Weekend highlights

Sat morning Spouse went for his work out while I fed and walked the dog, drank coffee, and watched several back-to-back episodes of 'Sell This House'. I love this little Sat morning routine.

Spouse and I ran a few errands including stopping in at the stained glass studio. Unfortunately they did not have the right glass colors in stock, but they offered to order what was needed and have us come in later to approve the colors. I also inquired about classes and found that its a full day (10am-5pm) where you learn the techniques, how to use the tools, and actually work in the studio with them. I love this idea, rather than several weeks worth of 2-hour classes. I think I'm going to sign up for this at some point, perhaps in Jan or Feb when there's not much else going on.

We had lunch and then went to Steve & Thad's to see Thad's vintage hat boxes (I will borrow a few for the car show) and to visit. We had a nice time seeing their house, talking about Thad's upcoming birthday party, and just getting to know each other better. Afterward we went to a state Democratic fundraiser held at the pavilion at the beach. The 'Beach Jamboree' was fun and we saw and listened to short speeches by the Governor, Lt. Governor, former Governor, and many other Democratic politicos. The food was good, too. The tickets were a gift from our friends Scott & Dave who are very politically active. Afterward we had a relaxing night watching TV.

After breakfast on Sun, Spouse went to the store while I stayed home and did some housecleaning. As much as I am enjoying watching the progress of the addition, it is a dusty process. We have given ourselves lots of leeway with housecleaning during this process, knowing that deep cleaning every weekend would be a huge waste of time. So our weekend housecleaning is more about trying to minimize the tracking around of dirt and dust. When the job is done we'll hire someone to clean the entire house thoroughly.

Then we met up with Steve & Thad, Bob, Jason, and Mark at the beach. It was a beautiful day! It was in the mid 80s but the humidity had dropped and there was a nice breeze coming off the water so it was a perfect beach day. The after effects of hurricane Danny left the water warm but kind of wild. The waves were much higher than normal and looked kind of dangerous, so we only got into the water about knee high. But it was really fun to be on the beach with friends on such a beautiful day. After showering and feeding/walking the dog, we met Steve & Thad at the Miltonian Pizzeria & Wing House for pizza and wings. What a great way to end a great day!

Later that night I watch Design Star and was kind of unimpressed by the team's answer to the big backyard challenge. I thought the finished yard looked nice, but I agreed with judge Candace Olsen who said everything looked purchased rather than designed. It looked nice and the homeowners were happy with it, but it just didn't look like 4 aspiring designers had 'designed' a backyard retreat. Despite Dan's mistake with the budget, Torrie was sent home for her lack of leadership as the team captain.

Crush du Jour: Jason Giambi