Third Time's the Charm

After weeks of being held hostage by the inclement weather, we were finally able to schedule a weekend getaway to the Corps of Engineers Eastbank Campground.  This was the third time we had made reservations here.  The first time was last summer when I got menengitis and the second time was a few weeks ago when it flooded all week.  But the third time was the charm.  The sun was shining and the sky was blue as we set out for our first visit at a COE campground.  We paid $10 for a lifetime senior pass last summer and were able to stay for $11 per night!  Now that's a bargain.  Going into Chattahoochee we got a glimpse of the Jim Woodruff Dam.

  We took a left in downtown Chattahoochee.  The campground was on the "backside" of the dam on Lake Seminole.  The check in process was easy.  The volunteers manning the gate were very friendly and we proceeded to our camp site.

All the sites were spacious and clean.  We had reserved site #8 on the water and were well pleased with our selection.

We were lucky to get one of the sites with a tree and we had a beautiful view of the lake.  So what do you think was the first thing we did?

Nothing!  We got our recliners out and just sat in the beautiful sunshine and took a little "power nap".  Later we walked around the campground and got the lay of the land.  Part of the time was spent trying to get a picture of me with the geese (Bubba's idea).

Did you know that geese will not stay still so you can get your picture taken with them?

And now a picture of the two of us with the beautiful lake in the background.

For supper Bubba grilled some country style ribs and I fixed some hash brown potatoes and a pear salad to go with them.  Yum!  (Again a good blogger would have taken a picture of the food.)  We also enjoyed some sloppy joes and grilled hamburgers over the weekend.

And now a picture that exemplifies one of the biggest pleasures of camping.

Taking time to appreciate nature and the beauty of the world around us is just something we don't make time for at home.

This was a good weekend and something we "needed".  I'm very grateful for the beautiful weather.  We are already looking forward to our next outing.  The problem now is that the period known as spring break in all schools encompasses a period from late February to the end of April.  Florida campgrounds are booked up and many others as well.  We definitely want to go back to the Georgia Veterans State Park in Cordele, GA, before the end of April.  The scenery there was beautiful last spring and we want to get back while the dogwood are still blooming.  We also want to get back to the place we bought the good sausage last year and stock up on that.  Joe and Judy will be going with us and we will get our first glimpse of their new travel trailer.  We can't wait!

Note:  If all goes as planned, I should be able to retire on November 1.  I have about four weeks of leave between now and then and I want to use it all.  It sounds like a lot, but it isn't when you start figuring all the things we want to do, especially having Amelia with us some.  I'm glad that I have a four day work week right now so that helps a lot.

You Are Invited

Imagine how excited we were when we received this invitation in the mail.  We were invited to GrandParents' Day at Amelia's school and we were delighted to accept.  I took off on Thursday and we drove for hours in some of the heaviest rain I've ever traveled in.  Thank goodness Bubba is such a good driver.  We stopped for breakfast at a Cracker Barrel and lunch at a Cane's Chicken Fingers in Mississippi.  This place has the best chicken fingers I've ever eaten.

We arrived just in time to pick up Amelia from school.  Her cry of "Nana!"  when she saw me in the backseat was priceless.  We returned home to snack on Zulu King Cake and a cookie for Amelia.  This was the first of three King Cakes we had the opportunity to sample while we were there.  This one has a combination of chocolate, cream cheese, and coconut and was delicious.  The others were a Pecan Praline and a Strawberry Cream Cheese.  The were all so good.  What a wonderful Mardi Gras custom!

Amelia was delighted with the present we brought her.  It is the Pop Star and the Princess Barbie Doll. She comes as a princess and by twisting her hair and dress you can change her into the pop star.  She told us several times how much she liked it, but the truth is the last thing she needed was another doll.  I guess that we are the ones who needed to give her a present since we don't see her nearly enough.

Amelia has a Rapunzel game for the Wii that she is obsessed interested in right now.  The thing is that I don't think any of us (adults) can figure out what is going on with it.  Here is a picture of me playing with her; however, I was not allowed to handle the controller.  That is because she was showing me how to play.

That night Amy went to see a former high school student whose team was playing LSU.  She was so happy to see that the girl achieved her dream of playing basketball for Georgia.  (Don't we all remember that one special teacher who really cared?)

This is our official going to Grandparents' Day picture.  We had no idea what to expect but had been told to go  to the church sanctuary to begin the morning.

The place was packed.  I'm glad that we got there early enough to get within a few rows of the front.  One set of grandparents had come from Minnesota and another had come by plane from Atlanta.  There is no underestimating what a grandparent will do for their grandchild.

The program had an Elvis theme.  Each class performed to an Elvis song.  It was a cute program.  Amelia's class sang and danced to "Shake, Rattle, and Roll".  They all performed with a great deal of enthusiasm.

After the program, we adjourned to visit the classrooms.  Amelia's teacher led her class in singing some Valentine songs to their grandparents.  When we introduced ourselves to her teacher, I remarked that we had heard a lot about her from Amelia.  She replied, "If you will only believe about half of what you hear about me, I will only believe about half of what I hear about you."  

Amelia took great pleasure in showing us around her room.  She explained the different areas to us and some of the rules involved.  There was artwork displayed everywhere and we admired it all appropriately.

This is one of Amelia's friends, Elijah.  For whatever reason, he did not have any grandparents present so we tried to include him in our visit.  He was a cutie.  Such an outgoing personality for such a little boy!

We checked Amelia out of school and went to the outlet mall and then for lunch to Chuck-E-Cheese.  She ate two big pieces of pizza and proceeded to use her twenty tokens on all the games.

We went to a Wal Mart where she found these slippers she "needed".  The toes twinkle when you walk.  Of course she needed them.  You never know when the lights will go out and you might need to locate your feet.

Our final stop for the day was the mall where we got a nice long train ride.  Do I not look happy?  I'm probably wondering why Paw-Paw never has to ride the train.  That night Darryl grilled hamburgers for supper and they were really good.  Did I ever tell you that hamburgers are one of my top five favorite foods?

 When asked what we wanted to do on Saturday, Bubba asked that we go to eat at Middendorf's Restaurant where we had eaten many years ago when they previously lived in the area.  The restaurant was destroyed by Katrina but has since rebuilt.  The restaurant claims to be home of the thin fried catfish.  They bring out a plate piled high with the thin fillets of catfish, with french fries and Cole slaw.  It is really good.

Of course, a really good blogger would have taken a picture of the plate of catfish.  My problem is that my appetite is always bigger than my desire for a good blog picture.

The picture on the right features my two girls in their boots.  Amelia loves boots and Amy is trying cowboy boots for the first time.  I think she looks great.

That night we babysit so that Amy and Darryl can go out with friends.  Paw-Paw takes his turn with the Rapunzel game.  He is allowed to actually hold a controller although I don't think he knows what to do with it.

This is our Valentine surprise from Amelia and Amy. There is nothing we would rather have.  For the first time I actually see a little resemblance between Amelia and me?  (Probably my imagination)  She is a precious child and it was our joy to be there for her Grandparents' Day.  We are already looking forward to our next occasion to visit.

One more thing:  When Amelia wants something from Amy, she will whisper her request in my ear.  It always begins with "Tell your daughter to let me play with her phone, etc."  What's up with that?  I don't know, but it is cute.

Redneck Medical Journal Entry by Bubba

Bubba wrote the following after he and Joe went oystering for medicinal purposes, I'm sure.

Oysters are good for your health. First you benefit from the salt air when you ride in the boat to get to where they are. Then you benefit by walking in the mud.  That works leg musclea and your heart beats faster.Then there's the salt spray in your face back to the landing.  When you shell them, you exercise your hand muscles,arm muscles, and chest muscles.  Also when you eat them, if your digestive system is not right it will clean you out.   Then you will be ready for for a new beginning. From Dr. Bubba.    Sent from my iPad

Joe's new boat was deemed "perfect" for oystering.

Bubba is working hard to stay healthy.

And so is brother Joe.....

In fact, it made them feel so good that they will probably do it again soon!

How Long Until Another Rainbow?

Well, we had a couple of weeks of Christmas festivities and returned home on a Saturday morning to a house still full of Christmas "stuff".  Bubba left after we unpacked the trailer to go with his brothers to look at a boat that Joe was hoping to purchase.  And I was left alone missing Amelia already.

Amy's old dollhouse is back in place.  When Amelia is here, it usually sits on the coffee table or in the middle of the living room floor with all kinds of toys scattered around it.

Amelia's craft table sits awaiting her return.  She loves to cut and paste, color and paint, staple and stick.

  

Our third bedroom is Amelia's room.  The stickers on the wall are starting to come loose, but we spend time before she settles down at night to get them stuck back.  One night when we were talking before I read her story she told me, "Nana, I think my bedroom is beautiful."

Someone asked me the other day what was the one thing that Amelia got to eat at grandma's that she didn't get anywhere else.  Well, it is not something to eat, it's something to drink.  We always stock plenty of "yoo-hoos" before she comes to visit.  Amy told me not to let her have too many and I didn't.  We still have one left!  Look, it says its rich in calcium and vitamin D right on the carton!

This is where Amelia plays bookstore/library.  She calls her patrons in one at a time (me or Paw-Paw or Amy if she's here) and allows them to get one picture album of her baby pictures.  She has to do a lot of writing and calclulating before you can leave with the book.  No matter what we are doing, if she calls out that she is ready for a customer we have to respond.

This is a sample of the paperwork required to get a book.  The first line is my age (64).  Next is my name. (Note the curls she has started putting on her lower case 'a'.)  Next she asked my dad's name and the final question was who I was married to.  

It is not so easy to get a good book these days.

This is what I was referring to in the title of this blog. Amelia loves to draw rainbows.  Now I'm looking forward to February when we see our precious granddaughter again!

A Cousin Reunion

We arrived at Frank Jackson State Park to find Joe, Judy, John waiting for us.  Amelia, who had not seen John in two years, jumped out of the truck and ran to give him a big hug.  This, of course, was totally unexpected by John who immediately blushed with embarassment  I think at that point he was beginning to wonder what lay ahead for him in the next few days.

After the delicious lunch that Judy had prepared we all went to their trailer which is quite a bit bigger than ours so that John and Amelia could get to know one another and enjoy playing together.  Let me also include that it was icy cold and windy all week long so playing outside was out of the question.  In no time at all they were having a good time together.  John (age 7) had received an i-pad for Christmas and Amelia had her mom's.  They began to compare games and take turns swapping them back and forth.  I was afraid that Amelia was taking advantage of John, but he assured me, "She has some cool things on her i-pad that I don't have."  There were so cute together.  We often observed Amelia resting her head on John's shoulder while he showed her something on the i-pad.  They played inside together for most of two days without any whining, tears, or melt-downs.  I give John a lot of credit because he is older and was very patient, but Amelia did well at sharing and taking turns also.  Kudos to all parents involved!

Thursday we carried them to a Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch and games.  After pizza, they took their tokens and mostly went to different things to play rather than going around together.  It was a good day although an adult should be tranquilized before going into that place.  It sure was noisy, but a good time anyway.  That night as we left their trailer, Amelia hugged Joe and Judy and then she turned to John, who, this time was waiting for his hug.

That night I was so tired when putting Amelia to bed.  She has a way of stalling the process somewhat.  During a lengthy conversation about our day she told me, "Nana, John doesn't like girls, but he loves me!"  Also in this conversation while she rested her head on my chest, she said, "Nana, you're so soft and wonderful." and then after her prayer and "Jesus Loves Me" and "Sweet Dreams", she called me back again, "Nana, I just want to give you one more hug."  She sure has a tight hold on our hearts.

The next morning both sets of grandparents headed to carry their little ones back to their parents.  We met Amy in Mobile and Amelia was very happy to see her.  We were grateful that they allowed us to have her for this week.  I hope that Amelia and John will be able to have more good times together.  They are two very special children.

Paw-Paw and Amelia enjoy a rousing game of Hi-Ho-Cherrio

Christmas Continues

I've postponed writing about the rest of our Christmas activities because I just wasn't sure what I wanted to write.  I must say that I enjoyed Christmas this year more than last and that I really have nothing negative to note.  Good news, right?  Last year was a little melancholy for a Christmas blog.  


Bubba and I were at home alone on Christmas Day, which was really fine. I had to go to work the next day and we were tired from the past weekend which involved camping in Opp so it was a low key, but enjoyable day.

I totally surprised Bubba with an i-pad.  I bought it Thanksgiving in Baton Rouge, had Darryl set it up for him after we went to bed at night, and hid it in a clothing drawer ever since.  During the past month, I don't know how many times Bubba said to anyone who would listen, "I don't want anything to do with any computers."  To say the least I was a little nervous about the reception this gift would receive.  I was the one surprised.  He has taken to it like a duck to water.  By the end of the day, he was  e-mailing back and forth with his brother and sister and Amy.  He discovered the world of Netflix and is enjoying the number of documentaries that are available to watch.  He uses GoogleEarth and Thursday night enjoyed Facetime with Amelia.  He is learning to Google things he is interested in.  I want to put a book on it for him, but so far I've not talked him into that.  It was a good day and we were looking for Amy, Darryl, and Amelia to come on Thursday.

Bubba smoked a ham (his second) and we enjoyed a Christmas Meal together when they arrived.  Amelia was eager to open presents as soon as possible so we obliged her.

Our big present to Amelia was a Camper that is an accessory to her Loving Family Dollhouse.  It opens up and has a bathroom, beds, a living area, driver's seats, etc.  We included the grandma, grandpa, and little blonde granddaugter with it for playing camping trip.  It seemed to be a hit.

As with any toy, it required some assembly which Paw-Paw was delegated to do.  Amelia appears to be appreciative of anything she is given as a gift.  Now, she can't possibly "like" everything she receives (who does?), but she knows how to make the giver feel good.  (Smart strategy, right?)

She comes with lots of hugs and kisses.  They are very addictive.

On Saturday, Amy and I went to see "Le Mis" at Pier Park Movie Theater.  We had seen it together on stage many years ago and have been looking forward to the movie.  We were not disappointed.  If you're not big on musicals, you should try this one.  It is amazing how involved you can become in a story told entirely in song.  By the time it got to the end, I was almost doing my ugly crying.  I was not the only one, you could hear people sniffing all other the theater.

Amy and Darryl returned home on Sunday leaving Amelia with us for the next week.  Sunday was a restful day.  I watched "Polar Express" with Amelia and we ate popcorn.  I'm drinking coffee from my mug Amelia gave me for Christmas.  It is a nice big mug with some of her artwork on the side.  I love it.  Amelia loves popcorn.  She will eat the whole big bag of microwave popcorn by herself.  She accompanies it with hot chocolate or chocolate milk.

Monday was spent getting ready to go camping.  Amelia and Paw-Paw had some quality time together that day.  She loves the tire swing that he built her.

Amelia wanted to take Paw-Paw's picture on the swing.  She's a pretty good photographer.

She is really contemplating this flower she picked.  She explained that it was a special flower with special powers -- it can make it snow.  She handled it very carefully as she explained that you have to spin around very fast, make a wish, and then when you throw it on the ground it will start to snow.  She never demonstrated how it worked, but she was very sincere about it.

Paw-Paw also introduced Amelia to a new way to enjoy ice cream.  They got two spoons and dug into a half gallon of Blue Belle Nutty Chocolate.  All Amelia could say was "ummmmmm."  They did a lot of damage to that half gallon.

We finished up the day by loading the camper and preparing for an 8:00 getaway to Opp, AL, and our favorite camping spot.  

Joe and Judy and grandson John were going to be waiting for us.  Judy promised Ham, Black-eyed Peas, Potato Salad, Sweet Potatoes, Turnip Greens and Fried Cornbread. Yum!! Maybe that is why this is our favorite camping spot?

A Festive Christmas Gathering

There's no place like home for the holidays.   For several years now, Brother Joe and his wife, Judy, have opened their home to Joe's side of the family for a Christmas gathering.  They go all out to see that everything is just perfect and that everyone has a good time.  This year was no exception.  This year we took the camper up to our favorite park and spent the weekend.  We arrived on Friday in time to help them with a few last minute chores.  Then Friday evening we went back to the camper for a quiet evening and a bowl of chili while they went to choir practice.

I wanted a little tree with lights for the camper, but they were all gone by the time I decided that I wanted one.  I found this little one at the Dollar Store and was actually pleased with how it turned out.  I had planned to put out our sign with garland on it and hang our new Christmas lights from the awning, but the weather discouraged all attempts to be festive.  When we arrived it was so cold and windy.  We did what we had to do outside and then were happy to get inside to the warmth of the trailer.  It was so windy that we had to put boards on our outside rug so that it would not blow away.

This was our view out the window we awoke on Saturday morning.  Can you see the squirrel on the tree?

Two big tables were set and ready.

Judy spent three days making candy and cookies for her guests.  

Bubba's sister, Azalea, and her husband, Marshall, were among the first to hit the table full of Christmas goodies.  They have a camping trailer that they haven't used for years.  We're trying to get them to get it in working order so they can join us on some of our outings.

As family begins to arrive, the presents begin to pile up on the Dirty Santa table.  This always proves to be a lot of fun.

Joe tends the smokers which are filled with chicken and ribs.  

Finally the food is ready and everyone
gets in line, eager to partake of the delicious meal of Smoked Ribs & Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Baked Beans, Salad, Deviled Eggs, and Rolls.

What is so nice when this family gathers is that we just take up where we left off.  Some we haven't seen in such a long time, but that doesn't matter we're still family.  Jody and Melissa brought Melissa's parents from Canada with them this year.  They were such pleasant people.  Now we know where Melissa gets that from.  Bill and Jean were a welcome 

addition to our group.

For dessert there was Coconut Cake, Fruit Cake, Carrot Cake, Cinnamon Pound Cake, and Pecan Pie.  

After the children opened their presents, it was time for the adults to play Dirty Santa.  Our niece Leigh got Paula Deen Frying Pans which she got very excited about and wanted to keep.  She kept them hidden most of the time so no one would steal them from her.

Nephew Andy looks pleased with his box of "tupperware".  Don't worry Andy, I want that "tupperware".  I got it too!

Bubba got a charcoal chimney which is something he wanted.  It was a fun game with some pretty good items.

After Dirty Santy everyone began to gather up their things to leave.  We went back to the trailer for a little rest and then returned that evening to eat with Joe and his family that was still there.

The next day we got up and went to church with them and enjoyed their church choir's cantata very much.  Sunday afternoon was spent visiting.  Rest assured that more eating was involved.

The family owes Joe and Judy a big thank you for their hosting this gathering.  It takes a lot of time and preparation to put something like this together.  It's important to come together as a family when you have the opportunity.  This year we missed Azalea's girls and their families and Amy, Darryl, and Amelia who couldn't make it this time.

I started off by quoting the line from the Christmas song, "There's no place like home for the holidays."  To me, home is wherever family is.  This time home happened to be Joe and Judy's.  Thank you both so much for your love and hospitality!