Lunch with the Striders

The rain has finally moved on.  Yea!!!  John and I drove to Hattiesburg and had lunch with our friends, the Striders.  We were supposed to eat at Leatha’s BBQ but we were saddened to find it closed.  John called Mack to let him know it was closed then we met them at a place called Movie Star Restaurant. The restaurant has a good ole Southern style buffet with lots to choose from.  Thanks Mack and Brenda for treating us to lunch.  Brenda surprised us with one of her caramel cakes to take home.  They are the best I have ever had.  Thanks so much Brenda.

This is a sad sight…..Leatha’s empty parking lot.  We were so looking forward to eating here again.  In all of our travels Leatha’s has the best BBQ we have ever eaten.  

The Striders:  Mitch, Brenda, Hannah & Mack. 

We had a great visiting with the Striders and hope to see them again soon.

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends. We had lunch in Crystal Springs with Mom Hatch, Aunt Martha and John’s sister and her family. Mom Hatch and Aunt Martha are doing well. It was so good to see them.

John and I with Mom Hatch.

Tonight we had dinner at Bob and Marcy’s. After dinner we managed to get a round of 10 Penny in……and Bob was the winner.

We would like to wish our friend Sherri a Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Sherri. Hope you had a great day.

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Christmas Eve with Ava Grace

John at the mall 9 to 5 today.

I woke up this morning with a hurting foot.  It is the same foot I had a stress fracture on a few years back.  I think I over did it yesterday during my workout on the Wii.  I limped around all day but tonight it is some better.

Tonight we went to Bob and Marcy’s for Christmas Eve dinner. 

Granddaddy Hatch and Ava.

Awe we caught her smiling.

John and Terry trying to get Ava to smile.

Ava modeling her new outfit.

Kelsey, Robert and Ava.

Marcy and Ava.

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends.

Congratulations to Bob and Molly Pinner on the birth of their grandchild today.  I know they are excited. That is such a wonderful Christmas gift.

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

New tires for Vitara.

Woke up to nasty rainy weather. Uck! The good thing is it moved on out of our area. John was at the mall from 3 to 11 today. Before he went in to work he took the Vitara in and got two new tires put on it.

I have been busy with some Christmas baking and finishing up with last minute grocery and gift shopping. The crowds in all the stores have been crazy.

Fresh Apple Cake (very tasty for the holidays or anytime)

Here is the recipe if anyone would like it:

Fresh Apple Cake

4 cups apples chopped

2 cups sugar

Combine and let sit uncovered for 1 hour.

Sift together dry ingredients:

3 cups of all purpose flour

½ tsp. each of salt, cinnamon and baking soda

Combine wet ingredients:

1 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Add wet ingredients to apples/sugar mixture and mix until well coated. Slowly combine dry

ingredients then pour into well greased Bundt pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Glaze

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup butter

2 Tbs. milk

Mix together and simmer for 2 minutes. Pour on cool cake while glaze is hot.

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Laptops

Oops…I forgot to write the blog for yesterday.  Last night our friend Nick came over to check out our laptops.  We have had some issues lately and he is very helpful.  Thanks Nick for helping us out.

John at the mall from 7 to 3 today.  Storms were forecasted to move into our area this afternoon but so far they have not arrived.  I hope it passes us on by. 

John has purchased a tire and rim for the RV to replace the one that was damaged due to the defective axle.  He is also going to purchase two new tires for the Vitara.  We should be road ready after that. Yea!!

I plan on finishing the Christmas shopping tomorrow. Maybe the stores won’t be too crowded before lunch time.  Probably wishful thinking. LOL

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe

 

Fred and the chicken.

John off today. Yea!!!  Stayed in most of the day doing laundry, and household chores.  Later in the afternoon I decided to put some chicken in the slow cooker for later. Ah, so much fun. LOL 

Tonight we went over to Bob and Marcy’s to play 10 Penny and Chase the Ace.  John won both rounds of 10 Penny and I came in dead last.  Oh well, I guess it wasn’t my lucky night.

When we got back home the chicken in the slow cooker was done.  As I was placing it in a bowl I dropped a piece on the floor and Fred was waiting there to gobble it up.  I tried to pick it up before he could get it but he was faster than I was. Of course it was too hot to eat but that didn’t stop him.  A few minutes later he barfed it up. Uck, what a mess.  I hope it doesn’t make him too sick.  He is sitting the bathroom now and is not happy.  Poor Freddy.

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Shopping

John at the mall 7 to 3 today. After he got off he went to Wal-mart for a grocery run. All I can say is thank you thank you thank you John cause I didn’t want to go anywhere near Wal-mart with all heaving shopping.

Annie, Marcy and I went shopping and the traffic and crowds in the stores was awful. J. C. Penny wasn’t too bad. We were only in the checkout line for 15 minutes but our last stop…..Toys R us…..was beyond bad. There were only five registers open with lines of people a mile long. We were in line for almost an hour. After getting through the checkout line it was time to navigate getting out of that parking lot. What a joke. LOL People had gone crazy blocking cars in, parking in the wrong places an other rude stuff. It took another 15 minutes to get out of there. Thankfully that was our last stop before heading home. Yeah!!

After getting home we were tired and stayed in for the night.

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Hot water heater.

John went to Crystal Springs this morning to replace the hot water heater at his Mom’s house. He had to make several trips to the hardware store so it took longer than he thought. Mom Hatch and Aunt Martha returned home yesterday after a long visit with Harold in Florida. They enjoyed their visit and are doing well.

Annie picked me up for lunch and then we went Christmas shopping. Even though it was a work day the parking lots were filled with cars. I guess a lot of people took the day off to go shopping.

Tonight Annie and I went to a jewelry party hosted by her nephew’s wife in Brandon, MS. It was a full day but I enjoyed spending it with my sister.

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Tow bar and wool socks.

The weather here today has been great. It actually made it into the low 70s. I could live with that year round.

The tow bar for the Suzuki came in today. Also, the wool socks John ordered from future full-timer kareninthewoods came in, thanks Karen. That just made his day.

Tomorrow he will headed to Crystal Springs to replace the hot water heater at his Mom’s house.

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

More 10 Penny & Chase the Ace.

John off today. Yeah!! 

Tonight we went over to Bob and Marcy’s to play 10 Penny and Chase the Ace. 

Dad (Bob) enjoying a Coke Float.  He is doing well after the surgery.  Of course a hamburger would be nice. LOL  He has his check up with the doctor tomorrow so hopefully he is one step closer to getting his hamburger.

John getting ready to deal the cards for a round of Chase the Ace.

Sometimes it is just too funny the way the cards play out.

We all had a great time even though we got stuck with the ace a few times. LOL

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Fred’s trip to the vet.

John at the mall 3 to 11 today.

Today was Fred’s annual checkup at the animal clinic.  He had a good check up and even got a couple of treats from the vet. 

 

Fred standing up to get a treat.  (He got a treat at home too…….so spoiled. LOL)

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Visit from Robert, Kelsey & Ava Grace.

John at the mall 10 to 6 today.  Still having cold temperatures here.  The high today was in the mid 40s.

This afternoon Robert, Kelsey and Ava Grace came by.  Ava was one month old yesterday.

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

 

Christmas Lights.

Dad (Bob) is home and doing well.  I bet he can’t wait until he can go out and get a hamburger. LOL

John at the mall from 3 to 11 today.  This afternoon I went to Annie and Terry’s house to sit while the foundation people were working.  When it was close to the time that Annie usually gets home the dogs sat at in the front windows to watch for her.

Isn’t it funny how they just know what time of day it is. 

Tonight Annie and I went out to eat then, shopping then looking at Christmas lights.

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Dad home from the hospital.

Weather still cold here.  It was 30 degrees at 6:00 a.m. this morning.  John worked at the mall from 7 to 3 today otherwise I would  not have known it was 30 degrees this morning. LOL  The good thing is by lunch time it was 50 degrees.

Today is Sandie’s (John’s brother Harold’s wife) birthday day.  Happy Birthday Sandie.  Hope you had a nice birthday.

Dad’s test results came in today…..no cancer.  Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.   He was doing so well the doctor released him tonight.  Of course he wanted to get in a game of 10 Penny when he got home.

Dad making his play. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Dad doing well.

Dad doing well today.  He has been sitting up and even walked a little today.  If he continues to do well he may be able to go home in a day or so.  Yeah!!

John and I went to the Renaissance Mall employee’s Christmas luncheon today.  Great food and a great bunch of people.  After leaving the mall we ran a few errands then went up to the hospital to see Dad. 

The weather is still cold.  I don’t think it got above 37 today.  Not my kind of weather at all.  I say bring on the warm weather. LOL

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Dad’s surgery went well.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers for Dad (Bob).  He went through the surgery just fine and is doing pretty well tonight.  It was a long day you know…..the hurry up and wait game.   He had to be at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. but they didn’t take him to surgery until 1:45.  The actual surgery didn’t start until after 3:00 p.m. 

Here is Dad waiting in a holding room.   We were teasing him about his attractive hospital gown.  LOL

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Dad’s surgery tomorrow.

It has rained on and off all day long.  The temperatures are supposed to fall into the 40s tonight. 

John was off today so we went on a grocery run and ran a few other errands.  

Tomorrow my dad, Bob, will be having colon surgery to remove a pre-cancerous spot.  We are so thankful that it was caught early.  I know he will be glad when the surgery is over and he is back home.  

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

John laughing out loud.

We had warm temperatures in the low 70s day. It was very nice. John worked at the mall from 10 to 6.

I stayed in today and did the laundry and other household chores. blah blah blah!

Tonight while John was on his computer he started laughing out loud. Since he doesn’t “laugh out loud” very often I had to know what he was reading that was so funny. He was reading auto correct texts that people had posted on line. He read a few out loud. They were really funny. Wish I could have gotten a picture of him laughing. It made my day. LOL

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Breakfast with C-Shift.

John went to Central Fire Station this morning to have breakfast with the C-Shift guys.  I know he had a great time.  After he left I thought I would go back to sleep but Fred had other ideas.  He was up to stay which meant I was up too. LOL 

John at the mall from 3 to 11 today.

The fountain at the main entrance to Renaissance Mall.  Very cool looking fountain.

I stopped by Bob and Marcy’s tonight and played a round of 10 Penny.  Bob was the winner with a low score of 65.  I lost with a grand high score of 260. LOL

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Insurance

John at the mall from 7 to 3 today. While he was at work I went to the insurance agent’s office to get the paperwork completed for our new health insurance policies. That took about two hours. Glad that is over. Insurance is not one of my favorite things to work on.

Tonight we went over to Bob and Marcy’s and had burgers for dinner. After dinner we got ready to play cards and found John asleep on the couch.

He was tired so we played a couple rounds of 10 Penny until he woke up. Marcy won the first round, I won the second. When John woke up he played a round and as usual…..he won. LOL

Laugh everyday. Happy trails. Stay safe.

Haircut and Highlights.

Not much going on here today.  It was cold this morning but soon warmed up to the low 50s.  Of course John wore shorts…….. not me it was still too cold for my liking. LOL   John was still in bed this morning when I left for my hair appointment.  I tried to be very very quiet and not wake him up.  That is hard for me because for some reason I am just noisy.

Before the haircut and highlights.  Looks scary to me. LOL

After haircut and highlights.  Look at Fred peeping around the corner.  Look’s like he is thinking, “ What is she up to now.” LOL

You know there is nothing going on when I put pictures of my haircut on here.

Later this afternoon John and I made a grocery run to the local Kroger.   He tried to rest up today.  The past two nights he has worked at the mall and tomorrow he goes in at 7.

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Nosy Fred.

John at the mall from 3 to 11 today.  It is supposed to turn really cold here tonight…..in the 20s.  Brrrrrrrr!! 

This afternoon while I was cooking my spaghetti and meat sauce Fred decided to take up residence in John’s chair.  He laid there until he heard the sounds of a new rig pulling in…..then he was wide awake.

Getting settled in.

Ah that’s just the right spot. LOL

Finally something to look at.  I guess dogs are just as nosy as people.

While John was at work tonight I went over to Annie’s.  We thought about going out to a movie but changed our minds and had dinner and a movie at her house. 

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.

Homemade soup and Meatballs.

We had a day of misting rain and cooler temperatures.  It didn’t make it out of the 40s.  The next few days will be colder ……in the upper 20 and 30s at night. Not my kind of weather at all.  Since the weather wasn’t  so nice I cooked a pot of homemade soup and 65 meatballs.  We had the soup for lunch and the meatballs are for later to go with the spaghetti and meat sauce.

This picture doesn’t look very appetizing.  Oh well it tasted good. LOL

Meatballs everywhere.

Laugh everyday.  Happy trails.  Stay safe.