While the Cat's Away

Carson had a busy travel month! He went back to Berlin at the beginning of the month, and then out to the West Coast at the end of it. I stayed behind while he enjoyed a rafting trip, and here's what I did! (Pictures of his more exciting adventures to come, when I get copies of his pictures)

I saw him off! It also happened to be my first day back to work!

Saw the 2017 Solar Eclipse! We had 86% coverage here in Tallahassee, so we got a good view, and the sky turned eerily dark-yet-bright, but nothing like they had in the Carolinas.

I went through exactly one day of training for my old job, and then they got me out of it! It had been over a year since I'd worked, so technically I needed to do it, but then again, I knew what to do and they needed me so... I didn't have to do it. 

We bought a rug and it was delivered while Carson was gone! I dragged this behemoth into the apartment and rolled it out by myself. I don't know if you've had the pleasure of trying to put a rug underneath a table, but it was definitely a challenge.

My friend Christina does girls' retreats all over the US and in several places around the world, so we helped her pack some gifts for her upcoming trip to Swaziland.

I made caramel in the crockpot! All you do is put a sealed can of condensed milk (wrapper off) into the crockpot, cover with water, and cook on low for 8 hours. After it's cooked, take it out and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours. I did mine overnight and popped it in the fridge before work in the morning. It was GOOD and I'm not a super caramel fan; I just wanted to see if it works (Carson loves all things sweet, so don't worry, he loved this experiment!).

I bought two crates at Jo-Ann Fabrics and used some leftover paint to make a cheap nightstand. Glued them together with wood glue (instead of a clamp, I piled books inside to help the glue stay) and then did one final coat when it was all together. This may not be my forever nightstand, but it was much better than the box I was using before!

I went through stuff and threw things away or donated - here's nail polish I got rid of!

I spent a good amount of time with Christina and Josh. They live right across the street, and so I went over there a few times, or we'd meet at the gym for a workout. One night we used her gel nail stuff and did our fingers and toes. I think this thing is so cool.

On Sunday, Christina and I went to church together and then ran to Target for a few things for her trip. She had a gift card and offered to buy my Starbucks drink - it's been awhile since I've been there!

After our Target run, we went to the Pitaria, a really delicious Gyro place. 

 I made a wifi sign for our guest room.

Meanwhile this is how that room looked!

I was adjusting something and this metal pipe snapped!

Maintenance took care of it within a day which was such a relief!

 This bookcase has been such a dark hole in our living room, so I'd planned to whitewash it, but when I got started, I realized that painting it was probably a better way to go. It looks much better now.

And the day Christina left for Africa, I had the day off, so we met at the gym and then walked around Lake Ella together before she flew out!

Finally, 8 days after he'd left, Carson returned! The house looked totally different because the boxes were unpacked and things were on the walls and I'd made two trips to Goodwill with things we no longer needed, so there was just less to clutter our place. 

Picked him up from school after work on a rainy Tuesday!

Pictures of the updated apartment and more coming soon!

Mon-Fri in Beaufort

In August, we unexpectedly went back to Beaufort. I'd assumed I'd start my job back a week earlier than I actually did, so we had another whole week to kill, and my mom needed us to help out with things around the house while Nana was recovering from surgery, so we drove over. Honestly, we didn't do much - made a few meals, ran errands, vacuumed the house, made sure the dogs were fed and exercised. The rest of the time it was basically pretty relaxing.

We got there on Monday afternoon and Carson had a rapt audience as he enjoyed his food. 

Tuesday was a nice day and we hung out at the pool. Nana's surgery happened this day, so Mom was gone the entire day but we didn't have too much to do. It was very hot, so Oscar climbed into the pool a few times so as not to overheat, and we also put him in there a few times for the same reason. The other dogs wisely stayed inside in the shade.

We locked these two in the sunroom while we went to the grocery store. Pepper can open the handle, hence the chair. Oscar gets to stay out of the room or else he will revenge-poop on the floor.

I made one pot zucchini mushroom pasta for dinner. I realize that it looks like I've cooked pickles with pasta in this picture but I can assure you that I did not. My brother Scott had a very busy week at work and was super hungry, so this was his portion - he got home so late that he ate after we did every night.

Wednesday was Dad's day off, and he and Carson went for a bike ride. The dogs wished they could have gone too, but then quickly settled in for naps.

Carson's rafting helmet came in the mail that day.

We visited Nana at the hospital, ate at Alvin Ords for lunch, and then picked up the beach pass from Grandmama and Granddaddy and headed to Hunting Island. This is the beach I grew up going to, and it's changed so much since I was a kid. Storms haven't been kind to it, and most recently, Hurricane Matthew really took its toll on the Island in the fall. We went to the North Beach by the lighthouse and walked all the way to the lagoon at the South Beach. It does look way different!

We watched Jeopardy and ate burgers that night. And Pepper climbed up on the couch which she doesn't really do. Every night, we would also go outside and sit in the pool with our heads craned all the way back to look at stars. I saw one shooting star the whole time, and we saw tons of satellites making their way across the night sky.

On Thursday, we went to Bluffton and picked up mom's vacuum from its cleaning at the Oreck store, then decided to drive by our old house on Cat Island. They've raised the house a few feet and are currently adding a porch. The neighborhood is so different too! We were the second house in our area, so it's crazy to see how it's grown!

We returned and gave the dogs a little exercise before bathing them, which was a "fun" time.

Pepper was the best, which was a surprise since she hates water. She went first, and then Carson took Oscar and I took Mini. Oscar wanted me, and Mini kept kicking and trying to swim when she heard the running water, so I got a huge scratch from her tiny feet. They didn't seem to hold it against us, but they did have tons of energy afterward and zipped around the house.

On Friday, we went to Granddaddy and Grandmama's for lunch. We meant to be there just an hour or so, but we got caught up talking and before we knew it, a long time had passed. We didn't mind!

After we left there, we stopped by the hospital one more time to see Nana, who made remarkable progress and looked great (but no pictures of her because who wants people to take pictures of them in the hospital after surgery???). Here are her very well coordinated flowers.