Monday, March 30, 2009

Sunday, March 29...Garage Sale Preparations


What a beautiful day we had today, and a group of us were out in the sunshine nearly all afternoon preparing for the garage sale next Saturday. Joanne and Mike Ligon arrived at our house around noon, and Mike went right to work loading tables and boxes of treasures into George's pick-up truck that I had backed into the garage to make it easier to load. However, I didn't take into account that Mike is tall, so the first time he hopped up into the bed of the truck to move things around, he hit his head! He's such a good sport though, he just kept on smiling and kept on loading! When we arrived at the Thomason's storage units, Penny was busy with her drill putting together clothing racks. For those of you who don't know Penny, she can do it all ... repairs, remodels, crafts, etc. I'm sure all of our husbands wish we were as handy around the house as she is! Nancy, our resident nurse of the bunko group who has lovingly cared for all of us at one time or another and is always willing to listen to symptoms and offer advice on our newest ailments, welcomed George to "garage sale central" and then gave George some advice as well ... keep working hard, don't let yourself get discouraged, and listen to your wife (I just love her!). Nancy's brother-in-law had a massive stroke several years ago, so she has first hand knowledge of the struggles that he and her sister dealt with, however, she also relayed the happy ending to their story ... her brother-in-law is walking and driving and living a normal life today, so we hope and pray that our story ends the same way! While George supervised, Mike unloaded the vehicles and we girls started pricing the merchandise. Not all of it has been delivered yet, but we have a little bit of everything. Purses by Gucci, Nine West and Coldwater Creek, appliances, tools, and decorations for every season! We also have our own animal farm and a collection of stuffed animals for the little ones. We've also got home decor, clothes, shoes, books and so much more! Danny Thomason arrived in time to help Mike put all of the tables back into the storage unit after the merchandise was priced. Penny has had him working hard in cleaning out abandoned units (as well as their house and garage) to make sure we have lots of items to sell! George and I really appreciate all of our friends' efforts and contributions (thanks, Margaret & Jack Creel, for the one by mail!). Hopefully Saturday's weather will be as pretty as this weekend's, but rain or shine, come shop with us!! We'll be starting at 8 a.m., so come early for the best selections. The address is 17625 Keith Harrow (between Barker Cypess & Hwy. 6).

Saturday, March 28 - YIPPEE!

Thanks to Tommy G. w/Moore Supply and Brian Lewis w/Klare Plumbing, George's new sink was installed on Saturday. Tommy made an early morning delivery to bring the correct "P.O. plug" and then Brian came a few hours later and got everything hooked up. We are still missing one bronze "sleeve" (I think that is what Brian called it) for the exposed pipe, and I need to get the new light fixture hung, toilet paper holder up, etc., so the big "reveal" can't happen yet, but soon, very soon!! George also had visitors on Saturday afternoon, Jose Benavides, a former employee of George's that he thinks the world of, and Ishmael, an "operator" in the plumbing industry. The guys stayed for over an hour and reminisced about deer lease trips that Jose accompanied George on, and also talked about future ones that they want to take this coming fall. And, believe me, that sounds good to me too! George and I have had a little too much together time lately, so I'm hoping that come November he his ready to head to Gonzales! After all of the guys left, George and I headed to Randall's to grocery shop. I sure wish I had my camera with me because it turned out to be quite a trip! I've been wanting to see how George would do on one of those electric scooters, and I got my wish! As I pulled into the handicap parking, a scooter was parked right on the curb. So instead of getting the wheelchair out, I got out, got on the scooter and rode it to the passenger side of the car. I have to admit, it took me a minute to maneuver the thing to where I needed it, so I started to wonder if this was such a good idea. However, it was too late to change my mind; George was motioning me to come on and bring it closer to the car. As you know, it's much heavier and larger than a wheelchair, so we couldn't get it nearly as close as his wheelchair, so that meant that he needed to take several steps to the scooter. Again, my heart was beating a little faster as I tried to now maneuver George toward the scooter. A few minutes later, he was safely on the seat and taking off up the ramp without me! I prayed that no one would get in his way as he approached the double doors. I took a few galloping steps to catch up to him before he reached the girl scouts and their cookie table and told him to slow down. He didn't really listen to me and whizzed through the next set of double doors taking THREE donut boxes with him. Good thing they were only display boxes or I would have been picking up (and buying) dozens of glazed donuts! That little episode was enough to slow him down, so we made it through the bakery department without any casualties. We stopped and bought some produce and then hit the seafood department (literally, not physically!). George did pretty well for the rest of our shopping trip but we also had to go to Customer Service to buy the new registration tags for his truck. That proved to be a little tricky because there wasn't much room to back up and turn, so he ended up making a U-turn through the magazine area and through the Easter candy display to be heading the right direction again. I was holding my breath the whole time; can you just imagine him hitting one of the shelves that held the M&M candies and those bags busting on impact?!? I am laughing again as I type this; I know if there was a video tape of this excursion, we could have won on the Funniest Home Videos show. I think George enjoyed that little scooter way too much ... never again will I be able to go to the grocery store alone!!

Friday, March 27 - Carol Calling!


... and I'll take her over Avon any day!! My friend, Carol Humphrey, came calling on Friday. She arrived at my office with homemade Italian Cream cupcakes in hand. Joe Orr, one of my co-workers, taste tested them for me while Carol took me out to lunch, and when I got back, he warned me that I better not eat them because they weren't any good. As soon as he said that, his nose grew about an inch, so I knew he was fibbing, and that was definitely confirmed when he walked out the door with another one in hand "for his wife!" I'm betting that it was eaten on the trip home instead of it getting to poor Sue! Carol also brought a couple of boxes of goodies for the upcoming garage sale, including her bread machine. She said that she tested it out the night before to make sure it still worked, and after she gave her husband a piece of hot homemade bread with butter, he tried to talk her into keeping it! Jimmy, just remember, she is looking out for your best interest ... but we'll be happy to sell it back to you on Saturday, so come early or it may be gone!!