Monday, June 9, 2008

Flew The CoOp For the Weekend, and Now I'm Back ...




This Chick-a-dee (me, that is! LOL!)
flew the coop for the weekend, along with her family!
We headed to Raleigh, for the...



After a long week of work at the lake house,
I had such high hopes for this weekend get-away...



However, the only thing that lived up to my high expectations were the gas prices
and the HEAT!






Any of you that are familiar with the Carolinas know, that a temperature reading of 100 degrees, (which was the LOW of the weekend), accompanied by the humidity can only mean a much higher heat index... "What the temperature REALLY feels like!"

It was really too hot to do much of anything! So we spent most of our days napping, browsing and reading at the Barnes & Nobles across the street from the hotel, and EATING!

So, Note to Readers: Don't expect anything too exciting & profound in this post! LOL!

Part of the festival was a Tractor Show and Pull... We carried two of ours. They anticipated a display of over 600 hundred antique tractors!





Kevin and David waiting for the nightly Fireworks Show...

I was so excited, because a few weeks ago, while I was searching for the infamous MACRO button on my camera, I discovered I also have a "fireworks" feature!




We did see a few bizarre and unusual things while in Raleigh...

A Super-sized shopping cart! Can you imagine how much it would cost to fill this one up with groceries???


A pig statue...

Duck Races....




and pig races....




David spent most of his time, while at the Festival, feeding animals in the Petting Zoo...

which was "right next door" to our tractors, ....DOWNWIND, need I say more???...










This cute little curly brown mop-head calf

followed David all around the circle of the petting zoo!

He was a cutie-patootie!!!




On Sunday, our last day in Raleigh, we visited the Farmer's Market!

But, the temperature was 102 degrees while we were there, so we took a very short stroll around the market!








I found a basket of Fuchsia, I have been wanting to try.

If anyone has any pointers, please share! :)

When I returned home, the gardenias were blooming

and their sweet smell just permeated the air!

Oh, There Is No Place Like Home! "smiles"


Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! ~Rhonda ;)

25 comments:

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Rhonda, Your weekend sounds like so much fun and your pictures are enjoyable. My gardenias bloomed last week too for the first time. Hope it cools down for you. I have a good friend in Cary,NC and been to the area. Not a fan of muggy heat!!Thank you for stopping by to say hi and your kind comments. See you again soon.
hugs, Celestina
la rea rose

Calamity Jane's Cottage, Bonnie said...

Hi Rhonda, thank you for sharing your weekend with us. Love to see what others are doing. Sorry it was so hot for ya, but I'm in southeast TX so I'm there with you on the heat. I'll be drawing on Sunday so check back to see who's the winner.
Have a Blessed Day,
Bonnie

Anonymous said...

Hi Rhonda! Glad you enjoyed the porch visit! If you want to keep your fuschias blooming, make sure to dead head them. The flowers will fall off, but they leave that little "stem pod" (since I'm not a flower expert, that's the word I came up with ... I'm sure there's an ACTUAL word! LOL)... When I first started buying fuschias I was always afraid I'd deadhead buds, but they are actually very different looking! They can't tolerate full sun, so make sure they're in a more shady (maybe a little sun) location... I'm not real big on fertilizing (lazy, lazy), so I've been known to just stick on the jobs flowering plant spikes... Just be careful not to break branches when you do this. Fuschias are so fragile - but definitely worth it! If you put it up on a plant stand or hang it, you will have hummingbirds in no time feeding from it - they LOVE fuschias! Good luck!!!!!!!!!...Donna

Lidian said...

Hi Rhonda, What a fun weekend that looks like! Great pics, as always...It is really hot here too, but we are hoping for cooler temps tomorrow. I went shopping for SOCKS this weekend (I did have fun too, but not the socks part so much)

Lidian

Rosemary said...

Hi,
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Yours is very cute too.
Visit again soon,
Rosemary

Heather said...

Sounds like a great weekend minus the high temps! Holy moly! We had a humid 94 degrees and all I wanted to do was sit in the a/c! That shopping cart is so funny! That is the size I need when we go grocery shopping!! LOL!!!
Oh your fushia is beautiful! I love them. Haven't been able to find one for myself this year but I am still on the look-out. Tips: Keep them out of full sun- but not in full shade either, water it twice a day (in the morning before the sun gets too hot and again as the sun is setting- but not too late or the roots will get fungus) make sure to dead head as soon as you see a brown bud and it will be beautiful all summer long. Fushias are high maintenance but one of my favorites! I also sprinkle coffee grounds on the top of the soil when I first get it and then a couple of times during the season. Everytime you water they get a kick of caffeine!! LOL!!! A trick I learned for plants from an elderly woman I used to go to church with. For some reason it makes the plants do better!
Thanks for sharing with us! I have missed you!
-Heather :)

Unknown said...

Hi! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog!! My son LOVES tractors and loved these pictures :) Oh I just hate days that are so hot you cant do anything! So sorry your trip wasnt what you had hoped!

Hugs,
Amy

Susan said...

It might have been hot and the gas high, but it still looks like a fun, family outting.
Susan

Anonymous said...

I was going to say I recognized that pig from the Farmer's Market.

It was unbearably hot this weekend. I'm not sure we even went out of the house on Sunday. Ugh!

Nance said...

Hi Rhonda,
you have a very entertaining blog, i will surely come back.

with the heat and everything, sounds like you had a good time just the same. your gardenias are beautiful, i can almost smell them! wish i could grow them here.

thanks for visiting my blog.
cheers

bj said...

Despite the heat, it looks as if you had a nice time...so glad.
The gardenias are so pretty..one of my favorites...
hugs, bj

Unknown said...

Hi Rhonda,
Thanks for sharing your weekend with pics. It is HOT here too. I'm looking out the window at my poor plants...they need water, but will have to wait til later.
Diane

SweetAnnee said...

Other than the HEAT
it looks like GREAT fun

Bet you're glad to come home
to blooms of fragrance..
smiles, Deena

A Hint of Home said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and yes I love Raggedy Ann. Looks like you had a good time and the festival. I'm in SC and we feel the same heat wave. I will be headed your way Thurs. to Charlotte airport to pick up my Mom coming in from FL. Have a good week.

Edie Marie's Attic said...

Looks like loads of fun!!
Hugs, Sherry

Unknown said...

Yay - Rhonda's back! Sounds like a good weekend in spite of the heat. Cute pics!

Anonymous said...

Hi Rhonda, looks like ya'll had a funtime weekend.I dropped by to thank you for visiting my porch.Come again anytime.

Deb said...

Hi Rhonda, boy was it hot! but, I really enjoyed your trip. All of the wholesome, and fun things you all got to see and do. David really enjoyed the animals. And I enjoyed the pictures and reading about the duck and pig races. And the town Raleigh just reminds me of Mayberry. Thanks for sharing, Deb

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Even though it was hot, it looks like it was alot of fun! Have you ever been to the flea market at the fair grounds in Ralaigh? It is held every weekend...I love it there!
Penny

Pearl said...

Welcome Home Rhonda! ~huggs~

Even though the heat was wicked, evil... it sounds like the get-away was still very nice. Pig Races - LOL - I've seen those... the lil piggies were chasing an oreo cookie! A Hoot for sure!

I loved the photos of David enjoying all the animals... precious! Ooooooooo... and the gardenia photo... mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, I can smell them now and remember many Summer days + nights on my Grandma's porch, inhaling their intoxicating scent. Heaven.

Ohh.. also, just want to say... RALEIGH ROCKS! That's where I was born, so I am kinda partial to that city! I hope your night is filled with peaceful sleep and precious dreams, my sweet friend. God bless...

~hugggs~

Pearl

Anonymous said...

Im feeling your pain with the heat and the gas prices... Im thinking about putting a hold on our beach trip. Maybe just one day the prices may drop on gas. Thats one good thing about bloggin'... You get to visti your friends and see new places and never leave your home, Smiles... Susie H

onlymehere said...

You're my hero! I don't know if I could have ever left the hotel air conditioning with the heat that high mixed with humidity. I live in a dry area and when the temperature hits 90 I think I'm going to melt away, I just can't tolerate the heat! This certainly looked like a fun family outing! P.S. Our grandbaby is finally here!

PAT said...

Hi Rhonda
I enjoyed your trip!
We've only had 90's here in Missouri, so far, knock on wood!

My goodness gracious those greenbreans and new potatoes look so good!

Pat

Anonymous said...

Rhonda, Thanks you for stopping by my little shop and getting the birdhouse. I hope you will fall in love with her like I did! I will have her in the mail ASAP. Thanks again! Susie H

Anonymous said...

Hey Rhonda,
Looks like you had a fun time.... but you are so right ..."there is no place like home"
Good luck with the fuchsia mine died already... but they don't do well in Texas heat..
Hugs
Linda