Gap Creek

Miracle Mouthwash...

2010-07-27T23:34:00.003-04:00

Up way early this morning (6:25), thank you Casey :~) - Did a few things and decided to lay back down... so went back to sleep until about 10:00. Talked with Charles who says he can't sleep in our bed without me there (roll eyes) and he is sleeping on the built in bed back in the office/bedroom - in fact, installed the ceiling fan back there today. OK. I have the wallpaper ready to go up, just gotta find the time. Nautical all the way.

I read some in one of the best novels I have ever read: Night Fall by Nelson DeMille... Now before you buy this book let me warn you that the first chapter could leave you wondering what in the world kind of books I read...???!!! But the first chapter SETS UP the story, but Mr. DeMille got a little graphic doing it. I do love murder and mayhem and this story is about the crash of TWA Flight800 off of Long Island in 1996 where 230 people were killed. Charles put it this way (in his book review to me).. "Whatever you're reading, put it aside and read this. It is the BEST paperback I have ever read." Trust me; he's read thousands.

Anyway... was up and at it this afternoon... picked up the Miracle Mouthwash after talking to the dr's office again - they are so great to call and check on patients! Brought it back to the house and Mom took some right away. Said it helped; took another dose at 9:00 tonight and is eating some... That's real good.

Then I went back OUT... Charles knows that walking through TJ or Homegoods or Marshall's is good therapy for me and mom wanted an artificial SOMETHING for the bathroom to complete our re-do of it, so I had an excuse to go... plus pick up a few groceries.

I walked in Marshall's for 2 hours. Think that if I could push a buggy out on our road, I could get some GOOD walking in at the homeplace (or boat) but since I don't want to look like a bag lady, I use my favorite stores to walk in.

Came back to the house - it was after 10:00 PM... and realized that one whole bag of groceries had not made it home with me. I called them. The check out gal was LESS than helpful. She wanted OUT of there and it was obvious. I loaded my cart by myself with her standing there watching me. Guess I missed a bag. HOW do people like that keep their jobs????

I bought a box of honey mustard pretzel pieces tonight (not from the grocery store) because I love those things... well mom has taken over the box. She can't eat GOOD yet but she wanted some of those things and was back for more. I will joyfully let her have the whole box if she will just eat them!

Going to bed. Good day we've had here. So thankful.

Hot!

2010-07-25T16:27:00.006-04:00

I remember hot summers... but not this hot. To walk out on Mom's screened porch takes your breath.

Last week Ty came down to Mom's and spent a couple of nights with us. Sent him on his way right before Charles drove to Winston and stayed a few days. Then he and I headed for Knoxville on Monday and picked up my new glasses (which had to be fitted). It was all of a 5 minute ordeal. We went to eat @ Texas Roadhouse in K'ville, then to Carmen's for dessert. Got loved on by those grandkids a bunch. I miss them all... brought some corn home from Dean's garden & froze it.

Stayed a couple of days in Hendersonville and really enjoyed being at home.. Then Jonathan drove me back to Winston and spent the weekend here - just left after lunch today to drive back to Hendersonville.

Yesterday the 3 grandsons came to Mom's. No plans for that to happen, it just happened that way. Jonathan made plans first - he was off this weekend. Then Jeremy called one afternoon on his way from Wilmington NC and said, "Grandma, I'm coming to see you on Saturday!"... OK.... and then Sean (who has been put off from coming several times already) so we decided that we'd just make a day of it and make the best of it.

Those 3 guys have not been together in literally YEARS.... since Daddy died in 2002. Was good to see them. We made lots of good pics. The one above is one of my favorites.Mom was flinging her arms about something and we gals were acting a mess. The gal on the far left is Megan, Sean's wife. (Sean is on the right holding Natalie, their little girl). First time I have seen them since their wedding x years ago.

Mom's mouth is a MESS. She can't stand food in it because it's so sore. I called the doc and Jonathan picked up some med on Saturday... but it isn't helping. Thrush. It's nasty. Infants and cancer patients get it. So mom is not eating much at all. Will have to call them back tomorrow.

Talked with Charles a few minutes ago. Jonathan made it home OK. Charles drove to the boat on Saturday, put the deck boat in a slip, and drove back to H'ville. Took Jonathan's dog, Bentley and said he was a scream. Everybody fell in love with Bentley.

Sunday afternoon .... hotter than boiling cauldrin here and I'm going to read some more in my book!

Graduation.....

2010-07-15T19:29:00.008-04:00

Mom got her "diploma" for comple
tion of 10 rounds of radiation, today. I am not sure we can call it a "banner day"... we are just glad that it's over. She had not had even ONE side effect until today.... and her mouth is sore now, her head itches like crazy and her hair is beginning to come out. Wow. We saw another doctor this morning who encouraged us to make the most of any time we have... we all should be doing that anyway. Duh.

Came home and my high school friend, Gary Lewis - most popular boy in our Sr. class -who has been mom and dad's plumber for YEARS... was here. He installed "grab bars" in mom's shower and installed a new, taller commode for her. I had not seen him in several years and would NOT have known him....anyway... nice reunion.

Rested a little and headed back to the hospital to pick up some meds for mom's sore mouth... they did the trick.... headed over to Vera's hair salon to get Vera to fix mom's wig. Saw Nookie - one of mom's childhood friends in there - she and mom talk all the time on the phone. Good time at Vera's. Mom's wig looks GREAT!

Drove mom to Wendy's for a chocolate frosty, then home. She has answered lots of phone calls this afternoon.... Another day down.

2010-07-14T23:27:00.002-04:00

Debbie and I would be sunk were it not for Mom's attitude about this fiasco called cancer. That goes without saying, my personal faith in God. I'd NEVER get through it without Him and neither would Mom.

Today in some ways was the absolute pitts. Deb, Mom and I arrived for Mom's treatment - came off without a hitch. EXCEPT... one of the technicians in the radar room asked Mom who the "older lady" was out there with her (that would be me).... so I was dubbed the "old woman" after that. Funny.

The visit with the ins. people after radiation was a TRIP. The lady came out and called through the entire waiting room (full of people and kids)... LULA Sprinkle?... and mom says back in a rather loud voice "LOLA Sprinkle". Of course I was laughing out loud by then and said BACK to her in a rather loud voice, "It's OK. We love it." And the lady was relieved and we dubbed Mom, "LULA".... The lady loved us... said WE were "keepers"...

The visit with the dr. was not what we wanted to hear. The brain tumors are there and won't go away. Cancer started in the lung... that is the starting point. Head has been treated and no more radiation after tomorrow's treatment.... but the lung is still not treated. No chemo by IV recommended at mom's age (and she doesn't want it anyway)... but the doc said we have the option of trying a chemo PILL and will talk about that after we have another CT scan in 5 weeks to see what's going on....

We wanted to hear that the brain tumors were going to melt away. Bummer.

We will take this a day at a time. Mom's attitude is great. Thank the Good Lord for that!

Monday.... Treatment Day 7

2010-07-12T22:16:00.004-04:00

Mom and I were up bright and early this morning - had to be at the hospital by 8:00 for treatment number 7 (out of 10). By now, Mom was supposed to be a rag doll. She is FAR from a Raggedy Ann! I love this pic... we were in the drug store and she was buying new sun glasses. She's a good sport and this is a good picture. She certainly doesn't look her age! (and she doesn't act her age either LOL)

Got the treatment and headed for the grocery store and bank, but first, Bojangles where SHE ordered two sausage biscuits (one for tomorrow)... scarfed down one plus OJ and we headed for the grocery store. THAT was a trip.... Mom came out with a stash of sweets, including several big packs of Reece Cups, a key lime layer cake and a lemon layer cake among other goodies.... I told her we have food for one normal person (me) and one pig (Mom)... we laugh about it. She grazes 24/7 in between naps and has gained a couple of pounds. THAT is good.

We have enjoyed a nice peaceful day at the house - hard rain this afternoon, and Ollie walked over to visit. That was good, too. She is a good neighbor -brought mom her first home grown tomato for the season. We had BLT sandwiches tonight!

Talked with Charles this afternoon and talked with Carmen for about an hour tonight.
She said Scarlett has cried over no "MeMe Camp" this summer... I just hate it, but I can't do it right now.

Charles is coming on Thursday sometime - after he gets the Buick back from the $1300 repair from when the man backed in to us last Sunday.... and we have to make a trip to Knoxville to pick up my glasses. I will be SO glad to get those things.

Looking forward to a great day tomorrow. Treatment for mom; visit from the plumber - a guy I graduated from high school with - Gary Lewis. He has been the plumber at this house for years.

Radiation..... Amazing Mom

2010-07-10T22:51:00.005-04:00

This is an AMAZING experience. I hate that the word 'amazing' is tossed around so freely in our society. ie....Those socks are AMAZING! No. Socks are NOT amazing....but life experiences can be amazing. There are some pretty "amazing" people out there. My Mother is one of those amazing people.

Mom has "attitude".... she will NOT be sick, she says.... and her list of I will NOT be this or that is 'amazingly' long.... but she is sticking to her guns. She isn't sick. In fact our usual routine after a radiation treatment is to go thru the drive-thru at Wendy's and she gets a small chocolate frosty.

The docs said that she would notice a sizeable difference in the way she feels after the third treatment. She has had six treatments and only tonight (Saturday night) has she mentioned that the treatments are beginning to make her tired. That is "amazing"... She has operated like a buzz saw since Day ONE.

We have been so busy here, that I am worn out... but I'll get over it! Would not be anywhere else. This time is precious.

July 10, 2010

2010-07-10T22:28:00.004-04:00

More than a month ago, Mother was diagnosed with lung cancer which has metastasized to the brain (as the doctor said on Thursday)- 7 tumors on the brain. The lung biopsy that was done on Thursday will tell us sometime this next week what type of cells make up the cancer and they will know better how to treat it. The doc put her in radiation immediately though, saying they should have started 3 weeks earlier (before we went to the beach). We don't know what in the heck that means other than that they had a chance to grow... but they are small, we learned Thursday.

We went to the beach determined to have a ball - and we did. It was hot as an oven down
at Myrtle, but we weathered it well and Mom did EXCEPTIONALLY well. We gals acted like school girls at a pajama party that week... swam, stayed out on the beach one day with mom under an umbrella, for several hours.... we shopped, ate lucious seafood and made great memories. GREAT memories! Carmen drove and took the big Navigator or whatever that car is (luxurious), and I say again... I don't think we have ever laughed so much in our life.

Arrived back home... dropped Mom and Deb off in Winston-Salem around 10:30 on Thurs. morning and Carmen and I headed for Hendersonville. She dropped me off at the house and headed for Knoxville. We were glad to be home by that time!

Charles and I headed for Mother's in Winston-Salem the next Friday after she had seen the doctor and had gone through her first radiation treatment. Deb went back to work on Monday and Charles whent back to Hendersonville on Monday and I stayed and have been here ever since. I just can't be anywhere else right now.

Summer..... movin on!

2010-06-27T14:03:00.004-04:00

There have been so many "developments" since May that I won't begin to list them here... but let's say that things have been hopping.

Mom, Debbie, Carmen and I took a trip to the beach last week. I don't think we have EVER laughed as hard in our lives. We got out on the beach, swam, listened to "Under the Boardwalk" by Bette Midler, dined in WONDERFUL places, shopped, and acted like school girls. Crazy! We even argued a little. All in the great mixture of an unforgettable trip to the coast. And on the final night there, there were AWESOME fireworks off the end of the pier near our hotel. We stood amazed in our pajamas on the balcony and took it all in.

Charles and Jonathan were on a Father/Son trip to the midwest - something like 13 states - while we were at the beach. THEY traveled 4,500 miles. I can't imagine! Both made it back to the cottage in the NC mountains and everyone is "home" - in their respective places today.

Church at FBC this morning was wonderful. Saw a bunch of friends - we do every time we're there - and the question of the day was, "You'all BACK yet?" You'd think they'd get tired of asking but those sweet people don't.

The summer's getting away from us already. CT and I have always said that when June is over, might as well say the summer is over. July 1 begins a new school year as far as administrators go and CT never took a summer off from school.... His semi-retirement is no exception. We will have the next several weeks off - we THINK - ..not even sure about that. Don't know what this next school year will bring. There are some uncertainties we're dealing with at this point. God knows it all. He is with us.

Dined at Kelsey's in H'ville after church. GREAT meal... we love going there. Sat right by the big waterfall. Nice.

Big week ahead..... lots going on.....

Mid-June...

2010-06-18T00:00:00.002-04:00

I am so behind on blogging - just have not been in the mood to blog the past several days.

We have been very busy at the house. I cleaned what seemed like a bucket of pollen off of the cushions and furniture on the screened porch this afternoon - but it's good and ready to go for the summer. Love it out there.

We worked around the hot tub - put the new top on - SO much easier than the old one which is so heavy laden with water - they get that way over time and the old top went through 7 seasons...Just waiting to pounce on some tropicals when Lowe's gets some in.... 3 huge pots to plant on the deck.

Worked in the out buildings organizing things - moved the old refrigerator (works great) into the small building nearest the house to use as over-flow food and bottled water... laid some new indoor/outdoor carpet in there that we've had stored. I want this storage room to be like an extra room on the house... we'll see how THAT works.

Worked in the big storage building - pulled some car mats down to throw away and out dropped a black snake right at my feet.... I danced a little jig and the cat went into action - of course she was in there with us over-seeing what we were doing like always. The snake was very small - about 15 inches long.... and Miss Friendly had a fit. It got away and I hope it went outside. Good think I'm not afraid of a little black snake....

So tired tonight.... just pooped.... headed for bed.

Sunday @ the Lake....

2010-06-06T18:46:00.019-04:00

I give up.... have typed blog post twice - this is third time.... and it has erased itself 2 times..... It is Sunday.... we are at the lake. Jonathan spent the night with us last night - said he slept well.

I grilled breakfast this morning... Bacon, eggs, toast, grits, jelly, OJ... and the two guys ate like it was their last meal. CT said bacon was the best he'd ever put in his mouth. It WAS really good - thick sliced Tenn. Pride on the grill.

After they ate, we went on a boat ride - Jonathan wanted to go to Loyston Sea... the part of the lake that covers the town of Lloyston. The movie WILD RIVER was made about the story of the people of Loyston giving up their homes so the dam could be built by TVA... great story. A little eery knowing we were sitting above churches, houses, businesses and the school. The graves had to be dug up and moved.... there is a cementary near us called New Loyston Cemetary..... This large body of water is what is known as Loyston Sea.

Came back to the boat and by then it was past lunch time... ate fried chicken, potatoes, salad, biscuits and blackberry pie.... was great. Bojangles chicken N biscuits and the rest was done at the boat.

Mid-afternoon, Summerlyn and Ty came down. Sure did love on my Ty. A gal in Hendersonville hit him broadside on Saturday night out near WalMart... near North High.... totaled both vehicles - she ran a red light. Neither were hurt, thank the Lord.

Summerlyn called and asked to stay with us a couple of days at the boat - so she is here for the first part of the week. MeMe loves it. She and papaw are at the grocery picking up her fav snacks and some gas for the boat. MEGA less expensive in town... we buy at both places depending on the situation.

Jonathan left for home around 4:00 - waited till the rain was over... and Ty had to be at work at 5:00. He is driving the big green Suburban now.... OK... Carmen and Dean had loaned it to a neighbor to drive... but called it back in for TY... at least it is 4 wheels until something can be done about transportation for him.

On Over in June Now.....

2010-06-05T13:43:00.002-04:00

First things first - My laptop has died. I have lost all email addresses (so send me an email so I can put you back in my address book)... If you blog and read this - send me the address to your blog. My favorites are gone too. This happened suddenly and unexpectedly. Thankfully I had ALL of my pictures pulled off onto some flash drives and the newest pics are on the computer I'm using now - Charles'. He will buy a new laptop and I will inherit this one (18 months old)...

We stayed at the boat this weekend.... so much work to do here we could not see going home. Cleaned out the AC unit yesterday and it stopped up over night and CT is on the top of the boat unstopping it as I type. The guy two boats over - Steve - has two air conditioning businesses.... walked over and said, "I will help in any way that I can if you'll just tell me." We have his number. Think right now that it just needs a second tube cleaning and it should be fine. It is 2 years old today. The one it replaced lasted 20 years.

Linda: remember "bullet" fixing or casing or something like this - a $9 part that you use on a closed ac unit that won't take freeon, to enable it to TAKE freeon. OK Thank you Steve.

Love it down here.... There are more boats going by our boat than we can count.... the lake is rocking, but quiet, suprisingly. It may really rock tonight. We are never here on weekends anymore.

Ty has been here this week - spent a couple of nights with us... helped papaw on the boat, put a new grill together, just had a good time down here with us. MeMe fed him well...Pap paid him well, too. ;)

Early on Wednesday....

2010-05-26T06:34:00.004-04:00

It is 6:30 in the morning.... WAY early for this gal. But CT is getting ready for school, and I woke up (which never happens), so thought I'd see him off. He just appeared from the bathroom and his mouth fell open when he saw me sitting here on the sofa... EARlY for me.

The man is putting on jeans and a sailboat shirt and I'm going, HUH? He goes in long sleeved shirt and tie every day.... but testing is over and 99% of the kids are out for the summer... so he's dressing DOWN. Wonderful part of this job.

Monday....

2010-05-24T15:28:00.004-04:00

Alright..... Much water over the dam since I last posted.... we have been to H'ville for the weekend and are now back at the boat...Great time with Jonathan - he gave me for Mother's Day the entire I Love Lucy series and we watched several episodes. I swear she is as funny today as she was THEN. (my opinion - I loved the show)

CT just called and we are going to Kville tonight to get an order in for a desk top/counter top for our desk on the boat.... we have used thick cabinet plywood for 2 years... it's time.

Went to Carmen's yesterday to celebrate Little Bit's 8th birthday....she had a little friend over for the meal... these two little gals are the top two third graders in their school.... had fun, forgot to eat cake!!!! They began with ice cream and I didn't even get any of that. Saw the animals... cows, pigs, chickens.... even got the brown cow to come up to me and lick my hand. That was so sweet - they ate clover from Deans hand and my hand too... Animals for the most part are sweet.

HOT here on the lake today. I scrubbed - spot cleaned - carpet on the deck boat this morning.... just sat out there afterward and enjoyed the coolness and the numerous boats that went by..... love this place!

Boat is IN... picnic time!

2010-05-19T15:43:00.004-04:00

When TY came to eat yesterday afternoon, he and papaw put the boat in the water... we had not started the engine since we had $1800 worth of work done on it a year ago... but it started and the engine SEEMS to be like new. (This pic was made on candlelight setting on my camera, but the subject has to be still or it does this - better than nothing)...Still... a month or so ago Charles bought a new trolling motor.... the kind that you have on the front of the boat that you really use in fishing - to move the boat from spot to spot without having to crank the engine... but it is perfect if you get out on the lake and get stuck, also... you can crank that thing up and putter your way back to shore.

CT is stopping by one of the best BBQ places ever to pick up a picnic dinner for us - and if it isn't raining, we're heading out. I am more excited than I SHOULD be for my age... lol....but I am totally excited.

Have been out on that boat most of today scrubbing, cleaning, and putting the treatment on the seats.... looks nearly like a new boat..... one problem though... the dummies that made our canopy top several years ago used regular thread to sew it... so now the thread is rotten and it is pulling apart. CT went over to their place of business - was going to ask them to sew it back - and they are OUT of business.... We are going to have to take it somewhere and get the stitching redone... The cloth is in great shape; they just didn't use the right kind of thread... duh duh duh.

I've had my music going (on my mp3 player) and have just danced around out there cleaning - and waving to our neighbors Nancy and Grant who have the huge half a million dollar boat down here. She is a pediatrician; he is a builder. Don't know how HIS business is doing but hers is booming.

Gotta get some tea made for our picnic. CT called... is on his way to the boat.

Rainy Monday....

2010-05-17T21:56:00.003-04:00

I'll add - raining so hard it was coming in sideways. I closed the curtain after lunch, laid on the sofa and snoozed for 1.5 hours.....

Got up and the sun was shining - beautiful outside. Some people are looking at Ness's boat next door and I spoke with them for awhile. Nice man and woman - both realtors and want it to be quiet down here. Asked about the partying. I told them all I knew... we aren't here most weekends, never had a problem with loud music and partying - do not do it ourselves, and they (drinking their bottled beer)liked that a lot. Seemed like nice people. Charles says drinking is a part of the culture around here and I believe it. Anyway, while they were here with the boat realtor, the rain came again. Hard. Charles had gone up to our deck boat to get a part off of it - we would like to get it in the water this week... and got locked out of the gate... the combination would not work and he had to practically swim in.

Tonight around dusk, the couple came back.. asked about the sewage pump service, etc... commented that we might be next door neighbors. They even asked how much we thought Ness loved that boat - Ness died last summer of cancer - late fifties in age, and the family took the boat out a few weekends ago and spread his ashes over the lake.... They are considering leaving the name of the boat (Almost Parrotdise) as is in honor of Ness. They plan to redo the boat if they buy it.

The pic is of a rainbow after this afternoon's rain. Gorgeous!

Rainy Trip Back...

2010-05-16T21:28:00.002-04:00

Wow... the skys were black... I asked Charles at one point if he thought a twister could get between these mountains... nope...

We did not go thru the gorge going back - that one lane set-up going west just doesn't get it for us. Miles of back up is what we saw going over - so we came back through Greeneville, TN. And we just talked ourselves IN to it being six of one and half dozen of another as far as time goes on the road..... it is definitely quicker going thru the gorge.

SOOOOOO glad to be back at the boat. It always looks "new" when we first walk back in because it is scrubbed and polished before we leave. We made turkey sandwiches and watched Miss USA and are maxing and relaxing. Looking forward to being rocked to sleep tonight. So tired we can't see straight so sleep should come easy.

The closer we got to the lake the blacker the sky got... it absolutely poured... but was over by the time we got down the mountain to the marina. Thankfully - we brought our 2 buggies in, yelled at our neighbors, Vern and Pat, spoke to some people fishing, and found the flowers that we had watered and left 10 days ago, perfect! I love dark red geraniums in summer... these are popping out all over!

Great to be back on the water!!!!

The Family Snake....

2010-05-15T17:59:00.004-04:00

I was talking with Carmen this afternoon on the phone.... had just taken a picture of Joanthan out on the front porch in front of my small Ficus tree....DayStar sang today at area rest homes.... Glanced out there and looked closer and did a double take.

The huge black snake that has been around our property Charles says for YEARS was climbing into that little ficus. I jumped up, grabbed the camera while Charles unscrewed the broom handle, and the three of us headed to the front door... of course I was snapping pictures like crazy.

That snake
got so mad at us! You could hear him hissing and you could hear him biting the end of the broom handle... tail rattling like a rattlesnake to scare us away. Didn't happen.

CT finally got him on the broom handle, took him to the front lower driveway and the snake very nearly ran up the Christmas tree and that is where I last saw him. Whew! Pictures posted on Facebook.

Sad Sad....

2010-05-14T23:56:00.003-04:00

I called Carmen this afternoon and she told me right off the bat that they were having a tragic weekend.... or something along that line.

Scarlett loves playing softball. She is the littlest on her team but she is loved and is a good little ball player. And she LOVES playing - did I just say that?? Anyway, they played last night and won.... and this morning her coach was killed at work. JUST HORRIBLE.

Of course Little Bit was crushed. Climbed in her mama's lap and cried. The team met tonight... don't know what they are planning to do.

I hate it that this darling little girl is having to see the harsh reality of death at such an early age.

Hooooommmme.......

2010-05-14T19:42:00.005-04:00

So good to get home... Hives are all but gone. See how pitiful and weak-eyed I looked? Full of Benadryl for one thing.....

Working around the house tonight.... then gonna crash. Carmen emailed saying they have booked us at the beach... Yahoooooo! Four girls - Mom, Debbie, Carmen and me. No kids, no animals, no men (not sure I like THAT part) and 5 days to play. Looking forward like crazy.... in fact, I have already
bought a "suprise" for this little group of 4. Gonna have fun!!!

OUTTA HERE!!!!

2010-05-14T12:56:00.002-04:00

Charles brought breakfast to me this morning. I didn't even know it. At 10:00 he came back in the room and woke me up.... check-out time was 11:00 and he'd be back to the room at 10:30.

I am covered in hives now... ears, face, back of legs, head, back.... so it is a good thing we were able to get out of there today. We thought about the option of me driving over to the boat.... but too much trouble and I decided with Benadryl, I could put up with the discomfort for another half a day.

So we are outta there and don't plan to ever go back.

Stopped by Coldwater Creek outlet this morning.... WONDERFUL stuff.... 1/3 off and another 40% off of everything in the store sale. I went for t shirts, longer sleeves... tried the one on at the hotel last night and told CT I wanted some more of them for the price... couldn't go wrong.

I mentioned months ago how I had a batch of Ralph Lauren bedding that I had gotten from different TJ, Homegoods and Marshall's stores.... I mentioned it in the middle of my meds crisis in October. Weird how things affect you, but one day when I was feeling like living, Jonathan took me out and I returned it all.... I was just sick of it. No full sets of anything and I have struggled for a year trying to find a good replacement for the comforter that we have used for umteen years.

While in TJ Maxx in Pigeon Forge, I may have found what I want. Bought it and went back in the next day (yesterday) to see if they had gotten any other pieces of the set in (they had not).... anyway.... their stock of those comforters disappeared off the shelf overnight. Glad I have the one I bought, even if I end up having to return it. Looking forward to putt ing it on the bed. It is a blue and white RL paisley pattern... just gorgeous.... and What I already have at home goes with it..... so we shall see.

I have had half a banana, two bites of CT's burger at lunch and six tiny tootsie rolls. My Russell Stovers marshmellow eggs, hearts, and santas are all gone now and the outlet said they MAY have something in for Thanksgiving. Ha.... I need to give them up anyway.

Home - Hendersonville - Here we come.... Hives, go away!

Still not laughing... just plain put out.

2010-05-13T22:45:00.003-04:00

Yesterday - Wednesday was a nightmare. Hives are now on my face and the Benadryl does enough to keep me from clawing myself to pieces. ... but I don't feel like doing much of anything. Still hacking my head off... wondering how one human being could have so much gunk and survive.

Talked with a pharmacist today - Thursday - ..... he said I should be fine two to 3 days after we leave here. One of the EEs had to leave and go home on Tuesday because of the fumes. I cannot smell them because I'm so stopped up... probably a good thing.

Where
Charles' time was taken 100% by the state people yesterday, he was free at 3:00
today. We left and cruised around Gatlinburg and P. Forge.... I found a couple of yummy shirts at Coldwater Creek outlet - great buy @ 12.00 each. We ate at the steak place again tonight. I ate 4 bites of Charles' huge steak... to die for-delicious. I had eaten about 2 bites of anything all day. Slept a lot.

Made our way back to the hotel.

I can't WAIT to get home. This place is the royal pitts. I WILL have to say that instead of looking like Old McDonald's Farm, the new look is beautiful.... but overall it is still the pitts. Rooms will end up having refrigerators and microwaves... but they have not gotten them in any of the rooms yet. Looks like destruction everywhere.

The pic above is of me drooling over a love seat.... made by Flat Rock Furniture Company in I think, Indiana. Absolutely the cutest thing. I have looked at them online before. Prices are out the roof.... but the Park can afford it. Charles said I could get one if I want it. I laughed. He doesn't know the price and no I can't get one.

Laughing......not so much...

2010-05-12T13:43:00.003-04:00

We are at our conference.... drove up to the hotel and realized quickly with all the cranes and heavy equipment, the Park is being remodeled. I went into automatic wariness mode.... like... we stayed at Opryland Hotel and moved 3 times because of remodeling. Jackhammers that sounded like.... well... you could not stand to be in the room during the day. Nightmare.

Here, the place is torn ALL TO PIECES. Down to the cement.

Some of the roooms are finished and we were warily delighted to be put in one of those rooms... great view of the town.

Our room is new from top to bottom... new carpet, new furiture, new linens.... big screen TV and big overwhelming view outside. We'd need a parachute to get to the ground
from this height.

Wellllll..... Charles was up at 6 this morning, first meeting (a breakfast meeting) at 7:00.

I got up at 10:00 when he had made his second trip back to the room; the first trip, he had hurried in with a bowl of fresh fruit and a muffin around 6:30. The second trip, he was wanting to talk for a minute to tell me what he had learned about next year thus far.... letters of intent were given.... hummmmm.....

I got up and realized I was itching.... looked and I have hives from fingertips to elbows on both hands and arms - no where else. I scratched and rubbed lotion on.... nothing worked...

CT popped back in around 12:45, saw what a mess I am in and we headed out for the pharmacy... Benadryl pills and cream, alcohol, and a chocolate Easter marshmallow egg for comfort (LOL). Got the med at the drug store in the middle of the town....

I guess I'm in for a long nap this afternoon.... He called back from his meeting and people had told him to have me open the door to the balcony - the chemicals in the new carpet glue, they surmised, etc. are causing it. Sounds reasonable. I was wondering about sheets, detergent, etc first.... but their ideas sound reasonable.

The last time I had hives was over my Algebra exam in high school.... Jiminy Cricket.

Monday....

2010-05-11T00:45:00.006-04:00

We have what is known as "Blackberry Winter" in these hills - the blackberry bushes are in full bloom, feels like winter again, and people turn their heat back on or build a fire. We are no exception today... have it all going.

I have spent the majority of the day on the sofa sleeping. CT is feeling mucho better; I am still coughing and sound like I'm on my last leg.... but began FEELING better this afternoon.

Charles wanted to drive to a little hamburger place in Greenville so I got dressed and went along. He ordered a huge hamburger, fries, onion rings and sweet tea. I ate about 5 fries, an onion ring and a bite of his burger. That was it for me. I am currently at a stand still weight-wise.... not floundering by a long shot... just feel a little in the dark...

I walked into Ross for about 10 minutes and tried on a linen jacket by Hot Cotton, a brand I have just discovered and love. The jacket was XL and fit to a "T"... I was encouraged because there is no stretch with linen; it either fits or it doesn't fit.

Glad it fits. I was elated.

Mother's Day...

2010-05-09T14:53:00.003-04:00

I am really about to think the pollen is going to kill us.Literally. Called Mom to wish her a HMD and she could hardly talk she is so congested with it. In the bed. Exactly where I have been for 2 days.

We were going to leave today after church to drive to TN, work on the boat tomorrow, then drive to the conference on Tues. Charles has such a sore throat, he says we will go whenever... if we go at all.

A Spring season of pollen-allergy-nightmares for us this year.

Saturday A.M....

2010-05-08T08:15:00.003-04:00

What's another night with no sleep? I can't even walk a straight line.

I ordered a product called Root Blast a couple of weeks ago and it is here. Two huge jars of it - $30. QVC. The comparisons/results of a tiny amount of this stuff (2 tsp. per year) made your eyes pop and I don't think QVC would be untruthful about it... so I ordered. Thus-far this morning I have put two little scoops around my lilac bush from Lakeshore Drive, and around my huge ficus plant that is looking a little droopy right now. I plan to dose other plants today, too.

Charles
is in town getting the brakes fixed on the Honda. We plan to take it back to the lake. Windshield was busted - actually twice in two months - to the out of pocket tune of nearly $550.00 (but we have met the deductible now, so bring it on!) And the brake job is the first in the life of this car..... but sometimes I feel like it's money, money, money all the time. (Do I feel that way when it's something I want to spend money on - like the "suprises" for our "all girls, no kids or husbands beach trip" next month? Nah.) Anyway...

I am coughing fitfully right on... major drainage.... tired of this....

And Again.....

2010-05-08T05:16:00.002-04:00

It is 5:15 and I am up for about the 4th time since midnight. Spent Friday coughing every breath - I don't know why Charles didn't put me out on the road.

Made it to H'ville and JET arrived home from work about the same time.... we headed to G'ville to Stax for din din - only I asked them to drop me off at TJ across the street so I could walk (behind the buggy) while they ate. I like doing that if Jonathan is along - gives him and his dad a chance to catch up; gives me a chance to get some exercize and shop. Scarlett's b'day is coming up this month and she asked me on Thursday if I couldn't buy HER a skirt like Savannah got at Easter. Sweet, but the answer is "no"... Savannah explained..."They only have ONE of each thing in that shop." She is pretty much right.

The guys fixed me a goodie box from their plates. I love that. Variety plus not much food and this food was delicious.

Came back to the house. The FIRST time I got in bed, I laid there and coughed... so got up so Charles could sleep. I am now up for the 4th time - have not slept. We'll see. I don't have time to sleep all day Saturday. Gotta pack for a conference in Gatlinburg this next week.

Early....

2010-05-07T04:30:00.003-04:00

Awakened at 4:00 on the nose... coughing. I will get back to bed in a minute or two. We are leaving for Hendersonville today. Will be good to get home for a few days.

My computer is crashing.... have been seeing a lite blue screen with ghostly icons for several days now. I expect it to either go off and not boot back up.... or just die any time. I won't give it up until it dies. Then Charles says I will get HIS Dell and HE will buy a new laptop. Thaaaaaaaanx.

Hair Day....

2010-05-06T23:19:00.003-04:00

I am just like Luke was this past weekend at Mom's... coughing every breath for 2 days now... nose running.... and at my age, feeling yucky. Pollen.... I hate it gets me so bad anymore.

Was at Carmen's house at 9:00 this morning....had to drive to the dentist's office to pick up Savannah and Scarlett who had early morning appointments and dropped off by Dean. Reggie was through with them and they came right out. Begged to go to lunch... so Carmen gave in and let them stay with us.

We took 3 kids to the hair appt. Carmen went first so I got them outside and dared them to go through that salon door.... and she came out with them when I went in. All in all, they were VERY GOOD. I had taken a movie and also some cards for them to play a matching game with.... so we had it good, and the day was perfect... not hot or muggy at all.

Got out of there, went to Chili's to eat, then to Marshall's. Then home and I met Charles in the marina parking lot and we drove to Lowe's to get some more white marine paint... We're getting there. Hope to get awnings up soon....

Have I written that we looked at a larger boat on Friday? It is in our marina, and I immediately thought that there wasn't much more room in IT than there is in ours - and ours is paid for..... but coming back in today, charles ran into the man from Florida who owns it and he was SOOO NICE to Charles.... Ha! He hasnt ever been that friendly. The boat is not in great shape and we have already gutted ONE boat... and I was not impressed.

Have taken medicine again tonight. Feel as if I am choking because of all of the coughing. I hate it. Feel awful.

We Had Fun!!

2010-05-05T17:19:00.002-04:00

The weekend at Ma's was fun. The dog was at his home away from home and we missed him... but he is more high maintenance than any of the grandkids so he had to go - or so Mama said.

Luke was fantastic. He is not a good eater so we had PB and Jelly ready 24/7... and he ate that. No use arguing with this kid - he won every time.

We took him daily to Wally-world to get a suprise - bubbles, Thomas the train.... low maintenance again.... and he was a happy camper. He grasped the idea that his siblings WANTED to come with us (after walking into Ma's, looking around and saying.."But NO BODY IS HERE, MEMEEEEEE..." (meaning his family).... he grasped the idea that it was HIS TURN TO TRAVEL..... so he liked that thought. And he got suprises.... he got that, too.

All was right with the world.

Uh oh...

2010-05-05T17:07:00.003-04:00

I have been absent from here..... truthfully, because I have been worn out and Facebook is easier. But I heard from mom and she gave me a swift kick and told me to get this blog up to date. Well... OK.

I worked more of my hiney OFF last week (lost 3 pounds)in all of the cleaning, etc.... at the house. Was NOT ready for a grandchild to appear (the house was ready) on Thursday afternoon and I'm ALWAYS ready for grandkids - but I was worn out.

On FRiday we got up - Charles worked on the water lines which needed attention from the huge storm.... and we left with Luke for Winston-Salem to spend the weekend with Mom..."Ma" to Luke.

Very smooth trip - we did NOT know what to expect with this 3 year old. The girls were always high maintenance the first time we traveled. If the trip took 3 hours, we made it in 6. Girls.

Lukie was different. He entertained himself most of the way down and finally - 30 minutes away from Ma's house he went to sleep. Slept an hour or so after we arrived.

Great trip down.... The above pic is of Luke and Papaw - beginning of trip - after a visit inside Roscoe's to get snacks - about a mile from the house.

Busy Wednesday....

2010-04-28T12:22:00.002-04:00

I have made the biggest mess in this house, going through winter and summer clothes. Have to get it UP and away by bedtime tonight because CT is bring Lukie over tomorrow - the house has to be in order.

Jonathan and I are going out to eat tonight. We are both looking forward to it. Steak. A rarity. I plan to order a small salad and have a couple of bites of his stake.... uh, I hope it's more tender than THAT.... steak. I'm treating him tonight so I know he will order big. He has a day off tomorrow and I told him he is MINE - I have a list a mile long. Gotta keep the boy happy, though I usually don't "pay up" before the work is done - ha!

It is cold here today. I have heat on. CT said it was cold and windy at the boat last night and he kept the heat on. Blackberry winter? I'm thinking... Knoxville calls it "Dogwood winter"....

Gotta get to work. Gotta let the cat in.... she has her nose in the window!

Back at the House

2010-04-26T11:34:00.002-04:00

We hit the road around 9:30 Friday morning.... traffic wasn't too bad - got to Asheville and it was heavier. Did not see a single highway patrol car along the way and we usually see half a dozen at LEAST. The president was coming into Asheville on Friday so we figured security was at an all time high.... and it was.

Made it to Hendersonville, but NOT before getting stuck in that awful traffic on I-26. It was mid-afternoon when we finally made it up our driveway. We DID stop at the grocery to get food,so that took a little time.

Glad to be home.... it is Monday again. Charles left after church yesterday (we took 2 cars) to go back to the boat. Jonathan was in Clinton, SC singing with DayStar. I went into the Bel*ks store at our local mall for the first time in 10 years. Will not go back soon either. They do not carry all of the old brand names anymore, but have brought in a less expensive line of clothing..... not impressed. I can do way better at TJ or Marsh*alls or R*oss, so I'll skip the Be*lks in Hville. The one in Biltmore carries everything, though. The lady in the jewelry dept. said the more exclusive lines were "pulled" several years ago because they were not selling. Hard to believe in wealthy Hendersonville - retirement heaven - the Palm Beach of the mountains!

Last Week Was a Blurr.....

2010-04-26T11:29:00.002-04:00

I worked around the boat - always paying attention to storage space.

Had planned to get up with Carmen for a girls + Luke day out, and had planned to celebrate Vanna's birthday over there one night.... but they had a bug so we didn't go near the place last week. Fine now,though.

Thursday night CT and I and Janette and Jimmy dined at Calhoun's - wanted to go to the river location but there was a huge concert in town and Volunteer Landing was packed. So we went to the location in Bearden. Delicious dinner, and on the spur of the moment, we all decided to go back to Janette and Jimmys to watch Blind Side. Charles had not seen it yet and the movie is SO good, the other 3 of us welcomed the idea of watching it a second time. Charles loved it.

Got back to the boat after 11:00. Tired and worn out.... watched the news and went to bed.

Were planning to leave for home on Friday morning.

Monday... On the Road ..as usual...

2010-04-20T14:26:00.005-04:00

We traveled back to the boat on Monday - yesterday. Beautiful drive over. Stopped by the new Kroger's in Fountain City - the most wonderful grocery store I have ever been in anywhere. Cannot believe that enormous place and all that they offer.

Charles wanted to shop the list and I headed for the potty. Set the store alarm off (had nothing in my buggy or purse from their store)going INto the bathroom and set it off a second time coming OUT of their bathroom. I wondered if it hadn't given grief to potty-goers all day.... but I had set a buzzer off in another store I walked into earlier in the day... I don't know why in the world that happens but it is annoying. I expect that someone would have stopped me at Kroger, had the buzzer gone off at the front door when I was leaving - but it didn't go off.

Got back to the boat... I stopped to talk with Vern and Pat who have moved their HUGE houseboat over one slip closer to ours and put a for sale sign on it - $209,000.
The sign was down. They decided not to sell - they travel a lot and are happy to call the houseboat "home". I was thrilled.

Took Advil PM last night. May as well have taken nothing. Got to sleep around 1:30 after going to bed once after CT was asleep and getting back up and reading in Dr. Bass's latest book... then back to bed at 1:30. Up at 4:00 reading some more, and back to bed at 5:30... went to sleep and awakened at 10:30 this morning! Crazy!

Worked around the boat unpacking... It has rained all day. Turned the heat back on and caught myself going to sleep under the bed while making room for the luggage. CT called and we agreed he would bring something back to the boat - pork roast, etc. and he ate it all but a couple of bites that I ate. I paid penance today for eating a box of low fat Vanilla wafers in the course of a day. Will not buy them again. Just kept grabbing them and soon they were - gone. So Ive barely eaten today.

OK.... going to try to sleep... Ha.

Sunday.... Can't stand up straight....

2010-04-20T14:22:00.002-04:00

I finally closed my eyes at 8:30 Sunday morning. Charles and Jonathan went to church without me.

I slept for a couple of hours - they brought me a little goody box in from Kelsey's...

Could not walk a straight line or stand up straight all day on Sunday. Sat in the yard and sorted through clothes and stuff stored in our large storage building at home. REALLY got that trimmed down - same piles - trash, donate, keep.

Came inside, showered, and slept pretty well Sunday night. About time.

Weekend....

2010-04-20T14:07:00.002-04:00

Saturday morning - Was up and going on little sleep. We went to the storage unit - one of two storage units at this facility in Flat Rock. BEAUTIFUL day and we spent it going through things... one pile was to pitch, one pile was to donate, clothes that I kept were going back to the house to be "married" to what was already there... and then sorted through to be pitched or donated.

What gets my goat is that for years and years I have kept things that have been worn to pieces, stained.... but I have just LIKED them. I'll say this too.... I have donated and donated and donated GOOD clothes over the past umteen years - why I'd keep favorite things with set in stains is beyond me. Out they went - to the pitch pile. We took a BUNCH of stuff out of that storage unit and I was so encouraged: we might be able to combine the two inventories and unload one of those units soon.

By the time we put what we were keeping BACK in the storage unit, it looked just like it did before we cleaned it out. Gosh.

Got home TOTALLY worn out.... also hacky with the pollen allergies... CT gave me a Clariden D. I showered, did my nails, took an Ambien to make sure I'd wipe out, laid out clothes for church and went to bed.

Did NOT sleep a wink.

I guess the allergy medicine over-rode the Ambien since it was daytime med. that advertised it would not make you groggy.... ???

Tuesday....er.. catching up..... FRIDAY....

2010-04-20T14:02:00.003-04:00

I'll begin with Friday's trip to Hendersonville. First.... no more Friday afternoon trips to Hendersonville. The traffic was horrible ALL the way, and when we got to the exit from I-40 onto I-26, the traffic was stand-still traffic and stayed that way for the next 45 minutes. By this time it was past dark... Good thing we had stopped to potty a few miles back. No more late afternoon trips. (That is not really in cement, but I'm not telling Charles-in-Charge.)

Got to the house, had a good visit with Jonathan, went to bed. Did not sleep well at all.... different bed, I guess - any excuse these days.

Friday....

2010-04-16T15:40:00.002-04:00

I skipped Thursday completely - income tax day. CT waits till the last minute. We are always on the losing end of the paperwork these days where taxes are concerned. This year was no exception. One smile for us came when the whopping amount we had to pay was half of what we thought it would be. Small sigh of relief.....

It's beautiful on this lake.... I have the air off and the screen door is allowing a balmy breeze to come inside. Plenty of boats out today... it's Friday! CT is on his way to the boat from school and we are about to leave for Hendersonville.

I don't
miss the boat on the weekends. Don't know what the dock is like on weekends right now, but the Monday parking lot is pretty full, so my guess is we're rocking and rolling on Saturday and Sunday. The two boats on either side of us are both unoccupied so it's pretty quiet here.

Till later....

Our Vanna.....

2010-04-14T20:46:00.005-04:00

Today is Savannah's 10th birthday. Our sweet little Savannah.

She has always had a heart of gold.... loves to help, take care of, nurture, love on, and write sweet notes to people she loves. I still have things in my treasure trove that Savannah has made or written through the years.

Smart.... this little gal is bright. She makes straight A's in school and her teachers love her.

Savannah actually started the "grandbaby trips" with her papaw and me - in the summer of 2003 right after we set up residence in the lake house. Papaw and I took her to Charleston - stayed in a hotel right on the river and within walking distance of California Dreamin'... Vanna would sit in the hotel window seat in our room and eat her cereal and look out on the yachts in front of our hotel.

We took her to a special ice cream place in Charleston where she orderd "cotton candy" flavored ice cream. Where dark chocolate is her thing these days, back in her earlier days it was cotton candy.

We took her to Charleston several springs ago at Easter - had to buy an Easter dress so we could go to church, but she was a real trooper and looked like a little doll.

I remember the year we took Savannah TO Savannah, GA. We began her sterling charm bracelet in the old part of Savannah down by the water... and her first charm was the beautiful name, "Savannah"... they were plentiful since we were IN Savannah, GA. The first night we were down there, Vanna expressed that she wanted her mommy. I gently explained that we would see mommy later in the week and everything would be fine. In a few minutes I heard her softly singing in the back seat of the truck that we were in at the time - "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so, little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong....Yes Jesus loves me..... the Bible tells me so." So so so sweet! And she was fine.

I remember an outing on the lake - papaw and I had the three girls on the deck boat and we anchored across from the house.... Cooked BBQ ribs on the grill and those chicks ate like it was their last meal... and then decided we'd let them go for a swim. Papaw didn't get the ladder hooked on right and Savannah was the first to go down it. Before we could do a thing, the ladder came off the side of the boat and Savannah went under the water holding on to it. She let it go and her life jacket popped her right back up out of the water. She was a super sport about it .... but the ladder was gone and it certainly was not Vanna's fault. The next season when the lake went down, we took Ty out and he dove in several feet and confiscated it.

Our Vannah is beautiful both inside her heart and out. She makes MeMe and Papaw sooooo proud!

We love you to pieces, dear Savannah. Happy Birthday!

Last post...for tonight.....

2010-04-13T21:31:00.002-04:00

No better. I don't know what we are expecting.... since we've been thru this once, not to have it again the next week????? HELLO. What was I thinking??

CT has a toothache to boot... sinus toothache. I grabbed a bottle of codine and gave him one an hour ago. Tooth ache is gone. He is high. May have to put the stick in the door so he won't walk out and fall in the lake tonight......If he didnt drown, the pollen in the water would kill him.

Nite nhite...

Groan....

2010-04-13T19:00:00.002-04:00

Yeah... I know you are tired of hearing me moan and groan.

CT came in and went straight to bed. That was 4:30. I am now blowing my nose off.... the water around the boats is yellow with pollen. No wonder.

I plan to sleep on the sofa again tonight - got a good night's sleep last night - so thankful we gave up the love seat and got the sofa.

We are just pitiful.

Ohhh gosh......

2010-04-13T18:11:00.002-04:00

I laid down on the bed in the boat to finish reading my James Patterson book (to find out that Michael Campion is still alive!)and took a short nap. Awakened with aches from head to toe. That, believe it or not, was encouraging - slightly - Maybe what Charles has been fighting is "catching" and we are going to have it and get better..... and not die yet.

Weekend.....

2010-04-13T14:03:00.002-04:00

Totally stupid of us to drive across the mountain to Hendersonville Saturday after that ground-breaking Charles was part of for the new elementary school. He was feeling awful but had agreed to be a part, so he was there. Beyond THAT, we should have stayed at the boat and saved our gas money.

Jonathan worked early so had Friday night and wanted to go to Greenville to eat. His dad wanted to "get it over with" so he wouldn't have to go on Saturday, so pushed on and we unloaded the car and the 3 of us went to Greenville.

Charles and Jonathan wanted Sticky Fingers. MeMe would rather walk through the giant Marshall's/Homegoods across the road, so they agreed to fix me a "doggie bag" from their plates and I'd get exercize, return an item, have very little to eat and not be tempted, and shop. Great deal. They brought me very little (I was suprised), but it was still a big treat and I had a bowl of Ice Cream back at the house.

We were both coughing our heads off all weekend... raspy throats.... and got mostly nothing accomplished after that. Charles felt worse than ever from pushing and we had our clothes ready for church on Sunday, but Sunday he was feeling no better so we didn't go. I was better but was into the dry cough stage of this crud.

Headed back on Monday morning...and about the time we started up the mountain at Wolf Laurel, CT got worse. Was reeling - nauseous, and not good at ALL. We stopped to get some lunch and he didn't want anything - in fact told me to eat my chicken inside, if he even smelled food he'd be sick... I ate about 3 bites - my usual - and wrapped the remainder up to take it to the car. Got out there and he said to pitch it - didn't even want the smell in the car.... so I did, and I drove for the next 1.5hours toward K'ville.

He wanted to take over the driving again - said he felt like it - and I was getting sleepier by the mile, so we changed places. Stopped at the grocery on the way to the boat for me to pick up a few things... headed for the boat.

He made it in with one load in the buggy, but went to his chair and said he'd try to go back to the car later to get the rest. The reason we needed an extra trip was that we had brought 2 chairs and a small table over for the boat deck and all of that was in the load he brought in and groceries, purse and computer were in my buggy.

A few hours later, he was feeling worse - had climbed in bed - and I went back up and got the rest of the stuff and brought it down.

This is Tuesday.... He HAD to be at school today. He IS the teachers' meeting today with end of the year school stuff. They don't have regular teachers' meetings so this one was special - set up several weeks back - Called before lunch - is terrible. Said they all knew something was wrong when he walked through the door this morning.

I told him a couple of days ago that I believe this Spring (and Fall - we are regulars) crud is worse on a person as they age.

Anyway.... talked with Carmen. They are sick - Scarlett has a stomach bug and Carmen got it.... so we have cancelled our plans for this week - day out and birthday celebration on Thursday.... no go.

I'm better... still a little congested, and the amount comes and goes.... but CT is as sick as I've ever known him to be. I said "DOCTOR" this morning and he won't hear of it..... so we shall see.

MeMe's Delight....

2010-04-09T22:13:00.003-04:00

I love going to Carmen and Dean's to spend time, especially when there is food involved LOL!

Carmen told me at the first of the week that we'd need to do something for my birthday on 4/2... like...have a party at her house tonight... So....she cooked roast beef, rice and rolls... green beans looked good but had gone bad - so no one but Luke consumed green beans... This was NOT one of Carmen's normal feasts - but she worked all day and spent all afternoon at the ball field - Scarlett had a tournament. I don't see how Carmen gets ANYTHING done, and the house is spotless. ANYway.... her efforts were deeply appreciated by her mother. She also had a birthday cake and key lime? pie. I ate half a piece of birthday cake... could have eaten half the cake as I love birthday cake. Good childhood memories....

After the cake, we drove the half mile over to what will be Tyler's new place to live. A DOLL of a little house that he and a friend will rent for a very reasonable amount of money. Mother - I gave him the $$ you sent - just wanted you to know....He appreciated it very much.

We then came back to Carmen & Dean's and Luke presented me with a hilarious birthday card with gift certificate inside - one of those movie and popcorn things for $25... neat idea.

We had a wonderful time and got to love all over the grands again. Wonderful kids - wonderful.

Papaw and I came on back to the boat - ran into friends on the dock and got into a conversation - lots of hugs... and Vern came out of his boat - more hugs.... love these people! Love this marina!

Great day... not coughing as much now, thankfully.... and great evening with people I adore.

Just Rotten....

2010-04-07T22:30:00.003-04:00

Charles and I both have this crud. I am to the cough cough cough stage and he is almost out of that stage. It's just gross.

Very breezy on the lake today.... great weather....I sat outside with my laptop before lunch and watched the barge crew work on running electricity up the hill across from us. Wondering what is next. Looks like some grading has taken place - maybe a new cottage up there? Time will tell.

CT and I took a walk thru the marina tonight before Idol came on. Several houseboats for sale including the one on the other side of us which belonged to NESS who died a few months ago. They are wanting something like $22,000 for it but it has a steel bottom - a real minus for SOME people, but the boats are
much less with steel bottoms (because of the expensive maintenance)... so somebody will buy it. Other than the one on the OTHER side of us (a real fixer upper for someone with money), the prices are ranging from $98,000 to the $300,000 range. Then there is our little bungalo... we laugh.

Alright.... I am FOR this coughing to go away... tired of it, just tired of it every other breath.

Nearly Forgot...

2010-04-06T23:03:00.003-04:00

Do I feel bad or what??? CT is in the same shape. My throat is killin me. Charles called me at the boat before I left for Carmen's this morning. "What were YOU thinking of on this morning 42 years ago?" I don't know what he expected me to say but I came out with, "Nothing. I had not closed my eyes all night the night before!"

Charles and I have been married 42 years TODAY. Beautiful Spring day for a wedding that Easter weekend as it was a beautiful Spring day here, too.

We'd both do it all over again. Praise the Lord for this marriage made in Heaven though we live in the REAL world, not some notion of married bliss.

We are too under the weather to even care right now. We'll get out to eat LATER.

42 Years..... and many cupcakes later.....

2010-04-06T21:02:00.004-04:00

I don't feel worth a HOOT tonight.... Sore throat hit last night after 2 days of coughing and snoddling.... but today on my 42nd wedding anniversary, I was lined up to keep the Lukester while Carmen and Dean attend a conference in Gatlinburg and went horseback riding this afternoon....

So... Off I went and arrived a little past 10 A.M.... and Carmen left to get Dean from work.... Lukie and I walked out toward the barn where there were some new calves and 2 new pigs. The two dozen chickens are coming next along with the sheep.

We got to the electric fence and I very carefully touched it. Nothing... guess we would climb over it to get to the barn..... Grabbed
the thing and nothing for 2 seconds and then a shock that went from my head to my toe. Scared me!! No pig watching for US.... so we headed back toward the house, stopping along the way to lay in the grass and make a picture.

Came inside and made cupcakes - chocolate with chocolate icing and lots of colored sprinkles. Luke was in hawg heaven.

Nite........

Savannah the Baker...

2010-04-05T21:52:00.003-04:00

We arrived at the boat late this afternoon... worn out. Missed Savannah immediately.

I have misplaced the cable that goes from my digital camera to my laptop - to load pictures onto my laptop... so I have not been able to get at a batch that I mistakenly
made without the memory stick in the camera (and they went to the camera's internal hard drive)... so I figured out how to fix all of that and now have the pictures.

Vanna wanted to wear a hat while she baked. A real little Southern lady. She chose 9 of her favorite cupcakes and she and Jonathan took them
over to Charity - Papaw's 2nd cousin who is expecting a baby any day now. Charity was delighted over the cupcakes. Savannah loved baking them.

Cruisin and Snoozin....

2010-04-05T11:40:00.003-04:00

Miss Savannah is behind our seats in the second row of seats in this Honda, head on comfy bed pillow, wrapped in the car blanket and she is sound asleep. This child was asleep before her MeMe made it out the door of the house this morning to leave for Tennessee. Why? She didn't sleep much last night. It was 2:00 before I got her to bed this morning and I was ready to throttle her. She was asleep when I climbed in bed at 2:30.... but Papaw was awakened by lights around 4:00 and she had all the bathroom lights on and all the lights on in her room, had Miss Friendly up in bed with her playing with the cat who was sleepy herself. Papaw got that straightened out in short order and came back to bed.

She was up at 7 watching TV in the sunroom. Ate a large bowl of cereal and got her things together and went to the car. As I said - asleep before I could get to the car. We have been on the road nearly 3 hours and have stopped several times. Has not bothered her a bit. She's still asleep.

We have to stop by the grocery, and take her home - then we are free to get back to the boat! Eleven days with Savannah!

Ouch ouch ouch!

2010-04-05T03:12:00.005-04:00

About 3.5 hours ago, I came through the living room and slammed my little toe into the leg of the ottoman. It has hurt like a toothache since that moment. I did a number on it. Naturally I can't sleep... went to bed late anyway because I was having a time getting Savannah to bed. But I had to get back up because of the pain from that crash.

We have enjoyed Vanna to the max. We have had our moments, but they have been few. She is a delightful little lady when she's not being the typical 9 year old, and when she IS.... she's a delightful 9 year old ball of energy.

We got up this morning and she sported her new duds for Easter. We made a few pictures... the cherry tree that the kids tree house is built in is in full bloom with SOUND... full of honeybees. We headed for church - great service - and came in and had a GREAT lunch - baked spiral ham, deviled eggs, green beans, squash casserole, homemade potato salad made with red potatoes (I won't use white potatoes again, this was so delicious), Mrs. Schubert's rolls, and pecan pie. There is enough left to feed Jonathan for several days. Savannah ate like it was her last meal. We have never seen a grandchild eat like this one eats. Carmen said she looks as if she's gained 10 pounds.. or 15. I hope not, but she has packed away the food.

We all kicked back and did our thing this afternoon - Vanna watched cartoons out in the sunroom windowseat, CT read, Jonathan was on his laptop, and MeMe went to sleep on the den sofa.

Then my sister called me to tell me our mother had taken a spill in the Moravian graveyard putting flowers on the family graves. Said she has a "hen egg" on her forehead, but she's ok. I hate it. At least there were LOTS of people doing the same thing she was doing (not falling), so she was attended to quickly. Someone evidently saw the whole thing and called one of Mom's friends who called my sister. I'll have my "say" with mom in the next day or so.She does not need to be in that graveyard by herself and Debbie's step-daughter got married yesterday - so Debbie was occupied all weekend and could not go with her.

Birthday Hummmm......

2010-04-02T16:56:00.006-04:00

I'm really blessed to be having a birthday after the awful shape I was in back at the end of summer - October of 2009. And it is true... I ain't as young as I used to be.... and to papaw's delight (who is feeling so cruddy still, after taking some new meds), and Savannah's dismay (too bad chick - your birthday is two weeks away - it's MY birthday).... we are staying home tonight.

I am going to fix grilled chicken salads with grilled pineapple and all of the veggies... and Vanna is making awesome-delicious cupcakes... and we have several kinds of ice cream, so we are set to go. To appease her, papaw dragged his weary bod up and took her to get something in Greenville a few minutes ago. Maybe I can have some time to get some things done.

So far this morning, this kid has jumped up and down on the very tall bed she sleeps on (I didn't know or she would have not done it) and fell off the end of it into a plastic storage box. She didn't cry but she DID come and tell me. I went in there and the room was a disaster area. We got it cleaned up and the bed fixed back up and had another "teachable moment" that she wasn't too keen on.

No sooner had she gotten out of that mess than she came into the kitchen where I have stripped everything out to deep clean... hopped up in the wicker chair, turned the chair over backward with her in it. BLaMbaNG!!!!!I wanted to snatch her bald but held my temper... but I scolded and she pouted... and went to her room....and climbed in bed.

I could NOT get her to bed last night and she didn't even eat anything before bedtime. She was still getting up at 2:00 this morning saying she could not sleep. I let her keep the light on and read a little more (we always read a story - she reads) - before turning the light out and having nite nite prayers. Don't know why she was so wired, but when she came walking in at 2:15, I got tough and told her she had BETTER get back in the bed and she had BETTER not get up again. Period.

I did not hear another peep and when I checked, she was asleep. Got up around 10:30 this morning - not enough sleep. What's a meme to do?

Wonderful Afternoon!...

2010-04-01T21:49:00.013-04:00

If Papaw were a horse, we would have shot him this morning. Totally on his back with allergies from the pollen in Charleston. Sicker than I've seen him in a while.

By lunch time, Savannah and I wanted OUT. We got dressed and headed for town. This kid... have I said it before?... is into CHEESEBURGERS. That is what
she wanted so we got a big sloppy one... and I ordered a little kiddie cheeseburger but they gave me a double regular cheeseburger. I took one bite. Savannah ate her burger, half the fries and then proceeded to eat the rest of my burger. This kid has a hollow leg, I know she does... or tapeworms... or something. She has always been a big eater and doesn't gain weight. Good thing... but we are going to slow this buggy down some. Papaw and I have talked. It has to be different when you live in a big family - not bad, but different. They don't keep a lot of sweets so we ARE guilty of indulging these kids when they are with us which isn't that often, considering there are 5 of them.

We then
made our way to "Downtown Hendersonville"... found a parking place, and headed for Shelley's to pick up my silver watch. We spent a small fortune (in my thinking)having it fixed, but it is one of my two good watches - a gold and a silver which we purchased years ago. Anyway, we shopped at the Beehive... oh my, I love the Beehive. Haven't been in there in 10 years but my friend and one time SS teacher got me started there YEARS ago. We have a truck load of people with truck loads of money in this town and I believe a lot of them resale at this shop. Found some great stuff in there today. Savannah racked up. Will wear what we bought on Easter... She is a doll in this outfit (her MeMe does think)...

We also went into the ice cream
shoppe on Main Street. Neat place, and Vanna wanted dark chocolate ice cream so we just had to get some. I did not know what I was doing... ordered what she wanted - no... she wanted 3 scoops and I ordered 2 scoops in a waffle cone. SIX bucks later and we walked out with the biggest cone of ice cream I have ever seen! She ate it all, but didn't finish the waffle cone part before we went into the grocery store so we had to pitch the cone part.

Went to the new Harris T*eeter to get some groceries. Talking about
EXPENSIVE... first and last trip and I would have left, but was too doggone tired to hit the door and go to Ingl*es.

Vannah is still congested - came up to me while I was looking at hams and announces that she has just coughed up stuff, but it
was ok - she spit in the little trash can "over there".... Well "over there" was right under one of the many food sample stations the store had set up for Easter. I wanted to crawl under the meat counter! Needless to say, MeMe took advantage of a "teachable moment" and that didn't happen again!

Bought
Easter food - spiral ham, etc. and plan to have a nice peaceful Easter lunch at the house (we usually go out to eat). Savannah bought her chocolate ice cream and also iced Easter cookies and a box of mix to make very decorated cupcakes for Easter (instead of dying eggs). We found wonderful "sprinkles" in Charleston.

Then the girly-girl and MeMe came home... Fixed Mexican tonight and
are maxing and relaxing. It's warm. The heat is off, and we are all well, full, and happy, thank our Good Lord.

Girly-Girl Girl....

2010-04-01T00:24:00.006-04:00

I said it would be a "girly-girl" week.... I want my granddaughters to be girly-girls, but I want them to love Jesus first and I'm safe with all 3 of them.

So girly-girl it has been. After we got home, I was working on reinstalling drivers for the printers on Charles' computer (what a joke), and ran across Savannah's thoughts to a friend.... Click on the picture and wait for it to enlarge so you can read her message.

Home @ Last!

2010-03-31T23:40:00.008-04:00

Right much traffic on the road home today... and I offered to drive, but CT opted to do it all. Bless his heart, I think he'd give me the moon if he thought I really wanted it. I was on the internet and he knows how I hate to drive.....

We had such a great time in Charleston but it was one of the shortest
trips we've ever made down there. There is a lot to be done at the house and the weather is too pretty to not take advantage of it.

In this pic... After Savannah had eaten a big cheeseburger and fries for lunch, we stopped about 90 minutes later and I let her potty and pick out a snack. We weren't in the quick stop 4 minutes. She bought a $4.00 bag of Doritos and ate them all in less than 30 minutes. Don't know where in the heck she put them. Hollow leg?

Savannah is still stuffy-nosed... ASKED for a dose of Nyquil tonight and I gave it to her. We are going to the grocery tomorrow to buy whatever ice cream and toppings she wants so she can have a treat every night. Special to a kid who has 4 other siblings at home and she is like the rest of them - she loves the pampering.

She wants to go shopping tomorrow. I said, "No way!" She wants to go out to eat. I said, "Probably NOT!" I told her she was going to work like a little puppy dog the rest of the week (hahaha)... she pigged out on TV in the sunroom this afternoon and I just let her. She helped us unpack the car, LOST one of her fav earrings (the silver hoops), and the 3 of us got out and nearly crawled up and down the driveway until she found it. She loves those earrings. I will share in the next blog post, what we discovered on Charles' computer that she had written. It will melt your heart.

Yesterday Savannah said to me...."MeMe... when I get older would you remind me that I want to live in Charleston? I love this place!" Awwwwwww! She also LOVES Steinmart. I detest Steinmart because they don't have buggies to hold your purse and shop with... I'm in there once every several years. Yesterday there were no store baby strollers to be had either.... lady customers without babies had them using them as buggys. Why don't these crazies get the message? Anyway..... Savannah thought the place was GREAT because of their extensive JEWELRY counter at the front. Go figure and read the above blog post and smile....

Charleston 2

2010-03-31T15:26:00.016-04:00

We are on the road 32 miles outside of Spartanburg SC, making our way back to the mountains from a quick trip to Charleston. Quick, but fun-packed. This pic is of Vanna on the rocking bench outside of Hyman's Deli - it is a big long thing that rocks sideways (instead of back and forth). Interesting!

Savannah and I shopped till we dropped - that kid loves to shop and pick up EVERY item in the store. She now, is REALLY into clip on earrings. Her little ears are as red as can be from the "pinch" but she won't take them off for anything! Has kept the silver hoops on the entire time. Is wearing one of her mother's rings from high school... a dainty little adjustable "ruby" ring that I'm not sure Carmen even remembered having when I showed it to her.... but it was hers and Savannah wants it so she has it. I have talkied and talkied about taking care of jewelry... DON'T let it get lost in your bedroom!!

We'll see. I told her I'd be asking about it so she'd need to take bgood care of it.

This child has eaten non-stop. She's the good eater of the bunch, but
we tend to let them have what they want when they're with us anyway. She has "graduated" from 'chicken nuggets' to CHEESEBURGERS all the way.... and puts them away along with the fries.... and doesn't gain weight from it.

Yesterday
we went to the market place - a trip without the luggage - and stopped for a HUGE brownie at the market bakery (see pic - she is the only one who got anything)... and then ate lunch at Hyman's on Meeting St. - the deli... Vannah had a bird's eye view of the street from the third floor window seat. The above pic with the flag isn't the best, but I could not resist with the flag curled over her head as a wind gust caught it outside. Pretty cool! Last
night we went to Sullivan's for the second time. We have been going there for 20 of the 21 years they've been open. Donna, the owner, has gotten to know us, I think. We've talked so many times about Spartanburg where we used to live and Charles used to eat at her dad's diner downtown. Donna got skills for the restaurant business honestly.

We decided to go a "little later" - a little past 7. There were 50 people
waiting... but she said to stay because with just 3 of us we'd get in sooner than the large groups - and she seated us around 8 with about 60 people waiting. We decided we'd keep coming earlier... they told us that NOW.. in warmer weather... by 5:00 the wait is six tables long. I told them that THAT is partially due to the fact that we tell everyone who will listen about their fantabulous seafood - even made pictures of the menu to email to some teachers in Knox County night-before-last. They are coming down next week. One of the waiters said - "good to see y'all back tonight!" Now THAT was an observant young man! When we left, Donna said, "Love y'all - good to see you again!" .... I'll have to admit - we didn't hear her say that to another group in the 2.5 hours we were there so that made us feel REALLY good.

We then went to get ice cream. Savannah is in to this chocolate-dipped waffle cone with the darkest chocolate ice cream available.... we got a one-dipper last night - didnt see how she could hold another bite of food. She ate it all.

Dragged our weary bodies back to the room. Dosed her up with Nyquil and she was soon asleep - but had to watch a little of Idol first. She's a mess!

We are an hour away from the house and the weather has been perfect. God is good!

Charleston I

2010-03-29T22:56:00.003-04:00

This day has been incredible. We aren't returning Savannah to her parents, the same child, I do believe. Charles says they will be getting the "Material Girl" back. Savannah will be an OLD 10 in a couple of weeks.

She wants to wear earrings SO badly. Her parents (especially her dad) do not want the girls to get their ears pierced - they are too young, and I agree... and I sorta knew this beforehand... but we'd never really discussed it.

We have looked for earrings - clip on - since we brought her from Knoxville - except for Sunday and she was too under the weather for church so we
certainly weren't going shopping.

Several suggested WalMart... surely.... Well nope - not a pair of clip-ons in the store, said the jewelry gal. This was after we'd seen a couple of pairs in the TJMaxx jewelry counter - too expensive though. I promised she would have some earrings (and just to make sure, I got online and ordered an inexpensive pair on Sunday night)....

We traveled well.... SAVANNAH travels well.... watched movies and slept on the way down... and drank Dr. Pepper from the cooler full that we fixed for her.

Got to Mt. Pleasant at lunch time and grabbed something from Melvin's...tradition for us... She had a cheeseburger and CT ordered BBQ... I didnt order - took a bite or two from CT's....

Then we went to a local antique shop. Viola! We found clip-ons
and lots of them. We bought little silver ones, also a pair of silver hoops, and a pair of turquoise in silver. You would have thought you'd given this kid the world. Her "attitude" immediately changed...from kid to grown-up. We have giggled ALL DAY. It's a girly-girl trip all the way.

We bought a cute Bali purse and a change purse to go inside, a bracelet, and donned her with a cute pair of sunglasses and a wide hairband... got a ruffled blouse with silver dots and she thought she'd died and gone to heaven.

Ate at Sullivan's
out on the island tonight... the best seafood around...., shopped a little more, and then went for ice cream. She had a huge waffle cone
of dark chocolate. Cute!

She has been medicated and is sound asleep, and papaw and I are getting ready to go there. We are cross-eyed we're so tired. Has been a fantabulous day!

On the Road......

2010-03-29T08:30:00.002-04:00

We have doctored on Miss Savannah for two days and felt by this morning we'd drive on down to Charleston. She awakened on Saturday with a sore throat and sniffly nose... says sore throat is gone; still sporting the sniffles.

We were going out the driveway at 5:20 this morning... Savannah was WIRED. I was a zombie. After we got on the road, we two gals went to sleep and papaw drove and is still driving. We have just come through Columbia, SC. Looks like a glorious day ahead.

On the Road......

2010-03-29T08:30:00.000-04:00

Oh Happy Day!

2010-03-27T00:14:00.005-04:00

Got up at 6:00 this morning, wide awake... Charles left the boat a little after 7:00 and I was already falling asleep on the sofa. As soon as he got out the door, I went back to bed like he told me to! Slept until 10:30.

Today - the day Papaw picks Savannah up early from school with her bags packed - to spend Spring Break with us. THAT is something to be excited about. Vanna has been on cloud 9 for the past week because she knows she's going to get pampered to pieces.

I cleaned, mopped, etc., the boat, loaded up the carts and had everything
done by the time Papaw and Savannah made it down to get me. Papaw called from the parking lot to tell me they were walking in and I settled myself out on the catwalk behind our boat where I could see them coming through the covered slips at the dock store. Savannah went airborne when she saw me and made it to her MeMe in short order for a huge bear hug. Love those grands - enough to stand out there freezing myself to death - it was breezy and just plain cold out there!

We weren't at the boat but a few minutes before we were ready to go to the car, so the three of us hiked back out thru the marina, made it up the gang plank, loaded the car, and headed out for NC.

Papaw had bought this kid enough stuff at WalMart to keep her happy - including a blue Easter bunny and 3 movies - and enough junk to make her sick.

Easy trip over. We stopped for ice cream. I didn't know how she could hold it... Savannah told me that Papaw asked her in WalMart, "Do you still like to color in coloring books?" Savannah told him she did NOT. "Then what do you do to amuse yourself?" Savannah says, "I eat food".... oh boy. She is tall and thin and food does not seem to do a negative thing to her... so food it is.

Tonight at the house she read one of Sabuda's books - the magnificant
pop-ups that I have collected for my grandchildren through the years.. Her book of choice was Narnia. She read it from cover to cover. She reads like a well-read adult. Straight A student in school. Proud of her!

Cold here - we turned on 2 sets of gas logs and enjoyed them tonight. Busy day ahead tomorrow.

Hummmm....

2010-03-25T21:17:00.003-04:00

Well here we are.... 5th night on the boat and my blogging has just stunk this week. I am having so much fun on FaceBook (that place I used to hate) that blogging has gone by the wayside, I'm afraid. FB is a quick way to connect with friends and family. Blogging is journaling and how much time do you have to be on the computer? Not much, but I take too much (time).

Charles is working longer weeks right now to get in all of his contract days, so we are on the boat more than usual. I don't mind a bit...

Was supposed to get hair done with Carmen today... but my hair is not ready to be done in this short a time. I am booked with this gal through the summer and she always has a waiting list ready to come at the first cancellation so it isn't a problem. I'll get the next appt. first week or so in May.

We've had some gorgeous days here this week - cold with frost to balmy warm and right now it's raining like crazy. Tomorrow Charles picks up Savannah at school - next week is Knox County's spring break. It's Vanna's turn to travel so we're taking her with us to the house and then on to Charleston for a few days - then back to the house. At first I protested the trip, but realized that Charles has worked soooo hard getting us back and forth over here every weekend, getting up and going to school.... and if he wants Charleston seafood for a few days, he should have it - so I'll go with a smile and be happy. As a bonus, any time with a grandchild is good.

Charles just about has the finger side of the boat painted. We got the back painted last summer... hoping to finish the job before school is out if the weather cooperates. Makes a WORLD of difference outside. I am so looking forward to setting the deck back up and we still want to get awnings installed.

Saturday - Summerlyn, and Home....

2010-03-20T12:59:00.007-04:00

Perfect week in Winston-Salem - We had a truck-load of fun. My sister took Thurs. and Fri. off from work and spent Wed. night with us at Mom's. PJ party with Casey right in the middle of it. I stuck a little manacure guide on his nose so he would feel
a part. I have never seen such a dog (and I want one)....

Mom and I went to Salemtown to see Aunt Mary on Wednesday and had lunch with her. That place is like a resort - looks like a miniature Old Salem. Enjoyed being there so much.

Thursday,
Mom, Debbie and I went to Salem Tavern to eat. First FULL plate of food I have eaten since mid-October. Delicious and treated by mom. We had a great time in Old Salem on Thurs.

Friday I left for the mountains and home. Miss Summerlyn Brooke was visiting the Biltmore house with her class at school and Papaw and I were to pick her up. She is at the house with us this weekend. She did not bring one stitch of ANYTHING with her - not even a clean pair of undies. We have been getting by... I have been washing her stuff while she's in mine.

Tonight
we took her to PF Changs for a birthday dinner. We shopped a little first and went over to Changs around 6. Walked in, and there was an 80 minute wait! No way was Papaw waiting 80 minutes and Summerlyn wanted PFChangs. She had never eaten there before.... so after we were given the pager, I took it back to the desk while the other 3 (Jonathan went with us) walked outside. Explained to the lady that we would have to come back another time - drove down from NC to celebrate Sum's birthday ... we'd do it again. I did not expect anything from her - just telling her why we did not take the bar seats and why they went outside.

She said... You'all came for a birthday from NC? You can call in reservations
and I have just made you one for right NOW! I went outside, got the others who thought I was crazy because I would not explain what was going on right there in that mob of people... but as soon as I got them back inside, the gal calls out, "Thomas, party of 4".... and we were seated. The other 3 were looking at me in disbelief.

Had a FANTASTIC dinner.... Summerlyn loved it all and they brought her a special birthday dessert. Great evening! We came back to the house and she and Jonathan are watching their second movie.

Hoot of a Day

2010-03-16T00:10:00.004-04:00

Casey awakened me this morning by licking my face...hummmm.... But he left the room with a mouth full of my curlers and I went back to bed for a couple of hours. By the tim e I got up, he had "visited" and had removed nearly all of my hair curlers from the
bag and had them strewn in the hall. He is a hoot.

Mom and I got ready to go look for grape leaf pickles.... can only get them in Winston-Salem and my mouth watered all the way from Hendersonville on Sunday.... so we left.... after two grocery stores and another jar of Hiatts bread N butter pickles - not what I wanted and no where near GRAPE LEAF...., she and I headed for the mall. Mom needed some make up products... Alright.

We went to the Clinique counter - I used it for years until I ordered some TV makeup several years ago that got me out on another track.... but I decided I'd at least talk to the Clinique gal.

Well I had a make-over..... and spent a wad of money.... but mom and I had so much fun!

We then came to Orchard Grill out near the house where we got hot dogs and French fries like we were teenagers... and brought them to the house.

We have maxed and relaxed all afternoon... She has read my 500+ page book in less than 24 hours..... avid reader...... and this is really my mother at age 82 in the picture above taken today at the mall. Really. I think she looks magnificent.

Try This: Dullaco From Hullaco....

2010-03-15T00:58:00.002-04:00

I'm afraid I'll get sued for ranting so much so I have changed the names to protect the innocent (are we laughing?)....

Now I don't usually put this in print, but if I don't it won't mean as much:

This morning, we were ready to leave the house - cars loaded - and I make my final pit stop before going out the door. While I was in the outhouse, I hear the phone ring.... Jonathan: "You want to speak to my mother???"

Well what is so unusual about that? (I'm thinking)

And he brings the phone to me and pushes it around the door where I am sitting (why get up?)...

It is my friends from Dullaco from Hullaco. They have called to walk me through installing a new operating system on my laptop using the disks they said were no good yesterday.

Uh.... we settled that already... less than 24 hours ago.... we are getting a new hard drive. Let me spell it. H*A*R*D...... D*R*I*V*E.....

I don't make it a practice to hang up on people but by now the car horn was blowing. I hung up.

Before I could get my pantalooms out of a wad, the phone rang again. Dullaco from Hullaco just wanting to know if I had any more business that needed attention with them today.... Yes... but I don't have 5 hours to take care of it. Bye.

Underscore......

2010-03-13T18:39:00.003-05:00

Called Dullaco from Hullaco back like they said I would need to do - 4 hours past 2:00 and that would be the right time - the item would be far enough along in the system to cancel the order.

Wrong.

It was TOO far along.

I remember telling them that if I called back in 4 hours like they were asking me to do, the order would be too far along and would not be able to be cancelled. Oh nooooo... it would not. Well it WAS.

It took 4 people - 4 times of me giving them the long order number before I finally talked with the right department - customer service. Another hour on the phone - all to no avail.

The latest story is: You may call back in 24 to 48 hours when the order is further along and THEN we can cancel it. Fairy tale. No.... bold face lie.

No more Dullacos - ever.

New Name 4 My Computer Company.....

2010-03-13T14:45:00.008-05:00

In January, 2010, Charles pulls out his Dullaco laptop and can't get anything to open up... no files, no internet - nothing. Of course it falls to me to get it fixed because he claims he can't hear "India" well enough on the phone to make out what they are saying. I understand.

I spent several hours on the phone with them that night on the boat.... half a dozen people later, and they were going to send me a reinstall disk for the operating system - $10. Of course I bawked at that - the computer is under warranty.... but finally got tired of being passed from one person to the next and agreed to pay the $10.

A month later we were still waiting on that disk.

Called them back when I had hours of nothing more constructive to do. A little glich got in the way they said.... and they'd send the whole set of disks.... and NO... there was no charge. (uh... somebody tell the other guy that tried to charge me 10 dollars for one disk)

I've had the brown envelope of Dullaco Disks for a month. Just have DREADED getting on the phone with these people.... but took the plunge this morning - Saturday - at 9:00.

More diagnostic tests - the machine failed every test. Bad disks sent, how dare Dullaco! Hold while I connect you to.......

Six people later and the guy does another diagnostic and decides that we have to have a new hard drive and he is going to send it to the boat. Alright. No charge. Alright.

Now - how do I CANCELL THE ORDER FOR THE NEW SPYWARE THE GUY SAID I MUST HAVE THIS MORNING?

Will be glad to transfer you over to Customer Service and they will cancel the order.... Fine.

Waited for 25 minutes on the line for Customer Service to pick up..... looked up my order number and NO.... she could NOT cancel the order because it wasn't far enough along yet. I was aghast. JUST CANCEL THE ORDER (150.00 WORTH).... Sorry maam.... that can't be done, but if you could call us back in 4 hours...

Huh? Am I hearing right? Call them BACK?

The order did not get cancelled and I am convinced (and told her) that when I call back at 6:00, the order will be TOO FAR ALONG IN THE SYSTEM TO CANCELL IT.

Freaks.

Dullaco from Hullaco. I will NEVER by anything from Dullaco again. Never. Never ever.

Thursday's Adventure with Carmen & Lukie....

2010-03-11T21:47:00.002-05:00

I talked with Luke this morning before I left the boat and this kid was beside himself. Crying.... why? Because he was all ready for MeMe to get there and I wasn't there yet and his mother wasn't all the way ready like he wanted her to be. So I hurried. Yeah right.... I did speed it up a little.

Got there and he met me outside - had been raining.... We got in the car, ran a couple of errands, and made it to Aubrey's in plenty of time to get a lunch seat. Luke loved it.

I am not eating much, but not losing weight like I was either. Lost 2 pounds the scales said when I weighed on Sunday... but anyway... I ordered a baked potato with toppings on the side, and a house salad with ff dressing. Ate a couple of bites of the potato and boxed it up & ate half the salad and boxed the rest up to take back to the boat AND bought a large cup of my favorite dressing - ff raspberry vinegarette made by Hellmans (and you can't get it in the stores)....

Went shopping in Marshall's... trip without the luggage, especially with Luke along (who wanted to ride in MeMe's buggy. I finally let him get out and walk AS LONG AS he had one hand ON THE BUGGY).... I bought on sale for $10, the cutest skirt........ anyway... We finished up in there and headed for the back woods where the Jones Crew lives.... and I headed for the lake.

Fun Day....

2010-03-11T21:42:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I met another CBC friend for lunch - Janet (am working my way around). So sweet - just lost her Daddy. Janet and I worked together to redo the Prayer Room at Central... good friend.

We went to Chop House and talked and ate and just had a good time. I came back to the boat afterward.... thought about knocking around that end of Knoxville, but decided to get on back to the boat instead.

Cooked din din for Charles and afterward played on my computer while Charles is mowing his way through "True Compass"... can't even get my hands on that book right now!

Tuesday of the Next Week....

2010-03-09T22:40:00.003-05:00

I don't know where time flies TO, but it flies.

We arrived home, got to spend 1 day with Jonathan because he was off from work, worked around the house, pitched the Christmas tree which we have enjoyed on the front porch since we UN-decorated it after Christmas... cleaned up in the yard... did house-things over the weekend, went to church, looked at cars....

On Monday morning Charles and I headed back to Tennessee. We love driving back on Monday morning... traffic is very light and we stop whenever and wherever we want to stop along the way.

Arrived back at the boat around 4:30... glad to be back. In fact it wasn't long until Charles said, "I feel so good knowing we have this little place." The feeling is mutual-ditto. I'll say for the millionth time - I love it here. Noticed that our friends Pat & Vern's boat is up for sale - $209,000. They are our age and have lived on it for about 5 years now, and are ready to move on. We will miss them.

I had made Carolyn's Enchilada recipe on Friday at the homeplace and it was such a hit with the 3 of us that I made sure we had ingredients to fix more at the boat.... so Charles and I enjoyed Enchiladas on the boat Monday night.

I weighed over the weekend - down 2 more pounds... have about lost track now. I feel the best I have ever felt.

Did not sleep well last night... got up and tried to find my book... could not find it so started a new James Patterson whih I read for an hour, then went back to bed and slept fitfully the rest of the night. It was too warm in here... we like a cool to cold bedroom.

Brought more scrapbooking back and stopped at a TJ Maxx 'N More to pick up another hamper to use as a storage container.. found just the one...

Busy couple of days ahead - lunch with a friend tomorrow, Carmen on Thursday. Looking forward.

I guess I am getting old & sentimental. Trivia is next:

Noticed in a pic made in the front yard in Winston-Salem of my Senior year in high school that I had two bangle bracelets on one arm. Mom had a gold bangle bracelet on me by the time I was 7 months old. I still have it stored away, along with my baby ring. ANYway....

I have half a dozen bangles that I have acquired through the years - 3 gold and 3 silver. I put them all on the other day - same arm - and liked them all together... so they are still on my arm. I thought, "Why not?? It has always been at least 2... why not wear them all?" And I am. I'm not a spring chicken anymore and they make me look more "Grandmotherly"... and besides - Charles-in-Charge loves them. Done deal.

dawg....

2010-03-05T18:02:00.002-05:00

Stopped by grocery in Mars Hill an hour ago- nicest Ingles I have ev er been in.... still on the road - got lost in Asheville of all things. Ice cream melting... I love Mayfields low fat frozen yogurt - choc. or van. Low in WW points and I love to have a cup of it at night... so have some in the car... it will be soup by the time we get to the house...

Just passed the Dish Barn on I-26.... not far now.

Sunny Beautiful Friday.....

2010-03-05T15:57:00.003-05:00

CT and I got out of the boat a little past noon today - he went to school for half a da y since he put in time last night at a packed parents' meeting. I was ready to leave when he got back to the boat.

I don't know what in the world has happened to my sleeping... I'm not sleeping at ALL at night... got back up, read in True Compass (and am a little drop-jawed over it so far)... and finally got in bed after 3:00. For the past 2 nights I've taken an Ambien... but refuse to take them often, I'll stay awake first. At LEAST I can sleep in... This started during the Olympics when I was staying up every night until the last bobsled was down the mountain... And Advil and Ty PM both rev me up so no going THERE. Not complaining... just wishing I could see "normal sleeping" again.

The mountains are beautiful as we travel through Sam's Gap up near Wolf Laurel Ski Resort right now. Snow everywhere except where we are driving. I'd post a pic, but the camera cord is in a tote somewhere in this car...

Basket Bonanza....

2010-03-04T00:40:00.004-05:00

Slept in briefly this morning and before lunch I started back with the scrapbooking. Am REALLY enjoying it and got a bunch of pages done today.

As I was looking around the boat, I saw 3 spots that have become problem spots that I just have tended to ignore - after all, there is only so much space in here. Started thinking of ways to use those spots but with a clean look and not a cluttered look. First place is in the galley kitchen... we put a little folding countertop in there but keep it up all the time - never fold it against the wall. It has been a catch-all. Second place is in the state room/bedroom at the back sliding door. Just piled up with totes, etc.... and the third place is in the salon/living room... Just need something under the window that will hold and conceal.

Then it hit me - get some basket/hampers..... so CT was more than ready for us to go out tonight and we hit Mar*shalls, Home*goods, and TJ..... Found the hampers and the kitchen one was on sale to boot.

Came
back to the boat in snow flurries... Rolled a stack of hampers down the gangplank and thru the marina and gosh was it cold out there!..

Got inside... and noticed one hamper (for the kitchen) was bound with those weird ties that have to be cut... so I cut them. Inside I found FOUR additional baskets and this hamper was on sale for nearly half off. It was a set and I didn't even realize it.... but when I looked, the sale price was a little higher than usual, too. Still a good deal.

The basket idea is going to work perfectly. The galley kitchen is already better and I plan to work on the other two spots tomorrow. Charles has a meeting opportunity at school - and will get paid for being there - so I won't have to cook din din.

My work is cut out for me.

A Hilarious Memory on A Snowy Day....

2010-03-02T23:53:00.013-05:00

I am REALLY not tired of this white stuff. I just wish that if it is going to SNOW here at the boat, that we'd get some ACCUMULATION.

Jonathan has about 6 inches at the house. We've had flurries all day with more expected tonight. It IS pretty when it's coming down out on the water... but I'd like to be here for a GOOD ONE before the winter is over. We are supposed to have a huge snow storm before March is over and I don't think this was "it".

Of course, our BIG concern on this boat is power. If we lost power down here on this water, we'd have to hope we could get up the gangplank and pray we could get to Carmen's.... that would be major....

Anyway.... today has been about scrapbooking. I got one side of one page done. We brought a huge amt. of supplies to the boat this time along with an old sewing table (antique) that Mother gave me (dry rot in the legs), and we have the legs glued and reinforced with white duck tape - they are rotten at the joints, but everything else is in great condition. Anyway....

I spent much of the morning going through supplies and pictures... have decided to just continue from the beginning... I need to go ahead and get all of our OLD pictures back in albums - then get to the grandkids, etc.

Huge
job. In fact, I talked with Mom tonight and we howled over the first picture I glued in, today.... my 1st cousin Randall Kent Greenwood was a toddler when I was 10 and our Grandmother Spaugh had us at the river outside of Gatlinburg for a picnic... and little Randy messed in his training pants.

Nothing do Grandma Spaugh but get down next to the river to wash those things out and she dropped them in the water. Cousin Ginger and I giggled our way downstream trying to catch them but they got away. Now that was 50 years ago when people didn't have but 7 pairs of undies every year or two if we were lucky - and my mom's had Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday written on hers - so I know Randy couldn't have had more than 7 pairs and now he was down to a measley 6. I just hope he got potty trained fast.

I remember us laughing our heads off while Randy stood there behind the boulder in the buff crying... see the blue arrow on the picture? We made him stand behind the rock because he was nude, indecent, and in public and we couldn't expose him. (Things were way different back then)

Ginger was 9 and is to the left and I was 10, and on the right. See the expression on Grandma's face? Two kids running after a pair of drawers in the river must have been funny to her. See the expression on my face? ("they got away, sorry")... and Ginger was raised by a nanny - the girl was probably in shock.

Memories.... and I will be gluing pictures for my next 50 years at the rate I've been going today. Mom said, "I've got to call your Aunt Kathleen (Randy's mom) tomorrow and tell her."

Tell Aunt Kat her favorite niece said "Hi"...

One More Summerlyn Story.....

2010-02-28T00:44:00.022-05:00

It is too late and I have to get to bed... but must post this memory first.

We KNEW that baby Summerlyn liked things HER WAY... but that did not stop us from driving to Charlotte to pick this sweet little thang up when she was nearly 8 months old.... diapers, formula, clothes, toys, you name it.... and we drove to Winston-Salem with her to visit her Great Grandparents... my mom and dad...."Ma" and "Pa"....

Papaw and I should have KNOWN we were in trouble when she started crying the minute we put her in the TRUCK (back floorboard in her car seat).... and by the time we stopped at Chick Filet in Charlotte to grab a sandwich, she was screaming like someone had a diaper pin stuck in her leg.

Didn't stop us. Had we had ANY sense at all, we would have taken this chick straight back to her house, but noooooooo... we WOULD GET HER UNDER CONTROL.

Guess again.

We pulled in to Mom and Dad's driveway an hour or so later and this baby was screaming every breath. We finally decided she was mad. Not in pain. No tears. Just mad as a little hornet.

Too bad chick. We are your grandparents, bigger than you, older than you, and you are out-numbered so WE WIN....

Guess again.

We tried to console, humor, feed, coddle, cuddle, rock, walk the floor to get her to sleep. She made sure nothing worked. Finally after several hours, the little princess was still red faced and screaming - we were amazed she still had a voice - still not a tear in her eye.

Ma and Pa were about ready to rent a hotel room. I was about ready to sit baby Summerlyn out on the side of the road in a basket. The garbage collectors would be there the next morning to pick her up... so I called Carmen around midnight...

Carmen? This is your mom and this is NOT WORKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Carmen suggested this and that but we had tried it all and went back and tried it again. Nope. This baby was fit to be tied and nothing was going to work. We called Carmen at 2 AM and told her to get her hiney out to I-85 outside of Charlotte, we were giving this baby BACK.

By this time the kid was only in a diaper. I didn't care... wrapped her in a bath towel, walked to the TRUCK in my pajamas with curlers in, and the truck was locked. HELLO. We were standing under the street light - 3 AM in the morning, baby screaming. Wake up the neighborhood. Somebody call Social Services....

Charles hurried to the house to get the keys to the truck. We were now locked out of the house.

He came walking out of the shadows, up the driveway, totally defeated, hands straight up in the air and I declare I thought he was being held up by someone with a gun in his back. I got so mad - sent him BACK to the house to wake up mom and dad who gave him the key to his truck.

We put this screaming baby in her carseat,and for another hour we made our way to I-85 and about the time we got there, Carmen and Dean drove up. 4:00 on Saturday morning.

Carmen jumped out of their car and took Summerlyn... who was snubbing between screams, and as soon as Carmen took her, she turned off the screaming like turning off a water faucet, and looked over at MeMe and Papaw..."THINK AGAIN. I WIN" .

Carmen said she was fine as frog hair from that minute on. We told our daughter (who spoils her children) that Summerlyn could come back to our house when she was 16 and could drive and NOT UNTIL.

Of course we lied.

Our Girl....

2010-02-28T00:19:00.004-05:00

Miss Summerlyn Brooke is 12 years old today - Saturday. I remember when this child was born - thought her mama was going to pop before she hatched out this little chick.

Miss Summerlyn came into this world with a mind ALL HER OWN. As in.... she owned the house, her mama and daddy just paid the bills.

I will never forget the first time Papaw and I kept her @ our house in Hendersonville. Her parents went to the beach with their SS class in Charlotte and Papaw and I LOVED the thought of having this little thing all to ourselves for the weekend.

She slept in the wicker sleigh and I remember that she was a little "difficult"... she did NOT want to sleep so she and MeMe battled nearly all night. She won.

I got up the next morning and had to teach Sunday School... dead on my feet... but by GOLLY I was dressing her to the max to take to that SS class where my ladies could fawn all over her.... so here we went. The minute we crossed the church thresh hold, nothing do but our little darling went to sleep. I guess she fell asleep.... she had played all night.

Got her into the worship service where I wanted to show her off - awake - and she was sound asleep still.... had not had a bottle, and I was holding my breath. She made it until the last hymn when she was wide awake, wet, hungry and "sang" along with the congregation. I was mortified.... but Papaw and I got her out of there, diapered her, fed her, and she was a happy camper again.

We think, to this day, there's nothing like her. She is a doll (yes, I have to brag), and she is growing up too fast.

Her parents took her this weekend to Grove Park Inn where they dined on the Friday night Seafood Buffet and spent the night at the Inn - for her birthday - exactly what she asked for. (MeMe is teaching her to live high on the hog, Carmen) Some of their friends from Greenville, SC met them at the Inn and suprised Summerlyn, spent the night with them, and Carmen said the time there couldn't have been more perfect. They left after lunch today for Knoxville.

SumSum called this afternoon after they had arrived back home... "Well MeMe, I'm calling so you can sing Happy Birthday to me.... and I did belt it out to that sweet thing. Papaw and I will celebrate with her Mid-March.

Hendersonville....

2010-02-26T22:52:00.004-05:00

Ahhh it feels so good to be home!

CT worked today only work was interrupted when he lost a filling and he ended up in the dentist's chair in LaFolette. Said the dentist was good and quick but the office was weird. The chair tilted back till his feet were higher than his head... strange... and then the good doc turned the chair ON.... and the top of it began to vibrate. He said it surely did relax him even if he was nearly on his head. $75 and 20 minutes later CT was headed back to school. He said he'd never been so numb!

On our way across the mountain, CT noticed a truck that looked like Tyler's truck and it was a couple of vehicles in front of us. Well sure nuf it WAS Tyler. We called him on the cell phone and he said, "So that WAS you-two following me thru the Greeneville shortcut." Yep... but we didn't have a clue THEN....

We pulled over, gave him a little $$, got a hug and sent him on his way. He was headed to Grove Park Inn where Carmen and Dean are taking Summerlyn tonight to eat the
seafood buffet and spend the night for her 12th birthday (Feb 27) and included Tyler for his 19th birthday back in Dec. What Summerlyn doesn't know is that their good friends from Greenville, SC are meeting them up there with Megan, Summerlyn's friend since they were pre-schoolers together in Charlotte.... and Megan and her parents will eat with them and also spend the night at Grove Park Inn. Pretty neat birthday for a 12 year old! (and a 19 year old). Julie and Lionel are spending tonight at Carmen's and keeping Savannah, Scarlett and Luke.

Anyway, Ty left us in the dust and we came on to H'ville with a box of chicken to eat for dinner. Watching the Olympics tonight and enjoying to the max. Can't believe it is just about over.

Long Time Question Answered.....

2010-02-26T01:48:00.002-05:00

I LOVE to watch the ice skating in the Olympics so I've been glued to it for days. I get dizzy watching those kids spin around so much and have wondered and wondered how they keep from getting dizzy and sick.

Just read the answer: They get used to it.

When they first start, their coaches tell them to keep spinning even when you get dizzy. The more you spin, the more used to it your body becomes.... takes about a year to get over it.

I find that interesting.

Thurs Already...

2010-02-25T16:42:00.005-05:00

We had snow last night and Charles went to the school closest to the boat this morning because the other one was cancelled. He said that it snowed driving in, quit, and a couple of hours later snowed again, covering the roads. School was not cancelled as it is seldom cancelled in Knox county.

Called... wanted to know if I wanted to "go out" tonight - that means dinner out and shopping. The sun is out but it is so cold and windy outside I told him no... he thought I might have cabin fever. Actually I don't, but it would HELP if he'd bring din din to the boat. Hot wings and trimmings and we'd watch the Olympics. Have I said that we LOVE the Winter Olympics? I'd have a fireplace screen like the one in the lodge there, if it wouldn't cost so much... would put it on our stone fireplace in the living room.... ANYway....

We are going to enjoy hotwings and low fat yogurt tonight while we savor the last days of these Winter sports in Vancouver. Love it love it love it.

Ty called, and later Jonathan called.... love talking with my guys!Talked with my Summerlyn also this afternoon... her birthday is on the 27th and Carmen and Dean have a fantabulous birthday suprise planned for her. She told me that she does Not WANT Papaw and MeMe to drive to NC tomorrow - she wants us HERE. (all the time)... Gotta love it. What did I EVER do without grandkids???

Snow on Wednesday....

2010-02-24T16:14:00.004-05:00

They said it would and it IS... snowing! It's 4:15 in the afternoon and the USA and Sweden are playing hockey in the Olympics... wearing one another totally OUT, and no one has scored.

I'm on the boat and CT called saying he is bring Chinese in for din din. Fine with me....

Cancelled a lunch date with a friend tomorrow because 1:Snow is supposed to continue through part of tomorrow and 2: I left my clothes in NC. Don't ask me what happened... and I DRESS to travel and I refuse to wear around this boat, what I wore over here... so I have found a black skirt and had several winter tops in the drawer and a couple of pairs of PJs and a night gown. Thats IT. So I am NOT good to go out unless it is with Charles with my big winter coat on.

Snow.... have to admit: I love it!

Tuesday... Cold, Overcast...

2010-02-23T21:29:00.005-05:00

We made it to the boat and had a couple of hours to spare before we were to be at our friends' house - but had a message that she was sick, so I would stay at the boat and Charles would go with the husband to the UT basketball game.

I was relieved except for the fact that my friend was sick. Just tired from travel and wondered why on earth I had made plans to spend the evening away from the boat - but that was now taken care of.

Charles went to the game and I showered, got in PJs and laid on the sofa (so nice)and watched the Olympics.

When I came to bed, I had determined that I would NOT take anything to help me sleep... and should have known better. Have been having problems getting to sleep the first night back over here... and Advil PM revved me up the last time I took it over the weekend. No more of that stuff.... so I took nothing.

At 2 AM I was up reading and went back to bed where all I had done was toss and turn until I was afraid I'd wake CT up.... got back in bed at 3 AM after reading in my book for an hour. Slept until 11:30 this morning!

Up, dressed, worked around the boat, pulled out din din - lasagna to thaw - put bread ingredients in the bread machine, and settled down on the sofa to read my book.

The last time I checked in Barnes and N. on the Kennedy book I want to read, it was $35. No way. I waited a month and found it online for $12.99. It's on it's way. I may regret ordering it, but we'll see. One thing for sure... I have to bring some good books back to the boat so I'll have something to read when I can't sleep.

We enjoyed the lasagna, etc. tonight and have watched the Olympics all evening... It is 74 degrees in this boat. Charles is relaxing in his chair with a down comforter and a toboggan...and his earphones... is so comfy he won't get up and go to bed. Ha ha... he's too cute! (Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say)

We are supposed to get snow tomorrow evening and Thursday. Bring it on!

Sunny Sunday....

2010-02-21T14:11:00.002-05:00

To the tune of 61 degrees outside. STILL, our driveway is under snow - to the point that we got the Buick stuck this morning trying to back down... had to abandon it and hop (yeah, right)into the Honda to get to church.

Like old home week again at FB. People asking, "When?" and I'm answering... "We're still working in Tennessee and over there for most of the week".... which we ARE. If we hadn't had the red sofa to deal with, we would have stayed over THIS weekend.

Doug and Becky were there. We confirmed our "date" for next Saturday for breakfast. Really looking forward to it.

Dynamic Duo....

2010-02-20T21:28:00.003-05:00

Miss Friendly thinks Jonathan is her big brudder.

BuSy.....

2010-02-20T20:56:00.004-05:00

We met Jonathan at Walmart in Halls on Friday - he spent two nights at Carmen's (Wed and Thurs)... and picked up my meds, then headed toward NC. JET was hauling the red loveseat in the back of his truck.

We made it to the house after several short stops along the way, and the two guys brought the sofa into the house. We have it in the sunroom and it is PERFECT in there. In fact, I will not even have to slip cover it. The red is such a muted country red that it goes great with the tartan plaid chair in the living room. We love this little seating arrangement in the sun room. The wicker swing and bookcase is to the left of the sofa and can't be seen in this pic. Charles is in the window seat watching the Olympics.

Stayed in and snacked and watched the Olympics.

Birthday Celebration...

2010-02-18T23:50:00.007-05:00

We got the green sofa in the boat but not before Charles had to take down the sliding glass doors. Simple process and thankfully the weather was nice outside. We even had the heat turned off inside the boat for the afternoon.

The sofa is a perfect fit and we just love the additional amount of sitting space/sleeping space it gives us - plus - it is a super nice couch. The company had it way on sale I think because they aren't doing much business. I would not have this sofa in my house - but it is perfect for the boat. Just not my style and color for the house, but really looks good here on the boat. Jonathan laid on it and said he'd have no trouble sleeping on it.

CT and I sent the JET on back to his sisters and then we cleaned up and got ready and went to Carmen's. She had chicken and dumplins and a huge salad... and peach cobbler and a large birthday cake and gift card for Jonathan. Very sweet.

After we ate, the kids went downstairs to play with the wii for a little while and we older people played a game called "Things in a Box"... or something like that. It is hilarious and we ripped ourselves up laughing so hard.

After a few rounds of this game, CT and I came back to the boat... cold outside but not like it HAS been. I am watching the Olympics and Papaw is sound asleep and has been for more than an hour.

Meeting Jonathan at 11AM tomorrow morning to drive to Hendersonville.

Thursday....

2010-02-18T14:39:00.003-05:00

Jonathan made it in with no problems last night but it snowed on him most of the way over. Wasn't sticking to the roads so we were glad for that.

I snicker. Jonathan just turned 32 and Carmen will be 40 on April 29. They "ain't as young as they used to be" apparently because they did NOT stay up and play board games until the wee hours like they usually do - they went to bed sooner than their daddy and I did.

Charles was up and out of here early this morning - went looking for someone to pay dues to for his membership in a school organization and had to go to the Middle School in the process. Said teachers were coming out of their rooms and hugging his neck - told me he was a "mess of a mixture of women's perfume". They all loved it that he had come by.... but he was looking for someone and never did find the person.

Gave up, came to the boat, changed clothes and left to pick up Jonathan at Carmen's so they could go over to the furniture store to pick up the sofa we purchased for the boat 3 weeks ago. I immediately went to work on the inside of the boat, getting the red love seat ready to go to North Carolina. Comfy little love seat, but I will be thrilled to get the new sofa. They just called... are on their way back to the boat.

Carmen left for the grocery store as soon as her brother left with their dad. She is getting a birthday cake and has not decided what she plans to cook tonight. I would be a total MESS if I still didn't know and have most of it prepared - but she's a pro. Can pull an outstanding meal together in little to no time.

Busy afternoon ahead.

Thursday Already....

2010-02-18T14:30:00.002-05:00

We made it back to the lake, snow and ALL, and it was FREEZING cold out there. The wind cut through us like a knife as we made our way the 2 tenths of a mile through the marina. Ran right into Jim and Linda, our friends who have a boat about six down from ours. They had driven down to check on theirs - had not been since before Christmas.

We made our way down the finger to the entrance to our boat - slippery as could be - covered in ice and snow. We had the boat up to 70 degrees in about 40 minutes. So great to be back!

TUESDAY - Snowed all day. Freezing cold - 21 degrees, but we were determined to meet Knoxville friends for dinner. Dined at Aubry's and enjoyed ourselves to the max for about 3 hours.

WEDNESDAY - Jonathan worked until 4:00, then left in his truck to drive to Carmen's (10 minutes away from the boat). We love it when he spends the night with his sister and they love it too. Carmen is doing a birthday party/dinner for Jonathan Thursday night and we are all looking forward to it.

Monday's Snow Ride.......

2010-02-15T23:35:00.004-05:00

When Charles got up this morning early, nothing was happening... but within 10 minutes the snow was falling hard. We got 3 additional inches.... that is 3 inches on top of 3 inches on top of what was left of 8 inches. I wondered if we would get out of there today to get back to the boat.

We waited for a couple of hours until he could check every road betwen us and Knoxville.... and then we left - had to hike out to the car....

Beautiful BEAUTIFUL drive back over and much of it was in light snow... and the roads were clear.

Got to K'ville and the temp was below 20 degrees. The closer to the lake we got the more snow we saw.... got to the marina and the dock store was closed and the cat walk had not been de-iced. We had to get two heavy buggies down that thing - was not easy, but we did it. So cold and windy!

Got
to our boat and ran into our friends Jim and Linda Thomas who have a boat about 7 slips down from ours. We talked with them for awhile until it started snowing... then we parted. They had come down to check on their boat and were leaving.

Did not take long to get the temp up in here, to the 70 degrees that we like. Grilled cheese for din din and CT went to bed early (9:00). Calling for snow tonight. We'll see.

Valentine's Day - Sunday....

2010-02-14T21:50:00.003-05:00

Charles came in this morning to get me up, declaring that we could get out to go to church... so I thought it best to NOT turn back over and go to sleep.... About 20 minutes later he came back in declaring that our hot water was frozen, he could not get a bath and we wouldn't be going anywhere.

I was already up and cooked breakfast - Belgian Waffles and bacon. Was great!

JET went to work and CT and I watched First Baptist, Spartanburg. Dr. Don Wilton is so good! Then traded Valentine cards - hilarious!

We snacked some and watched the Daytona 500, and went right to the Olympics. A very laid back day as it turned out. It snowed on and off all afternoon. Supposed to get more tonight...??? We'll see.

2010-02-13T20:13:00.002-05:00

We were up at 6:00 on the boat this morning- drained the water, made the normal preparations to leave, and headed out to NC around 8:00.

Got to the beautiful detour through Greeneville, TN and ran into snow.... and we saw snow all the way to Asheville. Beautiful! The temperature was 19 degrees.

We
stopped for me to buy groceries to take to the house and made our way to the watershed where we live. We have an additional 3 inches around us now. Still hanging in the trees - beautiful. Calling for more on Monday when we plan to travel back to the boat.

So good to be home. We are maxing and relaxing, gas logs in kitchen are on, and we're ready to watch the Winter Olympics. Woooo Hoooo! Get the popcorn out!

Thurs. and Fri.....

2010-02-13T00:07:00.004-05:00

On Thurs, Carmen and I had our regularly scheduled 3-months-in-advance hair appointment. I LOVE going to this salon... but this gal ain't cheap!

Decided (since I had let my eyebrows grow out for 3 months) to have eyebrows waxed. I've had it done before, but always sitting up in a chair. In this place, you lay down on a massage table. Classy! This pic is of Carmen having some kind of new-fangled massage - she tried 10 minutes worth... it cost $1 per minute.

Lynn left me "pony-tail" length because I plan to pull it back for
the summer - yeah - dream on - it's still snowing.

We picked up one of Sullivan's salads and I ate several bites... no need for me to order my own salad anymore - those things are huge - and CDT and I headed for her house. Ty had to confer with his boss and needed to get out of the house, so time was a factor.

I came back to the boat and CT wanted to go out to eat. We did, and got back to the boat around 8:30. Tyler's truck was sitting in the parking lot @ the marina so we hurried to the boat thinking he may be sitting outside in the freezing cold. He wasn't. His key worked and he was relaxing inside watching TV. Spent the night with us - He wants to go through the manager's training program where he works. He's young, but just may get to do it.

Got up this morning - Friday - and cooked this 19 year old food disposal a huge breakfast - sausage and cheese omelets, bacon, sausage, hash browns, and toast and jelly. He gobbled it down. We watched TV and he left around 2:30.

CT came in at 4:15, we ate soup, and watched the opening of the Winter Olympics.

Snow Globe...

2010-02-10T08:49:00.002-05:00

I have been up since 8:30 - boat banging against the cement slip, wind howling, and we look like a snow globe this morning. Snowflakes swirling all around - in fact, if I were to open the sliding glass doors on the front, the snow would come right inside the boat.

Coooold. The commode is frozen, but we kept the water trickling last night so we do have running water. To flush, we pour water in the commode and pump through the system. We just can't pull flush-water in from the lake. No problem.

Inside, we are 70 degrees.

Were planning to dine out with friends tonight. Unless the temp. rises, we won't be doing that. Too cold for us to be coming back to the boat late and walking the distance through the marina to our boat. Dangerous.

Bitter Cold... More Snow....Happy Birthday Jonathan!

2010-02-10T00:07:00.002-05:00

Just dared to open the sliding door, turn the light on, and see what's going on outside. Snowing - the deck is covered. Wind is howling, and it's frigid out there.

Just turned the heat back up and I'm headed for bed.

Jonathan is 32 years old today. Hard to believe.

Chicken Night.....Wind Advisory....

2010-02-09T21:33:00.004-05:00

Carmen and I talked early this morning - 9ish - early for me. It was pouring rain outside and I wondered if we really wanted to do cookies at the boat with them having to walk the distance from the parking lot to our slip. Turns out we DIDN'T think that would be a good idea. Luke is getting over an ear infection.... so we decided to continue with plans to eat with them tonight and shift the cookie-baking to Carmen's kitchen.

When CT got back to the boat, we sat here and talked for about an hour and then left to drive to Bojangl*es to get chicken, then go to Carmen's. We arrrived at 5:45 and went upstairs - spent time with the grands while Carmen got din din on the table. Her house is spotless clean and soooo cozy! We love going over there.

We took the Valentine cookies and the kiddos baked them while we were there. Tried to get pictures, but my camera is shot...

The girls and Luke and I played an abbreviated round of Bunko. Mindless game, but the kids love it.

Papaw and I came back to the boat happy and watched Am. Idol! We have a wind advisory for the lake tonight and I just noticed that "it" has arrived! I hear it screeching outside and rocking this boat. I'll be rocked to sleep tonight!

From Tennessee.....

2010-02-08T23:41:00.008-05:00

I feel as if it's been months since I've been on this boat - but actually it has been 2 weeks. Sooooooo so so so good to be back!

We left this morning and had a beautiful, leisurely drive back across the mountain. Bought a few groceries on the way in, and arrived here around 4:00 this afternoon.

While in the store, I bought a pack of ready-made Valentine
sugar cookies, and tomo
rrow, Lukie is coming to the boat (with his mom) and we are going to bake Valentine cookies. Then Papaw and I are going to get chicken and go to Luke's house to eat tomorrow evening. We are all excited! Gotta have a grandbaby fix.

Absolutely pouring the rain outside tonight. The weather report is calling for a mixture of sleet! Toasty warm in here - over 70 degrees until I turned the heat back.

Off to bed.......

Power!

2010-02-07T21:39:00.002-05:00

At 10:15 this morning our power came back on. Charles waited a few minutes and had his first shower since Thursday morning. I had a spit bath last night and waited a little bit and got a good hot shower - and we felt like new people.

We (since we had already missed church)still no TV.... tore into the house and cleaned up everything we had messed up wandering around in the dark, etc. etc..... got that done and got in clean jammies and watched First Baptist, Columbia, SC. Good service. Didn't get our TV service back until early afternoon.

We have all 3 watched the super bowl... Boy did the Saints pull an upset!First time at the Super Bowl and they won!

WHAT an adventure....!

2010-02-06T21:09:00.011-05:00

Here we sit - ending our second day of being without power.... but we are warm, thanks to the gas logs, and we are well stocked with food... that we can't cook... but we have some snack stuff too. This Mercedes got smashed right across from Woodfield Inn....

Not enough for Charles-in-Charge, though.... We headed out to Greenville before lunch. He, doggone it, is NOT going to miss the Super Bowl tomorrow, no sirree. So to appease me, he gave me a hundred dollars and sent me shopping in Marshall's/Homegoods. He KNEW what he was about to do and didn't want to hear my shrieks.

While
I was in Home
goods, he sneaked across the road and bought a generator. He got back to the parking lot and called me. "We are the only car in the parking lot with a huge box hanging out the back-end." Oh?

I felt right pitiful for him when I came out - until I saw "the look" on his face.... it was one of those "I'm doing this MY way and I'm going to see the Super Bowl. Period. So don't cross me." I had NOT spent his hundred in Homegoods either.

After we left that parking lot, I found myself at the hot wings place.... the one that I won't go in for love nor money. I am Southern Baptist, you know.

Out he comes with 50 hotwings for his Super Bowl tomorrow. Guess we'll put them in the frige... we're home and sitting in the dark right now - except for Charles' hat with headlights. He wears it to the bathroom... wears it everywhere, and is sitting here reading with it.... and he has several "spares"..... found it at Hammers in Knoxville for $3.99 and bought several. Alright.

I'm sitting here in the dark trying to get this post in before the
computer battery dies. When Jonathan gets in from work (about 15 minutes), they will do the generator
thing. No worry for me. I have a big pot of water sitting on top of the Vermont Castings stove in the kitchen and it is steaming. Am headed for my shower right now. Jonatha just came in .... all the bucket trucks have called it a night, so no power tonight - except by generator (hehehe).....

Where Am I?

2010-02-06T13:19:00.002-05:00

Drive thru at Bojangles.

CT has HAD IT.

We have been declared a disaster area in Henderson Co. and are now wondering if we will have electricity in time for the Super Bowl tomorrow...

Never mind that we have a generator - acquired for a hefty price during the blizzard we had about 10 years ago.... used twice... doesn't work and has not worked for a year and should have been FIXED.

So. Here we sit... I am hooked to computer by VZAccess Verison.... plugged into the new "instant power" stick CT just bought in Tractor Supply... and hopefully the computer battery is getting charged back up where he ran it down yesterday morning.

Have made some awesome pics and if I brought my camera cord, will post in a minute or two. Gotta have a bite of Bo's treats first.

I lost 2 pounds in Nashville this past week. Wow!

Uh Oh....

2010-02-05T11:25:00.002-05:00

We are iced in and without power. CT has been on my computer this morning and I have no battery power left.... so gotta get off of here real quick.

Wee Hours Friday Morning.....

2010-02-05T01:10:00.004-05:00

I am sitting here at some
thing past 1AM waiting for my Advil PM to work. Too keyed up to think about going to sleep, and can sleep in, in the morning if I need to.

We left Nashville around 11:30 this morning with a long drive ahead of us. No time to stop at the huge TJ/Homegoods, but we WOULD get to stop at the TJ in Cookeville if I were a good girl... ha! He went on about my "new hair do"... dirty hair pulled back with a synthetic hair wrap.... thus the pic he took as we were leaving the hotel this morning.

After I spent an hour in TJ's, we were back on the road and by the time we got to Greeneville, TN, we were seeing rain. And by the time we got up on the mountain crossing over from Tennessee to North Carolina, we were seeing sleet and snow - no kidding.

We
drove in that mess all the way (1.5 hours) to our driveway. The snow is so deep out there we can't get the car all the way up the driveway. By the time we passed the Dish Barn out on I-26 where you cut off to come to our house, the interstate was solidly covered in this wintery mix.

We felt REALLY GOOD about being able to get home. Exciting to me as a "snow lover"... Arrived home around 8:30 PM.

Wed. Lunch Out.....

2010-02-03T14:25:00.005-05:00

John and Carolyn probably think I lead a boring life! I mean, how exciting can living on the road BE?? They get to go to production meetings and planning meetings, breakfast out and sometimes, lunch out... exciting compared to me.

At any rate, they took time for me today and I am grateful. The last time I drove in Nashville, I thought no one would ever see or hear from me again... so I just don't drive over here... so my two friends came to the hotel and picked me up - and we ate at Ruby Tuesday's over in my neck of the woods near the hotel. Had such a great lunch with them!

As a reminder to myself... John D. brought up the subject of my
writing - Let me know when you want to write again and as soon as possible before assignments are given out.... or something akin to that.... and he reminded me that he didn't want to pressure me. On the way back to the hotel he reminded me again and said that he would not bring it up again until I do - so as not to put pressure on me.

Can't begin to say what that means to me. I don't know when
I'll be ready but it is good to know that they will be receptive to my call. Praise the Lord for that! Amazing in a good way!

Tuesday....

2010-02-02T11:18:00.006-05:00

The view from our hotel room is certainly different this time! Fog and snow every
where and we are facing the airport runway - hear planes taking off, just can't see them. If I can't see them take off, I wonder how they can see TO take off? Glad I'm not on one of them!

Calling for more winter weather this weekend - and Punxsutawney (puhnk-suh-TAW'-nee) Phil saw his little groundhog shadow this morning so we're in for six more weeks of it - at least. (He's only right 39% of the time) We've seen a foot of snow in Hendersonville in April before, so March is definitely a possibility for winter weather.

Maxing/relaxing in the hotel room today. JD and Carolyn have planned lunch for us tomorrow and I am looking forward to it. Don't know where yet and I don't care where. We're getting together and that's what counts.

Brought Moravian stars with me. Will get busy on one before the day is out. Can't let that rest or I'll forget what we did and all of the "star tips" she gave me (pun intended).... I'd love to get going and make a supply of them.

CT is in his meetings and has an extra one after hours this afternoon. Big hurrah in the office and he hasn't made a decision about attending... It will be off campus at a "neutral" location - a local church. He will see what the atmosphere is with people in the meetings today and then decide. I forgot my current book and would love to get out and buy something to read. We'll see.