Yesterday. . ."A No Good Horrible Very Bad Day"

This was me yesterday, holding my face, bad hair, looking at food but unable to eat, aching.  I woke up in the night with a terrible toothache so first thing yesterday morning I headed straight for my wonderful dentist's office.   Our dentist has cared for our teeth for more than 30 years.   His office is in an old farmhouse shaded by pecan trees, in a small town thirty-five miles south of Atlanta.   

When I got to the dentist office, there were x-rays, lots of poking, and plenty of looking around and it wasn't long before I was sent to see an endodontist.   The endodontist was confident that I needed a root canal and a crown so he went straight to work - x-rays and drilling.  Suddenly, he stopped, his face became solemn as he said, your tooth root is broken into.  You'll have to get your tooth extracted.   He put a patch on it, charged me a large sum of money and sent me on my way.   

It wasn't long before I was in agony, and at this point, almost begging for someone to get rid of my tooth.  Tears were streaming down my face uncontrollably as I tried to wait patiently for the extraction.  As I faintly heard Adele playing in the background, I was clinching to the arms of the chair as the oral surgeon yanked my tooth out.  

Once again I headed out of the oral surgeon's office writing another big check.

So today, my face is sore and swollen but hopefully on the mend.   In just a few short months I'll have the opportunity to spend even more money on an implant, and a crown...yay!

 I'm counting on the week getting better from this point forward.  I'm focusing on thoughts of my future royal status as a queen once I get my crown.

What Happens to the Garden When the Gardener Goes Away?

Ryan Gainey created the floral displays for the event

 We sold our house a few years ago after living in the house for 18 years and during that time we took down 10 trees, added a daylily garden, put in a large pond, moved plants from my childhood home which included tree ivy, iron plants, antique roses, sweet shrub, camellias, surprise lillies and more.  Most of my daylillies were from John Cranshaw's One Horse Farm in Kathleen and some were his experiments in hybridizing but I had daylillies in every color.  John passed away several years ago and I'm not sure what has happened to his gardening masterpiece. 

 I prepared for moving my garden, potting up as many plants as possible, but in the end I left behind a beautifully tended garden.  The experience left me worrying about what happens to gardens with the gardener is no longer there to tend.

This week I had the pleasure of hearing about the restoration of one well-loved garden.   The Cherokee Garden Library hosted a lecture by the authors of One Writer's Garden, Eudora Welty's Home Place.   The book tells the story of Susan Halton who met Eudora Welty and began learning about the garden as it was in all of its glory.   With Miss Welty's assistance, along with journals, letters and writings, Susan uncovers and ultimately recreates the garden that once existed.  It's a beautiful story full of family history with a glimpse into how the garden played an important role in Eudora Welty's writing.  The book also illustrates the importance of cataloging your plants and mapping your garden.

The Welty Home

Of course I came home from the event so excited because the program was great, the book is gorgeous and the event brought back personal memories of one of the best classes I took in high school - Ms. Dickinson's Southern Literature.   Even more vivid was the memory of getting to meet Eudora Welty when she visited Berry College in the 70s. 

During the book signing portion of the event I was so excited to have been the first in line so while staff was getting everything set up I had time to visit with the authors (and I didn't have to stand in a long line waiting my turn)!   By the way, the very last person to enter the auditorium (making a grand entrance) was Ryan Gainey.  The program was already underway as he (wearing bright orange) and his entourage paraded to the front row.   Seriously, was that necessary?   He is such a character!

Now, more than ever, I'm excited about spring.   The hyacinths and daffodils are blooming and the tulip bulbs from last year's tulip festival in Portland are starting to sprout.   

Oh, and I almost forgot!  Penny at The Comforts of Home  is the winner of the Random Harvest video.  Congratulations Penny!!

Today I'm joining The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday.  Hope you will join her too.

The Oscars - Which film are you cheering for tonight?   I can't decide between Hugo and The Artist.   Of course I'm still blown away by Meryl Streep's performance in The Iron Lady.  She is amazing.

Loving the West Coast

Sometimes it's nice to stop and think about the things I enjoy most about work.   It's the people.  Let me share this week's trip to . . .

 Los Angeles!

We held a reception and met some new friends.  It was a wonderful mixer.

And I was blown away with the view from my office window.

Can you see it?

We also held a fantastic community service project putting together swag bags with some essentials for some junior high school kids to use at summer camp.   High school kids from The After-School All-Stars of Los Angeles joined volunteers from my workplace to help us get the nearly 200 bags stuffed.

Here's a group of our volunteers getting ready to start the stuffing.   We even had a quality control department to make sure every item was added to the supply bags.

When the day ended a couple of us headed out for dinner and enjoyed an evening at Rivera.  

In addition to its cuisine, Rivera is known for its bar.  Amazing beverages made by hand using what is known as  mixology - the art and science of mixing drinks.  I sat and watched at the bar for a short while where I really did see "artisan-to-glass" in process.  
Then there was the food...yum!

Before leaving town I had time to meet up with my dear friend Joni!  It had been seventeen years since we'd seen each other but it was as if we'd been together yesterday. 

Before dashing off to the airport I ran into the gift shop looking for a card and found this wonderful makeup bag. 

Then walked around the downtown to enjoy scenes such as this. 

Today I'm linking up with The Tablescaper to celebrate Seasonal Sundays.   Looking forward to seeing what others are up to this season.

Reminiscing

Do you ever have one of those days when you just want to clear your mind and remember the past?   It's not that I don't enjoy the present, but I really enjoy listening to "oldies," watching TCM and poking around flea markets just to enjoy things that prompt memories.   It's actually funny when the grandgirls are visiting and they catch me watching black & white movies!  

Can you guess this film?

I subscribe to Pinterest but truthfully I try to avoid getting on there because it's too easy to start looking at things and get lost between the boards, pins and pictures.  Today my DIL asked me a question about Pinterest which reminded me that I hadn't been on it in a while and it was a big mistake.  I think I spent two hours just poking around looking at posters for old movies, looking at fashion from the 60s, hunting down my favorite toys, old stores (read about the first Mall in Georgia - and no it's not Lenox or Greenbriar) and finding pictures of advertisements for products that were part of my past.  

My son told me that television viewing with the younger generation is down because of the increased number of hours spent gaming, watching movies that stream, internet surfing and gaming.   I've not seen any statistics on this but at our house all generations watch less t.v.   We spend hours on our computers.  

So I'm just curious, do you watch television at your house? 

Be sure to leave a comment and you could win a copy of Random Harvest, one of my favorite films.  I'll be giving a copy away on Feb. 25.   Stay tuned!

Feeling Like Spring

I don't really like winter so I couldn't be happier about the mild winter we've been having.  It's actually been inspiring and encouraged me to get out and work in the garden a little earlier and plan some weekend events that would normally wait until after Valentine's day or beyond.  Somehow I've managed to pack my weekend calendar through the Easter weekend (of course there are a few work trips in the mix as well).   My goal for the new year was to try to work a little less and I'm really trying to make it happen. 

Yesterday I got up early and headed out for a class at the Atlanta History Center.   I'm a member at the the AHC and I  love having access to so many unique classes and programs designed for members only.   Yesterday I attended a fantastic members only genealogy class.  In the coming weeks there are two more programs that I'm sure I'll be blogging about - I'm so excited about both of them!!!

One of my very closest work friends retired last year so I'm having to make time to see her.  Honestly, she is so busy since retiring!  Not only is she taking two language classes, yoga, drawing and piano lessons, she manages to help with her four grandchildren and care for her mom.   She said it took her a total of three hours to adjust to the retirement life...I can't wait! 

Yesterday we met for lunch at the cutest place called Souper Jenny!  
 When we arrived there was a long line but it moved quickly and the soup was worth the wait.  I enjoyed the lentil and apple soup - so unique.   

This is one of the few eating establishments I've visited that has a play area for children.  BTW, it's just around the corner from Boxwoods so you can do a little souping and shopping!

At the end of the day it was fun to come home and do some baking of my own before heading out for a chili party last night.  

Apple tart - yum

Getting out more, working a little less, learning something new and visiting with friends.   

Today I'm linking up with The Tablescaper to celebrate Seasonal Sundays #86.