Strait of Gibraltar

We can't see a thing but a few lights...we are sailing through there, doing 20 knots. And we move our clocks back an hour tonight. Sweet dreams! Goodbye, Med...hello Atlantic! Sea day tomorrow.

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Hello Malaga!  Crisp, sunny day. Heading to the HOHO bus shortly. Docked fairly near the city center. Another fine day. Happy Halloween, y'all!

Mama Mia, that's some great pasta here onboard Carnival Magic.  Sea day on Sunday. Leaving Majorca shortly, heading to Malaga. Ciao!

Overcast in Majorca. Again. On HO HO bus for a tour. Magical last night with sweet Ron in the piano bar. WYWH!

The rain in Spain is here in Barcelona, but it is a short walk from Serena to Magic, two spots away. We can handle it. Ciao, y'all!  Miss everyone!!!

Goodbye Costa, hello Carnival!

We will be boarding the new Carnival Magic ship today! 

Join us on a very big adventure as we set sail heading to Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

This is the maiden TA (transatlantic) cruise for this ship.  We’ll have lots of sea days to explore the ship and relax.  Maybe I can find someone to stalk.  Who knows?

Let the Magic begin!

Excellent waiter Tolchard from India!  Our last night with him. WYWH!

Just docked in overcast Majorca. Hopefully it will be sunny for our Saturday return here. Smooth sea day yesterday. All is well! 

Catania, Sicily today. Sunny and nice. We will walk into town after lunch, since it is close. Tomorrow is a sea day.  Having fun. WYWH!

Visited Capri in the rain, using the funicular to get up there. Having a beer while we wait for the ferry back to Naples. Tomorrow, Catania. Cheers!

Grilled rice and octopus was a bit chewy, but tasty for lunch. Overcast as we chug to Naples. We will do ship's excursion to Capri. No service on iPad. Strange.  Having fun. WYWH!  

Day 3 - Sunday in Savona

My view through the window--not too shabby! Buon giorno. We have a rear cabin that needs no alarm clock to know when we are in port. They did some noisy maneuverings this morning to get us docked, but our view is lovely. Lots of cyclists have gone by already. Dick went to breakfast and brought mine back so I could enjoy breakfast in bed. I'll keep him!

We went ashore for a walk yesterday and will do the same today. No excursion here. It is sunny and only expected to be 64 here, same as yesterday.

So some info. Our room is actually a bit larger than normal for this price range. No balcony, but a sit-in window that our grands like to play in. I will have to post a photo of MM in it! Yes he did! Our steward is fab--no robe (only in suites), but Ricardo got one for me. Smart man.

Food is good, but once again, not good pasta. I had fetticine with clams and it was dry as dry can be. That's twice. I shall keep trying. There are five couples at our dinner table, all Americans, and 2 couples will be on the Magic next week with us. One lady had her wallet stolen yesterday, and another had her backpack stolen the first day in Barcelona. Not a happy way to begin a trip.

Entertainment last night was good. A somewhat circus act by a very interesting duo, so no language was needed. The CD gave the farewell rapidly in 5 languages afterward. Impressive!

I have two international plans that I am trying--basic minutes for emails on my iPad, and a texting pkg that allows photos from my iPhone, which is how I posted the blog from Marseilles yesterday. Text blogs would have to be short, and no title. I have phone service in all ports, but on sea days I would have to buy minutes from the ship, which I will do on the Magic. I'll get it figured out! Bear with me...

Congrats on the house sale, Barb! Miss reading all my blog buds. Will def make some rounds when I find a hot spot. Hey Ivana! Sure wish we could pop over to the other side of your beautiful country for a visit...and GOOD pasta!

WYWH. Ciao, y'all! Naples tomorrow.

Sunny and windy here in Marseilles. Costa Serena day 2.  It is a beautiful ship. We will do lots of exploring today. English passengers def in minority. Dinner was good except for the pasta. Only cake offered for dessert. Hmm...strange. WYWH!

Home, sweet home!

 

This morning we land in Barcelona, Spain, then board the Costa Serena cruise ship.  She will be our home in the Med for the coming week.

We get underway at 6p local time, heading to Marseille.  Oh la la.  Tres bon.  I will try to do a daily post to let y’all know where we are.  Come along with us!

We are cruising!  Life is good!!!

ATL Airport, Miami bound

Stopped for breakfast and a fill up, after arriving ahead of the morning traffic. Thanks, Logan, for the o'dark thirty delivery service!

Here we sit, waiting on our flight to Miami and then a 4 hour wait for our flight to Barcelona. It will be a very long day...small price to pay for the upcoming adventures.

Tomorrow---a cruise! Life is good, y'all!!!





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Wednesday stuff

So today is packing day. We pick up Logan at o'dark thirty tomorrow to take us to the train station, heading to the airport. First, Miami...then Barcelona! We board a lovely cruise ship on Friday for a week. In the Med!

Have I mentioned we love cruising? This is cruise 1 of 2. Well, actually 3. But who's counting?

I have international stuff set up, have my to-do list made, have the house/kitty sitter arranged...now to finish packing. Come along with us.

Yes, there was cake involved last night. Just what little dudes like. I'm gonna miss my chitlins, short and tall! And will miss reading my blogger buds, but try to stay in touch.

Life is good, y'all!


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Two boys and leaves

OK...playing with the iPad to make sure this goes through. I am not taking my laptop on the trip...I think. Me...without the laptop?!! Can I do it???????

Sorghum Festival and other stuff

So after leaving the Apple Festival, next up was the annual Sorghum Festival.  I think this is year 42 for it I read somewhere.  Hmmm, we should have started here instead of the BIG Apple Festival.  Even without the comparison, this particular festival is definitely not what it used to be…very few vendors this year, but that is what happens when the country’s economy is so down.

Vendors need to get the most bang for their buck, so the small towns are losing all around…fewer vendors, fewer tourists spending money.  But that pole climbing event is always fun to watch, as is people watching.

The kids had plenty of opportunities to have fun:

These three needed to clean their hands after playing at the petting zoo.  Hey, sweet girls!

Sandee wondered about that pumpkin smashing.  Well, I have never seen it done, but apparently folks like to watch things splatter and this is an annual tradition over there.  I’ll bet that fat punkin will make a BIG mess when it is dropped from about 100’ up in the air!  No thank you.  Some things are best seen on TV and not in person (and NOT splattered upon, y’all!).

So now it is Monday.  The suitcases are out.  I am cleaning off my desk, doing laundry, making lists.  Oh what a week this will be!  Stay tuned.

Saturday fun

Joan, Linda and I spotted this ginormous pumpkin upon entering the Apple Festival yesterday.  It will be dropped, rather than be made into pies.  What a waste!

Kids were playing inside those H2O globes when we left…

Who’s ready to shoot apples out of a cannon?  Two shots for a dollar:

Another monster pumpkin…Row upon row of vendors…

Joan and Linda checking out the stick-on shirt decorations.  I bought a cute Halloween set to take on our cruise, since we will be onboard during Halloween and this would travel well:

This festival definitely puts Ellijay on the map each year.  We were glad we went…and wonder why this was our first visit???

More tomorrow…

Quilts, and more quilts

 

Joan took this photo of us gals at the quilt show yesterday.  That is niece Beth on the L.  Hi, Beth!  Come back to see us soon.

There were literally hundreds of beautiful quilts on display at a local quilt guild show, featuring every color of the rainbow and all shades in between.  Lots of talent in that gym, this time of the stitching variety, rather than sports stuff!  Beth has actually MADE a quilt; all the rest of us were merely appreciators, who definitely enjoyed all the lovely talent.

Afterward, we did a little poking around in various local stores, just having good Saturday fun on a fantastic fall day.

Today Joan and I take in a festival or two.  Photos will follow.  Of course.

Just another day in paradise, y’all!  I hope you have a lovely day.

Friday funny

A blonde is on board a small two-seater airplane when suddenly the pilot dies.
Not knowing how to fly a plane, she grabs the radio.

"Mayday, mayday!  My pilot just died!"

Ground control received her call for help and answers back: " Don't worry, madam.
I'll talk you down, just do as I say.  First, I need you to give me your height and position."

"I'm 5"2', and sitting in the right front seat."

Ground control: "Repeat after me: Our Father..... which art in Heaven.... "

We had 10 for Cuban pork last night.  Haley brought a bowl of rice/onions/black beans, which was perfect to soak up all those good pork juices.  Asian coleslaw was delish and is always a good side dish.  Faith brought two casseroles:  sweet potato and broccoli.  Yum.

Amy and family missed the shindig because of a prior commitment, but she texted me that there was apple cake at her house that needed to be finished.  No problem.  This small chunk and crumbs are all that were left.  We have some great cooks in this family!

So what’s for dinner tonight?

Moving slow

 

Dick and I got our flu and pneumonia shots yesterday.  He did fine, but I had a rather sleepless night.  We were warned that the pneumonia shot might make our arms sore.  Mine is VERY sore…his, perfectly fine.  Bugger.

And I walked out of the clinic a whole year older!  How?  Easy.  I simply forgot to do the math at my last birthday I guess, because I told the nurse that I was 64.  She informed me in no uncertain terms that I was 65, 9 months and some odd days!  We all got a good laugh out of my error.  No wonder I am moving slow this morning…….I aged too quickly! 

So this is a quick shot of our backyard during the 60 seconds of sunshine we had this morning, in between rain showers.  No complaints here, as we need the rain.  But, our leaves are falling off pretty rapidly.

Cuban pork is in the crockpot.  Niece Beth from Wisconsin will be here for dinner tonight, so most of our chicks will be here as well to visit and eat.  We do that well.

Just another day in paradise, getting older by the minute.  Life is good, y’all!

Wordless Wednesday–gobble, gobble

Just another day in paradise

 

Check out our early morning visitors last Saturday!  I was going to enjoy my morning coffee out on the deck but happened to spot these beauties down the cove before I opened the door.  Instead of going out, I grabbed my camera and zoomed in as best I could…through a window. 

Dick looked through the trusty binoculars and discovered that at least two were sporting horns.  We see these same four quite a bit here in the hood.  Our property and the forest service next door is literally their “home range.”  They pretty much stay and live within about one square mile.  We have plenty of trees for cover, and leaves, limbs and nuts for them to munch on.  This is “rut (mating) season,” so hopefully we will have a a bunch of pretty fawns in the spring.

What in nature has made you smile lately?

Sorghum Parade

There is nothing like the anticipation of a small town parade on a cool fall day:

The marching band.  Hey, I know pretty drum major Carli!

The thrill of getting candy thrown right to your feet.  More, more, say our wee ones:

The colorful floats:

Hey, Haley cutie!

And music:

The rolling stuff:

I see Uncle Joe in that Jeep…

Cars, and other four wheelers; dignitaries, dancers, and even a string of bikes:

And horses…hey, Jessica (the gal, not the horse)!:

MM used to have pooper scooper duty at the end of the parade many years ago when he was in Kiwanis Club.  Now that’s a duty he certainly doesn’t miss!

It was a mighty fine time here in Mayberry on Saturday. Yep, small town at its finest.

Happy Monday.  Life is good, y’all!  Savor the day.

Baptizing the drunk

A man is stumbling through the woods, totally drunk, when he comes upon a preacher baptizing people in the swamp.

He proceeds to walk into the water and subsequently bumps into the preacher. The preacher turns around and is almost overcome by the smell of alcohol, whereupon he asks the drunk, "Are you ready to find Jesus?"

The drunk answers, "Yes, I am."  So the preacher grabs him and dunks him in the water.  He pulls him up and asks the drunk, "Brother, have you found Jesus?"

The drunk replies, "No, I haven't found Jesus."

The preacher shocked at the answer, dunks him into the water again for a little longer.  He again pulls him out of the water and asks again, "Have you found Jesus, my brother?"

The drunk again answers, "No, I haven't found Jesus."

By this time the preacher is at his wits end and dunks the drunk in the water again -- - but this time holds him down for about 30 seconds and when he begins kicking his arms and legs he pulls him up.

The preacher again asks the drunk, "For the love of God, have you found Jesus?"

The drunk wipes his eyes and catches his breath and says to the preacher, "Good God Man, are you sure this is where he fell in?"

My Fading Garden

Please savor this sweet poem by one of my talented classmates (double click to biggify):

Thanks bunches, Susan Hudgens Harper, for allowing me to share your poem with my bloggy buds.

May we all appreciate God’s redecorations, each and every day.  Amen.

Life is good, y’all!

Deer camp

Four guys have been going to the same deer camp for many years.  Two days before the group is to leave, Bob's wife puts her foot down and tells him he isn't going.

Bob's friends are very upset that he can't go, but what can they do.

Two days later the three get to the camping site only to find Bob sitting there with a tent set up, firewood gathered, and dinner cooking on the fire.

"Damn man, how long you been here, and how did you talk your wife into letting you go?"

"Well, I've been here since yesterday.  Yesterday evening, I was sitting in my chair and my wife came up behind me and put her hands over my eyes and said, 'Guess who?'" I pulled her hands off, and she was wearing a brand new nightie.  She took my hand and pulled me to our bedroom.  The room had candles and rose petals all over.  On the bed she had handcuffs, and ropes!  She told me to tie and cuff her to the bed, and I did.

And then she said, "Do whatever you want."

"So, here I am."

And that’s your Friday funny, y’all!

Early morning visitors

 

Hey, boys, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so y’all had better head to the woods!  Oh.  They are.  All six of them were making a beeline for the trees after enjoying a leisurely breakfast in the grass, although there are only 3 in the photo.  Naturally, they were in the shade and not in the sun, so this was as good as I could get.  They didn’t stick around to pose.

Pizza was good last night.  One of the gals needed to skip the marbles, so Joan, Joy and I were going to try playing with only 3.  Dick and Dan showed up, so we had a couple of games of 5, which was rather interesting. 

It was fun…as always.  We’re so easy to entertain at our age.  We manage to laugh a lot, mainly at ourselves.

It’s Thursday already.  Does anyone have any interesting weekend plans?  Anyone?  Bueller?

The chamber has a parade downtown on Saturday, so I guess that will be our big excitement.  How lame is that?!

Life is good in Mayberry, y’all!

Marbles for 4

It is guys' night out, so the board is set for 4 gals here tonight. We can make room for 2 more and play 6 ( we flip the board over to the other side).

Pizza first! Any takers?

Bubbles to heaven

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.  So love
the people who treat you right.  Forget about the
ones who don't.  Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.  If it changes your life, let it.  Nobody said life
would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

In memory of Cecile Doughty…a loving wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and ΒΣΦ sister.  Rest in peace.  Your Shadow is happy in his new home with us.  We promise to love him always.  He and Missy are having a fine time together.  And just so you know, we have finally simply dubbed him simply KC!

But we miss you so much.  Sending bubbles to heaven, where you are healed at last.  RIP, my friend and sister.

Monday musings

 

So on the third day of October, our heat is on for the first time already.  Wasn’t there some talk about global WARMING recently?  It isn’t here…but we’ll adjust. 

MM is waiting on a bigger pump to arrive that will activate his new solar collector heater thingy.  We won’t have to use our regular heater so often when the solar stuff gets going.  Stay tuned.

So I was behind a car that had BRN as part of the license plate.  My mind immediately started thinking…brown; brawn, burn, born.  Rut roh…that word game kicked in pretty quickly!  I have had fun playing online…and I am learning to mute my “toys” so that I don’t wake up MM with all the popping, pinging noises.  I try to be a good wife.

Mister Casey Kitty loves, LOVES going outside.  He discovered the kitty door, and now has his freedom.  He goes for a vet check up this afternoon, so he loses outdoor privileges today so that I will know where he is.  He didn’t come inside till suppertime yesterday, and I was getting a little worried about him.  Today I will take no chances on him wandering!

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.

Spread some sunshine today, y’all!