Busy Week in Atlanta - Easter 2016

Amelia as Stellaluna is the reason for our latest trip to Atlanta.  We have been enthusiastically anticipating seeing Amelia “star” in her Drama Club play, Stellaluna.  It was presented to the student body and parents during the day on Good Friday.  Of course, Amelia was amazing in her interpretation of the little bat who ended up in a nest of little birds who couldn’t understand why she preferred to sleep hanging upside down.  The grimace on her face as the mother bird fed her a grasshopper was priceless.  The costumes were cute and the dance added to the end of the story was precious.  Bubba and I stayed for both performances and enjoyed it both times.

Starring Amelia as Stellaluna

Stellaluna hanging from the nest to sleep.

Proud Grandparents

Proud Parents

That night Bubba and I stayed with Amelia while Amy and Darryl went out to celebrate their 17^th Wedding Anniversary.  (Boy, does time fly!)  Amelia and I spent the evening making our Easter Bunny cake which turned out to look look and taste good.

Saturday was spent getting some things together for Easter.  We attended church on Saturday night and heard an amazing sermon by Andy Stanley.

Sunday after the Easter Bunny came, Amy and Darryl returned to church to serve in their volunteer capacities.  I worked in the kitchen finishing up our Easter lunch so we could eat when they returned home.  We had honey baked ham, deviled eggs, broccoli and cheese, pineapple casserole (so good!), and macaroni and cheese.  My cousin, Vicky, and her husband, Robert, joined us for dessert later.  The Easter Bunny cake received compliments along with the lemon ice box pie Amy made. 

 We had some discussions about our upcoming trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.  Darryl strongly recommended that I get some hiking shoes and since he gives pretty good advice, we went to an REI store he recommended.  I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but the young lady working in the shoe department helped me find a shoe that felt good and was a price I could tolerate.  They even had a place that looked like a stack of rocks so you could check out how they felt going up and down a hill.  Then I got a pair of $12 socks that Amy had recommended to wear with them and I was all set.  In the meantime, Bubba found a slip on pair that he liked and he bought them.  Hang on to your hats!!!! This is twice in a one-month period that Bubba and I both bought a pair of shoes on the same day. 

Tuesday evening was the Fine Arts Festival at Amelia’s school.  The walls of the school were covered with student’s art work.  It wasn’t just cute things they had made; each had a label stating the technique they were studying by doing the project.  They also had tables set up in the cafeteria for the students to make things while they were at the festival. 

 At 7:00, the chorus presented their program.  Coming from a county where it seems there is no interest in the fine arts, it was refreshing to see such a large group of children from grades 2 – 5 present such a terrific program.  Instead of begging students to participate in the chorus, they limit participation to 80 from each grade.  I was so excited to see Amelia’s happy face as she sang her little heart out.  Not only is there this group that meets for practice before school, there is also time set aside for music during the school week.

During the week, we both enjoyed Amy and Darryl’s big treadmill with the big screen tv to watch while exercising.  It is set up in their basement.   I walked 2 ½ miles several times, which probably helped offset all the food I ate that was not Weight Watchers friendly.

Chocolate Shake

Hot Fudge Sundae

I LOVE Popeye's Fried Chicken!

We’ll be returning soon to keep Amelia while Darryl runs in the Big Sur International Marathon and Amy runs in the 15K. This is the marathon that Darryl was unable to complete last year and he is determined to go all the way this time. 

Note:  This blogger program won't always let me place the pictures where I want them.  Just wanted you to know that I try to balance them.  It just doesn't always work.

Remembering Navy Days and the EC-121K

Back in January, we had a camping trip that I haven’t blogged about yet because I wanted to include some memories from Bubba’s stint in the Navy.  We camped at Rocky Bayou State Park which I have talked about before, but the reason we went there was a desire we had to visit the National Naval Aviation Museum located in Pensacola, FL.  Bubba’s research indicated that a plane like those he flew on as a radar man for four years was on display there.  Our goal was to get a picture of him next to the wheel of the plane at age 72 to match the picture of him at age 17 while he was active military.

In addition to this plan, we wanted to see my brother, Len, who I don’t get to see very often.  We made arrangements to meet Len for lunch and then he accompanied us to the museum where he and his son, Larson, are frequent visitors.

Upon arrival we discovered that the plane, a EC-121K, was located on the tarmac with other planes and we could only get to it by taking a guided bus tour.  Len used his charm to get us all on the last bus of the day and we were able to see the plane from the bus and get some pictures, but not the picture we wanted.  We hope to go back when the Blue Angels are there because, according to Len, they open up those gates for the crowd to enter then.  The museum was very interesting and if you took time to read all the information on the different aircraft, you could easily spend the entire day there.

Bubba took this picture while in the Navy.

This is the picture taken at the Naval Aviation Museum.

Bubba loved being in the Navy.  To say that his life experiences were limited until then would be an understatement.  Since Bubba was only 17, he needed a parent’s signature to enlist.  His mother refused but his dad agreed to do it. Bubba, his best friend Johnnie Tiner, and another friend Mays Brown enlisted together.  After their boot camp training together, they pretty much went in different directions.  Bubba was very homesick.  At night he would dream of home and he says that he could hear the screen door on his back porch slamming in his dreams and wake up thinking he was home.  He soon got over his homesickness and began to experience a new life filled with travel and new experiences.

When filling out a form stating where he would prefer to be stationed, he listed Panama City, Pensacola, or Jacksonville.  He was assigned to Keflavic, Iceland.  Boy, that was a long way from Florida.  He was a radar man on a plane flying surveillance missions over the North Atlantic between Greenland and Iceland and between Iceland and Scotland.  It was at the height of the Cold War and the U.S. constantly watched for Russian submarines, ships, and aircraft.  Remember this was way before we had modern surveillance methods.  There were always planes in the air keeping us safe.  Bubba remembers being in the air during the Cuban Missile Crisis and realizing the seriousness of that situation.  (In the meantime I was just a typical teenager going through life without a care in the world other that finding a dress for the prom.) Bubba enjoyed the comradery he shared with his crew.  They had a cook on the plane who would fix them anything they wanted.  When they arrived back at the base in the middle of the night, the cooks were called to the dining hall to prepare them steak and eggs for a late night breakfast. (And yet, he weighed only 130 pounds when I met him.)

I can see why his mother wouldn't sign.
He's just a little boy!

He had over 100 flights which made him a member of the Century Club.

Bubba had the opportunity to visit New York City on his way to Iceland.  He ate his first “real” pizza while in boot camp.  He visited Puerto Rico when he flew on a nonstop flight there from Argentia, Newfoundland.  He visited Scotland where he gave his class ring to a young woman who is probably still waiting for him to come back for her.  (My attempt at humor!)  He visited Nova Scotia, the Azore Islands, explored Iceland and Newfoundland and saw an island being formed from a volcanic eruption.

He “mustered out” at age 21 from the Philadelphia Naval Yard.  He returned home and had a hard time finding employment.  He began to consider re-enlisting which his parents were strictly against and finally was offered a job at the Panama City Fire Department.  It paid nearly nothing and he helped install air conditioners for Sears on the side.  Eventually he went to the paper mill in Panama City for higher wages.

Bubba has stated many times that he regretted not re-enlisting.  Of course, hindsight is always 20/20.  The Vietnam War was coming.  It might not have been a career of flying back to base to steak and eggs in the middle of the night.  And he might not have met me.  After all I lived just up the road from him for years without meeting.  He also thinks that the military is the best option for young men who seem to be unable to figure out what they want to do with their lives.  It teaches discipline, honor, respect, loyalty and responsibility.  I think he’s probably right on that.

Of course, we plan to go back and when we get that perfect picture I’ll be sure to post it to my blog.

Vacation at the Ritz _______

I'm always telling people who ask how I'm enjoying retirement that there is no down side.  That is not exactly true.  There is a period of time after Christmas and before Easter that is not much fun.  It is cold, rainy, cloudy and generally depressing when you look out the window.  Camping is out unless you just want to go somewhere and sit in the camper.  You can't go south because the snowbirds have all the state parks wrapped up so you can't make a reservation. So Bubba and I have tried to get away from the house by going out to eat and doing some light shopping a couple of days each week.  It would be a good time to go to a movie but there is not much to see this time of year.  I've continued to spend time with my neighbor, Jo P., and recently had the opportunity to help another neighbor by taking her to a doctor's appointment and then a minor surgery.  (Her son had come two weeks earlier for her surgery and stayed to take care of her afterwards, but when I took her for her follow up appointment she found out they had done the wrong procedure.)

Anyway, you can imagine our excitement when Amy asked if we could stay with Amelia on Thursday and Friday last week so that she and Darryl could work.  Amelia had the whole week our of school and Amy had Monday through Wednesday.  They left for Disneyland on Friday after school.  Amelia and Darryl would be coming home on Wednesday afternoon and Amy was leaving the airport to attend a conference in Columbus, GA, for the rest of the week.  We originally planned to go on Wednesday so that we would be there when Amelia and Darryl came home, but then we changed it to Tuesday and finally to Sunday, which meant we would be there nearly four days before we actually needed to keep Amelia.  Yeah, the weather was supposed to get a little rough but we really, really, really needed a change of scenery.  Amy and Darryl graciously allowed us to occupy their house in their absence and from that point on, we referred to their home as the Ritz ______.  The accommodations were great with their only request being that Bubba put the trash cans out on Sunday and bring them in on Monday.

Amelia on the plane

Amelia and Amy at Disneyland

Amelia waiting to sign up for Jedi training

This was just what we needed.  We ate out once a day.  I made a big pot of soup that lasted for our other meals.  We did some shopping.  I found a couple of items that I had needed and hadn't been able to find at home.  The Fitness Center (basement) at the Ritz _____ had a commercial grade treadmill with a flat screen tv set up in front of it.  Bubba walked and watched Fox News.

Amelia and Darryl came home Wednesday after picking Billy up from the vet.  We went out to eat and enjoyed hearing all about Disneyland.  Amelia slept late the next morning and after chocolate chip pancakes and bacon, she announced that she wanted to stay in her pajamas all day and that sounded like a good idea to me.

Intent on her sewing

To continue our sewing lessons I bought two pieces of flannel that I thought Amelia would like (Star Wars and puppy tracks) and cut it out for her.  She did all the sewing on both pair and did a good job.  I put the elastic in for her.  She is fascinated by the sewing machine and how it works.  I unhooked it every time I left the room because I was afraid that she might feel confident enough to try it on her own.  

Star Wars

Puppy Tracks

As a present I took her a sewing basket of her own and equipped it with all the basics including the pin cushion that looks like a tomato which is just like mine.  She seemed very proud of it.  I'm hoping that one day she will show it to her daughter and tell her about our time we spent sewing together.  

Amy came in Saturday afternoon.  She is trying to set up a writing lab at her school similar to the one she worked in at UWF and this was a conference on that topic.  She met some people that gave her some good ideas and felt like her time was well spent.   

Saturday evening we ate at a Hibachi Grill which was a new experience for Bubba and me.  The food was very good and it was fun watching the chef prepare it right in front of us.

Sunday we headed home stopping at Cracker Barrel for a big breakfast.  Traffic was light and it was an uneventful trip.  (That's the best kind.)  We had spent seven nights in a row away from home!  That is probably a first for us.  The getaway was just what we needed.  Thanks to Amy, Darryl and Amelia for a great week!

Good Bye 2015! Hello 2016!

The perfect way to end a year is to bring your granddaughter home with you and that is what we did.  After our big Christmas with family, we packed up and headed home with Amelia in the back seat.  Our first stop was a Cracker Barrel where we all enjoyed a big breakfast.  Amelia is a picky eater, but you can always count on her to clean her plate when she has pancakes and bacon.  Amelia is a great traveler.  She entertains herself with the iPad and doesn't complain about the length of the trip.

When we got home she immediately went back to the bedroom and created a work of art.  Isn't that funny that she walked in and she chose to do an art project first thing?

Appropriately named "Winter Break Buttons"

Every morning Amelia was with us, we had chocolate chip pancakes and bacon except for the day we went to lunch and a movie and that day we had them for supper.  Each day started with a cup of hot chocolate prepared perfectly by Paw-Paw.  Poor Paw-Paw!  He was kept busy bringing me coffee and making hot chocolate for Amelia.

Amelia was anxious to visit our neighbor, Mrs. Patterson, and she prepared her specialty (corn muffins) to take her.  Mrs. Patterson was happy to see Amelia and she admitted that corn muffins were her favorite and proceeded to eat one.  We helped her move from one chair to another and Amelia was so sweet helping her move her walker and her cup of water to another location.

Making muffins

Tuesday we contacted Amelia's Aunt Ashley and made arrangements for cousins, Avery and Madison to come over to play and have a tea party that afternoon.  Amelia and I went to the local dollar store where we found plenty of good tea party food and some pink lemonade for the teapot.  We also located some decorations and tiaras for each girl to wear.

Sweet cousins!

The girls played a little bit and then devoured the dainty party food.  Avery and Madison especially enjoyed the little round peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that I made with a cookie cutter.  Amelia stuck with the little chocolate chip cookies and little squares of cheese.  A lot of pink lemonade was poured from that teapot.  Everyone had a turn serving the "tea".

After the tea party, Amelia wanted her cousins to meet Mrs. Patterson so I called to make sure it was okay and we fixed her a plate of tea party refreshments and walked down for a quick visit.  When we started down the road the girls got excited about taking her flowers.  First they picked from the neighbor directly across from us and as we neared Mrs. Patterson's house they began to pick flowers in her yard.  Of course, I knew that she wouldn't mind.  We had a quick visit and returned home where the girls enjoyed playing together until Ashley arrived to pick them up.

Amelia used Bubba's walking stick to protect us from "snakes"
as we walked down the road.

It should be noted that while Amelia was very excited that we were having a tea party, she was even more excited about the number of lizards living in our porch area.  She chased them down and delighted in holding them.  She wanted to keep them to take home with her.  (I bet Billy would have liked that.)

"Hey, little buddy."

The hunt is on.

Wednesday we skipped our pancakes because we were going to eat an early lunch before going to the movie, The Good Dinosaur.  Amelia chose that one over the chipmunk movie.  She seemed to enjoy the movie, laughing out loud several times as she ate every kernel of her popcorn.  "You have to get through your fear to see the beauty on the other side" was my favorite line from the movie.  As animated films go, it wasn't too bad.  Back home, I fixed Amelia chocolate chip pancakes for supper since we missed them that morning.

Several times Amelia has told me that she wanted to "needle" or "knit".  She uses both terms to indicate sewing.  I had given it some thought and decided that she might be ready to make something simple.  I cut a rectangle out of a piece of flannel and we proceeded to sew.  We were making a "heating pad" similar to one that I have.  It took a couple of hours to complete the project and it held Amelia's interest the whole time.  She was quite proud of herself.  She sewed the different sections using the machine.  (The first time she pressed the foot pedal, she was surprised by how fast it was going.)  She soon caught on to stitching slower.  She proved to be an excellent needle threader and caught on quickly to stitching the openings on each section closed by hand.

Putting rice into the pad.  Then it can be heated in
the microwave and placed on aching muscles.

Nice straight stitches

Pinning the pieces together

Master of the machine!

The next day she wanted to sew again.  This time she made a bookmark.  It had three buttons on it that she sewed on herself.  She took the bookmark home with her, but she wanted Paw-Paw to have the heating pad.  

Sewing on buttons

Nana supervises.

Rise of the Guardians was our movie for New Year's Eve.  We had popcorn, chocolate chip cookie cake, chocolate milk and fudge.  Two years ago Amelia fell asleep before the new year arrived.  This time she made it and was very pleased with herself.  She called her mom at 11:00 to wish her happy new year on Georgia time.

Happy New Year!!

Posing with Paw-Paw

(I was hoping she would choose the cupcakes.)

We were all tired the next day.  Bubba and I were certainly not used to staying up so late and neither was Amelia.  It was a lazy kind of day for us all.  We paid one last visit to Mrs. Patterson.  Amelia hugged and kissed her and rubbed her cheek and told her that she would miss her.  (So sweet!)

The next day we met Amy in Eufaula to return her daughter to her.  Amelia was so excited to see her mom.  We're going to miss her that's for sure.  She is growing so fast.  As usual it was a wonderful visit and we look forward to next time.

Note:  We received an e-mail confirmation this week for our plane tickets for our anniversary trip.  I think it is really going to happen!

Amazing Family Christmas 2015

Finally the day arrived for us to go to Atlanta for our Christmas holiday.  Tuesday before Christmas our car laden with presents, ham, potato salad, turnip greens, corn, and a cheese ball followed the now very familiar route to spend the holiday with Amy, Darryl, and Amelia AND Darryl's brother Dayton and his wife Daphne and older kids Cameron and Savannah AND Darryl's sister Ashley and her little girls Madison and Avery.  (Ashley's husband, Wayne, is pilot on a tug on the Mississippi River and had to work Christmas.)  I have to admit that we were excited and a little nervous.  In the past we have enjoyed a few social occasions with Darryl's family, but to spend several days and nights with all these people was going to be something new for us.  I need to mention that their home has five bedrooms and five bathrooms so it wasn't going to be one of those visits where people are sprawled everywhere trying to sleep.

We arrived fairly early in the afternoon making better time than usual.  Amy and Amelia were attending the Nutcracker at the Fox theater downtown.  Darryl and a friend had flown to Las Vegas for a night.  We brought in presents and food and settled down to rest until Amy and Amelia got home.  Then we went to Burger 21, a new to us burger place, for hamburgers and sweet potato fries.  I love Five Guys, but this one is going to place above them.  The hamburgers were very good and the sweet potato fries were delicious.

Love this picture of Amy and Amelia at the Nutcracker.

Wednesday was spent grocery shopping and making final preparations for the others to arrive.  Bubba put up some towel rods for Amy and Darryl arrived home from his outing.  Late that afternoon Ashley and her girls plus Dayton's daughter arrived after being in horrendous traffic.  Amelia was so excited to have cousins to play with.  We had Bubba's ham with potato salad and fresh turnips for supper.  The girls played and giggled and had such a good time.  At one point I saw a mermaid with a sword, chased by a power ranger with a gun, chased by a nightclub singer with a light saber, who were being chased by two barking dachshunds who, according to Amelia, were going to be married later in the week.

'Twas the night before Christmas

Thursday was rainy and chilly,  Darryl invited allowed Ashley and me to accompany him to Costco.  Darryl is an excellent shopper and doesn't get impatient.  We split up and went in different directions.  I found a couple of things and on impulse, bought a huge chocolate Christmas cake.  I asked if they could write "Happy Birthday, Jesus" on it and they did while I waited.  When we got home, Amy was putting sugar cookie dough in the refrigerator to chill.  Later that afternoon, Darryl's brother and his family arrived.  That night Darryl grilled steaks for our Christmas Eve meal and as usual, they were the best!  Later when we were ready for dessert, Amy put a candle on the chocolate cake and the group sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus.  The cake was delicious and I think that impulse was a good one.

I wonder what they are planning.

Amy works frantically making sugar cookies for Santa.  (Hers are soft and mine are crunchy!)

Five Sweet Cousins

We're following Santa on Norad site.

Paw-Paw wishes they had this when he was a boy.

Amelia is calling a leaf mistletoe and wants a kiss.

Christmas morning didn't start terribly early.  Darryl made the girls wait until everyone was ready to see what Santa brought.  Amelia got several Lego sets, a Princess Leila costume and an interactive Yoda.  Bubba and I really racked up.  Bubba got a heated throw, which he is under right now, a belt, steak knives, dark chocolate, a new outfit, and a self-portrait tile and mug from Amelia.  I got a long, warm black sweater, a laptop bag, a cross body purse for our trip, a light rain jacket, a yarn headband and a self portrait mug from Amelia, and the most incredible measuring cups in the world.  (I always say that you can't have too many measuring cups or measuring spoons, but now I have a top of the line set with odd sizes in it like 2/3 cup.)  Amy and her sisters-in-law seemed to appreciate the cookbooks I had made them.

Amelia helps dad open present.

Yes, this is my son-in-law.  Don't you love his festive
Christmas attire?

Amelia and Avery play with Yoda.

Princess Leila and a Power Ranger and Savannah

Darryl's sister, Ashley models some of her Christmas.

This is Amelia's self portrait.  I have it on a coffee mug.
I love it!  I see a little bit of Picasso coming out in her.

Amy always gives Darryl one of these calendars
for Christmas.  I have no idea why.

Amy had prepared breakfast casseroles, biscuits, and sausage for breakfast.  It was so good.  We had a late lunch of Turkey, Dressing, Ham, Sweet Potato Casserole, Creamed Corn and lots of desserts.  At this point, Bubba and I napped.  I don't know what everybody else was doing.  That evening Amy, Ashley, and Daphne had a girls night out and went to the movie.  

Saturday morning, we all got up, got ready, went by Chick-Fil-A for breakfast and went to see the new Star Wars movie (even Bubba).  Amelia is really into Star Wars now, much like her mother was in 1977.

Yes, Amelia wore her Star Wars costume to the movie.
I've heard that the camera adds 10 pounds
and I think excessive sunlight adds 20.

After the movie we went home and snacked on leftovers and everybody headed out shopping.  Bubba and I went on our own because we knew we would get tired sooner than the others and we did.

The next morning (Sunday), we all began packing and getting our things together to head home.  We were the last to leave and were excited to have Amelia coming home with us.  Our first stop coming home was at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast.

This holiday was an illustration of how much fun you can have if you step outside of your comfort zone.  We thoroughly enjoyed spending the holiday with our family and with Darryl's family.  It ended up being a comfortable fun time for us.  Amy and Darryl were sweet to take us all on and we certainly appreciate their hospitality.

Thank you all for a great holiday!

Tween Thanksgiving and Christmas 2015

With almost a month between being at Joe's for Thanksgiving and Amy's for Christmas, it seemed like we had a lot of time on our hands between our two visits.  Recently I have found that if I write down my "goals" for the week I can get a lot more accomplished.

Bubba had been helping me wash windows which was a big retirement goal and on the Monday after Thanksgiving, we completed the last few windows.  I was so proud that I almost put out a Facebook invitation to come look at my sparkly windows.  In fact Bubba suggested that we get new curtains for the wash room window and the utility room windows since the sparkly windows were making the curtains look drab.

I immediately started to diet again because I definitely threw caution to the wind while in Opp for Thanksgiving.  Bubba grilled steaks for my big birthday meal on the first and then the next day I started determined to stick with it until our Christmas trip.  I lost five pounds that first week and then I stopped.  I just could not resist Carrot Cake, Sugar Cookies, and Lemon Pie.  And NUTS!!!  I love it when WalMart puts out the nuts for Christmas and you can buy them by the pound.  Bubba always picks out Brazil Nuts and Walnuts for me.  This year I had a "bowl" that our friend Charles built for me out of Tupelo wood and it is big and needed lots of nuts.

The decision was made that we did not want to put up a Christmas tree since we were leaving town for Christmas.  I did have several of my mesh wreaths that I wanted to put out along with just a few of my favorite Christmas things and I got that done.

While at Judy's, she showed me her cookbook which she was putting all her favorite recipes in and I really liked it.  Sometimes I can't remember which cookbook has which recipe in it and it would be nice to have favorites all in one place.  Then I started thinking about how we associate certain recipes with certain people and I began to take the cookbook idea one step further.  I used my iPhone to take pictures of a recipe and then I wrote about memories associated with it underneath. I inserted the recipes into page protectors and put them in a binder with dividers.  Naturally the largest number of recipes were for baked goods.  I made one for myself, one for Amy, and one for Darryl's sister Ashley and sister-in-law Daphne, who were going to also be spending Christmas with Amy and Darryl.

They turned out much better than I anticipated.  I would say that, conservatively speaking, I had forty hours in the project so I'm glad I got started early.  I'm going to get an even bigger binder to put mine in and add to it in the future for Amy and Amelia.

Judy and I met in Dothan one day for lunch and some Christmas shopping.  We had a lot of fun and a good lunch.  In fact we had such a good day that I was after dark driving home from Dothan alone.  Let's just say that I prefer to do my travelling in the daytime if at all possible.  I want to document the fact that I bought a rain jacket specifically for our trip to Wyoming in June.  Maybe it will be like the generator we bought for hurricanes and I won't have to use it.

Wrapping presents is a chore that I no longer enjoy, but I decided to do a couple each day until I finished so I had that done much sooner than I would have if I kept dreading it and procrastinating.

Housecleaning was also on my list.  Amelia was coming home with us after Christmas and I wanted to be as dust free as possible to avoid aggravating her allergies.  I hate housework!!

Bubba worked in the yard a LOT and did some things to the camper he had wanted to do like cleaning the awning which required hooking up and pulling it out so that the awning could be extended.  He also decided that we had three trees that needed to come down so he made arrangements to have that done.

Our living room television went out and I made arrangements for a service call from the Geek Squad at Best Buy where we bought the set.  We found out that our tv which was only 18 months old could not be repaired as cheaply as buying another one.  We had not purchased the extended warranty because AARP and other publications say that it is a waste of money.  We found out differently.  We bought the extended warranty for five years for only $90 on our new television.  The service call is $100 just to determine what is wrong.  I think we learned our lesson on this one.  I also recently got a new laptop and turned down the extended warranty.  I'm already regretting that decision.  The Geek Squad guys were very professional and pleasant and we were well pleased with the service call even though it was bad news.

I volunteered to bake Red Velvet cakes for the senior class to auction off after the Christmas parade.  The friend that I did this for brought us mullet and pecans as a thank you so Bubba accomplished one of his goals which was to "eat fish".  

I also spent some time cooking with Mrs. Patterson.  I enjoy being with her and she needs the company.  I made some dressing to take to Amy's and some cookies to send to my brother and nephew.

So that's what we did when we were doing nothing.

Thanksgiving in Opp 2015

Joe and Judy graciously invited us to spend Thanksgiving with them again this year and we were delighted.  We pulled into our favorite campground in Opp on Tuesday around lunch time.  (We are good with that kind of timing.)  After setting up at the park, we went over to their house.  Judy and I went into town to pick up a take out order of hamburgers and fries while Joe and Bubba caught up on the news.

For once I felt like I was really able to help Judy because she had recently sliced open her finger cutting up flounder and it still had a long way to go before she could use it well.  However, her injury didn't slow down her cooking any.  My contribution was helping keep pots and bowls washed for her as she prepared all the dishes for the Thanksgiving meal.

While Judy and I stayed busy in the house, Bubba helped Joe with the construction of an insulated dog house for his Labradoodle, Aubie.  Aubie had grown a lot since the last time we saw him and if he grows into his feet, he is going to be a pretty big dog.  

Thanksgiving Day brought the addition of Jody, Melissa, and John.  Accompanying them were Melissa's parents, Jean and Bill, who spend several months with them each year during the coldest part of the winter in Canada where they live.

The Thanksgiving meal consisted of: Turkey, Ham, Chicken and Dumplings, Dressing, Green Limas, Sweet Potato Casserole, Yeast Rolls, Cranberry Sauce (two kinds), Butternut Cake, Pecan Pie, Italian Cream Cake (my new favorite), Ambrosia, and Apple Pie.  (I probably forgot something.)  The only picture I have from these festivities is a picture of the Apple Pie.  It was beautiful and delicious and probably the first dessert to disappear.

Grandson John stayed with Joe and Judy for the rest of the weekend.  On Friday night, we went out for barbecue to celebrate my birthday which was coming up the next week.  

Saturday morning we slept late and then readied the camper for the return home.  We had such a nice time with family and a lot for which to be thankful.