On the Road Again

Day one of our trip to Illinois was the usual plan. Go about half way and stop for the night. We had made reservations at Cadiz, Ky.

When we're traveling, we like to stop at wineries along the way. Having made this trip MANY times in the last 20 years, we know where most of them are. But this time, we found a new one; Beans Creek Winery in Manchester, Tennessee. We stopped in for a taste and to get a souvenir glass (they were out of glasses...we'll have to go back another time -- oh, darn!). After tasting, we decided on a few bottles to take with us. Jerry asked about the name of one of them..."Bonnaroo White". The girl told us it was named after an area around there where they have a music festival. Okay. So that's cute. After I got home, I happened to see something on the news about a music festival called Bonnaroo! It's quite the thing. This year was the 10th annual 4-day festival held on 700 acres of farm land near Manchester. The main attraction is the music -- performed on multiple stages. But there are also tents like the comedy tent, "this tent", "that tent", "the other tent", the silent disco tent, the cinema tent and the Broo'ers Festival (breweries) tent as well as a graffiti wall, a giant slip and slide and lots and lots of food. It's been hailed as "The concert event of the summer", "Best festival", and "One of 50 moments that changed rock and roll". Wow. Who knew? We'd never heard of it. But I feel stupid now knowing the attendance is routinely between 75,000 and 80,000. That's a lot of people that know something I didn't.

But "stupid" is something I'm kinda getting used to. Farther down the road was Clarksville, Tennessee, home of the Beachaven Winery. We've been there many times and like their wines. But as we were nearing there, I told Jerry that we were too late. It was about 10 minutes to 5:00 and I didn't know their hours, but assumed that by the time we exited and took the short drive to the winery they would probably be closing. A little while later, it dawned on me that when I changed the clock in the car (and my watch) I set them an hour in the wrong direction! It was only going on 3:00 when we were in Clarksville! Duh!!

I shouldn't use the word "stupid". Jodi and Jeremy have told the kids it's not a nice word. Savannah and Emery call it the "SP" word. But when I was growing up it wasn't a bad word...just an accurate description. And like Forrest Gump says, "Stupid is as stupid does".

PS: If you're in the Manchester, TN, area but don't like crowds, you might try visiting the nearby town of Bugscuffle. It's a dot on the map, but the population is so small it's not even listed.

A Whirlwind Vacation

Last weekend my niece, Erin, got married in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Since we were making the drive up there for the wedding, we decided to extend our time and see lots of family and friends. I'm always torn about making the trip. I relish spending time in Illinois with people I love and don't get to see often enough. When I'm there, I'm "home". Something about it just feeds my soul. But it's hard to leave home this time of year and be thinking about all the plants we've put in that are now suffering from heat and lack of water...and wondering if we will come home to a green swimming pool. So we didn't want to be gone much over the 11 or 12 days we had planned on. But with folks in 4 different cities to visit with, it felt like a "quick trip". Jessica was here for part of the time to take care of the cat, the flowers and the pool, but then she and Jodi drove up for the wedding so that left about 5 days of "unattended consequences". She took the cat to the vet for safe keeping (keeping the house safe from a bored kitty cat), put water globes in some of the potted plants, put lots of chlorine in the pool, locked the door, set the alarm and hoped for the best. Everything was fine except that the air conditioning went out and it was in the mid to upper 90s every day that we were gone! So it's a good thing kitty didn't stay here.

The trip was great and even though it seemed like we were gone for quite a while, the time we had with each person was actually pretty short. There's lots to remember and talk about and I'll just write about each in it's own time. Maybe that will get me back to blogging. For now I'll just say it was great to get away and, as always, it's great to be back home.

PS: I'd rather drive than fly, especially with all the different places we go to visit. But I sure wish I could click my heels together to get home rather than driving for 13 hours!

Happy Birthday, "Julian"

Last March we rented a cabin in Branson, MO, with Jodi, Jeremy and the kids. Jeremy was fishing a tournament at Table Rock Lake and we were just hanging out on "vacation" and making sure he came home to a good, hot meal every night after we watched him weigh in. While we were there, we all went to the Bass Pro Shop in Branson (really...what ARE the odds?). It's the "granddaddy" of all Bass Pro Shops. We were looking around and I told the kids I would buy them each a stuffed animal. Savannah quickly fell in love with a little lion cub. She gives her heart so easily. Emery, as usual, had trouble making a decision. After MUCH discussion, I said that if there wasn't one he really wanted, we would just go. That helped him make up his mind in a hurry. He yelled, "I want the monkey!". So we took a monkey and a lion home with us.

On the way back to the cabin, Emery declared that his new monkey looked like King Julian...from the Madagascar movies. True, it is long and lanky, but it has a long, red tail -- not a striped one. But from that day to this, the monkey is affectionately known as "King Julian". We all had fun with the crazy thing. I was tickled because he has velcro pads on his feet and hands and so you can hang him in all kinds of places...like on the blades of a ceiling fan. Turn it on and just watch the fun! Savannah was delighted to find out that her American Girl doll clothes fit him perfectly. So then we never knew where he would be hanging--or posed--or what he would be wearing.

About 6 weeks after getting him, they had their house fire. I believe King Julian was downstairs in the living room at the time of the fire. Probably watching TV with Savannah. Anyway, I took him home and tried washing him with some of the other items I was using a special cleaner on. The little monarch washed up beautifully and "lived" to play again.

This year we again rented a cabin for a few days to accompany Jeremy. He was fishing at Lake Hartwell (much closer than Table Rock!) and we stayed at a place nearby between Anderson and Townville, South Carolina. Again, we had a good time. Again, we watched the weigh ins and made Jeremy a nice, hot dinner. Again, we had King Julian with us. Here he is hanging out with a seagull in the living room. He's always able to relax and make himself at home, which makes him a great traveling companion.

Island Hopping

We spent a few days last week on Georgia's Golden Isles. Our good friends, and traveling buddies, Bob and Joan Schmitt, had been in Florida for a couple of weeks and were going to stop and visit with us on their way back to Illinois. But, instead, we all decided that we would meet at Jekyll Island and "do the islands" for a couple of days and then head back here to our house.
Good plan.

Jerry and I have been down there about 3 times now and it's always beautiful. They hadn't been before and we always enjoy showing it to new people. We met at the visitor's station on Jekyll Island and checked into our rooms at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. Yes, that's where the Rockefellers, Pulitzers, Vanderbilts, etc. used to vacation...and now the Schmitts and Simonses. They still play croquet on the lawn in front of the hotel. We were just watching, but we weren't sure the players knew what they were doing. Jekyll is small and sparsely populated and it didn't take much time to see the whole island. We did that before eating seafood at Latitude 31...the restaurant on the pier. The next day we checked out the Georgia Sea Turtle Center as well as the sweet shop, book store, etc. which are all just behind and a short walk from the hotel. I am always fascinated by the trees down there. The large, old live oaks with the Spanish Moss hanging from them are awesome.

The next day it was on to St. Simons Island. A short drive away, but a very different feel to it. St. Simons is much more populated and much busier. We had time to grab lunch and do a lot of shopping all up and down the few blocks near the pier before checking into our rooms at the King and Prince Hotel. What a beautiful place! We have not stayed there before and were very impressed. After getting settled in our very nice rooms, we were looking over the menus for all the local restaurants. I was on a quest for good seafood for a couple of days. There were lots to choose from! But about that time the weather turned nasty. It was very windy and cold and threatening rain at any minute. We decided not to go out in that and to have dinner in the dining room of the hotel. Another good plan. When they brought me my shrimp cocktail and bruschetta it was so pretty I had to take a picture of it!

The next day the sun came out and everything was beautiful again. We took the trolley tour of the island and the lady that runs it is both entertaining and informative. After that we toured the light house. I have done all that before, but this time I had just finished reading "Lighthouse" by Eugenia Price, so it all had more significance. Then we chowed down one more time in a local eatery before heading back to Covington. Bob and Joan spent Saturday at our house resting up before the last...and longest...leg of their drive back home.

All in all, these golden oldies had a golden time on the Golden Isles and it's a trip I'd recommend to anyone.

The Most Wonderful

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". When you hear that, can't you just hear Andy Williams crooning it on the radio? I don't mean to sound like Scrooge or the Grinch, but I beg to differ. Christmas can be a lot of fun, but it's also stressful. The demands we put on ourselves and the demands we think others are putting on us. Deadlines and trying not to forget anything. Making ourselves find time to stop and enjoy it while we're in the middle of it.

All that to say that I think spring is the "most wonderful time of the year". No pressures. No demands. The warm days, blue skies and sunshine draw you out of the house and out of your rut. You can relax on the front porch with a book or get ambitious and dig into some yard work. Just walking around and enjoying the sounds of the birds and the signs of much loved plants and flowers coming back to life gives your spirit a lift.

I always enjoyed spring time when we lived in Illinois, but up there it is tempered with fickle weather, mud and a lingering damp chill even on nice days for well into May. But here in Georgia, spring is usually getting here about this time...late February...and it is just perfect. I don't care what Punxsutawney Phil, General Beauregard Lee, Staten Island Chuck, or any other rodent has to say. I know spring is here when the Daphne Odora blooms and I see the sweet faces of the flowers on my Georgia Blue open up to face the sun. As much as I enjoy those, they are just the beginning. Riding around town, we see several types of pink trees start to bloom as well as jonquils and thrift. Very soon now the white blossoms of the Bradford Pear trees will be bursting open like popcorn. I never realize how many of those trees are around until they are blooming. So the next several weeks will delight us with an array of renewed annual color...and it all comes to a crescendo for me around the 3rd week of April when our huge azaleas show off. They take my breath away every year.

So, with all due respect to Christmas and it's sentiments, I don't see how anything can be more "wonderful" than spring.

"Consider the lilies of the field.....Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these."

-Matthew 6:28-29

Happy Birthday Hugs!

I'd like to give a shout out to my friend, Ardis. She's a fellow quilter and one of the Batty Babes. Last year her church acquired an additional facility to use for group gatherings, meetings, etc. She quickly approached them about a quilt ministry and "Healing Hugs" was born. The first Thursday of February, 2010, several quilters got together to sew quilts to give to cancer patients who are undergoing treatment. We make them and she takes them to the local cancer treatment center and they hand them out to new patients. These quilts are theirs to keep and there is a note that goes with them that says we are supporting them by wrapping them in quilts as well as our prayers during this difficult time in their lives. She has also given a few to other people she has heard about who are going through an illness.
The first Thursday of every month we gather and enjoy an afternoon/evening of sewing, snacking, laughing and fellowship while we create these quilts. We usually average about 8 to 10 workers. This year we had a lousy, sleety day and we had one of our biggest crowd of sewers ever! Can you say "cabin fever"? :)

At first she and Page, her "right-hand", would lug ironing boards, irons, batting, etc. in from home every month. But a few months into it, she talked the church into giving her a space in the back room for a supply room. Now she can keep those things, as well as donated fabric, etc. right there on the premises. That has made it a lot easier.

Some of us will sit and sew quilt tops while others put on bindings or attach labels and cards. Others take the tops home and quilt them and bring them back the next month. In this first year of "production" she has been able to give away 155 quilts! I think that's an amazing number from a group that only meets once a month and I'm so pleased to be a very small part of this productive group.

Thanks, Ardis, for including us in your ministry. It warms our hearts as it warms the cancer patients' bodies -- and hopefully their hearts as well. Well done, my friend.

The House of Mouse

The whole family went to Disney World last week and had a GREAT time. The kids and grand kids have been a few times before and my first visit was in May of 2009. After that, I told Jerry he HAD to go. He wasn't crazy about the idea, but after 40 years of marriage, the man knows when to give up and give in. He enjoyed it, too, and was very impressed with it all.

The grandies were at perfect ages for it this year. Emery was finally tall enough to ride the roller coasters with Jess (and Grandpa) and all the other somewhat scary -- at least to me and Savannah -- stuff. So he was pretty much grinning from ear to ear for 4 days. His favorite was Test Track at Epcot and a close second was the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. He also enjoyed watching the filming of stunt shots for the Indiana Jones movies at Hollywood Studios. He even picked out an Indiana Jones action figures set at the gift shop and in the car on the way home, he buckled Indi into a seat belt in the back seat and told him, "Keep your arms and legs inside until the car comes to a complete stop." But he still had his favorites from before like Toy Story Mania and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin.

Savannah had a terrific time, too. She (like me) is not at all into the big rides. So while the rest of the family went Soarin' (at Epcot) we were browsing around the gift shop. I bought her an autograph book and she was very excited to go about collecting characters' autographs the rest of the time. One of my favorite characters was Cinderella's step mother. She was dripping with condescension as she signed the autograph book and told how she was responsible for Cinderella's success. Then she pointed to Emery on the other side of the table and said to Savannah, "So, what's with your little brother there...is he married?" Savannah giggled and said he was not. Then she said, "He's kinda cute. I need to find someone for Drusilla."

And speaking of Cinderella and crew...the dinner with them was at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. What a beautiful place!!! Inside and out. And the food was some of the best I've ever had. It was buffet style with crisp salad fixins', tender, juicy salmon, prime rib that melts in your mouth, etc. and then they brought out our "special" dessert (there were others on the buffet that Jerry had already sampled)...several scoops of ice cream with various toppings for all of us to share.

Our last night there, we went to a dinner show at the Fort Wilderness Campground. It was a lively little place and one of the cast members, a ditzy blond, named Claire duLune (or Clair the Loon...I'm unsure about the spelling) came and sat on Jerry's lap and was hugging on him. Righ...he LOVES the spotlight! :) But he was good sport.

The rest of us just enjoyed the time together, seeing the kids get so excited, the park itself, and so many "little" things...like the tornadoes in the area that missed us, catching a bus back to the resort before it started to rain, the beautiful day time temperatures, the food, etc., etc, etc. Disney World really is a "Magical" place.