Catching Up After Vacation

Sir Nottaguy-Imadad and I went on vacation a couple of weeks ago.  I'm still having trouble getting back into the swing of routine.  I start doing one thing and then get distracted and start something else and wash, rinse, repeat.  So, in an effort to get back into a blogging routine, here's a list of what's been happening:

• Vacation started on the 6th with a trip to see Liz and family in Kentucky.
• We took them to the Cincinnati Zoo for a look-see.  (Sir has all of the good pictures of that and I'm sure he will post them eventually.)
• On Wednesday, Sir and I left for West Virginia to spend a few days with my cousin and her family.
• My cousin's house is absolutely beautiful and big and situated with a beautiful wooded view.  Sitting on her deck you could hear the creek down the hill and the birds singing and you could feel all the tension just drain right out of you!
• On Friday, we left for Lynchburg, Virginia to attend Daniel's graduation from Liberty Seminary.
• I had never been up and over that part of the Allegheny Mountains.  It was absolutely beautiful!
• While we were in South-Central Virginia, we did a little site-seeing.
• Our first stop was at Thomas Jefferson's Poplar Forest.  It's the retreat that he designed for himself while he was President.
• I've always been fascinated by octogon architecture.  This far surpassed my expectations!
• If you ever find yourself anywhere near Lynchburg, Virginia, I strongly suggest that you carve out 3 hours to tour Poplar Forest and it's grounds.  The folks that are doing the restoration are absolutely fantastic and are very passionate about sharing their vision.  It's a great tour and a fascinating look at the agricultural side of Thomas Jefferson.
• Saturday afternoon and evening were spent celebrating with Daniel.  We are so proud of him! He has his masters in seminary studies and is planning on working as a chaplain with the National Guard.
• Sunday we attended service with the Apostolics of Lynchburg.  What an amazingly friendly group of people! It was Mother's Day, so they were doing all of their acknowledging of moms, but they just included all of us in and made us feel right at home.  I love southern hospitality!!!
• We tried to take Daniel's family to The Amazement Square Children's Museum on Sunday afternoon, but we got down there and discovered a small sign on the front door that the museum was closed for Mother's Day.  I don't begrudge the employees the time with their families, but it would have been nice had their website made mention of the closing.
• After getting a good night's sleep and repacking the car, Sir and I checked out of the hotel and decided to go to Appomattox.  According to our AAA Guide Book the Visitor's Center opened at 8.  When we got there, the sign on the door said they opened at 9.  So, we decided to find somewhere to spend an hour.
• Lo and Behold!!!  There's a bookstore/coffee shop opened right across the street.  And was that the BEST stop!!!!  Baine's Books and Coffee is the quintessential independent bookstore!!!  They sell new and used books for every reader in your family.  We found a book by Mark Twain that we had never read.  I found "The Princess Bride".  (I've seen the movie multiple times, never read the book.)
• When we did get into the Visitor Center, we learned that the actual surrender took place at the village of Appomattox Court House about 7 miles away.  We learned a few things and then left to tour the historical village.
• One of the many things we learned was that in the south if courthouse is one word, it is talking about an actual building that serves as a courthouse.  If it is two words "Court House" it is a village.  Therefore the signing of the surrender actually took place in the McLean House in the village of Appomattox Court House.
• When we left the village, we started our L-O-N-G drive home.  We left the village about 11 a.m., we pulled into our driveway about 9:30 p.m.  We were exhausted, our b**ts were sore from sitting in the car so long, and we were greeted by a dog who thought we had abandonded him.
• The next morning, we discovered that all was NOT well with the sewer lines and Sir started the 2nd week of vacation being the handyman.  It was ugly and smelly and frustrating, but he got it all fixed in one day!!!!
• THEN--I layed the law down!  It had been over a year ago that he started the remodel on the downstairs bathroom. (The one that all visitors use.)  The new flooring had been standing in packages behind the door for a year.  The floor was going to be put down before he went back to work, if that was the only thing that got done the rest of his vacation!!!!!  It took him until 9 p.m. on Saturday night, but the floor is down and looks VERY nice!!!
• We did take some time out to go to the World's Largest Garage Sale at the Knox County Fairgrounds. 

I think that pretty well covers the two weeks of vacation. Next week is the end of preschool for the summer.  I've learned a lot teaching the four girls.  I'm going to do some re-evaluating and rearranging for next term.  Over the summer I have a lot of work to do in my sewing room and much sorting and pitching to do in the rest of the house.

I think I have finally gotten caught up on reading blogs.  It's been fun to see what everyone was doing while I was gone.

I hope you all have a great weekend!