Just Chillin’…AKA Not Doin’ Much

Yeah, I know, it has been awhile since we posted so we’ll try to update you on our summer laid back, retirement lifestyle.

Since we last posted, I suppose the biggest news is that Jeff celebrated his 60^th birthday. We went out to eat at Fatz Café in Franklin, North Carolina on July 22, his birthday. They have Sunday “old fashioned” specials so Jeff ordered pot roast that came with mashed potatoes, green beans, cole slaw, and their great rolls. It was very good! I had the basa fish with a baked potato and a salad. We were very good …..we passed on dessert. :-) Well, we weren’t that good,  because I had made Jeff a chocolate “wacky cake” with chocolate peanut butter icing that he loves so much. We actually gave the last piece a few days later to the waiter  that serves us regularly at Annette’s Café . Kenneth is a good fellow who always clowns around and serves us well when we eat there. Overall, Jeff‘s  birthday was a quiet one. I think his 60^th birthday was an awakening that, yes, we are getting a bit older.

A couple days before Jeff’s 60th, we went to our neighbor’s retirement party in Franklin, North Carolina at a place called Chris and Charlie’s on July 19. Our neighbor, Charlie, was the postmaster at the Rabun Gap post office in Rabun Gap, Georgia, which is about 5 minutes away from us. About 42 people from River Vista were there. The service and food was excellent! They have about a dozen beers on tap from regional micro-breweries. We tried one from Raleigh, NC that had a hint of cherry taste to it. It was quite tasty! I had a delicious salad and Jeff had something called the Fat Italian flatbread sandwich. It was very good. As a result of the retirement party Jeff decided to develop a Facebook page for the Falls View Community (which is the name of our owners section in River Vista). You can view it on Facebook, if you have a Facebook account, under “Falls View Community, Dillard, GA”. Jeff has placed information and pictures on the site for anyone to enjoy. He did a great job of it, too! Go check it out!

We went to Lowe’s this week and purchased some equipment for me to use when I tie-dye shirts and bandanas. I have two shirts that I want to do and have three bandanas to make for Jeff. I hope I don’t mess it up but if I do, the material that I buy at WalMart is cheap. We have found many designs on-line that help us decide how to create something “far out” but nice. I just have to get more nerve and try them out. I have seen some shirts that lost their color and I don’t want mine to look like that. So I have to research a bit more before trying some more.

I bought a book that is called EBAY for Dummies and am really enjoying it. As soon as I have finished it, by not only reading it but highlighting and making notes on it, I will try to sell some items that we don’t need anymore. My first item will be a “Giggles Doll” that I made about 12 years ago. I made four dolls. I gave one to my mother and grandmother and kept the other two. I got my grandmother’s back after she passed on and that one is going to be a keeper because it is so cute. I had also purchased clothes from consignment shops that sell baby items at very reasonable prices. I will post some of the pictures later on after we take a few, so you can see how cute these dolls are. Here they are:

  

A neighbor where our house is in Valrico taught me how to make the dolls. She made over 200 of them a long time ago. She has since moved out of StrawBerry Ridge due to her health. She was selling them for over $100 a piece back then. I won’t do that in this market now because I know they won’t sell for that. Anyone out there ever make dolls? Oh yes, my mother has a collection of various dolls. I think she must have close to 200 or so. They were all bought or were gifts. Some of them she bought in Germany since she was born and raised over there.

The big excitement in Dillard this weekend is the Dillard Barbeque and Bluegrass Festival. We’ll check it out tomorrow. This event is the Kansas City Barbeque Society Georgia State Championship. Held adjacent to the Dillard House, the Dillard Barbecue and Bluegrass Festival started in 1997 and has grown to what it is today through the hard work, dedication, and efforts of many volunteers and BBQ enthusiasts from around the country. Each year people come from across the nation to compete in this once a year event, and to listen to real Bluegrass music played by numerous bands from all over, and to savor the mouth watering smells and sights of smoking meats of all kinds. There also are crafters who set up booths and sell their wares. There are always lots to do and things to see for the whole family at this wonderful event. The cooking rigs are a sight to behold, and the vendors serving the many foods and delicasies are some of the best in the world. And, needless to say, the smells are wonderful. Nearly $10,000 in prize money is awarded in categories involving beef brisket, chicken, pork and pork ribs. They even award desserts. Needless to say attendees may pay to “sample” the teams entries. It’s making me hungry writing about it! We’ll follow up with this story next time.

‘Til next time…..