CATCHING UP

I was shocked when I looked at my Blog this morning and realized that I had not posted in quite a long time. You would think that I have been sitting idle and nothing has been happening since that birthday week. Well, how wrong you would be. I, actually, have been quite busy and enjoying life to the fullest.

On Sunday, October 23rd, Sara and I left her house at 10:30 and drove to Lake Barkley, Kentucky. The drive there was really pretty, especially along the highway to Clarksville and that area. The leaves were turning to mostly deep reds and bronze colors but sprinkled in among them would be a gold - just enough to give you a beautiful vista of the countryside. We pulled into the Lodge at Noon and enjoyed the marvelous Sunday Buffet Lunch that we have grown to love and enjoy whenever we get the opportunity. I do believe that food just tastes better sitting in that beautiful building with glass walls overlooking the lake. After stuffing ourselves to the max - including banana pudding and pie - we went to the office and got our key to our room. We had a porch with comfortable chairs overlooking the lake from that side, which was different from the dining room scene. We watched the boats at the marina, the fishermen as they cast their rods hoping for a catch and we watched the birds dive down into the water for their "afternoon snack". We went inside after viewing the sun go down with all of its bright array of color and got out our Scrabble board and began to play our favorite game. Of course, we were not hungry for dinner but Sara's daughter had made us a big box of coconut macaroons and we enjoyed those with coffee as we played. A good night's rest in a very comfortable bed followed all that activity and we woke up rested, happy, and hungry. We were not disappointed in the lovely breakfast in the lodge dining room. We walked around for a few minutes, went back and played our last Scrabble game and then left, reluctantly, to drive back home. What a lovely "get-a-way" we had enjoyed. This was our joint birthday celebration since her birthday and mine are only a couple of weeks apart. So you see, I was still celebrating. Birthdays are to be enjoyed but sometimes I take it to the extreme.

November 1st -still part of the birthday - Barbara took me to a wonderful Italian restaurant, Antonio's, for a delightful dinner and then I took her to Tennessee Performing Arts Theater to see Wicked. What a night - what a wonderful theater experience - Barbara is my "dramatic" friend, having been in many plays and being an accomplished musician, she was a wonderful partner for this event. I went home with her and spent the night. Over breakfast we rehashed the entire performance of Wicked and gave our critical review. We had nothing but praise for the actors, actresses, sets, and music so if we were writing for the paper it would have been a glowing report.

My most recent wonderful experience occurred just this week. Corinne, through her connections with Dollar General Corporation, obtained three tickets to the opening night at Opryland Resort and invited Nita and I to accompany her. We went to the hotel and walked through the Delta Area and thought it was just breathtaking - the poinsettias, the lush green plants, the Christmas lights and decorations and then we made our way to the Cascades Area and saw more of the most wonderful Christmas trees made of lights, a tree of nothing but red poinsettias and we could hardly breathe it was so majestic. We found a lovely little restaurant and had salads, bread, and wine that afforded us time for quiet conversation. Leaving the restaurant we wandered out to the front of the hotel to see the millions of lights that had been turned on just a few hours before. We decided to leave the hotel and make our way to the Grand Old Opry Building for the Rockettes Show. Our seats, that were complimentary, were on the third row and we could see everything so vividly. The Rockettes were beautiful women and the men that were in the ensemble were handsome. The costumes were prettier than ever and there was no way anybody could leave that theater after seeing the live Nativity Scene and hearing The Hallelujah Chorus without carrying with them the spirit of Christmas. Corinne remarked on the way to the car "now I'm ready". Such a delightful evening and I am so glad that Corinne made it possible for me to enjoy the Rockettes again. I have now seen their Christmas Show 16 times - starting in New York and then Chicago and here in Nashville for 10 years. I never tire of it and, hopefully, I will be able to see it next year.

The next thing that will be happening here for me is Thanksgiving. This holiday has changed this year. I have been very sad about it and, in fact, shed tears over it. I never thought that the day would come when my entire family would not gather for Thanksgiving, at least in my lifetime. This year it was decided that there was too many children and adults to gather in one place. I remember one Thanksgiving when Billy and I lived in the condo we packed everybody in that tiny space and that was when we had Aunt Ree's bed in the living room. I thought it was a perfectly delightful day. So, the plan this year is that Nita will have just her family at her house. Tracey will spend her day with the Wiseman Family. Kim, Brad, Patrick, Mikka, Joesea, John Patrick, Corinne, Mark, Brad, Jackson, Cassie, Jacque, Wayne and I will enjoy our day at Kim and Brad's house. Leslie and her family will be with the Moran family. I plan to go to Kim's on Wednesday and start cooking and we will watch the Macy's Christmas Parade on Thanksgiving morning while enjoying Mimosas and sausage balls as we finish cooking the dinner to be served at 5:00PM. Yes, it will be different, but such is life and I have found that there are changes taking place each and every day and I must either adapt or get left behind. If you know anything about me "left behind" is just not going to happen. Our plan after dinner is to drive to Music Valley Drive and see the Christmas Lights that are synchronized to music and as you drive through the area the lights will come on and off the display and it is supposed to be quite a spectacle. I am looking forward to it. Anything Christmasy with lights and Santa, and angels and stars and all the rest make me happy. Christmas is a lovely time and, along with Thanksgiving, gives us all pause to remember that God is good - all the time.