First Fall Excursion of 2009

Reverse order because I can't figure out Blogger. This is Jaemor Farms, which is just up 365/985, not too far from us.

This was taken on our hayride. The pumpkins are looking fine!

Della on the hayride.

Lucy and Daddy on the hayride.

Another view of the farms. Reminds me of France in some ways.

We did the mini-corn maze and you had to dip your fingers in the paint stations, one color on each finger. Your pattern determined your forture. This was Scott's.

This could not have been more appropriate for Della.

This was Lucy's.

This was mine.

We had a nice time.

The flu has found us.

Just after we all got over a nasty cold, Lu has come down with the flu. Not sure what kind (Type A or swine) but it doesn't really matter. Poor baby girl. She's down for the count.

I've been dyeing a lot of slips lately. I am trying to get good and stocked for the holidays. I've also started listing some hats. I am also making some wreaths to take up the the gallery. I found 4 wreath forms at a yard sale and Lord knows I have enough stuff to whip up some pretty holiday things.

Last year, I made a bunch of "Lipstick on a Pig" ornaments and I still have some that didn't sell. If I can re-work them and get the lipstick off, they will become Swine '09 ornaments.

Hunting season is here and Scott will have some wonky hours. But that also means its soup season and I am looking forward to getting my soup on.

What a mess here in Atlanta with all of this rain. According to our rain gauge, we got 13 inches over a week. Our creek didn't get near the bank, which I think is a benefit of having a big hole (Lake Lanier) for it to drain into.

But wow....all of the pictures sure do bring back memories of the floods in S. Georgia in 1994 - the brown much, the water lines, the piles of garbage outside homes. I will have to scan some photos. That is also when Scott and I started dating. We worked together but didn't know each other well. We were sent down as a "disaster team" to work in a disaster center and to help people clean their water wells. The man had me laughing my ass of on the drive down. I pretty much knew then I was going to marry him.

Good News, Bad News

Well, the bad news is that Malcolm's time with us has come to an end. I finally found his owner's via Craigslist. I had been searching CL, the local papers and petfinder.org daily since we got him. And while I had been searching Lost & Found on CL, I didn't know there was a separate section for Pets. Yesterday, I found the listing there. Turns out his owners miss him and were quite distraught about his disappearance. His name is actually Spike and he is just 5 years old. He's quite large for being so young.

We've all enjoyed our time with Spike/Malcolm but I am very happy that he is loved and missed and will be reunited with his owners. I know they will be happy too. We looked at the address of his home and where was found on mapquest. Looks like he managed to travel 1/2 mile away from home over the two days between the time he left and the time Scott picked him up. That is quite a distance!

So long Spike/Malcolm! We sure enjoyed our time with you.

And more pictures.

Jumping on the trampoline.

Lucy models her first day outfit. Della has the same shirt in her size because I am a dork like that.

More trampoline fun.

Lucy wasn't so fond of Malcolm at first but she's come around. Fun story about this picture. Lucy kept saying, "I smell poop." Well, I looked all around her and couldn't find it. I said maybe one of the dogs pooped outside the fence.

Turned out she was sitting in it. Ewwwwww.

More pictures.

This is me, tarted up with make-up like a French whore for Mom's Night Out.

This is Scott, none too happy that Lucy is taking his photo. I adore my lime green kitchen (and my adorable grizzly man hunk of a hubby.)

Obligatory photo of Malcolm. He is still doing well. He loves our weeds, bok choy, and collards.

Our MOMS Club did a field trip to the local Humane Society and Della got to walk a dog. I think this is about 2 seconds before she stepped in a pile of dog crap. She did enjoy walking her puppy though!

More on Malcolm

We are really enjoying him/her. There is still some debate as to what sex we have. Regardless, Malcolm is quite social. He loves to follow us around the yard and he mowed down a whole squash yesterday which the girls loved.

I was poking around on a tortoise forum and they say Malcolm looks quite healthy with clear eyes and all that.

I'll spare you pictures of his first poop but it was rather interesting and a good sign that things are moving along.

Turtles, MNO and Entrepreneurs

Recently, we had our MOMS Club Mom's Night Out at Loco's in Gainesville for Trivia Night. We started out strong but then after a few drinks and more interest in conversation, we didn't do so well. Our team name? The Real Housewives of Gainesville. :P Our sign says "We don't just wipe asses - we kick them too."

This is Malcolm, an African spur thigh tortoise. Scott got a call about it roaming in someone's yard. We are apparently keeping it. He really is GORGEOUS.

Some men get convertibles or motorcycles - not my husband! I guess he gave up on getting the tea cup potbelly pig.

The girls wanted to have a lemonade stand but we live on a super rural road and had no lemonade. Daddy was outside weed-wacking so I told them to set up a beer stand (and some diet Sunkist). They ended up with $8. Not bad for an hour's worth of work....

Our First Family Camping Trip

We took our first family camping trip this weekend! I have been waiting for this for years. Scott booked us at a lovely campground called Jackrabbit in the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. It was only 54 miles from the house, just over the state line near Hiawassee. We were right on Lake Chatuge. There was a wonderful beach area which we really enjoyed. We grilled hamburgers, ate 'smores, had a nice 2 mile hike and had a really great time. Well, Scott broke his toe which wasn't too fun, but that was our only big crisis.

View of the fire ring. Scott broke his toe on the metal grill while stumbling around in the dark.

On our hike, we spotted some spectacular fungi. (I have a thing for mushrooms like Scott has a thing for herps.) I saw several that I hadn't seen before. I'd seen this coral fungus before but this was the best picture I had - it was getting dark and my pics weren't so great.

The girls on our hike. I always bring up the rear because I like to look for stuff. Notice Della's blue sequin shoes.

Our beautiful tent, a gift from my parent's last Christmas. Being very claustrophobic, I wanted something very big. This one fits the bill. Easy to set up and break down too. Love it.

The girls upon arrival. They had a really great time, the 'smores being their favorite part.

It was quite warm but we went to the beach to swim both days and it was quite tolerable. I can't wait to go again.