I come by it honestly
I tend to leap to the worst case scenario pretty quickly. It helps me to prepare for the worst and 99 percent of the time when nothing bad happens, at least I was prepared. I’m constantly repeatING this scripture (“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”) from Matthew to myself. In college, I even had it taped to my desk. (Ironically, I wouldn’t classify myself as a worrier.) I learned this weekend though that at least I come by the crazy honestly.
Dad: Do you have pull down stairs to your attic?
Hannah: Yes. Why?
Dad: Is there a latch on the outside?
Hannah: No… why?
Dad: Well, I’m just thinking, if someone gets up there, if you keep it latched, they wouldn’t be able to get into your house.
Ginger: Dick, how would they get up there?
Dad: You know, in case someone breaks in, and then hides up there in wait for her.
Yes, Dad. Just in case.
They also told me that if I take handgun classes, they’ll arm me. I guess this is their way of saying, “Good financial decision to buy in a regentrifing neighborhood. Have a .38.”
Famous by Proxy
So my friends make music. Really amazing music. And guess what they did? They went and recorded a CD. And guess what else? You can buy it! So go do that, won’t you? I hear they make great stocking stuffers.
Whale of a Time
The new Georgia Aquarium opens to the public today. But on Monday and Tuesday annual pass holders could make a reservation to get in early for a sneak peek. So yesterday, Mary, Sarah and I trekked the short distance between our office and the aquarium to check out the fishes.
Bernie Marcus, the philanthropist who made the aquarium a reality, said that he was going for the “wow!” factor. And I couldn’t help being wowed. It’s a beautiful facility, and even though we couldn’t see much due to the crowds, I’m so pleased that we opted to get annual passes.
There are Beluga Whales and Whale Sharks (the largest fish in the sea) and Sea Otters and African Penguins. It’s incredibly kid-friendly, and I think it’s going to bring money and attention to the city that Atlanta hasn’t seen since the ‘96 Games. According to the local news the Aquarium saw a huge spike in annual pass sales after Matt Lauer and the Today show were here on Monday. There are people in Wisconsin and Texas buying annual passes. That’s awesome.
I’ve never been happier to work downtown, to live inside the perimeter, or to call this city (that I often feel like I sort of stumbled upon), home.
Make like a tree and leave
I’ve spent the past 7+ months of homeownership doing everything I can to avoid yard work. The first few months I was in the house I hired a guy to mow before I finally broke down and bought a (very basic) lawnmower. After that, I only actually mowed the front yard twice and never touched the back. Luckily my back yard is very little grass and lots of ivy, so it wasn’t too jungle-y back there. Besides, I think the bunnies liked it.
So it should surprise no one that I put off raking as long as possible. I have two medium-sized trees in my front yard, plus a very tall pine and a humungous tree in the back that spewed leaves all over my roof, into my gutters and covered my front and back yards as well as my deck. Needless to say it was a leaf fest.
But my dad, stepmother, brother and sister-in-law are all descending upon Atlanta for Thanksgiving and I couldn’t let them think I was some girly irresponsible homeowner who allowed leaves to rot on her her steps, yard and rooftop. So this weekend I busted out the rake, the lawn and leaf bags and went to work.
Two blisters, eight lawn bags and a huge curbside pile later, I finished only the front. Who knew raking was so hard? Who knew piles of pine straw could be so heavy? Why was I throwing all this pine straw away when only months earlier I went to Lowe’s and PURCHASED pine straw? Why don’t I pick up my dog’s poop? These were all important questions. Ones I probably won’t ask until next November.
There are a lot of things I still want to buy for my house and do to the interior (paint the bedrooms, buy bookshelves, rugs, artwork, patio furniture) what I want more than anything is for a professional landscaper to show up and just tell me how to fix my yard. Every time there’s a heavy rain all the pine straw and pine bark wash out of the beds. So I have quite a few spots with the weed cover visible thanks to Dennis and Cindy, and I realize how tacky and wrong that is. But I have neither the talent nor money to fix it. If anyone wants to nominate me for Bushwhacked, I’ll give you my address.
And as for raking the back yard? It can just leaf me alone.*
*You knew that joke was coming.
One last look
As I sat in the lobby waiting for my group’s bus to board I decided to run back outside and take a few more photos. This was the last one I snapped and it is by far my favorite. The blue of the chairs, the water, the sky, the umbrellas. The King Palm fronds bending in the breeze off the Atlantic. It all just looks so perfect.
I wasn’t as enthralled with Puerto Rico as expected to be, but you can’t complain with a view like this.
keep looking »-
Compassion
