More About the Willie Nelson Weekend

As I said in my earlier post about the Willie Nelson concert, I wanted to make the trip by myself.  No, I wasn’t mad at Bubba but I just like to prove to myself that I can do things on my own if the need arises.  Besides that, I had so many wreaths that I was taking to Atlanta with me; I just didn’t have room for Bubba.  I had wreaths everywhere in the car.  The bad thing about these wreaths is that you really can’t stack them easily or let them touch or it’s almost like Velcro pulling them apart.  I had my one little duffel bag and a tote bag up front with me.

I had an easy trip.  I stopped at a Dunkin’ Donut in Dothan because it is my belief that if you wear good underwear, shave your legs, and have something fattening in your stomach, you will experience safe travels.  (It doesn’t hurt to leave your house clean either, but I don’t want to go overboard with my superstitions.) 

I'm waiting in line at Dunkin' Donuts.

Traffic was light.  The sky was overcast but no rain.  I listened to a book most of the way and everything went smoothly.  I stopped at a Cracker Barrel in LaGrange for lunch and I was fortified to head into the Atlanta traffic, which wasn’t bad at all.  I believe in getting in one lane and staying there, but I was able to easily change lanes when needed. While I was driving to Atlanta, Bubba and Joe were kayaking in Econfina Creek.  I'm glad he was occupied so he didn't have time to worry about me.

I went straight to Amelia’s school to pick her up for Amy, who had some extra teacher chores going on that evening.  Darryl had just arrived home when we got there and he took us out to eat and we had a nice visit just the three of us.  Poor Amy didn’t arrive home until after 10:00.  I don’t know how she does it.

The next morning I lazed around the house with Amelia’s puppy, Billy, and then met my cousin, Vicky, for lunch.  We usually meet at a pretty nice restaurant for lunch, but this time I suggested Five Guys when I heard that she had never eaten there.  I really like their hamburgers and fries plus I knew that it was not as noisy as the place we usually eat.  I'm sad to say that I have a hearing problem in restaurants where there is a lot of background noise.  Vicky seemed to enjoy her lunch and I was glad to get to introduce her to Five Guys.  We had a nice visit catching up on all the family news and I returned home to prepare for that night’s Willie Nelson concert.

Saturday was dreary and rainy.  There was no way I was going to stand out in the rain trying to sell my wreaths.  Amy suggested that we take pictures of them and post them on Facebook.  We did, but I did not sell a single wreath.  We loaded up and went to Another Broken Egg for breakfast and I had my first blackberry grits.  As we pulled out to go eat, the people across the way were setting out some patio furniture and tools that I assumed they were going to try to sell.  When I saw the tools, I made the comment, “Bubba would be in heaven with all those tools.”  Poor Amelia misunderstood what I meant and said, “Bubba is in heaven and nobody tolded me….”  She screwed up her face and was ready to cry.  I quickly assured her that Paw-Paw was fine.  He was not in heaven and that was just an expression that meant he would be really, really happy looking at those tools just like people who are in heaven are happy.

Blackberry Grits

Amelia had beignets and has powdered sugar around her mouth.

Amy, Amelia and I went shopping for Amelia some cold weather clothing that afternoon.  She has outgrown her jeans from last year and she was in dire need.  I promised that I would buy her the Junior Monopoly game and her mom had promised a Harry Potter book if she would be a happy shopper with us and she was.  Saturday night Darryl grilled steaks and as always they were delicious.

The next day (Sunday) after they all went to church, we went out to eat and then we finished up the shopping by getting Amelia a new pair of shoes.  The mall had a big Lego display which she enjoyed.  They had replicas of the White House, the Capitol Building, Independence Hall, and the Statue of Liberty. 

We got the new shoes and stopped by Barnes and Noble to pick up the Harry Potter book for Amelia.  She read  much of the first chapter on the ride home.  

When we got home, I played Junior Monopoly with Amelia and two imaginary friends for about 1 ½ hours.  Sadly the winner of the game was an imaginary friend and not Amelia or me.  She had planned to read a little more of the Harry Potter book before she went to bed, but we couldn’t find it anywhere.  When we did our prayers, she asked me to pray that we would find her book and I did.  After I tucked her in for the night, I went downstairs and Amy had found the book.  It was in plain sight on the coffee table.  Interesting, isn’t it?

Amy and I worked on her Halloween decorations over the weekend.  The houses in her subdivision go all out with decorations for every holiday.  We got the deco mesh garland around her front door and the witch wreath hung.  In addition, she got up some spider web lights on her front window and seated a skeleton at the table on her porch.  She fixed her mantle inside and still has some decorations to set out in the house.  Her small group from the church is going to meet there on Wednesday before Halloween.  She wasn’t finished by the time I left, but was well on the way.

Amelia enjoyed doing the limbo under the garland
 I was making for Amy's front door.

Door is ready for Halloween.

Garland for the front door for fall.

Amy and I both inherited my mother’s gene for decorating.  Amy has a better eye for what looks good than I do, but I do enjoy changing out some of my décor for the seasons and holidays.  The sad thing for me is that I no longer entertain people at home as we did when I worked at the church.  Most of the time no one sees it but Bubba and me, but as I always tell Bubba, “We’re worth it.”

I waited until after 9:00 on Monday morning to start my drive home.  I came all the way in a light rain which thankfully never got too heavy.  I had just started out when the tire light came on in the car.  I knew that everything had been checked when Bubba took the car in the week before, but I pulled off the interstate and the first thing I saw was a Goodyear Tire Store.  I asked them if they could check my tires, which they did.  They said the tires had too much air in them.  They let some out of each tire, reset the light, and it never came back on.  There was no charge for doing this, but I gave the young man $10 and told him my peace of mind was worth way more than that.

I had a great weekend, but it was good to be home.  Bubba had fixed pork chop casserole and a pot of peas for supper and it was really good.  He hasn’t lost his touch in the kitchen although he doesn’t get in there as much as I would like.

The next day (Monday) I saw the dentist and decided to go ahead with the dental implant.  It is very expensive and I will still be missing a tooth for a couple of months, but at least I will eventually have one in that spot.  I found places to store my wreaths.  Some of them will replace ones that I have used for years.  I sure enjoyed making them.  I guess I need to find something that I enjoy doing that doesn’t take up as much space.  Warning:  Deco Mesh can be addicting!!

This is my souvenir... $20.