Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween!! We never know from year to year how many trick or treaters we are going to have but at least we are prepared. Don loves to see all of the kids in their costumes and is always good about commenting on each outfit.

Happy Anniversary and Birthdays, Debby and Deke

Well, not only is today Halloween, but it is an extra special day for Don's sister Debby and her husband, Deke. Today is their 40th Anniversary and BOTH of their birthdays! I guess years ago when they decided to get married, Debby made sure it would be impossible for Deke to forget her birthday or anniversary! They will celebrate their anniversary with a cruise to Mexico leaving Monday from Mobile. Have a great time - we wish you could be there with you. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY and BIRTHDAYS, DEBBY & DEKE!
2007 Cruise to Alaska.

Visit from Edward

Don's brother Edward drove over this morning from Gulf Breeze, FL, for a visit. We had lunch and a nice visit then Edward was on his way to spend the night at the Beau Rivage. We should have gone with him!!! Thanks for coming by Edward, we enjoyed seeing you.

Happy 20th Birthday, Douglas!!

Well, it's official, we have no more teenagers in this house!! Today we celebrated Douglas' 20th birthday with the birthday dinner of his choice, T-Bones, Ribeyes, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, salad, peas, french bread, brownies, chocolate dipped strawberries, and ice cream cake. I guess he's still a growing boy! For his birthday he wanted our debit card so he could get some new clothes - I haven't seen the receipt for any of that yet...pretty scary! Drew carved Douglas a birthday pumpkin and a good time was had by all!!!

What about his Shakes???

Several people have asked if Don continued taking his shakes during our getaway and the answer is YES. I premeasured the ingredients for each shake into individual containers before we left. We had a small ice chest with bottled water, small cartons of orange juice, and ice. We packed up the blender and all we needed was an electrical outlet and we were in business. Only one time did he have to have what he calls a "shook shake", I shake it up in a plastic cup with a tight lid. Those are not his favorite but he drank it anyway! He did great on the trip and had more energy than me! Those of you who know us, know that we truly believe these shakes are what are getting Don through this chemo without the awful side effects attributed to his medication and letting him enjoy each day with relatively good health. We would NEVER leave home without it!!


Don drinking the "shook shake" in Cades Cove - no outlet here!

Country Roads...

Today we headed out of Montgomery towards Century, FL for a visit with Aunt Vicki and Uncle T.C. who always welcome us with open arms. Also stopping by for a visit were Don's sister Debby and her husband Deke and their granddaughter, Hannah; Don's cousin Dennis and his wife Doodle, Don's cousin Sandy, and his cousin Jimmy and his wife, Vickie and their grandson, Jayden. It was a fun day and as usual Aunt Vicki fed us a delicious lunch. Don's sister and I joke about how many dishes Aunt Vicki serves whenever we go to her house and today she did not disappoint us. We had 1) chicken and dumplings; 2) baked turkey; 3) pork roast 4) lasagna 5) field peas with ham 6) broccoli casserole; 7) macaroni and cheese; 8) homemade cornbread; 9) homemade biscuits; and 10) pumpkin pie. Who serves that much food at one time?? And the funny thing is this was one of her smaller presentations as we had only called at 6:00 the night before to let her know we were coming. Whew, they don't make them like Aunt Vicki anymore. In this picture T.C., Don, Deke, Vicki, Debbie, and Hannah.

Sandy, Vicki, and Jimmy holding Jayden.
Dennis and Doodle rubbing a little bit of 'Bama on Don.
When we left Vicki's house we came upon this field of cotton and then a whole truck load that had already been baled. This is when you know you are in the country!

Headed South

The beautiful scenery continued this morning as we left Asheville, NC and headed south to Atlanta. We got lost on a state highway and have never made so many hairpin turns in our lives. We were both queasy for quite a while after that adventure. Tonight we are spending the night just outside of Montgomery, AL. We will have lunch with Don's Aunt Vicki and Uncle T.C., his sister Debby and brother-in-law Deke on the way home tomorrow. I have attached some additional pictures of our trip through the mountains.


As we reached the top of the mountain in the Nantahala Forest in North Carolina, this is what was there to greet us...pea soup. It was a straight drop off the side of the mountain on my side of the car! Needless to say I was quite unnerved by this experience.
The beautiful colors continued once we were out of the fog. We finally made it to Helen, GA, a cute little Alpine styled town, we did not visit very long as it was very touristy and not really what we expected. Our last stop before heading for home was at Stone Mountain, GA. We paid to park and then got up to the ticket gate and realized it is an amusement park AND they were having a Halloween celebration. There must have been 500 children headed into the park. We took this picture from the parking lot and headed out!
A foggy video.