Merry Christmas

Saturday

No normal blog this week.  We have been spending time with the NY family.  I did not write anything for a couple days got behind and so decided to take at least a week off from the blog.  We did not go a lot of places.  Some of the planned activities were shut down due to the government shut down.  The weather was nice much warmer than last year when they were here but we did have a few days of rain.

We had the whole family here on Christmas Day and I enjoyed that.  We were hoping that the dogs would get along well but that did not work out so well.  Bailey is older and has issues from being attacked when she was younger.  Millie is sweet and innocent a puppy that just wants to play and have fun.  Hopefully some day they will enjoy each others company.  The kids had a good time together.  I will admit the noise kind of got to me so I drifted into the den where it was a little quieter, I was hoping Millie would come keep me company but she likes to be where the action is.

So we have done a lot of visiting, a few games, and watched quite a few movies.  I am sure there is a lot I missed but not being in blog mode this week I have just relaxed and enjoyed everyone.  I enjoyed my gifts and seeing what everyone got each other.  Not much else to say that I can remember.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and that you Have a Happy New Year!

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Family coming

Monday

Today we worked at getting things cleaned up and ready for our NY family coming for the holidays.  Then all of our Alabama grand kids came over for a couple hours also.  Bonnie had bought a flat iron steak and wanted me to cook it.  I seasoned it last night and then today smoked it on the grill for a couple hours and then reverse seared it.  It was really good.  This was the first time I had smoked steak and I think we will be doing it again.

Then it was off to bed early as we have a long day tomorrow.

Tuesday

The alarm went off at 6:30am or 0 Dark-Thirty as I call it.  We got ready and were on the road to the Nashville Airport.  Of course two of our GDs had gotten up at 3am our time and our daughter took them to the Buffalo Airport.  They connected through Chicago Midway and arrived in Nashville at 10am all safe and sound except for one suitcase.  Hopefully it shows up tomorrow.  We headed downtown bought our trolley tickets and parked in a $20 a day garage.  I took a picture in case I forgot.

Then it was off to Acme Feed and Seed as the GDs were hungery.  It turned out to be a good choice and the food was really good and we were all full.

Then we boarded the Trolley and began the tour with Joel.  I need to work on my selfies.

We Rode with Joel until we got to Centennial Park and the replica of the Parthenon.  The girls wanted to get off and look at it so we did.  It cost another $6 to go inside so they skipped that.

We caught the next trolley and Mark was the driver.  First a little excitement.  An older man fell in the grass just off to the side of the Trolley.  Mark got off the trolley and helped the man.  His companion had gone to get the car and he soon pulled up and Mark helped the man into the car.  A very nice deed.  Then Mark turned out not only to be from Buffalo (Lockport actually) but he was a much better tour guide.  He just drove a little faster.  So here are the pictures.

First we passed by Vanderbilt University.

Then on to Music row, I wish I could remember the artists the recorded at all of these.

RCA Studio B Elvis recorded here.

Reba owned this one

An old church now a studio with great acoustics.

Home of the CMA

A beautiful High School

Broadway home to lots of Honky Tonks

Just before the last stop was Nissan Field home of the Tennessee Titans

We were all pretty tired and headed home about an hour and forty-five minutes with one rest room break.  Back home the girls settled into their rooms and then Bonnie took Alexus to subway and Kaylee fixed some of the steak left overs.  They ran out of gas pretty quick and went up to bed.  We are watching the voice and anxious to see who wins so we can go to bed.

Wednesday

I was awake and up at 8 most everyone else slept in, some more than others.  Bonnie asked the girls if they wanted to put up the Christmas Tree and they did.  Here is the start.

The tree is standing

A work in progress

Finished I think

Bonnie and the girls went grocery shopping.  When they got home the local GDs and Millie came for a visit and everyone got reacquainted.  Millie sure is full of energy.

We had Jambalaya supper and then headed to church for the Children's Christmas Program.  Harrison picked up Alexus and she went to his church.  Our kids did a really good job, we all enjoyed it.

This little one kept us entertained between songs.

Then back home to relax and have some caramel corn.

Thursday

Well it was raining when we woke up this morning and we all slept in a bit.  When I got up it was already 9:30 and still pretty dark out.  Kaylee was already up and had eaten.

The girls did not want to do anything today and thats pretty much what we did.  We did call the airlines and found out that Kaylee's suitcase was now in the hands of FedEx.  Checking the app it said it would be delivered by 12pm, here it is 10:30pm and it's still not here.  Maybe tomorrow.

The rain stopped long enough for me to grill hamburgers but I had to change the battery in one of my cameras in the rain.  This evening we played a couple games of UNO and watched Christmas Chronicles on Netflix.

Tomorrow the rest of the family starts there trip down here.

Friday

Still some rain overnight but it was dry this morning.  Still cloudy and a bit windy for most of the day.  Alexus and Bonnie went shopping for a few hours.  Kaylee and I waited for her suitcase that had never shown up yesterday.

Bonnie did some baking when she got home and I grilled pork chops on the grill for supper, Bonnie did a couple sweet potatoes in the instant pot and with a little brown sugar added they were delicious.

I finally called FEDEX around 6:30 and hung up at 6:36 after being assured that the suitcase would be delivered today.  The doorbell rang at 6:41 the wayward suitcase was finally home.

We played some backgammon and watch TV after supper.

The rest of the NY family had left around 1pm our time and they made it to their overnight stop at 7:15 tonight.  Tomorrow they should be here by mid afternoon.

It has cooled off a lot and with the wind chill it feels like 32 outside.  But it should warm up again after tomorrow.

Saturday

NY group was on the road by 6:44am this morning though not necessarily all awake.

Entering Kentucky should be here by 2:30PM

We had a nice visit from the neighbors this morning also, they dropped off a Christmas card for us.  The NY group is in Nashville at the turn for Huntsville.

While we were watching a Harry Potter movie we paused for a bit and Bonnie and Kaylee took a Pear cake down the street to the neighbors that have brought us cookies a couple times last year.  A little while later another knock at the door.  They dropped off this.

And it was full of.

Back to the movie.  Well before the movie ended the group pulled in around 2:30pm and Reagan and Robby pulled in to visit also.  First the car got unloaded.

Then the girls got settled in and visited.  Bonnie and Alyssa made home made chicken fried steak and  mashed potatoes with green beans.  It was very good but a lot of work.  Afterwards everyone chipped in and helped clean up.  The girls all went up to their rooms soon after supper.  Dana sat down and fell asleep and now everyone but Bonnie and I are in their rooms, its nice a quiet.  I think I am turning in early tonight also, the TV has not been on since the news ended.

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Countdown to Christmas begins.

Sunday

Special Sunday write-up.  I don't usually write on Sunday but its been a busy day.  It was Christmas sweater day at church and Bonnie and I had matching ones.  For that we were one of three people that were awarded gift cards for their sweaters.  We also had a photo setup and this was our picture.

Then I also got a little training in the booth.  Usually one person runs booth the sound and the Pro-Presenter computer.  I did this at Crossroads Church but its been a couple years and this sound board is all digital.  Lots of buttons and switches.

It will take a while, I don't learn as fast as I used to, but I love new technology so I will learn it.

The this evening we headed over to Mt Zion Baptist Church to see our GD Reagan sing in the children's program.  It happened to be the same program that Crossroads in NY did this year.

She is a real cutie.

Had to zoom in with my iPhone to catch her in action.

We had a good time and enjoyed the program.

Monday

More rain overnight and drizzle most of the day.  I had a couple calls and emails to send this morning.  One was to Honda to set up an appointment for my first A1 service, which is an oil change and tire rotation.  They had an opening for 2:30.  Bonnie started the wash and some Christmas decorations.

After lunch I headed for Honda of Decatur and they took me right in.  Quite a few of us in the customer lounge, but the time went quickly.  A couple people needed new batteries and I thought the price quoted was a pretty good deal $110 for a 100 month battery with a 3year full replacement guarantee.  I looked on line and most are more.  My car was done, no issues so should be good for another year.  We don't drive all that much.  Still raining all the way home but it quit just as I got home.

I started the grill as soon as I got home, seasoned the two pork chops and threw them on the grill.  Bonnie fixed baked potatoes and corn, all ready at the same time.  Oh she finished the garland on the railing upstairs.

Its beginning to look like Christmas.  I programmed a couple smart switches so we don't have to go upstairs to plug and unplug them.

Now for the Voice and down into the 20s tonight.

Tuesday

Very cold overnight 22 and heavy frost on the grass.  But the sun was out and helps so much to warm the house.  I did fire up the gas logs for a while this morning and that was nice.  Bonnie had a luncheon to go to with her scrapbooking group so I stayed home.  I tried to neaten up my temporary wire run to move my access point upstairs.  It works very good up there and I have good coverage in the house.  Then I filled the whirlpool tub and put in a dishwasher pod and a little bleach to clean it.  Some black crud often forms in the jets but it was not bad at all today.  So I ran that for 15 minutes then drained it and filled it again with plain cold water to rinse it all out.  It looks good.

Then I ran the Dyson V10 Vaccum and cleaned most of the hardwood.

A few minutes rest and Bonnie was home.  We brought in the groceries and then watched a little TV.  She was not hungry so I had some soup for supper.  Thats about it for tonight.

Wednesday

Nice and sunny today and not quite so cold overnight.  I did not have anything on my agenda for the day.  I caught up on recorded programs and watched a Hallmark Christmas Movie.  Bonnie was busy in the kitchen with Chex Mix and Carmel Corn.

We headed to church after supper for the continuation of the Family Series.  Then home and a little TV before reading and bed.

Thursday

Sunny to start the day but it got pretty cloudy by the end of the day.  I worked on trying to draw a floorplan of our house into a trial program that I had downloaded.  I got it done but it won't let me use the plan in other programs, so back to square one.  At least I have all the measurements now.

Bonnie was in the kitchen most of the day making her Carmel Corn again.  I did a few dishes and then watched movies most of the day.  Now a Hallmark movie tonight.

Friday

Rained all night, over an inch.  And it drizzled most of the day with a few brief periods of hard rain.  Bonnie was in the kitchen again.  Today was fudge day.  She needed some peanut butter chips and so I headed to the Walmart Neighborhood Market to get some for her.

I was working online with an app called ActionTiles, its used to control smart home devices and I have a 14 day trial to see what I think.  Then I finally did turn on the TV and watched a little TV.  More rain tonight they say.

Saturday

Drizzle again most of today.  We had signed up for our first outing with the Seniors Group from church.  We met at 3pm at church and 14 of us loaded up into the church van.  We were headed to downtown Huntsville.  These vans are designed for younger people to climb in and out of.

Only about a 20 minute trip down to the First Baptist Church.  We were nice and early for the 4:30 presentation of the Living Christmas Tree.  This is their 34th year doing it.

The were 15 rows of people in the tree I figure around 100 people.  Plus a full orchestra, plus a dance troupe.

If you zoom in on this picture you can see the faces of the people.  The lights were constantly changing on the tree and during the Hallelujah Chorus changed to a Cross.

We really enjoyed the concert and it was very professionally done.  They start preparing for this in September of each year.

After the concert we headed to Cracker Barrel for dinner and boy was it busy.  They said an hour wait but I believe we got in quicker than that.  Our servers were really good and our food came pretty quickly.  Then a short drive to the church in the van, in the rain.  Then we gave one of the woman a ride home.  Finally we are home.  Time for some rest and sleep.

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"

Tennessee Road Trip

Monday

Well we headed north around noon to visit Bonnie's cousin and pick up a couple chairs that Lydia had recovered for Bonnie.   The trip was uneventful and we are in the maximum visiting mode.

I put in a Hold my Mail request to the Post Office, so of course they delivered a  package today.
Thanks to my son for going over and putting it in the house.

Not much more to report on we are just enjoying the visit.

Tuesday

Well we were up visiting until after midnight last night so we slept in until about 8:30 today.  The bed was comfortable and the room was a nice temperature so we slept good.

We were back to visiting again today.  Gary is still recovering from a fall a few weeks ago and he had and of a rough day today with his ribs still hurting him.  The girls went into town to buy a couple kinds of pain patches to see if they would help.  The jury is still out on them.

Once the girls got home Lydia and I started the charcoal grill and I played chef and grilled us each a steak.  They came out pretty good and went well with the baked potatoes, green beans and a pasta salad.

Gary turned in early and the girls are back to extreme visiting and catching up.

Lydia and Gary put in a walk in tub a few years ago and asked me if I wanted to try it out.

So I took them up on their offer tonight and gave it a try.  It was pretty nice.  I do wish it was a little deeper and wider.  The jets and the air injection were very nice.  I came out feeling nice and refreshed.

Thats about it for tonight.  Tomorrow we load up the chairs and head for home.  Looks like it should be a nice sunny day.

Wednesday

Sunny this  morning so I was up by about 7:30.  Lydia had the coffee ready and even brought me a cup.  Then Bonnie got up and Lydia made sausage gravy and biscuits for breakfast.  Gary had a good nights sleep and was feeing much better.  We talked and watch the Memorial Service for President Bush.  Then it was time to load up the chairs that Lydia had recovered for Bonnie.  They fit in the truck pretty good.  The girls covered them with plastic.  This is at home before we unloaded.

We had a good trip home.  The Garmin routed us around a backup and that saved us 30 minutes of delay.  We even got a snack at Hardees in Ardmore.

We unloaded the truck at home and I went down to CVS and picked up our RXs that I had ordered before we left.

Then UPS and FedEx dropped off package for my daughter.  We watched some of the news and then headed for church.  We are having a series on the family this month and Pastor Dusty the senior pastor at the main campus spoke tonight.  But first we started the evening off with a game of Family Feud.

It was a lot of fun and Pastor Dusty had a good teaching also.  Plus it was his birthday so we brought home a couple pieces of birthday cake.

It was tattoo day back in WNY and GD Kaylee got two.  Thats about it for tonight, I am tired.

Thursday

Down in the 20s overnight, we had frost on the car when we came out of church last night.  It was partly sunny when I got up this morning and the temperature was in the low 30s.  Just after noon the thermometer was showing 47 so I headed outside to work on my foundation vent project.  I figured I would at least do one or two.  I got out the extension cord and set up to do the first one.

The hammer drill worked really well and drilled the holes quickly.  So I just kept going and soon all 11 were done.  I did not have to do the one under the deck as it is held in by the ledger board.  So I am glad that's done.  Now the wind will not blow them out.  They don't look bad at all.

I had to use the washers as I did not want to drill to close to the edge of the brick.

I spent some time this morning watching the memorial service from Houston for President Bush and a little bit of the train trip.

Friday

Remembering 12/7/1941, Today is Pearl Harbor Day.

And here are the two chairs we brought back from Tennessee still not in their permanent places.

Bonnie did some grocery shopping today.  She wanted to go before all the forecast rain begins for the weekend.

Then we were at church by 4pm to help with the 80 families that were coming to receive the gifts that our church members had purchased for their children.  We talked to each family to see what their needs might be, prayed with them, invited them to join us on Sundays and made sure they had a Bible.  We came home around 8 and relaxed with a bowl of ice cream.

Saturday

Rain pretty much all day today and it was in the 40s.  Our Granddaughters were here for a couple of hours.  Bonnie and the girls worked with Bonnie making some Christmas cards.  Mean while Millie and I played tug of war with her rope.  Then Bonnie made some "Chili".  Just one issue she forgot to put any Chili Powder in it.  It was still good.

Then we looked at a house for our friends and we enjoyed doing that.

Sadly Navy lost to Army today.  I was hoping that Tua our QB would win the Heisman today but Kyler Murray from Oklahoma won instead.

Well thats a wrap for this week.

Thanks For Checking In!

"Some people try to turn back their odometers, not me, I want people 
to know why I look this way, and some of the roads weren't paved"