Lu Being Silly
Me and my girl!
Nan and the DM's. This is serious business, right Nan?
SO, it looks like I haven't written in a few weeks. A LOT has happened!
I started an interview process with a company in Philadelphia in early April. I went through two phone screenings and flew in for an interview on April 11. On April 13 I was offered a job! Hoorray! I am moving back to Philly.
These last few weeks have been a whirlwind. I gave my two weeks notice on Monday the 17th and have been busy wrapping things up here at work and cleaning up the house to get it ready to sell. Cleaned up and ready to sell translates to - laying 5,000 square feet of sod to fix an area that got torn up while the builder was putting in a french drain AND adding sod to the back of the property to keep it from washing away, pressure washing the front siding, windows, and deck, putting a new coat of white paint on the railings, and just generally finding homes for the random stuff that tends to collect places like on the countertops. It's a brand new house, yeah, but I feel like putting out a few hours work and a few hundred will help keep my sale price close to asking. That would be great.
Things I will miss about the south - ok, I admit it, I like the weather. I don't like being cold and have started getting used to 80 and 90 degree days in April. It feels like summer. I guess by mid-August I would be praying for the heat to break, but right now it's nice. I'll also miss the boiled peanuts. You'd never find them up north and they do take some getting used to, but I like them. Pretty tasty!
Things I could do without - contractors and laborers. It typically takes several phone calls to get someone to come out. And if the job isn't done or there is something that needs to be fixed it takes double the amount of calls to get them to come back! Egads!
Interesting things... The animals are cool. I have seen little green lizards hanging out on my porch and some more colorful lizards - blues and browns and greens - when hiking in the parks here.
Lu and I also saw a strange red and black furry bug doing laps on a picnic table. We found out later that the bug is called a red velvet ant. This is not an ant at all, but a stinging insect like a wasp! The females are wingless and prey on ground dwelling bumble bees. They burrow into a bumble bee nest and deposit eggs there and the immature velvet ant eat the bee's larva! Ick!
During our adventures Lucia and I also tripped across a large snake sunning himself on a path in the woods (Lu insists it was 30 feet long) and an owl!
More animals include herrons, hawks, vultures, mocking birds, frogs, water turtles, and more snakes large and tiny. Here is a pic of a southern ring snake. These are harmless snakes that eat small earthworms, slugs, frogs, anoles, geckos, skinks, snakes, and salamanders. I found one while I working in the yard and it was a tiny baby snake! Maybe 4 inches long.
And, well, me and food.. One of the guidebooks I have for South Carolina suggests Lizard's Thicket for down home southern cooking. Well, imagine things like hamburger steak and grits and collards and fried okra served up fast-food style. Most Yankees can't relate, but it's a pretty popular chain in these parts.
Fun words - how about curb buggy? That's a garbage can with wheels. And you'll sometimes hear a shopping cart referred to as a buggy.
Just 3 short days and I am back in the northeast. The drive up will be ten hours and I am bringing my cat. I am sure she won't be happy with the drive, but I can't wait to get back! More soon..
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