It's Up to Me

Amy had told me several cute things Amelia has said/done recently.  I guess it's up to me to write about them.  I'm hoping Amy will have time to blog again soon.

Amelia attends an Episcopal school and at the beginning of the year parents are asked to indicate their preferences about their child taking communion.  Amy and Darryl want Amelia to wait until she understands what it is all about so they asked that she not participate.  Well apparently Amelia decided on her own to participate.  That afternoon she told her mom that her teacher told her not to take the bread next time.  Then she whined, "But Mom, I really like that bread."

Her school had a Christmas store where the children could shop for presents for their parents.  Parents set a limit on how much they can spend.  Amy picked Amelia up from school and Amelia reached into her backpack and put a lady bug cap on her head.  When they got to the car, Amy asked Amelia if she had bought something for herself at the store and she replied that she had bought herself a few things.  Then she started to pull other things from her bag that she had bought for Amy and Darryl.  Amy suggested that she keep them in the bag so that it would be surprise.  Amelia said, "All right, but I got you some real nice soap that you can use to bathe me with."

Yesterday she asked her mom if she was going to get married again.  Amy explained that she wasn't that marriage was something that should last forever.  Then Amelia asked, "If you marry someone and they are mean, can you just switch them out?"

I'm sure that I didn't tell this as good as Amy could, but for now it is up to me to save these kinds of stories for posterity.

A Typical Week?

This was the first week that Bubba and I were completely retired and home all week.  Of course I've already talked about the fishing trip on Monday that was so much fun, but let's take a look at the rest of the week.

Tuesday we both got hair cuts and then we returned home where Bubba worked hard in the yard and I made a project of turning all the living room furniture upside down and vacuuming all the spider webs from underneath.  I took a picture but I don't think everyone needs to know how bad it was.  I had planned to mop and dust and a lot of other household chores, but I was exhausted after the living room upside down project so I called it quits for the day.  (I can do that now.)

Wednesday Bubba continued his work in the yard and I had a lunch date with a dear friend/former boss (Mary Ellen).  We had wanted to get together for so long to just have a good visit and we finally made the time for it.  We were at the restaurant for three hours and it was so much fun -- not to mention there was some good fried chicken and meatloaf.

Christmas shopping was the order of the day on Thursday and we managed to pick up the last couple of things we needed.  Most of our Christmas purchases were made online.  That is much less stressful.

Friday Bubba and his brother Joe went oystering and I worked around the house.  I also cooked a good supper.  Since I've retired it's usually Bubba who cooks the really good suppers.

The rain on Saturday made everything look so dreary.  I had two goals for the day -- wrap Christmas presents and make cheese balls.  I accomplished both.  Bubba fried oysters and mullet for supper.

Maybe I don't have high expectations, but it was a pretty satisfying week for me.  I love waking up and enjoying my coffee while I look out the window.  I like stopping a job in the middle because I can always finish it tomorrow.  So far I'm not seeing the downside to being retired.  I know that we will probably have some dreary days ahead but I think it's going to be just fine.

Fishing on Monday

Another benefit of being retired is that you can go fishing whenever you want to.  Bubba and I woke up this morning to what appeared to be a foggy, dreary day.  We decided to go fishing anyway and set out around 8:00.

One thing about fishing I have never understood is why you have to go a long way from where you start to fish.  If you fish from the hill, you try to throw out as far as you can.  If you fish from a boat, you try to throw as close to the hill as you can.  It just doesn't make sense, but that is what we have to do.  We rode down the river and went way back into a slough.

I caught the first fish that was big enough to keep.

But I have to admit that Bubba caught the biggest fish.

We fished until about noon catching nineteen bream and a catfish.

When we got home Bubba cleaned up the boat and cleaned the fish while I worked on making him a fruit cake I had been promising him.  For supper we had fried fish, potato salad and hushpuppies.  You can't beat that for a good day.

Retirees Acting on Impulse

What do you do when you go somewhere for a week and come home with your trailer still packed with food?  You go in and wash some clothes and then go somewhere else.  That way you don't have to unload the food.  That was our strategy for the week after Thanksgiving.  We headed for St. George Island State Park for a couple more days of fun.  By now the weather was warmer and being out in the warm sunshine sounded like a good plan.  We camped at site #59 which is our favorite location.

After getting set up we headed down to the beach where we found a mermaid sculpted in the sand.  Amelia loves mermaids and I hope next time we're at the beach together maybe we can make one ourselves.

We tried surf fishing again with no luck, but it was nice just sitting out on a beautiful day and enjoying the weather.

We had planned on eating at The Hut Restaurant our first night there; however, we soon discovered that they were closed. We had just about decided to pick up a pizza on the island when we ran across Bayside Burgers.  We really didn't want a hamburger, but it was getting late and the parking lot was pretty full so we decided to give it a try.  To our delight, they had a full menu with a lot of seafood selections so we were able to get the fried shrimp that we were wanting.

The next day we tried our luck at fishing off the old bridge across Apalachicola Bay.  Once again we had no luck but enjoyed making the effort.  My goal is to catch a flounder on a rod and reel.  

The next day we decided to take a long walk on the beach.  When we came across this starfish, I asked Bubba to put it back in the water.  I told him that it reminded me of The Starfish Story.  He had never heard it so I had to tell it to him.

Later that afternoon we decided to head for home.  We had managed to eat most of our groceries.  We sat out in our recliners and read a lot.  (We get no tv at St. George Island most of the time.)  We slept with the windows open listening to the sound of the surf.  We talked and walked.  It was a good trip.

On Friday we spent the day trying to buy groceries and a few Christmas gifts.  We were both exhausted by the time we returned home.  We're looking forward to a river fishing trip next week.  They are supposed to be biting.  I am ready to do some catching!

It's Not About the Food

Days are going by much faster now that I'm retired.  We had planned to spend Thanksgiving week at Frank Jackson State Park in Opp, Alabama, several months ago. Bubba's brother Joe lives close to the park so it is always a good place to visit. Our original plan was to go on Tuesday, but after watching the weather we decided to speed up our preparations and travel up on Monday.  Thankfully we did the right thing.  It started raining and blowing Monday evening and this foul weather continued on through Tuesday when it started turning cold.

I usually make the comment that it is not all about the food, but this time was certainly centered around the food.  Tuesday afternoon I watched Judy make three cakes - chocolate, German chocolate, and carrot.  She says that I helped, but I only stirred one time.

By the time we got to their house on Wednesday morning, Judy had already made a coconut pie, a pecan pie, dressing, dumplings and sweet potato casserole.  You may be wondering how many people were going to devour this feast - probably thirty right?  No, just seven.

The cold weather continued and made it seem like the perfect Thanksgiving.  Joe and Judy's son Jody, his wife Melissa, and son John came to join us for dinner.  Everything was delicious and you can rest assured that I did my part in sampling all this delicious food.

That evening Jody and Melissa went home leaving John with his grandparents for the rest of the week which made us all happy.  He is a sweet little boy and is a pleasure to have around.

On Friday Joe got Bubba to go with him over close to Birmingham to buy a boat he had seen advertised.  Of course they had to have a flat tire on the trailer on the way back, but eventually they made it.  Judy and I visited and enjoyed John and I have to admit that I returned to the trailer for a much needed nap.

Saturday included a little shopping in Opp and watching the Auburn/Alabama football game.  Even though I'm not a football fan, I  recognized that last play that won the game as being one that would be talked about for a long time afterwards.  We were with Auburn fans and they were very excited about the win. 

After the game we went to the Old Barn Restaurant in Goshen, Alabama, to celebrate my 65th birthday.  I had a delicious fork tender ribeye steak.  This is a great restaurant, but it is about a 45 minute drive from Opp.  By the time the football game was over and we drove there and ate it was pretty late especially for Bubba and me.  We haven't quite given up our early bedtime yet although we are working on it.  After all you're only 65 once.

It was a good week.  We enjoyed our time with family.  It was good to be off without having to worry about who I could get to take my place at work.  By the way, Bubba has retired from his one day a week job so we are both free and it feels great.

Meanwhile back in Baton Rouge, Darryl, Amy and Amelia celebrated Thanksgiving with their friends, Damien and Rebecca.  Amelia considers Damien and Rebecca part of her family and she had made Pilgrim and Indian "hats" to commemorate the first Thanksgiving.  Damien and Rebecca were good sports.  We missed seeing them for the holiday, but we have another coming soon and we're looking forward to it.