Well what a day its been and to think that now I'm a celebrated Veteran of the Vietnam Era. I was just a 20 year old when I started my military service with the USAF in 1966. I had the fortune to be in a unit that carried personnel(soldiers, med-evac's, etc), material(bombs, weapons, airplane parts, etc) into the war zone in all areas of Vietnam on a C-141A jet aircraft. I also had the dubious job of taking care of the KIA's returning to the States. At that age one doesn't think about the finality that comes with war, but now as I look back on what I could have missed had I been a casualty I shudder to think I would not have had; Nancy, Bobby, Amy and my 4 beautiful grand babies. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who today put their lives in danger that I might continue to love and enjoy my family.
After my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal with a banana and blueberries I headed out to work in the garden and back yard. I edged, mowed and clipped all before Ava came at 10 AM. I was watching her while Nancy and Amy went shopping. We rode the trike, did sidewalk chalk drawing and then she helped me wash off the N.C. mud and dirt from the truck. We had a busy morning until the girls got home around 12:30. I made us a lite lunch and then I played with Sam while the girls ate. He is trying to crawl but it looks like the Army crawl on his belly and not his knees. Ava wanted to watch TOY STORY 3 so I set that up for her.
After the kids left around 2 PM I caught up on a little reading for a couple hours sitting in the back yard under the shade tree, my it was nice out. I think it may have reached 80 today but with no humidity. We haven't had the A/C on since we've been home but Amy has had the heat on in the mornings at her house.
We had Nancy's folks and Amy and the kids for supper tonight with marinated chicken breasts for fajitas, yellow rice and black beans and a salad. Wow was that ever good almost as good as the deer steaks(ground) last night. That has become my favorite all time meat. YIKES is that ever good eatin' and good for you. I can barely keep my eyes open after my shower and I'm having a hard time finishing this piece and its only 8:30. LATER
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Wednesday
Well after a good night's rest I was raring to go at 6:30 this morning. After my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal I pedalled to the rec for some pickle ball at 7:30. There I met up with a couple other players and we had some great play the first 45 minutes so much so that by 9:30 I was exhausted. I'm sure by next week I will once again be back in shape for these 2 hours of continuous play. We had some great play today and when 10 AM arrived I was ready to head for the house on my bike. The rec is closed tomorrow for Veterans Day so I will do much more garden and yard work and very little running. Nancy says she wants to walk the hood tomorrow.
After the rec I did a little garden work while Nancy did her thing on the treadmill. The temps were in the high 60's and eventually reached the low 80's. Just a marvelous day weather wise. We had a couple left over burgers for lunch then headed out to Home Depot for some fertilizer, lime and grass plugs then headed on over to Sam's Club for some goodies for tomorrow nights dinner with Nancy's folks and Amy and the kids.
Let me comment on Bobby's dinner last night which was unbelievably tasty. He took a pork rib roast and broiled it with sage, garlic and yellow peaches then made a gravy from the drippings with white wine, mustard and Worcester sauce, YUMMM. He did a brown rice and Nancy did a fresh salad. Wow was that ever good eatin.
Well we are getting ready to head out to house church tonight where we will have a bonfire and to smores. I have a lot of small limbs and twigs from the big oak tree in the front yard so I will do the fire. Ava and Samuel are coming so we will get to visit with them as well. LATER
After the rec I did a little garden work while Nancy did her thing on the treadmill. The temps were in the high 60's and eventually reached the low 80's. Just a marvelous day weather wise. We had a couple left over burgers for lunch then headed out to Home Depot for some fertilizer, lime and grass plugs then headed on over to Sam's Club for some goodies for tomorrow nights dinner with Nancy's folks and Amy and the kids.
Let me comment on Bobby's dinner last night which was unbelievably tasty. He took a pork rib roast and broiled it with sage, garlic and yellow peaches then made a gravy from the drippings with white wine, mustard and Worcester sauce, YUMMM. He did a brown rice and Nancy did a fresh salad. Wow was that ever good eatin.
Well we are getting ready to head out to house church tonight where we will have a bonfire and to smores. I have a lot of small limbs and twigs from the big oak tree in the front yard so I will do the fire. Ava and Samuel are coming so we will get to visit with them as well. LATER
Tuesday
Well this will be short and sweet as its been non-stop since arriving back in warm sunny Florida on Monday evening. Today, found me awake after being very restless at all hours of the night and unable to adjust to; the bed, the night noises(sirens, loud cars and motorcycles) and being by where the air and water seemed to all have been used at least once. I was up and getting ready to head out to the rec early for some pickle ball after my quiet time and a bowl of oatmeal with some mountain grown, hand picked blue berries. Yikes did that ever take me back a couple months ago when I picked those babies while looking out on Pilot Mountain and down off into the beautiful mountains and hills, oh well excuse me for digressing.
Pickle ball was great and it was so great to be welcomed back by so many and we had several new players and some really great play for the morning with about 15 players. I was whipped as that was the first real cardio-vascular exercise I had participated in since October. Chain sawing, splitting wood, digging dirt and hiking only taxes your muscles but running around chasing a little green ball causing you to sweat and get out of breath is another story, but I love it. Anyhow after the 2 hour workout I stopped by at the library and got a warm welcome back from the gals there and picked up 3 books at had ordered while still in N.C. last week. There the books were so they all knew I was heading back for the winter.
I pedalled home and worked in the garden until Amy and the kids came for lunch then worked some more after a sandwich before getting ready to head over to Bobby's in Riverview. (I will post pics later), the dinner was amazing as he is a superb chef as well. We had a great time loving up on Annsley and Gabey. I was dozing by 9 PM and decided we had better head for Seminole which was an hour away. Sleep was good last night and I was awake at 6:30 this morning and ready to head out for the rec. Will catch up on Bobby's dinner last night, later. LATER
Pickle ball was great and it was so great to be welcomed back by so many and we had several new players and some really great play for the morning with about 15 players. I was whipped as that was the first real cardio-vascular exercise I had participated in since October. Chain sawing, splitting wood, digging dirt and hiking only taxes your muscles but running around chasing a little green ball causing you to sweat and get out of breath is another story, but I love it. Anyhow after the 2 hour workout I stopped by at the library and got a warm welcome back from the gals there and picked up 3 books at had ordered while still in N.C. last week. There the books were so they all knew I was heading back for the winter.
I pedalled home and worked in the garden until Amy and the kids came for lunch then worked some more after a sandwich before getting ready to head over to Bobby's in Riverview. (I will post pics later), the dinner was amazing as he is a superb chef as well. We had a great time loving up on Annsley and Gabey. I was dozing by 9 PM and decided we had better head for Seminole which was an hour away. Sleep was good last night and I was awake at 6:30 this morning and ready to head out for the rec. Will catch up on Bobby's dinner last night, later. LATER
Monday, November 8, 2010
Monday
Well we made it back safely and in good time after leaving at 4:45 AM we hit the outskirts of Tampa right around 3 PM. We made a 1/2 hour stop at Nancy's folks then headed on to the house to unpack. Everything looked great and many thanks to neighbor Jim for keeping the yard in good shape and to Tyler for watering my garden. I have green tomato's about the size of a golf ball. The temps here had cooled off the past couple of days and we heard where many have had their heat on already. Wow can't believe the heat has been on with these beautiful temps of in the 60's. This morning it was 27 at the foot of the mountain whereas it was 35 when we left the cabin. Of course the heat has been on for us for days with the temps in the 20's, yikes 60's feels like a heat wave.
After unpacking and watering the many seedlings and plants I brought down from the mountain we headed over for supper with Amy, Tyler, Ava and Sam. Amy had a fresh salad, corn muffins and chicken noodle soup, she's getting to be as good a cook as her mother. It was great eatin' and we played with the grand babies until about 7:30 when I needed a shower to wake up. Tomorrow we are heading over to Riverview(about 50 miles away) to visit with son Bobby, Jill, Annsley and baby Gabriel and have supper with them as well.
Well will close as I have tons of mail to open, bills to pay, etc. It sure was different to be back in a neighbor where your neighbor is just right next door on both sides and when you look out your kitchen window you see another fence in the back yard, but the temps are nice and tomorrow its supposed to hit the low 80's. I need to start working on a tan as I've been wearing long pants and sweat shirts the past couple weeks. I'm looking forward to getting back on the pickle ball courts at 8 AM tomorrow for a good 2 hour workout.
Once again I want to thank all who have made this summer a great one even though we were back in Florida 5 different times. We will really miss all who have become family there in the mountain community; the great meals, super games of sequence, spades, hearts and domino's and the working together for a common goal. We love you all and we hope you have a mild winter and are looking forward to next May when we can renew our friendships. LATER
After unpacking and watering the many seedlings and plants I brought down from the mountain we headed over for supper with Amy, Tyler, Ava and Sam. Amy had a fresh salad, corn muffins and chicken noodle soup, she's getting to be as good a cook as her mother. It was great eatin' and we played with the grand babies until about 7:30 when I needed a shower to wake up. Tomorrow we are heading over to Riverview(about 50 miles away) to visit with son Bobby, Jill, Annsley and baby Gabriel and have supper with them as well.
Well will close as I have tons of mail to open, bills to pay, etc. It sure was different to be back in a neighbor where your neighbor is just right next door on both sides and when you look out your kitchen window you see another fence in the back yard, but the temps are nice and tomorrow its supposed to hit the low 80's. I need to start working on a tan as I've been wearing long pants and sweat shirts the past couple weeks. I'm looking forward to getting back on the pickle ball courts at 8 AM tomorrow for a good 2 hour workout.
Once again I want to thank all who have made this summer a great one even though we were back in Florida 5 different times. We will really miss all who have become family there in the mountain community; the great meals, super games of sequence, spades, hearts and domino's and the working together for a common goal. We love you all and we hope you have a mild winter and are looking forward to next May when we can renew our friendships. LATER
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sunday
Wow this morning was the coldest yet with temps near 20 degrees, frost and ice everywhere. All of the plants and flowers are history for this year, yet by afternoon it had once again moderated to a nice 44 degrees with lots of sunshine and blue skies. We were having our 7 th annual homecoming luncheon after worship at Cornerstone so Nancy was busy putting together the Mexican rice casserole and cheese cake. We headed out around 9:30 as there was ice all over the roof and hood of the truck. BRRR!!!
We had a nice crowd and there was tons of food. There were lots of handshakes, hugs and a few tears as we bid farewell to this loving group of believers. We will certainly miss them and except for family in Florida we might think twice about leaving here; but be as we do this is one great group of folks and we are counting the days until we return. They certainly have made us feel welcomed and loved.
After the luncheon we stopped by our dear friends the Daltons and picked up the frozen deer meat Andy and Caleb processed for us last evening, Yikes are we gonna have some great eatin' this winter. They also loaded us up with some trout and a dozen of their home grown fresh eggs and a fresh home made Christmas wreath. Thanks again too the Dalton Family for your generosity and friendship.
After getting back to the cabin it had warmed up to the high 40's so we wanted to get once last walk in this year to the top and we started out. We saw no one else but Zeke the Brownings dog so he walked with and was having a grand time. He strode right on past our cutoff and headed back to his home as we came to the back trail that runs down to the cabin. Nancy decided she wanted one more golf cart ride so we headed over to our "mountain moms" cabin for a visit on the golf cart. It was a little chilly but a nice ride. We forgot to bring the leftover pumpkin pie with us so she came back to our place for a brief visit and to get the pie.
After Helen left, neighbor Gerald and his brother-in-law came by for a short visit as they are preparing for a big deer hunt the next couple days. Its great to know he will harvest a few of these "garden munchers" and keep an eye on our place as well. Daughter Amy called as well as sister Dee. I burned the last of the paper trash then loaded the truck except for the coolers and whats in the refrigerator. Its a 3:30 wake up and hopefully a 5 AM departure after draining the pipes and pouring anti-freeze in all the commodes, traps and bathtub.
Well we will be away from this keyboard for a day or so as we travel back to Florida. Here are a couple pics taken today. LATER
Pictures from Saturday's Blog
Well as you can see winter has arrived and with a bang. The temps have been down into the 20's with a wind in the teens, YIKES we are wimping out on all these mountain folks and heading for warmer climates. Notice the snow and ice, I almost forgot the word SNOW is a "dirty word" and not to be used around here. Check out whats left of the 8 point buck that will be heading(no pun intended) south with us of course frozen and in a cooler thanks to Andy.
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