K Laundromat

When I moved out on my own for the very first time, I was fortunate enough to have friends and family willing to donate their used, sometimes out-dated, home goods to my great endeavor.  My Gran and Pappy were able to give me a fairly new but used washer and a very old but capable Whirlpool dryer.  That was in 2005 or 2006.  That washer and dryer have treated me very well considering their age and the fact that I have moved them from city to city and house to house numerous times.  Exactly 4 times, since my ownership.  After this last move, the Whirlpool seems to be begging me to put it out of its misery.  I can't blame it though, it's had a good long life and it's probably just plum tuckered out.  Seriously, if I had to blow out high heat and toss around wet clothes for a living I would be down to a size 0 with bulging muscles and leathery skin....and a possible mustache. All of that to say, that I have been going to the laundromat to dry (sometimes wash & dry) mis ropas sucias.  I was a little uncertain at first about it because somewhere along my life I have conjured up an image of laundromats as dirty, sketchy, coin-change-only places of business.  Though the outside of the building could hold that reputation, the inside speaks of a different way of doing laundry!  The K Laundromat in Clifton Heights is the freaking bomb!!  No lie.  I have dreams about doing my laundry on the weekends at this place!  Big screen TV's, clean, high-powered washers & dryers, snack machines with snacks AND trial size laundry products!  Oh, and one of my favorite things are their portable clothes basket/racks.  I know I sound mentally insane, but I'm telling you, this place is pure joy for me.  The lady that holds this place together is a tiny Chinese woman named Jean. She loves Opra and boiled peanuts.  She's the queen of everything laundry and I can only hope to attain such laundry savvy-ness one day.  Ok, so enough chattering, here's the evidence:

Walls and walls of high-powered, fast-drying machines!

I dried 4 loads of laundry in 1 hour.

You can't beat that!

Yes, wash 4 loads for $3.55 and dry them ALL for FREE!!!

(Sorry I tried rotating the pic, no luck)

Arrived packed to the brim with dirty clothes.  Left filled to the top with clean, neatly folded clothes.

A Laundry Diva's best friend:
Dryer Sheets & a Good Book (Dr. Zhivago, not sure it if makes the cut of a good book, but I am still fighting through it, so I will let you know)

I loved watching all of the laundry spinning around in the dryers.  Especially when there were colorful beach towels tumbling around...it was kind of pretty!

Meet the Queen Mother herself:  Ms. Jean.  She works there pretty much everyday and she is always so helpful when I have dumb questions about how much detergent or how to wash pillows (p.s. they have HUGE dryers to dry your pillows, mattress pads, quilts, etc.  You could fit a classroom of small children in one of those!).  I always hated boiled peanuts, but she insisted that I try them.  So, I caved and gave it a shot.  They aren't half bad.

The blue thing is the corner is a folding table.   Awesome.  I wish I had one at my house.  It makes folding things semi-enjoyable.

I will be posting very soon about several upcoming events : Carnival in Clifton (a real, live, Lake Winnepasaukah in my backyard), Jon & Casey's Wedding, Caitlin & Chase's Wedding, Vegetable & Strawberry Harvest, & The Spectacular 4th of July event that conveniently happens in our backyard!

Keep Posted!

The Rave

The Philadelphia Countryside

Philadelphia countryside....it may sound like an oxymoron, but believe me, it's out there.  After we returned to Philly from having Christmas with the family in Georgia, Dustin and I were craving some serious QT with mother nature.  It's easy to forget the convenient beauty and peacefulness that accompanies being surrounded by rolling mountains, thick, fragrant forests, and smooth, cool lakes...especially amidst the sounds of honking horns, neighborhood chatter, and the lives of hundreds of human beings struggling through life, all on one block.  Back to the point.  Lucky for us a friend had happened to mention the whereabouts of a small state park, conveniently located close to our home.  Dustin had just gotten a new dutch oven for Christmas too, so of course he was eager for an opportunity to try it out.  We had all the ingredients for a fun filled outdoor experience: the itch to be one with Mother Nature, a new dutch oven with an insane recipe for heavenly orange biscuits (courtesy of Nathan and Danna Vaughn) , and a few good folks...me and the hubby and Sandy of course!  Trust me, your outdoor experience isn't complete without the Sandman!  It ended up being pretty cold, but the biscuits turned out great and we wandered upon some pretty cool things.  P.S. Who knew that cooking with a dutch oven required so much attention and expertise!

Check these biscuits out! YUM!

This is pre-Orange Lovin: Dustin's favorite part (and probably the fav of every sugar-toothed Tommey out there)!

The Secret to Excellent Dutch Oven Cookery.....Coal Distribution!

Post Cooking....Orange, Sugary, Heaven-on-Earth

The Gang:

First Blog Anxiety

Being a newbie, not only to the Philadelphia area but also to the bustling life of a big city, has opened my eyes...mind...life...to the reality of so many different things! Eight months ago, I was just a small town, southern belle, dreaming of a simple life with my husband and lots of land, kids, and animals. You know, growing old together while watching the sun set behind the mountains from our front porch rocking chairs...sigh. Then life happened.  Like a whirl-wind that blows out of no where and leaves just as quickly as it came, so it was with our lives in Georgia.  And that sly summer wind just happened to carry us 800 miles from all we've ever known, to a city larger than we've ever known, to a pace of life that's faster than we've ever known.  Talk about the shock of a new experience. But after a finding a job and settling into a new routine, things began to move a little closer to normal. Whew!

Amidst the shock of the newness and a degree of information/sensory overload  I have felt pretty disconnected from all of friends and family back in the South.  So, this blog is mostly for my friends and family who aren't in Philly, to help them feel connected to my life through picture sharing and story telling. And for myself, to help me sort through all the of the experiences and things that I see and do and to feel as though my family isn't quite so far away. I am sure that most of my posts will be positive, however, in the event that I really feel like railing my boss at work (or not) or the neighborhood animals that keep stealing my strawberries, please just bear with me...don't call PETA when I threaten to buy a BB gun to protect my crops.  I am sure the vengeance will subside (eventually).

That being said, I have been trying really hard to come up with something really cool to write my first blog about....but after weeks and weeks of deliberation I still have nothing! I have been trying to keep photographic records of all the things I do and see north of the Mason-Dixon line and so far I have a lot photos to share...some cool, some not as cool.  I have come to the conclusion that regardless of whether or not I have anything profound to say, it would be a really cool to just barf a post of photos.  I mean, who doesn't prefer picture books over text books. Here goes nothing!......

Philly Family

This is the gang....we've been together for 2 years now, (we miss you Brent, Andy, & Renee!)  and boy! the things we have learned about each other and ourselves.  I love these guys!

The Biggest Blizzard Ever!!

This was definitely the most snow I've ever seen (and I think it was the most snow that anybody up here has seen over the course of the winter!)

Family Visits!

So far my mom, sister and mamaw were the first to come visit in less than a month after I moved up here.  My dad came in mid-March right after the blizzards hit.  We had a lot of fun exploring the city and eating way too many cheese steaks!  I love them!...my family of course, then cheese steaks!

Well that's enough for one blog...I know I will have more to post soon!