Mod Podge Therapy

It's a busy,  busy, week around this place, folks.

On Thursday, Miss Whimsy leaves to begin the new year at Mercer University, and we're just not ready. Not that I'm ever ready to pack up a daughter, of course, but this year we've taken procrastination to a whole new level. Where in the world did the summer go?

I'm trying not to panic.

You see, her digs will be a lot more sprawling this year. She's done her time in the dinky dorm room and is movin' on up to an on campus apartment. She's sharing with three friends, and they're pretty excited. The texts are flying back and forth as they scrounge together the necessities.

I have a list a mile long in the pocketbook, and a pile a mile high in the living room.  Going a little crazy here, folks...

That's why I've been playing with this stuff. 

Really, it wasn't a waste of time. 

Around here, Crafting for Dummies is creative therapy, 
and nothing fits the bill any better than decoupage.
 I mean, really, is there anything any more relaxing
than gluing random pieces of paper onto unsuspecting hardware?
I think not.

That's why I offered to help her with a little project.   

She wanted to make some picture frames out of these cheap little wooden ones
and photo copies of a favorite pattern. 

Don't tell Lilly Pulitzer, but she's hanging out with the thrifters. 

So she painted,
and I went to therapy.

And after an hour or so, I was rejuvenated 

and ready to tackle the ever growing lists
and piles.

Mod Podge: The key to my  happy place. 

What's yours? 

Wearing the funny hat

It wasn't the first time she's worn the funny hat,

 and it won't be the last...

 But I'm pretty sure it will be the one dearest to her heart.

It has been four wonderful years...

But it's time for the Practical One to put on the funny outfit.

We spent a long weekend in Macon leading up to the festivities on Saturday afternoon.

And then, far too soon,

the music began
and the names were called...

The conferring of degree to the College of Liberal Arts

And then to the Stetson School of Business...

Because this was a family affair, you see. We had two graduates,

The Practical One and The Professional Princess.

They are first cousins

And you know that term best friend for life?

They invented it.

Someday I'll yak all about that.

A kiss for the Duchess...

And hugs for dear friends.

Don't let the smiles fool you...

It was a tearful weekend.

Because no matter how they try to camouflage it with words like

commencement,

 It still feels an awful lot like good-bye.

*****

Congratulations to our college graduates.

Look out, world...

Oh, my aching...

Somehow, I managed to give birth to The Odd Couple.

The Practical One is Felix. She can’t deal with clutter or filth. To deal with stress, she likes to clean. She generally requests that bins be sent her way the week before finals and de-stresses her way to a perfectly organized farewell.

 Meet Oscar

Musta been da debil…

That was then...

This is now.

I was assured that those were not the same flowers, and I believe her. I had some doubt, however, when I discovered remnants of a piñata whacked in October abiding under the bed.  

Obviously, we had to clean as well as pack.

We bagged and boxed in bins and baskets. Dad deconstructed shelves in the hallway while Whimsy cleaned surfaces and I pushed dirt across the room and fluffed up dust bunnies with a Dirt Devil which lived up to its name.  I had considered giving those little gadgets as graduation gifts this year.

I’ve reconsidered.

We finally borrowed a Bissel 3-in-1 which did the job sufficiently and returned the room to its original glory.  Just consider that a product endorsement.

All the while, we loaded.

Up and down the hall

Up and down the steps

                                         

I felt the need to photograph each set because I woke up that morning determined to be annoying. That’s what the husband said, anyway, when he asked if I had come to load or to blog. Since marriage is all about compromise, I told him that he could load, and I would blog. I’m cooperative like that.

He took away the camera.

We loaded in silence since fellow dorm dwellers were still in the midst of finals and a gag order was in place in the hallways.  This made the work all the more tedious. Personally, I find a little yakkity yak makes any job go faster. Don't you?

Instead, I entertained my brain by counting footsteps.  I counted 178 steps between the door of the room and the door of the car, 44 of which were stair steps. Times twenty.

And I figured that any 49er who lugged a freshman year 3, 560 steps and 880 stairs deserved some pralines and cream ice cream.

And that’s exactly what he got.

Then the mover, the blogger, and the sophomore headed home again, Super Dad in one car, and mother/daughter in the other.  Just in case you’re wondering, it is entirely possible to rehash a royal wedding for two and a half hours and still have more to say.

We pulled the cars across the front lawn and unloaded them into the living room because that was my plan.  Plus, her bedroom is on the second floor.  

I’m calling that pile Bad Bart.

Come Monday morning, I'm giving that varmint 24 hours to get out of town.

Or there will be a showdown. 

Until then, we'll just rest our legs and enjoy.

So...
What about you?
Are you more of a Felix or an Oscar?

Moving Day

It was hot and humid on Saturday

when we moved our freshman into her dorm room.

One of the best things about Mercer, though,

is that freshmen are moved by the trusty

Mercer Movers,

orange clad upper classman and even professors who do all of the lifting.

(photo from the Mercer website)

That's a good thing

since she was near the end of the hall...

on the third floor...

with no elevator...

We still packed lightly.

After all, what goes up must eventually come down.

*Somehow* 

big sister managed to be on our team of movers.

It might have had something to do with the
17 text messages sent back and forth

giving estimated time of arrival...

Or perhaps it was that demonstrative arm flagging when we turned down the street...

Or maybe just luck. You be the judge.

Here's the room when we opened the door.

Yep.
Just about as tiny as we expected.

Perhaps even more so.

Apparently, the dressers have been victims
of downsizing.  

They used to have three drawers. 

Now, they have two.

The first thing we did was unbunk the beds.

Tiny as the room might be, they still wanted their own spaces.

Then, she started tossing things underneath the bed
to see how high she was going to have to lift it.

Actually, not too high
due to the dinky downsized dorm dresser.

So she made her bed.

The comforter is reversible with zebra on the other side.
If she gets a notion, she can whip it over,
and turn all the pillows to the solid side for a whole different look.


(I'm actually a lot more jazzed about that than she is. Sometimes my girls just go with my flow...)

Can you see that annoying little jut out beside the bed?

It kept us from being able to put the beds in a "L" shape
which really irritated her  us  me.

She just put her tall skinny cubbies there.

The lamp was a graduation gift.
It was amazing how many gifts she got for her room which matched.

 

Adding a little wall cover

She set her desk up on the wall opposite her bed

It sits between their closets and the bathroom

Adding yet more wall color.
And even a picture of the family.

This shot shows just how close are the quarters.

That's their microwave resting on top
of her downsized dresser
under the bed.
She also has several black storage bins.
Fortunately, it all sort of disappears into blackness.

Here's the view from the other side.

The cubbie nightstand has canvas drawers in the bottom.

She's going to keep edible stuff in there.

since the refrigerator opens to that side.

Finishing touches...

Some flowers, just because...

 And a canvas covered with her favorite scripture.
It was made by a younger girl in her youth group.

It says,
My heart is confident in you O God;
My heart is confident.
No wonder I can sing your praises. 

So there you have it. All moved in with her pink and green and zebra.  There is still a lot of blank space, but there will be plenty of time to fill it up.  I will add one update  for those who have been following the story: The roommate assignment was modified. She is not rooming with the bear hunter after all.

I'm pretty sure the zebras were relieved to hear it. 

Soaking Up Local Color

We took a break in the middle of our college moving on Friday to grab a little lunch. Now, we could have gone just about any place. Macon, Georgia is a fairly large city full of options. They have all the typical family restaurants, and the brass and ferns, and the fast food. Downtown, they have quaint delis and ethnic eateries.

We didn’t go to any of those places.

Nope.

Instead, we followed the suggestion of one in the bevy of friends.

When parents come to visit,

she opined,

they ought to soak up a little local color.

I hadn’t really given it much thought, but she’s right.  Anytime that I want, I can drive to a national chain or enjoy a downtown deli. Only in the Macon, Georgia area, can I eat at here.

Where the local color is red.

You see, there are frankfurters.

And there are hotdogs.

And then…
there are wieners.

That’s our friendly little color guide in this picture. I wonder if she knew that her hands instinctively rushed to her stomach upon receiving her order. The hands apparently recognize what the head does not…

The place is called Nu-Way Weiners

Since 1916, they have been serving all versions of the
red dogs 

and fountain drinks with their famous flaky ice.

I'm pretty sure that's just shaved ice,

but if they say it's flaky... then flaky it is.

Long a local favorite, Nu Way gained some national attention when Oprah made a famous visit for her Favorite Things episode filmed in Macon.

Now, the husband and I have always been somewhat crunchy granola. We like our food on the natural side, and there’s something just a tad unnatural about a red dog. We’re not all that fond of soft drinks, either. Our drink of choice is water. When we want to take a walk on the wild side, we make it seltzer water. We plunged right in, though, and soaked up that local color, fat grams, additives, and all.

Because, frankly, the friend is right,
 and life is short.

Even shorter after that meal...

So we laughed our way through lunch and enjoyed the local color. 

Of course, I whipped out the shiny red Kodak so I could yak all about it. I think I deserve some credit, though, for resisting the urge to title this  The Great Wiener Adventure.  I hope that the next time we visit, we can soak up some more local color. I just kind of hope that the next time, it's just a little bit more green.

So what about you? Do you like to soak up the local color? If I came to eat in your hometown, could you show me some?

The Great Senior Moving Day Adventure

I mentioned in my most recent post that I liked to be needed sometimes. Well, I’m pleased to report that, this weekend, as we moved The Practical One back onto campus, I was definitely needed.

Oh yes, I was needed.

Down the steps of the rented house.

Across the town.

Out of the car.

Down the hill.

Up the stairs.

And into the new room.

4,728 times.

I counted.

On Friday the 13th.

With a heat index of 296 degrees.

And a broken air conditioner.

(Residence Life gets an A+ for quick repair, though.)

All in all, it was a fun few days. I don’t think I’ve mentioned that my niece attends the same university and is the best friend in the world to The Practical One. They share a suite and, basically, a life.

 This makes it easy to ride tandem with my sister on all things collegiate. She and I spent an extra night in Macon to make sure that all was settled ...and do a wee bit of shopping the next day…

We sent Super Dad home looking a bit like a Clampett in a pick up overstuffed with the summer furniture.

It took a day and a half to complete the move in. I had planned to take the shiny red Kodak on an idea tour, but I was too needed to do much of that. I did snap just a few shots of things that I liked from the Senior Move-In Adventure.

I like…

The way they roll their t-shirts instead of layering them.

At Mercer (probably like most universities) they apparently give a t-shirt souvenir for every event, large or small. Rolling the shirts allows them to access the one that they want without toppling an entire pile. Like it.

I like...

Bed skirts.

Unfortunately, The Practical One doesn’t like them. She’s an outie like her dad. My niece, however, is an innie like me and likes her stuff secured out of sight. My sister made this great bed skirt for her.

The floral fabric separates two panels. This allows her to access under the bed storage without lifting the entire heavy skirt. It matches her valances.

I like…

This lightweight photo board.

It belongs to a friend who allowed the intrusion of a shiny red Kodak. She made it from lightweight corkboard panels covered in fabric. I wish that I had gotten a better picture. Like it.

 And that’s all I have.

I never even got a picture of the finished room.

It was entirely too hectic

 as we tried to navigate in the frenzy

 created by

one yakking blogger,

one silent super dad,

one organized sister,

   two excited daughters,

a bevy of chatty girlfriends,

and one helpful young man

apparently auditioning for the role of boyfriend
 to one of them.

Just another day in college paradise. And next week, I get to do it all over again.

Isn’t it great to be needed?