Paul is leaving!

We have been so blessed with the company we've been able to keep this week! Everyone has been so generous in their "see ya later" gifts. I know we've gotten nice and plump over the past couple of weeks from the breaking of bread together with our friends here in Orlando! Thank you to everyone who has showered us with their friendship and hospitality! Your kindness is very appreciated! We've also had the opportunity, twice so far, to celebrate Paul's birthday, as he will be on the road on his actual birthday, which is Sunday, October 1st! I'm getting a little anxious about his leaving and my staying here for 2 weeks ... but I'm sure the time will fly, as always. A miracle has happened! We have discovered that the ferral (sp?) momma cat who we thought had lost her whole litter (due to drowning in the rain) has actually been blessed with a precious little orange marmalade living kitten. Although the idea of yet another litter is exasperating, the kitten did wonders for the big whole in my heart that those 3 little departed kittens left, and I'm sure for the momma cat, Connie as well. She's been a fixture here since she came to us the December after we moved in. Both of our kitties are her offspring. Notice a pattern here? I'm expecting the "for sale" sign to go up in the yard any time now. Coldwell Banker is the listing agent. If you know anyone who is in the market for a charming little block house, let them in on the listing! That's it for the update for now ... hope you are all having a wonderful beginning of fall! Thanks to everyone for their support, Paul & Cheri

Gypsy

My friend and artist (mosaic) mentor, Chrissie Grace made us a gypsy to go along with our new adventure. Gypsy is beatufiully created and perfectly matched to what our new adventure is! The quote in her middle is so perfect ... we should consider everyday lost in which we do not dance at least once. Chrissie is a genuis multi media artist and if you have not seen her work, it's a MUST! http://www.wildtilesmosaics.net/and http://www.chrissiegracespace.blogspot.com/. She has some incredible works on both sites ... and her book is being released in the next couple of weeks ... so you too can learn how to be a mosaic artist!! (I got a chance to peak at it yesterday --- SO great!) Also, there is a group of artists who make these little books called chunky books. The idea is that about 20 artists each make one page to go in the book, the hostess assembles them, and everyone has a very special creative collaborative unique book! Well, I have a GREAT little chunky book that is LaBoheme Live A Colorful Life - that goes right along with the perfect mosaic. Thank you Chrissie!!!!
As each day is passing I am becoming more and more aware of how close our moving date is! Paul leaves in less than 2 weeks and I know he's thinking about it too. Parting is sweet sorrow, we have a lot of friends we will surely miss. We are busy trying to make sure we get to visit with everyone before we depart, which is making our calendar a bit different from the norm! Additionally, I am so enjoying teaching again. Looks like I've missed it after all! Guess I'll have to find a dance related job, or (gasp) open my own studio next season. Paul assisted me with a class on Monday, and it felt like "old times" and very comfortable! We both came home much less intense and a lot more at ease. There are adventures in store ... I can feel them in the depths of my soul. However, we are greatly going to miss our Orlando based friends. Bitter and sweet ... all those cliches seem to be true! Well, off to tap class and beyond! Happy Thursdays to everyone. Just us gypsies, Paul & Cheri

Moving Right Along ...

The waterfall here is just a short 4 miles from our front door in NC! I'm hoping to actually get there before it freezes. I am hoping this will be a great morning walk every day to keep my health in order! The two cats are Artemis (on his back, 6 months, 7 lbs) and Spartacus (facing away from the camera - 1 year, 3 months, 12 lbs). They are obviously helping me pack ... the little one is very mischievous ... and keeps the older one fit! He'll probably be glad for the walk to the waterfall as well! I've been trying to download pics of our day's chores, but the blog site must be too busy to do any more ... sometimes it's a bit temperamental. We have pressure washed the current house's back deck, front porch and driveway. And I'm in the midst of painting some of the rooms back to "neutral" shades. I'm afraid my fiesta bathroom was not quite neutral! Not good for resale, apparently! Christy finally had the baby, a little girl, Elise, 6 pounds, 8 ounces, 19-3/4 inches long (tall?) so I will begin teaching tomorrow at 3:45. That outta keep me out of trouble for a little while. Paul only has 2 more weeks here ... the time is really getting close. I tried getting him to "weed out" some of his older clothes but apparently suits always fit, no matter what size you are, never go out of style and are absolutely sinful to give or toss away. So ... I'm packing boxes of wool suits that might fit one of the grandsons before Paul will ever wear them again, but we're taking them, nevertheless! There are also boxes of coats with the same m.o. Please let me know if you're in need of a suit or a coat. I can probably hook you up! Rick and Chris, do hope y'all made it into Orlando with no trouble and are settling in nicely in your new place. Blessings to all, Paul & Cheri

Echoes, Memories and Future Plans

The stacks of boxes continue to grow, and as you walk through certain rooms of the house now there is an echo. It's rather confusing, both sad and exciting! The echoes are loud with memories we've experienced over the past 4 years here. We've enjoyed this little house tremendously and now that we're undoing its personality, we're getting a little anxious to just move on. Paul will be leaving Orlando on 9/29 for NC and will begin work on 10/2. He'll come back for me and the cats on the 15th and we'll head on up with the moving truck and all that weekend! I'm going to stay in Orlando for the extra couple of weeks to teach for one of the teachers who is going out on maternity leave, soon we hope! She is very ready to meet her new baby and it sounds like the baby is preparing for her grand entrance too! Best of luck to you all, Christy! I'll be very glad to teach a little again. My creative self seems to be starving and driving me crazy! Amid the madness of getting ready for this monstrous move, I've had to start a mosaic to keep from going absolutely crazy. I guess you just can't squash the creative impulses completely! Thank goodness for the gift of expression, that's all I can say!!! I'll be trying to get Paul ready to go for his bachelorhood arrival in an empty house! Now there are actually 2 packing projects going on ... that outta keep my creative self busy enough! HA! Hope this finds you all well and having a wonderful weekend. I know everyone is having their own memories stirred up with the anniversary of 9/11 upon us. It's amazing how much time has passed, how many memories we've made and how many plans for the future we've already allocated since the original 9/11. We have been watching all the 9/11 dedication programs and will be proudly flying our flag tomorrow in memory of 9/11 and everything that goes along with that date. In the words of a famous little boy named Tim, "God bless us all"! Paul & Cheri

Insiders View

Here are a few pics of the inside ... a birdseye view from entering the front door and looking all the way to the back "Florida room"; looking into the library through the huge doorway with the old moldings that are just gorgeous (the walls however, are another story!); the now infamous painted floor (almost!); an original light fixture from way back in the living room; and the library fire place. There is another fireplace exactly behind this one that goes into the master bedroom ... which incidentally is the ONLY room in the house with a built in closet of any type!!! The floors are all hard wood, and the original ones at that, so they need to be sanded and refinished. The walls are lath and plaster and the library and master bedroom need some work! The entire master bedroom ceiling needs fixin'! The ceilings in most of the house are either 12 or 14 feet, depending on the room. It's going to be a BIG Christmas tree! But as you can see, the bones are good in this ole' house and today we got a copy of Tweetsie Country, which is a book published way back when about the Tweetsie railroad and there is a picture of our house in there from 1942!! Apparently it was right along the tracks. So there is history to be learned. Thank goodness, that'll keep Paul interested for a while ... history AND a railroad! I am still just packing away. We're up to almost 3 full pallets of stacked boxes in the garage. Paul says it looks like when they ransacked the house, they actually robbed it too! It's getting pretty bare. At least I'm making progress! We're getting very anxious now! Until later ... happy trails! Paul & Cheri

Another Perspective

"Go within every day and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out." Katherine Dunham
I figure if I play my cards right, I can sit at the table, or sit in the screen porch at the table and just stare at the blue ridge mountains. You are looking at the house from the front right hand side ... and there is an incredible view there! When I went up to visit recently, I spent an hour or so sitting at the table getting the hang of it. It was splendid! I wish you could FEEL it! I've been using this picture for the inspiration to continue the arduous task of packing all of the stuff in this little house! We must've used great inginuity to get everything in this little space ... I cannot believe what is coming out of these closets and cupboards (of course, Paul is a pack rat so I think he's been "collecting" all along!) After watching some of the Katrina anniversary stories, I've been saying grace that we have things to pack and a house to take everything out of and "new" house to put everything in to. Our plans are still to try to move between September's end and October's middle. My task is to learn how the heck to post more than one picture per blog so I can show the funnier parts of the house to you ... like the room where the floor was painted AROUND THE OVAL RUG! Someone must've had a lovely surprise when the rug was moved out! There will be plenty to do when we get there! I will stay focused on learning how to post photos ... Happy Labor Day weekend to all! Safe journeys and good thoughts to all, Paul and Cheri