wear your seat belt

I spent most of the day at home today...caught up on laundry, cleaning, email, etc.  I was working on my FB page for Appassionata Strings when I heard a crash and this happened.

The truck hit my neighbor's PARKED car after coming around a 90 degree turn.  You can't tell from the pic but their side bumper is falling off and corner is dented in by the broken taillight.  The best part is the story the young male driver told my neighbor...  He was really low on gas - so he didn't slow down enough on the turn- which caused his passenger -who was not wearing a seat belt- to fall into his lap so he couldn't turn the steering wheel and hit the car.  OMG!  Slow down and wear you seat belt!!!  I felt embarrassed for them as many neighbors stared at their stupidity.  The kid's parents showed up and I'm pretty sure I saw them reaming him out. 

On a different note, I went to my first Tastefully Simple party tonight.  It was good and definitely tasty!  For some reason, I did think it was more easy meals than dips, seasonings, desserts, and drinks.  Anyone else know of and like their products?

~Joy

Summer plans

I'm savoring every moment of summer so far...until my grad classes start next week!  It's been a great week already.  I'm already feeling rejuvenated and am excited for the things I will accomplish this summer.  This week I finished painting our loft (except the trim), began teaching some private string lessons through my school district, and enjoyed rich times with friends and my husband.  Sometimes you just have to grab a Victory growler, sit out on the porch and enjoy each others company.  :)

The loft.  I like how the colors turned out. 
Behr Paint: "Bleached Denim" and "Cornerstone".

So, what do I plan to do this summer?
1. Two grad classes at WCU which will get me closer to getting my Master's.  I will also reach 24 credits so I can apply for my level II teaching certificate.
2.  Paint and re-do floors in 2 bedrooms and get them organized.
3.  Gig/play weddings with Appassionata Strings and get a new website up.
4.  Spend a week at the beach.
5.  Teach private string lessons (about 14 students).
6.  Read for pleasure.
7.  Plan meals, cook at home more.

I just love getting things done and reaching goals.  But I also need to rest in the Lord and I am learning to just be in His presence.  God is so good and I have SO much to be thankful for! 


~Joy

Retractable Clothesline

I am so excited to finally have my clothesline up!  I had been wanting one since last summer but was too focused on painting and inside projects.  This year, as the weather got hot, I had to get it.  I had a little bit of trouble finding a retractable one though.  First, Home Depot told me they didn't sell them.  So I went to Lowe's.  I tried to find them on my own but it turns out they are not in the section of clothesline and rope but in the laundry section....but they were out of stock!  Ugh!  I thought about ordering it online but just went back in a few days when they restocked.  (Since then, Sean said he saw them at Home Depot also.)

Why retractable?  Our yard is small and I planned on running it from the house to the pole which cuts diagonally across the yeard so I didn't want it there constantly. 

First we had to tackle this thing:

 Ah, much better!

One other snag we ran in to... we had trouble getting a screw into the medal pole so we got a hose clamp (took a while to figure out what that was called!) with a quick link for hooking the line. 

Can't wait to use it!

New Blog

I've recently gotten into reading blogs consistently.  I have an RSS feed app on my iPhone which makes it super easy to stay up to date on all my friends' blogs.  The more I read, the more often I have the urge to blog myself.  So, here's my first entry!  We'll see where this goes...