Another gray day. We left home at 6:30, headed to Tuscaloosa. The the traffic was heavier than expected that early in the morning, but fortunately no wrecks so we made it to Tuscaloosa in time to get Mama Ruby to her 9:00 appointment. We have scheduled her venous ablation treatment on the right leg for next week. The cardiologist feels she needs the procedure now, before she develops another ulcer on her leg, which he is sure she will have if left untreated. We went by her house house for a few minutes to pick up some items. While we were at the doctor’s office Max got her big puzzle clock working again so Mama Ruby was a happy women. Max is her favorite (only) son-in-law. We all went to lunch then returned to the assisted living and did some online shopping, and reviewed her procedure instructions. The home health nurse came to change the dressing on her leg. It’s improving but still has a way to go. While that was going on, Max toured the halls looking for the winners of the door decorating contest. There were some nicely decorated doors. Mamma Ruby has her Christmas puzzle she and Ralph made on her door. It looks really good but she didn’t place. Oh well, maybe we will do something more elaborate next year. It was then time to head back to the mountain. We had a couple of stops to make and stopped to check on the LOLs before returning home. That’s it for today.
Forecast for today was correct. Rain. Heavy rain at times. And now the temperatures are dropping. Down into the 30’s tonight but not below freezing. Yet. Stay tuned about that.
Philip and Tabitha getting ready to leave
This was the day Philip and Lauren and the girls had to return to South Carolina. Something about having a job and going back to work. We had a nice, somewhat leisurely breakfast together, but then it was time for them to begin the monumental task of packing up and loading the van. It is quite a task for them to pack everything. It takes a lot of stuff for the girls. And then the actual work is hard to do since at least one of them has to be watching the girls all the time. Don’t know how they get anything done sometimes. Anyway, they left about 10:30, just ahead of some heavy rain. We have received an email and they have arrived home safely. It was wonderful to have them and very thankful that they had a safe trip home. They may be glad that they will no longer be the topic of the blog for a while. We appreciate them being a good sport about providing us material for the blog. Hope they will still return again soon.
Otter and duck update – still haven’t seen either. And in case there is any doubt, we had nothing to do with the disappearance of either. Really hope the ducks return.
After company left, we did some work around the house, froze some left overs for the next project and did some laundry. This afternoon we went to Aunt Jean’s assisted living for her family Christmas party. We had dinner with her tonight with all the other residents and their families. There was good food and entertainment. Jean seemed to enjoy herself and was very appreciative of us attending. It was nice to meet some of Jean’s friends and the newer residents, and have a chat with Santa. One lady even came up to us as said “you must be Newdul’s family”. Yep. We are the turtle’s family. Four LOLs and a turtle. Pretty funny. Newdul is quite popular with other resident’s grandchildren as well.
Family Christmas at the assisted living facility
The entertainers at the Christmas party
Aunt Jean cutting up with Santa
In case you are wondering why we are spelling Aunt Jean’s turtle’s name differently, we found this note in her room.
Feeling blessed that Mama Ruby’s biopsy was benign. We will be making an early trip to Tuscaloosa tomorrow for another doctor’s appointment with her. Praying for safe travel in the crazy Christmas shopping traffic. That’s it for today.
Still haven’t seen the sun. Another cloudy day. Not sure when we will see the sun now. The forecast is for 100% chance of rain tomorrow. But, we are still above freezing. Gotta love that while it lasts.
We left Philip and Lauren to fend for themselves for breakfast again this morning because we had our annual physicals today. Won’t get the results of the lab tests for several days and still have to return for additional routine tests but hopefully all will be okay. It was nice to see friends Anne used to practice with before retiring in 2015. We had to fast for labs today so we were pretty hungry by the time we returned home after 1:30.
Dorothy’s deer
While they were getting breakfast this morning, Dorothy told Philip and Lauren she saw a goat. They thought it was another imaginary sighting but she again said she saw two goats. When they looked there were actually two deer in the woods off the back deck. They all enjoyed seeing the deer. They then packed everyone up for a visit to Aunt Jean’s. Jean really enjoyed their visit and Dorothy enjoyed feeding worms to Newdul the turtle. She was quite proud for herself for that feat. We heard more about the worms at dinner when we had spaghetti. Seems it looked like worms, and she informed us all she was eating worms. Also told us that the worm was looking at her and saying “you are not really going to eat me, are you?” Her answer to the worm was “yep.” And she did. Every last “worm”. Such fun to have a four year old around. Never a dull moment.
After lunch we all enjoyed a hike out to the star to check on it. We hadn’t heard anyone mention it lately and did not know for sure if it was still burning. Fortunately, it was still on and didn’t seem to have any new problems. It was a nice afternoon for a hike and we all enjoyed our little time in the woods. Lauren had Tabitha on her back. Dorothy walked and ran all the way to the star, but then Philip picked her up to avoid her getting too close to the edge. After that she didn’t want to walk anymore and Philip carried her on his shoulders all the way back to the van. Philip and Lauren got a lot more exercise today than we did.
Hiking to the star
At the top of the star
Hiking back from the star
Dorothy stopped frequently to pick flowers – or leaves – or sticks…
After the hike, we visited with Juno and Helen again. Dorothy and Tabitha are good for the LOLs. They really enjoy the children and are more talkative and engaged with the kids. Sometimes they don’t say much at all when we are there, but they laugh and interact with the kids.
After dinner we took the kids to Palisades Park for the Christmas lights display. Dorothy talked to us about the lights the entire time. We actually drove back through a second time so we could all get another look. The park and the participating businesses do a really nice job with the light display. Tabitha fell asleep before we even got to the park but Dorothy certainly enjoyed the lights. We then took her to Remlap to get a good view of the Pine Mountain star from the bottom, since she saw it from the top on our hike today. She seemed please with that little side trip as well. So we have had another wonderful day with family. Hope you are having a good start to your week.
Today started with another dense fog advisory and it was really foggy on our mountain. It was also really foggy at the foot of our mountain, at the river, when we were driving to church. I think we have had three dense fog advisories in a row. Tonight we have a wonderful super moon with some clouds partially covering it at times. A beautiful night.
While we were getting ready for church this morning we looked out off our bedroom deck toward the pond and there were 2 pretty does bedded down in the pine straw. We quickly got Dorothy, who was followed by Philip, Lauren and Tabitha, to the door to look out on the deer. At first she couldn’t spot them but finally did see the two of them. We all needed to quit taking pictures and watching the deer so we jiggled the door a little and they quickly got up and ran off. Dorothy also enjoyed watching them run. She also enjoyed telling Granny and Helen about the deer over lunch. We enjoyed sharing our deer with our family. God’s creation is so wonderful.
Today was the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is a season of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The church is decorated for the season, and Barry brought our message from 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, Called, Confirmed and Confident. Our services are streamed live on YouTube, both the 8:30 and 11:00 services. Once again it was great to be back at Lester and receive a message that really speaks to us and challenges us. We are gifted to serve God! As we prepare to celebrate the gift of our Savior at Christmas, lets take some time to contemplate how we will use our gifts in 2018.
After Sunday School we went straight home to complete our dinner preparations. Juno and Helen joined the six of us for dinner after services at Lee’s Chapel. The kids were great and everyone seemed to enjoy the food. Good memories made today with the children and Granny and Helen.
It was soon time for naps all the way around, and a quiet afternoon. After naps we went to visit with Aunt Jean and help her with her bills. Philip and Lauren and the kids went into Trussville to spend the evening with Philip’s mother’s side of the family. So glad they get to visit with their cousins, aunts and uncles. With the little ones their drive from Fountain Inn is about seven hours so they only get to visit Alabama two or three times a year. We really appreciate their efforts.
RVing With a Purpose 