In all of my thirty years on this earth I had never attended an auction until this past weekend. I can now check that off of my bucket list! Woo hoo!
This event was an outdoor estate sale with lots of antique items. After I scoped everything out and watched the process for a while, I raised my little paper and bid on a bowl and two hand mirrors that I had my eye on. Honestly, in the moment I had no clue what amount the auctioneer had gotten up to because he was talking so fast but in the end I won and was pleased with the amount it took! Success!
A few shots of the crowd and items. The shade trees were nice when the sun came out in full force!
The gentleman sitting on the back of the truck is about to be 80 years old and he still has what it takes! He could spit out words and amounts as fast as the younger fellas!
Carolyn Jean, a seasoned auction attendee, helped give me pointers on how things work. I was very surprised at how cheap some of the furniture went for. I will keep this in mind if/when I need to furnish a house--an auction may be the way to go for some good deals! This was my first, but definitely not my last auction :)
Mom & I enjoyed a "girl's day" in Roanoke on Friday. We started the day at our favorite vintage treasure trove: the Roanoke Antique Mall. I didn't find anything I couldn't live without but mom rescued a silver bangle bracelet and a pretty blue/floral bowl!
Our next stop was Wildflour for fried green tomatoes, sandwiches, and brownies!! Killer lunch! Also, who leaves a single bite of brownie behind?! Wasn't me...
After lunch we headed to our massage appointments! Though it sounds horrible in theory, nothing is better than letting a stranger rub lotion all over your body while soothing music plays in the background hahaha!
Rocking some plush robes and ready to relax!
When we were able to peel ourselves off the massage tables we headed to the mall for pedicures and some shopping! Old Navy, Belk, Macy's, we left nary a clothes hanger untouched!
*pink & red toes ready to roll*
Twas a lovely day of doing all the stereotypical girly things :)
Pulling season has arrived and that means Bryan spends his weekends hauling his tractor around to various tracks in Virginia and Mom channels her inner redneck and cheers him on! Last Saturday was a cold and dreary evening to attend a truck/tractor pull but we sat through rain showers and increasingly lower temperatures for 5+ hours watching truck after truck and tractor after tractor make their best run down the muddy tracks!
A few of the guys sitting around before the pulls kicked off and country girls sporting boots.
Stacks of weights used to add to the tractor so it can pull in various classes.
This arena had two tracks and sleds allowing them to keep the time between each truck/tractor tighter. Also makes for a good back-up plan should there be an issue with one side/machine.
Sometimes things don't go as planned. There were a few trucks towed off the track after making their pull but no major explosions or loss of pieces (tires flying off, engines blowing up, etc.).
Ben was all smiles as he waits his turn to pull. I think the guys get an adrenaline rush from the excitement much like a rodeo cowboy but with less risk of bodily harm! Bryan rarely pulls his own tractor. He prefers to watch so that he can get an idea of what works best and what could be improved on the tractor and/or with the driving strategy.
The amount of black smoke that rolls out of these trucks and tractors is insane! Probably contributing to global warming...
I shot a few slo-mo videos to stretch the time of the pull out beyond the few seconds it actually takes. However, YouTube turns slo-mo into real time?! Sorry. This one is a truck (whose paint job I liked!) making a pretty good pull! Slo-mo allows for the detail of the mud slinging, tires racing, and smoke billowing.
Another slo-mo turned real-time. This was one of a cutesy tractors. Notice his front tires are not always on the ground! Makes for a hard time steering.
Ben pulling in the 11,000 lb. class. Not a "full pull" (300 ft.) but good enough to secure second place!
Ben pulling in the 15,000 lb. class. Again, not a "full pull" but none-the-less a good one! This was the last class of the night, hence the empty stands in the background.
Joey pulling in the 15,000 lb. class after Ben. He tried a different approach to the take off but came up a foot shorter than Ben in the end.
I'm sure that if I stick around Lexington for a bit longer I will be attending more pulls in the near future. They are relatively entertaining, though loud and stinky. Country life. Ha!
I did a little research on tractor pulls and Wikipedia informed me that this is not just a southern US activity, but one practiced in Europe, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand! Who knew?!
Social media worked its magic and lead me to Kollar Chocolates. I saw Kate Weiser mention them in a post and decided to give them a whirl this month: a decision I am quite happy with!
The collection came in a plain white box with a black branded wrap around it. The note card and flavor guide followed the black and white color scheme. Simple and modern.
Hand written notes are the best! I tried keeping my message real this month :)
Row #1
Chai: milk chocolate ganache
Vanilla Rum: vanilla and 23 year old aged rum white chocolate ganache
Dang Hazy: coconut chips hazelnut praline
Passion Fruit: passion fruit milk chocolate ganache
Coconut: white chocolate ganache
Row #2
Raspberry: milk chocolate ganache
Orange Grand Marnier: orange and Grand Marnier dark chocolate ganache
Dark Chocolate Sea Salt: dark chocolate ganache Maldon sea salt
Milk Chocolate: pure milk chocolate ganache
Vanilla Rum: vanilla and 23 year old aged rum white chocolate ganache
Row #3
Coconut: white chocolate ganache
Salted Caramel: soft salted caramel
Peanut Butter: crunchy peanut butter
Almond Praline: crunchy ground roasted and caramelized almonds
Dang Hazy: coconut chips hazelnut praline
Row #4
Espelette Chili: Espelette chili dark chocolate ganache
Earl Grey: Earl Grey tea and Bergamot citrus dark chocolate ganache
Sunflower Seed Praline: sunflower seed butter with milk chocolate
Salted Caramel: soft salted caramel
Row #5
Red Wine: Napa Valley Zinfandel dark chocolate ganache
72% Dark Chocolate: pure 72% dark chocolate ganache
Coffee Kahlua: coffee and Kahlua dark chocolate ganache
Lavender: Jacobsen Orchards' lavender dark chocolate ganache
Orange Grand Marnier: orange and Grand Marnier dark chocolate ganache
Kollar Chocolates, named after the founder and chocolatier, Chris Kollar, is located in Napa Valley, California. His 25-piece assortment contained a handful of the flavors you find in most artisan chocolate shops: Salted Caramel, Coffee, Coconut, Raspberry, etc., however, what intrigued me most were the most unusual flavor profiles such as Fennel Pollen and Sunflower Seed Praline. Each chocolate had, in my opinion, a good balance of flavor: neither faint nor overpowering. I do love a hazelnut praline so discovering two Dang Hazy truffles in the box was wonderful! In a similar fashion, the Sunflower Seed Praline was delicious. I have never tried sunflower seed butter before and honestly don't know if I have seen it in stores but it sure was yummy! I plan to check back around the holidays to see what kind of seasonal flavors are offered. Winner!
*all names/descriptions were copied directly from the guides provided with the collection.
Six weeks + 121 episodes + over 90 hours of footage = 1 lady with lots of unanswered questions!
I never got into Lost when it originally aired from 2004-2010 but I vaguely remember there being a controversial ending to the hit show. After watching, and remaining in a slight state of confusion the entire time, I still don't know how I feel about the overall arc of the story. Perhaps watching in real time would have helped me forget some of the details that the writers decided to leave dangling but my mind struggled to connect all of the twists and turns of the adventures on and off of "the island". Flash backs, flash forwards, and hell, even "flash sideways" had my brain racing to keep up with where I thought the story was going. Is this one character's dream? Is this from the perspective of someone writing a book/TV show? Is this supposed to be hell/the afterlife? Is this an experiment of sorts?
In the end I still felt a bit *lost* so I googled a few articles about how the show ended. This article did a decent enough job of explaining things, however, my personality is one that requires answers and logic and explanations and closure... none of which were achieved to my satisfaction!
I did find this YouTube video that simplifies things to just the basic storyline. This is the most I think I will ever comprehend the show; my inquisitive nature will have to be appeased by what answers are available.
Helped Bryan set up a computer at the shop. I typed all of his notes on customers/equipment from his hand-written notebook. We are bringing him into the 21st century slowly but surely! It was nice to have an office with fresh air and a big door open to the outside natural light!!
Little Kitty has been MIA for a few days now. I know she goes off and hunts some but I am starting to worry a bit. Hope she is just having an adventure and will be back soon...
An overcast Cinco de Mayo spent at Ruby Tuesdays with mom and her friends called for a margarita for me and a variety of other adult beverages for the rest of the ladies!
What an odd bird that Lucky dog is!! Here he is hoovering up dead worms off the driveway under dad's old truck. I joke and say it is extra protein for him. Guess it could be worse...
Mom & I had dinner at The Depot Grille the other night. I have been craving shrimp and grits so when I saw they had a special of beef brisket and grits I said "close enough!" and ordered that. The portion was HUGE!! I ate about 1/4 of this bowl and took the rest to go. Yummmm-o comfort food!
My floral masterpiece on the table covering at The Depot Grille.
Something I found online and can relate to a great deal :)
Sunday morning I hung around outside for a bit to enjoy the beautiful weather. I will say that being back in Virginia for spring has been pretty awesome. The weather, while rainy a fair amount, is still cool enough and not humid. It has been so nice to have the doors and windows open (with the screens in to prevent critters from flying/crawling inside) day and night. I will pop an antihistamine any day to have the opportunity to breathe fresh, cool air!
Other things that do not have a photo to accompany them:
Watched The Birdcage with mom. Her first viewing my 4th or 5th at least! "Men smear!"
Went to Harrisonburg shopping with mom and Judy. Bought some new casual tops, pinkish coral pants and a comfy dress.
Continuing to chug along through Lost. It has been an endeavor for sure but I am almost to the last season!
Got my car inspected...a few days late...but it passed!
I am still working on the family tree research. I need to start putting things together in a logical order: I just haven't decided how to do that quite yet.
Upgraded cell phones to an iPhone 6s. So far so good. I've adjusted to the power button being on the side as opposed to the top of the phone.
Since being back in Virginia I have found myself at two different Urgent Care locations. The first time was for a sinus infection that resulted in a prescription for Amoxicillin. The second trip was for what turned out to be an allergic reaction to that Amoxicillin!
Never having experienced an allergic reaction before, I had no clue what was happening to me. I had finished the entire round of antibiotics before anything started to act up. It began with what I thought was a bug bite on my elbow, then turned into my palms itching, and eventually little clusters of pumps appearing on my face, neck, sides, knees, and elbows. My first thought was that I had been bitten by fleas after playing around with Lucky in the grass. The idea of little creepy crawlies on me was disgusting and only lead to more itching! When the bumps started popping up while I was in the shower though I started thinking it wasn't the result of a bug.
Apparently a reaction to Amoxicillin after days of taking the drug is common and you can develop an allergy to it even if you've taken it before with no side effects. To counteract the antibiotics I was given a round of Prednisone and instructed to keep taking Benadryl for the itching. I stopped taking the Prednisone after four days since I was told I could cut them early if I was better: I figured the least amount of drugs in my system, the better!
Lesson learned- no more Amoxicillin... but at least it wasn't fleas!
