The Interior of WREN...a fabulous restaurant in downtown Beaufort, South Carolina

As I mentioned the other day, we had a delicious lunch at a restaurant in Beaufort last Saturday. Here are a few photos of the interior. I was really taken with it for some reason (and the food was good too!) What do you think? Cool...YES??

Oh how I LOVE the Rowdy Girls (and husbands)

You might remember that my college peeps and I (the Rowdy Girls) try to get together as often as possible, usually down at the summer house. We opened up the house for "the season" this weekend and had a most wonderful time. I feel like a new gal. If you're behind on the Rowdy Girls (and husbands) click HERE and HERE and HERE. So...some photos...

Friday afternoon...

Friday night...after a large pitcher of delicious sangria prepared by Meg and Will, we got a tee tiny bit silly. Louis' office would NOT quit calling. Reception was bad and we wanted to help. Will modeled our creation...

On Saturday, we had the best intentions of having brunch at the Beaufort Inn, but alas, they were not serving lunch because they were getting ready for a late afternoon wedding. SO...we ventured down the street to Wren...a newer restaurant in town that we'd not tried. I'll do a post later about the interior of the restaurant which was incredible. I took lots of photos because it gave me lots of good ideas to share.

Everybody else had a glass of wine or beer with their lunch...I decided to have a cosmopolitan with MY lunch. Yummy!! Kind of out of character of me but I wasn't driving and I AM over 21!

.....so THERE!!!!!

One Ringy Dingy...

I'm lucky to work with a Deputy Boss who "gets" my snarky sense of humor. If he didn't...well...it could be bad.

We've been have telephone problems here at home. The county is doing some water line work, and every now and then incoming calls get bumped somehow. We'll hear one little "brrriinnnggg" and then nothing.

Apparently, the people on the other end also hear it ring once and then static. Deputy Boss told me one day last week that he'd tried to call a couple of times the evening before and couldn't get through.

Yesterday afternoon, he tried to call and we were having the problem again. This morning we had a little exchange...

DB - I tried to call you yesterday afternoon. Your phone is out of order again.

Belle - I know...we kept hearing that little "brriinnnggg" and then nothing.

DB - Did you call the telephone company? You need to call the telephone company.

Belle - That's probably a good idea.

(OK...So, I went back to my office and got to work and did NOT call the telephone company...)

Later in the day...

DB - Did you call the telephone company? You need to call the telephone company.

Belle - I didn't want to tell you this but, you know that ring and static you heard?

DB - Yes...

Belle - That's what you hear when the other person has your number blocked.

DB - Call the telephone company!

I called the telephone company.

Hunting...and other stuff...

1. Hank and our friend Tom went turkey hunting on Saturday so Lorelai, Tom's wife Anne, and I took a hunting excursion of our own. Of course, we were hunting for shoes, clothes, and a lovely lunch instead of turkeys.

2. Lorelai, Anne, and I had a successful hunt. Hank and Tom did not.

3. Legare has found a place to live in Charlotte for the summer while he works as a summer associate in a law firm. Here's hoping that it turns into a permanent job offer upon his May 2011 graduation from law school.

4. I haven't put up the first Easter decoration and you all are making me LOOK BAD with your pretty tables, wreaths, and decorating projects. We won't be entertaining so I'm just not worrying about it...work is WILD these days.

Have a great week!!

But I REALLY wanted to....

I'm pretty sure it would have been wrong for me to whack a few individuals with a shillelagh stick today...

Wouldn't it??

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Lorelai's Room Makeover--400th Post

In honor of my 400th post...A Room Makeover for Lorelai!!!

Lorelai is home for spring break and we had a little surprise waiting on her. A room makeover!!

We aren't completely finished...the bed headboard hasn't arrived and we are awaiting a fix to the closet door but you can get the general idea...

She wanted Tiffany blue walls and I made the executive decision to do just two walls in the blue and two in an off white. There are a few accessories yet to gather but you can get the general idea.

This makes three rooms we've gotten organized since the first of the year. My goal was one a week, but it appears that we're doing well to get through one a month. Progress is progress though, so I'm not going to complain.

The Piano Bar

Between new job fun and life in general, we've also cleaned out mother's house and put it on the market. One thing that I just could not let go of was the piano. My granddaddy bought the Story and Clark console piano for mother sometime around 1965. There were no music stores anywhere around so the local hardware store, which also sold furniture, took care of the arrangements. Even though I have a piano of my own, this one was special...it's the instrument I learned to play on and DID play the dickens out of from 1968 until I sent to college in 1979.

Here's the thing...what in the WORLD was I going to do with a second piano? We brought it home, put it up against a wall in our den, and I started thinking. After a couple of weeks it hit me. A Piano Bar!!!! People scoffed...they didn't even have the good grace to do it behind my back...they laughed at me and rolled their eyes RIGHT to my face!!

I care NOT!! I love the piano bar and believe myself to be right clever if I DO say so myself.

What do you think?

Tuesday Tales

Let's see...
Hmmmm....
Weather sure is nice today...
School board meeting tonight...

I don't even have a joke to tell.

OH!! Did anybody watch the new show Parenthood? I really want to like it but couldn't come to a conclusion after just one episode. It seems to me that it's sort of a hippy version of Brothers and Sisters. What do you think?

Legare is home and we watched The Hurt Locker last night. SO intense, but very well done. It most assuredly opened up another special place in my heart for our men and women in uniform who "live" war on a daily basis.

On the work front, I've decided to be more zen regarding those who do not see the urgency of keeping to my time line. I can't keep up the whole cheeseburger, french fries, pepsi, double pie thing.

OH...and Ted is a bachelor, for those of you who are interested. (NOW, I'll see if he really reads my blog!!!)

What true friends will do for you...

I'm fortunate to have some great friends at work. I told Hank this afternoon that he really owed them for letting me vent, so that he didn't have to listen to HALF of what he might have to otherwise.

My flying monkey situation is going reasonably well, but this morning a little glitch in my time line made me all twitchy. There wasn't a thing that the monkeys could do, so about 10:15, I told my friend and colleague Ted that we just HAD to go to Henry's for lunch. (Go HERE to read about Henry's) Henry's can fix a multitude of woes, so about 11:45, Ted, Maura and I larked out.

I've known Ted for a long time and we've eaten lunch together, often several times a week, for years. Ted understands Belle-talk and sometimes even translates for others. Here are several examples from today.

Scene 1...Ted, Maura, and Belle approach Henry's. Belle opens the door and says...
"WELL, this is just the LAST STRAW"

Maura: What's wrong? Ted: There are people sitting at her two favorite tables. Go over to the booth on the left. Just let her sit on that side (he points) by herself and she'll be OK.

Scene 2...Ted, Maura and Belle are handed menus. Belle puts hers on the table without looking at it and proclaims, "There's no question!"

Maura: What is she having? Ted: Today is a cheeseburger day.

Scene 3...Ted, Maura and Belle are finishing dessert. Belle takes the last bite of her Boston Cream Pie, stands up and says, "Wait right here, I'm going to do it!!!"

Maura: Where is she going? Ted: She's going to get another piece of pie.

Know what? I WAS...but divine providence saved me from myself because the last piece of Boston Cream had just been claimed. I didn't think it would be right to snatch it out of the hands of the kid sitting at the counter with his dad.

God bless true friends who understand you, are patient with you, pay for your lunch (thanks Maura!!!) and don't judge you for wanting two pieces of pie when you're feeling twitchy!

It's Wednesday Already??

Since I started my new job, time is flying by. I told somebody yesterday that I feel like I'm in purgatory...since budget cuts are keeping them from hiring anyone to replace me in my old job, I'm getting pulled back in to those tasks along with the new ones. Please understand that I am NOT complaining, but wanted you to know why I may not be posting or commenting as much as usual for the time being. My blog reading and commenting will primarily happen on the weekends. Don't forget about me now...that would make me sad.

I'll have some pretty pictures soon of Lorelai's bedroom. Hank has been working hard since Saturday to get it painted. Our goal is to have it done by the time she gets home for spring break in a week or so. Legare's spring break is coming up also...we haven't seen him since he went back to school after Christmas. Lorelai fractured her finger playing flag football. Mother, Ned, and Hank's mother are behaving themselves. That about sums it up! Pretty boring, isn't it...BUT...sometimes boring is a WELCOME state of being.

Got to go get ready for work...my day starts with a United Way meeting in Charleston...

Hope you're having a good week...What's been happening in your neck of the woods?? SERIOUSLY...if you don't tell me in a comment, I'm may not know until this weekend!!!