April 18 - May 23, 2021

Soon to be homeless again

 

With our visit to the beach ended, we headed back to North GA to wait out out the rest of our time until we close on the house.  Before heading to the beach we had moved all of our personal belongs, food and clothes out of the cabin and into the fifth wheel or storage as we couldn't see moving back into the cabin for just a few short weeks.  

 

So for the next few weeks we will be staying at the Great Outdoor RV Park in Franklin, NC.  The park is just over the North Carolina/Georgia line and is only about 20 miles from the cabin.  The park's monthly rate was only $800 and we were also able to order broadband service for D to be able to work.  Perfect!  Cell service in most parks in the area is spotty at best and since it's a must for us we are very limited to where we can stay.

 

The great outdoors rv park

 

 

Unfortunately, the site we were assigned backed up to a very busy highway with lots of tractor trailers and motorcycles.  The sound of the bikes and trucks would echo off the mountains and kept me up many a night!

However, the owners of the park are very nice and the camp workers are extremely helpful.  So if you decided to stay here just ask for a site that does NOT back up to the highway!

 

Hanging out with family

 

The following Saturday after our return from the beach, we met up with my son Austin and his family in downtown Clayton to check out the Celebrate Clayton Arts and Fine Crafts Festival.

 

 

This is an annual event that is held the last weekend in April.  They block off a large portion of Main Street and as you stroll through the vendors with unique arts and crafts, you also get a spectacular view of the North Georgia mountains.  The festival has kids activities along with a wide variety of refreshments from food vendors and local restaurants.  There is even local entertainment on the shady lawn of the historic Rock House.

 

We decided to grab lunch at the Clayton Cafe on main before heading out.  The cafe specializes in farm-to-table breakfast and lunch.  This down-home eatery serves classic southern comfort food and is a favorite among locals.  If their doors are open, you can be sure it's packed but don't let that stop you for the place is a lot bigger than it looks and the service is quick.

 

 

After we were seated I ask if we could see the owner real quick since we had learned that it was her daughter that was buying our house but was surprised by the buyers coming out to greet us instead.  It was great to meet them and we were very happy to find out that they were so excited about the historic cabin.  I have no doubt we picked the right buyers out of all the offers.

After lunch we drove to the cabin for everyone to see the final results of our remodel. The thing that the girls was most interested in was the stump from the large tree we had removed.  As you can see from the pic they both had no problem sitting on it at the same time.  That thing was massive for sure and was very dangerous.  I can't believe we lived in that house for five months with it looming over our heads!

 

Busy Izzy is a soccer wizard

The next weekend we drove down to watch our youngest granddaughter play in a soccer game.  Even though she is the youngest and smallest on the team, she is ferocious!  Watch out everyone for this little bee is going places!! 

 

After the game we drove over to my old stomping grounds and had a quick lunch at Agavero Cantina Parkside.  I have to admit that Lilburn has changed a lot in the last few decades.  From the park where we had lunch, you can see my grandmother's old house.  This house was the gathering place for our family for Sunday dinners, Christmas get-togethers, cousins sleep overs and many, many more memories of days gone by.  I was told my Grandparents moved into the house Dec 6, 1941. The day before Pearl Harbor and called this house home for over 30 years. 

 

 

The population when I lived there in the 60's and 70's was less than 2,000 and now it's over 14,000!  Definitely not the same small town back in my day where everyone knew everyone. 

 

The big open field that we used to play in as kids, is now a beautiful park with a four-mile Greenway trail, a large playground, pavilion, bandstand, running track, multiple tennis courts and a soon-to-be splash pad.  It's also host to concerts, Sparkle in the Park, Lilburn Daze, and the annual Christmas Parade.  

 

Saying goodbye to the cabin

 

My sweet sisters once again came for a final visit at the cabin and helped with cleaning out the items that we we were keeping, trashing or giving away before the new owners took possession. 

 

This is hopefully the last time I will be doing this.  Even though I am more than happy to walk away from this home, giving up belongings again is hard.  I know they're just things but still I found this time around harder than the last.  I had to keep saying to myself, it's just a rug or lamp or whatever.  After all, new adventures await on the other side! 

 

Here's to our 2021 travels being the best year yet! 

April 2021

Beach Life for a whole month!

 

Get the house show ready √

Find an awesome realtor √

Head to the beach √

With bags packed and the 5th wheel loaded to the max we are ready to roll on down the road once again.  We decided to leave on the Sunday before the house hit the market on Tuesday.  With D working from home we didn't want to be at the house with all the foot traffic from the showings.  It would not due for D to be on a call when a bunch of strangers came wandering in, jib-jabbing about this or that.  Plus, like I said in the previous post, we so needed a change of scenery. 

Historic 120 year old cabin is back on the market.

Myrtle Beach Travel Park, SC

 

After a six hours uneventful drive, we arrived safe and sound at Myrtle Beach Travel Park in South Carolina and were ready for our 30-day sabbatical.  Well at least one of us was getting one.  D still had to do his time from 8 to 4 each day.  Gotta keep that money rolling in.

This is our second time staying at this park and I am glad to be back.  There are several huge ocean front RV parks in the Myrtle Beach area but this one, in my opinion, is by far the best.  The lots along the ocean are all pull through sites and each comes with a covered picnic table.  Lots of folks decorate them with lights, privacy screens, signs, etc. It's fun to walk around and see some of the things people come up with.

Only 100 steps to the water! 
Here's to cold beer, sunshine, and sand between our toes!

 

D's one and only request for our month long stay was to eat at Boardwalk Billy's.  So for our first dinner we drove nine miles north on Kings Hwy so he could get his sushi fix.  Our timing was perfect and we were able to get seated right away.  The rest of our stay, we were not so lucky.  Who knew that would be the only time we could get in without a huge wait.

 

 

Happy Birthday to my big sister!

 

 

Our visit to the beach happened to coincide with my sister's birthday!  Neither of us knew we would be seeing each other again so soon after she and my other sister had visited us at the cabin in September.  They had been invited to come hang out at the beach for a few days and play golf.  We both found out we were going to be there at the same time and it was a great surprise especially since she was turning 70 this year!  So on the day of her birthday, we met up with her and her husband and their  friends and had dinner in her honor!  Happy 70th Birthday, Nadine!  Love you to the moon and back.

Carolina Roadhouse Restaurant

 

I can't count the times we have driven by this restaurant and never stopped in.  I have no good explanation except I thought it was just another generic chain restaurant.  

Well I had one of the best salmon salads I have ever had.  The broiled salmon was perfectly cooked and came with fresh greens, scallions, hearts of palm, mushrooms, chopped tomatoes and a buttery croissant roll 🥐 and the service was excellent.  I don't think we will pass it by again.

The restaurant is in Golf Magazine’s choice for ‘Where To Eat With Your Buddies’.  They are known for their thick broiled steaks, “fall-off-the-bone” baby back ribs, giant seafood platters, the outrageous "Killer Dog" and award winning salads.  They are very moderately priced and the inside is very unique with the kitchen wide-open in the center of the restaurant with a large wrap-around bar. 

 

Our next restaurant to check out was one that my sister recommended, Grumpy Monk.  This restaurant, like most others in town, offers a happy hour menu.  So when Friday rolled around and the clock struck four, we headed north on Hwy 17 to Crescent Beach to see what it was about.  We both ordered sushi and D also ordered the mac and cheese spring rolls.  Needless to say, we returned a few days later for him to have the spring rolls again.  That man loves his mac and cheese in any form and that just proved it!  I stuck with the veggie rolls.

Long walks and watching the sun set

 

The rest of our time at the beach was just hanging out and enjoying an empty "honey do list".  We took long evening walks, sat and listened to the sound of the waves and enjoyed the much needed vacation.  

 

Here's to beer and sunshine, bonfires and summertime!

March 2021

Chinking  & on the market!

 

As it turned out, this project wasn't as bad as we both had thought it would be.  I think by the time we made it around the whole cabin, we had a pretty good handle on how to smear mud.  Well, not really mud but it sure felt like it.  Yahoo!  No more daylight shining through the cracks but more importantly no heat escaping!  We are finally warm and toasty.  Just in time for spring.  Life is funny that way. 

Finished product!

 

Kitchen before and after

Living room before and after

Master Bath before and after

Living Room

1st Upstairs Guest Room

2nd Upstairs Guest room

Master on Main

We are so done!  This was an unexpected project and I am happy to say it is over.  In a couple of days, we are headed to the beach for a well-deserved month's vacation!

Febuary 2021

Odds and Ends

With most of the big projects behind us, we turned our efforts to knocking out some of the detail work.  Everyone knows it's all in the small, tiny details that can really get under your skin!  These projects were no exception!

The first one on the list is to make a master bedroom closet.  Since we had previously removed the open closet/shelving unit that had been there, we have been using a garment rack from Amazon.  The time had come to make a more permanent one. 

Always look up!

 

With the bedroom finished, we find ourselves back in the master bath!  I'm seriously beginning to hate this room!  Hopefully, this is the last project we will be doing in here! 

The shot of the peeling ceiling does not, by any stretch of the imagination, show the true state of the ceiling.  The condition of the rest of the bathroom was so much worse but somehow, in my efforts to get it done, I failed to take a picture.  So you are going to have to trust me when I was it was bad and I mean really bad. 

Hallelujah, we are done in the bathroom!

  

When we purchased this house, all of the floors had been freshly painted in this horrible, yellowish-gold color.  I don't know if they got it on clearance or honestly picked the color but it had to go!  We chose to go with a grey in order to match the laminate flooring.  Two coats later and we were done on the inside!

 

With March and warmer weather approaching, we are heading for the outside work!

 

January 2021

 Happy New Year and new floors!

This month we have decided to lay laminate flooring.  On Saturday, the day after New Years Day, we headed out for an 80-mile drive south to Floor & Decor in the town of Buford.  When you live in the hills, you learn that everything is a drive so you crank up the radio and just roll with it! 

Once we arrived, we found the place crazy busy!  We have learned that during this whole Covid lockdown that we aren't the only ones doing home improvement.  And don't even get me started on the lack of supplies in the stores for it has been a real pain in the you-know-what!  Anyway!

After locating the laminate flooring section in the huge store, we decided on Jackson Greige Oak.  We went with a neutral grey color because we didn't want to take away from the log cabin walls.  

After loading up 25 boxes along with underlayment and an installation kit, we once again were in the truck for the long haul home.

After the downstairs guest bathroom was done, we moved on to the living room.  This was a huge task but worth every bit of the money and trouble.  The old floors had such huge cracks and you could feel the cold coming in from between every board.  Our heating bill went down by half after all was said and done!

The next room was the master bedroom.  In this room, the biggest challenge was removing all of the furniture out.  At one point, I was afraid I was going to get buried alive under a 100-pound mattress!  But the two of us finally got the room cleared and then I was about to go to work measuring and cutting.

The final room was the master bath!  And yep, you guessed it.  Not only did we have to remove the toilet but also the vanity and claw foot tub that we had just finished installing just a few short months ago.  Why, oh why, did we not think of doing the floors first!

With the floors all done, I set my sights on redoing the fireplace hearth.  This one took some thought but I feel it turned out pretty dang good! 

Next month we turn out attention to the outside!