Experience Life in Statesboro (Part II of IV)

Week 2 (February 21st-27th)

We found a plethora of Mexican restaurants in Statesboro. Our family loves Mexican food! After hearing conflicting opinions of which is the crème de la crème, we decided to begin the quest for the best. Holy Guacamole! El Jalapeno is delicious! Do we even need to try elsewhere?... I did make a few homemade meals (not all w/pics), but still not enough for my liking. Time just gets away! 

We traveled over to the condo where Tim had been blessed with residency for about 6 months. We are forever grateful to Mike and Elaine, and Elaine’s cousin for being so generous. I would have loved to spend some more time on the beach, but after cleaning it up and gathering Tim’s belongings we were ready to head ‘home.’ 

What pleasure I found in going to the recycling center! You’re thinking, “She’s crazy!” (Yes, but I don’t see what that has to do with the center.) It’s well kept, (I love their organized system!) just around the corner, and even has a section for goodwill! Our empty boxes found a new home, along with a few items for goodwill. We’ve already made several trips.

Someone from Youngsville left these beautiful gloves on one of the trucks. THANK YOU!!!!! If you would like them back,

please let me know. Meanwhile, they are well cared for. I do not usually care to wear gloves, but these fit like a glove! I wear them any chance I get. It’s an addiction, really. I don’t think I could use a screwdriver or prune a branch without them anymore! It felt good to prune our bushes (with help from my young men), and to putter in the yard before the rain came (forewarned by mackerel skies). How gratifying to take a break, soak in the nature, and just being together again. 

Even Lily is settling in… maybe too much!

                                                                          ~Jenny~

An after thought…

A delight I hadn’t anticipated… I’m a one cup a day coffee kind of gal. Not anymore! Tim sometimes leaves behind up to half of his coffee in the morning. Waste not, want not! Oh, I so look forward to those mornings! I don’t think John experiences the same delight though. I often don’t eat much of what I order, or have - and what used to end up with John, now gets offered to his dad first. :)

Experiencing Life in Statesboro (Part I of IV)

One thing I love about living in different areas is the adventure. It’s scary and exciting to discover a place – its land, people, and amenities. There is some of each from the areas I’ve traveled and lived that hold on tight to my heart. Our life in Statesboro is just beginning. As we’ve been told more than once, “Welcome to the REAL south!”

Week 1 (February 14th-20th)

 Our first full week was busy with unpacking, deep cleaning, minor repairs, and discoveries. Our first ‘O my goodness, it’s late and we need food!’ run led us to Krystal. My guys found a new favorite – from burgers to chicken sandwiches to shrimp. All were happy. During lunch one day, we had leftover wings from feeding the gang who helped us moved in. John and I decided one of us likes cleaner bones than the other, or were just hungrier. Any guesses who? We also ventured over to Uncle Shug’s Fried Chicken. Ummmm…. They had some fun pics on the walls, and the company was outstanding! Of course, the best food came out of our own kitchen - made with love. It felt so good to be a family sitting around the table, knowing it would be for longer than a handful of days.

A BP gas adventure made our week! John and I explored a bread outlet around the corner, followed by a BP before hitting the Dollar General next door. The grocery store we now frequent, BI-LO, is paired with BP. Gas was pretty low to begin with, but with our reward points we made out at $1.09/gal! I suppose another outing piqued the boys’ interest. AAA ‘broke’ into our car so we could get the keys from the trunk. My young men thought it was cool. I thought it was cool we had AAA, and that they were quick!

While unpacking boxes, nerf bullets have been discovered in strange places… they do add up! Some of our fixing up has included a leak in the roof (my guys were having way too much fun up there), and a stubborn stain on the vinyl floor. I’ve tried several different remedies to no avail. The floor has lightened a bit, but that’s all. Any ideas? When not busy working, the guys have had fun playing (yep, nerf, also), going for walks, and enjoying our yard – we all appreciate it. You should see our ‘Wateringhole Branch’ stream moving after a good rain. In the sun green anoles have surfaced around our house. They seem to be living around our propane tank. The one surprise is the sweetgum trees. The only reason we moved from Youngsville was to get away from them, and here they are - not for long! (Well, maybe it wasn’t the only reason…)

                                                                                      ~Jenny~

As you can see, I'm experimenting with different picture formats. A huge delay to my postings is due to the frustration I find with getting the placement of photos to my liking. I found a site, www.photocollage.com, which is much easier than what I had been using. Any suggestions?

Leaving Our Loved Youngsville Home

A whirlwind…. That has been my past couple of months. (Realistically, the past few years, but I’ll focus on this recent period.) My Little Men and I – okay, I really should call them ‘Young Men’ – joined Tim in Hilton Head, SC for New Year’s and my birthday. What a busy trip! House hunting filled the days via the computer (oh, yes, I brought an updated spreadsheet with us each day), city to city, and county to county. Our last day, we narrowed the search to five, and found our home. I’m so grateful to Stephanie (our wonderful realtor), and the Shelske’s for taking care of our beloved cat, Lily, and for much more!

Our last days in Youngsville were busy, fun, and sad. I wish we could have visited more people and said more goodbyes in person. We did engage in some nerf battles, peeled potatoes (sometimes the skin), ate good food with great friends, and worshipped with wonderful brothers and sisters when not packing. What a blessing for Joseph to join the choir and to hear the youth (and many other people each week) sing together one last time!

I am blessed by memories of friends who prayed, helped, visited, and stole me away for a break! I was going crazy with boxes everywhere. Praying for a miracle, our family continued hoping God would provide a way to remain in Youngsville. Once it was obvious God was moving us to Georgia, serious packing began. Even Lily helped. I tried to school as long as possible, while working with the realtors, inspections, due diligence, and other calls that come with moving. Yikes! I learned a few things myself, including installing insulation in a crawl space from YouTube. I thought I’d be finished a week before Tim came home (Feb 9th), leaving plenty of time for fun with friends. Ha! Many nights of less than four hours’ sleep, and it still took until the very end.

Our first celebration moving into Youngsville was John and Joseph’s 14th birthday. The last celebration occurred the day we signed our closing papers, February 10th - their 16th! Hmmm…. Born on Thursday (Thursday’s child has ‘far to go’) - I wonder how many times they’ll move around their birthday? Maybe they’ll just travel.

Wednesday we also picked up the U-Haul, enjoyed Flat Rock (but the goodbyes were difficult), and invited friends over for one more Nerf war. Why not? Are we not young whippersnappers who can stay up until 3:30 to finish packing and cleaning? Ha! Thursday, loading up day, flew like a gale! Such amazing help –grateful and blessed! I believe we began close to 9, and the loading was mostly finished by 1. We still cleaned, vacuumed, and divided some plants. We brought the few hens and chicks we still had from New York, some ferns, lilies, and a hosta (only one clump – became sidetracked with the new owners arrival and forgot to get more along with the Moss’s ginger – ugh!) I love the stories that come with shared plants.

Thursday night we were pooped! It felt great to get cleaned up at our friends’ house. Elaine and Mike graciously invited us for a delicious rib dinner, apple dessert hearts, and some games of aggravating aggravation. Mum’s the word on who won. Then we crashed with prayers about the next morning’s warning of icy roads as we thought about the journey ahead…

                                  ~Jenny~

Happy New Year.... Happy Birthday!

     We have traditions for New Year's Day: Hop-N-Jon, greens, cornbread, and football. Granny had adjusted a Hop-N-Jon recipe to have stewed tomatoes, and I decided it needed a few more hog jowls. I grew up knowing the peas (black-eyed peas in the Hop-N-Jon) represent coins/ luck, and the greens represent paper money. I discovered more info after some research. Cornbread represents gold! If you really want good luck, you need to eat at least 365 days on New Year's Day (I'm assuming 366 in a leap year - yuck! Well, maybe if enough hog jowls are mixed in.) Black-eyed peas eaten with stewed tomatoes mean wealth and health (Granny sure knew what she was doing!) Some people add a shiny penny to the pot before serving. The person whose bowl holds the penny receives the greatest luck in the New Year, unless, the receiver swallows the coin!


Granny (maternal) made shortbread every year for Christmas, and I remember Grandma (paternal) making kolacky some years. This year I made both, and appreciated the memories while indulging along with my french press coffee. Yummy!

     We also started the year out right, with a family friendly game of Risk. It was great fun texting back and forth to our Florida family who had bets on who was going to win ~ pink won!

    



 Today was perfect! Tim made some scrumptious Eggs Benedict! The last time I delighted in these were back in New York. What a nice surprise! No better way to start a birthday. It was a pleasant day hanging out with my guys, sharing Facebook wishes, and a few calls from family and friends. 
In the afternoon, the family was game for a trip to the movies, and everyone agreed on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty! What fun! Even the previews were great (Heaven is For Real (boy dies and experiences heaven), Million Dollar Arm (baseball pitchers from India), and One Chance (dream of being an opera singer); all the boys want to see them. Walter Mitty's life changes as he searches for slide 25. Although predictable (for some), it was entertaining and encourages one to live their life instead of just dreaming about it.

     The evening ended after dinner at Johnny Carino's (I got to sneak a few bites off of Tim and John's plates), and a delicious homemade Angel Food cake by Tim (I love that he uses Granny's (and Mom's for butter cream frosting) recipe! The candle holders are a great find from Restoration Hardware years ago. They're the same animal holders my mom used in our cakes as children. I have cherished using them in our sons' cakes, and Tim likes to have them appear on my cakes occasionally.... feeling blessed!

                                             ~ Jenny~