All was quiet and clear from any family dramas this holiday. We're not that big on Thanksgiving anyway nor do we like turkey. We did roast one for the dogs and enjoyed creole foods mostly this long weekend along with short trips out of town like Clarksdale and around the blues trail areas. We visited my favorite boat spot and did some light shopping (after that Black Friday mess). I love the new Lynyrd Skynyrd CD "Last of a Dying Breed" I stumbled upon accidentally looking to replace a couple of older ones I loaned to a high school friend (they were damaged in a wreck he had when we first moved here). He was one of the few who would drive the distance out here because he loved the road too :}It was hard going through both my girls birthdays this month and not having their phone numbers to wish them happy birthday. My youngest granddaughter in Okinawa did write me this week so I can't wait to write her back and send her something (hope she don't grow up like her mom or aunt and hold grudges or decide to permanently not like me :{). I also have to send the magazines we bought for our adopted soldier off too and they, along with last week's letter, will probably get to him before the Swiss Colony sausages do :/ It takes a good while for packages to reach those military addresses but I'll keep them rolling out of here every time I get a chance to hang in my office.
And nothing like a little fan mail with stamps, stickers for their families, packages, CD's, blank cards, snacks and stuff to keep their spirits up. Or at least their minds occupied and pass the time by quicker. We discussed how lucky we are to live in this country and only in america can 2 throw away teens pull themselves up from nothing and nowhere. I remember signing my own report cards in HS and sad no one cared about my good grades. But I put myself through college and I've done way more living than others I've known that I've left behind (or had rolled away from lol :D Whatever :l). Jim and I joked, walked, laughed at the dogs, enjoyed the weather and nature, and had a lot of in-depth discussions this past week.
The nights have been below freezing so I guess all is clear to start packing early and move them out of my way, then put the rest in my other closet. We want to just take the dogs with us next fall to the Smokies on one of our vacation weeks and hit some flea markets, enjoy the vivid colors of fall there, and hike with the dogs (if we can stay out of surgery :/). I miss the trips to my grandparents home in Virginia as well as their smoked hams they would send during the holidays. And there isn't much family left anymore so there is no need to really hang here for the holidays. So all is clear on that front and it is the perfect time to start a new tradition.And all was clear for Jim to bust out singing 'Family Tradition' by Hank Williams on that discussion ;).
