Happy New Year

It’s hard to believe this is the last day of 2011.  For us, it has been a fantastic year.  We feel truly blessed.  Gene and I have this little thing we do just about every day.  One of us asks the other “what was your favorite part of today”.  We started asking this question on our first long section hike on the Appalachian Trail.  It helped keep us focused on the fun part of the day and not on the pain in our feet or backs.  Since then, we’ve kept up the practice.

When I asked “what was your favorite part of 2011”, after a little thought he had these things to say:  The Alaska trip had some highlights.  The most notable and by far his favorite was seeing the humpback whale breach, the Icefield Parkway, and the Johnson Crossing cinnamon rolls.  Of all the places we went to in Alaska, he liked Denali National Park best.  He says he likes the motor home better than the 5th wheels and he enjoyed the experience of boondocking which we did a lot of on that trip.  Aside from the Alaska trip, he liked the fact that I didn’t have to have bypass surgery which we thought was a very real possibility when we were in Colorado.  He is also thrilled with becoming a hiker again.  We’re both enjoying that.

For me, I had a tie for first place.  We were in Alaska, after all, and the natural beauty of that expansive landscape was awe-inspiring.  That was hard to beat, but, I love my family and friends, so I also had to say the time spent with the people who are important in our lives also got a “favorite” vote from me.

Independence Mine, Alaska

We covered a lot of ground this year beginning in Bushnell, Florida last January, driving back to Nashville in March, then heading to Alaska by way of Arkansas, Oklahoma, a tiny bit of Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon.  Our return trip saw us in Yukon, British Columbia, and Alberta again, as well as Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and Kentucky.  We saw a lot of stuff along the way and took thousands of photos.  Occasionally, I’ll get a shot that I really like.  These are my favorites for this year.

Lucille Lake, Wasilla, Alaska

Paper birch

We wish everyone a very happy, safe, and blessed New Year.  We sincerely hope our paths will cross during 2012.  And, even though I say it at the end of every post, we are truly thankful that you’re tagging along.

Trout lily

Cadet Chapel, USAF Academy, Colorado Springs, CO

Back To Our Normal Routine

Our bodies and minds are slowly returning to normal.  Mentally and physically we were very fatigued.  Today we saw our standard routine working its magic.

The sunsets are from other times and places, but seem somehow
 appropriate at the end of the year.

Gene and I are both people who function best with a schedule.  We get up and go to bed at the same time each day.  We go about our tasks, whether chores or for pleasure, at about the same time every day.  Our meals are at regular times and we generally eat a low fat, high fiber diet.  If any part of this routine is disrupted, especially over a period of days, our bodies begin to complain.  Those complaints are usually manifested in some type of digestive distress.  Gene’s stomach has been hurting for several days and I’ve had acid reflux, but the most serious issue is Gene’s blood pressure.  While we were out yesterday, he checked his blood pressure at one of those do it yourself machines in the pharmacy.  It was way too high.  We’re guessing it’s due to all the extra stress plus the yummy, but rich foods we’ve been eating during the holidays.

Yesterday, we’ve started on a low fat, low sodium, high fiber diet and gotten back into the exercise routine, as well.  Already, we’re both feeling better.

For our exercise, which really helps clear the cobwebs out of our minds, we went just around the corner to Beaman Park.  It’s a nice little park, but it isn’t our favorite in town.  It is, however, very convenient and since we have been driving back and forth across the county every day this week, we wanted something close.  It was cloudy and windy, but the temperatures were a little above normal making for a very pleasant day for hiking.  Apparently, others thought so, as well.  We saw more people on the trail today than we normally do.  Maybe everybody’s trying to work off those extra holiday calories.

We had a bit of sad news today.  We heard this morning that one of my uncles passed away yesterday.  John was in a nursing home in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  His death was no unexpected, but it’s sad nonetheless.

Our weather forecast for tomorrow looks about like today--cloudy and windy with a slight chance of rain, but the temperatures will be on the warm side.  We’re going to take advantage of the weather and help my folks take down the outside Christmas decorations and take the tree to the tree collection center.  Their house always looks very festive, but it sure is a lot of work to get everything put away after the party is over.

I think that’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.

It's Finally Over

This has been a Christmas like no other I can remember in recent history.  We got started on Christmas Eve and didn’t stop until last night.  Gene and I are two tired puppies.  Although she won’t admit it, I bet my mother is, too.

For several years we have been gathering at my parents’ home on Christmas Eve.  This event started out as a neighborhood party.  Everybody dressed up in their festive attire and finger foods were served on Christmas china and silver.  Over the years, that huge party has been downsized several times until now it is just my folks, Gene and I, my uncle and aunt, and, if he’s in town, my brother.   We wear jeans and eat soup.  This year Nancy made taco soup, I made potato soup, and mother made chicken mushroom soup.  All were delicious.

My nephews and their families arrived on Monday and Tuesday.  That surely made a house full.  There were kids on the floor and my brother on the sofa.  That also made a whole lot of mouths to feed so there was a whole lot of cooking going on.  My brother and nephews are all good cooks and aren’t afraid to roll up those sleeves and get it done.  That was a good thing, especially Tuesday, when we had a total of 19 for dinner.  Twenty-three were invited, but not all could come.

One nephew and his family left early Wednesday morning to return home to middle Georgia.  My brother left in the afternoon heading back to Macon.  That only left my oldest nephew and his family for our meal last night.  He decided he was going to do the cooking.  If you’ve followed this blog for very long, you have heard me praise his cooking skills.  We were not disappointed last night with veal scallopini, linguini with a olive oil, garlic and tomato sauce, and a Caesar salad.  Thank you, Ben!

We were so busy visiting, cooking, cleaning, opening gifts and everything else that I never even picked up my camera.  There were a few moments that I wish I had captured, but mostly it was nice just to enjoy rather than try to catch every “Kodak moment”.

As you can imagine, we’re all pretty tired.  Gene and I didn’t plan anything for today.  We enjoyed sipping our coffee this morning without a deadline to meet.  Mid-morning we went out to spend some of the Christmas money we had gotten, but mostly we just relaxed and enjoyed the day.  He took a nap and then went for a short walk this afternoon.  Hopefully, in the next couple of days we’ll be back to our hiking.  Gotta work off these extra calories we’ve consumed this week.

We’ve had a very busy week, but also a very rewarding week spending time with family.

That’s it for today.  I think I can safely say I’m back to my regular nightly posting of the blog.  So, until tomorrow----thanks for tagging along.

Still Doing the Christmas Thing

We are still in the big middle of Christmas celebrations.

Christmas Eve we spent at my folks preparing for and enjoying the traditional Christmas Eve soup supper with a our immediate family and my aunt and uncle.

Christmas day was a buzz of activity first a couple hours with Jack, Ansley, and Kayley.  Then it was off to my parents and cooking for Christmas dinner.

Monday we were busy catching up on a few household chores and cooking another meal to take to Jack and Ansley for dinner.

Today, we off once again to my folks to spend the day visiting with my nephews, their wives and children and preparing for the big extended family dinner tonight.  At last count, there should be 23 around the table tonight.  Well, not around the table, but scattered on sofas and chairs all around the house.

So, we're off for another full day of family fun.  Thanks for tagging along.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone.

Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Savannah, GA

Hobby Lobby, Nashville, TN

Opryland Hotel, Nashville, TN

One More Baking Day 'Til Christmas

Like most folks, we’ve had a busy day today.  We started off our day at Wal-mart getting prescriptions refilled, groceries bought, and selecting the last few items on the gift list.  We thought going early would be less crowded, but not so.  We were there so long, the mad rush of the early morning was gone by the time we were ready to check out.  Probably would have been better to have waited until mid-morning.

After a quick lunch, it was hair cutting time.  Gene was way overdue for a trimming.  He gets to the way overdue stage because hair cutting is not my favorite thing to do and I can find all kinds of excuses to put it off.  No putting off today; Christmas is just around the corner.

Chocolate Peppermint cookies, almond bark, and
chocolate covered peanut clusters

Then it was on to the cookie baking.  For years, my mother and I have had a cookie baking day.  Last year I realized those days would have to slip into the category of great Christmas memories.  It’s just too much effort and exhausts her too much now.  Neither can she follow a recipe too well anymore.  Tomorrow, she and I will make a couple of sweet treats together, but it will be nothing like those huge holiday baking extravaganzas we used to do.

Later this afternoon, we went over to see Jack, Ansley, and Kayley.  It was good to see them.  Kayley is all excited about getting presents and she was anxious to show us the things she got at daycare.  She’s not quite old enough to understand the whole Christmas thing yet and doesn’t get that the presents, the Christmas tree, and Santa are all connected.

We want to welcome our newest followers, Michael and Dee at Gone RVing!  They, like us, full-time in a Class C.  We’re glad to have Michael and Dee tagging along.

Now, it’s time to make those bon bons.  Oh, by the way, the holly jollies are back and we hope you have a holly jolly Christmas Eve.  Thanks for tagging along.

A Kink In The Holly Jollies

We have arrived safely in Nashville after almost a month of hiking in Alabama.  It really seems like Christmas to us now--we’re home to wallow in the love and blessings of family.  We may have even had a little more pep in our step this morning, despite the rain, as we busied ourselves with the routine chores of breaking camp and moving.  We were pulling out of the campground at 8 a.m. which is a little earlier than usual for us.

The predictions of rain all day were right on.  Funny how that happened.  Usually the forecasts don’t resemble what actually happens.  Today it did and we drove in rain all day long.  But, traffic was relatively light, except for the rush hour through Birmingham, and we were basking in holiday cheeriness so we were having a fine ride even if it was raining so hard we could hardly see the truck in front of us.

Our trip was about 240 miles, but we seemed to be stopping every little bit.  First was the stop at the campground office to deposit our hang tags, then the stop at the top of the hill to deposit our trash.  Then came the fuel stops.  We stopped for gas near Huntsville, we stopped for propane on Music Valley Drive, and another stop for gas to top off the tank at Joelton.  As the day wore on, our Holly Jollies began to fade.

We finally made it to the campground in Joelton and got set up in our site.  It was an easy pull-thru, but we did have to get out the leveling blocks.  It was still raining and the campground is covered in water.  By the time Gene got everything hooked up he was soaked.  I’m not sure his shoes will be dry by Christmas.

He had checked the electrical post with our little tester, but apparently pulled the tester out before it had time to run through all it’s tests.  Anyway, when he plugged it in on the inside after everything was done outside, we got the “ground fault”.  The campground manager came out, but after all was said and done, we ended up moving to another site.  The second site is actually better, but everything had to be done again, including the leveling blocks.  That’s when we got that severe kink in our Holly Jollies.

Never fear--it’s Christmas and our Holly Jollies will be back tomorrow along with the sunshine.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.