The Kudzu Ball at Highlands Country Club

Suggested dress was "no tie" but people came decked out like it was a casting call for Duck Dynasty. Fun.

Men. (sigh)

I do not know why Jimmy feels compelled to turn our neatly made bed into this...this..PILLOW PILE, but Andy at least seems to approve. He burrowed right in and made himself a cozy nest.

Happy birthday, Elizabeth!

Elizabeth and Max Oliver

Leaf season has begun

It's not even the end of August, and we're already beginning to see some fall color.

$20 well spent

Another month has flown by, and today was Emory Checkup Day again. Since Jimmy's appointment was later than usual, we decided to treat ourselves to an early lunch at our favorite restaurant: Henry's in Clayton GA. Given a choice between dinner at Bacchanalia and lunch at Henry's, we'd pick Henry's.

It opens at 11 AM, so we were the first customers when they opened the door at 10:55.  Jimmy had three pieces of fried chicken and no dessert, and I had one piece of fried chicken and three desserts (well, a healthy big bite of three different desserts since I couldn't make up my mind) As usual, it was divine.

This is the proprietor, although I don't think his name is Henry.  During the week, lunch is a flat $10 per person, not $10 plus tax., and he just sits there with a big old pile of tens and twenties on the table.

Wm & Pam report, Part 2

Brother William seems to be having a lot more adventures than we are right now, so I'm going to pass some of them along

I received the following e-mail from him:

"I rode 'shotgun' this afternoon with the local island bounty hunter.  George has a yearly contract with the state to do nothing but ride around the island in a golf cart and blast iguanas with .22 rat shot.  They are considered a plague on the island's ecosystem and he has killed thousands.  The largest he has shot was almost five feet long."

Jurassic Park/Boca Grande

"Snook Dog" strikes again

A William and Pam report

My sister-in-law Pam has been dealing with several very serious health issues for a couple of years now, but thankfully she's been doing better lately, and she and William have been vacationing in one of their favorite spots, Boca Grande on Florida's southwest coast.  In a perfect world, they would probably be in St. Bart's, but William has been afraid to take her so far by plane.  It's reassuring to know that you can hop in your car and be home in a matter of hours.

All three of these pictures are from Boca Grande.  

A week ago, Pam's new slick-bottomed sandals skidded on the terrazzo floor and she fell hard.  After waiting for a while to see if she felt better, she tried to stand up but couldn't, and William knew she needed some medical attention, but he he couldn't get her down the stairs to put her in the car.  He called 911 and explained that it was not an emergency and what the situation was, and they didn't need to use sirens and all. Five minutes later, ambulances and firetrucks roared up with sirens blaring and lights flashing, the whole deal. It must have been a slow night in Boca Grande.

They took her to the nearest hospital, where X-rays showed a fractured ramus, which is part of the pelvic structure.  She spent three nights in the hospital, and they recommended she move to a physical therapy facility for two weeks, but William and Pam decided against that.

When I talked to William this afternoon, he said they were watching a storm roll in across the bay, and he took this picture of it.

William's first inclination was to drive her the six hours back to Valdosta, but that would have been hard on Pam.  She can recuperate just as well in Boca Grande as she can in Valdosta, so while she was still in the hospital, William talked to the realtor, and she moved them into a one floor wheelchair accessible condo.  William has rented a wheelchair and a walker and they are doing fine.  Their dog Tulee is with them, they have a beautiful view, William can go out on the beach and fish (last night he caught a big snook) and they both sound very upbeat about the whole ordeal.

An earlier photo of Pam and William and Tulee in Boca Grande

As Roseanne Rosannadanna used to say, "If it's not one thing, it's another..."

Birthdays

Today is my precious brother William's birthday, plus this blog was 6 years old yesterday, with 640 posts and 54 unpublished drafts.  Sometime when I don't have much to say, maybe I'll post one of those drafts.  Some of them are a hoot, and I didn't publish them for a reason!

A rare rainless sunset;  our usual view of late has been  a solid wall of clouds and fog...

...like this

This summer has been so different from last summer in two big ways: the weather and Jimmy's energy level. Like most of the Southeast, it has been all about rain.  It's been a rare day that we don't get at least a shower or two.  Jimmy and I have only played croquet  three or four times, whereas last year we were playing several times a week, and although we try to get in short walks, our usual longer hikes have dwindled.

Even if the weather had been cooperative, our pace this summer would still have been much slower.  Being back on the Rev/dex program really zaps Jimmy, and he needs a lot of rest and a very moderate schedule, but if we stick to our routine, he does well. He looks great, the meds seem to be working, and life is good.  I got a message yesterday from a dear friend, hoping Jimmy and I are gathering plenty of rosebuds: well, we are!

Seize the Day

What? August already? It can't be!  The summer, like my life, is passing way too swiftly.

Vincent Van Gogh "Sower With Setting Sun", 1888

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying:
And this same flower that smiles today
To-morrow will be a-dying.

The glorious lamp of Heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run.
The nearer he's to setting.
          
                         - Robert Herrick (1591-1674)