Sunday, a day of rest and relaxation. Well, actually, in our house it's a day to catch up on laundry and cleaning and bills and PTA and Brownies... you get the gist. And I admit it, I am dirty when I clean. Wait that came out wrong. What I am trying to say is that I just don't see a need to take a shower and get all primped up to clean the house. June Cleaver I am not. I usually just put on my chic Mickey slippers and muddle through the house in jammies that consist of comfy pants and a tank top. Yes, I am the image of beauty I am sure.
So it was Sunday and I sat very comfortably at the computer with my jammies on. Coffee in hand (of course), I was taking a breather from the bounty of laundry baskets waiting to be freed of their clean contents. In the distance I heard our dogs begin to bark. "Probably our neighbor walking his dog," I thought. But no, each one, tall and short, bounded in the house and straight to the front door. They didn't bark, but did that small whimper like someone was about to arrive but not yet there. I asked my husband in a bit of a panic to see what was going on since I was still not quite presentable for the general public. Hubby walked over to the door and peered out the glass. His exact words were "holy shit, John Gidding is standing in our yard." And there I was...in my jammies.
"Go outside and greet him, and I'll.... I'll get dressed." I thought that this would definitely be the last Sunday that I don't get all dolled up to fold boxers. Danny stepped outside and I quickly found jeans and a sweater, pulled my hair back and threw on some foundation so I wasn't too scary. Great first impression. As I walked out into the yard, I met John and his assistant.
Now, you know how there are people that look good on camera but just don't quite live up to the hype in person. Well, John is NOT one of those people. He looked as good if not better than he does on TV. He was wearing this stylish sock hat and scarf and looked, despite the cold, like he had just walked off the cover of GQ. Wow.
We introduced ourselves and talked a bit. He was there to sketch our home to begin the creative process. How unbelievable. Seems that we were the only home chosen outside the Perimeter and it was a bit of a journey out there. Unfortunately they could not locate the Starbucks, so I quickly offered up some coffee (good thing I had just made some). Now, I don't make great coffee, but let's just say the cups came back empty so either it was good enough or they poured it our in our bushes. Either way, they were very grateful and we let them be to do their thing.
Now my husband did take one opportunity to stalk them, um... I mean disturb them, when he saw them walking out by the neighborhood sign. You have to understand that this thing in our yard that is suppose to be a sign welcoming people to Callanwolde looks like someone took a giant 4 foot flower pot, turned it upside down and then put stucco on it. Next to that is a stucco rectangle with a worn wooden sign that says Callanwolde. I am sure John and his assistant were thinking the same thing we do every time we see it, "what the hell is that suppose to be". Danny explained that at one time it was suppose to be a lighthouse and that Kilkenny and Callanwolde (we were told) are places on Ireland's coast and supposedly the inspiration. However, we have since discovered that Kilkenny and Callanwolde are nowhere near the ocean. But I digress. To our happiness, John mentioned possibly having the sign as one of the mini makeovers with the help of neighbors. I pictured smashing that flower pot in my head and smiled.
After that, they wandered and sketched and we would peek out every once in awhile just to remind ourselves it was real and he was really there. And I have to say that John Gidding is as amazingly nice and genuine as he is talented. And the man is talented.
So my lesson for you all is to always make sure you are clean when you clean because you never know who may show up in your front yard.
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