Catching Up

Del went back to work today and I am trying to catch up with laundry, blogging and some other stuff. Last week was fun. On Monday we worked in the garden, getting the area around the rosebush cleared out and mowing all the grass.

On Tuesday morning we went to the eye doctor, got our eyes dilated and that took care of most of the day. It took forever for them to get back to normal. He also gave us a prescription for some eye drops that help with allergy symptoms, luckily he also gave us a sample of them and said to try them first before we fill the prescription. I tried them and did not really notice any difference, just out of curiosity we asked at the pharmacy how much it would be to fill the prescription, a mere $ 50.- co-pay. Oh well, good thing we don't need them. ;)

On Wednesday we went to Charlotte and visited this place:

The store looks like a mirror image of the one in Vienna but without the yummy stuff in the restaurant and the food market. We managed to find single fitted sheets at a reasonable price. The only other things we bought were some unscented candles and this little table lamp. I first saw it in the catalog and liked it, then we passed it by several times around the store and I still liked it, so it came home with us.

I was very disappointed with their fabric department which is almost non-existent. I was hoping to find some of the pretty fabrics they use for their curtains and bed linens but all they had were a few really heavy upholstery type fabrics in strange colors and patterns. And the rug I liked was sold out in the color I wanted. Oh well, looks like some things are the same in all Ikea stores no matter where. ;)
After Ikea we went for lunch at Cracker Barrel and then visited Concord Mills, the big mall outside Concord. It looks like all the shops there are still open. We bought a book we first saw when we were here on vacation in 2004 but could not buy it because it would have been too heavy for our luggage, now it was available in paperback and it was on sale too. :) It is called Cats in the Sun.
We also stopped at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a little treat (it was our wedding anniversary after all).

Thursday we bought more wood chips to finish up the newly cleared area and I got a pink dahlia plant. The bare strip is reserved for the columbines I plan to plant there next year and I also want to plant hollyhocks in front of the shed window. The only ones who use the shed are the cats.

On Friday it was raining cats and dogs again and on our way to our regular weekly shopping we stopped at the indoor yard sale of the YWCA. I found this little picture which is now hanging in my kitchen, next to the corner shelf found at another yard sale.

We both made time to work on our hobbies. Del worked on his model railroad, supervised of course by the local expert.

And I finished two of my yarn UFOs, a cover for a sofa cushion (pattern can be found here) and a crochet bag which I started a while ago. I am now looking for the perfect buttons for the cushion.

I am off to hang the first load of laundry and leave you with a few pictures of what is growing in the garden and what we are currently picking (lettuce, spinach, herbs).