Time is running away from me

Okay...I figure if I'm going to finish up the story of our trip to Alabama, I'd better just do it, because Christmas will be here in three days! and then it's going to be 2015!
After our day back at the farm on Saturday...we were all invited to my niece Jennifer's house for a party that night. Everyone was supposed to be there...Justin and Darby were on their way back from their trip and stopping by to see us; so I was excited about that.

Jennifer was busy the day before hanging all her lights and decorating the back yard. It was like a wonderland back there....hahah

and there was lots to eat and drink. Naturally the big game was on TV----Alabama/Auburn. Even bigger rivalry than usual...because of the play-off implications for the winners/losers. And more importantly after the way Auburn came back to win last year! Alabama was out for revenge. The Alabama fans (Dave, John (sort of) and I, were out numbered by all the other Auburn graduates...Ryan, Dona, Darby, Justin, and their kids. (Ken, Sandy and Chase are TN fans...not sure who they were hoping would win). But luckily...Alabama was in control!

It was cold that night.....

                       not snowing...but cold enough to enjoy sitting by the fireplace.

Bill has been telling us about a magnum of champagne he has had for a few years...we decided this was the time to crack it open and have a toast....to family and friends.

The kids had fun running all around the yard.....There was a big tree house, slide and I'm not sure what else back there. Bill had told us earlier that Jennifer and Dave's yard was like a Sandals resort...hahah
While the adults watched the game, talked and ate....the kids had lots of fun.

Some of us checked out the "man cave" in the back. One of the kids trying out the deluxe massaging chair.

                                                    Others tried the elliptical machine

Back outside Jennifer came around with some S'mores dip she had made...I believe her words were something like"Ya'll need to eat this, because I made it myself and I don't cook anything" What's not to like about melted chocolate and mini marshmallows on bite sized graham crackers.
As the night wore on, the little girls found out Chase's girlfriend Becky was a cheer coach. Before long, she was in the back room teaching a couple of the girls a little routine.

"Gigi" and her grand daughters

                Becky (in blue) coaching the girls while they showed us their new routine

                                      Everyone had their cameras ready to capture the action
After the girls did their routine Chase showed us his skills...he jumped up (good jump) and did a sort of split and touched his toes...I wasn't quick enough to catch him in the act...but some did....hahah

                            I think Ken got one of the best pictures of Chase in action...hahah

                                                  Cousins, a second cousin and Uncle Ken

                                Switch-now it's the girls with their grandmother and Great Aunt Anne
The night was winding down. I was having a good time...enjoying the champagne...but trying not to talk any one's ear off.....like I tend to do sometimes. I did my best to chat with everyone and ....more importantly...listen to them...hahah. Actually I did more listening than talking that night....it was nice to catch up on the latest goings on with family members we hadn't seen in 6,7,8 years. Before I left I had to take a quick peek at Ava's doll collection...she has a lot of American Girl dolls...and like Megan used to do...she has them all set up in her room...just the way she wants them. I know Sandy and Kathie thought I was a little loopy when I said I was going to stay a minute and I asked to see the dolls;and told the others to head home without me...hahah. But I just took a quick peek, talked to the girls about them for a minute and then walked down the street. As a matter of fact...I walk fast enough...that I actually got to the house right as the rest of the group was going in the front door. I think I surprised them...hahah they probably thought I'd be down at J & D's house talking the night away...looking at all the dolls and accessories

We took a couple more pictures before we all headed down the street to Bill and Kathie's house.

We had to get up early the next day to drive back to Florida, so we didn't want to stay too late.

John and I got up the next day early and got on the road, hoping to beat some of the traffic home. Our plan worked...we had "smooth sailing" the whole way home, no construction, no accidents (we passed at least three on the other side of the interstate along the way) and no rain! I had prepared myself for the worst...so in spite of the number of hours in the car...the trip back wasn't bad at all.We actually made it back in record time! It was a very nice Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgving Weekend

The day after Thanksgiving we all slept in a little.

Kathie has all kinds of holiday decorations around her house

 John and I took a walk around Bill & Kathie's neighborhood. Years ago they lived a few blocks up the road...so we walked over to the old neighborhood and walked around the block a few times.It was fun to see the Alabama and Auburn fans with all their team decorations up...(just like FL/FSU fans down our way)...because after all, it was a big weekend for football fans. when we got back to the house everyone was starting to move around. Kathie gave Sandy, Becky and I a tour of her gardens and her greenhouse. I've seen pictures of the garden in full bloom...it's lovely; this was a view of the garden at rest. We decided to go to a few stores in town..it was Black Friday after all. I just wanted to go to a few of the local stores that I only see when in town; none of us were interested in hitting the mall for "big" sales...just a few local shops in town. Seeing all the Christmas decorations was nice, it kind of got me in the holiday mood. I had been trying to avoid being around  too much "Christmas" stuff , I like it more if I wait until after Thanksgiving.
The four of us shopped around town and then made our way back to the house.
Ryan, Dona and family had invited us all over to their house for dinner Friday night. When we were last in town, their house was under construction, so I was looking forward to seeing it (...done and lived in for several years.).

We got over there right around dark; so I didn't really see what the yard and outside area looked like.

living room

Anne and nephew Ryan

Ryan with Aunt Sandy

Dona chatting with Becky and Kathie

Dinner was nice. It gave us a chance to sit and talk with our great-nieces and nephews. As I mentioned, we last saw them 6 years ago, so they didn't really remember us. We heard about various school and sports activities they are all involved in. It turns out the Dona started teaching a 3 year old pre-school class this year, so she and I traded stories about reasons why we like being around little kids day in and day out. we may or may not have talked about various crazy parents too...hahah
As I expected...they had a lovely home. It's big...but comfortable and very homey. Not over done at all.
We made a plan to go back to the farm the next day with part of the gang; and then we were all going to my niece Jennifer's house that night. Even Justin and Darby were going to join us...they were on their way back from Illinois at that point.
Saturday was another beautiful day...cool but sunny. We walked around the property. John was showing me some of the spots Bill had showed him the day before. we took a nice long walk around the blueberry patch and some of the rows of trees...all the way out to the neighboring property where there was cotton growing. I had to sneak over (not really sneak...no one was around) and pick some cotton.

view out the front door...pretty on a late November day

John, Bill, Chase, Ken and I took the golf carts over to the creek to look for some more "artifacts" and treasures. Chase had a metal detector...they had found a few things the day before and he was eager to go back and see what else might be out there.

 

John told me there were plenty of big trees over in that area, so there might be one easy enough to climb. we found this one...we didn't get too high...I know my limits...hahaha but it was fun to get up in a big tree!

Me and my nephew Chase

 

wouldn't be a trip to the woods without me stopping to look at the leaves

After exploring around a bit down by the water, John and I decided to walk back to the house. It was a nice long walk back and it felt great being outside on a beautiful day. There were plenty of left overs to finish off and we just relaxed. Jennifer and Ava stopped by to visit.

Ava, Kathie,Jennifer,Anne & Sandy

Chase showing off his "finds"

Uncle Johnny with great niece Ava

Great Aunt Anne and Ava telling each other stories

And eventually....John had to take the Chevelle for a spin. He took it around, then came back to give me a ride.

Nice afternoon sun on the lake behind him in this photo.

It's funny how things work out

This year we were invited to join John's brother and his family up in Alabama for Thanksgiving. After our get together in October...where everyone had such a great time...they suggested that we join them. At the time I didn't have my schedule for November, so we decided to wait and see. As it turned out, I had the weekend off...(we always get Thursday & Friday...but I happened to be off that Saturday too) so we decided to make the trip. I was not looking forward to the drive...7 1/2 hrs or so...maybe longer in traffic. I had to work until 4pm...so we wouldn't get out of town until 5/5:30pm. Our plan was to just get on the road and drive for about 5 hours or so and then stop for the night. Traffic really wasn't too bad...I figure most people probably got on the road earlier...there wasn't ANY road construction (can't remember the last time we went that far without encountering any construction!) and folks were moving along at a good speed. It was a little congested around the Wildwood rest area, right before we got on I-75....but John was driving so I didn't have to worry. we got up to about 1 hour out of Tallahassee and called it a night. (His brother was joking...asked if we were stopping at the Villages -a retirement community in Central Florida,for the night)
We stayed at a really nice Best Western and it worked out great. We had a good night's sleep, got up early, had the free breakfast at the hotel and then headed towards Dothan. We did stop for a good cup of coffee at this McDonald's in Marianna, FL.

It must be one of the original McDonald's...but it was being renovated on the inside. Got my large coffee and headed northwest.
Because it was Thanksgiving morning, and early, there was very little traffic on the roads. The people that were on the road were moving along. we had a nice relaxing 2-2 1/2 hr drive.
We were meeting everyone at John's brother's farm. They built a house, finished up during this last year, on the property and  that was where we planned to have Thanksgiving dinner. We arrived before the rest of the gang. It was a beautiful day...chilly but clear...so we rolled the windows down , turned up the music (we brought our portable BOSE player...perfect for the long drive) and just relaxed until Bill and Ken(John's brother-in-law ) and  nephew Chase arrived.

entrance to the property

 

Chase in the back of the house

They wanted to build a simple, old style house...similar to what would have been there back in the early 1900's.

I love the kitchen. They have wood counter tops...made from a tree that was on the property.

 Justin (my nephew) found this old screen door that they decided to use for the pantry door.

I love the kitchen with it's vintage feel. The wood counter tops are made from a tree that was on the property. John's brother asked the builder (?) if they could use it for the counter tops...something he had never done...but it worked out well. They look great.

We got inside, took the food out of the refrigerator and started preheating the oven. Once that was done...Bill gave us a tour.(that is- John and I, his brother-in-law Ken and Chase. (they came from Tennessee)

upstairs in the "loft" area there are plenty of beds for visitors/grandchildren and a cat walk that goes around from one side to the other

                                   When Sandy and Kathie arrived, we set the table for dinner.

 

When you go out the front door....this is the view. It's a man made lake. They have a canoe that Ken took out to paddle around in. He came back and got Sandy.( I never did go out in the canoe.)

Originally they got the land and sold pine straw. Justin worked on the farm with a couple of hired hands. He also has some bees that he keeps on the property...hence the name Honey Bee Farms.

well, three years ago Justin was hired by BP ,after the oil spill in the gulf, and he and his family moved to Orange Beach, Alabama. Bill couldn't really keep up with the pine straw business, but that's when the idea to build the house got started. Now they are growing some trees for lumber, keeping bees, growing blueberries and Satsuma oranges. Slowly the plan is evolving for how they want to move forward. There is a creek on the property (Big Creek)...that runs down to the river some miles away. They are hoping to put in a swimming hole. There is also the remains of an old grist mill in the water...something that has definitely intrigued them, especially Justin who studied Anthropology.

We also walked around a bit outside. We walked down to the barn/garage to see if the golf carts were ready to ride around in. There was an issue with air pressure in the tires. Chase and Ken went looking for a compressor. Next John went up, then Bill. Turns out none of the compressors were working properly...

So...the plan to tour the property in the golf cart was scrapped for the day...we just walked around a bit.
Meanwhile back at the house....Kathie, Sandy and Becky (Chase's girlfriend) were getting things together.

John, Becky, and (his sister) Sandy

We had dinner....we were expecting our nephew Ryan and his family to join us at some point. They had eaten earlier in the day at Dona's parent's house. They told us to start without them...they would join us for dessert.
As the title says..."It's funny how things work out"...Bill and Kathie came to our reunion in October, but Sandy did not, neither did our nephew and his family. (for a variety of reasons) . Apparently though, after our successful get-together...Bill and Kathie told their kids about what a great time they had had with everyone and how nice it was to see family members they hadn't seen in a long time. (Lori and Gary also had only good things to say about it)From that point on...it seems like they all have gone out of their way to make an effort to meet up. Since I was so disappointed to miss them when they all came to Florida...this was a nice change. I feel like they now realize how important it is to make the effort to stay in touch. And it is satisfying to know that I played a big part in the process.
It was great to see Ryan and his family. We enjoyed meeting his children (again) we haven't seen them in 6 years...so I didn't expect them to remember us. One of the first things Ryan said to me was that he had heard about what a great time we had had in October and he was sorry they had missed it...and that he hoped to do better in the future.
We had fun talking and telling stories...and sampling the desserts of course! At one point the kids were all on the spiral staircase....which seemed like a good picture taking opportunity...hahah

After the kids posed for us, I suggested it was only fair that we should get on the stairs and let them take our picture.

And that's what we did. Sandy and I were the first ones up , then John, Ken and Bill followed.

getting fancy with the leg work

by  Becky, Chase, Dona, Ryan, and Kathie. I believe it was around this point that Sandy said..."Does this thing have a weight limit?"

Meanwhile each one of the kids had one of our cameras and they were snapping away.

 

 

this one was from Ken's Ipad

After dinner we finalized our plans for the next day/night. We were all going to Ryan and Dona's for dinner on Friday night. More on the next post..................