Day Three Hundred Sixty Two 2013

Some people never grow up. Grandpa was having fun building towers with grandson Knox’s blocks this afternoon. An episode of Thomas The Train was on in the background. And notice that grandson Knox wasn’t  paying attention to either of these things. He was having his own fun [playing with his trains, most likely]. Good times on a lazy Saturday. [thanks for the pic, daughter Kelly]

Day Three Hundred Thirty Four 2013

Off to the Christmas tree farm today ~ our annual after-Thanksgiving quest to find The Tree. Beautiful day for it, too.

The family who owns this tree farm is looking to retire, so they haven’t planted new trees in several years. The selection is dwindling, especially for the tree we like the best which is the white pine.

Neil tagged the tree to chop down later ~ in about two weeks. There wasn’t much to choose from this time and we weren’t thrilled with our choice, but I always tell Neil they’re all beautiful when you get them decorated. Love the smell of a fresh white pine in the house, even if it makes for stopped up noses. It’s all part of the Christmas experience.

Day Three Hundred Twenty Seven 2013

Chilly night! Chili night! Happy Saturday!

Day Three Hundred Twenty 2013

Ever Lovin’ Saturday













Lazy windy gray Saturday. Good day to read and rake a few leaves and make some stew and hang out with peeps. How was your day?

Day Three Hundred Six 2013

EVER LOVIN’ SATURDAY!

Neil and I had lunch with daughter Kelly and grandson Knox at their new/old house this afternoon. Kelly was there all day, getting her kitchen organized while the Direct TV guys connected their TVs. The place is starting to look like home.

Our town postponed trick or treating until tonight because of stormy weather on Halloween. Grandpeeps Knox, Shelby, and Elijah finally got to trick or treat door to door. Knox’s friend, Adeline, joined them to make the rounds.

Knox really got into the Halloween spirit after he saw all the trick or treaters coming to our door for candy. Knox was Thomas the Train and Shelby was the Queen of Hearts.

Elijah was Robin Hood. I stayed at the house and fed the multitude of spooks who came by. It’s been years since I’ve seen so many. I ran out of the Halloween candy I bought for this occasion and had to dig into the stash of candy I keep here for the grandpeeps. I enjoy the Halloween tradition, and it was fun for me to see all the kids in their costumes. Good times with family and friends.

Day Two Hundred Ninety Two 2013

FAMILY, FOOD, FUN, FELLOWSHIP, FOOTBALL! [GO BIG ORANGE!]

It’s been a long time since this bunch of Tennessee Volunteer football fans [also known as my family] has come together on game day to watch a Big Orange football game. We used to do it every game every Saturday during the UT season, taking turns meeting at each other’s house, especially when the Vols were ranked in the top five college teams in the country. But I guess as our team dropped out of the ranks over the years, we gave up the get togethers and found other things to do on a Saturday during football season. We kept saying we need to get together again for a game, but we never did. Well, until today. My sister Ann and her hubs Terry decided this game ~ UT Vols against the South Carolina Gamecocks ~ would be a good one to come together and watch. The Vols have had their coaching problems lately, but this team and the new coach have shown promise this season. UT, unranked, lost to number six [at the time] Georgia by only a field goal in overtime two weeks ago. So never say never. We put on our Big Orange shirts and gathered at Ann and T’s house for great food [ribs, Ann’s homemade potato salad, T’s homemade baked beans, and Shelby’s homemade brownies, all so very yummy] and watched some SEC football.

We dug in to all that great food at half time ~ the Vols were leading.

You can probably tell by the smiles on our faces [well, except for maybe Ken and Knox] that the UT Volunteers were victorious over the Gamecocks ~ unranked UT beat eleventh ranked South Carolina 23 ~ 21. What a great game! Well played, Vols! So happy for the UT coach and the Big Orange team and of course Tennessee football fans, who are always pleased to hand Steve Spurrier a loss no matter who he’s coaching. Thanks for hosting the game, Ann and Terry! Good times!
Our happy group shot: from left back row: brother in law Terry, sister Ann, sister Jane [who ran her first half marathon this morning in a little over three hours! woo hoo! way to go, Jane!], nephew Alex, hubs Neil, grandson Knox, niece Sarah, niece Julia, daughter Kelly and moi.  Front row, from left: brother Ken, daughter Holly, granddaughter Shelby, and grandson Elijah. Always grateful for my family and the times we can spend together.

Day Two Hundred Seventy One 2013

EVER LOVIN SATURDAY











This morning was a bit cool but nice. The wind on the beach was relentless. Not many people here right now. Lazy day. Watched some football. Sat on the beach and read and watched the waves and read some more and maybe even snoozed at one point. Made some white chicken chili in the slow cooker for supper which we enjoyed with daughter Kelly, son in law Kerry and grandson Knox [they brought Key Lime Pie for dessert!] Witnessed another awesome sunset. Time seems to slow down at the beach but then it all seems to be going by too fast.

Day Two Hundred Fifty 2013

Shades Of Gray





Had some fun with the monochrome setting on my Rebel this afternoon. I forget about black and white most of the time. Laid back Saturday filled up with food and football and a nice little nap. Did your team win? Mine did! The Vols beat Western KY 52~20. Woot!

Day Two Hundred Fifteen 2013

EVER LOVIN SATURDAY

Neil and I visited grandson Knox, daughter Kelly and son in law Kerry today. We haven’t seen them in a couple of weeks. Neil wanted to spend some time replacing their front porch hand rail. Knox was pretty happy with the new Elmo book we brought him.

We enjoyed a delicious lunch at The Chop House ~ turkey and dressing and broccoli [we all ended up ordering the same thing]. They also serve up awesome bread before the meal. Even Knox enjoyed some broccoli dipped in Ranch sauce. Everything tastes better dipped in Ranch sauce.

Kelly accidently locked us out of the house and didn’t have the key she needed to get us back inside, so we stopped by Kerry’s workplace to pick up his key and to say hi. Kerry was working hard. Knox was thrilled to see his dada.

At the house, we hung out on the back porch and enjoyed the nice weather [well, except for the rain] while Neil worked on the rail. Knox has his own pint sized chair.

Knox could hear Neil’s saw buzzing and had to go check out what Grandpa was up to in the garage. Knox was happy to help out. He kept handing things to Neil that Neil didn’t need, so we took him back inside.

We made tall colorful buildings that reached to the ceiling. Well, almost. Then nap time rolled around.

Neil couldn’t finish the project today and decided to pack it up and bring it home with us to finish building the new rail. Besides, he wanted to spend time with Knox, who was dying to spend time with his ‘pa’. Knox helped carry stuff to the truck.

And he helped Grandpa push the dolly so he could load up the saw.

Then he wanted to drive mom’s car for a while and push all the buttons and turn all the knobs. [Watch out next time you turn on the radio, Kelly. It might be very loud.]

Knox time and Grandpa time is the best time in the world. Grandpa is the man.

Until daddy comes home. While Kerry ate some of the yummy chili Kelly made us for supper, Knox ran in there to him and started pulling on Kerry, saying, “High! High!” Which means throw me up into the air as high as you can. And daddy did. More fun than pint sized human beings should be allowed to have [but not so great for daddy’s back, but daddy did it anyway cause Knox loves it]. Good times! Fun Saturday! Love you guys!!