back to town (about a minute away) and Hubby dropped me off at the library. I had time to peruse the used “sale” books (bought two!) and look through the travel section (borrowed two). From there I headed home.
On the way, I stopped at the Great Harvest Bread bakery.
I think I have mentioned my affinity for Great Harvest’s blondies a time or two before on this blog. I think I have also mentioned that Meg is a chocoholic with a really bad sweet tooth. She’s driven by food in general, but REALLY likes sweets.
Good thing I’m aware of this. No sooner did I set my blondie on my desk than this happened…
My camera just happened to be sitting within reach atop my desk.
Don’t worry, I know better than to turn my back on Meg in a situation like that. I most certainly would never leave the room.
She’s relentless.
Can you blame her? Blondies are really quite tasty.
There were no corners available, but I did get a side piece. It’s a bit moister than I usually like. But most people prefer blondies and even brownies to be moist and gooey. To me, they just taste half-raw when served that way. I like dry and chewy. This one was sort of disappointing for me. But I ate it anyway. And, no, Meg did not get a piece.
Even after taking the time to snap those images, I was back at my desk just 45 minutes after we’d left.
And now to completely change the subject…
Did you hear about the Harley Davidson motorcycle that washed up on the shore of a remote island in British Columbia? It was in a shipping container that had been washed to sea during the Japan tsunami. It’s a touching story. The guy who found it and some friends of his went to great lengths to retrieve the bike. And the HD Corporation is paying to have the bike shipped back to Japan where it will be restored and returned to its owner.
You can read about it here. Or watch the video embedded below.
I love it when I see good stories in the news. Yay to the Harley Corp for stepping up to get this guy’s bike back to him. And for agreeing to restore it.
I think that’s pretty awesome. How about you? Oh, and did you know about the flag retirement program?
Friday was International Female Ride Day (IFRD). That may sound hokey to you non-riders. But fellow female motorcyclists are few. Our population is growing, but there are still lots of women who think they shouldn’t/can’t ride because it’s a “guy” thing. So IFRD (this was the 6th annual by the way) is about getting out there en masse and showing everyone, especially non-riding women, that we can do it, too!
Hubby and I did manage to get out for a sort ride. But then it rained, so we cut things short.
Take a look at the shot of me and you might notice how threatening the skies look.
It wasn’t an empty threat.
We have rain gear and are fully capable of riding in the rain if we have to. But it’s no fun. And it’s dangerous. Slippery roads and two-wheeled vehicles are not a happy mix.
After returning home, we decided to walk up to Molly’s Irish Pub for dinner. They’ve got really good burgers and fries. And the beer on tap is always cold and refreshing.
It was on our way to the restaurant that we discovered it was the first “Warrenton First Friday” of 2012.
The Partnership for Warrenton sponsors the event, which is described on their site as…
Stroll Historic Main Street Warrenton beginning in May, the First Friday night of each month. Main Street will be closed to traffic while shops remain open late with open houses and specials. There will be music, artists, entertainment for the children and dinner specials at our award winning restaurants. Main Street will be bustling with shoppers, diners and fun.
It’s a cool thing to do.
I shot the picture above after dinner while walking the dogs.
Speaking of dogs, Saturday was the 2012 annual American Brittany Rescue (ABR) picnic. That’s a nationwide event, which is usually held in the Midwest or somewhere else far away. Although I have been affiliated with ABR since late 2003, I’ve never been to one of their annual events.
I thought it would be fun to see some of the folks I hadn’t seen for a while, meet others I knew of but had never met, and see all the dogs.
There were a lot of dogs there.
I have no idea how many dogs, but it seemed like about 100! That lady in the royal blue shirt, is one of the organizers. At the moment I took this picture, she was acting as a gatekeeper. She is actually a regular follower of this blog, too. Her name is Michelle Falkinburg. She was Belle’s foster Mom.
Sorry I didn’t get a better picture to share here, Michelle! I was too busy taking dog pics as you requested.
The picnic was lots of fun. Hubby didn’t go, but the girls and I enjoyed it. We all had to wear name tags, which was especially helpful for the dogs.
It was very cool seeing so many Brittanys in one place. There were dogs there of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
Big Shirley, who is not big at all, brought her own dog Brittany (the liver and white female pictured sitting), and two fosters, Cooper (barely visible in the background) and Sam.
This next image is my favorite. You have to look closely to “get” the humor.
How many times have you been at a picnic on a hot day, running around getting all sweaty, looking longingly at the cooler full of ice and beverages wishing you could climb in and cool off? That’s just what that big guy did!
I told you it was fun. If you’d like to see all of the pictures from the picnic, they are on my Flickr site.
Sunday morning I ran some errands. Hubby finished washing the windows, which he’d already spent lots of time on Saturday doing while we were away.
When I got home, I made a huge pot of pasta sauce and some sangria. Then I planted a few flowers.
I didn’t manage to get all of them into the ground. Maybe this afternoon?
See what I mean by eclectic?
I hope your weekend was a good one.
First, there was Saturday’s wine tour. It was a great time. Then on Sunday, for the first time in a long time, we got to visit the WV Place.
Our little house in the woods has been neglected of late. There’s just so much stuff to do and/or discover here at the new place. Honestly, the only reason we went on Sunday was because we had to. My car has been parked there, in that very spot you see pictured, for a couple of months.
Being a one-car family has been different. It’s not like we don’t have other modes of transport available. If I take off with the truck for a weekend, Hubby still has the bikes at his disposal. But cargo space is pretty limited.
So now we got the car back. I am happy. I’ve missed my car.
The dogs were happy, too. They really enjoyed the visit, however brief.
See how nice and clean they both look in that image I posted above? That did NOT last long at all.
Meg went off to visit the neighbors while the younguns set out for a hunt.
This wood pile sits at the bottom of the hill near the turn in our driveway. It’s a very boggy area.
Can you see K in the last shot? You have to look closely as she blends in and there’s not much to be seen.
I swear K is part mountain goat.
She is the most sure-footed dog I have ever seen.
Belle did her share of climbing, too. But K’s climbing abilities are unsurpassed. At least among our three.
When they weren’t on the woodpile, they were running around it. Through the bog.
Belle may be our little princess, but she loves her some mud.
Really. The ground where’s she is laying is a spongy, muddy mess. She was happy as could be. Click on that image of Belle to get a close look at her back feet.
Speaking of happy… check out the smile on Meg’s face.
Yes, dogs can smile. The WV place is her favorite place in the whole world.
I guess you could say she’s a country dog at heart.
I was surprised to see that the trees are still rather bare. I guess most are about half filled-out? Quite a few others still have a ways to go.
See what I mean? There just aren’t many leaves yet. Maybe it’s because of the weird, cold weather we’ve had. Last weekend, it snowed a bit at the WV place!
Meg is a bit out of shape, I guess. She hadn’t been out long, but looked exhausted.
The young girls were still raring to go. K, especially, was still showing some spunk.
How was your weekend?