Spring Has Sprung

Spring is here and with it the annual moving the motorhome from the back of the house to the front. Excitement and chaos reigned as Andrew and Maggie followed from window to window to the front door and out to the porch. What a glorius day. I can now see my backyard and all can see the motorhome.

Well I fell

I fell last night at work. Luckily it happen last hour of closing shift. There were no customers in the store. Unluckily the manager was in the office and could not hear me. Luckily I had my cell phone in my pocket and could call the store. Unluckily I could not get up on my on. Luckily he could help me up. Luckily end of story.

Been a while

It's been a while since I wrote down any thoughts.

I've gone back to work at Rite Aid. The Manager that I worked for called and ask. I was tired of sitting and scrolling through FB, money will be a definite plus so I agreed. I will be working 3 days a week, 20 hours. Did not start out that way, but it has evened out.

I have been working on my Pinterest Boards. That is more fun than FB and keeps my fingers busy. I'm not sure what my intentions are. I have been setting boards and organizing according to what I think others might be interested in. Inventive name, Donna Lewis.

My second page Hanging In and Hanging Out is pretty much a bust. I could never figure out how to make it work.

But I have learned a few things. I am seriously thinking about shutting FB account down. I'm really bored with it. I guess I have too much time on my hands and spend too much time on FB.

Jonathan, Krissy, and Andrew have gone to SC to spend a few days with her parents. It will be lonely. Wade working nights, me days. He is working my off days, I am working his. So it is me Maggie and Jack the cat.

Good night

Teapots

From Google Images

Saturday Alone

Wade is getting ready for work. I hate this especially on the weekends. I enjoy our time together. We can talk about anything or we can just sit quietly and be content.

I find myself being very jealous of our time together. I don't want to share. I guess it comes with age and the knowledge that our time together here on this earth is growing short and he is my best friend.

Henny-Penny

ONE day Henny-penny was picking up corn in the cornyard when--whack!--something hit her upon the head. 'Goodness gracious me!' said Henny-penny; 'the sky's a-going to fall; I must go and tell the king.'

So she went along and she went along and she went along till she met Cocky-locky. 'Where are you going, Hennypenny?' says Cocky-locky. 'Oh! I'm going to tell the king the sky's a-falling,' says Henny-penny. 'May I come with you?' says Cocky-locky. 'Certainly,' says Henny-penny. So Hennypenny and Cocky-locky went to tell the king the sky was falling.

They went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Ducky-daddles. 'Where are you going to, Hennypenny and Cocky-locky?' says Ducky-daddles. 'Oh! we're going to tell the king the sky's a-falling,' said Henny-penny and Cocky-locky. 'May I come with you?' said Ducky-daddles. 'Certainly,' said Henny-penny and Cocky-locky. So Hennypenny, Cocky-locky, and Ducky-daddles went to tell the king the sky was a-falling.

So they went along and they went along, and they went along, till they met Goosey-poosey. 'Where are you going to, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, and Ducky-daddles?' said Gooseypoosey. 'Oh! we're going to tell the king the sky's a-falling,' said Henny-penny and Cocky-locky and Ducky-daddles. 'May I come with you?' said Goosey-poosey. 'Certainly,' said Hennypenny, Cocky-locky, and Ducky-daddles. So Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey went to tell the king the sky was a-falling.

So they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Turkey-lurkey. 'Where are you going, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Gooseypoosey?' says Turkey-turkey. 'Oh! we're going to tell the king the sky's a-falling,' said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Duckydaddies, and Goosey-poosey. 'May I come with you, Hennypenny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Goosey-poosey?' said Turkey-lurkey. 'Oh, certainly, Turkey-turkey,' said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, and Gooseypoosey. So Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey all went to tell the king the sky was a-falling.

So they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they met Foxy-woxy, and Foxy-woxy said to Hennypenny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey: 'Where are you going, Henny-penny, Cockylocky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey?' And Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey poosey, and Turkey-lurkey said to Foxy-woxy: 'We' re going to tell the king the sky's a-falling.' 'Oh! but this is not the way to the king, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey,' says Foxy-woxy; 'I know the proper way; shall I show it you?' 'Oh, certainly, Foxywoxy,' said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey. So Henny-penny, Cockylocky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, Turkey-lurkey, and Foxy-woxy all went to tell the king the sky was a-falling. So they went along, and they went along, and they went along, till they came to a narrow and dark hole. Now this was the door of Foxy-woxy's cave. But Foxy-woxy said to Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkeyturkey: 'This is the short way to the king's palace: you'll soon get there if you follow me. I will go first and you come after, Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-turkey.' 'Why, of course, certainly, without doubt, why not?' said Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey.

So Foxy-woxy went into his cave, and he didn't go very far, but turned round to wait for Henny-penny, Cocky-locky, Ducky-daddles, Goosey-poosey, and Turkey-lurkey. So at last at first Turkey-lurkey went through the dark hole into the cave. He hadn't got far when 'Hrumph', Foxy-woxy snapped off Turkey-lurkey's head and threw his body over his left shoulder. Then Goosey-poosey went in, and 'Hrumph', off went her head and Goosey-poosey was thrown beside Turkey-lurkey. Then Ducky-daddles waddled down, and 'Hrumph', snapped Foxy-woxy, and Ducky-daddles's head was off and Duckydaddies was thrown alongside Turkey-turkey and Gooseypoosey. Then Cocky-locky strutted down into the cave, and he hadn't gone far when 'Snap, Hrumph!' went Foxy-woxy, and Cocky-locky was thrown alongside of Turkey-lurkey, Gooseypoosey, and Ducky-daddles.

But Foxy-woxy had made two bites at Cocky-locky, and when the first snap only hurt Cocky-locky, but didn't kill him, he called out to Henny-penny. But she turned tail and off she ran home, so she never told the king the sky was a-falling.

Good Morning

It's my morning quiet time. Andrew is in the kitchen playing with his trains with the ever inevitable train whistles. I really think that a lot of it is to get attention. But whatever he seems happy, while the rest of the crew goes nerves jangled.

Wade is finally stirring with the help of Maggie and I guess me. I coughed and Andrew took that as a signal to open our bedroom door and ask if I was ok.

My nose was itching and I guess I was doing the old allergic salute. Andrew wanted to know if my nose was running. I told him no and ask if his was running. I then told him if it was he'd better go catch it. Old joke, I know. I told him to go ask his Mother if her nose was running, he missed the punch line and all I got was about "What?" look. It entertained me.

I had a good ole door slamming temper tantrum yesterday. I got everyone's pants in a wad, forgive the expression. I refused to discuss it and everyone scattered to get out of Mama's way. I won't get into the why, just built up frustration over things I can't change. However, I got over it faster than everyone else. I slam doors, then I'm for the most part done. That is if folks would not keep prodding me. Anyway I got to mend fences today, I guess or not.

Home from the Sea.

As I watched the evening news, I think how different things are for the people trapped on Carnival's Triumph. Not very triumphant. I don't understand, we stood for 30 minutes in a mandatory safety meeting. It was held in front of the very lifeboats that would be lowered if the ship became crippled. I am guessing that they are reserved for sinking.

I know they would not be of use for this situation, but the have what they call tenders that are used to transport passengers to port when the ship cannot dock at land. They are 30 miles out of Mobile. The estimated time to land sometime between nine and midnight tonight and then another 4-5 hours to disembark.

The cruise I just ended was on a Carnival ship. They obviously are not prepared for emergencies. I should not be surprised as they did not even have an eye repair kit to fix Wade's glasses.

Home From The Sea.

Tuesday, we port at Key West. We woke to the shifts and shakes of the ship docking. Breakfast was Restaurant Cezanne breakfast buffet. Not bad, bacon eggs, grits and melon.
We took off for our "excursion" to Key West. The Conch Train Tour. One and a half hour through the narrow streets of Key West. Mr. Hemingway, Mr. Flagler and a brief history and we were back at the ship in time for lunch.
We hung out the afternoon in the Lobby where a cutesy game of Trivia was going on. Then out to the deck to watch as we sailed away.
Watched the sunset as we sailed away.

Home From The Sea

Monday we are at sea all day. The skies are overcast. We have not quite left the chill of Winter behind. The food is abundant and available 24/7. The casino is open, but we avoid this though it is tempting. It is still too cool to hit the pool. We hang out and people watch.
Dinner is disappointing. Their is no intimate seating. We were seated at a row of tables that had one long bench seat on one side and individual chairs on the outside. There was just enough room between each table to get to the bench side, if you turn sideways. That resulted in body parts and clothes hanging oner the table and food as people slid in and out. The food was nothing special. The service, well I think they must have had new servers.

Home From the Sea

We are back. 7 days at sea.
Saturday we left home headed to Mobile, AL. Our plan to spend the night, get up early, drive to New Orleans and beat the Super Bowl Rush.
Sunday morning we arrive at the Port of New Orleans. No problem with Super Bowl traffic or street closings as the dire e-mails warning from Carnival warned us about. Then we arrived at the parking garage where we had been assured was dedicated to cruisers. We drove level after level, no parking space and we had already paid our $112 for 7 days. Finally after going back down several levels we did find parking. We were told that some came minutes after us and were turned away.
We unloaded our luggage in the garage and it was thrown onto a growing pile to be loaded on the ship and delivered to stateroom. We then proceeded through all the hoops we had to jump to get aboard the ship ourselves.
Tired and more than ready to get to our rooms, we find the rooms are not ready. However our lunch is.

HANGING IN AND HANGING OUT

Well we are in Mobile. Bored. The room smells so strongly of bleach, I wonder what they are hiding.

I am ready to be in New Orleans and get aboard. I am nervous about going in to NO tomorrow. It is Super Bowl Sunday. Carnival has already sent us two messages cautioning us about closed streets and allowing enough time to arrive. They will sail at 4 pm with or without us.

I know within reason we will be there on time, but I am still nervous about it.

Andrew

HANGING IN AND HANGING OUT

i'm trying to figure out what to write about today. I seem to spin my wheels in all directions.
If I say what is on my mind, I'm in trouble. I guess it goes with the territory.

On a lighter note, the time is counting down to the cruise. We have our cruise clothes, I hope. We got hair cuts and today my toe and finger nails done. Three days preparation and still not packed

We went to the Thrift Store and found luggage. Evidently we decided we would not need luggage because we were traveling in a motorhome. We sold our luggage at a yard sale a couple of years ago. We have found we got rid of several things we now need.

The Story

Tomorrow Wade and I will celebrate our 41st Wedding Anniversary. Forty One Years, close to half a century. When I married Wade I had no expectation of 41 years. Now I expect 50+.

Wade and I was a fix up. I'm sure you all have heard the story. My Aunt Vera wanted me to meet her manager. He was divorced and had 2 boys. I was divorced and had 1 boy. Not the best scenario, but nothing ventured you know. She insisted I come to the store to meet him. They worked at KMart on Cleveland Avenue in Atlanta. Wade Lewis meet Donna Mitchell (ex) and my aunt promptly disappeared. Wade and I talked, he invited me to dinner. I then I told him I would have to call my Mother. I was 26 and I had to call my Mother. Well she was babysitting for me.
That was in October 1971, we were married January 29, 1972.

Cruising

We leave a week from tomorrow heading for New Orleans. We are going on our first cruise in over 10 years. The first and last cruise was to Alaska. I'm not sure this will be as awe inspiring, but I am looking forward to getting away to new territory.
The Bahamas. I never expected to go. I never expected to go to all the places we have been. God has truly blessed us.

Painted Desert, Petrified Forest just places you hear about. Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, Giant Sequoias, Redwoods all sites that boggle the imagination. San Francisco Bay, Golden Gate Bridge never thought I would ever be there. Mount Olympus, Mt Rainier and Glacier National Park. Magnificent. Yellowstone National Park with Buffalo, Elk, Bear all in natural habitat. Old Faithful, a dream. The Tetons, majestic. Mt Rushmore, Custer State Park. Taking five months just to see all that. Wow, I am in awe of the beauty and the majesty of this country.

This past Fall, New York State, the beauty of upper New York. Niagara Falls awesome. Lake Champlain in Vermont.New Hampshire, Mt Washington, White Mountains,The Coast of Maine, Massachusetts, Plymouth, Cape Cod. Pennsylvania, Valley Forge, Gettysburg and Philadelphia. All that history too much to absorb in one visit. It makes you stand taller.

We should have started younger.

I grew up

I'm skipping around as things come to mind.
I was born in Jacksonville, FL. on August 4, 1945. In about 1947 or48, Mother, Daddy and I traveled to Atlanta. We moved in with my Mother's sister (Eula and Edd Smith) at 2184 Rhinehill Rd, S.E. At that time this was in the county and not heavily developed.
I started school while I lived there. Lakewood Heights Elementary, grades 1-7.
In 1955, 4 days after my 10th birthday, my sister Martha Cheryl (Sherrypie)was born.
In 1958 we moved to 2168 Meador Ave., S.E.

Apple Cake with Walnut and Coconut

https://sites.google.com/site/jamsnpansprintablerecipes/apple-cake-with-walnut-and-coconut
I'm checking ways to use this blog.
I have included a link to a recipe
Apple Cake with Walnuts and coconut
Enjoy

Gabby

Mother and Grandmother

I had the most excellent role model. Vera Lee Newman was the poster for homemaker, Mother and Grandmother
She was loving, kind and the best cook.
Mother loved her children and grandchildren and great grandchildren.
She was willing to do what was in her power to help. She babysat, loaned, housed, fed and loved.
My Daddy James Benson Dodson came along for the ride.

Daddy was pretty much shifted from place to place growing up until he went to live with my Aunt Elsie. His Mother died when he was young and his Father was not able to deal with and support 6 children.

When Mother came along, she made a home for him. He worked hard to support that home and Mother.

The Story

In 1968 I divorced my husband, was with a beloved aunt at her death, struggled to overcome pneumonia, lost my Grandfather and a young Brother in Law. I do no look back at that year very often.

Until the Fall of 1971, I floated in a haze.  I have no particular memories that bears repeating. My son and I lived in the basement apartment of my parents. My attempts at making it on my own ended with my bout of pneumonia.

1971 brought a blessing to mine and my son's life.   An Aunt finally convinced me to come and meet her manager.  Wade Lewis brought stability to mine and Alan's life. He showed us that we were worthy of having a complete family.

We were married January, 29, 1972.