Movin' On Out

We're leaving for Florida. First to Anna Maria Island, then after Christmas, we'll head to St. Augustine on the east side for a few days and finally, to visit our niece and nephew in South Carolina.

Tom is on his way to drop Joe off at the "spa" (wink, wink) where he will reside for the next two weeks.

I'm headed for the shower.

The trailer is packed and decorated for Christmas. I'll post photos of that later.

In the meantime, it's Friday folks. The weekend has, for all intents and purposes, begun and we're about slam into Christmas. Too late to put on the brakes.

Back In The Saddle Again

I don't know why it is so hard to get back in the groove after an extended blog silence, but it is.

It probably has something to do with my health. I'm sick again. Although I am finally starting to recuperate, it has been a long, very slow process. I was almost completely well by the time we made our Christmas trip.

Our trip to Reno to visit our oldest son and his family was awesome. Their house is so cute and those decks that wrap all around their house, front to back, and the trees that will shade them in the spring and summer are just phenomenal. I'd spend every waking minute out there during the summer and never get anything done.

Mike is using their garage for his wood shop. I think it's even bigger than the oversized garage we had when we lived in the country. It's huge and he's so proud and thrilled to be able to work at home.

The night we arrived, 7-year old Zoey was in a Christmas performance at her school. She was Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, with antlers and flashing red nose. Near the end of the play, Zoey - er, I mean Rudolf - led the other reindeer on a jaunt around and through the audience and back up to the stage. I smile again just thinking about it. She was so cute. It was a rare treat for us, since we live so far from all of our grandkids.

Of course, the next evening we were off to Sushi Club where I watched in amazement as 9-year old Lily packed away copious amounts of mussels laced with firery Sriracha and crab rolls. Whew! And we were so happy that grandson Zak and his girlfriend Shelby could join us for dinner before they made their trip to Utah for the Christmas holiday.

Before Christmas, we busied ourselves with introducing the girls to Secret Santa. Zoey tore up pieces of paper and wrote on each piece a person's name - Mommy, Daddy, Grama, Grampa, Lily and Zoey - then we picked our person's name without looking. We would purchase a gift for our person which could not cost more than $15.00. We were not allowed to say who our person was because it was a secret.

The mall was packed! The girls were so excited! They learned quickly to calculate the costs of little gifts that did not exceed the dollar limit. "Grandma! Look! This is $14.99! That's less than $15.00!!" It was fun, but exhausting. I hadn't been to a mall that big since our last Christmas in Savannah. We walked and shopped, mostly in the larger department stores, to the very end of the mall and back again.

The next evening, we wrapped our Secret Santa gifts and the girls got really giggly when they decided to play a prank on their dad. After they finished wrapping the Secret Santa gifts, they laid them carefully underneath the tree towards the back. Then they carefully wrapped the well-used Sharpie marker and etched out their plan for Christmas Eve. They would give their dad his "prank" Secret Santa gift first {giggle, giggle, giggle} so he would open it in front of everyone {giggle, giggle, giggle}.

When Tom heard what the girls were doing, he decided to play a "prank" on both of the girls. He wrapped a raw hot dog for Lily, who, of course, hates hot dogs, and a can of tuna for Zoey, who likewise hates tuna.

Christmas Eve the girls could hardly contain themselves. We gathered in the family room and the girls, according to plan, retrieved their dad's joke gift first. Mike smiled as he opened it and as he held up the Sharpie, the girls burst out in giggles, yelling, "It's a prank! It's a prank!"

Tom then retrieved the girls' prank gifts. As each of the girls unwrapped their gift, they smiled and yelled, "Grandpa!!" Gypsy, their dog, does not have the same aversion to hot dogs that Lily does and happily devoured Lily's hot dog in little more than one gulp.

Christmas Day Lily woke up with a runny nose and sneezed and coughed all day. By the next day, she was running a fever. Four days later, the day we were to leave for home, I woke up with a runny nose and sneezing, which continued throughout the day. During our four hour flight to Chicago and our connecting two hour flight to Little Rock, mothers sitting near me gave me the stink eye and cuddled their babies to protect them from my obviously infectious presence. All I could offer between germy sneezes and nose blowing into one kleenex after another was a shoulder shrug, the unspoken "sorry, but I can't help it."

That was on December 29th. Two days after that, Tom got sick, too.

Today, the sneezing has stopped, but I'm still blowing my nose. I take Nyquil every night to keep my nose from running all over my pillow. I wake up with dark circles under my eyes every morning. My ears are plugged. I have a sinus headache. I feel like I need a nap every afternoon. Tom had to escape to the guest bedroom two nights in a row because of the snoring....mine, not his. But it's getting better every day. I'm hoping that some day...one day...this year I will feel like I'm back to normal.

On second thought, maybe I should set the bar a little higher this year. ☺

The Final Day

When I forwarded a copy of my last letter to the city council to the editor of our local newspaper, I thought he'd just skim it for some sort of relevant news story, but instead sent an email asking me pare it down to about 300 words in order to publish it in the newspaper.

I responded with, "I'll give it a try, but I'm a blogger and not known for my brevity. More of a blah-blah-blahgger." And, it's true. I'm wordy. Paring down that letter was like pulling out my fingernails.

So how is that I have had such a hard time with this last 30-day exercise? Most of the time I felt like the most boring person I know trying to sound interesting, engaging, fun even. I don't think I've been particularly successful. I don't have kids at home anymore and they don't even live close by so I don't have a cache of family anecdotes to share. I don't work at a full-time job with fun, grumpy or eccentric people to exploit. I live a pretty quiet, boring life comprised mostly of accounting, cleaning, dishwashing, laundry and cooking with some family, friends and neighbors thrown in for good measure and enough hugs and laughs to keep me reasonably sane.

Anyway, tomorrow is December 1st, just in case you were wondering. My usual holiday depression still has not set in. I'm not going to question that one. I will just be grateful and enjoy. However, now I'm feeling a little bit of Christmas panic because everything must be done by December 19th since we are flying out to Reno early on the 20th. Nineteen days and counting.

Thankful

As I have said many times, it's been a tough couple of years, but now is not the time to delve into that because I have much to be thankful for.

Today I just want focus on the good things, the uplifting things, the people that warm my heart and uplift my spirit.

I am so thankful for Tom, our marriage, our relationship. I feel so fortunate to have such a wonderful man in my life.

And my sons, daughters-in-law and grandkids. My sons are good, loving sons, husbands and fathers. I never have to worry about my grandkids because I know their parents, my sons and daughters-in-law, will take good care of them, make sure they are fed well, clothed, sheltered and loved. I am grateful to have been able to talk with both of them today.

I am thankful for my health and for Tom's health.

I am thankful for being able to volunteer at the Clothes Closet and for the time, work, hugs and laughs I share with my Clothes Closet cohort, Susie, who opened up her heart and arms and welcomed my help in getting the Clothes Closet off the ground. We're not open "for business" yet, but we've hung all the donated coats, sweaters and other warm clothing on a portable rack in the hallway and the folks going to the Bread Basket food pantry next door to us have to walk right by the rack. The first day we were able to give away 30 warm coats to some very appreciative people. One woman had tears in her eyes when she took a wool coat off the hanger to take home to her husband who didn't have a winter coat. It made Susie and me tear up, too.

I am thankful for my extended family members and friends and readers, many of whom jumped in with love, support, insight and much needed humor through the very difficult first half of this year. You are all so precious to me and I appreciate each one of you.

I have a pantry and refrigerator/freezer full of food, not to mention the over-flowing extra refrigerator/freezer and free-standing freezer in the garage. My house is warm when it's cold outside, and cool when it's hot. I have a nice bed to cuddle with my husband and sleep in. I have my choice of two cars to drive ~ an SUV and a convertible, whichever strikes my mood ~ and I have the money to fill them with gas when needed.

For the first time I can ever remember, I am not depressed on Thanksgiving Day. I am hopeful, I am grateful and looking forward to the future....and even the Christmas holidays.

I wish all of you a wonderful, fun, thankful Thanksgiving Day.

It's Almost Time

Just a few hours from now, most of you will be thoroughly engrossed in some sort of holiday celebration, hugging missed family and friends, laughing, reminiscing and eating your holiday favorites.

If you are traveling, be safe. If you're not, watch out for those who are.

Above all, even in the midst of all of our national problems and maybe even some personal ones, be thankful even for the small gifts in your life.

Merry Christmas

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and Saturday is Christmas Day.

We are staying home, fixing a simple dinner, by ourselves by our choosing. No big Christmas dinner. No turkey and all the trimmings. Just a simple quiet dinner.

For gifts, I baked cookies and breads for my sons and their families and for Tom's parents.

I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of my family and friends (internet and otherwise) a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and leave you for a few days with an excerpt from my favorite poet:

We, Angels and Mortals, Believers and Nonbelievers,

Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.

Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves,

And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation:

Peace, My Brother.

Peace, My Sister.

Peace, My Soul.

-Maya Angelou (excerpt from Amazing Peace)

Yes, I know....

I haven't posted regularly. I've been lazy. I've been scared. I've been worried. I've been preoccupied. I haven't slept much. And then some.

There's not much to write about, unless you want to hear me whine. I can't even stand my whining any more.

We are in the middle of another fight. The Kroger store beyond the buffer behind our property wants to expand into a SuperCenter and has applied for the buffer zone to be rezoned to commercial. Oh, joy. The planning commission denied their application [whew!] and Kroger appealed to the City Council. The matter was supposed to be on the City Council agenda this past Monday, but apparently Kroger did not submit their appeal by the deadline, so it's rescheduled for October 12th. In the meantime, one of the council members responded to a comment I left in response to an article in our local newspaper concerning the outcome of the planning commission meeting in which he proceeded to say that he had already decided to vote in favor of the rezoning and we should just suck it up and see what Kroger will do for us to "minimize" the impact of having a big SuperCenter and gas station within 20 feet of our back yard (I NEED a sarcasm font!!! Somebody please develop one!). Which prompted me to write a two page email to said council member and copy the remaining city council and mayor.

It is no wonder today I have the first full blown migraine I've had for over four or five years. Even the breeze from the fan wafting across my cheek is painful, as is blinking, which feels more like a "clang, clang, clang" every time my eye closes.

What else. Well, I missed being in California for my granddaughter's 8th birthday, and my grandson's 15th birthday in Florida, and will probably miss my other granddaughter's 9th birthday in Florida, as well as my favorite aunt's 80th birthday, which I have been looking forward to for months. Golf Delta Mike Foxtrot Sierra Oscar Bravo!!

I think it's time to take a shower and wash the doom and gloom away for the day. No face scrub today, but a nice moisturizer would be nice. Blow dry my hair. Maybe even put on some earrings. Then...Martini anyone??

" Sweater (noun): garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly." ~ Ambrose Bierce

Mother's Day is Sunday. I'm sure I didn't have to remind you. No one has to remind me either, since we've been planning it for almost two weeks. We are having a big Crawfish Boil and Tom's parents are coming over, as well as another couple and their three girls.

While we've been busy ordering the live crawfish, developing a cohesive menu (yes, I will send it by email to my mother-in-law AND print one for her to take home), shopping for the shrimp, kielbasa, potatoes and corn on the cob, my in-laws are planning their day here as well.

Last Saturday evening the phone rings.

TOM: Hello, mother (caller ID)
MIL: How did you know it was me? (same question every time he answers the phone)
TOM: I'm psychic (same answer every time she asks that question)
MIL: Tom (she says his name with a long drawn out 'O', then pauses) What time are we having dinner Sunday?
TOM: Sometime late in the afternoon, why? You have somewhere you need to be? Bingo? Skipbo?
MIL: No, we just need to know so we know whether or not to go to the brunch Sunday (the brunch at their retirement home is served around 11:30 or so) and if we were going to eat early at your house then we wouldn't go to brunch. We don't want to be full from brunch.
TOM: Mom. Go to the brunch.
MIL: Okay, well, we just wanted to know. When are you picking us up?
TOM: I don't know yet. I hadn't really thought about it. I'll call you later in the week and let you know.
MIL: Okay, well, bye.
TOM: Bye, Mom.

Tuesday evening the phone rings.

TOM: Hello, mother
MIL: How did you know it was me? (told you; every single time)
TOM: I'm psychic (yep, same answer)
MIL: Tom (again with the long drawn out 'O', and the pause). Are going to have shrimp with that boil?
TOM: Yes, why? (we always put shrimp in the crawfish boil...always)
MIL: Well, we don't like crawfish and we wouldn't be able to eat if you weren't going to have the shrimp, too.
TOM: We're having shrimp, Mom. You will be able to eat.

Once the menu is settled to her liking, they say their good-byes and hang up.

If I'm not in a particularly good mood, I find the inquisition rather annoying and grumble something to the effect of, 'What? She thinks we'll let her starve to death.' But most of the time I just let it roll off my back.

The funny thing is, they both (MIL and FIL) have a myriad of food dislikes, which initially presented a little problem for us. We have adventurous palates. We love all kinds of food, spices, herbs and various preparations. My father-in-law, in particular, does not. No oil. No mayonnaise. No cream cheese. No sour cream. The list is endless. But, what I learned over these past 40+ years is that he just thinks he doesn't like stuff.

About 30 years ago, I stopped telling them what was in the food I made. Well, that's not completely true. I only tell them what I want them to know.

FIL: What's in that?
ME: That is a Caprese Salad. It's homemade mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes and basil leaves with a little drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

What I didn't tell him was that there was also extra virgin olive oil drizzled on the salad. He had two portions of it and even nibbled at it when he was finished with his meal. He's eaten most of his no-no's at my house...mayonnaise, oil, sour cream...without knowing it, and enjoyed every single bite.

As for the crawfish, they really don't actually dislike crawfish. They've eaten it many times at our house. They will eat the tail meat if someone cracks the tail and pulls out the meat for them. But eating crawfish is a slow, social process. You crack the tail (while conversing with others at the table) pull out the tail meat and pop it in your mouth. Just a bite at a time, interspersed with a bite of potato, a bite of sausage, a bite from your corn on the cob and maybe a shrimp every now and then. I think they feel somewhat like my mom did about crawfish or peel and eat'm shrimp. She liked the crawfish meat okay, but she used to say "it's too damn much work for a few bites!" You gotta laugh.

That will be our Mother's Day.

I sort of got my Mother's Day token gift a little early, since we really don't 'do' these artificial holidays. A card is about all we can muster. But, Tom went to Fresh Market in Little Rock last Saturday and brought this home...

Isn't it gorgeous? He really surprises me sometimes.

I know I'm going to be completely immersed on Saturday and Sunday in the preparations for Mother's Day, so I will take the time now to wish all of my family and friends and readers I don't know yet a very Happy Mother's Day. I hope you are surrounded by loving family on your own special day.

Yawn....

I need a nap.

We have been back from our vacation for about a week, but I've been sick with some coughing, sneezing, wheezing, phlegming chest thing that is finally starting to subside.

Here is a quick run down of the last two weeks:

Monday, 12/21 ~ Leave for first leg of trip (Savannah); stop in Pell City over night, eat at the worst Chinese restaurant on the planet, sleep in the worst hotel bed in Alabama.

Tuesday, 12/22 ~ Leave Pell City for Savannah, arrive at Marriott Riverfront and receive free upgrade of balcony room overlooking the river. Lovely.

Unload car, unhitch boat, go to Chris' house, then meet his in-laws down at City Market, where they treated all of us to a carriage ride through old downtown, the carriage pulled by two beautiful gray Peruvian horses (I asked, Rickey!), one of which took a liking to my leopard coat and tried to eat it while I was petting him. My coat was wet with horse slobber for the rest of the evening, but I didn't mind. It was very fun!

Wednesday, 12/23 ~ Shopping for our Secret Santa gifts, a tradition that Hagan started a two or three years ago. We draw names from a hat and purchase a gift for $15 or less to give anonymously as "Secret Santa." The kids get very creative!

Thursday, Christmas Eve, 12/24 ~ More shopping for everyone else, then a pretty quiet night.

Friday, Christmas Day, 12/25 ~ Chaos!! We arrived at Chris' house at 7:00 am and the kids had already been up for hours.


Later was breakfast...


Even later was dinner, but no photo...much too hectic, too many people.

Saturday, 12/26 ~ Deep breath. Sleep in. Back to the mall (to return clothing items too big or too small), to Best Buy (to replace defective Mini) and AT&T to activate my new iPhone (Yay!!!!). Dinner at Jalepenos. Yummy. Say our good-byes and back to hotel.

Sunday, 12/27 ~ Pack it up, hitch it up, gas it up and on the road to Clearwater Beach, Florida by 7:30 am. Oddly, the temperature only rises a couple of degrees as we make our way into central Florida, then over to the gulf coast. Disappointing. We thought for sure temps would be at least in the 70's. Added Clearwater Beach, Florida to weather app on my iPhone. There it is, in black and white...no temps in the 70's predicted all week?? AND I'm starting to feel like crap. AND there's no wireless connection for my computer. But, the view is nice.




A little grocery shopping at Publix. Cheese, crackers, pate, wine. That was dinner. A little TV, exhausted, early to bed.

Monday, 12/28 ~ Woke up feeling worse, but shower, blow-dry, dress WARMLY and drive to John's Pass (Madiera Beach) for lunch at Scully's on the pier. Sun is shining, but it's cool. A little window shopping at the shops, but I got tired so we drove back. Two hour nap and wake up feeling horrible. More cheese, crackers, pate, wine for dinner.

Tuesday, 12/29 ~ It's cold outside, with a cold wind. I feel horrible; have a fever. We decide to leave for home. As we are packing, I pick up a heavy overnight bag, twist and cough at the same time...felt a muscle pull and think, That is going to hurt later. I was right. It started to spasm a couple of hours later. Poor Tom. Trying to massage the muscle and drive at the same time. I cannot make it past Atlanta, where we stop for the night. Up almost all night long with back spasms. Tom doesn't fare any better because I'm making him just as miserable.

Wednesday, 12/30 ~ Back on the last leg of our trip home. Tom deeply massages the muscle before we leave and only has to massage it periodically during the day, but my skin is raw and painful. We arrive home about 5:00 pm and I head straight for my beloved chair massager, for which I will be eternally grateful to my sister, Karen, for purchasing it for me. After an hour, I can at least sit up straight. I'm still sick and both of us are exhausted and in bed by 8:30 pm.

Thursday, 12/31 ~ We eat in New Year's Eve. I'm downing cough syrup and every time I breathe, my chest rattles like an old grocery basket with a bad wheel. Still very tired, but we stay up late...10:30 pm...whoo hoo!! Happy New Year!

And so on, and so on, and so on, through the weekend and into the beginning of this week.

So that is what it has been like around our house. I'm just now starting to feel human. As with the rest of the country, except for probably southern California, we are freezing. Snow is predicted tonight and through tomorrow. I'm cranky and depressed. We were watching a TV program last night (Chef Academy) and I'm so depressed I started to cry when it came to the part where Chef Novelli took his students out deep sea fishing. It was a glorious, warm, sunny day. No one was wearing coats or hats or gloves. Everyone was in shirt sleeves and Novelli got sunburned. I was so jealous.

It's 2010. The new year came in on a rather down note, so I guess there's no where to go but up. At least that's what I'm hoping.

"And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen." ~ Ward Elliot Hour

In my last post, I mentioned the wonderful vacation Tom and I had around the Thanksgiving holiday. The first half was spent with our son, Mike, and his family in the San Francisco Bay Area, Belmont to be exact.

Our grandson, Zak, is heading back to Reno in January to attend a community college there, so I was glad we made the trip when we did and had a chance to spend time with him before he took off to create a life for himself. Even today, when I think about him being 18 years old, I can hardly fathom so many years have passed so quickly. I can still see the little chubby cheeked toddler and that vision does not seem remote at all. Now he has two little sisters, Lily and Zoey, ages 7 and 5, who cry, their mom says, when Zak talks about moving. They will miss him.

But, luckily our time together over this past holiday was not tearful...well, until the end when we left. Before that, we enjoyed every single minute of our visit.

Every morning on our way to Mike's from our hotel, we stopped at the Starbucks on the way. We arrived at their house by about 8:00 am each morning. One day we brought a treat of donuts. Another day we brought yogurt, fruit and granola.

We didn't do any sightseeing. We've been to San Francisco and the adjacent area many times. We lived in the Bay Area for several years when Tom and I first married and continued to visit often after we moved to Lake Tahoe's north shore. So we spent our time just hanging out with the family.

There was, of course, plenty of lap time...


Lily even let Grandpa try to brush her hair...


And there was time to just get goofy...


There was Wii Bowling, Ski Jump and Golf..


Then we played a cut-throat game of Candy Land. There were times you could cut the tension with a knife. And notice that Zoey quietly controlled the game by withholding the cards securely in her little 5-year-old hands...


While Grandpa and Grandma were keeping the kids busy, Mike got a chance to sit down quietly (Mike was quiet, not the kids) and read his magazine...


Mike and Kathy let Tom and I make some appetizers for Thanksgiving Day. We settled on two items. My father-in-law's favorite Mini-Reubens, which aren't really reubens but oven-toasted cocktail rye bread topped with horseradish sauce, slices of kielbasa, some Bavarian sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, then baked in a hot oven until hot.


We also made a Baked Artichoke/Crab Dip (a mixture of chopped artichoke hearts, canned crab, sliced green onions, grated parmesan cheese and enough mayonnaise to bind it all together, then baked for about 30 minutes in the oven until bubbly). I got the recipe from a co-worker probably 25 or 30 years. It is so tasty with toasted bread or crackers.


Thanksgiving dinner was the highlight of the day. Mike made a chive and herb butter and rubbed the turkey with it, then grilled the turkey outside on his barbecue. Boy was it good; moist and flavorful. Lily had dibs on a drumstick, but of course it had to be served on her princess plate...


And Lily didn't hesitate to dig in...


Luckily my dinner was served on a regular plate so I could make room for all the other stuff...mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole (all from scratch, with not a hint of canned soup) and gravy.


After dinner, we took a long walk around their very hilly neighborhood for some much needed fresh air and exercise. The weather was cool, but not cold, and perfect for an early evening jaunt.

The last day of our visit, we went to the beach at Half Moon Bay. While everyone was suffering through below freezing weather here in Arkansas, for the most part (except for a little rain one day) we had beautiful weather. Our day at the beach was no exception....


We were so thrilled to be there, can't you tell??


Lily immediately began to challenge the waves coming into shore, running to safety as they lapped at her heels. Zoey was not quite as adventurous as her sister and kept herself at a very safe distance for quite some time...



When she finally got the nerve to get a little closer and touch the water...


...she was soooo proud of herself...


As I said, Lily was a little more adventurous. With each wave, she allowed the water to get a little closer...


Until she miscalculated the speed of one wave and...


After that, it was complete abandon...


So, how do you think her mom was feeling about her "abandon"???


Yeah, we've all been there, haven't we?

Then it was time to get the family photo. Oops, wait! Zoey's hair is in her eyes...


Oops, now her hands are in the way...


Well, now Zoey's ready, but Lily's not. Oh, well. I guess there's always Photoshop...


Anyway, didn't I tell you it was great??!! We had a blast, but we had to leave and head out to Fresno for the second half of our vacation to reunite with my Aunt Sally and her daughters (my cousins) Randy, Debbie and Rickey, all of whom I had not seen in about 20 years.

My cousin Rickey and her husband, Robert, generously provided a place for us to stay, opened their home and hosted everything!

As we did at Mike's, mostly we just hung out and talked and laughed about anything and everything. At the end of our first day, Tom and I went with Rickey to feed the horses at the ranch where she boards her three.

This is Rickey's fresian. What a gorgeous animal...the horse...


Robert and Tom loaded hay, oats and something else I can't remember onto a small trailer and drove from stall to stall and corral to corral giving horses specific quantities and grains.


I walked with Rickey behind the hay trailer that Robert and Tom were riding, but my specific job was mostly just staying out of the way and taking photos...


The next day, Rickey invited the whole family over for dinner. And Rickey cooked and cooked and cooked, but Robert deserves honorable mention because he grilled the steaks. Rickey started early with an array of yummy appetizers, but she did not miss the opportunity to make us Arkys feel completely at home by serving okra, a southern staple. Luckily, it was pickled okra. The only kind of okra I will eat.

Anyway, the dinner was amazing. Grilled steaks, truffled mashed potatoes (so incredibly delicious!), fresh steamed asparagus, hot french bread and a spinach dish I would have gladly kept for myself if I could have gotten away with it. It was simple (lightly sauteed spinach topped with toasted pine nuts and shaved parmesan cheese), but so darn tasty!


And here we are all together...in one place...at the same time...after 20 years. I can hardly believe it.


The following night, we had another fantastic meal which included a tender and juicy ham, roasted sweet potatoes and a slaw that will become a staple at my house. Instead of using mayonnaise for the dressing, Rickey mixed the cabbage with two or three containers of fruit-flavored low fat yogurt (peach and mango, I think), then she mixed in some roasted pine nuts and whole pomegranate seeds. It was heavenly. I wanted to make it this weekend, but Kroger didn't have pomegranate seeds (oh, that's a surprise!). I suppose I will have to make a trip to Little Rock.

That afternoon before that wonderful dinner, we all went out to Table Mountain Casino, about 15 minutes or so outside of Fresno. Tom was the big winner in our group with almost $1,000, but we all won something and all of us walked away with more money than we took with us.

Except for our visit to the stables and the casino, we essentially just sat around and visited. Even my cousins' kids and grandkids would come and go periodically. It was a whirlwind of people, some of whom I'd known almost my whole life and others I was meeting for the first time.

What struck me with my aunt and cousins is how damn good they all look! Not that I expected them to look bad or anything, but we are aging and they all still look so darn good! My Aunt Sally is almost 80 years old, but does this look like the face of a woman that age???


No, it doesn't. And she looks even better in person!

Besides the generous hospitality, the conversations, the laughter, the wonderful meals, the very best part of that visit was experiencing that sense of family...the continuity, the connection, the familiarity, the history. Even though we had not seen each other in so many years, it's still there and I am so grateful for it.