Thanksgiving with the "out-laws"

River Ranch . . . located in sunny Florida, just a few short miles from Frostproof, about an hour south of Mickey Mouse Land. That's where we went for Thanksgiving. Keith and I sort of horned in on the LaRocco family's celebration. We stayed in Allie & Brian's bunk house with the screened-in porch and lots of ambience. Did I mention we were in sunny Florida? Except the sun kind of avoided that part of Florida, and most of the time it was in the 40's and 50's . . . 30 something one night. Brrrrr!!!!! Yep! No heat . . . but just in case it gets hot there (which it usually does) there's is A/C. These temperatures at night called for drastic measures . . . sleeping in my clothes. It was way too cold to put jammies on after the first two nights!

Aside from the weather, we had an absolute blast! I think I want to go at least twice a year, if not more! Forget the 13-hour ride down! (We won't talk about the ride back . . . yet.)

River Ranch is the perfect red-neck 4-wheelin' paradise! It was GREAT!! I've attached a few pictures to give you a peek. Everyone needs to go at least once in their lives! Really!

Barbie . . . is Chinese!?!?

Yep! She is! Barbie is Chinese! (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) And her closest friends are Indonesian and Malaysian; GI Joe is Chinese; Transformers are Chinese . . . you name it . . . they're extremely ethnically diverse! (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Who'd have thought it? I discovered this curiosity while shopping for my annual contribution for the Toys For Tots campaign at work. I thought, this year I'll buy a few more things, because living in an area with 22.5% unemployment, there's probably going to be less under the tree, if anything at all, for lots of little kids around here. But, I will only buy items made in the good ol' USA. This turned into quite an educational challenge. After 45 minutes of perusing the toy aisles of Walmart, I know one thing for sure - Americans make board games, and other types of games, like Operation. Great game, especially the Sponge Bob variety. (I would have liked to try that one, but of course, it's for someone else.) Maybe Americans like to think more, like to be challenged mentally, instead of having a doll or something to hold in our hands and act out with.
All of this led to a revelation: We could solve our economic woes by just making these foreign-made toys here in the good ol' USA. Yes, we could! By observing the spending habits of so many of today's parents, and their obsession with providing for their child's every whim, I've come to realize that no matter the cost - they're going to pay it! So, let's stop buying all the imported toys, make them here in Federal Recovery Act funded retrofitted currently-idle factories, and sell them to ourselves - plus export them to the newly-rich Chinese! We could turn this recession around in no time at all! Let's do it!

I've been shamed . . .

Yep! I've been shamed by my daughter into doing more blogging - not that even she reads this thing. But maybe - just maybe - someone will come along and read this mess.

Actually . . . I think I'll work on this tomorrow . . .

Vacation!

Yes! The start of our vacation is just a mere 33 hours away! We're almost giddy at the thought! Forget that the first 7 hours is a long drive to New Jersey, but it will all be worth it with the first hug from our grandbabies. Our week-long adventure with all our children will seem all too short at this time next week, but we're going to cram in as much fun as possible. And when those babies are awake - we'll be awake and "eating them up with a spoon" as they say down here in the south.

Everything that's "on the list" is under stashed under my grand piano in the living room, so that we don't trip over it. But the pile is now oozing out from under it, little by little: groceries, beach towels, inflatable beds, sneakers, GPS, etc., etc., etc. Good thing the van has lots of room in it. I'm leaving it home tomorrow for Keith to pack it all in - he's much better at it than I am. (Betsy gets her talent at packing from her daddy.) I'm sure we'll forget something, but hopefully it will not be a necessity. I'll be checking the list on the blackboard tonight to try and catch everything possible.

Bottom line: it won't matter what we forget, we'll be with all of the kids: Betsy & Shaun, Brian & Allie, Katie, Kyle, Natalie, and Brandon. Life just doesn't get any better than this!

B & B - for the 1st time!

Well, we did it! We stayed at a bed & breakfast over the weekend - thanks to Betsy & Shaun! (used the Christmas present they gave us) I think it's definitely worth doing again. Quiet, delicious food, comfortable rooms, beautiful surroundings - everything you need when your traveling. We went to the Folkestone Inn in Bryson City, North Carolina. The owners were extremely friendly and made sure we were happy all the time. I think it would be fun to run a B&B - although a lot of work for sure. Of course, it was also a lot like being at home on the farm . . . but most people don't live off the beaten path like us!

Fetching Katie

Well, I did it! I fetched home Katie from RPI this past weekend! Overall, I logged just under 1400 miles - Martinsville, VA to Alloway Township, NJ to Troy, NY back to Alloway Township then back to Dry Fork, VA. I still don't know how I did it, except Katie drove half the way home on the last leg. I spent just under $120 in gas, now that it's decided to climb again, yes, just in time for the holiday weekend (even though it's still two weeks away!).

The drive was a good one. Katie was ready and waiting when I arrived, and between my mom, Katie and I, we were loaded and gone within 15 minutes! Of course, she stored 90% of her belongings at a friend's house so we wouldn't have to use two vehicles. And the best news is - we don't have to cart it all back again in the fall!

Katie then took us over to the Pi Phi (forgive me if it's wrong) house, where she'll be living next year, so we could check it out. Much better than the dorm she was in this year! Much!

It was great to see my little girl, if only for 72 hours. Yep! She pulled out this morning bound for the Florida Keys. She'll be staying with Brian and Allie while she works this summer. I know she'll have a wonderful time and it can only be a great experience. Who wouldn't want to be 19 and living in paradise?!?

I miss her already . . .

Down on the Farm!

We are overrun with chicks! Black chicks, yellow chicks, multi-colored chicks! Sounds like some sort of weird horror movie when you walk into the garage and they ALL start 'peeping'! I wish the kids could be here to see them, but since they can't, I'm providing pictures. I also am including pictures of the sheep and mule taking a break one morning. It was so pretty looking out the back door. Until I see it in pictures, I don't really appreciate the beauty of where I live. So, next time you're in the mood to travel, bop on down to Dry Fork, Virginia and stop in at Conover Farm!

It's been a while . . .

I can't believe it's taken me this long to get around to writing again. A lot's happened in past three months - nothing exceptional - but a lot. By mid-January, everyone had left us again, with Katie returning to RPI and Mom back in South Jersey. February was a little more exciting for me - I got to go to Florida twice in the same month! I flew down for Allie's graduation party, and then Keith and I drove back the last week to Disney World to share the Zdroykowski escape from "Ice World". Needless to say, we all had a wonderful time with perfect weather and perfect grandchildren. We even made a quick side-trip to River Ranch with Allie & Brian to see where they spend so many of their weekends four-wheeling. Gotta go there again. One the way home, we did get snowbound in Salisbury, NC, creating an extra vacation day for both of us since we were scheduled to work the next day. We managed to get home by noon, but then got the van stuck at the end of the driveway! Of course! Drive 1800 miles round-trip, and can't manage the last 1/2 mile! Hahaha! It was blizzard conditions so of course, I made Keith walk up to the house and bring back the truck! I wasn't going to do it - I didn't have a winter coat or anything! By 3:00 in the afternoon, we did manage to get the van back up to the house and unpack.
March came and went without excitement. We did get plenty of nice days, which allowed us to get our bikes out. Keith won tickets to the Martinsville NASCAR race the last weekend in March, so we went by bike and had an absolute blast! It's the only way to get in and out of the track quickly. Hopefully the weather will comply and we'll be able to do it again in October.
So, I've caught everything up for now. Hopefully it won't take me long to do it again!

Aftermath

It's over! Kind of a let-down after all is said and done. All that anticipation and then - poof! - it's over that fast! In just two hours yesterday, Mom and I had erased all evidence of Christmas, and in another hour, we had all of it packed away in the basement. It's as if it never really happened! It must have been a figment of our imaginations! Bottom line - Christmas just isn't the same without our "babies" around to share it with. We need those little Santa-believers around for the excitement value! I'm not saying we didn't have a wonderful Christmas - we did - absolutely! We did all the usual things - watched too much TV, played cards, ate too much sweet stuff, went to the candlelight service, opened presents, and just plain enjoyed each other's company. It was a really, really good Christmas! But just imagine what it would have been like with the gang from Canada . . .

We miss all of you so very, very much! xxxxxooooo