The Heat is ON

Since I don't enjoy walking in the rain I opted for a Tanglewood walk. The storefront next to Merle Norman has pink and pastel print paper in the windows so I don't think that there's a sports shop or Army surplus store going in. Still lots of banging and grinding noises coming from JC Penney. I think that enclosing the escalator area in plastic wrap has had a significant impact on the airflow - or lack thereof. As I walked past I could feel a rush of hot air. I could not imagine trying to shop there in that stifling heat.

At Steve & Barry's University Shop there were workmen installing spot lights the entire length of their window displays. This means that the dirty windows will be even more noticeable now.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

Wow! The weekend's not over yet, but so far it has been great! I volunteered with Eventzone for the festivities this past Thursday and Friday night. I met some wonderful folks, heard some great musicians, and even saw myself on the TV newscast. Hubby and I had breakfast at the newly opened Brambleton Cafe and I had the best cheese blintzes ever. The coffee was also superb. I can't wait to return for another meal.

During my mall walk on Thursday there was some activity in the vacant store next to Merle Norman and it looked as though they were sprucing things up for a new tenant. Apparently, sprucing up is not what is going on at MLC Furniture. The same items have been located at the entrance for some time now and there's a layer of dust over most of it. Not a very welcoming presentation to the buying public. At the opposite end of the scale is the Hallmark shop. Everything is well lighted, bright, organized and inviting. "Inviting" would not describe what I saw going on at JC Penney. It looks like they are getting a new escalator and there was a lot of loud banging going on behind the plastic sheets that were installed around the escalator area.

Today's fantastic weather drew me to the river for an invigorating walk. I think I spotted a Green Heron flying over the water and I looked for him as I walked but never spotted him again. I did see a duckling swimming with his mama though. I thought it strange that there was only one, however. I also spotted an egg shell beneath the bridge but I didn't see any baby pigeons. Perhaps the hawk I saw a few days ago has been helping himself to easy pickin's.

Growing coffee klatch

Since it was so cloudy the morning I opted to walk at Tanglewood. It didn't appear to be very busy this morning except for the dining area outside of Chick-fil-a. There's a group of seniors that I see there on every morning mall visit. This growing coffee klatch has even celebrated the birthday of one of its members. It's so good to see these folks out enjoying each other's company and also walking and getting some exercise. When the sun decided to peek out of the clouds, I went outside to walk around the parking lot. I thought to myself, "I wonder how many places there are in this country where one would feel safe enough to walk behind a mall building?" I have traveled extensively around the country, and I can tell you that there aren't too many malls where this is the case. In addition, I took note of how tidy everything was - even in the back. I only saw 2 cigarette butts and one wad of chewing gum. Oh, and I also noticed while I was walking inside that the drooping security camera cable in front of Goody's has been reattached properly. Good job.There's also a new store, Charlotte's Trinkits. I guess they did not talk to the previous owners of Whimsy Gifts. This looks to be like another flea market outlet store and I predict that they will soon suffer the same fate.

As I was walking near Firestone I noticed a small, sandpiper-like bird that I have been trying to identify. In the process I discovered this web site that I'm sure will come in handy in the future (even though I have not yet found the bird I was looking for). Check this out:
http://www.whatbird.com/

All cleaned up..

It was nice to see that the mess left by recent river flooding of Wiley Dr. has been removed. For those of you that missed it, here are some shots of the pile of debris that resulted from the "flood control" area near Wasena Park. Pardon me, but exactly where is the "control" part of this project supposed to be evident?