Apples, Corn Maze and the October Visit

Introduction:  In an effort to keep this blog from being a recitation of what I do every day, I’m going to tell about the October Visit as the thoughts pop into my head. That could be dangerous considering that I sprayed hair spray all over a shirt last week instead of ”Shout.”

Amelia is always glad to see us.  Lots of hugs and kisses.

She still likes Chuck-E-Cheese although she didn’t want anything to eat.  She just wanted to play the games so Bubba and I ate pizza and watched her.

Playing games at Chuck-E-Cheese

The weather was cool and very pleasant.  We went to Jaemore Farms for their fall activities on Friday after Amelia and Amy had early release.  Being a fun Nana, I decided to do the corn maze with Amy and Amelia with Amelia holding the map and leading the way (Dora the Explorer).  Bubba sat comfortably under a shelter enjoying the cool fall breeze.

It didn't take Amy long to lose that sweater.

There is no cool breeze in a corn maze.  Nana began to sweat profusely.

Doesn't he look cool?

There are hills in the corn maze.

Amelia led us past the same white plastic spoon lying on the ground at least three times.

There was a bridge in the middle of the corn maze with at least a million steps going up.

Bubba called to see if we were almost done….we had no idea.

Amelia rode a pumpkin train three times.  Amy rode with her once.  Nana wasn’t fun anymore.

This was a rough ride, but fun.

Even Amy thinks it is fun.

She and Amy did duck races, petted animals and shot the apple cannon.  Nana was still trying to cool off.

They both got to shoot three times.

Amelia didn't like the loud noise.

Duck races

We got homemade ice cream.  Nana and Paw-Paw were both good at this.

We had fun!

I asked an older man on staff his favorite apple for just eating and he recommended Honey Crisp.  He was not wrong.  We bought a peck of them and are enjoying them immensely.

Darryl grilled steaks.  So good!

Amy and Darryl went out to eat and to a movie.  We had breakfast for supper at Cracker Barrel.  Pancakes and bacon is the one meal you can count on Amelia eating.  Popcorn and chocolate milk while watching two Spy Kids movies was a perfect ending to the day.

Amy and I got to go shopping and eat lunch together.  It was nice just visiting with my girl.

Darryl took Bubba and Amelia out to eat.

Amelia painted my finger nails purple.  She did a pretty good job and I'm starting to like them this color.

I think I like it.

Amelia said, “I must be getting short term memory loss.  I can’t remember my pre-school days.”

It was a long way home!

Bubba wanted to know if I wanted to go camping at Lake Seminole and I did.  So on Tuesday after getting home from Atlanta on Sunday, we ventured out for some relaxation by a peaceful lake.

Work Camp I and Work Camp II

So after a couple of years of indecision and analyzing the pros and cons, Joe and Judy have embarked on the great adventure known as remodeling.  Judy has wanted an updated kitchen for several years now and finally the actual work has begun.  The white cabinets have been ordered and the granite has been selected; however, like most home projects one thing leads to another.  By the time they’re finished they will have new cabinets, new appliances, new lighting, new doors, new walls and new flooring throughout the house.  Whew!! That tired me out just writing that!

When we got back from our trip to Atlanta in September we offered to help.  We loaded the camper with everything for a week’s stay except food.  (That would be like taking coals to Newcastle.)  We parked the trailer in their yard and promptly named our location the W_____ Work and Camp.

Site #1 at the Work and Camp

Step one of this project involved taking up some of their garage space and building a huge pantry with a door to enter at the end of where the new cabinets will be and at the edge of their current dining room.  The pantry will be approximately 14 feet square and will have cabinets and will also house two refrigerators and a freezer.  Joe and his friend, Jerry had already begun work when we arrived, but soon after we headed to Dothan to pick up supplies, look at flooring and eat supper.  We stayed in Lowe’s so long that at one point, I thought it was almost closing time.  (I was wrong, it just seemed that long.)  After shopping we ate barbecue at Full Moon in Dothan and headed back to Opp.  Needless to say this half of the family was ready for bed.

After that followed tearing down, rebuilding, installing sheet rock, wiring etc.  I helped Judy with wallpaper removal on the inside living/dining area. 

Joe and Bubba are looking for the perfect boards.

Where is Joe?  Bubba was left to push alone.

Brothers at work!

While there I received a call on my cell phone from an old/young friend from my days working at the prison. He is an assistant warden now but was a sergeant when I first knew him. He was always special to me and when we were in the mountains in August I learned that his father had died.  I bought a sympathy card and began googling his name to find an address to send him a sympathy card.  I found a YouTube video with his name and found him teaching a class at his church.  In it he confessed publicly his womanizing and his regrets for the people he hurt and his gratitude for the patience of God with him.  I was so moved by his message that I decided to call him.  My call to the prison where he works was forwarded to his cell phone.  I had to leave a message.  When he didn’t call right back, I put his card in the mail knowing that many people never check their messages.  He called me after about a month and had just checked his messages.  I got to tell him how moved I was by the video and how proud I was of the man he had become.  The next day I got the sweetest text from him saying how much talking to me had meant to him.   It meant a lot to me as well.

We arrived on Tuesday and went home the following Wednesday.  We attended church with Joe and Judy on Sunday and got home in time on Wednesday to cook something for our church’s Wednesday night supper.

Apparently being exposed to Joe and Judy’s boundless energy was contagious because Bubba trimmed the hedge, cut the grass and painted the eaves of the house.  I did a big shopping trip for groceries, visited my neighbor in the nursing home, washed a week’s worth of laundry, put up fall decorations and did a decent job of cleaning house. We attended Sunday School and church on Sunday and headed back for another stay at the W___ Work and Camp.

This second trip included a celebration of Judy’s birthday.  We went back to Dothan for more things needed from Lowes and I bought the cutest shoes I’ve ever owned.  Then we met their friends and our new friends Jerry and Theresa for a celebration meal at Texas Roadhouse Steak House. And a good time was had by all.

My cute shoes!

Pecans have started falling and we picked up a bucket full while there.  I was walking between the house and the trailer one afternoon and I spied a pecan laying on the pavement.   I leaned over to pick it up and just toppled right over.  I think if my head had been tucked just right it would have been a perfect somersault.  I scrapped my hands and arms and just sat there helpless unwilling to call for help because… how embarrassing that would have been.  Then Joe’s labradoodle, Aubie, walked over to  me and gave me a sympathetic look then he gave me the little bit of support I needed to get up.  I’ve been feeding him goodies ever since.  His new name is Aubie the Rescue Dog.

Aubie wants a bite of ham and he deserves it!

Making friends with our neighbor

While there I got a text from Amy saying that Amelia wanted to know when Nana and Paw-Paw were coming in October.  We hadn’t actually planned to go in October but we surely want to take advantage of her wanting us to come as long as it lasts.  We’re realistic enough to know that as she grows older she won’t have much time for Nana and Paw-Paw.  So… we got home on Saturday (camper too this time), attended church and two nights of a community wide revival and left for Atlanta on Thursday for our “October Visit”.

Burlap Wreaths

I experienced a couple of weeks with nothing exciting to do so I thought I would try making burlap wreaths.  Last year it was deco mesh.  They were pretty easy and I made three.  Just like last year I realized that you cannot let wreath making be a hobby.  They take up too much room!

Bubba’s Birthday Weekend 2016

For the second year in a row Amy and Darryl invited us to come up the weekend of Bubba’s birthday to celebrate up there.  We left home on Thursday, September 8, and arrived at Amy and Darryl’s about an hour before Amy and Amelia came in from school.

On Friday we went to Amelia’s school to eat lunch with her since it was Grandparent’s Week.  Sadly, we didn’t take a picture this year.  She was happy to see us and she munched on her lunch from home while Bubba and I shared a bag of potato chips and a drink.  We offered to pick her up something special for lunch as many other grandparents do, but she assured us that her mom would pack her lunch.  We ate outside in a pretty courtyard area.  She was proud of the new chicken coop that would soon be home to some newly hatched chicks.  There was also a little garden that had one plant of many different fruits and vegetables planted.

After leaving the school we stopped at a Steak n Shake where we got hot dogs for our real lunch leaving room for peach ice cream and peach fried pie when we arrived at Jaemore Farms.  Jaemore still had peaches although they were all varieties that we had not tried before.  Most of them had September in the name.  We spoke to a very nice lady working there who told us her favorite and gave us a sample to try.  Once again we got a big basket of sweet juicy peaches.  We also bought a box of tomatoes grown in north Georgia and they were very good also.  In addition to good produce and ice cream and fried pies, Jaemore also has an in house bakery that bakes very good cakes.  We got a small red velvet cake and a strawberry cake for dessert to share with Amy, Darryl and Amelia.  We also got Amelia a bag of boiled peanuts which she loves.

This girl loves peanuts!

Saturday morning Darryl dragged out ladders and tools so that he could get Bubba to help him install recessed lighting in their living room.  It was an amusing process.  Some of the comments heard were:

"I think that's a sewer pipe!" "Did you turn off the water?" "You can't tell the difference in the wire?" "I can feel it and tell." "Be careful Paw-Paw there are actually spiders that can kill!" "Let me do it, my arms are thinner." "Swap ladders!" "Should I measure from the wall?" "You're not putting them the same" "That's not my goal." "Close enough." "There's an air conditioning hose over there, wonder where it goes." "I can guarantee you there are going to be pipes over here." Where is that big pipe?" "Oh boy..."

Be careful!

The project was completed in time to watch the FSU football game. The lights made the room very bright! Now Amy has requested that a dimmer switch be installed.

Let there be light!!

After a light meal Saturday evening, we (the girls) went to the Verizon Amphitheater (an outdoor venue) to hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra perform Star Wars and More: The Music of John Williams. It was a very enjoyable evening. Amelia hated the music from “Jaws” and covered her ears. (It is still scary after all these years.) She loved the Star Wars music. Darth Vader assumed the position of conductor for the march bearing his name and of course there were plenty of Storm Troopers and other characters on stage during this portion of the program. The amphitheater capacity is 12,000 and I didn’t see many empty seats. I was amazed at how quickly we were able to park our car and then how quickly we were directed out afterwards. I assumed it would take forever to get out.

Princes Leila in the middle

Waiting for Mom to return with popcorn!

Sunday morning around 9:00, Darryl put a brisket on the green egg for Bubba’s birthday supper. He offered a choice of several different meats and Bubba chose brisket. We went out to eat for lunch and then around 2:00 our cousin Vicky and her husband, Robert joined us for birthday cake and ice cream. Then around six we enjoyed the best brisket I’ve ever eaten. Bubba chose well!

That's a 73 on that cake!

Between birthday cake and supper time, Amelia and I went to a nearby Dollar Tree to shop for a Christmas Child box. I actually ended up with more than we could get into two boxes so to even it all out, I will end up with four boxes. I explained to her that we were shopping for children in countries that might live in primitive conditions and what was in the box would be all they would get for Christmas. She had a lot of good ideas for what to put in the box and never once asked for something for herself. She has a tender heart and for that I’m very grateful.

When I mentioned to my friend Carolann who is a jewelry designer how much Amelia likes rocks even the ones found on the playground, she gave me a rock to take to her. It looks ugly on the outside but when you break it open with a hammer it is all glittery and sparkly on the inside. She wants to take it to school to show her class. We talked about how sometimes we judge people by their outward demeanor but when we get to really know them they are sparkly and pretty on the inside just like this plain looking rock.

Breaking open the rock

Picture doesn't capture the sparkle well

Love that smile!

Amelia is doing great in school.  She is a member of the Chess Club, the Drama Club, the Chorus and has started taking piano lessons.  (She can play Star Wars music already.)  She seems to have grown a little more every time we see her.  Her little hands are getting bigger and they feel tough from a lot of time on the monkey bars and climbing the tree in her front yard.  She is also excited about Halloween and her birthday and is making great plans for each occasion.

Billy and Bat Girl - Halloween is coming!

We came home on Monday after everyone had left for school and work.  It was a great weekend.  We stopped in Marianna for Popeye’s chicken on our way home.  Tuesday morning will require that I face the scale and I don’t think what I see will be pretty.  I see diet food in my future.

Anniversaries Past

The picture below is from our first anniversary in 1967.  Look how dressed up we were!  We went out to eat at a restaurant on Panama City Beach and picked up some little knick knacks so we would always remember the day.  I have no idea where they are now, but I still remember the day.  After dinner we stopped by my aunt's house and picked up my grandmother to come home with us.

The hands on the Bible was a pose suggested by Bubba's mother.

I don't remember much about this anniversary except that I got flowers!

Big hair, big glasses and big sideburns!

I vividly remember our 20th Anniversary.  Amy made signs to mark the occasion and wrote several love poems in keeping with the anniversary theme.

Smaller hair, big glasses and big sideburns!

Anniversary #25 included a trip to the Smokies and then a spontaneous trip across Tennessee to Graceland.  We used to rent cars for vacations.  This time Bubba rented a big Lincoln that we picked up at the Tallahassee Airport.  It was so big that Amy stretched out across the back seat and slept through the trip across the state.

Still got big hair and big glasses!

For Anniversary 40 we rented a cabin in the Smokies and went there via Amy and Darryl's where we left Archie (our dog).  Amy had a little wedding cake for us.  While sitting on the porch of the cabin and drinking coffee at sunrise, Bubba surprised me with a pair of diamond earrings.  So romantic!

Smaller hair, smaller glasses and no sideburns!

And we went to Dollywood for the first time!

And of course, the big 50th Anniversary was celebrated with our family on a trip to Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.

Raft trip on the Snake River!

AND

We went on a second trip to commemorate the actual anniversary on August 4 to the Smoky Mountains.

"Grow old along with me.  The best is yet to be!"

50 Golden Years

Our "official" 50th Anniversary was August 4.  Although the trip to Yellowstone earlier in the summer with Amy and family was our family celebration, we decided to celebrate the actual day by going to the Smoky Mountains.  Probably thirty anniversaries out of fifty were spent in the Smokies so it seemed fitting that we return for the big one.  Bubba used to always schedule his vacation for the first week in August so we could do something special.   

We started our trip by spending two nights in Atlanta.  We stayed with Amelia on Wednesday so that Amy and Darryl could both work.  Amelia started school on August 4 so we got to see her off for her first day.  She was really happy to be back in school.

After giving the Atlanta traffic time to settle down we started on the four hour trip to Pigeon Forge/Sevierville, TN.  Our first stop was at Jaemore Farms where we purchased peaches and boiled peanuts to take with us and had a fried peach pie with homemade peach ice cream for "lunch".

We arrived at the Comfort Inn Apple Valley and found that the accommodations I had reserved were perfect.  This inn had won the platinum award several years in a row and Trip Adviser had only positive reviews for it.  I don't know that we have ever stayed in a cleaner room!  We had a balcony that looked out on an apple orchard plus one of our favorite restaurants, Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant was close by.

My Breakfast

Bubba's Breakfast

We changed clothes to eat out since it seemed appropriate for the occasion and went to Alamo Steakhouse for a delicious steak dinner.  Afterwards we went shopping at the outlet mall and Bubba bought me a Le Creuset Dutch oven I wanted.  Yep, that was what I wanted for my anniversary.  (He got two knives and a display case for knives and a $2.00 hat.)  These are not the traditional anniversary gifts but we both got what we wanted.

Anniversary Dinner Out

Bubba's $2.00 Hat

The next day we went into Gatlinburg and looked around.  We watched the taffy pulling machine at the candy kitchen like we always do.  Although the mornings were cooler (slightly), by noon each day it was sweltering just like it is in Florida.  We had an early dinner at the Applewood and then came back and enjoyed cooling off in the pool and relaxing poolside.

Smoky Mountain Candy Kitchen

Enjoying the scenery!

Definitely not the Grand Tetons!

Bubba on a rock - That must be where Amelia gets it from.

Saturday evening we at at Big Daddy's Pizza in Pigeon Forge.  We had an appetizer plus the "Mama Mia" pizza with everything on it.  It was soooo good!  We took three pieces back to the motel with us.  The next morning Bubba ate the free breakfast at the motel and I ate all three pieces of pizza for my breakfast.  And you know, it was very filling.  Maybe diets would work better if you could eat pizza for breakfast. Hmmmm.

On Sunday we went back to Atlanta via two produce stands that were packed with people.  In addition to buying some produce to bring home, we stood in line to get yet another fried peach pie and homemade peach ice cream.  (Boy am I dreading that scale!)

Monday we arrived home around 4:00 and unloaded in the rain.  We enjoyed the trip very much.  My only regret is that I wish I had planned so that we weren't in Pigeon Forge on the weekend.  The traffic was terrible on Saturday and it would have been nice to shop for produce without so many people.  With that said, it was definitely a good trip and I'm glad we did something special for the actual day.

Amelia story:
     She got up in the middle of the night and put on her school clothes for Monday morning and went back to bed!
       

St. George Island (Copy Cat Trip)

Three times in a row to St. George Island didn't sound like too much when I made the reservations.  I chose three times because I wanted to be sure Amelia got in a camping trip to the beach since she loves it so much.  Our girls camping trip was great.  On July 10, Bubba and I headed back to SGI for three nights just us.

It was very similar to the outing with Amy and Amelia except this time I rented three Red Box movies for me to watch instead of Amelia.  The first one was "I Saw the Light".  It was the Hank Williams story and contained a lot of the old country music I listened to as a child.  I did not realize that he was only 29 years old when he died.  The next night I watched "The Lady in the Van" starring Maggie Smith.  I'm a fan of hers after "Downton Abbey".  It was a sweet, but sad mostly true story.  Then I watched "The Choice" which was a Nicholas Sparks book that I had read at least twice.  The book evoked copious tears but the movie didn't portray the angst of making the choice nearly as well as the book.  Not even a tear was shed for the movie.  As I've mentioned before, there is usually not any tv reception at SGI other than PBS.  Bubba can be happy with that, but I need more.

We had two really good days at the beach.  The umbrella worked great for Bubba and we were able to read under its shade when we weren't in the water cooling off.

We ate at the Blue Parrot which we both enjoyed and at BJ's where we had a good pizza.  So we enjoyed two good meals out, but I must say that when I did this trip with Amy and Amelia, we had ice cream.  When I mentioned ice cream this time, I got the looks that says, "How can you possibly hold anything else?"

Grouper Fingers

Popcorn Shrimp

While eating out on the deck at the Blue Parrot, Bubba said "Did you see that girl in the skimpy bikini?"  "The one with all the tattoos?" I asked.  "She had tattoos?" he responded. (He's all mine!)

While we were enjoying the pleasures of the beach, Amelia was attending volleyball camp at the high school where Amy teaches.  One of Amy's fellow teachers who helped with the camp told Amy that Amelia said, "I'm taking down my ponytail so I can have a great sweat."  (I'm recording all the funny Amelia stories until Amy resumes her blog.)

We were supposed to return to SGI this week for another three nights, but the weather didn't look favorable for spending time on the beach so we stayed home.

Amelia had her first piano lesson Monday.  Amy sent a video of Amelia playing her first piece.  It was precious.  She was counting by nodding her head.

Precious

Amy has been busy working on things for the writing lab at school which she will be starting this year.  Students complete with cute "writing" t-shirts will be helping other students perfect their writing skills.  This will require more time at school for Amy, but she seems to be excited about the potential for high school students to hone their writing abilities.  I'm excited for her and I wish her well in this endeavor.

Love their t-shirts!  School name is on back of shirt.