I returned to work on Tuesday morning to find out that our server on our computers has been down since last Thursday and we don't know how long it is going to take to fix it. I was told we would definitely not be able to do anything that day.
We have begun to try to spruce up the front offices and there was a few things that still needed painting. Linda and Donna were going to paint, so I decided to join them. So I went home and got some painting clothes and we got to work painting trim. There are not too many things that I hate worse than painting, but it was better than doing nothing. I might as well be constructive.
At lunch, Linda and I went to check into tanning at Palm Beach Tans. We want to have a little color before our cruise and it is only 19 days away. It's time to get started! We weren't real happy with what they had to offer, so we decided to shop around to see if we could find a better deal. I went to Ultimate Tans and they had unlimited tanning for a month for $35. That's more like it. So I had my first session then of 10 minutes.
We are really getting excited about our cruise now! It seems like it has been so far off...but it's right on top of us now. Really hope I can drop a few lbs. before we go because from what I hear, we will definitely be eating a lot on the ship.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Good Bye for Now
Grandmother Erma had explicit instructions of how she wanted things at her funeral. She wanted the wake and funeral to be held back to back on the same day. So Monday, April 13 at 11:00, family and friends came to Radney's on Dauphin St. to pay their final respects. The funeral was held from Radney at 12:00 and the burial was held after that at Mobile Memorial Gardens.
After all the services were complete, about 50 people went to mother's house for lunch. Our friends from Dayspring had provided our meal and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Randall and I stayed at Mother's and Daddy's until around 5:30 or 6:00 and then went home and just relaxed. It has been a busy few days.
I'll see you in Heaven Grandmother Erma! Good Bye for now!
After all the services were complete, about 50 people went to mother's house for lunch. Our friends from Dayspring had provided our meal and we enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Randall and I stayed at Mother's and Daddy's until around 5:30 or 6:00 and then went home and just relaxed. It has been a busy few days.
I'll see you in Heaven Grandmother Erma! Good Bye for now!
Easter 2009
Easter had with it this year a lot of emotions for me. Easter Sunday has fallen right in the middle of Grandmother Erma's death and her funeral. She passed away on Thursday, but Radney would not be able to schedule the wake/funeral until Monday. So on Easter Sunday, my thoughts were in the middle of all of this. As I contemplated the resurrection of Christ and it's significance, it meant all the more to me realizing that because of Christ's death and life, that I will see Grandmother Erma again!
Easter Sunday, we were all at church, with the exception of Ryan, Elizabeth and Carter. They go to Tuscaloosa on Easter to be with Elizabeth's family. After church, Brandon, Brittany, and Ryleigh went to eat lunch with Brittany's family. Mother, Daddy, Morris, Julie and their kids, Randall and I met Uncle Jan, Julie, Geoff and Uncle Jan's girlfriend, Sheila for lunch at Wintzell's downtown. I do not remember ever having eaten at Wintzell's downtown. Randall thinks we went there one time about 30 years ago. I can't remember yesterday, much less 30 years back. Nevertheless, the food was very good and we enjoyed our Easter lunch.
After lunch, Randall and I came home and relaxed. Randall took a nap, but I just wasn't able to fall asleep which is very unusual for me.
A very different Easter, but one that will be memorable.
Easter Sunday, we were all at church, with the exception of Ryan, Elizabeth and Carter. They go to Tuscaloosa on Easter to be with Elizabeth's family. After church, Brandon, Brittany, and Ryleigh went to eat lunch with Brittany's family. Mother, Daddy, Morris, Julie and their kids, Randall and I met Uncle Jan, Julie, Geoff and Uncle Jan's girlfriend, Sheila for lunch at Wintzell's downtown. I do not remember ever having eaten at Wintzell's downtown. Randall thinks we went there one time about 30 years ago. I can't remember yesterday, much less 30 years back. Nevertheless, the food was very good and we enjoyed our Easter lunch.
After lunch, Randall and I came home and relaxed. Randall took a nap, but I just wasn't able to fall asleep which is very unusual for me.
A very different Easter, but one that will be memorable.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Erma Hawkins Smith
SMITH Erma Hawkins Smith - a 91 year-old native of Starkville, MS and longtime resident of Mobile passed away at a local hospital on Thursday, April 9, 2009. She lived her life for her faith and her family. Mrs. Smith was a longtime faithful member of Dauphin Way Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 48 years, Herman Smith, and brothers, Bill Hawkins and Junior Hawkins. Mrs. Smith leaves to cherish her memory two children, Travis Jan Smith of Atlanta, GA and Nita Northcutt (Morris, Sr.) of Mobile; sister, Mildred "Millie" Beene (Charles) of Thomasville, GA; sisters-in-law, Lela Gregg of Saraland, Dorothy Hawkins of Baton Rouge, LA, Mary Smith of Columbus, MS, and Jo Jones of Mobile; four grandchildren, Geoffrey Smith (Trish) of Arlington, VA, Julie Smith Dean (Tony) of Manassas, VA, Morris Northcutt, Jr. (Julie), and Vallie Stanford (Randall), both of Mobile; seven great-grandchildren, Lauren Dean, Allison Dean, Brandon Stanford (Brittany), Ryan Stanford (Elizabeth), Trey Northcutt, Thomas Northcutt, and Ainsley Northcutt; great, great-grandchildren, Carter and Ryleigh Stanford; dear and faithful friends, Nelda Christopher, Betty and Bobby Earhardt, and Mollie Etheridge, all of Mobile; numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives, and friends. Funeral services will be held from the chapel of Radney Funeral Home on Monday, April 13, 2009 at 12 noon with Dr. Bill Whitfield officiating and Jane Brown serving as musician/soloist. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 11 a.m. until the service hour. Interment will be in Mobile Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Dauphin Way Baptist Church, 3661 Dauphin St., Mobile, AL 36608. Arrangements by RADNEY FUNERAL HOME, 3155 Dauphin St., Ext., Mobile, AL 36606.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Life Throws A Curve
You never know when a phone call will bring about a drastic change in your life. Last night around 7:00, I had just taken my makeup off and got into bed to watch T.V. I thought that the worst thing about this night was that I still had a headache that I had been dealing with all day. But one phone call made me forget about that headache.
It was mother calling to say that she had just received a phone call from the lady who was sitting with my grandmother. She said that my grandmother had past out and that the ambulance and paramedics had been called Mother and Daddy were already on their way over there. Thinking that maybe she had just fainted, I told them to call me as soon as they found out something.
A few minutes later, they called back and said that she was in cardiac arrest. We then jumped out of bed and headed to the hospital. Immediately upon arrival they moved our family into a private waiting room and told us to wait to speak with the doctor. The E.R doctor came in and told us basically that she was alive only because she was on a respirator. He didn't give us very much hope. We were allowed to go back and see her. This was so difficult because she was hooked up to so many machines. The doctor told us a decision would probably have to be made soon about how long to keep her on life support.
Grandmother Erma had a mild heart attack and slight stroke about 6 weeks ago. After leaving the hospital, she did stayed in a recovery center for 20 days. She came just came home on Tuesday, but she had been saying she just didn't feel good. She ate dinner and then sat down in her recliner. Molly, the lady that stayed with her at night, said she then began to have a really bad coughing spell and then she just passed out.
This morning when we got to the hospital, nothing had changed. Her life long doctor, who really cared a lot for her, advised us that there was absolutely nothing could be done. My uncle and mother made the most difficult, but most unselfish decision, to let Grandmother Erma go.
As Mother, Daddy, Morris, Julie, my cousin Kay, and I were by her bedside, we had the honor of watching one of the sweetest ladies on earth take her last breath. She is now in the presence of Jesus. She will be greatly missed. Thanks for all the love you have given me for 49 years. We love you.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Exquisite Camping Weather!
Well, I must say, I enjoyed this camping trip 100% more than I did our last one due to the fact that I was well this time and did not have pneumonia. We had absolutely perfect weather for enjoying the great out of doors.
Randall and I got up early Friday morning. After Randall got the boys ready with their jobs for the day, we were ready to leave right at 9:00 a.m. Randall already had the few groceries we were taking and since the trailer was already at the campgrounds, all we had to do was load the truck. We arrived at Gulf Breeze RV Resort around 10:10. I was hoping for a site on the lake, but all of those sites were occupied. We got an end site with a slight view of the lake. It was just fine. First of all we went to the storage area and picked up the TT and delivered it to the site where set up went very smoothly. Randall handled the outside while I moved things from the truck to the inside of the camper and then made all the beds with the sheets we had taken home to wash. Making the beds is one of my least favorite things to do because of the positions of the beds. They are very hard to get to!
Once we got set up, it was lunch time. We decided to go to Foley and have lunch at one of our favorites....The Mellow Mushroom. We split a small Caesar's salad and an order of Humus for an appetizer and order a small white pizza which we also split for our main meal. We still had enough left over to take back to the TT and have for another time. After lunch, we ventured out to find Bella Terra RV Resort that just opened recently. Evidently this resort is only for expensive Motorhomes only. That is all we saw when we rode by and all that is shown on their website. I don't think they even allow nice Fifth Wheels to stay. I believe their lots are mainly for sale and not so much a place just to spend the week. Their rates are extremely high, but what we could see from behind the iron security gate with guards, this didn't look like anything that we would be interested in anytime soon, if ever.
After relaxing in the sunshine back at the campgrounds for a couple of hours, we drove just over the bridge at Orange Beach and walked the State Park wooden hiking trail down to the beach. This was such a nice walk. We remembered the time when our boys were younger that we walked with our boys out to these same jetties and fished. This wooden walk path had not been built at that time and walking out there in the sand with all the fishing equipment was a very difficult walk. With this wooden walk way, it would be a piece of cake! Oh well, we were younger then and it wasn't so bad.
On our way back to the camp, we decided to go to Gulf State Park campgrounds to see if we could spot our friends, Richard and Valerie Jackson, who were supposed to be arriving there Friday as well. After driving all over the campgrounds, we determined they had not made it yet. Then as we were driving out the entrance, there was their truck and fifth wheel parked at the check in office. So we waited on them to come out just so that we could speak to them. They were staying all week.....those lucky dogs!
Once back at the campground, Randall grilled some sausage dogs and we had them along with potato salad. We also picked up some Cheesecake Cupcakes at the Cheesecake Factory on our way back to the campground and we had them for dessert...yum. It was such a nice evening outside, we ate out on the patio. After sitting outside a little longer, riding my bike, walking around the campground and sitting a little while longer, I finally went inside for the evening. We watched the movie "Marley and Me" which is one of the best, but saddest movies I have seen in a long time. I hate it when dogs die.
Saturday morning, we got up and headed to Hazel's for breakfast. When we eat Hazel's for breakfast, we skip lunch, because we eat so much that it holds us until dinner. After Hazel's, we went back to campgrounds for a little while and then we went to Tanger Outlet just to do some window shopping. We ended up only buying things for Camp. We have tried several different collars and harnesses on him and nothing just seems to fit right. The one we bought last time we were at the Gulf, choked him because we had to velcro it so tightly around his neck. When we left it loose, he was always able to get out of it. We used this new one several times and I think it is going to work. I sure hope so. We also picked Camp up PediPaws to groom his nails. He really needed this and it worked well. His nails look and feel so much better:)
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, walking, bike riding, visiting with neighbors, etc. It was nice to see the Lutz's, the couple that had been next to us the last time we stayed at the park. We thought they were leaving to go back to North Dakota on April 1 and we didn't expect to see them. But they had a change in plans and were not leaving until this Wednesday. Many of the snow birds in the park had left earlier in the week and many were leaving this week. I think most of them leave before Alabama Spring Break which will begin next week. They know when to get out of Dodge!
Saturday night for dinner, Randall grilled chicken and I had the leftovers from Mellow Mushroom. After dinner, we began the tearing down process since we were leaving early the next morning. We packed everything into the truck except the refrigerated items and what we were wearing on the way home. We were leaving the camper on the site for the park workers to move it back into storage for us because we were having to leave so early in order for us to be back for me to work at church. But everything had to be unhooked and disconnected ready for them to move. We were able to do most of this Saturday night.
Sunday morning we woke at 6:30, got dressed and unhooked the final connections. We were on the road by 7:00 and we were home by 8:10 even with stopping and getting gas. There is no traffic that early in the morning, especially on a Sunday morning.
This was a quick trip, but we had a wonderful, relaxing time. It's always good to be able to pull away from everyday life and do something different. It seems everytime we leave, we begin planning when the next time will be when we can come back. Since we are going on the cruise next month, it will probably be June or July before we can get back over. We'll just have to see!
Randall and I got up early Friday morning. After Randall got the boys ready with their jobs for the day, we were ready to leave right at 9:00 a.m. Randall already had the few groceries we were taking and since the trailer was already at the campgrounds, all we had to do was load the truck. We arrived at Gulf Breeze RV Resort around 10:10. I was hoping for a site on the lake, but all of those sites were occupied. We got an end site with a slight view of the lake. It was just fine. First of all we went to the storage area and picked up the TT and delivered it to the site where set up went very smoothly. Randall handled the outside while I moved things from the truck to the inside of the camper and then made all the beds with the sheets we had taken home to wash. Making the beds is one of my least favorite things to do because of the positions of the beds. They are very hard to get to!
Once we got set up, it was lunch time. We decided to go to Foley and have lunch at one of our favorites....The Mellow Mushroom. We split a small Caesar's salad and an order of Humus for an appetizer and order a small white pizza which we also split for our main meal. We still had enough left over to take back to the TT and have for another time. After lunch, we ventured out to find Bella Terra RV Resort that just opened recently. Evidently this resort is only for expensive Motorhomes only. That is all we saw when we rode by and all that is shown on their website. I don't think they even allow nice Fifth Wheels to stay. I believe their lots are mainly for sale and not so much a place just to spend the week. Their rates are extremely high, but what we could see from behind the iron security gate with guards, this didn't look like anything that we would be interested in anytime soon, if ever.
After relaxing in the sunshine back at the campgrounds for a couple of hours, we drove just over the bridge at Orange Beach and walked the State Park wooden hiking trail down to the beach. This was such a nice walk. We remembered the time when our boys were younger that we walked with our boys out to these same jetties and fished. This wooden walk path had not been built at that time and walking out there in the sand with all the fishing equipment was a very difficult walk. With this wooden walk way, it would be a piece of cake! Oh well, we were younger then and it wasn't so bad.
On our way back to the camp, we decided to go to Gulf State Park campgrounds to see if we could spot our friends, Richard and Valerie Jackson, who were supposed to be arriving there Friday as well. After driving all over the campgrounds, we determined they had not made it yet. Then as we were driving out the entrance, there was their truck and fifth wheel parked at the check in office. So we waited on them to come out just so that we could speak to them. They were staying all week.....those lucky dogs!
Once back at the campground, Randall grilled some sausage dogs and we had them along with potato salad. We also picked up some Cheesecake Cupcakes at the Cheesecake Factory on our way back to the campground and we had them for dessert...yum. It was such a nice evening outside, we ate out on the patio. After sitting outside a little longer, riding my bike, walking around the campground and sitting a little while longer, I finally went inside for the evening. We watched the movie "Marley and Me" which is one of the best, but saddest movies I have seen in a long time. I hate it when dogs die.
Saturday morning, we got up and headed to Hazel's for breakfast. When we eat Hazel's for breakfast, we skip lunch, because we eat so much that it holds us until dinner. After Hazel's, we went back to campgrounds for a little while and then we went to Tanger Outlet just to do some window shopping. We ended up only buying things for Camp. We have tried several different collars and harnesses on him and nothing just seems to fit right. The one we bought last time we were at the Gulf, choked him because we had to velcro it so tightly around his neck. When we left it loose, he was always able to get out of it. We used this new one several times and I think it is going to work. I sure hope so. We also picked Camp up PediPaws to groom his nails. He really needed this and it worked well. His nails look and feel so much better:)
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, walking, bike riding, visiting with neighbors, etc. It was nice to see the Lutz's, the couple that had been next to us the last time we stayed at the park. We thought they were leaving to go back to North Dakota on April 1 and we didn't expect to see them. But they had a change in plans and were not leaving until this Wednesday. Many of the snow birds in the park had left earlier in the week and many were leaving this week. I think most of them leave before Alabama Spring Break which will begin next week. They know when to get out of Dodge!
Saturday night for dinner, Randall grilled chicken and I had the leftovers from Mellow Mushroom. After dinner, we began the tearing down process since we were leaving early the next morning. We packed everything into the truck except the refrigerated items and what we were wearing on the way home. We were leaving the camper on the site for the park workers to move it back into storage for us because we were having to leave so early in order for us to be back for me to work at church. But everything had to be unhooked and disconnected ready for them to move. We were able to do most of this Saturday night.
Sunday morning we woke at 6:30, got dressed and unhooked the final connections. We were on the road by 7:00 and we were home by 8:10 even with stopping and getting gas. There is no traffic that early in the morning, especially on a Sunday morning.
This was a quick trip, but we had a wonderful, relaxing time. It's always good to be able to pull away from everyday life and do something different. It seems everytime we leave, we begin planning when the next time will be when we can come back. Since we are going on the cruise next month, it will probably be June or July before we can get back over. We'll just have to see!
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