It's The Final Countdown

While classic 80s music blares in the background (Europe's The Final Countdown of course), I ponder on the fact that this is the last week I'll be living in this house. We officially commence the move to Crawford one week from today, Saturday, November 1st. It's been a bumpy past 3 years, with numerous ups and downs, but we've (for the most part) enjoyed our time in this house (even if I felt like a giant among men at times, due to the low ceilings throughout the place.)

Right now our house looks like a bomb went off in it (if that bomb was also able to fill numerous boxes with random stuff and stack in piles throughout the house.) We've got a lot of stuff packed up already, and a lot of stuff that's still in closets and packed from when we moved INTO this house, but we still have a long way to go, and this is going to be one crazy week! Add to that the fact that some potential new renters are stopping by tomorrow to check the place out, and things are getting a bit stressful. We warned Dad and Sandra that the place isn't really up to "showing specs", but they didn't seem to mind (or at the very least care, not that they told us.) We will do our best tonight and tomorrow to tidy up as much as possible, and make it at least SOMEWHAT presentable, but there's still going to be stuff EVERYWHERE! What we really need is one of those POD things, that we could park outside in the driveway and fill with the boxes as we pack them. It's kind of frustrating packing stuff and moving it to one location. And then moving it again into what ever we're going to move it to Crawford in. And then moving it AGAIN when we take it all into the house and unpack it all. Why hasn't anyone perfected teleportation yet?!? I mean come on, that would be SO much easier than driving 2 hours back and forth between houses!

Okay, enough complaining. We're really excited about the move, but right now we're having to deal with the frustrations of packing, and the allergies that are being induced by all the dust we're stirring up. Still, it's almost over. I have one more week working at OfficeMax down here, and then it's time to pick everything up and move it north-east, where I will start unpacking it and getting my lair setup in the new place. With the way things look right now though, it might be a bachelor pad, at least for a little while, because Monica may be remaining in the area and living with a co-worker for a week or more, until Home Depot raises the employee transfer "freeze" they have in place at the moment, or they figure out somewhat to transfer her to the Athens store despite the ban. So she could end up living with a friend and female co-worker of hers, and I could end up living in the big old house in Crawford all by myself for a while. (Did I mention movie & game night?!? [See my last post.] Clare, you might be seeing a LOT of me over the next week or two, because it might be just me at the house, and you'll be the only people I know in the area! lol)

Anyway, thanks to those of you out there who are coming to help us move. We definitely appreciate all the help we can get, and it will be fun showing the new place to our friends. We just have to cross our fingers and hope that the hole job situation resolves itself quickly, and that Monica is able to join me in Crawford ASAP! We've lived apart before, during the time we've been married, and it sucks, but we're sort of used to it (sadly.) I'm just glad she'll be among friends who she likes and who can take care of her. :)

So let the countdown begin! T-1 week and counting. Rock now, rock the night! (Sorry, Europe again. *g*) Have a great weekend all. Peace.

Coming Soon - Movie & Game Nights

Okay, for the few of you out there who actually follow my blog, it's obvious that I have watched a lot of movies over the past few months. Thanks to Netflix, RedBox, and the occasional purchased or TV movie, I have seen at least 52 movies recently, and those are just the ones I've posted on my blog. That's at least 1 movie for every week of the year, and I've seen them all in a 2-3 month period! It sounds like I've got a LOT of spare time on my hands, but I don't really. I just stay up later than most normal people, and have back-to-back-to-back movie marathon nights fairly often. Sometimes it's just me watching all these movies, but usually Monica joins me and we watch them together. But why not share the cinematic experience and the joy of movies with others?

With that said, as soon as we're settled into the new place in, I plan on trying to have a "movie night" at least once a week, and inviting friends and family over for an evening of movies, popcorn, drinks and snacks. And who knows; if you're nice, I may even cook dinner for you once in a while! *grin* I still need to acquire a new surround sound setup to complete the theater-like experience, but I have a nice new TV that's a blast to watch movies (and play games) on. It's not huge, but it's much bigger than the TV most of you out there used to watch at our house, and it's high definition so the picture and sound is so much better that what I was always used to!

The new place has much more room too, so hopefully we'll be able to host and entertain lots of friends and family members in the near future. In addition to movies nights, we also plan to have game nights, Sunday brunches, and cook-outs, so stay tuned for more information about that.

We're not entirely sure what the immediate future holds job-wise, so our living situations might be a little odd for a while (more on that, should the need arise), but we plan on being in the new place the first week of November. So if you're available to help us move and/or get setup in our new house, then please let me know before next weekend. Halloween (next Friday) will be my last day at the local OfficeMax, and we plan to start moving out the following Saturday. The sooner we get our things moved into the new place and setup, the sooner we can have you all over to hang out with us, so any help would be greatly appreciated! *smile*

As usual, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read my ramblings. Have a great rest of the week, and we look forward to seeing some of you soon. Peace.

It's Official...We're Moving

Well, things are finally falling into place, and it's official now...Monica and I are moving to the Athens area (Crawford to be exact) the first week of November. Now begins the frantic rush to get the house packed up, tie up some loose ends, wrap things up at our current places of employment (thankfully we're transferring to the Athens versions of our respective stores), and move our plethora of person belongings two hours or so to the north-east.

For those of you who are interested (or haven't seen it before), this is the crazy place we're moving to. It's an old farmhouse built circa 1858, that used to serve as the Parsonage for the town of Crawford. It's got a lot of character, and Monica and I fell in love with it the moment we saw pictures of it (and even more so when we actually went to check it out in person.) It needs some work here and there, but I think it will be a place that we'll both be happy in, and somewhere we can entertain family and friends alike.

So the clock is ticking, and the countdown is on. Halloween will be my last day at the local OfficeMax (and Monica's last day at Home Depot will be around that time too.) Then we move into the new place the first week of November. We should start our "new" jobs the following week.

We plan to have a Thanksgiving get-together for family and friends at the new place on the day after Thanksgiving (or possibly 2 days after Thanksgiving, to make it a Saturday), so stay tuned for more information on that. We're going to miss our family and the friends we've made in and around Acworth, but know this...we'll be less than 2 hours away, and you're welcome to stop by the new place for a visit. Just let us know when you're coming, and we'll leave the light on for you. (Yeah, I know, that's been used and is copyrighted I'm sure, but it's much easier than finding your way in the dark! lol)

So come join us as we transition into a new phase of our lives, and thanks to all of you out there who have supported us and befriended us over the last 3 years here in Acworth. Enjoy the rest of your week, and this wonderful weather, and thanks for stopping by. Peace.

Visiting With Family

Unfortunately Monica wasn't feeling too well again today, so she missed out on the visit to Dad and Sandra's where I was able to spend time with Clare and the kids. We went for a walk out on the mud flat behind Dad's house (usually a cove of Lake Acworth, when it contains water), and then we enjoyed a nice meal. Here are a few pictures from our day. One of them is similar to one you posted, Clare, but I took THIS one. :) Enjoy.

I Love Fall

The weather is so wonderful today, that I'm going to try and get out somewhere to do some photography. I want Monica to come along, but she hasn't been feeling that well this week, and doesn't want to venture too far from home. We did enjoy a nice buffet breakfast at the Chick-Fil-A Dwarf house on Hwy 92 this morning though, after having a leisurely lie-in until 11 AM. It was nice to be able to go out for breakfast together. Most of the time we work opposing schedules, so we don't get to spend much time together (I'm sure you can relate to that, Clare, but you have kids to boot, so that makes things even more challenging.)

Anyway, I took the time to enjoy the breeze out in the front yard, and pursue a childhood pastime, namely blowing bubbles. I got this fun "bubble sword" in my Christmas stocking last year, and every so often I wander out into the yard with it and blow copious amounts of bubbles, or a smaller number of larger ones. I can get hundreds of bubbles from a single dip into the bubble formula sometime, and the cats have a ball trying to chase the elusive spheres all over the yard as they are borne on the breeze. I also took advantage of the fact that Monica still smokes (unfortunately), and had her blow some smoke-filled ones that would drift away, filled with a swirling haze, until we popped them and released the little clouds of smoke that they had contained. Such childhood delights (except the smoking part. I hope there aren't too many children out there who have picked up that habit!)

So now I'm just waiting for my digital camera battery to finish charging, and then I'm going to venture out into the breezy day to take some pictures, and maybe do a spot of fishing (if I can find some water that can be reached from the shore.)

I love this weather, and look forward to it each and every year. It's the perfect weather to enjoy the outdoors with family and friends. Oh, and Monica has expressed the desire to get a sturdy, lightweight mountain bike, and to get back into riding, so if any of you out there know anyone who's looking to get rid of a couple bikes (one guy's, one girl's) please let us know. I'd like to get at least 18 speed ones, maybe by Trek, Cannondale, or some other well-known company. We want ones that can stand up to the rigours of trail riding, boulder hopping, etc. (at least I do.) So please let us know if you hear of anything. Thanks! :)

Well that's about it for now. I'm off to check on my battery, and then out to enjoy the wonderful windy weather. Until next time, take care, and enjoy the rest of the weekend! Peace.

Four, Three, Two, One

The countdown has begun...

Happy In The Outdoors

Monica, yesterday at Allatoona Pass.

Finally Made It

Clare, you'll appreciate this...the truck just passed 300,000 miles! :)

Canon Firing Video

Firing A Civil War Era Canon @ Yahoo! Video

This is the video I shot yesterday with my digital camera. They were demonstrating the procedure for firing a Civil War era canon.

Sad But (Apparently) True

911 Call Goes Bad @ Yahoo! Video

Just an audio file really, but humorous nonetheless.

Ghosts of the Civil War

Well, not really, although that was what I was trying to take pictures of. I saw something on TV last night where some people had captured what appeared to be pictures of Robert E. Lee and other Civil War era personages in some photographs they'd taken at Gettysburg. We have numerous Civil War battle sites in the area, and Monica and I visited one of them today to take a walk. Tomorrow (today really, since it's after midnight - October 5, 2008) marks the 144th anniversary of the Allatoona Pass Battle. We had no idea, but some local Civil War buffs were marking the occasion, and putting on a demonstration this weekend during guided walking tours of the area around the Pass. We thought we were just going out for a nice, quiet walk in the woods, with hopefully not many people around. What we were greeted with was anything BUT that.

The first thing we saw were numerous signs that read "SLOW Walking Tour." Then we saw the parking lot, usually barren but for a few cars, filled mostly to capacity. Luckily we found a space, and headed over to the trail head to see what was going on. Around the entrance to the pass, and beside the Civil War memorial that's there, numerous period tents were pitched, and soldiers wandered around in authentic period clothing. There was a group of people gathered at the trail head, and as we walked towards them, a platoon of soldiers released a volley from their muskets, shattering the stillness of the warm air. We watched them for a while, and they fired off another volley or two. Then we stepped onto the the trail, heading into the woods of the Pass.As we walked along the bamboo and cliff lined path, we saw something ahead of us on the trail, something that didn't quite belong in the woods. It was a cannon, with a group of Civil War soldiers standing around it. We had read on the daily events sheet that there was going to be one last artillery demonstration that day, and it was only about 45 minutes away! So we said hello to the "soldiers", asked them if/when they were going to fire the cannon, and strolled along the Pass trail for 15 or 20 minutes, before returning to wait for the firing of the cannon.

So that was part of our day today. A walk in the woods, with some unexpected entertainment! I took a couple videos of the muskets and cannon firing. I'll try to compress them enough to post them online for anyone who wants to see them.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I'm glad I had something a bit more interesting to write about today. *s* And if I happened to have captured any pictures of ghosts in my shots, I'll be sure to post those too!

Have a great rest of the weekend. Take care.