Life on the road
Getting Ready To Roll
Seems like it was just last week that we pulled in to Payne Lake Campground to volunteer for six months. Time goes by way too fast when the place is as beautiful as this. The Forest Service folks had a “Volunteer Appreciation Day” last week to thank us for our work here.
There was a cookout at the day use pavillion, and a lot of the guys and gals came out to say good bye to us and to Rob and Belinda, the camp hosts on the other side of the lake.
They cooked some hot dogs and hamburgers, there was some pasta salad and some baked beans, and I took some Kozy Shack Chocolate Pudding. Everyone had a great time.
Joe gave us all a T-shirt, and each couple received a nice throw with the Forest Service emblem on it. They also gave us a “coffee table” photo book of Alabama. They all said they were sad to see us go. And we are just as sad to leave. It is very hard to leave such a beautiful place:
But we’ll be leaving in the morning, headed west to Arizona for another season at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. And that is another beautiful place, one we can’t wait to get back to.
Still Looking For A Mother Of The Bride Dress
And I think I may have found one. Or two. I was looking online tonight for Mother of the Bride Dresses at RomanticGowns.com! and found this one:
And this one:
The wedding will be in February in the north Georgia mountains, so it will be cold or cool. I don’t like wearing a dress that has no sleeves, so both of these would be good choices. I really like the periwinkle color. But do you think it would make me look washed out with my gray hair? What do you think?
I Love A Vacation IV
We left Douglasville on Friday morning, headed up to north Georgia to visit FabGrandpa’s Mom and Dad. On the way, we saw this:
In case you can’t see what it, it says, “Caution! Live Venomous Cargo”. No way could you ever get me in that van. I would be so creeped out, wondering if the “venomous cargo” was going to escape whatever cage it was in.
So, we made it up to the mountains with no bites. We had a nice visit with Nana and Poppa. We had planned to take them out to eat, but they had planned to take us. So we all went out to the chinese place in town. It was good, as usual.
I took Nana one of the tote bags I had made for her birthday. We took some measurements of her walker so I could modify the bag so it will attach to the front of it. She was very pleased with this.
I added three straps that fasten with 3″ velcro to one side of the bag:
I only mailed it to her yesterday, so I will have to wait until she gets it to see if it works like we wanted it to.
Nana makes wire wrapped jewelry, but because she no longer is able to go to the craft shows, she has no outlet to sell what she makes. She gave me a bag full of things she made to bring home with me. I am going to be making a page for her in my shop here at FabGrandma in the next few days. Look for her shop page soon!
Poppa does some silversmithing, too. He has one set of a pendant and earrings that are sterling silver with amethyst stones. He’d like to get $300 for the set, if anyone wants it, let me know. I’ll be putting it for sale on Nana’s page, too.
My favorite thing that Poppa makes are these so cute birthstone ring charms. They are made with synthetic birthstones, and are intended to wear on a necklace. I have one for each of my children and grandchildren’s birth months. Every time I wear my necklace with them on it, everyone who sees them wants to know where I got them. Well, my father-in-law made them for me. Now, as soon as I get that page made, you can get yours:
We only got to spend one night with the folks. We enjoyed their company, and made plans to go back for 2 or 3 days when we come back next winter. We drove back down to Douglasville, where we spent one last night at the Holiday Inn. Becky came over after she got off work, and we all went to the movies and saw ‘Alice In Wonderland’. I loved the movie, but I love anything with Johnny Depp.
After the movie, I met another old friend, Sue. She picked me up outside the movies, and while FabGrandpa and Becky went back to the motel for a visit, Sue and I went out for a drink:
Two is my limit, especially when it is tequila shots! Yes, I have to have mine with salt and a slice of lime. Our visit was way too short–I haven’t seen Sue in more than 18 years, but again, it was like we had just seen each other last week. I hope next time we go to town I can have a longer visit. She was a girl scout leader when I was the service unit director for girl scouts in my county. We talked about having a girl scout reunion, and inviting all the girls who were in our troops back then. Wouldn’t that be fun??
So, now we are back home, getting ready to head west next week. We’ll be taking I-40 from Memphis to Flagstaff, and spending 4 or 5 days in Flagstaff before heading up the plateau to go to work. I am really looking forward to the trip. It’s already getting hot here in Alabama.
Is It Just Me?
Ok, I have been either a volunteer or a paid worker in campgrounds for going on 10 years. I love what I do, and will continue to do it for as long as I am able to do it. There are so many rewards of doing this work, that I know I shouldn’t complain. I COULD still be working the 9 to 5 in a stuffy office somewhere and being bored to tears. But….
The thing that really gets to me is when adults who are in charge of a bunch of children break the rules, and when you, as a volunteer or employee, have to say something to them, they almost always say something about it being “for the kids.” The reason this really bothers me is that these upstanding citizens, who give their time to help shape the upcoming generation, think it is ok to break a rule because to obey it would not allow them to do whatever it is they are doing “for the children.” To me, that is inadverdently teaching those children that it is ok to break a rule or a law if you do not agree with it. To me, that has far reaching implications that affect the way those children think and act as they become adults.
The thing that started me feeling like this today was that when I was out doing my rounds in the campgrounds, there was a group of about four men who were hiding Easter Eggs in the primitive campground. Now, there was only one campsite occupied over there, a site across the road from where they were hiding the eggs. The people who were camping on that site had gone off somewhere, so they were not on the site, just their tent and “stuff.” And there probably wouldn’t be any other campers coming in to that area today, seeing as it is Easter Sunday.
But, because the rules of the park indicate that people who are there for “day use” are not to be in the campground, I had to say something to them–it’s part of my job as a volunteer here. So, I asked “Are you camping with us today?” and the guy in charge said, “No, but we have a lot of children with us and we thought this would be a good place for the egg hunt.” I told them about the rule, and said they really weren’t supposed to be there, but because they had already hidden most of the eggs I would let them “this time” but they needed to pass the word to others that is it not ok to do this. Then he said, “well, I tried to call the forest service office yesterday to ask if it was ok, but no one answered the phone”, which sounded to me like he was making it the fault of the forest service that he broke the rule.
So, here is the question is, Is it ok to break a rule because you do not agree with it? And the multiple choice answers are:
1. Karen, you are a hard headed stickler who is just out to spoil Easter for this family.
2. It is ok to break that rule because no one was camping over there, so what difference does it make?
3. Those people meant well, but they are teaching their children that it is ok to break a rule because they don’t like it.
4. If I was camping over there I would be a little ticked off if I came back and there were 20 kids hunting Easter Eggs all over my campsite. And who is going to pick up all their trash?
I Love A Vacation III
Tuesday FabGrandpa and went shopping again, while my son and his children went to visit other family members. I had a prescription I had to get filled, and a couple of things that I bought on Saturday to return. We took off after breakfast, and got it all done by lunch time, so I went to visit my mother while he took a nap.
My cousin, Mary came to meet us for dinner. She is such a fun person–I haven’t seen in way too long. She came back to the motel with us and stayed a while so she could the rest of the crew.I really thought I took some pictures while she was there but I couldn’t find them. Dang it!
On Wednesday, we had an appointment in the afternoon for family portraits to be done. The last time we had professional portrait done, my son was about 12 years old, and it was one of those Easter Bunny photos at the mall:
So, it really was about time! And of course, it is always a good thing to have a hairstylist in the family at a time like this. We all went to Becky’s shop a couple of hours before the photo appointment so she could make sure everyone looked their best:
The results were better than I had expected. I know I already showed you the fabulous photo of the grandchildren, but I love it so much I am showing it again:
All that posing made us really hungry, and that was a good thing, because my mother had cooked dinner for us. We all headed over there for meatloaf, squash casserole, homemade mac and cheese (which I couldn’t eat but it looked really good!), green beans, and sweet potato casserole. She really made a good spread for us. My sister and her husband were there, too. What a day!
April In Alabama
I Love A Vacation!
Our vacation started out with a drive to Birmingham to the VA Eye Clinic for FabGrandpa’s one week post-op check up. Everything looked fine–the doctor said to just keep using the eye drops until they were gone. After the check-up, we headed on over to Georgia.
We checked in at the Holiday Inn, our home away from home for the next week. Got settled in, then I went to pick up our granddaughter. We had a giggley spend the night party that night, with her telling us about her friends, her school, things she likes to do, and things she likes to eat. I think we got to sleep finally at around mid-night. 
Sarah playing on the Webkinz website on Fabgrandpa’s computer.
The next day, we got up early and met Aunt Emily and cousin Spencer for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel across the street from the motel:
After breakfast, we had a day of shopping at the mall. Because we don’t see her very often, we tend to spoil Sarah rotten when we do. We got her some new jeans, 3 new shirts, a new purse, and a new hoodie. Then we went to Aunt Becky’s beauty shop where we all got haircuts.
The afternoon was spent at Monkey Joe’s, an indoor playground in town. There are lots of things to jump on, lots of room to run and work off some energy.
The kids needed to be active, and the adults needed to rest. I was already exhausted by walking all over the mall.
Dinner that night was at Longhorn Steaks. Mmmm. FabGrandpa, Sarah, and I were joined by Emily and her husband, Tommy, Spencer, and Becky. Just about the time desert was served, my son, Seth, called and said he was almost to the motel. So, we all hurried up so we could get back over there.
That’s my son, Seth–he is in the Air Force and lives in Maryland. The last time we saw them, we were working in Gettysburg, about 100 miles from where he lives. Owen was only two months old then.
He is now a rambunctious two year old. He is so sweet and cuddly, so much fun to be with.
Michael is now a teenager, (YIKES! I have a teenaged grandson? how the heck did that happen?)
We stayed up again, until past midnight, talking and catching up and just being with our kids. We slept late on Sunday, then the kids took the grandkids to the aquarium in Atlanta, while FabGrandpa and I went to meet Becky’s future in-laws.
I did not take pictures of Rafe’s parents, but I can tell you we had a pleasant visit. We met them at O’Charley’s for lunch, then headed over to Rafe’s house, where Becky will be living after they get married next year. His parents are very nice people, we liked them very much. And the house has a nice guest room, where FabGrandpa and I can stay when we are in town. I teased Rafe that it was big enough for a “mother-in-law” suite–it really is, but I don’t really expect to live with them.
We went back to the motel, where we met up with Seth, and his family. Then we all went over to my Mom’s for a short visit. I was ready to drop when we got back to the motel, so I went to bed “sort of” early, about 10 p.m. to get rested up for the next day.
…to be continued…
