Fainting Goats, Flowers Galore, Sprayed Wine, Laughter Even More Galore

My amazing friend D’Anne, along with her sister Jana and I had been trying to plan a girls’ getaway trip for quite a while, but we could not come up with anything, which seems unimaginable.

Finally I said: We have dates booked for Georgia, why don’t you come spend some time with us there? It took them no time to book a flight and I felt like I had genius status for at least a minute.

The Coach and I were there for a few days before the girls arrived, but I didn’t make big plans for their visit as we tend to just roll with ‘how we feel’ and go from there.

In the four and a half days they were there, we visited Gibbs Gardens. (We have a thing for gardens, and this one is always evolving with the seasons)

Can you believe the size of this Snowball Verbena?

We also had a windy good time at a Winery, enjoyed an afternoon in Dahlonega, filled some garden bowls on our deck with flowers, worked on a puzzle, ate many meals, drank a bit ok, a lot of wine, *sampled Georgia moonshine right from our freezer, talked a LOT about everything under the sun, enjoyed the fire pit on a very dark night, ogled the starry sky, laughed more than a human probably should and had a nice long *adventurous tour of Double L Ranch on the UTV. Oh, and of course, D’anne had little gifts for me each morning, just like last time, as only a lunatic friend would.

My innovative way to de-callus my tootsies–FIRE

Say It Don’t Spray It.

I have to write this down, really for my own posterity. One evening we were enjoying a lovey dinner at a nearby restaurant; the weather was perfect, so we were seated on a patio. Our dinner was finished and we were just drinking wine and talking. I wanted a pic of D and Jana; they obliged with their lovely smiles, then they decided to make Fish Faces. We giggled, I showed them the result of the fish pic, right at the same time as D took a big sip of Cabernet. Well, hells bells, she laughed so hard at seeing the pic that she sprayed her wine across the table onto Coach and I. Well, mostly our finished dinner plates and some of Coach’s shirt. This of course, made us ALL laugh even more! You couldn’t have planned a spray this big!

D was beside herself, but we could not stop laughing.

Me: I’ve probably been sprayed by worse people and worse things!

A gift for the hostess. 🙂

All The Goats Faint

The Fainting Goat Winery is only twenty five minutes from our house and I can’t believe it took me this long to visit. The views coming from (and going to) are breathtaking. We had to pull over to take a pic.

It was crazy windy the day we visited the winery, but still, like loons we wanted to sit outside for the views. We had a little charcuterie and our small glasses of ‘tastes’ and every once in a while a gust of wind would pick up and we would all put our arms out to hold our glasses and the food/napkins/etc. It was hilarious. We thought about going back inside, but the thought of picking up all our glasses and snacks seemed like too much work.

I was so distracted by the wind, that I didn’t get to ride see the fainting goats up close. In hindsight, had we ordered a REGULAR sized wine portion, there wouldn’t have been a worry.

The wine, even thought it was from Georgia and not New Zealand, earned my snobby seal of approval.

Did you even visit a winery if you don’t bring home a few bottles?

We had such a great visit and I hope they return again; so far D has seen Fall and Spring at our place, but she’s not seen summer or winter yet!

*We had a bit of trauma/drama while visiting the Double L. I’ll share that story next time.

So, who wants to visit and join me for a tour of the winery, the gardens or just sample some local moonshine and call it a day?

(personally, I don’t do moonshine, but I don’t judge those who partake)

XOXO

Who Planted That, The Longest Meeting And The Prettiest Barn

Hello, it’s Me.

The Coach, and I along with the Frenchies headed to Georgia for a long getaway. Lest you think our long getaways are all R&R, sadly they are not. Back when we were deciding on purchasing a vacation home I thought I might actually get a vacation there. What was I thinking?! I envisioned ALL the relaxing and it’s merely another house to maintain! It might sound like I’m complaining, but I’m really not. OK, maybe just a tiny bit.

In my opinion, the only true vacation involves room service, dinners prepared for me, and no laundry.

To Quote Gomer Pyle: SURPRISE SURPRISE SURPRISE!

I consider myself fairly observant, so I was floored when I went out to our dog yard after we arrived and noticed this gorgeous yellow Azalea blooming. I DIDN’T KNOW WE HAD AN AZALEA IN THIS SPOT.

Where did that come from? I mean, I remember a little bush being there, but I didn’t know what it was, as I had never seen it bloom before.

Add in a flurry of tiger swallowtails, and be still my heart!

I was also super excited to see all of the blooming Dogwoods and pom-pom viburnum around our yard and elsewhere.

Within a day of arriving, I had the house full of groceries and made a big trip to the nursery to fill up the window boxes and large pots that needed updating. You might recall my Big Fall while updating the window boxes a few years ago so that task is solely up to the Coach as I’ve been put on restriction.

The Meeting Of Meetings

We had a few things scheduled for this trip and one was a meeting with our house builder and our designer, to iron out some details of the new compound house. Man, just typing Our Designer makes me feel all sorts of fancy and that we should be on an HGTV show.

Our meeting ended up being seven and a half hours long; mostly at our current house, but then we made our way to the actual property as well; still finalizing the driveway layout, dock placement in the pond, making sure we were happy with the views from our bedroom and kitchen, and the layout of the laundry room, as that is where I spend most of the time, don’tcha’know.

It was an overcast day, raining off and on, so the Georgia Clay was extra mucky and I refused to let the Frenchies wander into it.

WE COULD LIVE IN THAT

Coach’s Maintenace Barn is almost finished and she sure is pretty!

This barn will house his big equipment, but honestly, you could add in a little kitchen and bed area if you felt compelled and live there. (there is indoor plumbing)

My husband doesn’t know how to do things on a small scale and couldn’t half ass a project, he’s full assing everything, which can be both a curse and a blessing.

I’ve got much to share about this visit but that will have to wait as I’ve hit my (self-imposed) limit today!

Has anyone else been surprised by a New To You Plant in your space?

Could you live in a barn? On A Ranch? With Frenchies?

XOXO

My 80’s face And When Reviews Go South

I’m preparing to be away from my ‘puter again; please don’t cry too hard, loud or long.

I’ll leave you with some Random stuff:

  • As I was washing my face the other night, I had a vision-memory pop into my brain.

It was the late 80’s, my Mom was down from GA visiting me in Florida, I was living with the Coach. I was in the bathroom washing my face, with the door open, I was scrubbing my skin with a Buf Puf and that apricot exfoliant cleanser that literally felt like rocks mixed with liquid. (Do you remember Buf Puf’s? They could take paint off of a car!)

I already looked 12, how young DID I want to appear?

I came out of the bathroom ALL red faced and shiny and my Mom said: You know, I don’t think that is good for your skin. She was being delicate with her words because at that time, I didn’t have much patience for her.

Me thinking she’s crazy, as I reached for the SeaBreeze astringent. I can still feel the burn, thinking I’m doing something good, something healthy.

Today, at 56, I’m lucky I still have skin on my face.

Putting in an emergency call to Eckerd for more Buf Puf’s!

  • I’ve been purchasing my underthingys’s from Soma for years. The same under-roos for years. Recently, I wanted a few new pairs, went to the website, ready to order and FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING WHAT HAS HAPPENED? They’ve discontinued my fave style! I was shocked. I was dismayed. But worse: I wasn’t prepared for what I saw next.

I had to try a different style, so I chose a few that I thought might be close and started reading the reviews when I was slapped in the face 2024 style. (I’m paraphrasing the reviews because I didn’t save them)

These are so soft and comfy; they don’t ride up and the XL fits me perfect. BTW: I’m 5’10, 190lbs, male.

DO WHAT NOW? Are these unisex? What will I do with all that extra space in the front? Perhaps a stash spot for my lip gloss?

Slightly shaken, I went to the next style and read:

These are my favorite! There is no visible panty line, they’re breathable, I can wear them all day with no issues.

Seems great, right?

Except there was a photo attached of a MAN, sitting on the edge of his bed, wearing said underwear and a camisole top. (they didn’t even match!) This didn’t appear to be a woman who transitioned to a man, this was a bonafide man, five o’clock shadow and an unmistakable package.

I wonder what size he bought; he didn’t divulge and that would have been helpful.

Anyhoo, I ordered them both in Medium and let’s see if these guys know what the hell they’re talking about! 🙄

XOXO

Do any of you remember Buf Puff’s, Sea Breeze and when mostly only women wore women’s underwear?

(I know, I know, there have always been men wore ladies panties, I’m not that naive; I’m floored that they also like Soma!)

Wyoming Is My Favorite Of The Why’s, What Are The Freaking Family Feasibilities? I’m A Winter Sport Survivor Who Avoided Fighting An Olympian.

A few weeks ago, the Coach and I revisited a favorite place, for the third time with new blood; Angee & Rob. The first time we visited Three Forks, was for Coach’s fiftieth birthday (2015) along with two of our faves: Don and Kelly. Then we went with whole fam-damily in 2022; which was by far one of our best family trips; who knew that vacations with your grown kids would be so fun? Ok, I actually knew it would be, because I made the best, most funnest humans.

In addition to all the outside activities and inside activities (Spa & pools!) they’ve been hosting small concerts for up to 54 people. We were able to see Rhett Akins and he did not disappoint. (If you are a country fan, he’s Thomas Rhett’s father and has written most of Tom’s hits, plus many of Blakes, Justin’s, Brooks & Dunn’s, Luke’s, & John Pardi, to name a few)

It’s A Far Out Family Reunion

Our very first evening, the four of us went to the small lounge area for happy hour prior to dinner. Wait, did I tell you that there were only TWO OTHER GUESTS for our first three days here? *We had the entire place to ourselves, aside from the concert night when they sold tickets for the show to benefit a charity.

*Oh wait, I’m a Big Fat Liar. I forgot about Lindsay Vonn! She was there with a small enterouge for the first two days; she was filming promo’s for the Lodge which meant we couldn’t go into the main lounge on our first night and the next day, we weren’t able to do something or other because of her group.

Me to my people: This olympic b*tch is encroaching on my vacation, if she wasn’t six foot, strong and young, I’d tell her so. 🤣

Back to our first evening: As we were ordering our drinks, Angee asked about a certain champagne/bubbly wine, or something like that. The sweet barmaid said: Hey, hold on, let me get our Sommelier and he’ll pick out something special for you.

A moment later this man walks out and I notice Angee’s eyes go deep looking in his direction; as he approached the table, she says and I clearly think she’s already drunk: HEY, YOU’RE MY COUSIN. JIM? JIMBO!

He stops. Looks at her and says; YES, YES I AM.

At which point, I thought I was being punked. We’re literally in the MIDDLE of nowhere!

Y’all, they are first cousins. Their Moms are sisters, but they’ve not seen each other in fifty years and Angee only recognized him because they are both on Social Media. His wife also works there and she was such a doll; we had so much fun with them!

Unlike when we visited Three Forks in warmer weather, I only planned on one outside activity: Snowmobiling. I’m sure you can only imagine how much experience I have doing this since I’ve was born and raised in Florida.

Even though I know nothing about this sport, I elected to drive my own mobile in lieu of being a passenger. Listen, I love my husband and trust him, but I’m not a huge fan of his driving in general; I opted to take my life into my own hands as we followed a trail.

The snow had turned into mostly Ice, so if you veered out of the tracks ahead of you, it was hard to get yourself back in line. Lordy, there were points where I was looking down at long drops on either side of the trail. If Lindsay could have seen me, she would have pooped her pants because one of her biggest fears is her mother dying.

I was damn proud of myself for being able to navigate, not die and for risking life and limb by peeing in the wild– I didn’t know we were going to be gone for two hours!

I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone; this was fun! The snowmobiling, not the peeing outside part.

The guys opted to go ice fishing one day and Rob went skiing one morning. Plus, we all had massages, body wraps, some did yoga, we had a *mixology class, a cooking class and we visited the salt room, hydrotherapy spa, ate gourmet meals, revisited with the amazing staff and generally enjoyed ourselves.

*During the mixology class I drank an entire Lavender Lemon Drop Martini and earned myself a nap.

You won’t be surprised to know that one of my favorite things about vacation is NOT cooking and NOT doing laundry and I’d like to vacation at least once a month. Please. Pretty please!

Can you imagine traveling across the country, staying at a not-so-well-known resort and running into your childhood friend; your cousin? I think Angee should buy lottery tickets weekly because that is crazy WILD serendipity if you ask me.

Have you run into someone randomly, so far from home by accident? Have you snowmobiled?

I’ll resist asking if you’ve relieved yourself outside, in the winter, because if you’re my friend, you probably have.

XOXO