Thanksgiving

Linda and I left Mocksville on Wednesday morning and went to see Linda’s kids for Thanksgiving. Hung out with the kids and grandkids, and had Thanksgiving at her daughter Laurie’s house. The new hardwood floors got installed just the day before so they actually could have the meal in the dining room. The appliances, in the kitchen, aren’t installed yet so she couldn’t cook the meal but we did have a table to sit at. She had ordered two family meals from Cracker Barrel and we stopped to pick them up on the way from Stephanie’s house to Laurie’s. The lady at Cracker Barrel took the list and double checked it (so she said) and loaded the box full of food and put it into the trunk. We arrive at Laurie’s house and unpack it to find no meat. There were a couple of slices of ham but no turkey and no stuffing. She calls Cracker Barrel and they are very apologetic but it doesn’t negate the fact that it’s a 25 minute drive (each way) back to Cracker Barrel to pick up the forgotten items. Off Stephanie and Jessie go to pick it up. An hour later we all sit down to our Thanksgiving meal. To show their remorse, the manager sent a chocolate pecan pie and a Coca-Cola Cake with the missing ham and turkey. My, they sure know how to make you forget about their silly mistake. I can still taste that cake…yum yum !
While in Norfolk, we took all of the dogs to the PETA dog park. Boy, is it a nice park right on the water’s edge. There is a ramp that goes down into the water so the dogs can swim if they want to. This park is actually one that was built with funds donated by Bea Arthur, from Golden Girls. I know Boomer had a blast swimming and running. PETA monitors activities in the park via surveillance cameras. Anyone seen being mean to their dogs can be kicked out of the park or fined.

On Friday night, Matt (Laurie’s husband) remembered that the light show at the Botanical Garden was going on so we went. It’s called “Garden of Lights” and was really cute. It is a drive through exhibit and in one part, the lights are synchronized to the music playing on FM 94.5. That was pretty neat. All sorts of scenes set up…one area was like driving under the sea with a fire breathing dragon, coral, fish, etc. The kids really had a great time looking at all of the characters and lights.






On Wednesday night when we arrived, Stephanie and Jess had tickets to watch Old Dominion University and Vermont play basketball. I’ve never been to a game other than a high school game so it was fun to see all the hype, theatrics, TV cameras,etc that goes along with big time basketball.
Such a close game too…it ended up going into overtime and each fought to stay ahead but in the end Vermont won by 2 points. Wow, it was exciting.
There was a little girl sitting in front of us that had a little cheerleader outfit on. Every time the cheerleaders got up to do their thing, this little girl would stand on her daddy’s knees and try to do the cheers along with the team. At the end, she’d jump up in the air and her father would catch her in his lap, just like when the girls come down from their pyramid. It was so cute and we got a kick out of it every time she did it.



Had a great time with the family. Lots of great memories to cherish until we get back this way next year to make some more. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving day with the ones they love.

Food, Facials and Tom Foolery.....

The Sweely Clan Sitting Down to Thanksgiving Dinner...

I had a wonderful time at my mom's over the Thanksgiving holiday. My daughter stayed up until Sunday and then I drove her back to Philly. We had a wonderful dinner, prepared by my mom....with contributions by all of us. On Friday Becky and I needed to drive to her dad's house to pick up her suitcase which she left in the trunk of his car. We did a little shopping, got the oil changed in my car and went back to hang out with mom. On the way back to mom's house, we went by the site of the gas well that Linda and I saw the last time we were home. Here it is now...all capped off and producing gas. Two more have popped up within a short distance from my mom since that time.

Becky had made up a "To Do" list while at grandmas house and one of the tasks was to make cookies. Sounded like a fun thing to do so mom pulled out her mother's sugar cookie recipe and they made oodles of cookies. Becky decorated all of them except for one.....I had the honor of doing one in a sun/moon motif. I was going to take it home to Linda but my brother ate it before I could get it boxed up to take home.

Thanksgiving evening Becky and I went up to my younger brother's house to watch him make maple cotton candy. He needed to make a bunch of it to take to a craft show this past weekend so he had the cotton candy machine fired up and was in full production.

Here my niece Angela is stirring the sugar blend while a
heat lamp keeps it warm....

My brother, Jim pours some of the sugar mixture into the machine...

And...voila..here's the finished product..ready to bag up.

It's good stuff...I'm not a fan of cotton candy but this isn't as sweet as the other stuff and has a light, maple taste. He was going to make up around 60 bags of it, which he said would take him about an hour to make.

Saturday night Becky and I had facials....she had bought some packets of "mud" and an avocado/olive oil blend and we were all set for some pampering. It was fun and our faces came out really soft and smooth. I brought the remainder of the packets home and gave Linda a facial tonight and also painted her toes.

It was a wonderful weekend, with lots of laughs and good food. I drove Becky back to Philly Sunday afternoon. On the way we stopped at the Rt 15 flea market and we loaded up on veggies, fresh pressed cider and some cute things bought from the outdoor vendors. The car was filled to the brim with all sorts of goodies when I dropped Becky off at her place. Arrived home about 9:30 Sunday night....

Today Linda and I took some items to the Ali Forney Center in Manhattan. This is a wonderful facility that serves as a shelter to homeless gay and lesbian youth. These young people have been kicked out of their families' homes because of their sexual orientation and have no place to go. We didn't think the trip was going to be as difficult or stressful as it turned out to be. We had to go through the Holland Tunnel and then drove straight up through Manhattan...through tons of traffic. We got to the center on 35th street and found a place to park right across the street. We grabbed the bags of items we had taken, put our four way flashers on and headed into the building. We only stayed about 10 minutes...just enough time to get some info from the receptionist and leave our items with her. We get back to the car and find a $115 ticket on our windshield....oh great !! It would have been cheaper to have stayed home and sent them a $100 check than to brave the traffic, spend $8 to go through the Holland Tunnel and then get this stupid ticket. We'll just keep telling ourselves that it was all for a good cause.....grin and bear it !!

Tomorrow, it's back to work....

Happy Thanksgiving !

Wanted to post something as it's been a while since I've put anything on here. We have been working hard, getting ready for a Vice President's visit to our unit next week. Yesterday and today I put several coats of wax on the office and restroom floor. Our store/office is really quite large so it took almost a gallon of wax to do it all and I had to divide the space into thirds before getting it all done. Since I was doing the largest part of the room today, I locked the door that goes from the office into the hallway leading to the storage unit and placed a sign on it that said they needed to use the side door to get into the office. Well, our cranky postman arrived and came to that door and do you think he read the sign....heck no. He tried the door, then yanked hard enough that I thought he was going to pull it off its hinges. All huffy, he finally came around and in the front door. This is the same postman that couldn't bother to deliver our mail to us when the rear gate was broken. He said he wouldn't drive on Rt 1 to access us although our address is 1004 Rt 1. He's a real piece of work....one of our wonderful federal workers at the postal service.

Anyway, got the floors done shortly after lunch today. Boy, do they look awesome ! Nice and shiny like a new penny. Then it was time to start working on month end reports. I am off now till next Tuesday. I'm heading out early in the morning to go to my mom's for Thanksgiving and will stay there till Sunday. My daughter and son are coming up too from Philly. My son will have to go back home tomorrow afternoon but my daughter will stay up and I'll give her a ride home on Sunday. It will be fun to see each of them. I haven't seen my son in quite a few months. My daughter has already given my mom a list of things she "wants to learn"...how to make candy, canning, etc. Sounds like we have a busy few days ahead of us.

On this Thanksgiving day, what are you thankful for ? I am thankful for the love, guidance and wisdom of my mother. For the great relationship I have with my kids. For Linda's love, friendship and support. For a circle of friends that we've gathered in our days of full-timing in this wonderful RV'ing lifestyle. Here's hoping that all of our friends and family have a blessed Thanksgiving and safe travels ahead of them ! We love you all and think of you often....