What a lovely surprise on Saturday afternoon, we decided to go for hike with the dogs and we found this great park is only 4 miles from the house. The visitor center has a museum talking about the history of the area including details of the Manchester Company Mill that was burnt down in 1864 although some of the walls are still standing. The visitor center is one of only 21 worldwide to achieve Platinum status for its energy conservation.
We headed off to the river where one of the advantages of all the rain was the shoals were really active. I understand that they usually get a few kayakers braving the rapids.
A little further on we saw glimpses of the old mill – it must have been impressive in its day. It was 5 stories high and at the time of building was the highest building in Atlanta.
It was a little strenuous in places but we really look forward to many more walks there in the future.
We rounded off the evening with a trip to Joe’s Crab Shack. It is just another chain restaurant, but one we have been hoping to try for quite some time and we were pleased to see there was one in Douglasville.
I started the evening with a vodka spiked iced tea and followed it with a steam pot filled with crabs and prawns.Yum !
Sunday 17th I was up early taking Rob to the airport for a change, one more trip to New York to empty the house and hand it over to the Realtor.
He took all the good weather with him, it rained and rained and rained. Wednesday was my birthday and the high spots were Skype calls to Alana and my Mum a pile of really good books of the area from Kat and a number of cards including one from Rob. Last year I got a present no card, this year card no present but most years ….nothing. No one can accuse him of being predictable. I treated myself to some sewing time.
On Thursday I was treated to a scene from “Birds” when hundreds or crows descended onto the garden. Thanks goodness they did not stay too long
Very late Friday night Rob returned home – his truck looked like a scene from the Clampitts.
Flew to Minneapolis last Monday and the weather was down at 5 F blinking freezing. I had an early appointment on the Tuesday and woke up to 5 inches of snow on top of the car. Luckily one of the advantages of such cold temperatures is that the snow is light and fluffy and not heavy and wet. It did not take too long to get the car uncovered but it made for a very “interesting” drive.
Minneapolis hotel car park
On the Wednesday night I was able to go and visit my first live basketball team we had great seats and I did my best to support the home team despite their close loss. I have to say there are as many time outs as there is actual playing time but there was plenty of activity going on in the breaks. Everything from dancing to the Memphis street flippers and a slam dunk squad. Flew home on Thursday evening and the knock on effect from the winter storms in the north east meant that it was gone midnight by the time I got back.
Waving a Wolves paw
All the animals were pleased to see me back and this time I have also taken a photo of the barn cats as well. And yes I am going to buy them some new bowls.
Still scared of you !!Our barn cats enjoying the second meal of the day
I was thrilled to see we have daffodils in amongst the trees – It was a great surprise and reminds me of Wales. Friday morning we went to get the cars tagged but I will let Rob relate that tale.
Well whatever counts for normal at our place! Friday I decided to stop wasting any more time and go and discover the joys of getting a Georgia driving license. So first you have to queue for a number and then wait for your number to get called. Having filled in the right form and provided the requisite 5 pieces of identification, I was then informed I would need to do the full written and physical test. Oh joy yet another queue and then off to the PC to answer the written test. Only got 1 wrong and that was debatable (although decided not to point out that they were wrong). Now I got to wait for the driving examiner, first parallel park between cones, them some reversing exercises and an emergency stop. Then off we go out onto the main road, we spent about 20 minutes navigating around the local area, never above 35MPH and no passing, dual carriageway or joining traffic. Thank goodness I passed everything first time and without any errors but I have to say it certainly explains why the standard of driving in down town Atlanta is a bit hairy, nothing in the test prepares them for driving on a 5 lane orbital road at 60MPH with traffic feeding on an off every couple of miles. Anyway I now have my license, so back off home to gloat to Rob!
Fabric StashWelcome Friends
We decided to tackle my sewing room again on Saturday and we finally made enough room for me to actually sew something. Although we also brought in all the fabric from the RV and even I had to admit even I was surprised how much I had. Sunday afternoon I drove out to Marietta and joined Veronica and the other ladies for an afternoon of spinning (fiber not bike) I have to say there is something very special about spinning my own yarn to a good enough quality that I can actually knit socks with it. Can’t wait till I can actually do that with fiber from my very own Alpacas.
Monday morning brought an early start to the week – the only high spot being the glorious sun rise that was visible out of the window at Hartfield Jackson Airport. Off to Minneapolis where I was greeted with a balmy 5degrees F – thats -15C to all the Europeans. 5 inches of snow last night and more due later in the week.
Well as you saw from Mr Rob previous post. He arrived back home with many many boxes! Most of which were loaded into my sewing room. After running up and down stairs all day just trying to find a place to put things down it got closer to the evening with still more things to allocate a home to, so we changed to running up and down to the barn with the wheelbarrow just to make sure that things were at least going to be kept dry.
Then comes the fun job of unpacking all those darn boxes. The jury is still out on what was the most challenging, finding homes for all the stuff or trying to find the things we actually needed. I still have not found the legs for the sofa, the dogs get fed regularly so I know they have not done anything with them. Although one of the things we did find was the weighing sales. Where we very quickly discovered that Mr Rob had dropped 10lbs and I had lost 3lbs (which is because I am smaller and not because I was doing less work)
By Sunday we could actually see the floor and work surfaces again, so we decided to make the most of a very nice day and take the girls out for a long walk, it’s just another of the joys of living here, we have the ability to walk out of the back of the property and straight onto a series of trails.
On Tuesday my rest from traveling stopped and it brought a big smile to my face when I realized my first trip would actually be back to New York City. I stayed at the New Yorker hotel which whilst very dated, it had a nice Art Deco feel to it
Wednesday I flew over the top of the bad weather and went to Nashville for 2 days. I am currently sitting at the airport waiting to fly home to Georgia.
Well the rain kept up all through the Thursday as well and then a cold front came through bringing winds and 30 degree temp. This cardinal looked like he was as fed up with it as I was.
Enough please
I was due the delivery of my new sewing table and the delivery company said it would arrive between 2pm and 6pm – at 6pm I rang them and they said it would be coming at 7.30 and at 7.30 the van driver rang to say it would be 8.30 to 9. At 9.40 they arrived, they were clearly at the end of a long day as they man handled it into the sewing room ( I would like to point out – no stairs and straight through a patio door) they took the packing of and I inspected it found no damage and off they went. Next morning I realized I was missing a castor so I rang the company and I have to say that the customer service was excellent. I fully understand that sometimes things just go wrong but its more about how people react to it. The company was extremely apologetic and are not only sending me a complete set of castors but also an additional gift that will be very much appreciated. The cabinet is fantastic and I have to say they did a great job of correcting an error that was not even theirs ( they use an external delivery company) I would have no hesitation in recommending a Koala Studio Cabinet from Sewing and Craft Club
Wonderful
I woke up Friday morning to at last see blue skies but man it was cold going out to sort out the chickens and the Pacas. As I worked at my desk a couple of the chucks came to see me and also one of the squirrels realized just where he had put his food.
look we are doing our funny danceI knew that’s where it was
Friday night I went to downtown Atlanta to help some good friends of mine serve hot food to about 40 of the local homeless. I have to say I was impressed with how polite patient and helpful they were whilst we set up the tables and started to plate up the food. We were also able to hand out some clean socks, gloves hats and blankets. I am really glad that I was able to help even in such a small way.
Saturday Morning I drove over to Powder Springs to the home of yet another Alpaca farmer, this time they had Suri’s ( Mine are Huacaya) really cute and they also had some youngsters that were under 2 months old. I joined the ladies for a lovely lunch followed by 4 hours of Spinning ( wool not bike) and great conversation. So far Southern hospitality is living up to every thing I thought it would be.
Small Suri Alpacas
Today has been another nice sunny day and I have been able to catch up on all my chores ready to start the new week
Well still raining and certainly missing my partner in poop scooping especially as it has gone from those nice firm beans to a mush ( I know more information than you wanted )
I am sure the Alpacas are bored not really being able to get out and about although it is not phasing the chickens at all. Still getting my eggs every day. Thanks girls.
I read an article that says the average age of eggs in the supermarket are 2-3 months, no wonder my day old eggs taste so different.
I have not left the property since Rob left and I am getting a little stir crazy. So I guess I should make the effort to get out over the next few days. I actually feel pretty safe here, having said that although I am not worried about 2 legged problems, I have semi convinced myself that every snake, spider and other predator watched Rob and the dogs leave and are now plotting their attacks on me and my animal family.
Rob was up at stupid o’clock this morning so that he could drive back up to NY and clear Atlanta before the traffic started. He will be really busy this week packing up the rest of our stuff. I have been busy unpacking my sewing things and as you would expect, the one thing I cant find is my sewing bobbins and needles! I am thinking maybe Rob hid them to make sure I clear the rest of the boxes before I start sewing again.
Weather is still really mild here today but this morning it was raining like crazy — which has made everything muddy. It does not seem to phase the Chuck’s much but the Pacas look pretty bored with it all.
Text from Rob at noon and he is already at Roanoke, making great time
We always found it amusing that the British did not exist as a cultural food area at the supermarkets in NY but the Irish did, whilst a very small selection it did allow us to occasionally buy Branston Pickle, Robinsons lemon barley water and Walkers oat cakes.
Now we have moved to Georgia we have realised we were aligning with the wrong group. We went out shopping today and spotted an Indian/Pakistani store. It was loaded with Heinz baked beans,Ovaltine, Patak sauces and all the makings for a decent curry. All the flavours of home.
Another benefit of having the extra animals is that it give us a legitimate reason to spend a long time looking at all the bits and pieces at the Tractor Supply Store.
I bought a book on home preserving ( ready for the garden we will have this summer) and Rob got a book about weird inventions people have made to make their farm work more interesting.
Sunday morning week 2 – Its been really fun so far. Rob moved down to Georgia on 28th December and I was left in snowy New York as we still had family staying. On the Saturday I took them back to JFK, which was a very interesting experience as it was snowing quite heavily and we passed a number of cars that had spun off the road. Thank heavens for good tires, all wheel drive and 5 years of practice. Although I have to say I was really worried about getting back home and not being able to make it up the drive. Thank goodness Bob our very wonderful plow guy had cleared the drive enough for me to get up to the house.
Alana – no fear and not feeling the cold
After a solitary New Years Eve and threats of more bad weather to come, I decided to throw as much as I could in the back of the car and drive south. Took me two days but I drove into Douglasville and the the start of a new chapter on Thursday 3rd January. Not sure who was more pleased to see me, Rob or the 2 dogs but suffice it to say I was clearly a welcome sight for everyone.
Lacey – truly this is her happy face !
Cagney – are you sure that skunk is not real
So here we are – still have most of our furniture up in NY but we have the basics ( sofa and a bed) and the can’t do without (Computers, TV, Sewing Machines, Spinning wheel, fabric etc)
My office come sewing room is fantastic – I have tiled floor, 3 double windows and a patio door and I can see out over the back and front yard. It is really nice to work in and the dogs spend a lot of time just laying at my feet.
We have a pretty set routine dogs get let out for a run and fed first, then off to let the chickens out. We have 6 so far each one a different heritage breed. They are so much fun and so easy to manage. I just check their water and food then throw down some scratch ( its a mix of corn and seeds and seems to be like candy to these girls) They then spend the rest of the day on a tour of the house looking for bugs and generally having fun. So now I am ready to go and feed the Alpacas, they have a mineral supplement and as its still Winter we also put out some hay for them, check their water and we are done. Back to the house in time for breakfast and still only 8 am.
Ellie MayMarilynMarleneBetty SueAvaGretaHere are my girls – doing an imitation of a “push me pull you”Look at the lovely fiber …….. I mean AlpacaReally – it’s raining and we may be boys but we are not looking our best
Early afternoon we have to check the Pacas again and also scoop the poop. Feed the two barn cats, feed the dogs and go check if the chickens had gone back to the hen house, if they have then we shut the door and we are done for the evening.
Yesterday we drove out to Bremen and visited a couple that instantly became good friends, they have a larger farm than us, many more Alpacas, 2 guardian St Bernards, Chickens, Bees, fiber business and are just in the process of planting vines. I felt tired just thinking about it all ! Anyway you should go and check them out, this is their web site Wake Robin
Posted with Blogsy by Miss Lynne
