Friday Favorites, Mom Edition

Since Sunday is Mother's Day, I thought I would take a moment to reflect on what a champ my mom has been over the past year (and, over all the years that I've known her, to be fair).

In December of 2021, Mom announced to the family her intention to move away from Mayberry, closer to Petticoat Junction, where she could get better medical care and have a smaller house that didn't require as much work to maintain.

The following August, she spent a week looking at houses in Petticoat Junction and Hooterville, before settling on a townhouse that was perfect for her.

In October, we cleared out the old house on First Avenue in Mayberry and loaded up a U-Haul for the move over the mountains. It was a lot of hard work, both physically and emotionally, but she handled it like a rockstar, even when she had to say goodbye to her Lunch Ladies, whom she misses on a daily basis.

Since arriving in Hooterville, Mom has created a warm and inviting home; quite reminiscent of the old house.

She's gamely joined in social activities in Hooterville...

..and, by Christmas of 2022, she was hosting family and creating new memories in her new community.

That is a whirlwind of a year, when you think about it. Now, factor in the fact that she had never lived anywhere other than Mayberry and imagine the bravery that it took to make that leap.

She really is a rockstar, and I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be able to spend this Mother's Day with her. I know there are so many people out there who can't say the same and my heart goes out to you.

Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap

Alternate title: How I Spent My Weekend

I accomplished everything on my To Do list this weekend, which was quite the triumph, if I do say so, myself. I'm sore as hell today, but that is the price one pays for greatness.

So, what did I accomplish? I'll get to that, but first I'll mention that I spent the first part of my Saturday morning watching the coronation of King Charles III and his side chick. 

I hope I live long enough to see the coronation of William and Catherine; I watched their wedding, and that seems like it would bring me full-circle.

Guinness watched the festivities with me; can you see how impressed he was?

After the coronation and coffee, I headed out to the porch to start power-washing. I do this once, sometimes twice, a year, and it really does herald the start of the summer season for me. Power-washing can be quite soothing, in all honesty, although, not when your power washer quits halfway through the job. Such was my life this weekend.

Lucky for me; I own a hardware store and I employ a very talented small engine mechanic who is willing to make house calls. He had the machine up and running again in just the time that it took me to make a sandwich and scroll a few videos on TikTok.

I finished the porch in just under seven hours (this explains much of the soreness I am suffering today). I still need to hang the curtains, plant flowers in the planters, and set out the various decorative items that I usually display on the porch, but, otherwise, I am ready to host the first Porch Night of 2023.

On Sunday, I checked the last items off the list, including raking the garden and prepping the raised beds for planting.

I was surprised to find some volunteer lettuce plants growing in the beds, and was careful to cultivate the soil around them, so they will continue to grow. I hope.

Today, I will be picking up bedding plants that will go into the raised beds this weekend, as well as the flowers that will go into the planters for the porch. Erin and Kristi are coming over tonight for a glass of wine, so it will be a nice soft-launch of the season.

It goes without saying; I am really happy that Mother Nature finally decided to get with the program.

Friday Favorites

I haven't done a Friday Favorites post since February, so it seems like today is a good day to whip one out. 

Without further adieu and in no specific order:

I took Mom to Neighboring City earlier this week and, while she was at her doctor's appointment, I did a little shopping.

Ok, I did a lot of shopping.

One of my purchases was a new fragrance from Replica; Beach Walk, to be exact. I got it at Sephora, and I opted for the travel size, because I was hesitant to commit $160 to a fragrance that I was unsure would suit me. Long story short: I'll probably save up my pennies and return for the full-sized bottle at some point. It's a great summer scent for me. 

My other purchases included bras from Victoria's Secret (bra shopping is most definitely NOT a favorite), a couple of dresses, and this purse, which was a complete splurge.

I don't regret it.

I've mentioned before that I am hosting a couple of events later this summer; both events will require floral arrangements, so; I decided to try the bulk flower route. I ordered from Sam's Club, to test the shipping speed and quality of the flowers, as well as to give me a chance to play around with the arrangements, so I can know exactly what I am doing for the centerpieces for Oscar and Emily's anniversary party.

I was pleased on all accounts; the flowers arrived right on time, were well-packaged, fresh, and exactly as advertised. 

I played with several different types of vases and landed on small round ones for the centerpieces. I will be purchasing the vases from the Dollar Tree in Hooterville, which will bring the total for six centerpieces to just over $110. Can't beat that!

Since I a plan on doing a different style of flowers for Miss Mia's shower, I also purchased a bouquet of roses from the clearance section of the local supermarket. For the actual shower, I will be ordering bulk roses, also from Sam's Club, but, for this practice run, clearance flowers worked beautifully.

In addition to the low centerpiece in the photo above, I will be floating single roses in the vases that I mentioned above; those arrangements will be scattered around the house and porch. I think it will look lovely, and, I'll be getting twice the use out of the vases, which makes the purchase seem a lot more justifiable (not that I feel the need to justify it).

That;s about it for today's favorites. Tune in tomorrow for a scintillating recap of my annual power-washing of the porch; you'll be riveted, I assure you.

Spring Blooms

Mother Nature finally realized that it is actually spring, and she graced us with several nice days in a row. Once she did that, the flowers around Not So New Job emerged from their winter hibernation and we have been enjoying a riot of colorful blooms. I'm not mad about it.

In addition to the multitude of tulips, we've had a plethora of grape hyacinth; they've spread like a carpet in sections of the flower beds.

 

The Oregon Grape holly bush is also blooming. Side note: I had no idea that a yellow holly plant existed until I met the one at Not So New Job. It's quite lovely.

Lastly, while I wait for the lilacs in the neighborhood to bloom (fingers crossed that they actually do this year), I am enjoying the fragrance of the crabapple blossoms. They are gorgeous and amazingly fragrant.

Good job, Mother Nature. You are almost forgiven for that bullshit winter.

Almost (throw some lilacs in and we'll call it good).

Roadtrip

Mom and I took a whirlwind trip to Mayberry this weekend, but, first, I joined Kristi and Erin at Pickin' at the Pea. 

This year, the organizers of the sale are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Pea Green community, which is where the sale is held. The community was originally settled by farming families who saw the need for a general store, community center, and small school; the next closest ones were in Petticoat Junction, ten miles away (ten miles might as well been a hundred back then, I suppose).

The old school is now a private residence and the store is a museum of sorts, but the families in the area still use the community center for dances, meetings, and, of course, Pickin' at the Pea.

As always, the sale was stocked with unique vintage items, funky junk, and collectibles from years gone by. I made a couple of purchases, including some inexpensive costume jewelry and a vintage silk kimono-style coat that was a bit on the pricey side, but Erin convinced me that I needed it. Erin is a very bad influence (picture of the coat coming...eventually).

Of course, I bought a few of the amazing donuts, made by the lovely Mennonite ladies whose families now make up the majority of the residents of Pea Green; I would never pass up an opportunity for them, and Mom and I ate them on the way to Mayberry.

It was a beautiful day for a drive, and as always, Mom was great company.

Our first stop, once we got to Mayberry, was at the old house. We made a quick tour of it, to make sure everything was secure and that nothing was out of the ordinary, which is when we found Dad's old Stampede cowboy boots on a shelf in a closet. Those boots were not in that closet when we moved Mom, and I know that because I was the one who cleaned out that closet. We have no idea how they got there, but we are happy to have them again.

Our next stop was the cemetery, where we attended the service for one of mom's good friends; she passed away quite unexpectedly on Monday and it was coincidental that we were going to be in town for the service.

After the service, we drove to Mount Pilot to see my cousin and to pick up a painting that my Aunt Pat had done, and that Mom inherited. It was a nice visit, but I could tell that Mom was getting tired and we still had the ballet recital to get through that evening, so we excused ourselves and drove back to Mayberry to check into our motel so Mom could rest for a bit.

The recital later that night was very well done. It was a retelling of Cinderella and the dance school pulled out all the stops on the background, props, and costumes. While my great nieces's dance number was brief, it was adorable.

After the recital, Mom and I joined my nephew for dinner and then we collapsed back in our room. Following breakfast on Sunday, we were back on the road. As I said earlier; it was a whirlwind trip. But I'm glad we got to take it together.