St. George Island January 2014 - A Little Too Cold

Several months ago we planned a January camping trip to St. George Island with Joe and Judy.  It's a shame, but there are a lot of state parks in Florida that are full during the winter months with Snow Birds from up north.  So on January 20, knowing that the weatherman was forecasting a cold snap, we met them at the St. George Island State Park for four days of camping in cold weather.

Monday was cool, but not unpleasant.  We walked down to the beach and enjoyed the view.  That night it rained a little and then the weather began to turn colder.  Bubba and Joe went oystering on their kayaks and Judy and I rode into Apalachicola so that I could pick up a prescription at the local CVS.  Bubba and Joe got back about the same time we did and they set up at the picnic table to enjoy their oysters and tell some yarns (true fish stories).

The big thing I don't like about this park is the lack of tv reception.  Most of the time the only channel we can pick up is the PBS station.  That tends to isolate you from the world which is good and bad.  For example the weather was predicted to be a hard freeze on our last night there and we didn't know it until Judy was able to pick up the weather on a local channel.  Probably if we had known that we would have come home a day earlier, but when we found out it was really too late to do anything about it.  We crossed our fingers that our pipes at home wouldn't freeze. (They didn't.)

We tried to spend time sitting around a fire to keep warm.  Everyone knows that smoke follows beauty so Judy and I were constantly having to move our chairs to get out of the smoke.  Then I suggested that we bring out a fan to direct the smoke away from us.  Bubba and Joe laughed at my idea, but Judy went to get her little fan and I found an extension cord for it.  Not only did it direct the smoke, it also made the fire hotter.

On Thursday we got out and did some sightseeing.  We ate lunch in Panacea at Posey's Seafood and Oyster Bar.  Then we made a round through the Ochlockonee State Park looking a camp sites for a visit there in the future.  This area is home to white squirrels and we were lucky enough to see them.

I always say that it's not about the food, but I can't help but mention that Bubba smoked a ham that was so tender it was falling apart.  Judy made chicken salad that was some of the best I've ever eaten.  We also had pulled pork, a fish fry with mullet and flounder, lemon pie, oatmeal cookies, German chocolate cake and carrot cake.  It's not about the food but it does seem like some of the best times in life occur in the vicinity of a great meal.

This trip was the first time we have camped since Christmas and we got to try out the awning lights that Amy and Darryl gave us.  We love them.  In warmer weather we will be able to sit under that awning with enough light for reading.

Although it was too cold for a lot of outside time, we enjoyed the time spent with Joe and Judy.  We arrived home and found that all our pipes had survived the cold night.  After unpacking and putting things away which we can do in about a hour, we got in our recliners and enjoyed the ipad, tv, and laptop.  We had missed them.  I guess we are becoming addicted just like the younger generation.  Now we will watch for a few days of warmer weather and plan another trip.

Traces of Love Linger

It's hard to believe that Amelia and Amy have only been gone ten days.  Their visit seems like it took place a long time ago.  Count yourself fortunate if you're a grandparent with your grandchild living nearby.  We're still enjoying the little traces of the visit that were left behind.

We allow Amelia to play with Play Doh when she is with us.  All kids love Play Doh and all parents hate it.  It makes a big mess and the children never put it up properly.  This is the set that "grows hair" on the monster so you can cut it off with the plastic scissors.  Amy had one similar to this when she was a little girl.  Today I wiped up what I hope are the last crumbs of Play Doh and it made me smile.  I could still see her playing with it while I cooked.  (Thankfully none of it ended up in our food.)

I found this heart behind an end table when I pulled it out to vacuum.  Similar notes of love were found all around.

I found this on the desk in her room.  Expecting it to say "I Love You", I opened it.

Oh well, she must be as proud of my age as I am.  After all, turning 65 opened up a wonderful new world for me. 

Retirement continues to be all and more than I expected.  We wake up when we want to.  We have time to wake up slowly with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.  If we decide we want to go somewhere, we go.  It's a feeling o freedom and it's great.  I really thought it might take me some time to adjust to not being needed by everyone at work, but it didn't.  We continue to look forward to good times ahead.

A House Divided

While Amy and Amelia were here this past weekend, Bubba "fried" a small turkey in his "Big Easy Oil-Less Turkey Fryer".  I thought I would post a picture if you've never seen one.  

We like fried turkey very much, but we're too frugal to spend $30.00 on peanut oil to fry one bird.  The turkey turned out great.  (We've got to start using this thing more.)

Okay, enough about "The Big Easy."  Even though this was a small bird we had turkey and dressing three times and we still had a lot of turkey left.  Bubba began talking about creating a pot of turkey and noodles with peas and corn in it and lots of soup (water).  In my mind I began making a casserole with turkey, noodles, peas, corn and cream of chicken soup to hold it all together.

By the time we bought groceries I thought I had convinced him to walk down the creamy path with me; however, this morning I could tell from the disappointment on his face that he was really wanted turkey noodle soup (water).  So I said (with the wisdom of Solomon), "Fine, I'll make both."

The noodles started out as one big happy family in this pot with chicken broth, onion and celery.  Look at all the turkey that was left over.

The noodles soon parted company as I dipped out the noodles for my casserole and added more water to the pot for his soup.

This is my finished product.  Isn't it beautiful?  (I didn't take another picture of Bubba's because you could barely see the turkey and noodles through the soup.)  Although I have always loved to cook I generally go by a recipe and don't head into unknown territory,  but my casserole was very good.  In fact good enough to make again.


 
While we enjoyed our soup/casserole, we talked about our differences in an attempt to reach some middle ground.  Bubba declares that he is "old school".  If company is coming, you just add more water to the pot.  I think he learned that from his mother.  I watched her take one chicken neck and boil it three different times to make three different dishes.

Bubba didn't want to taste my casserole and I didn't want to taste his soup (water).  I guess some issues are important enough to take a stand.  For the tens of people who read my blog every now and then, please take a minute to let me know what kind of person you are.  Are you "watery" or "creamy"?  Please respond to the survey on the right.

The Polka Dot Dress

Have you ever owned a piece of clothing that when you wore it, you just knew without a doubt that you looked GOOD?  Through the years I have owned some things that I really thought looked good on me.  When Amy was two years old, I bought a navy blue polka dot dress.  I wore a white scarf tucked in the neckline and I knew I looked good.  In fact, I wore it to Amy's second birthday party where a million pictures were taken to record this significant event.  In 1975 we did not have digital cameras.  We used cameras with flash cubes and then mailed off the roll of film and waited a week to get the pictures back.  Alas, I discovered the terrible truth -- that navy polka dot dress did not look as good as I believed.  In fact, after seeing the pictures I never wore it again.

This is the best picture out of the million taken.  Pictured are me, my mother, and my grandmother who is holding Amy.  I think my grandmother was probably not much older than I am now.














In November 2013, I bought a lightweight flannel shirt that I love.  It feels good and I love to wear it.  I  received enough compliments on the shirt that I went out and bought another in a different color.  On top of that I know/knew I look good in it.

Oops, it's the polka dot dress all over again!  The only difference is that I intend to keep wearing it.  It still feels good and I've reached a point where I can accept the fact that I'm never going to be thin.  I cannot accept the fact that I'm going to be unhealthy; therefore, I plan to make 2014 a year of consistent exercise and work on portion control.  I'm enjoying my retirement and want to be able to enjoy all our plans for the future.  

Confessions of an Over Indulgent Grandma

We've all watched enough Oprah to know what an "ah-ha" moment is.  According to the dictionary it is, "a moment of sudden realization, inspiration, insight, recognition, or comprehension." The dictionary also said that the expression was first used in 1939. So I guess that I was giving Oprah too much credit. Oh well, enough about that.

 Saturday when Amy was here for the weekend, we decided to have turkey and dressing for our big meal because Bubba wanted to use his "Big Easy Oil-Less Turkey Fryer" again.  I waited until Saturday morning to make the dressing and sweet potato casserole so for breakfast we opted to have cake/coffee.  When I asked Amelia what she wanted for breakfast (a mistake), she said "pancakes".  Since we were supposed to eat our big meal later in the day, I told her that I would fix pancakes for her lunch.  Later we changed our plans and decided to have a late lunch rather than supper because it was starting to look as though it might rain.  So as I was just about to have everything ready to put on the table, Amelia realized that she was having pasta (another long story) for lunch rather than pancakes.  So what do you think I did?  I'm ashamed to admit that I pulled out the griddle and quickly made her a plate of pancakes.  Okay, my thinking was that I made a promise and needed to keep it.  In retrospect I realize that I should have explained to her that circumstances had changed and I couldn't make pancakes in the middle of all my other cooking.  I mean, don't we all need to learn that we can't have everything our way - all the time?

Another "ah-ha" moment came about when I realized that I (and Bubba too on this one) had allowed a mailbox with treats/toys in it to continue on in excess and for too long.  You may remember this blog I did, "And the Mailman Came", which I started for Valentine's Day 2012.  Because Amelia was so delighted with every little thing that was in the mailbox, she ran to it several times a day and I had started putting things in it several times a day.  Every visit since then I have stocked up on cheap toys/treats for the mailbox.  I realized that I had to stop so I told Bubba that this time, we would just put a dollar in it every day and then she could buy something at the end of the week.  You could tell that she was not impressed at all with the money, so Bubba suggested that we stop by the Dollar Tree and pick up some items for the mailbox.  She was very pleased to see that she was getting toys again, but after two or three times she started acting like she didn't really care so much for it.  So, her last morning here there was nothing in the mailbox.  I told her to take the mailbox home and she could play post office with it.

Now, I don't blame Amelia for the failure of the mailbox.  If I had not gone overboard with it, she would have probably enjoyed it for several more years.  I also take her a present every time we visit.  As much as I enjoy buying things/clothes for her, I'm not doing her a favor by doing that.  I mean, after all she loves us and gets excited about seeing us.  We should be enough without a "treat" every time.  I will probably regret putting that thought in writing because I really enjoy buying things for her, but I'm going to try not to go overboard.

I've confessed now and I pledge to do better.  I would rather be known as the Nana who always had time to play book store, make cookies and talk than the Nana who bought me a lot of stuff.

HOWEVER, I'm not giving up our trips to Chuck-E-Cheese!

Starting the New Year Off Right

As Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home" and we were happy to get to ours after a week of Christmas in Baton Rouge.  Amelia came back with us to spend a week.  Let me say to start with that she gets more fun and easier to see after every time she's here.  She spent Saturday night with her Aunt Ashley and cousins, Avery and Madison.  This gave Bubba and me a chance to buy some badly needed groceries and get a good night's sleep.  Ashley returned her to us Sunday afternoon and Amelia enjoyed playing with her toys for the rest of the afternoon.

The weather was dreary and cold so we didn't even attempt a camping trip this time.  Monday we went to Mexico Beach because Amelia has always enjoyed feeding the sea gulls every since she was a little thing.  The beach was so serene and calm even though the skies were gray.

She still enjoys the swing her Paw-Paw made her.  She always wants to go higher.










Tuesday, New Year's Eve, started with lunch at Golden Corral.  We chose that restaurant because she would have a choice of mac and cheese, pizza, anything she might be willing to eat.  She chose a roll and plain rice.  She ate only the roll and then was eager to try out the chocolate fountain.  She dipped marshmallows in chocolate, a brownie in chocolate, and a Christmas tree cookie in chocolate.  She was a very happy little girl.

Then we went to see Frozen.  Bubba claims to "hate" animated films, but I think we all enjoyed the movie.  We also visited Party America where Amelia picked out some items for celebrating the New Year later that night.  She had plans to stay up until the count down and the ball drop in New York City.

Our New Year's Eve party started out with a "rock and roll dance party".  We had to say our names into the microphone.  Bubba was "Mirror Man" (shiny hat), I was "Purple Feather" and she was "Star Light".

Bubba thought he looked like Abraham Lincoln in his hat.  I was a little sceptical.

Amelia used the karaoke microphone to announce our activities as they took place. My dance put my pacemaker to the test.  For refreshments we had chocolate cookies, peanuts, popcorn and hot chocolate.  My dance really put my pacemaker to the test, but Amelia said I was the best Nana ever because I danced with her.   It was going to be a miracle if all three of us made it to the eastern time zone new year, but we had horns to blow and we were ready.

She made it to 10:00.  We tried to wake her up to  blow her horn when it was time, but she wouldn't wake up.

I was afraid that Amelia would be disappointed the next morning when she realized that she did not make it to the new year, but it didn't seem to bother her.  After all, you can blow horns anytime.  It was fun.  It's funny, but we spent $28.00 on our Party America purchases which is the grand total of all money spent on New Year's Eve celebrations over the past 47 years. 

Note:  Amelia is covered up with a princess quilt which was made by a lady I worked with.  I bought it when she was just a few months old.  She was admiring it and said, "It's so pretty.  I wish I could needle."

Amelia loved her hat and it was well worth the $10.99 spent on it.

The celebration concluded with pancakes for breakfast.

Amy came on Friday to visit for the weekend and pick Amelia up.  We had a good visit and I even persuaded her to go through some of her boxes from high school and college.  We were able to clear three boxes which gives me a little extra storage space in that closet. 

The holidays have been great.  This is the first year that I haven't really cooked for either one.  I missed it, but I enjoyed it even more.  We are very grateful for the time we had with Amelia and look forward to next time.

Christmas 2013 Plus a Correction

Sunday, December 22, was predicted by all the weather forecasters to be a dreary day with lots of rain; however, I assured Bubba after a great deal of study that we would be travelling west while the weather would be moving east which would mean that for the most part we would have good weather for travelling to Baton Rouge.  Boy, was I wrong and I was reminded of that several times before we reached our destination.  It didn't just rain on us, it poured!!!  Several times the rain was so heavy that the traffic was barely moving on I-10.  We were able to get a break around Gulfport to do some shopping at an outlet mall, but it started up again and didn't improve until we were almost in Baton Rouge.

Amy and Amelia attended "The Nutcracker" that afternoon and they arrived shortly after we did.  Amelia was very inspired and entertained us with a lot of expressive dancing that evening.

At my request, Darryl had prepared a beef brisket for supper.  The next day he bought a bag of oysters which delighted Bubba.  Amy and I passed on the raw oysters and enjoyed a delicious meal at an Italian restaurant.

Tuesday we left Amy making a huge batch of cinnamon rolls that she wanted to give to friends on Christmas Eve and took Amelia to her favorite place, Chuck-E-Cheese.  We arrived just as Chuck-E-Cheese was throwing out free tickets and Amelia was able to collect quite a few.  After eating pizza, she played games.  One game yielded such a large number of tickets that she ran across the room with the string of tickets flying behind her to show me what she had done.  Of course, the tickets were traded in for some fine prizes like a plastic star ring and a foam rocket shooter.

We also had time to hit the produce stand and bought some delicious Louisiana naval oranges and some sweet potatoes.  And of course we spent a lot of time at home watching Amy cook and spending time with Amelia.

Christmas Eve was busy with dinner preparations for that evening and Christmas day.  Darryl smoked a ham for Christmas Eve.  Amy finished up all her cinnamon rolls and she and Amelia delivered them.  I helped Amelia "decorate" some sugar cookies for Santa and then later that evening just before bedtime, she scattered food for Santa's reindeer on the front lawn.

Christmas morning was a lot of fun.  Amelia always acts so excited about everything she gets.  

My cousin Vicky sent Amelia an Elsa doll from Frozen and a Frozen jacket.  Both were very popular gifts.  Good job, Bebe (Amelia's name for her).  

The Elsa doll sings and her hands light up when she does.  (She is motion activated.)  This is a picture of Darryl trying to figure out how to turn her off.

Amelia loved her princess guitar from her cousins and the Elsa costume from Santa.

The costume came with a lovely necklace and long earrings.

We had requested permission to get Amelia a karaoke machine for Christmas and finally Amy and Darryl agreed.  She loves to sing so much that we thought she would really enjoy it and she has.

It was a fun Christmas Day and concluded with a delicious dinner of Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, Asparagus, and Potato Casserole followed by Chocolate Cake and Pecan Pie.  As delicious as all the meals were, Amy declared that there would be no more cooking so we ate a couple of meals out the day after Christmas.  Amy and I went to shop the after Christmas sales, but neither one of us found a bargain that we needed,  In fact the stores were not even crowded which I thought was unusual.

Friday we headed for home and were fortunate to have Amelia come with us to spend the next week.  We stopped in Mobile for a quick visit with Joe and Judy and their family at the Meaher State Park which was right on Mobile Bay.  This is a place we will have to visit with our camper in the future.

We had a great Christmas visit and were excited about the prospect of having Amelia visit for a week.

Note:  I forgot a couple of important facts in the telling of our Christmas visit.

1)  Not only did we watch Amy cook all week, we ate with gusto everything she prepared.  The cinnamon rolls were melt in your mouth delicious.  I could have eaten a whole pan all by myself.  The Yorkshire pudding was new to me and I loved it.  I have never cooked fresh asparagus, but hers was delicious.  The potato casserole was out of this world and the sweets.......OMG they were wonderful.  I did not cook a thing the whole week and I thoroughly enjoyed being on the receiving end.
2)  Darryl does a wonderful job with the meat he prepares on the green egg.  I am especially a fan of his beef brisket and now I am a lover of his prime rib.
3)  While Amy and I shopped the day after Christmas and enjoyed a mother/daughter lunch, Bubba entertained Amelia by "helping" her put together a Lego cruise ship she received from Santa.  After diligently following 50 pages of instructions, he relinquished his job to Darryl who helped her complete it.  (Bubba wants to know what happened to Lincoln Logs.)