Another Bend In The Road

Well My Sweet Southern Kindred's, I found this picture today and thought what an appropriate way to start a new chapter in our blog. I entitled it, "Another Bend In The Road." It made feel very reflective about what the future holds for us all. First I thought about the familiar... The things in life that will always be constants... Our unending Friendship, our love for each Other, for Family, for the South and all things Southern, our love for the change of seasons, especially the Fall... And then it hit me, we're in the Fall our lives, the most beautiful Season of all. Where the richness of life truly begins, the warmth and depth of color permeates everything, it brings to life those things from the previous Seasons and gives you a genuine appreciation for them. And while there is more of our life behind us than there is ahead, that doesn't make me sad. Because i finally understand that the appreciation I have for life now doesn't compare to when I was younger. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we haven't always appreciated life, but when you're young and life is just starting, you're raising a family, and busy is the order of the day, there is so much that you miss, so much you never fully understand, or appreciate, until you're older. In a sense I feel like life has truly just began. We've all stepped outside our comfort zones and reached for the things our younger selves couldn't... And so, as I look down that beautiful Fall road, with all it's bends, and uncertainties, I know that whatever the future holds for these "Three Coins In A Fountain" it will be embraced, appreciated and lived with all of the beautiful color of the season! Missing You Both, TOWFL

.... and all that JAZZ

My Delicate Magnolia Blossoms,

We have all been remiss in our blogging efforts. I am standing on my soapbox
and saying... AHEM!! Keeping in touch takes EFFORT!! But if you guys have been like me, when you have a little time, you're lacking in motivation.
I swanee... sometimes I can't remember what it was like when I had energy and the drive to set the world on fire...

You to are gonna get a kick out of my Goings On... so as I have been working with my new Clients and have gotten out and about in the neighborhoods, I have been asked to join just about every Civic Organization there is!! Me.. the GYPSY.. a Junior League-R.... hell nawh!! Clutch the pearls but only with my crow necklace and Chuck Taylors... and I am to be a Speaker at the Kiwonis Club... they want me to talk about my ideas for bringing ART to the big city of BM... and ya know... I said, "Why the hell not?" I will always come back here... time to brandish the Gypsy Magik and Bloom where I am planted. Still planning on going to the UK... and bringing something 6'2 and lovely back with me :) I am so deeply, here is me... no make up, muffin top, vunerable, afraid to fall in love for real,
IN LOVE. It's been 4 years :-) and THATS ALL I am saying bout THAT for now...

So anyway the girls from the Gallery and I,a few other in town have now formed the, BM Arts Council!! TADA!! Candygirl, you are a member :-)

I have pulled together a COLLECTIVE and WE ARE FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT TO CHANGE THE ENERGY OF THE BIG BM!!! May God be with us and our pearls stay strung... cuz I have A LOT to say... just as the Chaaaabuh and all its members I told off Tuesday :-D

I like this getting older bit in many many many ways... my brain turns sideways sometimes and I get a really deep look at things... not really sure WHAT I am looking at... might be the lack of hormones or summin... I find myself thinking about the part in, Fried Green Tomatos, when Kathy Baites asks for the mirror to help see her vagina.... but I digress...

Anyhow, my lovelies... life is strange, I don't feel the greatest but whatcha gonna do.. fake it til ya make it... maybe

and BLONDIE... WHERE THE HELL YOU BEEN??!!


Love to my girls,

As Ever,

The Gypsy

New Moon Musings for a Brand New Year

Dear Hearts,

I feel ashamed that I have fallen so far behind on my blogging duties. BLONDIE... the water slide sounded awesome!!! How much fun... I wanna do that! Candygirl, I am having right now at this moment a delish strawberry cupcake with light. You were so sweet to do all of that for me and I appreciate it. Blondie, I can't speak for you cuz we havent seen you but I have noticed something about Canygirl and myself... we are changing... and I know that life is a constant state of evolution anyway, but this is a " more comfortable in our skins and our place in the world" changes. I have noticed that in our red headed girl and know it to be true of myself.

The Hotel is a pain in the ass! Good thing I have new clients. Hopefully one that will lead me to the UK this Summer, where I will be staying a while.

I am glad everyone's babies are doing good. I am so proud of my boy for hanging on and learning and finding his way. He is truly and kind kind soul and that makes me happier than anything in the world.

Blondie J's wedding dress is beautiful. Where has the time gone? Although I like getting older. I really do. You learn so much of what does and doesnt work and what YOU'RE worth, what you can put up with and what you WILL NOT put up with.

NOW... my Mr Big....

I am not saying who he is, he just popped back in my life and when he did I felt like a physical punch to the gut. I have NEVER ever responded to a man this way... butterflies are an understatement. He and I have been thru a lot the past 5 years.
And we will see. I do know this... I would follow this man anywhere... anywhere just to be by his side.
Maybe ya'll can figure it out be he is very hush hush... he is on my FB though. Blondie so proud of you for working out!! We all need a little healthy competition to spur us on. I would love to have a photographer take some

pictures of the 3 of us... the blonde, the red head and the brunette... we can all dress in black and white. Wouldnt that be fun and a great keepsake for this very special time in our lives.

Well my girls, we will see what this year brings for all of us. I hope we continue to explore and dream and dance neath the new moon... we are a long way from old... let's grab it while we can

Much Love,

Gypsy

Good Sunday morning, girlies! I hope this finds you both doing well and enjoying life. Here, working on my third cup of coffee and surrounded by a very quiet house and listening to Sunday morning jazz....I love Sunday's.
MB is gone to her Dad's and Ringo is at work and I just kicked that crazy cat "Maggie" out of the house! She was asleep in one of her hiding places ( under the computer desk up on a shelf that I keep paper on and also prop my feet ). My foot landed on her head and hissed at me and clawed my foot and nearly made me tee tee on myself! She is driving me crazy! Sneaking in...lifting her furry little leg to tinkle on my stuff only!!!!...and hiding in Ringo's base drum! She stayed in there all day yesterday....It's amazing that she don't tinkle on any of his music equipment, but has ruined two sets of curtains and tons of magazines of mine! Ugh!!! Stupid cat! And then, we have two more added to the mix..."Pajama Jeans" whom MB rescued from the mouth of hogs she claims were going to eat her. I'm not quite sure I believe that, but she is definitely a character and then there's "Hootie"...rescued by Ringo from work with the claim that Chef Tom was going to have her killed...I am sure the neighbors refer to us as " those cat people"...and I am still holding out for my furry little dream dog that I will probably not be able to get until I am old and senile...lol.
My hubbie got me a Keurig for Christmas and I must admit on days like this it is a little pain in the butt! I think I will have to drag "Fred" ( the old red coffee maker) back out of the closet so I can make a big pot at one time! LOL The new one is so convenient ( although the little cups are sooooo expensive - lucky it has a little filter you can put in it to hold your own Folgers LOL - it is neat to brew one cup at a time quickly )
I am thinking that I won't do housework today...lol...and will instead go pick a bouquet of camellias to take to Mama later this afternoon. I have the most beautiful ones outside my kitchen window. Huge dark pink and white candy stripe blooms. I love camellias! It makes the bleakness of this time of year a little better! Those and the yellow Carolina jasmine and of course the big purple Japanese magnolias. I regret not planting daffodil bulbs in November like I said I would. I was so looking forward to having those this spring. It seems like my " Maw Maw Byrd" is coming out today. I love flowers!!! Especially the old fashioned ones. I wish I had the green thumb of her and Mama. And of course I wish I had more time for my yard! Every Spring we have the overwhelming chore of cleaning up the yard from the neglect of September - March. I'm hoping to have funds and the time to do some projects we have been wanting to do in the yard this Spring and maybe even plant a vegetable garden... Sigh.....
Blondie! It is so good to see you here!!!! I loved reading your blog about the water slide...you know, I have never had the courage to do that! I envy you and C doing that together! What fun!!! I laugh just picturing Ringo and I doing that! LOL
I'm so glad that you have made some great friends there. The couple you described sounded like such sweet people. It makes me feel so much better about you being so far away from home and being surrounded by good friends and family. I can't wait for you to come home! We have so much catching up to do!
Some of what has been happening lately here.....
Notice the cupcakes above? Thought you both would like this...The peacock theme is definitely in... LOL...This was a creation of yesterday....It made me realize that I will be 45 soon and fast approaching the big 50...Yikes!!!!! Fun project - big realization! Geez! I was feeling depressed as I sprinkled the glitter and then realized that you should never be depressed while sprinkling glitter! LOL...So,I smiled, sprinkled more glitter and also realized that I can't do a damn thing about turning 45 much less 50 so I may as well enjoy it and be thankful for it. It also got me to thinking as I placed the little black heels and fabulous black purse on it, that I am in need of a new purse and shoes...so, I am going to go shopping this afternoon after Mama's and get a new purse and maybe that will make me feel better...lol....My thoughts as I bake and decorate go from one extreme to another...LOL...I think I am spending too much time alone at the shop. I also think I am spending too much time working! It has been a very rough 3 months. It has slowed down enough lately for me to get a break here and there. It also has been tax time and after having another major realization that I broke even for the second year in a row, it may be time to let it go. I am going to give it another year, make some adjustments and go from there. We have definitely had the business, sometimes more than we could handle, but not enough capital to buy products in bulk wholesale. Retail killed our profits this year. The whole experience of being a business owner has taught me so much about myself and helped me to grow as a person, but it has just been so hard. Financially, emotionally and physically. 2012 will be the " we shall see" year.
We have been planning my sweet "J" girl's wedding. September 8 is the date. Plans are coming along nicely. We have the venue ( a beach house ) the dress ( a beautiful Audrey Hepburn- type dress in ivory silk with lots of rouching and a sweetheart neckline...it was so pretty on her! ) the bridesmaids dresses ( similar to the wedding dress but tea length and either turquoise or brown)- the flowers ( white hydraengas and shells ) - the men's attire ( khaki's and turquoise shirts ) the catering ( where my Ringo works...LOL...she wouldn't let me do it ) - the cake ( she will let me do that....LOL...vanilla butter cream with lots of shells and hydraengas)- the invitations ( beautiful natural-look rough canvas paper with shells and red sea fans and coral in brown, turquoise, and red ) -and chairs, tables, sashes and centerpieces taken care of! It's coming together!!! The only thing she is having trouble finding is just the right veil. She wants a vintage-look ivory birdcage veil with either silk florals or a vintage brooch fascinator. I have found some beautiful ones on Etsy. Let me know if you have any ideas for this.
Well, guess I should scoot for now and go pick those camellias....I love you both dearly! Gypsy, I will see you this week for coffee, scraps and light....and Blondie...I so wish you could be here for those.
Have a wonderful day!
Candy Girl

Red Dog's, Water Slides & Home

Hey My Girlies,

Well, I see that some two little misses are behind in their blogging, time for a reminder... And can I just say, it's nice to be good girl for a change! :-) I'm usually the one behind!

Life here in old Oz is good, hot as all get out, but good. We just got home from a get-together with friends in our Hall, a farewell to a really sweet couple we've know since I arrived down under. You would both love them, especially her, she's Italian and reminds me so much of a combination of all my sweet sisters. I see a little of each of them in her and it's been really nice getting to know her. They're moving just outside of Perth so, still within visiting distance. :-) They're like us, the kid's are grown and on their own and they wanted a change, something new and different, a bit of a fresh start. I can totally understand that, sometimes you have to live outside your comfort zone and take a step into the unknown, but you know what I find so comforting... All roads lead to home. I think that you can be so busy looking for home in a new town with new people that you can forget it's those same familiar faces and sleepy streets that feed your soul and inspire you to greater things. We were watching this great movie last night called "Red Dog" it's a true Aussie story that takes place in a little mining town in Northern part of Western Australia, Dampier. It's based on a book by the same name by Louis de Bernières. Try to find it on Netflix if you can, it's really worth seeing, but it's what made me think about home, community, and that spirit of family and good friends that so hard to find in this old world.

You two should have been here a couple of weeks ago. I had my first experience on a big water slide. They have one at the Jetty and had left it on overnight so, on New Year's eve me and CC finished our work and spent the evening acting like two little kids! We had the best time! It's this massive indoor slide that's inclosed, like a big tube, and the water rushes really fast... I screamed every time! It was so much fun! I can't believe I haven't done that before, well one thing I can mark off of my bucket-list. :-)

We're in the middle of planning our trip home, went to see the travel agent last week and seeing what prices they can give us. CC thinks we should wait until the first of February, they're having a big travel expo in the City and you can always get some really good deals so, hopefully in the next few weeks we'll have our dates to come home locked in! I'm counting down the days!

Guess I'd better run for now, gotta go to work, but I'll write again soon. Hope this finds you both and all of family doing well. Love and miss you so much!

Hugs & Kisses,

TOWFL

Fabulous Wines, Travel Consultants & Hermes Bags

Hello My Lovely's!

Yes, here I am once again, after way too many weeks absent. Although, I notice I'm not the only one. :-) I think about you both so often and miss you terribly, especially when something happens, one of those inside jokes that only the three of us would get. Heavy sigh... June cannot get here fast enough! The great thing is that after the first of the year, it's all downhill from there! But, you know how I am, it want be real until I have those tickets in my hands!

Candygirl... Bless your little sweet heart! I know exactly who you were talking about, when you mentioned CZ, and I can only imagine enduring an evening with that set. I agree, you need to redo your contract and be super specific about what you will and won't do, otherwise people just take advantage of your good nature. It's really hard to be in business for yourself. You want to go that extra mile and give good customer service, but you really do have to draw a line, or people just walk all over you. It's sounds like you need a break, some time away from the job. Even if it's just a long weekend at home enjoying some down time and a Sex and City marathon. Hopefully over the holidays you can enjoy some time with the family and re-energize yourself a little... I sure hope so!

Gypsy... How goes the attempts to be Cajun free??? I'm thinking, by looking at your choice of music lately, that someone is a little twitterpated. :-) Sounds like things at the Inn are going well, I'm so glad you've found something you enjoy doing and I know you're awesome at it! Loved the pic you sent me with the new coral lipstick, absolutely fabulous! So, what's on your horizon for the holiday, will you have some time off? I hope so, it's always nice to get a few days just to relax and do nothing. I was thinking about you the other day, while looking at pictures, are still doing your photography? I hope so, you really have such a beautiful eye.

Life at the C's is hectic as usual, like we all seem to be lately, but things are good. We got to spend some time with the Kiddo's recently, had a really nice family dinner. I went all out and made a special Italian meal. Osso Buco with Baked Mushroom Risotto, and for dessert, Mascarpone Mousse with Balsamic Strawberries and a delicious Italian red wine with dinner, and Port with dessert. It was delicious! I'm back into trying a different new wine once a month, I've forgotten how much fun that can be. We've gotten into the same old routines and nice to break out a little and do something different. Hence the Italian fare, I'm also trying to cook some new things and advance my culinary skills, trust me, they need it! I don't know about you guys, but I find myself making the same thing every week and gets boring. So, send me some recipes of different things you've tried! Did I tell you I've recently applied for job as a Travel Consultant? Had to go through all these interviews and testing, but passed everything. They want to hire me, but because we have the trip planned in June they want to wait until after we return so that it doesn't interfere with the training so, another vocation. I think I would really enjoy working in the travel industry, plus the perks are really good! I'll keep you posted. Can I just say, I really want and Hermes bag, but how ridiculous is it that they cost anywhere from $6,000 t0 $66,000! Good grief, that's a house! Can you say, knockoff??? I really like the look of them, but even if I had $6,000 to blow on a handbag, there is just no way! It's crazy that just because something has a designer name it costs a fortune! I think you can be just as fabulous shopping at Thrift Town! I've found some amazing things there! Wish they had one here! I definitely will be making a visit when we come home. All of our Kiddo's are doing good... B&S are settling into married life and seem really happy. They just got a miniature long haired Chihuahua named GiGi, she came to dinner too. She's so adorable, I wanted to put her in my pocket and keep her. :-) A&C are good, just talked to them, staying busy and looking forward to a break over the holiday. They're planning their trip here for next October. It will so nice to have all our Kiddos on the same continent at one time! B&JL are doing good, still no closer to a proposal yet. B just got a new job working for a mine up north, he'll be doing scaffolding, the pay is really good, but worry about him. Seems like both of our Boy's enjoy the dangerous work. :-( Whatcha gonna do? When they get old enough to make their own choices, you just have to step aside and pray a lot! Well, my Girlies, that's pretty much the jest of life down under at the moment. I sure hope these next 5 months fly by, can't wait to see you both and all of the Family. Give everybody our love and know that my thoughts and prayers are always with each of you.

Love you so much!

TOWFL

"What in the heck am I doing here? " A question I am asking myself alot lately.

Hello my girlies! I am finally back! Wow! Has it been so long? Where is time going?
And as I mentioned in the title - " What the heck am I doing here?" This is a question I have been asking myself so much lately concerning my business. Do you both ever feel like you are working and working and working without alot to show for it and in the process of it all you miss out on the everyday things like sunrises and sunsets ( Most days I am out before one and still in after the other ) and just being able to sit and do nothing and think about nothing and just enjoy a cup of coffee from start to finish without it going cold over and over? I am so sure you both can relate at one time or another. This has been fun at times, rewarding at times, and a huge blessing at times, but it is just soooo hard. I think that I am just not up to the demands of it sometimes. Such as this past weekend.......
O.K...Blondie, you so know the person who hired me for this job....think about the initials...CZ....library...intimidation....rudeness....not one of our favorites...to put it in other words...we would have rather plowed the south 40 that gotten this icy uppity stare...LOL....but, as what happens with most people like this that used to intimidate us, they mellow with age and actually turn out to be pretty nice in the older years...LOL...She actually hugged me! Imagine that?
It was her daughter's second marriage and supposed to be a "small quiet affair at a condo in Perdido Key...about 40 guests at the most....Wellllll....that turned to 55 three days before and actually turned into 80 - 100!!!It was just Ringo and I and we ran our butts off!...and then I was asked to pour wine from the bar the night before which left Ringo dealing with the buffet alone....Help!!!!! It was a beautiful lounge overlooking the gulf that had a baby grand piano and a bar and was decorated amazingly! The wedding took place one floor down in an atrium that you could look down on from the lounge, so the guests could hear everything we said and likewise...LOL...well, during the wedding I dropped a glass lid to a chafer on the marble floor and it shattered to a million pieces just moments before the wedding was over! I scrambled to find a broom and we got it cleaned up just in the nick of time..I am so sure that they heard my Margaret yip in the middle of the vows LOL...the wedding was supposed to begin at two and end about 2:30 - 3:00...it was over @ 2:15!!!! And people were literally scrambling to get up the elevator to get to the beer ( which at this fancy little affair, they drug up in ice chests and was in cans rather than bottles LOL and wine! I didn't even have time to apply fresh lipstick or get pictures of anything! LOL Well, all of these snooty girls and guys started coming up the the bar and asking for wine that I couldn't even pronounce...LOL...Pino what? Chardo Who? The only ones I was familiar with was moscato, merlot, and there was amazingly a bottle of arbour mist thrown in the mishmosh of what they had purchased...LOL LOL..( That actually went home to live with me in exchange for all of the BS indured at the bar, such as a very drunk 65 or so year old man that kept asking if I worked there and winking at me..LOL....And then you had your older socialites, many of whom we remember well that came in the library way back when ( you would have remembered them all Blondie) coming up and asking do you have asdfghj&^%$#@ wine? LOL...so, they simply settled with "no mam, I have melot, moscato, california white, chardonay, sweet red." And of course I got a drawn out Bay Minette-style "oooooooohhhhhh." Well, give me merlot, I suppose." Geez!!!!! I didn't buy this cheap selection! LOL To make it worse, I cannot uncork a bottle to save my life! I always wind up with my cork stuck down in the bottle and cork shavings in the wine when I finally get it out, so I had to keep running to the kitchen to get my Ringo to uncork for me...Needless to say, he was really crabby for having to deal with replenishing the buffet alone and didn't much like stopping to uncork for me...LOL.
So, I believe I need using a corkscrew lessons as well as a crash course in wine...LOL The funny thing is, most of the people from the past that used to intimidate me so just mildly irritated me and I realized that they were no better than anyone else and even though they would like people to think they are all social and well versed, many of them butchered these wine names worse than me and I just wanted to crack up laughing every time I had one of them ask for Pinot Noir and pronounced it something like " Penis Eleanor" or Muscato like " Moosekatoe" and may as well have said mousekateer..LOL...LOL. It was definitely an evening I will never forget! There was not a bit of food left over and just enough to pack up a picnic basket for the bride and groom...We finished cleaning, took out 12 large bags of trash, most of which were empty beer cans..lol..and left them all watching the LSU game on the big screen TV that rose up out of the wall.they were fascinated with that little gadget and kept letting it up and down..LOL..I almost dropped a wine glass when one of them yelled a " Who DAT???" ...who in the world watches a football game during a wedding reception???!!! ( They also were given 10 cases of beer for a wedding present that the Bride's mother was scandalized over that someone put on top of the Baby Grand Piano and she ran frantically to me and asked for something large enough to cover it up with.
All I had was a white silk tablecloth...She covered it nicely with that stomping and fuming the whole time. LOL As with my earlier experience with the Certain Country Club in the woods of our hometown, LOL...You just can't take the redneck out of some people. There are two types...good old country redneck, and uppity redneck...I call them the " red carpet rednecks " LOL LOL LOL
...... And then, I got back up at 4 yesterday morning and had a huge stacked cake and a 1/2 sheet birthday cake due out by 10, as well as cleaning up and putting away from the night before....when I finally got home yesterday, I fell into bed and mindlessly watched episodes of Sex In The City and slept all afternoon. Ringo told me that we both seem to be walking around like Zombies lately with our arms stuck out in front of us- me saying make more cakes...need more icing...him saying more green beans, more potatoes, more meat...LOL...LOL...He is working 12 - 14 hours a day, six days a week on " Salary" that breaks down to be way less than minimum wage per hour and it's really taking it's toll on him. I am worried about how hard he is working and still trying to help me in our business. Maybe it will get better soon. Probably not. Catering is just hard. And it's one of the most
underestimated, thankless, taken for granted jobs that there are. People truly don't realize what is involved and most of the time try to cheap you down on the menu, not realizing that it's not really about the cost of the food, it's the service and work involved. Most of the time you wind up doing many things that your weren't paid to do just to make sure everything goes off smoothly. People just take for granted that they can magically show up and everything will be done, some of which they were supposed to take care of and didn't and of course you don't get paid for it, nor do you get paid for the extra 50 people that showed up that you magically had enough food for. ( I am so revising my contract this week!!! ) And then there are those who are three feet from a garbage can but leave a table full of food, plates, cups, napkins and beer cans and wine glasses and hold up their hand from across the room and expect you to come clear it away for them and when you do, ask you to bring them more beer...and in your head you are having an Ally McBeal moment and telling them, " I am not an FN waitress buddy! Get it yourself! " and biting your tongue, you say, " Sir, the ice chests are by the bar. It is self-serve so you may choose which type you would like. " They glare at you and get up and get it themselves mumbling!
And another question....who in the hell came up with monogrammed beer koozies?!!!!!
Totally redneck!!!!! I wish weddings would just go back to sweet, gentle afternoon affairs with punch, cake, nuts and mints and be classy and elegant and not a drunken episode of Roseanne meets Dynasty! LOL
Geez!!!!! I think I just climbed up on my soapbox again! LOL...I will step down now and go grab another cup of coffee and get a shower and get ready to go in and make 100 red velvet cake balls and wish you both a happy Monday. I so wish you both could be at the shop with me today to drink coffee and discuss these things...LOL...It would be so much fun! And I think it would so totally make me feel better to have both your perspectives and empathy on how to deal with these catering jobs that kick my fanny!
I love you both so much! Thank you for reading my rant! Please type a rant of your own and I will read it with gladness. :)
Candy Girl ( Who is thinking of changing her name )