Fall Foliage....

In Florida, we only have two seasons....summer and January.    So we get excited about an opportunity to experience fall foliage.      We booked this cruise several months ago - Montreal to Miami.    We will board the ship later today and set sail this evening.

We flew to Montreal a couple of days early to enjoy the city.   Unfortunately the first day was spent in airports after cancelled flights and being rerouted - but we arrived safely.   

The view from our hotel was beautiful - exactly the color I had hoped we would see!  We walked through a spectacular Basilica that was nearby.   It's hard to imagine the work that went into creating this place of worship.   I could sit inside for hours just taking it all in...

The day was cool and very windy, but that didn't stop our walking tour.   Montreal has a complete underground city that includes restaurants, shopping malls and even a train station.   I found a wonderful creperie for lunch and plenty of window shopping to keep us busy.

Hoping we will have good internet service so I can update the blog as we continue our journey!
 
 
 

Ordinary Days....

Ordinary Days....

Life has been really busy lately and I had almost forgotten how wonderful it is to have an ordinary day.    A day without appointments.   A day when I can go for a leisurely walk....or read a book....or try a new recipe...or write a letter...or even clean the house and nothing has to get pushed aside to make room.

Fall is in the air and it feels wonderful.   Cooler mornings and nights.  Blue skies with lots of puffy white clouds and lots of sunshine.     Living in Florida we don't see much of a seasonal change so we have learned to embrace even the simplest changes.    

I always get a little nostalgic at this time of year.   It's such a wonderful family time and brings a smile to my face remembering holidays of the past and celebrations yet to come.   I'm reminded of friends who are currently facing challenging times; as well as friends and family who have overcome challenges to arrive at this present moment.    I am thankful for my friends, and my family, and the wonderful faith that my mother instilled in me as I was growing up (even when I didn't want to listen).

Happy Fall.    I hope you can soon enjoy an ordinary day....they are good for the soul.   I think I might try to package together an ordinary WEEK!!!

Kicking Off Wedding Season

Labor Day weekend was the "official kickoff" for Tyler and Mallory's wedding season!   Brandon and Esther hosted an engagement party for them at our house and it was a ton of fun!   The evening had a luau theme, and everyone dressed the part.   Friends and family gathered to celebrate with them.

The most fun of the evening was the games they put together for the event.   Even I couldn't answer many of the trivia questions!   My favorite by far was the questions/answers that put Tyler and Mallory in the hot seat - it was priceless!

Thanks to everyone who was there for them - now less than 7 months until the big day!!!

Asheville Wedding Weekend

Ever since the proposal last Thanksgiving, we have been excited about being a part of Liz and Jamie's wedding.   His parents have been friends of mine since 1984 and over the years they have been more like family than friends.   

It was a "destination wedding" in Asheville, North Carolina - one of our favorite retreats when we want to get away from Florida.   The couple found the PERFECT wedding location - a venue called The Farm that they reserved for the entire weekend.    We arrived a little early to help Karen get some things together and I had so much fun helping her create the room for the rehearsal dinner!!!

The entire wedding weekend was a beautiful blending of cultures.   Liz is Jewish and Jamie is Episcopalian and they wanted their marriage to not only join them as husband and wife, but also to show how the two religions could be joined.   It was perfect.

Wishing Liz and Jamie a lifetime of happiness!

 

A Quick Trip to Nashville

When we left West Virginia, we made a quick trip to Tennessee to visit Dan, Tanya and the grandchildren and see the new house.   The movers had only arrived a few days earlier, so we were prepared to help unpack, organize or whatever they needed.   What fun it was to arrive and see their sweet faces and let them give us a tour of their new, big house!

We were able to spend two days with them hearing about school and their new friends, walking in the neighborhood, shopping for the house and unpacking boxes.   We were sad to leave, but happy to see that they are in a great place. 

Special Birthdays

The first part of our road trip was back home to see my parents.   They both have August birthdays.   Mom celebrated her 80th while we were there, and Daddy celebrated 86 years yesterday.    They are doing great and it was fun to be there for a few days to visit with them.

Tyler and Mallory flew up on Thursday for the birthday celebration.   Mallory had never met Gram and Pop Pop and it was important to Tyler that they meet his future wife so they booked their flights to coincide with our trip.    Of course, flying to Huntington has its challenges.    They had a very early flight from Jacksonville to Charlotte, only to find out the Charlotte to Huntington flight was cancelled.   Tyler was quick to see that there was a flight leaving shortly for Charleston so he called to see if we could pick them up there instead.   They got seats on the flight to Charleston and we headed out to get them.

It was a great visit.   Mallory is very easy to be around and so are my parents so they were fast friends.   We picked up Stewart's hotdogs for everyone for lunch (Mallory needed a proper introduction to all things "Huntington"!)    Birthday dinner was at Huntington Prime.

Friday morning we went to Tutor's to pick up breakfast - Mallory LOVES biscuits so she was excited!   We spent the day together exploring a little of the Huntington Mall, checked out the garden in the back, and had dinner at home.   It was nice enough to spend time on the porch - with ice cream, of course!

They flew out on Saturday knowing that they had total grandparent approval.    We didn't do a lot of sightseeing in town, but we did drive through Ritter Park and to the Rose Garden.    We left on Sunday morning after breakfast - with wonderful memories.

ROAD TRIP!

Tomorrow we head out on a ROAD TRIP!   We'll drive to West Virginia to visit my parents and celebrate their August birthdays (Mom turns 80; Daddy will be 86!)    Even though I haven't lived there for 27 years it's still fun to go "home".    It isn't the house I grew up in, but it's a home where we've made lots of memories through the years.   We stop at my favorite restaurants, drop by familiar places, and when we have time - connect with dear friends who still live there.    

Tyler and Mallory are flying up just for two days.   She has never met my parents, and Tyler wants to introduce his bride-to-be to them so they can get to know her.    The timing is perfect because in addition to birthdays, we can also enjoy all the wonderful garden veggies from their backyard!

The next leg of our journey will be to Nashville to see Dan and Tanya and kids!  The movers arrived at the new house today so I can only imagine the chaos of five children and tons of moving boxes!   Fun times!   It will be a quick visit but I've packed my box cutter and Sharpies and plan to do a day or two of unpacking/organizing while we are there.    Have a few things to drop off.  Can't wait!!!

Then on to Asheville, NC for Jamie and Liz's wedding celebration!   I was flattered when Karen asked if I would help her with some of the details.   I've packed some things that are specific for the wedding weekend so thankfully we are driving up and not flying.   This is one of our favorite cities to visit - plus some of our closest friends - it's a win/win weekend!

I shopped today for our picnic supplies.   Whenever we take a road trip, I carefully plan something delicious that we can enjoy at a rest area along the way.    I stopped at Native Sun and picked up chicken salad, Whole Foods for heirloom tomatoes and Publix for everything else.   Tablecloth, paper products, bottled water are all ready to be loaded in the cooler.    It's so much nicer than stopping at a fast food restaurant and gives us a few minutes of calm in a day of driving.

You are probably picturing how full the car is at this point - and you are correct!   Thankfully we have lots of space.   Here is what it looks like so far - without the cooler or the luggage!

I will try to post updates along the way from my laptop!