The Secret

Our outing to St. George Island and Manatee Springs was soon followed up by a visit from Amy and Amelia.  This was their last opportunity to come before schools starts for Amelia on August 20.  The day before their arrival I baked Amy a chocolate cake with seven layers and the richest, fudgiest frosting I had ever tasted --- and it was thick between the layers and the layers did not slide off on the counter when I wasn't looking.  In short, it was a good-looking cake.  In fact, it looked so good that Bubba and I just had to try a slice.  Bubba immediately pronounced it "too sweet".  I agreed, but not really.  Then I made a pound cake so that we would have an alternative dessert to the "too sweet" chocolate cake.  Y'all let me tell you the truth, that cake was addictive.  Amy and I could not leave it alone.  We left the pound cake for Bubba and stuck with the chocolate cake.  Amelia chose the white powdered sugar doughnuts for her sweet treat and really worked on them.

She was very pleased with the beds and immediately put her dolls, "Amelia" and "Lily" to bed in them.

When Bubba and I were pulling the beds out of the junk packed closet, I mentioned that there was a ladder that went with them.  Bubba didn't think we still had the ladder so we didn't pull everything out of the closet to look for it.  When Amelia talked to her dad on the phone, she told him about the beds and said, "I got bunk beds, but there is no ladder."  We were all surprised that she even thought about a ladder.  I mean, after all, it is not like the doll actually has to climb up on the bed.  Later that evening, I whispered a "secret" in her ear.  I told her that when Paw-Paw went to work on Monday, we would pull everything out of that junk closet and try to find the ladder.  She loved the idea of keeping a secret from Paw-Paw.  And on Monday we went to the closet to start the big secret search and after I had pulled out only two boxes, I looked over on a shelf and there was the ladder just lying there in plain sight.  I was relieved and Amelia was thrilled.  Now her bunk beds are complete

Although Amy probably doesn't believe this, we look forward to seeing her as well.  I try to fix some of her favorite "Momma" meals while she is with us.  In addition to the cake, I fixed Fried Chicken for one meal and Fried Shrimp for another.

We had several ideas about what we might do for entertainment.  We thought about going to Apalachicola for seafood, going to Shipwreck Island, or spending the night in the camper watching movies and eating popcorn.  Bubba voted thumbs down on most of these ideas.

In Bubba's defense, we really don't know a good seafood restaurant in Apalachicola, Shipwreck Island would be anticlimatic after Disneyland, and it was raining all the time which would have tracked a whole lot of mud into the camper.

Saturday night Amy, Amelia, and I went to Blountstown to eat at a new restaurant that I had been hearing good things about -- Tavern on the Hill.  Amy and I both ordered the rib-eye steak and it was seasoned well and was very tender.  Amelia had her usual grilled cheese.  There was a man playing acoustic guitar and that was a nice touch.

Amelia had spent the week before in California where she had been the center of attention as the only child with a group of Darryl's relatives who had gathered for his aunt's funeral.  While there she went to Disneyland and California Adventures.  By the time she made the trip to see us, she was tired.  I think she was happy to be just left alone to play.

On Tuesday before they left for home, Bubba wanted Amelia to go outside with him to look inside her tire swing.  A mama bird had built a nest there and Bubba had heard the little ones chirping when he went outside.

Amelia was so excited to see the little baby birds.  They were just little balls of down.  

This reminds me of a book I had when I was a little girl about Amelia's age.  I think the name of it was "Stepladder Babies".  I still remember the little poem that was on the first page of the book.                                     

                                                    We have a secret, just we three,
                                                       The robin, and I, and the sweet cherry-tree;
                                                         The bird told the tree, and the tree told me,
                                                            And nobody knows it but just us three.

This is a picture of the birds a week later. I wish Amelia was here to watch them grow.

I guess their visit mark the end of "summer". It is still raining and it is still hot. I'm back at work and things are back to normal for now. We have a couple of camping trips planned over the next month or so. We're hoping the weather will cooperate.

For those of you who thought my last blog was a little strange, I have to defend myself. I was attempting a different style of writing. I read a lot of books with two or three different things going on at the same so I was trying to be more creative. I guess I had better just stick to telling it like it is.

Can't Quit Thinking & Summer Vacation

I’m counting down.  I thought I had a realistic retirement date of November 1.  Now I’m not so sure.  Around the middle of July I called the Florida Retirement System for some information.  I wanted to find out exactly how much my pension would be each month if I retired on October 31.  They told me that they would send me that information in 4-6 weeks.  Can you believe that in this day of modern technology that it will take 4-6 weeks to get that information?  Of course I’ve already figured it myself based on a yearly statement I get, but I just wanted to get my figures confirmed.

Earlier in the summer we planned a vacation for the first week in August when we will celebrate our 47^th anniversary.  The first part of the week would be spent camping at St. George Island for three nights and then we planned to go down to Manatee Springs for three nights.  We invited Joe and Judy to join us, but they were only available for the time at St. George Island.  When we arrived, they were already there and we had lunch together.  Later that evening we went into East Point and had supper at The Hut Restaurant.

That evening Joe and Bubba planned to surf fish and Judy and I went along to watch.  The plan was to catch some minnows to fish with, but then Bubba began to catch some fish in his bait net including three mullet.  That gave Joe the fever so they both spent the rest of the time trying to catch mullet.

After calling about my state retirement, I decided to call the Social Security Administration to check on that as well as when would be my effective date for Medicare coverage.  That involved a phone system of pressing “1” for this and “3” for that, etc.  Finally I got a real person, but I’m pretty sure I got a dud.  Now I’m all confused about Medicare.  I’m reading that it will be effective on November 1 if my birthday is December 1.  I’m reading that, but he is not saying that.

On Saturday Bubba and Joe head out to do some fishing from their kayaks.  I sleep late and had just started getting dressed when I hear someone knocking on my door.  It is Judy.  Her hair dryer has caused a breaker to go out and when she went outside to check on it, she locked herself out.  Joe doesn’t have his phone with him and we all know that Bubba only turns his on when he wants to talk.  We sit and visit for a couple of hours waiting on the guys to return.  When they do, Bubba has caught a nice flounder so now our Alabama relatives have a good seafood supper in their future when they return home.

Early Sunday morning, Bubba and I head out for Manatee Springs.  We were supposed to stay at St. George Island another night, but apparently I got confused when making the reservations.  Luckily we were able to check into the spot we had already reserved at Manatee Springs a day early.  It was an uneventful trip.  Soon after getting everything set up at our site, Bubba headed for the springs for a dip.  He loves cold water.  I consider it painful, but I promise to go with him the next day.  

Our anniversary supper was at Bar-B-Q Bill’s in Chiefland.  I had googled restaurants before we left home and this one had many positive comments.  It was a good meal and we enjoyed it very much.

The following morning, I help Bubba launch the kayak and he paddles toward the Suwanee River.  It turns out that it is not that far so he returns and I take a turn with the kayak.  This was a good strategy because I got so hot paddling that I was even ready to get in the ice cold water of the spring.

After our morning at/in the spring, we returned to the camp site where Bubba grilled hot dogs for lunch and a ham steak for another meal.

Although my state retirement figures my service time right up to my last day, it appears that Social Security doesn’t work that way.  If I wait until December to draw my social security, I’ll get an extra $27 per month which doesn’t sound like much, but to me it sounds like a pedicure a month for the rest of my life.  (I believe I’ve mentioned before that I love my pedicures.)  Now what am I going to do?

On our earlier excursion into Chiefland, we saw a sign for Cedar Key.  Bubba said that he would be interested in going there.  We were expecting a little fishing town about like Apalachicola.  It was not.  It had some condos and some really old, old motels, but not the tourist type things we were expecting.  There was definitely a shortage of places to eat.  Bubba stopped at a convenience store for a recommendation on where we could find lunch.  We were directed to Annie’s Café.

It was a tin building without air conditioning.  I still can’t believe I ate there.  The lunch special was a Fried Pork Chop, Rice/Gravy, Cabbage, and a Roll.  Seafood was also on the menu, but it was expensive especially for a place without air conditioning.  Lunch was good and I was seated so I could keep an eye on the cook and she seemed to know her business.

I guess Bubba’s favorite thing about Manatee Springs is the cold water, but my favorite thing was the deer.  At one point, we had eight of them at our site.  You could walk around outside and they would just keep on standing there.  We were told upon checking into the park to not feed the deer so we didn’t, but I really wanted to so badly.  They are such beautiful animals.

Well, as usual, we got ready to come home before our time was up.  While we were eating breakfast Wednesday morning I asked Bubba if he was ready to go home.  I knew I was.  The heavy rain had pretty much messed up our camp site so it was no longer enjoyable to sit outside and we had spent as much time as we wanted swimming so we packed up and headed for home.  We camped five nights in a row which is our longest time ever.  It was a good time, but I’ve about decided that summer is just not the best time to camp.  It’s too hot outside to do much except swim and this year the mosquitoes are terrible.  I think the cooler months make the best camping trips.  We are already talking about some trips in the future.

I’ve got to quit worrying about a retirement date.  We’ll go to the Social Security office early in September and maybe I’ll get someone who can answer all the questions to my satisfaction.  I still enjoy my job so it’s not like I’m miserable.  I just have to be patient a little longer.

Question:  My little blog has over 2,000 page views.  There has to be more than just a few friends and relatives reading this.  I would love for you to comment and let me know how you came across my blog.  It is something that I started as a way of recording some of my experiences.  I enjoy writing it and I hope you enjoy it as well.

A Stitch in Time

It started raining right after we took Amelia home and it hasn’t stopped since.  I don’t believe we have had more than one or two days without rain since July 1.  There is water everywhere and the mosquitoes are out in full force.  And those one or two days occurred in the middle of the week not on the weekend so that has made the summer weekends pretty boring.  When I sit around and watch TV or read, I feel guilty like I should be doing something productive which has resulted in my floor being mopped more this summer than ever before.  It seemed futile to plan a camping trip in the midst of all this bad weather.

So you can imagine how quickly I moved to action when Amy casually asked me if I still had the doll bunk beds that she played with when she was a little girl.  Of course I have them!  I’ve saved them for the past 30 years just waiting for the day when she would ask for them.  Immediately I began to think about dragging out my 1975 sewing machine and making new mattresses, blankets, and pillows for the bed.  I used to sew a lot.  In fact I made Amy many outfits as well as clothing for myself.  I even made an ET costume that won a prize, but the sad truth is that I don’t consider myself much of a seamstress.  It always took me forever to make something and never came easily to me.  But I remember when I was a little girl, my Papa J. made me a doll cradle and my Granny made the mattress, pillow, and blankets for it.  They had three little granddaughters who were about the same age and this was our Christmas present from Papa and Granny.  It was special to me so I wanted to make these beds of Amy’s special for Amelia.

I surfed the internet until I found some simple directions.  Then I went to Hobby Lobby where I discovered that the 75 cent thread, I used to buy was now $2.39 per spool.  I chose the materials and went to work.

I cut the pieces for the mattress as directed – no problem.  Then I stitched the pieces together – no problem.  I stitched across each corner giving it a box look – no problem.  Then I stuffed it – no problem.  Then I realized that the internet directions were not going to work for these beds.  The mattresses were too thick so I had to pull out the stuffing and re-cut each piece; however, I must say that this did not take too much longer.

The next Saturday we returned to Hobby Lobby when I realized that the board that the mattress sits on needed to be pink since its original covering was red.  Thankfully, Paw-Paw handled this part of the project since it required measuring and gluing neither of which is my strong suit.

I took apart an old baby blanket, cut it in half and edged it with the same material I used on the mattresses.  It turned out pretty cute.  Pillows were made for each bed and finally it was done.  

The scraps were put away, the sewing machine went into the closet, and the floor was swept.  Project complete!  I was feeling pretty good and could hardly wait for Amelia to see it.  Then the call came….Amelia’s doll has a cat.  Could I make a bed for the cat also?  Oh my, here we go again!

The Good Times Continue

On Wednesday we set out bright and early for Frank Jackson State Park in Opp, Alabama.  This continues to be one of our favorite places to camp.  It is a park with everything important (a beautiful lake, full hook ups, and wifi).  It is also our favorite because it is located close to Joe and Judy.  Amelia was really looking forward to this trip because she was scheduled to have four days with her cousin, John.  You may remember John from a prior blog.  He is eight years old and Amelia loves him.  They play very well together probably due to his patience with his younger cousin.  We arrived and were setting up on our site when Joe and John drove up.  Of course, Amelia gave John a big hug which he politely endured.

After lunch at Joe and Judy's home, the kids spent the rest of the afternoon in the swimming pool.  Both love the water and it was nice to see them playing together while we sat in the shade ever watchful for their safety.  That night we went out to eat at a local restaurant.  (You can't rough it all the time, you know.)

The next day Judy and I took Amelia and John to Dothan.  We had a big day planned starting with lunch and fun at Chuck E. Cheese.  (You know they do have good pizza.)  This was followed with using all their tokens to play games.

John and Amelia have different "styles" when it comes to selecting what they want to do.  John studies the situation before he decides he wants to play. Amelia shoves the token in and worries about how to play after the game starts.

By the time they had used up their tokens, it was time to head out for the movie which was next on our agenda.  They cashed in their tokens for great prizes.  Amelia selected a little plastic bug and green fake teeth.  John (the big winner) got her a pink slinky with some of his winnings.  

Aren't these green teeth an appropriate prize for a sweet little girl?

I tried hard not to think about all the dirty hands that might have been involved in producing these things.

After stopping by the concession stand to purchase incredibly expensive popcorn and drinks, we settled in to watch the Disney movie, Epic.  I've linked to a review of the movie which is pretty much accurate; however, it did hold our attention.  In several places Amelia said she was scared and would climb into my lap, but afterwards she said she enjoyed the movie.

While we were away, Joe and Bubba kayaked on a portion of the Pea River.  Although the trip took only five hours, they encountered several rapids and this time Bubba had no option but to go over them along with his reckless younger brother.  Just look at that white water behind him!

This is a picture of Joe enjoying a delicious lunch of sardines... ugh!

We returned to our campsite on the lake where we were joined by Joe, Judy, and John for hamburgers.  Amelia helped a lot by carrying everything to the table and setting our places for our "picnic".

By this time we have had Amelia for six days and I can tell that she is beginning to miss her mom and dad a little.  That night after she was settled into her new Dora sleeping bag on her Dora sheets, she enjoyed a phone call with mom.

Amelia was listening to music on my i-pod while I was getting ready for bed.  By the time I finished, she was sound asleep without her story, her prayers, her "Jesus Love Me" or her hugs and kisses.  We had really had a busy day!  The next night she remembered that we hadn't had a story the night before, so we read two to make up for it.

Friday we went over to Joe and Judy's for a fish fry.  While I was trying to brush Amelia's hair, she was misbehaving and I asked her to stop twice.  The third time, I sent her to "time-out" on our bed in the back of the trailer.  She cried and carried on like I had beat her with a big stick.  (I always had my doubts about this "time-out" business before, but now I'm a believer.)  After several minutes of crying (me and her) she came out and told me she was sorry and we finished brushing her hair.  A popsicle made us both feel better.

Back at Joe and Judy's, the kids played games on the i-pad and the Wii. Finally Bubba had the fish fried and we sat down to a delicious meal of Fried Fish, Hushpuppies, Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Fried Onion Rings, Fresh Cucumbers and Tomatoes AND Judy had baked a lemon pie AND she had baked a seven layer chocolate cake.  

Amelia and John spent the afternoon in the swimming pool.  Both of them seem to prefer being under the water most of the time.  It was another great day.

Back at the camp site, Bubba took Amelia out in his kayak.  She loved looking at the lily pads and their blooms.

Amelia enjoyed paddling the kayak.  After Paw-Paw gave her some pointers, she was ready to do it on her own.

We were back at Joe and Judy's Saturday by lunch time.  This time Joe manned the grill.

As you can see, we had Grilled Chicken, Corn, and Zuchinni.  It was delicious! That afternoon (although we had already had chocolate cake for dessert), we had homemade ice cream.  John ate three bowls and announced he had a tummy ache.  Amelia ate two bowls.  She loved it.

Sunday morning while I was getting things inside the trailer ready to go, Amelia and Paw-Paw enjoyed some time together outside.

We thoroughly enjoyed these four days in Opp.  Joe and Judy are the most hospitable folks you would ever meet. Amelia enjoyed playing with John.  She says that he's her cousin and her friend.  It could not have been any better.

Back home on Sunday we got everything put up and resumed our normal life.  Amelia had her favorite meal -- pancakes, and this time she ate bacon with them.

On Monday I took Amelia out to where I work for a visit with my friend, Bridget, who was filling in for me.  I was so proud of her as she shook hands with my boss and the assistant warden.  She answered their questions and was very personable.  Afterwards she got to spend some time with her Aunt Ashley and cousins, Madison and Avery.

Tuesday we headed home with her.  Boy, were she and her mom glad to see each other.  I never saw so much hugging going on.  Amy had unpacked most of the boxes and had their new home looking great.  She had even taken time to bake a chocolate chip cookie cake and oatmeal cookies.  Then she insisted on paying for our dinner that night.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but not only is Amy a wonderful mother, she is a wonderful daughter as well.  We were so pleased to have Amelia with us for ten glorious days.  I can honestly say it was one of the best vacations I've ever had.  We're hoping that she and Amy will be able to spend a few days with us before school starts.

Good Times and a Plan for the Future

On June 14, we went out to Baton Rouge to pick up Amelia for a visit with Nana and Paw-Paw while Amy and Darryl moved into another house.  (Hey, didn't we do this last year also?)  We made the eight hour trip over on Friday and made the ten hour trip back on Saturday.  (The traffic was horrendous!)  Amelia is an excellent traveller.  She plays games on the i-pad and amuses herself with whatever toys she has in the backseat with her.  

On the way home we made a necessary stop at Wal Mart for some things Amelia "needed" for going to the beach the next day.  She selected sunglasses, a swim noodle, a swim board, a new beach towel, and last but not least, she spotted a Dora the Explorer sleeping bag that she desperately "needed" for our upcoming camping trip the next week.

Sunday was the perfect beach.  The water was clear and beautiful with gentle rolling waves -- not the kind that knock you down when you least expect it.  Amelia was sporting a new mermaid fin that she was eager to try out.  She LOVES mermaids.

We stayed several hours with most of the time spent in the water because Amelia, just like her mom did, loves the water.

Bubba worked on Monday so Amelia and I went shopping.  I was wondering how that was going to work out, but she was a very good little girl the whole time.  We went to Kohl's because I was looking for a new swim suit -- you know, the kind that makes you look slim and well toned.  Well, I didn't find one even worth trying on, but Amelia found something for me that she was very excited about.  It was a two piece top consisting of a tank top type thing underneath a flowing chiffon flowered top.  Amelia held it up against herself and urged me to buy it because, "Nana, it is just so beautiful!"  I resisted as long as I could, but finally agreed to try it.  Amelia was so excited.  She insisted that this was the perfect thing for me to wear when I'm 80 and we go to New York City together.  (By the way, I'm very flattered that she thinks that when she is 20, going to New York City with her 80 year old Nana would be fun.)

Here you have it!  When I got it on, Amelia said, "Nana, you look so beautiful!"  What would you have done?  I bought it because she loved it.  I think Bubba thought I was crazy because I do not need anything that looks like cruise ship attire.  By the way, I'm taking it back.  It is really not something I would wear, especially in the chiffon.  The important thing is that Amelia thinks she picked out something beautiful for me.









Tuesday we spent time around the house and in the neighborhood while we were loading the trailer for our camping trip to Opp.

Amelia and Paw-Paw sat in the swing with a carton of Blue Bell Chocolate Ice Cream and two spoons.  Isn't that the best way to eat ice cream?  They ate until they finished off the carton.

Then they went down the road to visit our neighbors, Jo and Fletcher.

These dear people have been our friends and neighbors since 1974.  They were like grandparents to Amy.  They attended her piano recitals and her graduation from Samford University.  They even helped us move her stuff to college and back in their van.  So, of course, they love Amelia too.

Amelia enjoyed fishing in the lake behind their house.  She caught two turtles and was just as happy as could be with her catch.

Amelia talked about Archie a lot. She was sweet talking about how she loved him and he loved her.  She is convinced that Archie is seeing Jesus right now. She asked, "Nana, where are Archie's bones?"  I couldn't figure out what she was referring to.  Was she asking to see his grave?  She finally said enough that we realized that she was asking about his "toy" bones that he chewed on and played with.  She determined that he had all that stuff with him in heaven.

We had two days at home before we left to go camping.  Amelia is growing up fast.  She entertains herself well.  We get lots of hugs and kisses.  What a joy she is!

By the way, she wanted to sleep in her new Dora sleeping bag here at the house.  I didn't want her to because I knew that she would be hot.  She insisted that she was cold and that the sleeping bag would keep her warm.  When she got up around 12:30 to get in bed with me, her hair was damp with sweat.  I told her that I knew she would be too hot and she said, "That's okay, Nana.  I like to be warm."  I know that she will enjoy it more in the camper because it does get cold in it at night.  

So many special moments in just two days time -- we are looking forward to our trip to Opp where we will stay for four nights.  There are more good times ahead for sure.

Stepping Out of His Comfort Zone

Friday, June 1, 2013, marks a special day in the life of my husband, Bubba.  He embarked on an adventure that was totally out of his comfort zone and totally spontaneous.  In fact, one of Bubba's favorite Bible verses is 

"A wise man thinks (plans) ahead; a fool doesn't, and even brags about it. Proverbs 13:16."  We pretty much only do the things we have planned carefully ahead of time so you can imagine my surprise when Bubba called me at work with the news that he was going to Texas.  His brother, Joe, needed to deliver a piece of farm equipment to a buyer near Dallas, Texas, and asked Bubba to make the trip with him.  After giving the idea very little thought, Bubba agreed and announced that he would be leaving the next morning at 2:30 to head for Opp to join Joe for the trip.

Joe and six other men have formed a company, Flex Rake LLC, to market a piece of equipment that was invented to make the baling of hay a more efficient process.  The equipment is beginning to catch on with this latest sale being to a farmer near Dallas.  

Joe and Bubba headed west by 6:00 on Friday morning.  The drive out took nearly seventeen hours.  The trip was not without its problems.

Somewhere along the way, they had a blow out and had to replace a tire on the trailer. They saw many new sights along the way.

On Saturday morning they made the delivery and Joe spent some time with the customer explaining the operation of the new FlexRake.

Just remember, if you know any hay farmers be sure to tell them about the FlexRake.  If Brother Joe gets rich selling these, he is sure to treat his relatives well.

Mayo on the Side, Please

As Memorial Day weekend drew closer, we began to worry about how much we would enjoy our stay at Seminole State Park if we could not get a spot on the water.  We made our reservation weeks ago, but unlike Florida where you can reserve a specific site, Georgia and Alabama are first come, first served.  The solution came when Joe and Judy announced that they were going too and that they would check in on Tuesday and out on Friday.  That way we could pull into the spot they were vacating.  They were pulling out because the campground was scheduled to be full for the weekend so they would not be able to stay on.  To make a long story short, Joe made friends with the right people and we were all able to camp on the lake for the weekend.  Go Joe!

Since our last outing, Judy has aquired her own kayak.  She and Joe spent a lot of time of the lake. 

It wasn't long before Bubba got in on the action.  He and Joe fished late in the evening and early every morning.  And they caught a few fish -- enough to keep it interesting.

One of the things I enjoy the most is sitting outside in the morning drinking my coffee.  It was cool enough that I had to cover up when I first went out.

We went out to eat Friday evening at a little restaurant that was part of a private campground near the state park.  Joe and Judy had discovered it earlier in the week.  Papa Doc's proved to be an excellent choice.  It was homey, but very clean looking and smelling.  Judy had fried catfish.  Joe had fried gator tail.  Bubba had fried shrimp.  I had a hamburger steak.  All of us were very satisfied with our meal.  By the way, I tasted the gator tail.  It tasted like chicken, but like the crawfish I sampled, I would never order any.

Saturday evening Joe took charge of the grill and prepared some delicious chicken.  We bought some corn earlier that day in Bainbridge and he added that to the grill to cook at the same time.

As you can see, we had a table full of good things.  Hamburger patties, smoked pulled pork, chicken, corn on the cob, pear salad, chicken, and grilled tortillas for bread.  It's not all about the food, but preparing a meal together and sitting outside to eat just makes you feel like life is good.

We had promised Joe and Judy that we would stay up until 9:00 with them Saturday night and enjoy some time around a blazing campfire.  We did it!  We are used to going to bed early because during the week we get up so early, but we did manage to make it until 9:00 as promised.

Joe and Judy packed up and left Sunday morning.  Bubba and I planned to stay until Monday.  That afternoon we sat outside under the awning and enjoyed some reading.  While we were reading, the lake was full of boats, jet skis, wave runners, pontoon boats......

It's funny.  Joe and Judy had seen an alligator out there the evening before we arrived.  I don't know what happened to him, but if he was lucky he did a hasty retreat when all this activity started.  

Judy and I did some walking and talking.  We have to catch up on what's been going on.  She graciously allowed me to bring her bicycle home with me so that I can "practice" riding it.  Riding a bicycle is supposed to be one of those things you never forget how to do.  I tried it briefly Sunday afternoon when we got home.  I caught my pants on the pedal and lost my shoe plus I was wobbling all over the place.  On my next try, I will have on jeans and tennis shoes.  I think it would be good exercise for my knees if I can do it.  I don't want to buy one until I'm sure.

Oh yes, the title of this blog.  After we had finished eating hamburgers Sunday evening, I was putting things away when I dropped the jar of mayonaise.

It went everywhere.  It was on the ceiling, on the blinds, on the sofa, on the cabinets, on the floor, and on my pants.  What a mess!!  We think we got it cleaned off of everything.  This was the worst part of the weekend.  You can bet that I will be sure a lid is on tight on the things I pick up in the future.  

We are looking forward to our next outing.  Amelia will be with us for that and we can hardly wait.