Patrick's New Pad

Happy birthday, Patrick!

For your birthday weekend, you are entitled to brunch and help moving!

Patrick and Shelby are moving from their townhouse to a house. They had to give three months notice at their current lease (bleh). Nana and Pop had planned to stop by for Patrick's birthday on their way back from setting up Jama's medications. Shane and I planned to drive up and visit everyone, too, so it was a good time to come together as a family and do work, son!

Unfortunately for Shane, he picked up a cold on Thursday. Aunt Dot has been recovering from a rough bout with pneumonia, so he had to stay home with Carrie. 

It made things easier for the moving crew, though. Nana was free to help Shelby with the sorting and packing while Patrick, Pop, and I did the lifting.

Patrick and Pop went to pick up the U-Haul. The gas station people recognized Patty and gave him a free trolley rental (Staunton's a small town). He drove it home and we went to work.

I didn't take many pictures, because we were on the move. Pop occasionally took a rest break and tried to count all of the times he's helped with moving in his life but it was a chasing of the wind.

Patrick was happy for the help. Moving is a lot of work.

I like parts of moving. The moving large items is a spatial game and purposeful exercise.

Patrick was laid back about the whole affair and would have been okay making multiple trips. Pop and I didn't want to stop until we had crammed the truck completely full. Shelby and Patrick will have to go back for cats, small items, and cleaning but we got all the big ticket items in.

We caravaned to the new house. Patrick in the truck, Dad in the Kia trying to figure out the weird stick shift with reverse on the left, and me in my Volvo.

The new house was only two miles down the road. Patrick turned up a steep hill and there was a moment I wondered what we'd find when we opened up the truck!

The weather was perfect for moving. It was slightly too cool for standing still.

Most of the move was straightforward. There were a few items we had to puzzle out a solution or two for. Like this chest of drawers.

It really didn't want to turn into the final door on the left!

The free trolley was instrumental in bringing in the washer and the dryer. Pop stayed to do the skilled work while Patrick and I kept ferrying things in.

We thought we were really clever with the washing machine. We brought it out of Patrick's apartment and tipped it over to drain out a chunk of the water. We would have been wise to check inside it. There was a load of wet clothes that added extra weight to the endeavor. We all laughed when we found out.

There was one exciting moment. Shelby called out, because Patrick's car was sliding out of the driveway. It was at a glacial pace (Thankfully), but they're going to have to be aware of the gravel and the grade from here on out.

Shelby and Nana worked in the house and on the cars. I spent most of my time on the truck, so I didn't get many pictures of them in action.

We met for brunch at 10:30 AM and finished moving around 3:15 PM. Or at least, Nana, Pop, and I finished. Shelby and Patrick had a lot of moving left to do to make their house comfortable to sleep in!

It was looking good, though. The floor plan was very similar to Igor's house growing up. There was a split level entry and big common rooms off to the right upstairs and down. 

Igor's house didn't have a deluxe cat tree, though!

It seems like a good spot. I hope Patrick and Shelby love living in their new home!

It was a windy drive home, but all the moving helped warm me up for the next style of moving that awaited me at the barn.

Anyway, love ya Patrick and Shelby! Until next time!

The Year is Done. The Year has Begun.

Monday morning, we all drove out to Patrick and Shelby's. By 'we all,' I mean Kathleen, Stu, Cole, Evelyn, Tenley, Carrie, Shane, and I.

That's a lot of people in a small apartment! The SC bunch stopped by on their way home for a fun break.

Shane asked straightaway about Minecraft. We don't even own the game and he's addicted!

It kept him and Cole busy while everyone else talked.

Wave one left after a couple of hours.

Wave two stayed long enough for Gigi to think it was safe to come downstairs.

We spent a little over two hours in Staunton before dropping by a CFA on the way out (If it was public, I'd buy stock in the company).

The rest of our New Year's Eve was filled with rest and recuperation. We did laundry and cleaned up some after slacking off to adventure.

Shane asked me to wake him up at midnight (after I rejected allowing him to stay up). I took a break from folding clean clothes to say "Happy New Year's," but he didn't remember the next morning (I didn't even try to wake Carrie!).

New Year's Day started off quiet. Carrie was well rested enough to try an escape room in a box with me! We escaped the Abandoned Cabin.

Shane was really eager to be a superstar with his recorder. "You know this will take a lot of practice and patience to get good with, right?" I prefaced things.

One look at his face showed Shane didn't understand. He got frustrated fairly quickly, but kept at it for a few minutes with lots of encouragement and an audience from next door.

Then there was bike riding. Shane's wheels were flat, so he borrowed Will's pump. He got angry and claimed the bike was defective when Henry could make a hairpin turn he could not.

I pointed out Henry rides every day and Shane was out of practice, but that made too much sense. I offered to ride the bike to prove it could handle the turn, but that was out of line, as well.

I eventually got the bike and discovered three things. First, Shane only pumped up the back tire. Second, the turn was possible with an inflated tire. Third, I had all sorts of sore muscles from riding that tiny bike in spots I didn't think I was that out of shape!

We played outside for hours with Henry and Sam.

I loved it when Shane got creative with the chalk underneath the boys.

Shane would have been a fantastic older brother.

We didn't see Raheem, though. He dropped by when Carrie and I had just put Shane on the computer so that we could play our game. I told him we'd be out in a couple of hours, but he moved on.

Happy New Year everyone!

Harry Potter Town

Once a year, Harry Potter fans flock to Staunton, VA. Shane and I decided to investigate. We parked at Patrick's and then we all walked the half-mile into downtown.

Shane enjoyed walking on every wall we came across.

When we arrived downtown, the streets were blocked off. The smell of popcorn and food trucks wafted through the air, heavenly.

Patrick and I wanted to poke around before we bought anything. I wanted to get Shane to pose for a picture with a Hagrid cosplayer in platform shoes, but instead he found....

...a dragon to climb on.

Truth be told, I'm not sure it was meant to be climbed on. There were a ton of other kids up there first and a cop walked by and said nothing. I could see some gaps in the structure where it was assembled, though...

...so we moved on to the train station.

Sadly, there were no trains. There were some decorations, but the event seemed mainly about local vendors and fans dressing up.

Shane wanted to explore the bridge that went over the tracks.

Staunton's a quirky town. I like the odd design and the hills.

Several old rail cars had been transformed into a quilt shop, a restaurant, and something else.

There was a neighborhood on the hill that overlooked downtown. It would be neat  to live on a house on a hill where a short walk over a bridge would drop you downtown.

Shane managed to find a loose brick on our way back into town. No surprise was hidden inside.

Staunton is normally a sleepy town. Patrick was amazed at all the people. He's seen it before, but not ever there. We passed numerous closed and abandoned buildings as we walked around. The streets were crowded when we got back into the thick of it.

We didn't stop anywhere, because the lines all looked far longer than we'd want to deal with. Shane wouldn't have stood still either.

We ducked down a side-alley on our way out. There was a door for what looked to be an apartment next to a restaurant. Again, I really wonder what it would be like to live in that type of setting. Shane wondered where the water flowed through the grates.

Patrick half-tried to convince him that when people flushed it came out the pipes on the side of another building.

We walked around in the sun and the heat for at least an hour, maybe two. Patrick bought some water bottles and I bought some loaded fries to split as a snack. Our wallets escaped mostly unscathed. Shane wanted to climb up on all the walls on the way home.

Shane was mad when I made him hop down to walk normal later on down the road. Patrick handed him a screw. The "present" distracted him long enough for us to continue on (but then he started trying to use the screw on every telephone pole that dotted our path!).

It was tree-climbing time when we made it back to Patrick's.

Patrick and Shelby settled in for dinner when Shane and I hit the road.

Staunton Again

Nana, Pop, Stu, and Crew drove through Staunton on their way back to SC. I never knew I was related to a local celebrity.

But I digress. Staunton is a 45 minute jaunt for Shane and I, so we trotted over for family time. Shane should know by now: Family is important.

Family is fun to play around with, too. I feel like this picture is highly caption-able.

Patrick and Shelby took everyone to a local breakfast restaurant named Kathy's. Shane and Cole went from elation to anger. They couldn't agree except to disagree. They must have changed seats at least three times (the first one was because the dolls/mannequins "scared" Shane).

The non-parents were highly amused (or trying to hide their embarrassment of all the squabbles behind the smiles).

The grandparents were genuinely amused. Been there, done that, your turn! (It's good to be retired).

Things got a lot calmer when bacon pancakes and chicken tenders were served.

Shane was a snert at the end. He asked for apples, he got apples, and then he decided he didn't want apples. They were baked and sprinkled with cinnamon.

Obviously, it was a trap. They must have been poison.

Shane cried and fussed when I made him take a small bite. The apples passed inspection.

I am proud I was able to get him to at least try them. The requirement is one good bite with an open mind, or two with a closed one and whiny voice. After that, Shane's free to eat or not eat as he chooses.

The restaurant was much quieter once we headed out. Stu started the exodus when he snuck out and paid the bill (Thanks, Stu!).

Our next stop was Gypsy Hill Park. Patrick and Shelby showed it to Shane on our last visit. Shane really wanted to show Cole all the waterfalls.

Everyone else wanted to see the baby ducks.

Do you think the kids would have cried if a fish ate one?

By the way: This is another example of why I'm not normally in the pictures. I'm too busy trying to get my own. Phonetography is a way to amuse/occupy myself when I'm not a part of the action.

This is the shot I ended up with.

I got a better one when I continued around the corner.

Shane did get to see the waterfalls with Cole. If anything, we bounced back and forth between waterfalls and ducks.

Nana wanted to go to the playground, but the kids were rooted.

Patrick saved Shane's barking dog from the lost and found.

Curses.

Some others sensed the pose opportunity and joined him.

The boys threw leaves in the water and watched them follow the current.

And the back to ducks.

And then back to waterfalls.

Shane and I separated to see that last waterfall. It was the only way to get him to wander to the bathroom before our return trip. The rest of the family waited for us at the cars.

As usual, Shane was bummed to say good-bye. I employed my usual trick. "Hey, what's that over there?!"

This time it was a library!

Can you guess what kind of books Shane wanted to look for?

I was happy that there were plenty of other toys to distract him with. I got to sit and enjoy the air conditioning.

We pulled over at a scenic overlook on the way home.

I've wanted to stop for a while. Today was the day.

We dropped by Crozet to meet Mommy next.

She needed a midday caffeine to finish her work day strong.

We do what we can!

I heard the trip back to SC was peaceful after Staunton.

Nana posted some other pictures, as well.

These were the "creepy" decorations.

Evelyn wasn't afraid. I think she tried to touch them all.

Here's a picture of me prior to french toast.

Indy guarded the car.

Stu and Evelyn visited her. Frequently. Sometimes Evelyn morphed into a fussing Cole. Kids keep you busy.