This is Emily, Spencer’s Mommy, on Christmas Day, 1983. Who do you think he looks like?
And, because I couldn’t decide which photo to use, you get two! Poor old Santa! Me and Becca in 1990, trying our best to be good.
Remember Whensday
Family
A Trip To My Hometown
We haven’t been “home” in about 18 months, so we were overdue to visit there. Last weekend, we loaded up the truck with computers, suitcase, and sandwiches, and hit the road for the 200 mile trip.
Our first stop was at the mall, because Fabgrandpa needed a new winter jacket. He melted his old one in a commercial dryer when we were volunteering at Unicoi State Park back in 2007. He didn’t need one last winter because we were in a pretty warm place, but, as we have discovered, Alabama is COLD! Oh, and let’s just say that planning a quick trip to the mall two weeks before Christmas is BIG mistake.
After we got out of the mall, we drove over to Becky’s hair salon to get prettied up. She is the best “hair-doer” I have ever known. We always get our hair done by her when we come to town. (Of course, she IS my daughter, and NO I am not biased in my opinion. he he he). FabGrandpa went first.
Then it was my turn. Becky cut off about two inches, trimmed my bangs, and then styled my hair. I always feel like a pampered princess when I go there.
Here we are, all dolled up, and FabGrandpa in his new mall jacket.
This is something I DON’T miss on a daily basis: lots of traffic. It was raining, too. And don’t think that all this is from Christmas shopping–no, it is like this all the time in Douglasville.
Remember last year when I lost that diamond? When Becky came to visit us at the Grand Canyon, she took my rings home with her, and had them repaired, complete with a new diamond. The jeweler cleaned and shined them up, so that they look better than ever! She gave them to me when we were at the shop, and I cried like a baby. She is too good to me!
From the beauty shop, we drove over to visit my mother. That’s her Christmas tree there, and if you look, on the shelves behind the tree is a huge collection of Santas. We had a nice visit, then left to meet Becky and her true love for dinner.
That’s the happy bride to be with her guy, Rafe. He is a very nice guy. We’ll be proud to call him our son-in-law. The wedding won’t be until February, 2011. That’s still quite a ways off, but hey, I still haven’t bought my mother of the bride dress. I’m still looking.
We finally made to the motel, a Holiday Inn Express. The room was very nice for the money. It even had a big screen TV. But FabGrandpa spent most of his time in the room playing Left 4 Dead. He said there wasn’t much on TV to watch, anyway.
The next morning, I got up and went back to my Mom’s for breakfast. My sister came over, too, still in her pajamas. We spent a couple of hours talking girl talk while FabGrandpa slept in at the motel.
After having breakfast with them, I went to Cracker Barrell to meet my daughter, Emily and niece, Nikki for another breakfast. I had not ever met Nikki before, well, except for when she was a tiny baby. My sister “found” her on Myspace a couple of years ago. I have not been in town when she was since then, so we arranged to meet last weekend. It was nice to meet her. She is a gorgeous girl, and smart too, just like my daughters. She spent 6 years in the Air Force and is now in school to be a medical technician. I didn’t get a picture, though, I was so busy talking I just forgot!
After the second breakfast (yeah, no wonder I am so fat! But, honestly, I only ate a little bit at both of them), Emily and I went fabric shopping. I spent a LOT of money, but I had specific projects in mind, and still didn’t get everything I needed. Yes, yet another fabric trip is in the planning.
Emily and I decided we did not want to do any other shopping after the fabric store, so we went to her house and just hung out. My grandson, Spencer, thanked me again for his quilt. He is so cute, don’t you think?
I made this bag for Emily and gave it to her while I was at her house. She loved it!
It is big enough for her teacher self to tote books and papers and pencils and stuff. I made a matching zippered pouch to go with, which of course I have no picture of.
There’s Spencer again, trying to figure out how to take my picture.
And Emily’s Christmas tree, in her living room with her new floors. I love it! She has redone the entire house since I was there the last time. I
We left Emily’s house and met up with FabGrandpa and Becky at Longhorn Steakhouse, one of our favorite places to eat. I had a salad, no croutons, no dressing, a ribeye medium rare, and a baked sweet potato. No gluten anywhere, and it was delish! There’s FabGrandpa with Emily.
And me with Becky
And me with my dinner date, Spencer. Spencer’s Dad was there too, but he does not want me to show his face, so I won’t. We had such a busy weekend, but it was fun, and we’ll do it again, soon.
A Simple Pleasure!
We left the trailer behind this weekend to go visit the family in our hometown. It was a 200 mile drive, mostly through the countryside in Alabama. Back in the days when I still ate a gluten filled diet, when we traveled I would make a picnic lunch so we could eat in the truck. Egg sandwiches, with potato chips, and maybe some fruit. But since we stopped eating gluten, we haven’t had that simple pleasure. But guess what? since I have all that Udi’s bread in the freezer, I surprised FabGrandpa with egg sandwiches:
Now that might not look like such a treat to anyone else, but to us, it was wonderful! It just seems like such an intimate thing, for me to make a sandwich for my sweetheart on a trip out of town.
I’m Turning Into A Bag Lady
My fabric shopping trip last week included some heavy-weight interacing so I could make some tote bags for my daughters. That stuff is expensive! But, I got enough to make four bags. I have two of them finished already:
Greens, blues, and browns for Becca.
Pinks, greens, and beige for Emily.
The pattern I used makes three sizes. These are the medium sized ones. That large bag would hold a Volkswagen, I think.
And I have yellow and black sitting there waiting to be sewn, for Becky. I don’t have fabric yet for Sarah’s, but will have it next week. OOooo, I get to go fabric shopping again!
FabGrandpa Installs A Shelf
My “place” in our trailer is at the dinette. And the seat has become my office desk. It is where I have had a stack of “stuff” for about six years. You know, the stuff that would normally be on your desk if you had a house: bills and other important papers that need attending to; notebooks; maps; pens and markers; books and magazines I’m reading at the moment. I get so annoyed by having that stack of stuff there that I went out and bought myself an organizer shelf.
This morning, FabGrandpa (who is feeling much better, thank you to all those who have asked) installed it on the wall. It was a perfect fit for the space I had. There are three shelves and a small drawer.
I couldn’t put it as high up on the wall as I would have liked because the window trim wouldn’t allow for the drawer to be opened, otherwise, I am really happy with this small modification to my space!
Just look how much better it looks! There is room for my camera and the USB cable for it in the drawer. I bought a little photo album for 97 cents to keep my ever growing collection of business cards in, too!
So this:
Now looks like this:
Getting organized is so much fun!
It’s Been A Mail-a-palooza!
When I lived in my house in Georgia, my daughter had painted on the inside of the mailbox “I love gettin’ mail!” along with a smiley face. My mail carrier told me she never failed to smile when she opened my mailbox. But I do, I do love getting mail! And I got a lot of it this week!
My daughter, Becca, sent me a package from Colorado. She had been on a trip to New Mexico a couple weeks ago, and bought that purty chili ristra for me. She also sent the fabric for me to finish her quilt:
and a loaf of gluten free bread from Udi’s Bakery in Parker, Colorado:
And when I opened the box, I also found her green ink pen she hasn’t been able to find. thanks Becca!
I loved that bread so much, I ordered a case of it for myself, and it arrived only two days later! all the way from Parker to Greensboro, Alabama:
I saw this fabric online a month or so ago on Etsy in one yard lengths, and had been trying to find a seller with three yards in one piece. I was so happy to find it! It’s called Fairy Tip Toes, and it is soooo cute. It was also delivered to me this week. I have to make a baby quilt for my new FabGrandchild that is due in May. In case I haven’t mentioned it yet, my son’s wife, Sarah is having a baby! We’ll find out in two weeks whether it is a boy or a girl. I am so hoping it is a girl so I can use this fabric. But, it it’s not, I’ll just make something for FabGrandaughter, Sarah, with it.
And. the last thing I got in the mail was a new copy of “The Essential Gluten Free Grocery Guide”.I love this book! I can find out really quick if something I want to buy is on “the list” or not.
Ooooooo, I can hardy wait for next week to see if I get anything good in the mail!
Remember Whensday
When my daughter, Becca, was in kindergarten, she refused to wear a dress unless she could wear that pin. It was a simple gold leaf, I think I got it from Avon. Even though it was way too “grown up” for a five year old, it was a necessary addition to her wardrobe whenever she was required to wear a dress. I still have that pin, and every time I see it, I think about this picture. Happy Birthday, Becca!
Checking Out The VA in Tuscaloosa
Since FabGrandpa is a veteran from the Viet Nam era, he is elegible for health care through the VA. It can be a little bit of a hassle, because every time we move to a new location, he has to be “enrolled” at the facility in the new area before he can be see by a doctor. He needs to have surgery for a cataract this winter so, at the very first opportunity I had after we got here, I called the VA Medical Center in Tuscaloosa. The person I talked to told me that someone would come out to our house and help us fill out the paperwork involved in the enrollment.
I was very surprised by this, as we have dealt with the VA on several occasions, in Maryland, Georgia, and Arizona, and this was the first time anyone offered such personalized service. The day the nice young man was supposed to come, Tropical Storm Ida was pouring buckets of rain on us. He called to reschedule, and showed up at the appointed time, here in the middle of no-where, as promised.
The guy told us that it would take a few days to get the enrollment done after he took the paperwork in, but we would hear from them to set up the initial appointment for a physical and lab work. FabGrandpa has been sick with what he thought was a cold since we got to Alabama on November 1. Thursday, he got up and told me he felt like he needed to go to a doctor. Since he NEVER says that, I thought it would be prudent to find one.
We drove up to Tuscaloosa to the VA Medical Center. We walked in and requested that he be seen by a doctor. He was taken right up to the first floor. The nurse on duty up there sent him for lab work and a chest X-ray, and told us to be back as soon as possible. She said they had made him an appointment for 3:45, but if we got back sooner, they might be able to see him sooner than that.
So, off we went for the lab–it took all of 5 mintues. Then, we went to X-ray, another 5 minutes. Since it was 12:30, we went down to the cafeteria to eat some lunch. We got back up to the first floor at 1:45. As soon as we walked up to the check in desk, the guy told us they were ready to see FabGrandpa!
Turns out, he has pneumonia and bronchitis. They gave him a prescription for Ciprofloxasin and one for a strong cough medicine. We’ll go back in week for them to check him again. In the meantime, he is a cranky patient. I threatened to get a stick last night if he didn’t straighten up, but I filled him up with fried chicken and ice cream. And it wasn’t gluten free.
