Penny Piper Brasington

 

Penny at home after being boarded this summer.



 I recently realized  I have not done a single post on my precious Penny! So here goes. Penny is our miniature dachshund (weenie dog) who now is 1 1/2 years old and a healthy 17 pounds (not so miniature). She thinks she is a person, and we treat her like one. Sometimes we believe Penny thinks she is a cat because of the funny way she sits on the furniture. Penny has more personality and is a great entertainer. Her favorite things to do are play with all her toys, preferably a tennis ball or her rope. She also enjoys going for a nice jog or walk and don't every ask her if she wants to "go for a ride," because she will expect you to take her for a ride in your car immediately! She is the friendliest dog you'll ever meet, although she will bark at you when she first meets you, but that's just her natural reaction. It only takes her a minute or two to warm up to you and if you rub her belly, you'll be her new best friend. She also loves other animals and does not discriminate. She loves dogs, cats, birds, and any other animal that will play with her. Here are a few pictures of Penny from recently.    



Penny making friends with my Dad and Lori's dog, Jackson.
"David meets Goliath"



Leon and Penny LOVE each other!



Penny naping on the arm of the couch.



 Penny with her favorite toy.

Penny learned to love the lake!

Pretty Penny



 





Hodgepodge of Happenings

Hodge podge (noun) - jumble - a collection of things that do not belong together.
      I felt "Hodgepodge" was an appropriate title for this blog since there is not a common thread to tie most of these events and pictures together. Life in general is like a hodgepodge of people, circumstances, blessings, accidents, events and so much more. But when you put them all together, it creates the hodgepodge of our lives.


Nate realizing who all was in on the surprise.

 Over the summer Leon and I stayed busy visiting our friends and family. Our first fun event was a surprise birthday party for Leon's friend Nate at the Biscuit's baseball game. Nate's 25th birthday was in May and his sweet girlfriend Amy decided to surprise him. She was very sneeky and Nate didn't suspect any thing. Amy told Nate they were going to the Biscuit's game, but that it was going to be just the two of them because no one else was able to go. Little did Nate know, that when he walked to their seats, his parents, and several friends were there waiting to wish him a very Happy Birthday! He was completely surprised! But, that's not all. During one of the breaks betweening innings, Nate got to go out on the field with Big Mo (the mascot) and have the entire stadium sing Happy Birthday to him! I think Amy earned extra brownie points and girlfriend of the year and every one had a wonderful time!

The following are a few pictures from several other events in May.



My cousin, Clint Justice, Prattville H.S. c/o 2010.


 

My poor car after being rear-ended at a red light.



Penny, doing what she does best, hanging out!

Also, during the month of May, we went to the lake a few times with our family and friends. One of our most fun trips was to Lake Martin with our friends Dave and Ashley Corwin. Dave's parents live on the like and were kind enough to invite us up on several occassions. On this particular occassion we loaded up the boat on a bright and sunshining afternoon and headed over to Chimney Rock (this implies the shape, no need to explain this).



Chimney Rock (photo courtesy Wikipedia)



 If you're not familiar with "the rock" let me try to explain it to you as best I can. In the middle of the lake there is a small rocky island  with some rather large rock "cliffs". These cliffs intice the local daredevils to climb up and take a leap off the ledge and for the artist in you, spray painting the rock is a favorite as well. Now, for those of you not quite daring enough to jump off the top of the roughly 60 foot tall rocks, don't worry, "chicken rock" is only about 20 feet or so high and offers a more comfortable landing than that of actual chimney rock. But, as you can imagine, chimeny rock is quite a draw for people from all over. I think it is like the Sirens, in Gullaver's Travels or maybe it's Homer's The Odessey, that draw you in and call out your name so that you can't resist their temptation. Because there are every type of person imaginable jumping from Chimney Rock. It's a great place to anchor your boat and watch all the "brave" people take a leap into the lake and also listen to grown mean scream like little girls!



The boys "enjoying" some tubing!



Ashley and me showing them how to ride the Viper!



Now, one of my favorite things to have while on the lake, or anytime for that matter, are boiled peanuts! Yummy! It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. There is a boat that drives around near chimney rock that sells ice and, you guessed it, fresh, hot boiled peanuts. So of course, we got a few bags and enjoyed as we floated around in our "diaper" life jackets. After swimming around for a while we did notice it the sky starting to cloud up a bit. Well, it didn't take longer to also notice the approaching wall of rain heading our way. We packed up the boat and made a mad dash back to the Corwin's house. Despite our best efforts, we did not beat the rain. And when I say rain, I mean rain. Cats and dogs and buckets full of rain! Of course, by the time we made it back to the house the storm had passed and we were able to take out the Viper and have a little fun! Now, the viper is a tube and not just any tube. It is a highly durable, three person tube that you sit in and hold on for dear life. I'll lt the pictures explain the rest. Needless to say, we were bounced around and thrown around like little rag dolls, but we loved every minute of it! Thank you to the Corwin's for such a wonderful time. We couldn't ask for better friends!





Helen, Georgia...Our One Year Anniversary Trip



Helen, GA

Love comes and often goes

In one door and out the window

Until one day true love finds its' way

And in your heart it's here to stay.

I wrote this poem when I was in my twelfth grade English class and for some reason it has always stuck with me. I felt like sharing it with you since this blog is all about Leon and my anniversary trip to Helen, GA. If you're not familiar, geographically speaking, with Helen, GA, don't worry. It's a little mountain town about an hour or so north of Atlanta. It is very cute and quaint, resembling an old German town. All of the buildings reminded me of little gingerbread houses. I swear Hanzel and Gretel were going to come walking around the corner at any moment. Many of the restaurants, pubs and bars served German food and drinks and all of the locals were extremely friendly and helpful.  

Leon in front of our cabin.

All of our goodies we bought the first day.

While we were in Helen we did a lot of fun things but also took it easy. With no real schedule or any where we had to be we truly enjoyed this trip. We arrived on a Thursday evening and after getting settled into our cabin (http://www.blueridgecabinrentals.com/) we ventured into Helen, about five minutes down the road, to explore the town. Since it wasn't quite the weekend yet, and this was in April, so it was still the off season, most of the shops were closing down for the evening. We ventured into a few shops to see what local things we could find. First we purchased a couple bottles of wine from a local winery as well as a six pack of beer brewed in Georgia from the local grocer and I couldn't pass up the fragrant soy candle. Leon's weakness was some yummy beef jerky. Needless to say, none of this made it home, except the candle. We enjoyed every bit of it during our stay. After our shopping spree we stopped by a cute little pizza place, Nacoochee Village Tavern and Pizza, and enjoyed a yummy pizza before heading back to our cabin for the night.



This picture does not do Anna Ruby Falls justice.

Now, if you know me, you know I enjoy being outdoors. So, Friday we decided to head to Unicoi State Park and take a little hike to check out Anna Ruby Falls, not to be confused with Ruby Falls in Tennessee. (Here is a little history on the falls if you're interested http://georgiatrails.com/trails/annaruby.html) The hike was fairly easy (on the way down) and only about a mile up and back. The trail was paved and had several resting areas along the way and was easily navigable for the young and old a like. The view at the top of the trail was of the gorgeous Anna Ruby Falls, double water falls! Well worth the short hike. Later on we went and played putt-putt at a very cute putt-putt course and then ventured to one of the local German restaurants for dinner. I had some kind of weiner-schnitzel and Leon had a German version of a hamburger. The food was pretty good, just not something I would want to eat everyday. While at the restaurant, Leon asked for a Coors Light. Well, to our surprise, Coors is apparently a Jewish beer and the German restaurant did not carry Jewish beers. Our waitress was nice enough to explain this to us. So, Leon tried a new German beer and was just as happy with it.

Saturday we stopped by the local winery, Habersham Winery, to taste some wine and then went into the Nacoochee Village Antique Mall. The Antique Mall was in this beautiful historic home and every knook and cranny was filled with every type of antique you could imagine. It was like taking a step back in time. Next, we walked across the street to the Nora Mill Granary Grist Mill and Country Store. This was a neat experience because they still grind corn on the original 133 year old French burr stone. I love history and greatly enjoy getting see things like this in person. We also visited the Jumping Goat Coffee store next door and sampled and bought some delicious coffee.

 

After the coffee store we made our way into town and you could tell the weekend had arrived. The streets were packed with people, cars and horses and carriages hauling all the tourists around. We went through all the cute shops and bought a few more things and then enjoyed a big lemonade and just sat around and watched the people go by for a while.

Our trip to Helen was a wonderful vacation and a great way to celebrate our first anniversary together. If you ever get a chance to visit Helen, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did! If you'd like to see more pictures of our trip to Helen follow this link (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2102470&id=45100738&l=b27013f776) to my album on Facebook.



Leon feeding the fish at the grist mill.





Weddings and What-Nots

 

When the weather turns warmer and the feel of summer is near, that's when you know wedding season is almost here. I love going to weddings! They're such a wonderful celebration of love, life and the passion and dedication that two people have for one another. On May 1st, my childhood friend, Kelly Barnes, married the love of her life, Adam Himel. Despite the gale force winds at the ceremony on the terrace of the Capitol City Club, everything was beautiful! We enjoyed a cocktail hour and a delicious dinner, followed by a great band and lots of dancing. Kelly and Adam now reside in Auburn and I wish them much happiness and wedded bless in their future!

A few weeks later Leon and I watched our friends

Courtney Dean and Thomas Corum get married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Dean family's 100 year old farm. Courtney arrived in an antique horse drawn cart and walked down the aisle to meet her groom where they said their vows under the towering pecan trees. The reception was a delicious home style, bar-b-que meal, complete with watermelon! The weather was great and the happy couple was so in love!