The Mom and Dad left on a quicky trip to Raleigh, NC to pick up a Gehl skid steer. This replaces the former Gehl we had that got a hole knocked through the engine and the Bobcat that works tempermentally. This family is really die hard Gehl people, so the Bobcat never did get the affection it could've had.
We thought it was strange how Maria flanked us before we left and we kept getting these, "Aren't you ready to leave yet??????" comments from the children. It was plain they were in a hurry to get us out of the way, though we weren't too concerned. This is fairly normal and generally if they're up to something, it's something good!
Anyhow, our 10 hour drive down and our 10 something hour drive home went uneventfully and we had a good time. Traveling without the children grants Mom and Dad an oppurtunity to take side roads and visit out of the way places that the children would only complain about. Whoever said romantic get-a-ways had to be candlelight and roses? People who say that have no idea how much fun it can be pulling heavy equipment over the mountains in an old farm truck! LOL.
We stopped at a most unusual antique/variety/food store along the way out of Mt. Airy, NC. All the foodstuffs--like moonshine jam and a crockpot full of boiling peanuts complete with a help-yourself-ladle lying nearby-- were outside under a roofed porch.
The enclosed part of the store housed many different varieties of firecrackers, many confederate flags and several books giving the southern viewpoint of the Civil War.
They had hams and bacons sugar curing in the open. We've done it ourselves before, but we've never seen anything quite like this before! It was so worth stopping to see!
On the way home, we got the occassional text or phone call from the children telling us this or that and asking when we'd be getting home.
We pulled in the drive last night around 10:30. Right away we noticed a car in the drive and we guessed it was friend Phillip's. It was.
Walking to the house, I notice the new porch steps have arrived! Yeah!! I also noticed the curtain on the door was gone, so I figured the girls were spring cleaning.
Wrong.
When I opened the door I was greeted with a most warmly painted kitchen!!!! YEAH!!! I am told as the taillights of our truck left the drive on Thursday, they sprung into action patching the walls and prepping for painting. This, I must say, was a job that was daunting even to me the Mom. This answers the question about why Maria was suddenly chatting with me about which walls of the house still needed the stainkiller so we could transistion into latex paint.
I don't know how many trips to the local hardware store for paint they got Blake to take them on and they're still being vague about the amount of money they put on the account there..... Somewhere along the way, they recruited the help of friends Crystal and Phillip.
To think that not only did they spend two grueling days patching and painting, running the farm, watching over the youngsters, but they also ordered pizza and had the table all ready for our return! What a joy it was to come back home to a well managed farm and family and their guests!! Way to go, Guys and Girls!!
After such a welcome, I rounded the corner and what did I find? They moved most of our bedroom furniture into the living room and had mostly finished with the painting of our bedroom, too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Talk about a load lifted from Mom's shoulder's....Mom, who doesn't even really like chosing colors. LOL.
Blake plans to go to Kidron Auction today.
