Oh, Greer.
I've been staying with Cory for the weekend, and it's been absolutely wonderful. Plenty of adventures, projects around the house... I feel a bit married, but I think that comes with the territory.
Stephanie, Kevin, Cory and I have instituted "family dinners" at the house. Stephanie and I find some ridiculously yummy-looking recipe to try, the boys go do some sort of man-project, and we cook in the kitchen while making frozen concoctions in the magic bullet.
I love the magic bullet.
It's just so homey. Cory and I went out on the four-wheeler a few weeks ago and took pictures of the farm, and I spent most of today frame shopping and picture printing... they look beautiful. We put a photo of a little alleyway off Rainbow Row in his kitchen, and pictures of the barn and tractors (in sepia) in his room. The best is a picture of Jake in the master bathroom -- the walls are a pretty steel blue and the accessories are chocolate brown, so we did a big brown frame with a canvas mat... and an adorable picture of Jake smiling with a snaggle tooth hanging out :)
Friday was nice... we went out with camp people downtown, I saw some dearly missed Furman buddies, so on and so forth...
Saturday was an adventure worth reliving in detail.
First, we decided to go to the TR Speedway. Really, I had consented to go on this adventure a few weeks ago when I received a special phone call that I thought would be forgotten (it wasn't). So we had a family dinner of shrimp and grits, magic bulleted margaritas, packed our coolers, and started heading out of the driveway.
On the way out, we noticed a shopping cart in Cory's neighbors side yard. The owner moved out because of some medical issue, so nobody has lived there since Cory moved in.... but now the front curtain was parted. Slightly creeped out, we called the police as we left, just so they could drive by and make sure nobody was squatting. While we were in the car, Cory realized his truck was unlocked, so he called his mom to come by and lock the doors. When mom and pops arrived, the neighbors were standing around Cory's driveway, looking at his front yard.
Apparently, the guy who had rented Cory's house before Cory bought it had gotten evicted, but he had come back to visit his ex-wife who lived the next street over. The neighbors saw the man walk down the street barefoot, shirtless, and drunk... walk to Cory's mailbox, rip it out of the ground, put it over his shoulder, walk the rest of the way down the street, and throw the mailbox in the flowerbed of the older woman who lives next door.
A few funny points about this story... the first being that NOTHING like this ever happens on Cory's street. He lives in a quiet neighborhood with very nice neighbors. But even funnier.. Cory is oddly obsessed with his mailbox. Not only did it take hours to put in (his front yard has a steep hill), but we have made fun of him consistently for his obsession for reading his mail, so the old tenant's choice to attack the mailbox was particularly funny.
I mean... seriously... who goes around throwing mailboxes in flowerbeds?
So after the police came (nobody was next door, by the way..) and we played with the drug dog, we got back in the car and went to the speedway. Lots of country folk (if you can call them that) in jeans and scrunchies and talking smack about the different drivers and cars. Oh, and arm wrestling on coolers. Very classic Travelers Rest. Nothing like eating boiled peanuts, drinking cheap beer, and watching cars drive around the dirt track.... right? ;)
So between the old tenant (who has a warrant out for his arrest, by the way) and the TR speedway, Saturday felt as small-town South Carolina as you can get. Sunday was sleepy, today was busy... tomorrow is Charleston!
I feel at home. Relaxed, happy, sleepy, busy... I cannot wait for life to get back to "normal," though. I need a space to call my own... living out of laundry baskets gets to you after awhile.
I am realizing this summer how much I depend on routine... I miss being able to cook and run and work.. I actually miss classes.. I just miss my typical, everyday life. I really like it. I am blessed.
Now... on to cement Cory's mailbox into the ground.... ;)
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