abilene

I got to enjoy 2 wishes from my summer list in 1 day this week.  A leisurely breakfast with Amy and Gina (no kiddos) and shopping in Abilene.  Just a hiccup or two along the way to a most memorable day.

Gina made the most incredible zucchini/onion quiche.  Yep, I had 2 pieces...and a muffin...and some strawberries...and coffee...and juice.  You can't eat like that with just anyone.  I was a happy little piggie.  Oh yeah, Gina has gorgeous place settings and is the hostess with the mostest.  She may be my new dinner party planner.  If I ever have a dinner party to plan.

We took off for Abilene, chatting all the way.  Just after the turn on K-15 before reaching Hillsboro, we encountered a few unplanned hiccups.  Like warning lights on my dashboard, dinging sounds, no air conditioning and no power steering.  Amy pulled out the owner's manual and started reading.  It took us a while to figure out what each of the warnings meant.  She found instructions for the engine coolant light saying we should pull over and let the engine idle for a while.  So I turned it off.  Apparently, I don't listen well.  Amy called her sweet husband whose suggestion was "You probably threw a belt.  Limp it on in to Durham and see what you can find".  That's only another 5 miles or so.  Population 112.  No offer for a rescue.  He's big on self sufficiency :) 
Okey dokey, we took off again with warning lights, dinging buzzers and hazards flashing.  We chatted and laughed even louder over the dinging and wind blowing in the windows.  Well, actually, it was only 1 window since the passenger window doesn't roll down.  We pulled into the Co-op at Durham and found they don't have a mechanic.  Well, they don't have anyone who wants to admit to being a mechanic when 3 (almost sweaty) women carrying cameras roll out of a van.  We were directed to go into town to the local mechanic.

We wandered into the shop calling hello...

hello...

hello....

hello?

Just some grease, dust, antiques, old car parts and this great big lazy greeter.

We wandered back through the entire shop and out the back door where we found a very round, jolly mechanic.  He literally dropped what he was doing when 3 damsels in distress showed up, carrying cameras, giggling and chatting all the way.  I'm not sure if he was more thrilled to see us or if we were more thrilled to see him.  He took a look at the van and pulled out a broken belt.

How adorable are these cutie p'tuties?  This has to be my favorite photo of the day.  They are just so happy while waiting out in the heat. 

Spontaneous photo shoot while our friendly little mechanic is working.

Not bad for a timer sitting on top of a parked car, huh?  (I love, love, love this photo!)

Well, Davy didn't have the belt we needed.  All these belts and not the right one.  (I have the same problem at home in my closet.  Lots of belts, they're just all too small.)

Lucky for us, Davy has connections in Hillsboro.  He made a quick call and a belt was on it's way from Hillsboro.  I really thought he was just being so kind and helpful but now that I look back on the day, he may have been pulling out all the stops so he could get rid of us giggling, chatting, super model moms.
He suggested we go wait across the street at the local cafe.   Hmmmm, trying to get rid of us or just a thoughtful gesture?

Well, we sipped on our tea and Davy worked his magic.  He stopped into the cafe when he was done and got us back on the road again.  We tipped him with some fresh muffins left over from breakfast.  I totally embarrassed Amy and Gina when I asked if I could take Davy's picture before we left.  I'm not sure he knows he's famous on the world wide web now.  I wonder how his blog read at the end of the day.  hmmm...

After our little detour in Durham, we continued to Abilene in comfort.  We had air conditioning and power steering again.  Our first stop was to see Katie who has Plane Jane Designs.  I LOVE their stuff.  I met the girls of Plane Jane at Beki's spring barn sale.  I picked up all sorts of treasures.

Next on our list (and yes we had a list because Amy and her sweet mommy are great list makers!) was lunch at The Dish.  This is a great little diner in downtown Abilene that changes their menu every week.  Forrest Gump would love this place - you never know what you're gonna get.  The owner/waitress is this feisty firecracker who will tell you exactly what she's thinking.  In her out-loud voice.
Amy and I had lunch there in June with Amy's parents.  We had this incredible grilled cheese sandwich.  My mouth had been watering for a month to get another one.  Guess what.  No grilled cheese sandwich on the menu this time.  And the cook doesn't remember what she might have made a month ago.  So, Amy and I played high maintenance and ordered the grilled ham and cheese sandwich minus the ham and bacon.  Matter of fact, we would like an ooey, gooey grilled cheese sandwich with sliced tomatoes please.  Pretty please.  Little Miss Firecracker may have rolled her eyes at us just a bit but we got ooey, gooey grilled cheese with sliced tomato sandwiches:)  Gina is super duper easy to get along with and ordered the grilled ham and cheese sandwich just as it was designed.  We all had a side of sweet & spicy sticky noodle salad.  To die for!

So, with fully tummies, we were shopping again.  We found bags, candles, hair ties, jewelry, clothes, antiques, Christmas decorations and aprons.  We really found way more than that but I can't remember everything.  I forgot to take pics after the first stop.  I was just having way too much fun shopping.

My favorite find was a jewelry/clothing boutique, Aksent.  They had a great sale.  I found a cute little leopard print shirt and a cha-cha necklace.  The clerk made me a deal of 25% off the shirt and necklace.  AND THEN, Amy pulled out the coupon her mom saved for us.  We get an additional 15% off.  That means I got the shirt and necklace for less than $40.  Score!!

No trip to Abilene is complete without a stop to see mom and dad.  Well, not my mom and dad but Amy's parents.  If I ever have to have emergency contacts other than my own parents, I'm totally using Amy's parents.  I've already used them on Abi's camp form as contacts.  They are such sweet, kind people.  The kind of people who stop whatever they're doing to see or take care of their girls.  I'm telling you, I totally love this family and could spend hours with them.

Well, we made it to every stop on our list.  We giggled and talked about all sorts of things.  It was kind of funny to listen to us the last 10 minutes of the trip.  We realized our time was running out and we started talking faster and faster.  There just wasn't enough time in our day to cover everything we needed to.  I guess that means we'll have to do it again.  Soon.