Friday, March 21, 2014

Paws Awhile - Cabinets, Cabinets, Cabinets!!!

The kitchen is really starting to take shape!  We got a call from the cabinet guy a week ago Thursday to say that the upper cabinets had arrived. He wanted to deliver them on Friday and install them on Saturday. We wanted to be there for the big event so I decided to fly down Friday morning after my gym class.  Lucy wanted to go too (or that’s how I interpreted her wagging tail).  Lola decided that she would stay at home. She was embarrassed by her yowling on the airplane the previous weekend.

Lucy and I got to the airport in plenty of time for coffee and breakfast in the Sky Club on T concourse. Lucy loves to poke her head out of the bag and greet everyone as we walk through the airport. She is beginning to think her name is “Awwww”.

At the gate, Lucy studied the Standby List anxiously. I tried to reassure her that we would get on the flight, but in the end, she was right and the plane pushed back without us. 

We headed for the Sky Club in B concourse for another quick cup of coffee before heading to the gate.  This time we got the LAST SEAT on the flight, literally!  We were the only stand-bys to board and we were in the center seat on the last row.

The flight attendants doted on Lucy and reinforced her new nickname of “Awwww”.  Our seatmate did not seem to share everyone’s infatuation with Lucy. I heard her put her hand over her mouth and say into the phone “I’m in the last row and I’m having to sit next to a dog.”  I wanted to say, “We can HEAR you!” but I let it go.

The guy on the aisle was a dog person so we had a nice conversation. He runs marathons and organizes those mud-obstacle races.

But I digress…

We got to Fernandina and went straight to Paws Awhile.  The cabinets had been delivered and were sitting in boxes.

The first thing I noticed was a chipped tile next to one of the boxes. I guess it happened when they were delivering the cabinets. Of course, I will obsess over that. 

It was a gorgeous day so Lucy and I went for a walk on the beach. I had a little lunch in the condo and caught up on some email. I met a couple of friends at the Surf for Happy Hour and dinner. Just as we were getting ready to order dinner, another couple of friends showed up. We had a great time but I had to duck out early because I knew little Lucy was sitting by the door with her legs crossed needing to go “Hurry Hurry” as we call it.

Saturday morning after a walk on the beach, we drove to the Jacksonville airport to pick up Tony. We stopped by Starbuck’s on the way back to Paws Awhile and by the time we got back to the condo, the cabinet installer was there!

He made quick work out of installing the cabinets. Putting the pantry in was the trickiest because the ceiling was lower in places.
 
 

He had this neat contraption that he had invented to be his second set of hands to hold the cabinets while he put in the screws.
 

After he left, we met friends for lunch at the Happy Tomato. Surprisingly, this is a BBQ place and not a vegetarian restaurant.  The BBQ was good but not competition quality (you may remember that we are certified BBQ judges).

I took a bicycle ride in the afternoon and got back just in time to go to the Oyster Roast fund raiser being held by the Optimist’s Club. It was a bargain for Oyster & Shrimp eaters - $25 for all you can eat – the drawback for Tony is that he doesn’t eat either and they didn’t have anything else – no corn, no potatoes, nothing except Shrimp & Oysters. Oh, but they did serve unlimited beer and wine so at least he had something. We met some fun new friends and were excited to expand our circle on the island!

Sunday, we had planned to head back to Atlanta and go to the St. Paddy’s Day celebration in downtown Smyrna but a quick check of the flights told us that was a no-go. It was just as well since the prediction was for rain all day Sunday. We decided to try for a 3:45PM flight which would give us time to walk down the beach to Sliders with Lucy for lunch.  We love that Sliders is now Pet-Friendly.

After lunch, I spend some time organizing our new pantry!

We didn’t have any luck getting on the 3:45PM flight or the 5PM. It was starting to look like we would have to split up & only send one on the 6:30PM flight. We decided we would send Lucy home with Tony since he has that job to get home to. But, at the last minute there was a no-show and I got on as well.

We rode the bus back to the parking lot with several other non-revs and shared horror stories about flying stand-by. They weren’t really horror stories to us because we LOVE the adventure, but sometimes you’re just tired and ready to get home so I can understand the horror.


Anyway, as I write this, I am on the plane headed back to Paws Awhile so stay tuned for the next installment!

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