Slow progress

I can hardly believe how many more people I have seen walking at Tanglewood this week. There are almost too many to count but I would estimate that our numbers have grown upwards of 50 people in the morning. I can't speak for what happens during the afternoon, but in the morning there's a good crowd. There have been some men on the roof over the top of Applebee's but I can't tell what they are doing. I see some of the regular cleaning crew have returned and they were busy cleaning glass. I could smell fresh paint, but couldn't actually see anything that looked freshly painted. Kudos to MLC Furniture for cleaning their windows this morning. Additional effort was required to move furniture out of the way to make the glass accessible. On Monday morning as I passed by outside of Stein Mart, I saw a gentleman who was wearing a dress shirt and tie, and looked to be a store manager, outside on the sidewalk cleaning the glass doors. Finally, someone who realizes that the first thing we consumers see is the glass on the storefront. I wish that the mall managers would require all of the east-facing store owners to stand outside of their stores at 9:55 AM when the sun shines brightly on their stores so that they can see how truly grimy the glass is. Bath & Body Works also needs to clean their sign and lamps on the north facing wall. It looks like it's been quite some time since anyone passed a dust rag over it.

Come on people! Shine, shine, shine!

Tailgaters anyone?

I counted at least 2 dozen walkers at Tanglewood today and it actually seemed a little crowded. Many of the walkers looked to me to be over 60 and I felt proud of them for doing something to maintain or improve healthy exercise habits.

There are still many smudges on the windows that need to be cleaned up but at least the plants are looking good. When I arrived just after 10 this morning I noticed that Tailgaters remained dark and locked up. Did someone oversleep?

Tonight I helped a friend celebrate her birthday and had dinner at Carlos restaurant. I ordered the special of sea bass encrusted with pistachio nuts and served with a shrimp cream sauce. It was delicious and the portion was one of the largest I have ever received. It was cooked to perfection and though I tried my best I couldn't finish it. However, I did manage to eat half an order of tiramisu. Yum!

Sparkling windows on the rise

Well, what d'ya know? Today I actually saw what looked like a professional window washer busily addressing those nasty finger prints on the store front glass. He had a bucket of washing liquid, a squeegee, towels, and a a tool belt. When I saw him cleaning the Hallmark card store windows I thought he might be an employee fo theirs. But on my next lap I noticed him working across the hall at Henebry's jewelers. He will have his work cut out for him if he every makes it upstairs to Steve and Barry's.

Another thing I noticed is that there is a new employee at Radio Shack. I do believe it's Jamey Singleton our beloved ex-weatherman. I think that he probably has a lot of fans that think he got a raw deal and are wishing him well. At least I do.

Have a sparkling day!

Goodbye river guardians

Yesterday's weather was perfect for a brisk walk by the river. One can't help but notice the large piles of trees that have been felled to make way for the bench cutting project to continue. I understand the need, but it's sad nonetheless to see these great old trees lying in pieces on the ground. The Great Blue Heron sat on the riverbank in the same spot where his roosting tree home used to stand. The best part about the walk is that I was sharing it with my son and his wife who were visiting from Charlotte for the weekend along with their little teacup chihuahua.

The house is quiet once again.

Movin' on up!

Yesterday I enjoyed a long walk at the river but today was cold and raw so I was off to the mall. It's only been a couple of days but there have been some nice changes made. The lower level now sports 3 nicely furnished seating areas. This will provide a comfortable setting for all of the gentlemen who are waiting on their wives to complete their shopping. The trash cans have also been updated with new enclosures with rounded top surfaces. Of course this means I will not be able to rest my coffee cup there when I start to get warm and I stop to remove my jacket. Oh well, it's worth the sacrifice to have a nicer looking trash container.

As for the windows, there are still plenty of smudges to clean up, but I saw some personnel actively cleaning glass.

Two stores have closed up shop. Whimsey Gifts and another shop that sold sports related dodads are gone. Both stores were lacking any sort of merchandising appeal and didn't offer anything to the general attraction of the mall. I don't believe they will be missed.

What season is this?

Anyone waking from a coma and walking outside today would be totally confused about what season this is. What a beautiful day by the river. There were plenty of other folks walking, biking, and fishing. River widening work continues and I watched a man operating a back hoe at lightening speed. It was a bit unnerving as he swung the hoe quickly and came very close to a bridge abutment while he was moving some rocks around. A new temporary fence is being erected on the opposite side of the road so I guess that's what will be dug up next.

The Great Blue Heron flew in to assume his usual fishing post in the river and the male ducks are still competing for the attention of a fewer number of females. A friend that walked with me yesterday tells me that we have a shrike hawk in the area. I admit that all I could distinguish was the pigeons that were trying to escape the hawk's grasp and I witnessed the same scene today. Again I could see something diving at a pigeon but I couldn't tell what type of bird it was. That's why it's best to have an expert bird watcher with you. I do.

Clean those windows!

Now that the temp has dropped so sharply I feel like I might have had my last walk outdoors for a while. So it's back to the malls. Both Valley View and Tanglewood are having great sales, but I suspect that others like me are just shopped out by now. There's also the fact that most of the display racks are in a shambles. As of last night, the kiosks have cleared out of Tanglewood which made it much easier to walk without bumping into people that had been squeezed into the limited remaining pedestrian area. Not every shop at the mall was successful this season and Whimsy Gifts has closed up shop. The lights have been turned on in the former Stein Mart space as if it's being prepared for inspection. Hmm.

Maybe all of this moving out has stirred up some dust, and it has settled on the glass storefronts. What a mess! The worst of it seems to be Steve & Barry's but just about every piece of glass seems to be covered with grimy fingerprints and dust. My walking partner and I talked about the malls we liked in New Jersey where everything sparkles and there are comfortable living room-like seating areas throughout. Even with new bench seating, we have a long, long way to go.