Weekend Adventures...Away from the Pine

Oh, my goodness! It's already been five days since I posted. That is so hard to believe. I guess I've been busy. I have to go to work sometime today, so I better type fast!!!

Since we last talked, I've put nearly 1,000 miles on this old body. Thankfully, it's been mostly riding/driving in a car.

Wednesday afternoon we headed back to Chiefland to my brother's home for New Year's Eve festivities. We enjoyed some of the BEST oysters EVER that night. Here's a picture of me enjoying one...

My brothers and husband were very sweet to do the work shucking so that I could enjoy. We had them straight out of the shell and roasted over the fire.

This picture shows (from L-R) my little brother Alan on the left with the hat, my SIL Jeannie waving at the camera, Mr. Fix-It just above her head, CJ and Bex over on the swing, me sucking down an oyster, and my oldest brother Chuck. All of the men were busy shucking oysters...this takes much concentration.


We must be getting old, because we barely made it to the New Year awake! Folks started heading home about 10pm...so by midnight, we were all stretched out on the couches in front of the television trying to stay awake long enough to see the ball drop in Times Square and the guy jump his motorcycle up on a building in Las Vegas. Oh, the excitement! LOL!!

After a wonderful lunch on New Year's Day and me SMASHING the other gals in Tri-Ominoes, we headed back to Tallytown arriving home about 11pm.

On Friday, I re-packed my clothes and headed back south to Chiefland alone. When I got to the Suwannee River I decided I had better fill up with gas. My fuel gage wasn't showing that I was really low on fuel, but for some reason it seemed important to fill up before getting to Chiefland. So, I'm figuring it took me from 5-8 minutes to accomplish this. (Yes, I know you're wondering why I'm going into such detail...just hang on...I'll tell you!)

After filling up, I headed on down the road towards Chiefland. As I came to the first traffic light (where I usually turn to go to my brother's home) there seemed to be dozens of flashing lights --from police cars, fire engines, and ambulances. The traffic was stopped on both sides of the 4-lane highway. The emergency vehicles were still arriving at what appeared to be a serious car accident. Whew! It was quite a sight.

I called my SIL to help me re-route around the accident which was fairly easy. But as I was driving through the very dark night to their home, it occurred to me that had I not stopped for gas, I could very well have been in that intersection and involved in the accident 5-10 minutes earlier. Have I said, "God is Good!"? I'm convinced it was His urging that had me stopping for gas that night.

After arriving at my brother's home, we had wonderful grilled hamburgers and I gave my SIL a re-match in Tri-Ominoes. I beat her AGAIN! Wahoo! This is extremely rare, because she usually trounces me.

After my victory, I headed to my dad's home in Bronson. I was going to stay with him so that we could leave for S. Carolina at 7am on Saturday. We were headed to a memorial service for a cousin who died on Christmas morning.

The fog was so dense on Saturday morning, my dad woke me up early so that we could leave earlier. The fog was like pea soup in some places, so I'm glad we weren't feeling rushed!

We made it to Beaufort, SC just in time for the visitation time. I met several cousins for the first time. It was the first time in many years that I had seen my great-aunt, who will be 90 years old this year. It was her daughter, Carolyn, who died after a long battle with Alzheimers. At 89, my aunt has a clear mind and is quite spry for her age. It was a delight to have the opportunity to talk with her --even at such a hard time for her.

After the memorial service, at noon, we headed back towards Florida. My dad doesn't believe in letting any grass grow while he's away! LOL!! We spent about 10 hours together with nobody else to interrupt us --except for a few cell phone calls. It was wonderful! At 71, I'm thrilled to be able to spend time with him.

We made it back to Bronson about 7:30. By 9pm, I was sacked out in the bed! Why does 'riding' make you tired? I surely don't know.

After a terrific breakfast of cheese toast and hot chocolate, I headed back to Tallytown...just in time for my Sunday afternoon nap.

It was pretty upsetting to me that Bex and Mr. Fix-It seemed to do just fine without me! What's the deal there? Friday night, Bex cooked a nice supper of BBQ chicken, smashed taters and green beans. Why doesn't she do that when Mom is home? When I arrived on Sunday afternoon, they had just returned from church and Bex was cooking pancakes. Hmmmm....I'll have to make a note...she CAN cook when she wants! Me thinks she is going to "want" to cook more often!!

Thus ends my weekend adventures. God is good all the time!

Stay tuned!