Fabgrandpa and I have been so busy over the Thanksgiving holiday that I just haven’t had time to tell you about any of it until just now. On Thursday, we went to my Mother’s for dinner. She was not feeling well on Tuesday evening last week, so my sister called 911 and took her to the emergency room around 11:30 p.m. They kept her until about 4:00 a.m., then sent her home. They never did give her a diagnosis for her ailment, but she was feeling very tired and spent the day in bed on Wednesday. My sister wound up cooking the meal for Mama, which was a very nice thing for her to do.

We saw my sister and brother-in-law; my niece and her new husband; my brother and sister-in-law and one of his sons. I made the pecan pie and sweet potato casserole as my contribution to the menu. It was a very enjoyable get together. However, when Fabgrandpa and I went home, I was not feeling well. I went to bed at 8:00 p.m., which is very very unusual for me.

I stayed in bed under the covers and still freezing for most of Friday. My younger brother and his wife were in town, visiting my mother, and I just didn’t feel up to driving the 36 miles so I could see him. I am really sorry that I missed them, because I haven’t seen them in about five years. I got up and dressed long enough to go out to eat with Fabgrandpa, but went right back to bed as soon as I got home. Again, very unusual for me.

On Saturday, I was feeling somewhat better, so we packed our suitcases and headed out for a short road trip. The first stop was in Cornelia, Georgia to have dinner with our daughter, Becky, and her husband Rafe, his parents, and his aunt and uncle. Rafe’s mother and I hit it off the first time we met, a few months before the wedding last year. I really enjoy her company–we seem to have quite a bit in common. She cooked a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with a stuffed turkey, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, cranberry sauce, and sauteed green beans. It was quite delicious, and the company was great. We had a wonderful time with them.

We spent the night in Cornelia on Saturday night, then drove up to Cherokee, North Carolina on Sunday to meet our friends, Rob and Terry, and go to Harrah’s Casino. While we were there, I got separated from my three companions, and spent about an hour and a half looking for them. At one point, I decided I would call them, but when I started looking for my cellphone, I couldn’t find it so I thought I had lost it. I was so disheartened by that thought that I went to the bar and had a “few” margaritas. I figured they would show up at the bar eventually, and I was right! We went to Paula Deen’s Restaurant at the casino for dinner. It was ok, but I was kind of disappointed in the shrimp on the seafood platter I ordered. They tasted like some of those precooked ones you get at the grocery store had been rolled in cornmeal and fried. Not so good for such a famous name.

When we left the casino around 9:30 p.m., it was raining. We went to bed as soon as we walked in the door of the motel. I didn’t even get my laptop out of the bag! This morning, we got up and dressed, and headed out the door around 9:00 a.m. After breakfast with Rob and Terry, we started on our way to Cleveland, Georgia, to visit with Fabgrandpa’s parents. It rained on  us all the way from Cherokee to Cleveland! Nana and Poppa looked like they are doing pretty good. The last time we saw Nana, she was in a rehab facility after having had surgery to repair a broken hip from a fall last spring. She looked so much better this time!

We had a very nice visit, but we had to be home for an appointment in the morning, so we left around 4:00 p.m. It was still raining when we left, and rained on us all the way to the Alpharetta exit off of Georgia 400. It stopped raining abruptly, and the sky turned a gorgeous golden glow!

Georgia 400 South after the rain

Traffic at that time of day in the Atlanta area is atrocious! We got on I-285 at 5:30 p.m. and it took us until 6:00 p.m. to get to the I-75 interchange, and until 8:00 p.m. to get home. Round trip was ab out 480 miles, but we enjoyed seeing all our friends and family along the way.