Happy Thanksgiving

 

Morning walk, last week.

        

There hasn’t been much movement of the egg the past month.  I did get it washed, waxed, and back under the storage shed, ready for the next journey.  Lots of planning going on for 2016.  Watching the ol’ El Nino to see what it may bring to Arizona come January.  We have plenty of cool and wet at home, so don’t want to travel a thousand miles to experience the same.  Florida’s crowds might not be too bad, after all.

Other than that, we have been doing the routine things that come from having a home in the country.  Picking up limbs, raking pine straw, and cutting grass.  Yep, the grass is still growing down South.

You can see that I’m getting lots of help from my support staff.

November is a big birthday month for us. Lots of family members celebrating around Thanksgiving. Wanda and I both celebrate ours this week.  We gave ourselves tickets to a Cirque du Soliel show in Jackson the past weekend.  An awesome show presented by about 30 spectacular athletes.  How do they do that?

Our youngest daughter’s birthday was yesterday, and she wanted boiled shrimp as her birthday meal.  No problem.

         

Would you believe that I forgot to take a picture of the finished product?  Believe me, they were fantastic.

Tomorrow will find us at my niece’s home.  Somewhere between 35 and 50 family members will join together to celebrate Thanksgiving.  A tradition that has been a part of my life as long as I can remember.  We’ll have the usual turkey and dressing, as well as ham, and chicken and dumplings.  The sides too numerous to pick from, but will include sweet potatoes, beans, peas, corn, fried okra, salads, compotes, and who knows what else.  Pies and cakes for desert.  Decisions, decisions.

We wish everyone of you a Happy Thanksgiving Day.  If we only stop and look around, we see that we have many things to be thankful for.

Hopefully, things will pick up on the blog in January.  Stay tuned……jc

The Egg has Rolled.

 

Dealing with elderly family issues has occupied much of our time the last couple of months.  Wanda’s mom has been doing exceptionally well.  Almost scary that she may attempt something she shouldn’t, and there we go, again.

The last month or two we have been dealing with my family members.  An elderly Aunt and Uncle.  I think I mentioned the passing of the Uncle in my last post.  Since that time,  the Aunt has managed to fall, breaking her lower leg in two places and having surgery.  Let’s just say she isn’t a good patient, and leave it at that.

Before, and during all that, we did manage a few road trips.  One didn’t involve the Casita, or even an overnight stay.  My brother and I made a trip down to Biloxi.  No, not the casinos, but the shrimp boats.

 

Jumbo shrimp, fresh from the Gulf.  $2.50 a lb.  De-heading included in price.  I don’t know how these hard working folks make a living selling their product so cheap, but I’ll take it.  I got forty pounds, brother got fifty.  Just wish we had a larger freezer. 

There was a Fiberglass RV rally at the Land Between the Lakes the first of October.  We had reservations in the campground which we had made months ago.  So, why not go? The area lies on the Tennessee-Kentucky border and is a great RV destination. No pictures of the rally itself.  We did get to visit with a number of old friends, and made a few new ones.   Lots of wildlife can be easily seen.  Much or it not expected.

She turned me down!

Feathered Friends.

What is it?

Albino Ground Hog?

Back home for a couple weeks, and it was time for the Great Mississippi River Balloon Races.  Early Friday morning media flight.

Two of my hearts in that basket.  Daughter and Granddaughter.

They’re off.

We’re on top.

 

Drifting over the harvested corn fields of Louisiana.

As it turned out, that was the only flight of the weekend.  A cold front moved through mid day Friday.  Saturday morning dawned cool and windy.  Same for Sunday.

Much better days for fishing.

We left Natchez  Sunday afternoon for East Texas.  Another fiberglass RV rally.  Stopped Sunday at our favorite overnight  campsite.  Grilled some rib-eyes, poured a glass of wine, and enjoyed a quiet campfire.

                                                                

Found this sitting on my hood Monday morning.  Apparently waiting on the sun to warm  up, as he/she was gone shortly after I got this pic.

                              

The Pine Knot Rally is held annually near Crockett, Texas.  Over a hundred trailers of different makes and models.  Lots of friends.  We did a little geocaching.

                        

Heavy rains from Patricia cover much of Texas as I write this.  Hopefully, it will end the drought conditions without causing too much flood damage.  Until next time…..jc

Life is Never Scheduled

 

Let’s see if I can do a compilation of the last four weeks.

First off is the death of an uncle.  Not just any uncle, but the patriarch of our family.  At almost 88 years of age, he was still going strong.  Taking care of his wife of 65 years, and being the conscious of his nieces and nephews.  He was the one always reminding us to visit the sick, attend the funerals, give to the needy, and much more. We talked often, and though the calls were to check on him and his wife, afterward you realized he was really checking on us.  From a fall, to a broken leg, to a blood clot, and death; all within five days.  A reminder that one never knows.  Also,I’m not sure I like being the oldest member of the clan.

Afterward, we decided to get on the road for a while.  We attended the Kansas Eggstravaganza, of which I didn’t take one picture.  Had a great time with friends, old and new.  I did visit Ft. Riley, but was left feeling more a criminal than a U.S. citizen.  The things we must do to visit historical sites within military facilities has become a real pain.  Though I had plans to visit the Museum of Cavalry, the Custer home, and the Kansas Territorial Capitol, the lack of maps, directions, or information in general, had me feeling unwelcome.  Only visited the museum before departing the grounds.

How to protect yourself, and your mount during a gas attack.

We drove to Abilene one day to visit President Eisenhower's home and library.  His boyhood home.

Library.

Grave marker.

On the way to Abilene, we happened upon a namesake town.  Always thought Chapman was of English origin, but Irish will do.

Eased our way up into Iowa.  First stop was Pella.  A beautiful small town which is home to Pella windows and Vermeer agricultural equipment.  A town created by Dutch settlers in the mid 1800’s, and very proud of their Dutch heritage.  A real windmill, built by Dutch craftsmen, anchors a corner of downtown. It powers a mill that grinds wheat into flour for the local bakeries, as well as sale to the public.

Replica sod house that the settlers lived in.

A Dutch bedroom. Did you know they slept sitting up?

Wyatt Earp lived here for a short period of time.

Of course, there is a tulip festival each year.

Tulip queens from years past.

Some of the Queen’s costumes.

Leave your shoes at the door.

Did I mention Dutch bakeries?  How does one decide what to purchase?

We had plans to visit the butcher shops the next day.  Shops that still make sausage, bologna, and other products just the same as 1900.  A phone call changed all that.

A friend from my childhood had passed away.  We started first grade together, reconnected again in the 1970’s, and our kids grew up together.  His family requested that I be a pallbearer.  Homeward bound….jc