Since returning from our trip, my brain has been going 900 miles per hour. I had so many new ideas and goals and things I WANT to get done. I know me, I will throw myself into a project headlong and barrel until I run out of steam. Then I will wake up the day after the steam is gone and I will have 9 things started and nothing finished and a mess to deal with. So I have been making lists and trying to separate things into what needs to be done and when for which idea. Then things happen, like we killed our massive TV, bluray and possibly the Wii (it was plugged into the power strip but the plug was not plugged in the back of the Wii, it won't power back on, but since the Wii was not attached to anything we hope just the power cord transformer box was zapped) .
This was a surprisingly easily shrugged off event, all things considered. I was glad to get to move the living room around, though it is October and Jake and I usually spend the month huddled in front of the TV watching scary movies. That will be missed. But that TV was huge, since we got it (it was a freebie from someone who was upgrading) I had not been able to move the furniture around because I can't move it on my own and Matt HATES change, hates it.
I really did not like the whole 'worship the TV' arrangement of the seating, but the living room is 26 x 13 with 5 doors, a divider in the middle and a wood stove that is 4 x 4 jutting out 4 feet in front of the only window and a 20x30 AC return vent that can't be blocked. There's not a whole lot of variation in arrangements that would allow viewing of the screen much less try to arrange to talk to someone. Now at least that's not an issue. I moved the big papasan where the TV was, so it faces the two smaller ones. Chan took the futon for her lounge space. Now there's room for a real couch. If it ever makes my list. Right now there's just some space in there, which is also nice.
My very first house goal is in less than a month. I want to have the house all painted and the bathroom floor recovered and the bathroom in here finished out. Outside, we need to cut more wood for the bonfire and get that drying and we need to haul some junk.
With our new business idea, I have moved ahead with ordering a small batch of products to work with, made two reservations for next summer, one at a street market and one at a festival. I checked out several books on starting a small business and have been working on a business plan. Matt secured a website and various other accounts and I have made a couple new contacts who may be able to help plus sent out some feelers.
What business idea you ask? I will get into that more when there's something to talk about. It's an idea we bounced around with Jacki and Phil last week while visiting them in Cayman and they feel it's a good one and are excited to partner up. The trouble I am having is settling on what to work on developing, so we decided this winter, I would try as many things as I can and see what works out. So right now, the sky's the limit for ideas and I get new ones all the time. SO much to learn and try. SO many ideas.
In other news, I am waiting to hear back about the potential book. Nothing to report there, I can't do photos with no subject to shoot! I am not stressing about that at all, it will happen or it won't. The idea there was to team up with the author to take photos of the historical places he would be writing about. Finding photos from 'then' and putting them with a 'now' when possible. Some of my favorite things-research and travel and photography, it's a perfect gig if it works out. Plus, my favorite part of the world-no harm in traipsing around there a little more.
Some photos from the trip and around home:
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| Sunrise over the Smokies flying into Charlotte |
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| The iron shore beach directly behind the condo we stayed in. That ladder was the only access, that stuff is NOT for walking on!! |
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| Kinky, one of the many blue iguanas brought back from extinction by the program established on the island. |
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| A shot of the new Camana Bay center. It's not a crooked shot at all. The whole island in slightly tipped. Really. |
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| Nurse shark! |
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| Amazing sunset. One of many, there was a cold front coming in-thought it was melting hot every day. |
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| The only shot of all 4 of us. WHY??? |
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| A fishy morning playing around the Gamma wreck |
We mainly snorkeled the whole week:
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| Smith Cove, one of my favorite places on the island. I am not alone in that opinion, it was packed! |
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| Stingray Sand Bar |
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| Chris's boat |
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| Jellies at starfish point. |
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| My jellyfish sting a week later. Not from starfish point. |
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| Allergies. I mean fall flowers. |
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| Adorable caterpunkin. |
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| Love this idea, you read the short blurb and pick a book not by its cover. You lay it on the pad to check it out and then unwrap when you are ready to read something new! Or, in our case, we had already read all of them we got. hahahaha! I guess we know what we like, even in 10 words or less |
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| This church has the WEIRDEST signs |
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| need more of these! |
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| last-minute dinner Wednesday night. FUN! |
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| This. I have spent time thinking about this. Is it a dead baby? A growing pumpkin skeleton that will one day be a reaper thing? It seems creepy, yet both heads seem happy. With their glowing eyes. I have to wonder if it's because it looks like a male figure holding the baby figure. So it radiates malice in some way that a female figure would not? |
So, we are home and hip deep in my to-do list. Good thing Matt has tomorrow off! :)
