Holiday Road

ATM & I decided to put off paid work & eating L3an Cuisin3s for a week and take a vacation, the kind where you stay at home. It was awesome even if it took us half the time to get used to the idea that we were on holiday and that it was o.k. that we were staying up that late and havin' a beer.

We figured that we could have a killler couple of days in New Orleans or use that money to complete a project in our newish home. I am pleased with our decision because we've got DRAPES! A touch of class! Later this month, we will try to make up for not leaving town by spending a weekend in Memphis attending Gonerfest.

This isn't the greatest picture & the walls are begging to be adorned, but you had to see a completed project:


Let's see...what has been happening in my little corner of the world? OH! Right! My plan for a Joyce Elliott fundraiser is taking shape! We've got a date, a venue, and a couple of mover/shakers involved. The current idea we're tossing around is having "famous" chefs, a.k.a. people we know that cook really well, to make their signature soup to serve. Too, I threw in the idea of having a spelling bee & trivia...with prizes! While I love bands & DJs, this calls for something a little different. I've been in touch with her people and they've responded positively to our ideas, so I'm feeling pretty motivated! I am looking to enlist more volunteers, so if you're interested... We are meeting this Sunday at one.

On Labor Day, we had a shrimp boil (instead of the planned fish fry) @ Victory St. I think we were all feeling pre-regretful about will-have-had-over-indulged in fried food, so we completely switched gears. I'm so glad we did. It was my first (successful) shrimp boil. It's pretty (Big) Easy! Too, I made key lime pies with meringue. Meringue is another first! I forgot cream to make a sweet whipped topping, so I used the leftover egg whites. E-Z!

Hey, I didn't say anything about them being pretty:


Preparing the bath:


You guys! LP made an appearance! ATM, Kyle, Robert, LP, Keiko, Will, Zach, Micah's hands, Donna:


"ALF, I'm glad you could make it!"

We all agreed that LP is the coolest girl in town:


I never get to see Seth or Matt W., so this is pretty special right here:


Something you won't regret:

Chew faces:

Photos by Collin:




I never get to see Alan either, so hanging out was amazing! Look at all of these cool breezes!:


Leftover 4th fireworks:



Last Friday, I went to Mena, Arkansas w/ ATM:

The "9/11 flag" was on display @ the armory. The flag travels the U.S. stopping in communities devasted by disaster -- in 2009 a tornado ripped through Mena, killing three and destroying buildings that have been there since the Civil War. So, flags salvaged from these communities are stitched on. I didn't intend on participating, but the docent really pushed me into learning how to do a backstitch & I added three stitches to the project. Why three and not one? Because people wanted to take my photo while I was doing it. It. was. weird. and. totally. forced. and. unnatural. a . photo. opportunity. for. someone. else.

Mena didn't give us that small town "Oh, I could stay here!" feeling, so after ATM interviewed the mayor and got some photos for work, we started home; we went through the Cossatot River State Park area. Oh, my. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! I am really looking forward to exploring this part of Arkansas sometime soon. The visitor center is worth stopping by if you are in the area what with their natural looking taxidermy and real live baby turtles that you can hold:

Wait, what does that car say?

Right.

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FOUR ON THE DOOR!

Buddies: