There's No Place Like Home

Shannon & I got home shortly after 8pm last night. Well, she did. That's when we got to her house. We had to unload her stuff and I had to visit with Phyllis & Olivia a few minutes. I got home closer to 9pm. Where I grabbed my purse, camera, knitting bag and stuff that would melt. Dirty clothes and suitcases could wait until today. And did.

Yesterday was the first day in the whole week that we weren't freezing. Or chilly, anyway. The highest temp during the whole week was about 68F. On July 3, no less. The guys and the kids lit a bunch of fireworks they bought at the vendor in Walmart's parking lot earlier in the week. I was amazed at how good they were. Not the big bangers they have at the festival shows. But lots of flash and spark to suit me and the little ones. And smoke. Cough, cough.

Saturday, we all trekked about 40 miles away to the small town of Thomas, West Virginia. They all stopped there at the Purple Fiddle last year on their way back from some waterfall. I didn't go as I was at a point in the week of wanting a bit of solitude. I got my solitude this year when they all trooped off Friday to a winery about 1 1/2 hours away. Gregg swore up and down that Thomas would be having their fireworks Saturday night. The Fourth. DGIL, Jess, argued that she had read they would be on Friday night. Gregg showed us on his Internet access via his cell phone that, yes indeed, fireworks to be on the Fourth of July.

The mass of them wanted to hit a brewery somewhere before going on to Thomas. I didn't want to do that any more than I wanted to go to the winery the previous day. I let them go and I went to Thomas a bit later in my own car. The Purple Fiddle was easy to find as the town only has 1 street. Actually it has 2. An upper street and a lower street. They are one way streets with the lower one being the one the PF was on. There were quite a few people walking around carrying portable chairs. Mid-block, there was a concert getting underway. A girl was singing Fortunately for me, I found a parking spot another half block away right in front of the PF and swung into it. It was only about 10 minutes before I saw some of my crew ambling up the street.

We sat in the courtyard to have our desserts and drinks. I had a yummy coconut-almond pound cake. It was huge. Several in the group had small tastes and ordered their own slices.

ITM, there was a guy wandering around the courtyard looking for his cell phone. He said it was his birthday and people had been calling him a lot. He couldn't remember where he last had it. We all called it, but it wasn't to be had out where we were. It turned out to be behind the bar inside. LOL Let's just say the fellow had been celebrating his birthday before we got there. Later, he came out and sat down to talk to me. I was sitting by myself at a table while the others had migrated over to a picnic/bench table next to it so the kiddos could eat. He kept calling me 'Mama' and proceeded to tell me his history. Recently moved to the area from DC, used to own a restaurant, was a licensed master electrician, etc, etc, etc. This has happened to me all my life. Drunks gravitate to me to spill their guts. And I am one of those people who never know what to say to them. So I grin like an ape and listen to the tale. At least he was pleasant.

BTW, there were NO fireworks Saturday night. They had been the night before! Score one for DGIL Jess. LOL When Gregg looked at his cell again, he noticed it was saying Just 4, 2008. We all had a good laugh at that, for sure. Most of them did stay for the bluegrass string band that was to perform at 8:30. I decided not to part with $7 and went back to Alpine Lake. On the way over, I almost wrecked the car when I rounded a curve and saw a long line of wind turbines on the crest of a mountain. They were beautiful! I've seen them in pictures but never imagine they were so huge. And the blades were turning slowly and gracefully in the wind. They looked like ballet dancers and were mesmerizing to watch. I took some pictures with my cell phone camera but haven't figure out how to get them onto the computer yet. Soon as the fog clears from my brain.

Another place I stopped (it was still daylight) was to drive up a road to see what is billed as "The Smallest Church in 48 States".
It was pretty small alright. And behind it was another building with a sign saying it is the smallest post office. I didn't get out. The door was open and I just drove near it to peek in. It looked like a lovely place to go for a bit of quiet meditation. The grounds were well kept and pretty in their own right.

We played games just about every night. Lots of laughing, teasing, yelling. Our family doesn't play sedately. Mucho competition among some. Here are some of the games we played till 1-2am.


'Eye to Eye, Junior' by Simply Fun.


'Hit Or Miss' by Gamewright


'Partini' by Parker Brothers


Because the weather was so lovely yesterday and warmed up, we packed up, cleaned house, checked out and headed for Alpine Lake and the beach for a few hours. We had to be out of the house by 11am. I felt so lazy that I kept putting off leaving. Finally, I told Shannon that we needed to go. It was 4pm. So, we said our fond farewells and drove off for PA. I knew the rest of them wouldn't get home till very late. Amy wrote on FaceBook this morning that they got in at 1am. They made a few stops along the way. I've learned the hard way that I can't keep up. So, I don't even try.

Oh yes. The meal the girls and I made was Mexican. Chicken enchiladas, frijoles, guacamole, Tostitos chips, and Margaritas. It was good if I do say so myself. There were only 2 enchiladas left over.

Garland Family Vacation. What To Cook?

It's that time of year again. The Garland family vacation begins next Monday. It will be a different kind of vacation this year. Although there will be a core group staying the whole week, the rest will be coming and going like there is a revolving door to the house. I will be there the entire week because I am taking MY car for a change. I finally put my foot down about being at the mercy of Phyllis & girls. Just about the time, I want to go somewhere, they need the car to head out exploring or going to the beach down at the lake. Then, I must choose whether I want to do those things or stay at the house and knit or whatever. This year, I can go or not go. But it won't be because I don't have wheels. Shannon is riding with me and will stay the week also.

I don't know if Jim & Lisa will be going or not. She has her 3rd chemo treatment this Wednesday and isn't sure how she will be feeling. If they do go, they'll go on Wednesday and come home on Saturday. I hope Lisa is able to make it. We need to coddle her for a bit.

Kim & her little family will go on Monday and leave on Wednesday. Her mom, Dawn (my former DIL) is leaving her DH and moving back to Lancaster. She's going to stay with Kim & Derrick until she finds a place of her own. I don't know where she's going to sleep. It's a tiny apartment. Melissa's not going at all this year due to her job.

Phyllis & Olvia will be there Monday-Friday. Olivia is starting a new job for the summer. Working at Schopf Brothers roadside stand. While it is roadside, it's next to their big old PA Dutch house and there is a big barn there. The barn is used at Christmas when they have wreaths and other greenery decorations inside. Right now, corn is coming into season this week. When corn is on the table, it's like ants at a picnic. People go berserk to get it. Especially this first corn and the fact that it's a holiday weekend. Big O will be a busy girl. I'll be getting my corn from the young Amish couple up the street. That's their farm at the top of this page. Corn, tomatoes, cukes, onions. Yummy. I live on tomato & cucumber sandwiches in the summer.

So, it looks like the core week long group will be Phil/Amy & boys, me, Shannon, Jenn/Gregg & their kids and Mike/Jess & Elijah.

One of the things we've always done is a different family cooks a meal each night. That way, we all get a hot, decent sit down meal every evening, but only have to cook one of them during the time period. With the revolving door thing, I'm not sure how that's going to work out.

I used to make Baked Ziti, but switched to Taco Salad last year. I made a homemade salsa w/cilantro and Phyllis made the Taco Salad. Kim is making the Ziti this year. I'm tired of the salad and have been searching for something else to make. I am still going to make the salsa. So, I'm leaning toward Tamale Pie. I haven't made that in a donkey's age. I found some good recipes complete with video when I Googled 'tamale pie'. Who needs cookbooks cluttering up the house? LOL Anyway, this one sounds the best and the addition of the corn is intriguing.