My goodness, we have been busy!
The cold hit in December, with our traveling north to Warsaw for the holidays. Had a great time with family. Tammy cooked Christmas dinner - rib roast that melted in your mouth! Yum! We played games with the kids - pictionary. We laughed, we giggled, we had a great time.
Came home and Rick went back to work in the cold. The job for the next few weeks was putting on outside doors at a newly built school. Which meant that he was working outside, in the freezing cold and wind, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week for three weeks. My poor husband was frozen every night, chilled to the bone :(
Finally, he comes to me and says "we're having a lay-off for two weeks starting the 15th. Let's go south and warm up!"
I told him that he was responsible for the details and I would gladly come along.
Today I'm sitting in the kitchen of a friend's home near Birmingham, AL. It's getting chilly outside, about 50 or so. But warm enough for me :)
We first went to Port Orange, FL to visit with his sister and BIL. I sat outside, on the lanai with my computer and worked while catching some freckles :) Initially it was a bit chilly, 50 to 60 degrees, but the sunshine made everything worthwhile! Alyssa and I went in to Daytona Beach and we drove on the beach in her cadillac; that was fun :) Then we went to a marina that rescues sea turtles - did you know that sea turtles can get as large as 8 feet long and weigh 1800 lbs? Wow. She showed me a beautiful light house on the point, long and tall and painted brick red. We didn't go in because time was running out and I needed to 'work' on my computer :) But we had a delightful day out, with opportunity to get to know each other. Being married to Rick for 18 years I finally got to spend some time with his sister - and I truly enjoyed myself.
Alyssa and I also found the local bead store, Imagine That!. I found some terrific matte blue beads, not sure what they are but the striation caught my attention. They're round, about 12 mm (I know, large for me!) and they were cheap. I think I'll stitch up some herringbone tubes and string them in between the 5 rounds. Then Alyssa found a strand of square, glass, pinkish/blueish/grayish beads. They're very pretty, looking almost ceramic. She grabbed them up and says "Char, do you think you can make something with these?" Of course I gladly said yes. My first project upon getting home will be to design her a necklace with these. Yes, I'll scan the finished project and post a picture before sending it off to her :)
We left on Tuesday and made our way to the panhandle. Mom is in her RV at DeFuniak Springs, just north of Destin. The 5 hour drive to Defuniak Springs was uneventful and boring - picture I-10 as a tunnel of pine trees for 4.5 hours of the drive. Blah! The cold followed us, so the first night in the camper was brisk - it got down to 35 degrees. Yes, she has a heater, thank goodness. The next morning we all realized that the camper is simply not made to hold three adults comfortably. Our original intent was to sleep in her outside room (a wonderful screened in 'room' attached to the camper), but the weather did not cooperate. Love you Mom, but we agreed it was too close for comfort :)
Rick and I rented a cabin at the resort for the next three days. It faced King Lake, a fishing lake known for large bass, and by Friday the sun was out and it was over 70 degrees. Yes, I caught a few more freckles while working on my computer. Rick met a fella in the cabin two doors down. He was from Iowa and had a boat so the two of them spent all day Friday on the lake. It doesn't matter that they didn't catch anything. All that matters it that Rick finally got a chance to fish in Florida :)
Mom joined us for all meals, whether we cooked in at the camper or took her out for lunch and dinner in town. We had a good visit. I think the last time I spent time with Mom was in Indianapolis sometime in September, so it has been a while.
We left DeFuniak Springs Saturday morning and headed north toward Birmingham, AL. We thought we were in for another 5 hour drive, but we were pleasantly surprised when 3.5 hours later we were rolling into the neighborhood. Dan and Karen live in a suburb of Birmingham. They're friends from Indianapolis and I haven't seen either one of them for about 4 years. Rick has spent some time with them at their cabin on a nearby lake, and at their home. He traveled for work last year and was able to fit in some visiting time. So it is a real treat for me to be here to spend time and catch up with the two of them.
So, that's how I ended up sitting in the kitchen of a friend's place near Birmingham, AL. We'll head home Monday. Rick is relaxed and warm. I am happy to know that my business is portable, and I did catch a face full of freckles :) We'll both be ready to tackle the world come Tuesday. Until then? We'll gladly talk and eat and drink coffee with good friends.
Until next time....bead happy, bead on!
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