Christmas Letter
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
I hope this letter finds your family doing well.
This is to inform you about the events that occurred in 2017.
My sister lost her husband (age 68) in April to a heart attack.
He awoke from sleep, called out to my sister, and said I have a heart attack, and before she could get help, he was gone. He had been having some health issues and had seen a doctor.
He was a retired railroad engineer and a farmer.
Vicki raised vegetables and sold them at the farmer's market. He was very active in farming, raised mules, and was very active in his community.
On December 16, 2016, Dad was admitted to the Hospital. Dec 21, 2016, I took Dad to Rehab.
Dad stayed in Rehab from December 21, 2016, to February 11. Dad turned 90 this year and could no longer live alone, so he moved in with my sister. While Dad was in Rehab, a minister came by and talked to him. Dad said that man changed my life; I was saved, and he has been going to church with me and my sister ever since.
This year has flown by, and Christmas is only a few days away.
I have finished my Christmas Shopping.
I had a total knee replacement in my right knee at the end of September.
I was in the hospital for two and a half days, six days in rehab, and four weeks of physical therapy.
I still have problems walking long distances. My knee has healed nicely on the outside, but it will take months to heal on the inside.
Before surgery, I had to wear a leg brace on my right knee just to walk.
In January, we visited Wheeler Wildlife Refuge to observe a flock of Sandhill Cranes before they began their northward migration.
At the end of January, we toured the Guntersville Museum and took a ride around Guntersville Lake. We also stopped @ Buckets Pocket State Park to enjoy the sweeping view of the rugged, untouched landscape from atop a large rock.
We celebrated Valentine's Day @ Famous Dave's Restaurant in Franklin, TN. We also visited the famous Bedford Falls Train Display @ Hundred Oaks in Nashville.
We spent President's Day in Montevallo at the American Village, a series of buildings that allow one to journey into America's past, from its independence to self-government.
We also walked through the Festival of Tulips, stopping to pick a basket of tulips to take home.
On March 4, I attended "Cooking on the Mountain" at the Burritt Museum in Huntsville.
March 27-29: Hubby and I stay @ the Inn on the River Hotel in Pigeon Forge, TN.
We enjoyed visiting Patriots Veterans Park, the Islands, Bush Bean Museum, the Old Mill, Applewood Farms Restaurant, Cherokee Veterans Park, Oconaluftee Visitor Center, and traveling across the Smoky Mountains.
On April 1, I enjoyed the Beaty Street Walking Tour in Athens, Alabama.
On April 8, Hubby and I enjoyed the Houston Walking Tour in Athens, Alabama (home of one of Alabama's governors)
On April 14, I attended a Passover Seder Meal @ the Methodist Church in Killen.
On April 15, I enjoyed a Church Walking tour in Decatur, Alabama
On April 17, Hubby and I took our great-granddaughter to Cullman.
We bought fresh strawberries @ the farmer's market, and we toured the train depot and the Clarkson Covered Bridge.
On April 23, I enjoyed the Athens Cemetery Stroll, where the cemetery comes alive with characters from the past.
On April 29, I enjoyed the walking tour of Historic Bank Street in Decatur, Al.
In May and June, we enjoyed music in Wilson Park.
On May 6, I enjoyed a day @ the Strawberry Festival in Moulton, AL
On May 10, Hubby and I enjoyed Music in Wilson Park
On May 15, Hubby and I enjoyed a day trip to the Huntsville Train Depot, Ditto Landing, and Rosie's Cantina
On May 17, Hubby and I enjoyed music in Wilson Park with the Cadillacs
May 19-20, I attended the Storytelling Festival @ the Shoals Theater.
On May 27, I attended the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Decatur.
On May 30, Hubby and I toured the Pink Palace Museum and Bass Pro Shops (we rode the elevator to the top to see a gorgeous view of the Mississippi River and downtown Memphis).
On June 10, I attended a Family Reunion with my dad, sister, and granddaughter.
We stopped to tour Tom Hendrix's "Rock Wall." Tom spent thirty years building a walk dedicated to his great-great-grandmother, an American Indian who walked from Oklahoma back to her home in Alabama. Trail of Tears. The wall is situated near the Natchez Trace, located on the border between Alabama and Tennessee.
On June 13, Hubby and I toured the Corvette Museum and the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, KY. On our way home, we stopped in Nashville @ the grave site of the singer George Jones.
On June 17, Hubby and I attended the Moon Pie and RC Festival in Bell Buckle, TN.
July 4, Hubby and I enjoyed spending the day @ Monte Sano Park
On July 11, Hubby and I toured the Trail of Tears Commemorative Park, Museum of Transportation, Pennyroyal Museum, and Casey Jones Distillery in Hopkinsville, Kentucky
On July 18, Hubby and I enjoyed a day @ Discovery America Park in Union City, TN.
On July 27, my great-granddaughter and I spent the day @ the newly remodeled Children's Museum in Florence.
On August 1, Hubby and I toured the James K. Polk ancestral home in Columbia, TN.
On August 11, Hubby and I attended the Killen Founders Day Parade and music in Killen Park.
On August 18, I rode south on Natchez Trace, taking pictures of new markers celebrating Alabama's 200-year centennial.
On August 22, Hubby and I enjoyed the Wild Bird Sanctuary @ Davey Crockett State Park in Lawrenceburg, TN.
On August 29, my sister-in-law and I enjoyed watching the tagging of hummingbirds. We toured the Oakville Indian Mounds and Jessie Owens Museum in Danville.
On September 4, Hubby and I attended the Sweet Tater Festival and Car Show.
On September 8, I attended Oka Kapassa @ Spring Park with my daughter and grandchildren.
On September 9, I attended my great-niece's baby shower.
On September 14, I toured Helen Keller's Ivy Green (birth home)
On September 18, I took my great-granddaughter to Walmart to try on Halloween heads
September 20-29, Knee Surgery and Recovery
Spent most of October doing Physical Therapy
On October 31, Hubby and I traveled north on the Natchez Trace, stopping at the Lewis Meriwether Museum/Park and Laurel Hills Park. We ate lunch at Famous Dave's in Franklin, TN.
On November 4, I took my granddaughter and great-granddaughter to Wild Bird Sanctuary @ Davey Crockett Park.
November 14, Hubby and I spent the day shopping @ Opry Mills and walking through the Charlie Brown Ice display in Nashville.
November 17, Hubby and I attended the Little Women Broadway Musical @UNA
November 23, Thanksgiving Dinner with family @ Mikes
On November 28, Hubby and I went to the Tuscumbia Christmas Parade
November 29, Hubby and I went to Babes in Toyland @ Roxy Theater in Russellville
On December 1, Hubby and I went to Light a Candle for Prayer @ Pope's Tavern, Christmas Tree Lighting in Wilson Park, and strolled the streets of First Friday in Florence. I went to a book signing by Tom McDonald on Promises to Keep.
On December 2, I attended Sacred Way Horse Sanctuary @ the Visitor Center.
On December 3, after church, I visited the Christmas tree exhibit at the Tuscumbia Art Museum. From 2:00 to 4:00 P.M., I attended a Baby Shower for my granddaughter's friend.
On December 6, Hubby and I rode to Huntsville to walk the Tinsel Christmas Trail to Bridge Street and rode through the Huntsville Botanical Gardens Galaxy of Lights.
On December 7, Hubby and I attended the Muscle Shoals Parade.
On December 9, I attended the Dickens of Christmas Y'all Come in Tuscumbia, featuring a poetry reading and music at St. John's Episcopal Church.
On December 10, I walked through the Christmas Tree Trail in Athens and Madison.
In Madison, I rode through, taking pictures of the Christmas card display. At 6:30 P.M., Hubby and I went to the Maple Hill Baptist Church, where they had a replica of Bethlehem that we walked through with a group of other people.
On December 17, we celebrated my sister's 66th birthday at Cracker Barrel, joined by my four sisters, dad, and two great-nieces.
Today, December 19, we are planning a trip to the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.
December 23, Christmas with family (Saturday night at 6 P.M.). My sister is bringing Dad; it will be lots of fun.
We tried to get in as much as possible during the year, but this year, we had to scale back due to my knee injury.
The coming year will bring better health.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous and Happy New Year
