No More Condo...

That's it...we're done...moved out...cleaned the place...really cleaned the place...patched up nail holes....painted...shampooed the rugs...cleaned the refrigerator, oven, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer. I'm so done.

Now I've just got a gazillion...ok, I'm exaggerating...BAZILLION...boxes to unpack.

I'm a happy girl.

Wait until you see the pics of this place...once I take them...small town USA...Havre de Grace, Maryland...check it out...it's a great place to live...and I love looking out the window in my kitchen to my back yard...walk through the gate at the back...turn right...walk to the corner one house down...turn left...the weekly Saturday Farmer's Market...fruit...vegetables...flowers...plants...fresh honey...fresh pastries, breads and cakes from two local ladies'kitchens... corn feed beef and pork... the cheese and ice cream lady...the lady that makes her own soap...and more and more and more.

Then, if that wasn't enough...walk two blocks straight down that street and there's the Chesapeake Bay.

Wow-Wee Ka-Zow-Wee!!!!!

First Night...First Bath...

So I've been living in a condo since last August. The master bath had a big...big...two person shower stall...big. Anyway, when I first moved in, I took a bath in the 'other' bathrooom and it was ok...just ok. It wasn't fancy whirlpool that some of the condos have. It is...was...just a tub. So when I just moved into the new place, I decided to take a bath. The tub is old...tall sides...not sure what's it is made of but it almost seems like stone of some sort. I was a happy girl and can't wait to bath in it again.

Enjoy the pic. Those are MY toes, my friends. (s)

Imagine that!

Saturday, 13 June 2009, Havre de Grace, 746am

It's a beautiful, sunny day here at Bulle Rock. On this day, I...yes, I...am actually going to be working as a volunteer at a LPGA tournament. It's something I never ever even considered doing until I moved here but the tournament is being played within my community so what the heck. It should be interesting to say the least.

You sign up to do this on the LPGA website and pay $50 for the privalege. You get a shirt and a hat in the style of your choice, (I selected the visor style since I would be easily mistaken for Bozo's sister in a straw derby) , chits for a wonderful McDonald's lunch at the volunteer tent (guess who is sponsoring this) and the ability to hobnob with the players and their crew. I was asked to work on the first tee which sounded great until someone else asked me to work in the clubhouse. Hmmmmm...outside in the sweltering heat or airconditioning? I'm in the clubhouse. So, for the next two days for four hours each day, I will be wearing an electric pinky purple (I can't even describe the color) polo shirt, khaki capris, my dock shoes and a visor when outside enjoying the rush of chaos that accompanies an event like this.

Woo Hoo. I am such a geek.

9:23PM Post-Being-A-Geek

It was an interesting day. Sitting in the lady golfer's locker room (by the way, did you know that the term GOLF came from "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden". Well, that's what Roger told me. Sigh. The other thing he told me is that they called it "Golf" because "Fuck" was taken. Just saying that is what he told me.)

Anyway, it was an interesting day. Lady golfers coming in and out. Some who make millions of dollars not only from playing golf but from the endorsements. Commodities, they are. Shrewd businesswomen. Making their way. Playing a game they love.

I will share that the memory of the day that will stick with me is the following:

I was working with Dolores from 11 to 3pm in the players locker room which was actually both the men's and ladie's locker room at the club. Beautiful club...but that is a given. Anyway, the locker rooms are all dolled up for the ladies. Looks nice but I don't walk around too much because the players are in and out. At one point, there is a lull and Dolores says "Hey JoAnn, go check out the urinals." I say "What?" She says, "Just go check out the men's urinals." I just met this lady and I'm thinking "this is wierd, but ok, how many times do I get to see a urinal?" So I go. And I see what she wanted me to see. To disguise the urinals, someone put hanging plants in the things and honestly, they looked really nice.

So now I know how to disguise urinals.

Got the call while waiting for my connecting flight in Atlanta and...

The owner said he wants us to live in this beautiful little home that he owns. We are thrilled. Tomorrow, we meet with him to finalize everything and in less than two months, we will be living there.

This is a gift for many reasons but the best is that this home sits in the middle of the historic district of Havre de Grace, Maryland . Go to www.hdgtourism.com/ to check it out. It is a stone's throw from a weekly farmers' market. The Chesapeake Bay is two blocks east. There are great family run stores and restaurants and I'm only a 10 minute walk from the Martha Lewis which is the skipjack sailboat I volunteer crew on.

I can't wait.

WooHoo!!!!

I have a new friend in New Orleans...

Her name is Brenda and I met her and her gentleman Edgar at the Baltimore Airport. We were standing next to each other at the Delta kiosk checking in and when we looked at each other, we both thought we knew each other. I asked her if we did and while we waited for the flight to leave (yes, we were on the same flights since she and her man were from New Orleans), we decided that we'd never met. We exchanged phone numbers. The next day, she called, picked me up at my hotel and took me to parts of New Orleans that I never would have seen.

She took me to where Katrina did her worst. She took me to her family home that still stands but has yet to be renovated. That's not the right word because it has to be completely redone. The walls remain but it is unsafe to go inside. I saw so much. I saw so little. Even now, thinking back on the water marks on some of the homes that were 15 feet from the ground and Brenda's damaged family photo album that was somehow saved from her home, I can't explain how I feel except to say that I can't imagine what these people went through.

Edgar's home has been redone. It's beautiful but it sits among homes like the one in the picture that have not had a workman set foot in it and it remains vacant and vandalized.

For Mother's Day, I went to New Orleans...

I'm here until Friday for a conference. Took a walk to the French Quarter when I got here. It was really hot and about 20 minutes or so away. I thought, "oh my god, it's so hot" but I kept going because, you know...I'm in New Orleans. I hit the Hard Rock store because I collect pins from there wherever I travel and after that (and a nice break in air conditioning), off I went again and then I saw the beginning of it...the French Quarter. It just pulled me in. There was so much going on all around me. A balloon man making balloon animals. An street art show and sale...so different from NYC because of the fact that it was all original art. The artists were sitting there and working if no one was talking to them. It was so colorful and dense in places. Artists. Horse and carriages. Psychic on the street. Musicians. New Orleans band.

But this lady was making dried flower hair wreaths and her smile was so welcoming. She motioned for me to take her picture which I was going to do anyway and when I went to speak with her, I realized that she couldn't. She never took her eyes off my face as she realized what she probably saw people realize every day but her smile remained so broad and pure. I can't explain it but I felt refreshed.

This is a very interesting place.

What an absolutely wonderful man...

and a great friend.

I do adore him.

Everyone who knows him and has him in their life is indeed blessed.

Maryland Life

For those of you who know me, you've seen the blogs that I've been writing lately. I'm completely aware that with the challenges come the joys so although it's been a rough couple of months, there are some significant things occurring that make me smile.

Teaching in the fall at a local college.

Volunteering to work on a 49 1/2 foot skipjack sailboat this summer...the Martha Lewis out of Havre de Grace, MD.

My son moving down here in the fall.

Showing my work again in July (first time since I've moved here). I've updated my website so if anyone is interested: www.jadelia.com

I'm going to see Mom and Dad on Monday. Gonna tell them about Roger and Samantha and I living together. I'm so tired of trying to please everyone that all I will be now is what is true.