2021 Christmas Letter of Activies

 My events of the year 

I began a daily Bible Study and reading online with Christy Jordan (Seeking Scripture). We began Jan 1, reading Genesis, and will end Dec with Revelations. 

Took several day trips this year and a couple of trips.

In Jan went to see several covered bridges in South Alabama, the Easley Bridge, the Swann Bridge, the Horton Mill Covered Bridge, and Noccalula Falls in Gadsden.

Feb Day trip to Guntersville and Huntsville.

 

March, we took a day trip to Oak Mountain State Park to the museum and to see rescued birds of prey.

July, we rode to Spring Valley Farms, Lutts, Tennessee, to the Sunflower fields with friends, and we rode to Clifton, Tennessee, for lunch.

October took a trip with sisters to Mooresville, North Carolina & Mount Airy (home of Andy Griffin)

November took a cruise to Cozumel and Progreso with a friend.

Three trips to Huntsville Botanical Gardens 

Cheek-wood Botanical Gardens in Nashville and their Lego art display. 

On March 6, Ava celebrated her sixth birthday party at Chuck-e-Cheese.

June River celebrated his third birthday. 

June 19, Atlas celebrated his first birthday(SR The ROOM 124 Wheeler Street Rogersville)(First Trip around the Sun)

June 29, Hazel Cate was born (fifth great-grandchild)

Dec 5, Hayne’s 2nd Birthday Party@Shoals Next Level 850 Howell Heflin Lane Tuscumbia (inflatables for kids inside) his birthday is Dec 10

(Onik, BAA, Cluck & Moo Hayne is turning two!)

Dec 17, Suprise birthday party for my sister Vicki (Zip City Community Center)she is turning 70

Hubby and I both got our first Coronavirus shots in March and the second one in April.

In April, I took Mike (my oldest son) to the orthopedic Center for back surgery after an accident at work. 

Events I did 

Walking Tours  & Hikes 

Florence Cemetery Walk 

Mooresville Walking Tour 

Donnell House Tour 

Sheffield Business Walking tour

National Wildlife Hike

PawPaw Patch Hike

National Mushroom Hike  

On May 7, Our Newly built Modular Home was delivered (this kept us busy)

May 20, 31, Furniture delivered (bedroom furniture and foyer)

May-June Hubby installed 4 ceiling fans and a sliding shower in the smaller bathroom.

June-July Utilities, plumbing, natural gas, internet, Dish, and septic tank installed.

June Washer and Dryer delivered 

June Sofa and kitchen table delivered 

June 75-inch TV  installed 

Aug Man returns to do repairs and install the chimney.

Sep-Dec Hubby built a Deck on the Side and Back of the Modular Home. 

Aug Concert driveway installed. 

Aug sold our RV 

Nov 1, Garage installed. 

On May 5, Robert H. died (my sister Paula’s husband)

On May 8, Marcus (grandson) graduated 4 UNA College with a Bachelor's Degree in Physics  

May 28, Montana graduated from Rogers High School (got job Monarch Tile)

Aug, our swimming was hit by lighting, filling the yard with gallons of water.

Sep, Killen opened the Used book store where I volunteer once a month. It has been closed for over a year and a half because of the Coronavirus.

July, Root canal and a bridge (tooth broke) 

Nov, tooth pulled and one filled (accessed)

Well, we finally settled into our new home, limestone gravel all around, concrete drive with garage and deck on side and back of home. 

We celebrated Labor Day with two pots of chicken stew with the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving with turkey, ham, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, blackberry cobbler, cranberry sauce, Butterfinger cake, dressing, etc. 

We are planning a big Christmas, not sure yet what we are serving, but I am sure it will be good. 

So glad we sold the RV and got to move into something bigger so I can entertain at my house instead of taking everything somewhere else. 

I have my Christmas tree up, decorations everywhere, a couple of poinsettia setting on the table, & bar ready for Christmas. 

2021 ends with lots of good memories 

2022 may be even better.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2018 Feb, Swimming with Dolphins and Sea Lion Show Chankanaab National Park Cozumel, Mexico

Sea Lion Show 

Dolphin's Names:

Aitana, Amadeus, Anaeli, Apolo, Da Vinci, Diego, Gandhi, Jupiter, Kathy, Krista, Leia, Louis, Frida, Marina, Miracle, Noel, Olympia, Rames, Scarlett, Thor, Zuman

Swimming with Dolphins

Swimming with Dolphins

Kissing the Sea Lion

2017 July 22, Events of the W. C. Handy Festival Saturday

I went to the Visitor Center to listen to Tom McDonald talk about three of the books that he wrote and had for sale. 

1. Promises to Keep

2. Dirt Road Memories 

3. When Memories Come Calling

I should have bought one. 

I stopped to talk to Tom for a few minutes about growing up in East Florence. 

Tom said that he grew up on Sweetwater Avenue.

I live in East Florence, but our paths never crossed. 

Tom went to Brandon School from the first to the sixth grades.

When we moved to Florence, I had already passed the sixth grade.

Tom's family moved to the Central area around the time we moved to East Florence. 

We talked about Sweet Water Creek and walking along the old railroad tracks down by the canal on the bank of the Tennessee River. 

When we lived in East Florence, my sisters and I would walk to McFarland Park to swim in the Tennessee River.

We also swam in the canal, which was not far from our home. 

Tom said once that he had tried floating down the Sweet Water Creek in a washtub and that he had hoped to make it to the Tennessee River in that tub, but it turned over, and he never made it. 

What sweet childhood memories we both could recall.

Then I went to Florence Library to read Watermelon Wine, the Poetry of American Music. 

Where I listened to Anne E DeChant, sing and play on her guitar some of her storytelling songs (she was very good)

 I left the library and rode to Jack's for lunch. There, I ordered a kids' Chicken Finger Meal, which consisted of two Chicken fingers, green beans, Rice Kirby, and Diet Coke. I also ordered an Apple Pie. 
I still had time to kill before returning to the Visitor Center, so I went back to the Library.
There was a car show that was about to end, so I stopped to take a few pictures. It was going to be long with walking, so I just took several long-distance pictures. I walked back through the Library and saw Anne DeChant and Frye Gilard standing at the counter in the Library, so I walked up to them.
I told Anne DeChant that I loved her singing and playing and that her music reminded me of the storyteller and singer Tom T. Hall. 
She thanked me and said she appreciated the compliment. 
They were getting directions to Legends, where they were going to eat lunch. I said they have good food. 

 Then, back to the visitors center for Swampfest Songwriter showcase series #2 to listen to Buzz Cason and Russell Medford sing and play. 
The audience sang along with Buzz in a couple of his songs. "Hank Williams Christian songs. One way I saw the light. Russell talked about meeting a couple of songwriters at Killen Diner (which has since burnt down) to write a song. 
The fun show ended around 3:30PM.

I rode to Taco Bell to get supper, and there was a line of cars all the way to the stop sign. 
When I got up to the window, I said, you have been busy today. The girl at the window said we have been like this since 11AM today because we had four people to call in. What a bummer!!

After my busy day, all I wanted to do was eat my Taco Salad,  prop my feet up, and watch TV.

1974 ~ Summer Savannah, Georgia

One of our family trips was a trip to Savannah Georgia. My sister’s husband was stationed at Fort Stewart.

The trip took a little over nine hours. We only stopped to eat and to use the restroom.

The boys played with their toy soldiers and hot wheel cars on the ride.

After the long ride the kids were ready to get out and visit their cousins.

When we arrived my sister had dinner ready. We ate and sat back to watch some TV, while the kids enjoyed playing outside.

We spent the next day on a public beach that faced the Daufuskie Island Resort in South Carolina. 

It was a beautiful day, a bit windy, over cast and hot.

The kids enjoyed building sand castles and darting in and out of the Atlantic Ocean.

The kids stopped long enough to grab a bite of the picnic lunch that we had brought.

The sun was hiding his face behind the clouds but sending out those hot rays.

We forgot to use sunscreen and we all got blistered.

That night we rubbed everyone down with white vinegar. The white vinegar was soothing to the sunburn and at least we could get a good night sleep.

The next day we rode to the Military Base and to Historic Down Savannah. 

We saw hundreds of old houses nestled under giant like oaks hanging with live Spanish moss. The Spanish moss is known as “ The Hostess City of the South.”  

We went to the one level Oglethorpe Mall,built in 1969, with 1,000,000 square feet. 

It housed Belk, JC Penny, Sears, and Maas Brothers (Now Macy's). In 1974, this was a huge mall.

Regency Square Mall back home opened in 1978, so to see a mall was a new adventure for us.

Savannah was a beautiful historic city and the weather while we were there was very accommodating. 

We spent the next few days inside playing Rook, Harts, & Spades.

The kids played inside and watched TV.

We had a great visit connecting with relatives. We enjoyed the beach, and visiting historic Savannah.

We said good-by to our relatives and began our trip home. 

🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️🏊‍♀️2000 June 24, Saturday, McFarland Swimming

At about mid-morning on Saturday, we loaded into my LS Saturn and rode to McFarland Park.
My grandson Justin, two granddaughters Hannah and Madison, and my son Ronald.
The kids had not planned to get into the water but it was hot and they stripped down to their underwear and jumped right into the cool water of the Tennessee River, hoping that a large bass or catfish would not nibble on their toes.

In water up to their knees. 

Madison kept on her hot pink tee shirt and her hair was pulled on top of her head in a ponytail.
Hannah was wearing a light blue floral top with matching shorts and Hannah's hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
Ronald was wearing blue jeans shorts and a black tee shirt with the sleeves cut out.

Ronald in his cool shades. 

They stayed near the edge not getting in over their heads. They walked along the edge of the lapping Tennessee River bending over to pick up unusual rocks.

Picking up shells 

Jumping on boulder

The kids played on the giant boulders that were dotted along the River. They would jump from one to the other.

Playing in the park 

The kids played on the playground equipment and we watched several barges float down the river.

Barges on the Tennessee River 

We also saw the Miss Nari New Orleans, LA cruise boat that was docked along the Tennessee River.

Towboat 
Miss Nari New Orleans, La
The historic towboat M/V Miss Nari is named for Mrs. Narcissa “Nari” Conrad, the late wife of Eddy Conrad, the CEO of RiverBarge Excursions Lines. Miss Nari is the only river towboat in America with a twin propulsion 3,000 horsepower Z Peller 360-degree unit, which can completely turn the entire tow in place. The Miss Nari was built in 1951 and started her career in the Delta Cities. If you check your history, on September 13, 1970, the Delta Cities’ tow of gasoline-filled barges broke loose crashing into the Port Arthur Bridge. The barges, the bridge, and the Delta Cities were engulfed in flames. The Delta Cities suffered severe fire damage and remained out of service for years. She became known as “the Hulk” for some time as she lay dormant. Today the newly equipped and refurbished Miss Nari still shows the scares of this tragedy with heat-warped decks. The Miss Nari pushes the barges along at speeds of 9 to 10 miles per hour although faster speeds can be achieved depending on river currents and conditions.

We could also hear the sounds of the traffic as it crossed the Tennessee River on the O'Neal Bridge.

Busting traffic on O'neal Bridge 

2015 ~ Friday, May 15, Feeding birds not squirrels and raccoons!

Bought two new bird feeders and filled them fully and for several days the birds ate well. This morning I looked outside and both feeders were completely empty. I saw a frog in the swimming pool so I went to rescue it.
I found footprints all over the floor of the deck and a pile of pooh.
I guess the Raccoon has found the new feeders and he ate so much that he could not hold it.
Raccoons are worse than squirrels.

Before we removed the cover from our swimming pool, we had two squirrels chew a couple of small holes in the top of the swimming pool cover. After chewing the holes in the cover they would jump up and down making the water come through the wholes so they could get a drink.

All winter the water level was too low for them to do that but we had been filling the pool up with water getting ready to open the pool for the summer. 

We had already had problems with the raccoon he got under the belly of our RV. Hubby had left the propane tank cover off and the raccoon had crawled inside the belly of our RV. 

Well, Hubby fixed the problem with the raccoon and we thought he had gone until I bought the first bird feeder.
One night I looked out the window there was the raccoon standing on his hind legs eating the bird food.
I moved the feeder under the motion sensor light hoping that would scare the raccoon off.
Well, I had not seen the raccoon until last night when he left me proof of a pile of pooh and muddy footprints all over the deck floor. 

I love critters but I wish he would stay off my deck.
Last year we had to fish out a baby raccoon from our swimming pool.
I guess I will have to move the bird feeders off the deck.

I have a pair of red birds, a pair of bluebirds, a pair of finch and many other small birds I love to feed.

Raccoons and squirrels eat too much they can go through a bag of bird feed in just a few days. They need to get out and hunt for their food not be severed like a king and leave a present behind for me to clean up.

Caught the raccoon with his hands in the bird feeder 

Caught the raccoon with his hands in the bird feeder