Just another Weekend in the Mountains

One of my besties Brenda and her husband Mario from Atlanta spent the weekend with us here in Blue Ridge, GA.  Their pup Loddy also stayed with us, she was a perfect doggy house guest. 

Brenda joined my monthly bunco group on Friday night for a potluck dinner, a few rounds of bunco, some laughs, and of course lots of wine and chocolate.  Mario and my sweetie Chuck went into town for dinner and a few adult beverages of their own at Treo.

On Saturday Brenda and I worked most of the day in my Metal Clay studio, creating jewelry. We used Fast Fire Bronze; I did not like it much. I think I will stay with the Goldie Bronze brand for future classes.

Saturday night we went to a new restaurant "The Flying Trout" in Blairsville, a town about 11 miles from Blue Ridge.  The food was very good, but the service was awful.  It seemed they were understaffed for the large crowd people. The restaurant was previously a biker bar and some of the regulars from the past were still fixtures at the bar. It was a fun mix of people: aging bikers, city folks up for the weekend, lake people, and locals like us.  We will definitely give it another try in the near future.

Today (Sunday) Brenda and Mario made breakfast for us and we finished up the Metal Clay projects. Our friends headed back to ATL and our cats came out from hiding. I think Buddy and Ghost were ready to get the house back from the the furry invader Loddy the dog.

It was a great weekend with friends!

Cheers!

Lori in Blue Ridge, GA

What's Happening!

I'm following the example of one of my favorite bloggers, Joyce at: from this side of the pond...she caught us up on her happenings in one blog post with twenty small updates.

 I haven't blogged in a very long time. I was surprised to find the last time I blogged was in February!  Much longer than I thought so now I'm going to squeeze several months into a catch-up post. 

I have a lot of updates to share with you...so here we go....I promise to keep it less than twenty. :)

Dad's Place in Ft. Myers

1.)  My Sweetie and I took a road trip to Ft Myers, FL to visit my Dad and Stepmom in March. They have a new home on the Orange River with amazing views and a fun community spirit. It's always a great time visiting Dad.

Sherree and Ed

2.)  While in Florida I spent some time with my good (since grade school) friend Sherree. Isn't it amazing how quickly friends can reconnect and get right back on the same page in the relationship. We plan to visit more often. She is living in the beach community of Venice, FL...Fun!

Key West

3.)  We took the high speed ferry to Key West from Ft. Myers, I highly recommend the ferry, it was so easy and fast. Key West is one of my very favorite places to unwind and toast the beautiful sunset. We stayed several days and spent time with my good friend Pam who lives on the Island.

Gracie The Duck

4.)  Camping has been a big part of the last several months. We spent our last night in our "Glamping" tent. I was so sad   My arthritis has gotten to the point that I just can't handle the cold/wet weather and my Sweetie had to do all the set-up/pack-up etc.; I just couldn't do it anymore. The good news is that we purchased a "Glamping Trailer" on the way home....so excited for our new adventures in "Gracie The Duck"... Florida Friends and Family...we should be down more often!

James Island County Camping

5.)  Since buying the new Trailer we have been camping many places in the southeast. I loved camping outside of Charleston on James Island the best.

6.)  The big news is a new creative business that I'm involved with - "Paint the Town Blue". I will be teaching jewelry classes in the studio there several times a month. There will also be a retail store attached to the studio that will carry my handmade jewelry. This is a very exciting opportunity for me.

7.)  In June I took another Metal Clay class with Pam East, a world class jewelry artist. I love this process and have greatly improved my skills.  I think I've moved past beginner.  I will feature my Metal Clay Jewelry at the new Shoppe.

8.)  Loving my girlfriends here in Blue Ridge! We dine out together, have a Book Club, attend bunco together, go antiquing, and there is usually wine involved...Cheers!

Happy 4th of July!

Lori in Blue Ridge