Down on Moccasin Lane

After Tennessee, we headed to Alabama for Thanksgiving. What a treat it was to be able to visit with all of Uncle Jim and Aunt Jo Anne's family, who were visiting them for the holiday. Laura Kate, their first great grandchild, knew the best transportation when hiking about the farm-- Daddy Kyle's shoulders! After an incredibly sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner, we all headed out on an adventure to walk away some of the many calories we had consumed. Thanks to the Duncans for creating this excellent little resting spot along Moccasin Lane on the creek. Along the way back to the house, we encountered a neighbor's beautiful donkey baby and its mother. This little one was just stunning! Both baby and mother were very receptive to any petting and attention we wanted to offer. Deb and Ashley were glad to comply. Having heard from the Duncans about strange orbs they had seen at Providence Cemetery, Uncle Jim's crew decided to check it out for themselves. Much to our surprise, they found the same phenomenon in the photos they took at the cemetery just after dusk. In an effort to replicate the experiment, we tried the Healing Springs cemetery the following evening and found much the same. A little bit spooky!

If You Just Smile...

After a couple of false starts generated by a busted kneecap, the time finally arrived for Dianne's mother to visit. A primary event during this visit was the gift to Sylvia of some fabulous dental work by our longtime very dear friend Jamey. Jamey calls Sylvia her American grandma and gave her an incredible 80th birthday gift in the form of a new smile. During the visit we took the opportunity to see some Atlanta sights, including the Atlanta Botanical Garden. How it has grown and improved since we moved away from the neighborhood six years ago! The orchid house was too gorgeous for words. Since it's so difficult to get Sylvia in the Christmas spirit (yeah right!), we took her to the Henry Players' production of "A Christmas Story," which, of course, left all of us exclaiming repeatedly, "You'll shoot your eye out!" This community theater company produced an admirable show, casting a girl as Randy, who is usually the younger brother. She was excellent and stole the show! After all the dental work was completed, Dianne and Sylvia headed to Franklin, Tennessee, to visit Woodie and family. On the way, we just had to drive through the beautiful University of the South campus in Sewanee, takking this photo of All Saints Chapel just for sister Jeanne, who has fond memories of the campus from the days when son David was a student there.

Tally Up a Booking

Since our last reunion-planning trip to Tallahassee was rudely interrupted by an inconvenient broken kneecap, it was time to return and finalize some facility locations. On the way we passed one of our favorite signs in Griffin, Georgia. A close look reveals that both the sign and bridge have been hit more than once, inspite of the valiant and clever efforts of those who posted this sign.As we reached Tallahassee, we were treated to a magnificent sunset while traversing I-10. Yes, we tried a different (and much worse) way into Tally. We got our reunion business accomplished, deciding on the Homewood Suites, but couldn't resist an opportunity to visit one of our favorite Tallahassee landmarks, the fabulous New Leaf Market. New Leaf is a cooperatively owned business and has been serving the Tallahassee community since 1974. Bruce and June were among its first members. As the largest natural foods store in North Florida and South Georgia, New Leaf offers an abundance of organic and local produce, natural groceries, organic wine and beer, supplements, vitamins and body care products. They even have a deli offering hot and cold menu items. So many choices... Exquisite!! We were again honored to be guests at the incomparable Duncan B & B. Bruce and June are hosts extraordinaire! They even have the world's cutest server on their B&B staff! Thank you, Reese!!