This is the latest portrait of my FabGrandchildren, Michael and Sarah. Michael lives in Maryland at Andrews Air Force Base with their father and step-mother. Sarah lives in Seattle, Washington with their mother and step-father. Sarah came to Maryland for two weeks, then Michael flew with her to Seattle for two weeks. While they were together in Seattle, their mother, my ex-daughter-in-law, took them to have their picture taken. I must say that I think that photographer has a good sense of humor!
Family
The Land Of Little Grandchildren…
Sarah and Michael at the playground at Granite Hill Campground
A few days ago I promised more about my visit with the FabGrandchildren. I know you all have been chomping at the bit to hear all about it, and I apologize for the delay. I have been either working, sleeping, or goofing off since they left, so I haven’t had time to write.
One of the things I have been doing is playing games at Fandango. My diligence and persistence at these games paid off the day before yesterday because I won two tickets to the movie of my choice for having the all time high score on a word game called Suds (but that is another story).
Ok, where was I? Oh yes, the visit with FabGranddaughther, Sarah and the FabGrandson, Michael. They are the children of my son, Seth, who is in the Air Force. Sarah lives with her mother and stepfather in Seattle, Washington. Michael lives with his dad and stepmother in Washington, D.C.
Sarah flew from Seattle to Washington with a stopover in Cincinnati, Ohio. She said the flight attendants took very good care of her. She got to visit with the pilot in the cockpit before the plane took off. She said she made friends with two grownups who were sitting in the same row with her. This I believe because I do not think she has ever met a stranger!
After a day or two visiting with her dad and brother at their house at Andrews Air Force Base, they all came up to Gettysburg to spend a few days with us.
Michael roasting weiners at the campfire. 
Seth brought his tent and other camping gear, but Sarah decided she wanted to sleep inside with me. We folded down the dining table to make it into a bed for her. She was delighted to have her very own “bable” to sleep on. We did all the regular camping things, like making s’mores, roasting marshmallows and wieners on a stick, fishing, and walking around the campground.
On our days off while they were here, we took them all to The Land of Little Horses.
Seth and at The Land of Little Horses
We have seen the signs for it since we got here in March, and every time I mentioned taking the grandchildren there, FabGrandpa harumphed and said, “That is so hokey! No way are they going to like doing something like that.” It costs $12 per person to get in the gate, another $2 for a pony ride, and another $1 for a cup of food to feed to the animals. What you get for your $12-$15 is wonderful! Even FabGrandpa had a good time. They have about 50 miniature horses, regular horses, a camel, llamas, an alpaca, some other exotic mammals, a full grown turkey, goats, peacocks, and I don’t know what all else. They have a show where the animals do tricks. Three horses danced, and another one could add, subtract, and multiply. A dog even played basketball. And Sarah got chosen from the audience to play basketball with him. If you ever go to Gettysburg, you really need to go there. What fun! Ever since we went there, every place we go is “The Land of Little…” whatevers.
We went to a farmers market and let the kids pick out their favorite berries. That night, Sarah helped me make strawberry shortcake for everyone. She put the little sponge cake things in the bowls, spooned on the berries, and tried to squirt the whipped cream out of the can but her little fingers just wouldn’t reach.
Another place we went was called The Round Barn. It is exactly what the name implies, a barn that is round. I have never seen a round barn before. It was a beautiful building in the heart of orchard country in southwestern Pennsylvania.
My daughter in law, Sarah, at the Round Barn
They had animals there too, which was a big hit with the kids. They got to pet a donkey, and saw a baby goat. Oh, and that bump is the mystery boy, Owen, the newest Fab Grandbaby, who will arrive sometime around the end of September.
They stayed with us for three nights and then had to go home. We had arranged to have four days off the next week, so we went down to Washington to spend that time at my son’s house. My daughter, Rebecca, was there, too. She came up from Norfolk for two days.
FabGrandpa, Michael, Sarah, and Aunt Rebecca at Seth’s house.
That Monday, we had told the children we were going to take them to the National Zoo, but it was 97 dgrees outside, and they had already seen a ton of animals, so we decided to take the Metro into Washington D.C. and go to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. You know, the one with the dinosaur bones. Both kids loved that display. So did I. I have been to DC twice but had never been to that museum. They also loved the gem and mineral display. Michael collects crystals. There were some on display there that were bigger than he is. Oh, one of the things I did not realize is that all of the Smithsonian buildings and the National Zoo are free.
But out of all these things we did, the thing the kids enjoyed the most and talked about the most was riding on the Metro. It was like magic—both kids sitting perfectly still, silently looking out the window as the train rolled down the track. Every mother, and every FabGrandmother, should have a train!!
The last day I was at my son’s house, the Fabgranddaughter and I spent the afternoon making a scrapbook of all the things we did while she was here. I went to Wal-Mart and had them print out a lot of pictures, and bought some colored paper, sheet protectors, and a glue stick. I glued on tickets, brochures, and pictures, and she wrote about them on each page. It turned out to be a very nice memory book for her to treasure and remember her trip. As if she could forget ME!
p.s. I have a few more pictures I want to post, but my connection is very slow. I will add them tomorrow, I promise!
Now I Know
I have been gluten free since about the middle of April. Since then, I have been very faithfully GF, something I was very proud of because I felt so much better. But, my grandchildren, Sarah and Michael, came to spend a few days with me. The last day they were here, I made them some french toast, and I ate two pieces of it with them. Just because it smelled so good, and because I just wanted to.
So, I have been wondering which of the many symptoms I had would come back fastest if I “cheated”, if I ate something made from wheat flour. Now I know. My legs and feet hurt so bad I could hardly walk for two days. Not just a little sore, but an ache down in my bones that required several doses of pain releivers (over the counter). I don’t think I will be doing that again any time soon. Oh, yeah, and my face broke out in pimples, too. Yuck.
Crazy Dreams
I don’t usually write about my dreams because I rarely ever dream, or, if I do, I don’t remember them. But last night I went to bed with a terrible headache, so early after coming in from work that Jim was concerned about me. I didn’t even turn on the computer to read my e-mail. I was that sick. So, with apologies to the real people in my family who are in this story, sorry, it was just a dream.
In the dream I had last night, I was walking down the street I lived on when I was in the eighth grade, with my best friend from eighth grade. The road looked like it did then, and I looked like I did then, but my friend looked like she looks now. As a matter of fact, everything in the dream looked like it did then, except her. This is sort of what I looked like then:
We came to a place in the road where a rose bush had grown over the road, and we had to walk through it to get to where we were going. As we walked through it, the thorns on the rosebush snagged on my clothing. Donna, my friend, was helping me get untangled from the thorns. I reached for one of the canes of the rosebush, and got about 20 thorns stuck in my thumb. I said to her, “I need a tweezer to get these out.”
So, we went to my mother’s house, which looked on the outside like it looked when I was in the eighth grade. Except, that when we walked up on the carport, instead of a regular door like my mother has, there was a sliding glass door there. The whole inside of the house was crammed with furniture, so much that my mother, who looked like she looked when I was in the eighth grade, had to move a little round wooden table so that Donna and I could slip in sideways to get into the house.
Once inside the house, I asked my mother for a tweezer. She said there was one in the bathroom. So, I went into the bathroom. In the bathroom, I noticed that it was pouring down rain outside, and the ceiling of the bathroom was leaking, so much that there was a huge puddle of water on the floor. I also noticed that someone had re-tiled the bathroom with a beautiful tile pattern. I wondered to myself in the dream why someone would re-tile the floor but leave the roof to leak so much. I looked in the medicine cabinet for a tweezer, but there was not one there.
I went back out to the living area, where I noticed that the ceiling was leaking heavily in there, too. I told my mother that there was no tweezer in the bathroom. She then said, “Well, if you had asked me I would have told you there was one on that little table by the door.” The one she moved so we could get in. I walked over there and got the tweezer and picked the thorns out of my thumb.
Then, I asked my mother why she had not had her roof repaired. She said, “I asked Seth to do it, and he said he would, but Dick got mad at me because I asked Seth to do it, so I told Seth not to do it, and Dick never came to do it after that.” (Seth is my son, who was not even thought of when I was in the eighth grade, and Dick is my older brother) And I said, “Well, Seth knows how to do it, and I will call him right now to come over and fix that roof.” End of dream.
So, if anyone has a clue what this all means, please let me know.
FabGrandpa’s Socks
I don’t know what it is with men and their socks. Jim always seems to be needing more socks, more often than I do at least. He says they lose their “springyness” and when they do, he does not like to wear them anymore. This is long before they look worn out to me, but because I love him so, I get him some more socks whenever he starts talking about the lack of spring, WHATEVER that means.
While we were at the sock store, better known as Target, I also got some socks for our new little man, who we are calling “Owen” for the time being, until his parents name him something else. Those cute little socks were just irresistable, almost as cute as I imagine the baby himself to be.
Jim is very excited about this new baby. The child has no blood relation to Jim at all, but the prospect of being “Poppa” is appealing to him. He loves all three of “our” grandchildren as much as I do. I would say “maybe more”, but I don’t see how that is possible. He loves to spend time with Spencer, Michael, and Sarah, and absolutely loves his role of grandfather. He is the FabGrandpa, no matter what anyone else thinks.
This is one of my favorite pictures of all time, Poppa with Michael, 1997.
Poppa with Spencer in 2002.
With Sarah at the 4-D Theater at Stone Mountain Dec 23, 2005. He loves his grandsons, but this little lady has stolen his heart!
With Sarah at the 4-D Theater at Stone Mountain Dec 23, 2005. He loves his grandsons, but this little lady has stolen his heart!
A Crabby Happy Birthday
THE BIRTHDAY GIRLS
THE BIRTHDAY DINNER
My birthday was last week. I turned 55. I used to think that anyone who was 55 was over the hill, old as dirt, on their last leg. Well, I have changed my opinion of that now that I am there. I am enjoying my life, more than at any other time I have lived it.
My friend, Lynn, also had a birthday last week. So, Jim and I, our friends Lynn and Charlie, their friends Sandy and Phil, and our new friend Linda all went out to a neat little restaurant in Fairfield, Pennsylvania for dinner in celebration of the event.
Dave and Jane’s Crab Shack is a pleasant little surprise. It is located at 2989 Tract Road in Fairfield. Fairfield is about 10 miles west of Gettysburg, and about 2 miles north of the Maryland state line. It is nowhere near an ocean, or any body of water for that matter. But, they have the best seafood I have eaten in a long time.
As their name implies, they serve steamed crabs by the dozens. Even on a Wednesday night, we had to have reservations to get in the door. I was surprised at just how many people were there because it is out in the country.
They have an ALL YOU CAN EAT menu, as well as regular entrees. The AYCE specials are Steamed Crabs (In Season) for $29.95, Alaskan Crab Clusters for $29.95, Steamed Shrimp for $28.95, and an AYCE Trio for $31.95. If I had been with other people who love to eat steamed crabs as much as I do, I would have opted for the AYCE steamed crabs, but I did not because I would have been the only one, and the rest of the gang would have to have waited for me to finish. (Believe me when I say I can eat some crabs!)
So, instead, I ordered the Seafood Lovers Platter. For $22.95, I had 1 dozen steamed clams, 1 lb. of crab clusters, a half pound of steamed shrimp, a cup of cream of crab soup, and a tossed salad. I thought they would never stop bringing out my food! And talk about delish! It was soooo yummy! I also ordered a basket of 3 steamed crabs. I wound up bringing part of my dinner home with me, and that was after sharing with others at the table.
Jim ordered a Combination Seafood Platter. His included broiled shrimp, a crab cake, a broiled fish filet, broiled scallops, and fried oysters. There was more than he could eat, too, and we brought some of his home. The price for that platter was $18.95.
We really enjoyed our dinner party at Dave and Jane’s Crab Shack. If you are ever in the Gettysburg area, I think it is a “must go” place. To get there, take US 15 south from Gettysburg to Maryland 140 in Emmetsburg, Maryland. Turn west on 140 and drive about all the way through Emmetsburg. On the other side of town, you will see a large billboard on the right, at Tract Road. Turn right onto Tract Road and drive about 2 miles or so. Dave and Jane’s will be on the left. Call ahead to make reservations and to make sure they are open. 717 642-5025. You will be very glad you did. OH, they also sell crabs by the dozen to go. And they have a landlubbers menu, including steaks, chicken, sandwiches, and pizza. Prices start at $3.00 for a burger.
Shopping With FabGrandma
My son Seth and his wife Sarah are expecting a new baby in September. As the Fabgrandma, I am so very excited about this addition to our family. They went a couple of weeks ago and had an ultrasound done, and found out that they are having a boy. So, while I was out shopping today, I decided to look at some baby things.
I found these cute little onesies for the amazingly low price of $2.88 each, so of course I bought a many as I could, hahaha. I think the little guy will look adorable no matter what he wears, but these things are too cute!
I especially liked this red one and the little shorts that match it. It reminds me of an outfit I had for my son when he was a baby.
This is a close-up pic of the little applique on the shorts. It says “Puppy Love”. I know it won’t just be puppy love for me when the new Mr. Owen P. gets here.
Michael Visits Gettysburg
My ten year old grandson, Michael, has lived in England for the last seven years. His Dad, my son, has been in the Air Force for thirteen years. They recently were transferred to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, which is the reason I am now living in Pennsylvania. Fabgrandpa and I looked for a job close to Andrews so that we could spend a little time with Michael.
Michael, his Dad and his step-mother, Sarah, came to visit us this week. We took him to Gettysburg to see the battlefields. The photo above shows him firing a cannon. The one below of him and his Dad was taken at Little Round Top, where he was reliving the battle, hiding behind the rocks while he reloaded his musket.
We took him to play mini golf, and fishing in the lake here at the campground where we work. It was cold, but he never ran out of energy. He wore out four adults in the two days he was here. I was sad to see him leave, and can’t wait for him to come back. Wow, I finally get to be the FabGrandma!
