We're Home!

Herm forced me to get on the plane; darn it! I did NOT want to come home. We had the best time in Cancun. I love it there. We stayed at the Blue Bay Club Cancun. The resort is as far from the hotel zone as you can get. That means it was low key, peaceful, and perfect. I never knew I would like just laying on the beach so much. They have thatched roof umbrella shaped roofs that were perfect for me. I can't take the sun.

We liked it so well, we joined their vacation club. As members (actually the membership is with Premier by Original) we received VIP treatment and it was wonderful. I got so spoiled having someone bring me unlimited virgin pina coladas! I know, I know, I am a wuss! I don't drink, but they taste just as good without the booze. But, the bartenders kept repeating "no booze?" in stunned voices.

My right knee started acting up at the Cancun airport. We were in such long lines for immigration and customs. By the time we got to the hotel I was getting very cranky. They warn you about the time share people at the airport and Herm got pulled in for at least 45 minutes. I wasn't happy about standing around and there were no chairs or benches. But that was the only real bad experience I had.

On Saturday we went to Isla Mujeres; a lovely, small island near Cancun. You rent a golf cart there to see the whole island. They have the most beautiful colors on their homes. They were getting ready for Carnivale and there were floats loaded with dances everywhere. We had a great day.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday each week they have dinner theater performances. They were fun takes on Disney themes. Monday was Pirates of the Caribbean, Wednesday The Lion King and Friday was The Little Mermaid. On Saturday they had a special Tribute to Micheal Jackson show. We really enjoyed the shows.

The food was wonderful! I tried new things and found I liked them. For instance: jicama (not sure if I spelled it right). A Mexican food vegetable that's taste and texture seemed to be a cross between a water chestnut and a raw potato. Tasty!

Blue Bay Club is not a new, elaborate hotel. But the staff more than makes up for that. The service was super and we will be going back next year. Okay, now to post a few photos and I will stop boring you.

TTFN,
Ginny

My Dear Husband's 60th Birthday Party

What a fun evening we have had! All of my husband's brothers and sisters (along with their spouses) and all of our children and grandchildren gathered at a local restaurant tonight to celebrate his 60th birthday. He is the oldest of 10 children, so his reaching 60 is a milestone.

Our favorite local party place is the Dorf Haus. A German restaurant in the tiny village of Roxbury. The owners and their staff are wonderful and helped to make things special. Herm's brother, Paul (the baby of the family), got everyone there. Paul's wife, Tina, made adorable little favors of tiny wine bottles filled with M&Ms. Tina also ordered a cake from a friend of hers. It was so neat, a singing fish with gummy worm baits in Oreo "dirt".

I ordered the entertainment. If you live within 200 miles of Madison, Wisconsin and need a singing telegram I have just the person. Her name is Catherine and she is know as the Banana Lady. She came as Nurse Nancy to make sure Herm was fit to celebrate such a big birthday. Hilarious! She even made balloon animals for the grandchildren. Herm and our son, Mike, had balloon birthday hats, too. Catherine has a number of characters that she does and she incorporates information about the person into her performance. And, of course, she gets the birthday person very involved in it as well. I will attempt to post photos here.

Monday morning we leave for Cancun; weather permitting. So, I will be out of touch for over a week. I'm a little afraid of internet withdrawal but, all in all, it should be a good thing. Nothing to do for a whole week but read and talk to Herm.

TTFN,
Ginny

Still in Gulf Shores

We decided to spend another night in Gulf Shores so here I am blogging another day. Today we went to the National Naval Aviation Museum. It was so cool! First we took in an IMAX movie titled "The Magic of Flight". It was mostly about the Blue Angels who are based in Pensacola. You have never "flown" until you ridden with the Blue Angels via IMAX. Wow!!!! After the movie we went on a tour of the "flight line", (where they park all the planes), via a tram. The driver was very knowledgable about all the planes and a pretty good comedian to boot. Being on a naval air station brought back a lot of memories for DH and I! Photos at the top of the post as usual.

This evening we went to visit our Wisconsin neighbors who winter down here. They have a really nice two bedroom unit about 13 miles from here. The two of them were kind enough to take us out to dinner at a cute little Mexican restaurant near their place. I think we might consider trying this out as an option when DH retires.

In the morning we are heading home. We're planning on taking two to two and a half days to travel, no more rushing to get "there". (Besides, who wants to hurry to get home anyway?) I will miss the beach and looking for shells, but I won't miss how tired and sore I am from walking in the sand. I know, I know...it is such good exercise! But when you haven't exercised in a while, wow, you really feel it!

The photos are all from the museum. One of the photos is the actual plane former President George W. Bush was in when he landed on the USS Abraham Lincoln. This museum has it all! The RVAW 120 patch is from the squadron DH and I were both part of when me met; so romantic to see it again after all this time.

Hopefully we will stay somewhere tomorrow night so I can post and let you know how our day went.

TTFN
Ginny

Promised Photos

Okay, I'm having trouble sleeping tonight, so I will post a couple of photos from the Opry last night. Just remember that, although they aren't great photos, they are mine and if you repost them somewhere else I ask that you give me credit. Now, business out the way here a few!

Well, here will be a few when I figure out what I am doing wrong. Hmmm...I am not sure why I can't post them here. It should be easy. Done, but the labels didn't print. Oh well, enjoy and I will add another post with a few other shots.

Wow!!!

The Grand Ole Opry was everything we hoped it would be and we had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We started out shopping for shoes, (of course I forgot the ones I needed for tonight). Then we went to a couple of museums and ended up having lunch at a little family diner called Rudi's. The name stems from RU for Russ, DI for Diane and the S is for their son James, (slave labor, I know the S has nothing to do with his name). We were the only customers for most of the time we were there and Diane took their stage with a gentleman whose name is Leon Rhodes. He actually played at the Grand Ole Opry tonight with the Whites. Speaking of the Whites (two sisters), I would bet my favorite anything that they were sitting a the table next to us last night at Shoney's. I didn't know who they were then and I nearly fainted when they took the stage.

We saw: Darryl Worley, he is so tall, 6ft 5 inches, wow! Kathey Mattea was wonderful, but Ray Stevens took the cake. He was so funny and so was Mike Snider. We laughed the whole time. Kathy Mattea sang "Where Have You Been" and brought the house to tears. It was so beautiful!

Tomorrow I will post some photos and tell more about the show. I thought I could do it all tonight, but I find I am way too tired. I just wanted to say how much fun we had and wish you all could have been there!

TTFN
Ginny

We Made It!

Whew, what a long day of driving we had. We left home at 6:30 this morning and arrived in Nashville about 5:30 this afternoon. Had a little trouble finding the hotel, but hey, we're here! We went to Shoney's for supper and I ate too much. I really try not to do that, but they had fish and hush puppies! Needless to say, I am suffering a little tonight. Can't sleep yet cause my tummy's upset.

I was horrified by all the damage from the recent ice storm in Kentucky and Tennesee. There were tree branches down everywhere you looked along the highway. Some of the cedars, (I think), were bent over in an obvious reaction to an ice overload. It was really sad! On another note, we also saw a ton of dead coyotes. Weird! At home roadkill is mostly deer or racoons. Here we saw coyotes and lots of little dead animals that I couldn't always identify, except for the occasional skunk!

Our hotel room is average. The pillows are hard and flat; I brought my own, but I still can't get comfy. I am really spoiled by my Craftmatic adjustable bed at home. It sounds silly, but they really are great. The mattresses are perfect and you can have the head of the bed up just right. DH likes his feet up but it just looks uncomfortable to me. LOL.

We are going to try to find something to do during the day tomorrow. Maybe a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame or something similar. DH loves to explore new places. Our hotel is on the edge of Nashville and the Ryman theater is downtown so we have about a 15 minute drive tomorrow evening to get to our show. I'll post again tomorrow night to dish on the show and maybe even add a few photos!

Gonna try to sleep now.

TTFN
Ginny

Feeling Old!

Yesterday my baby turned 29! How the years fly. Just a few days ago it seems he was this adorable little boy playing peek-a-boo with us and now he is married and being responsible. I am so proud of him, and my others, for growing into such a neat young person. But, I still miss those little faces and sweet, sweet smiles. Oh, gotta stop! I'll have myself in tears if I don't. LOL (sort of anyway)
My youngest granddaughter called me today, with help from her mommy, to ask me to send her a letter. A little boy on one of her cartoons got a letter and she wants one too! She is too cute, I wish I could see her more often. At least I get to talk to her almost every day. So, I am glad I got Valentine's cards made for all four of them today. I created a disaster in the craft room but I finished them in one sitting. There is glitter everywhere, I even found some on my DH after I hugged him! Now I just have to mail them, along with some candy I bought each of them.

One week from today we leave for Nashville! I know I keep going on about it, but I really am excited. DH is too!

Keeping it short tonight!

TTFN
Ginny

Doing it for Myself

I have decided that I am doing this blog just for myself. No one has left me any comments so...I am doing it for my own need for expression.

Let's see, what has been going on since my last post? Not as much as I'd like, but more than I expected. I have not done anything toward starting my quilts yet. I need a new machine, but DH says I must wait until Christmas for that. Rats! But I guess I could start on the applique if Mom doesn't mind sharing her machine.

In the meantime, I have been working on my clothes; you know, like sorting, weeding out things I'll never wear again, etc. I have gained a few pounds and ended up taking a few things out of the box from a couple of months ago. Buying clothes is so frustrating. My upper chest and lower body are smaller than my middle section. If I buy the correct size for shoulder and bust area, the middle is too tight. If I buy jeans to fit my waist area, you notice I said area because I don't really have a waist, they are too big in the leg and butt areas. I ordered a dress for my son's wedding. It fit beautifully in the middle area, not too tight or anything. But the bust, OMG, it fell off me and left my whole chest exposed. Not a pretty sight. So, I returned the dress...too late for a refund; store credit only. When I went to the web site to reorder something, I decided to get some tops. The tops all had nicely fitted bust areas and looked really flowy on the models. They came today. The tops fitted me perfectly in the bust and shoulders but the flowy area wasn't as loose as it looked. I look like a sexy pregnant lady in them. The girls look great, but the bulges are horrible, I look 8 months pregnant in them. I could deal with that, maybe, if I were in my 30's or early 40's, but I am 56! Aaaaaaargh! Now what do I do? I guess I could return them for another store credit, but I don't think anything from that store will fit me.

DH and I are starting to think about our winter vacation. We are thinking Hawaii maybe. It all depends on whether or not we have enough credits in the vacation club we belong to. In 2005 we took a week-long cruise to Montego Bay Jamaica, Grand Cayman Island, and Cozumel Mexico. The next year we went to Hawaii and vacationed on Oahu. In 2007, we went back to Hawaii and stayed at the same resort, (can you tell we loved it the first time?). Then in February of this year we took another week long cruise that revisited a couple of places we had been before, (Cozumel and Nassau), but we also got to go to Belize. Belize was our favorite port of call. We went to an eco-park and had such a nice time. So, now we just have to figure out where we want to go this year. Any suggestions? Please leave me a comment by clicking on the comments link below this post.

Mom and I are going to take some things in to the consignment shop in Madison this afternoon. I would rather have the money and room in my closet than to try and keep them hoping they will fit again some day.

TTFN,
Ginny