Countdown to the Discount

We’re celebrating around our household today.  It’s my birthday and I’m milking it for all it’s worth.  I’ve had many birthday wishes from my Facebook friends, e-mails, and e-cards.  Those have all been fun.  My brother called before 7 this morning.  I was up and on my second cup of coffee and, of course, he knew I’d be up.  Naturally, my mother called.  About lunch time I got a call from Gene’s brother, Doug and a text from my nephew, Ben.  It makes the day special to hear from family and friends.

Gene got me a cap so I wouldn't get shot out on the trail during hunting season.  Got one for himself, too.

We actually started this celebration last night.  Gene took me out for a very nice dinner.  We went to Finezza, a small Italian bistro.  We went there on one of our first dates and returned for our anniversary for several years.  After we started RVing full-time, we got out of the habit of these annual visits.  Every time we’re in Nashville we think about going but something always gets in the way.  Last night was finally the night and having been away for several years made it all that more special for my birthday.

Tonight, we had a wonderful dinner with my parents.  She fixed a pot roast with carrots, potatoes, and green beans.  What about birthday cake, you ask?  No cake for this birthday girl.  Mom made my favorite--chocolate meringue pie.

It’s been a rainy day in middle Tennessee and I’d kinda enjoyed that.  It was a light rain without winds and thunder.  I think this is only the third or fourth time it has rained since we’ve been back in Nashville.  We’re overdue in the rain department.

My mother is in her mother's lap and that's my grandfather's mother standing behind.

Besides talking on the phone and reading email, I’ve been working on my photos again.  It seems like some task or another involving photos never gets off my “To Do” list.  When we started thinking about living in an RV, one of the huge projects was to have all those thousands of photographs digitized.  After that was done, we still had many, many CDs which have been stored under the sofa in every RV we’ve owned.  All those CDs are about 10 years old and my understanding is that a CD has a limited lifespan.

Gene also got me some more thumb drives and cases to put them in.

Storage space is precious in this Class C, so I have started moving those photos from CDs to thumb drives.  Yes, I have an external hard drive which I backup to and I’ve done that as I’ve transferred photos.  But, and you can call me compulsive on this, I want an extra backup, just in case.  After all, these are Ansley’s baby pictures, and they’re mine and Gene’s baby pictures.  There’s even a couple of my mother when she was a baby.  I can’t let anything happen to these photos.  So, today I spent a couple hours working on that project.

So, it’s been a great birthday and only one more year before we’re eligible for the big discount Golden Age America the Beautiful pass.  Some call this the old age pass.  It’s the one that gets seniors into all the federal stuff for free or half price.  The countdown clock is ticking.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes and thanks for tagging along.