Maggie May

Maggie May
Maggie May

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Cherryville, NC


Today was spent with a trip to Cherryville, NC with my brother. We met Uncle Jim and many Stroupe families who have traveled for the first time to Cherryville for the family reunion. We took them on a tour of the Cherryville Museum and then stomped through the Mt. Zion Baptist Church cemetery. My Uncle Jim is the elder of the Stroupe family serving in WWII, Korean War and two tours in Viet Nam. There were just a few of the "clan" in Cherryville today so I fear that tomorrow I am going to meet even more relatives that I didn't know I had. I believe that Billy is truly thankful that he chose to hang out in the RV today instead of cemetery stomping. A good time was had by all and the trip was completed with a good Cherryville hamburger with slaw on it. Yum Yum. After putting my produce stand purchases of fresh peas up in our tiny RV freezer I resisted the urge to stop off again at the produce stand. Billy and I are both stuffed full of fresh fruit! Rushing off to bed because our day begins at 8:00 am as we have to hike through woods in Alexis, NC to show family memories from far away where old Jacob is buried.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Side Trip to Cherryville, NC




My brother and I went to Cherryville, NC today to visit my mom's sister, Aunt Evelyn, in the nursing home. I was so happy that she knew who we were and still has her wonderful sense of humor that she displayed while I sang songs to her. What a beautiful lady. My cousin Nancy met us at Carolina Care, and we all had a great visit. On the way home I stopped at the best produce stand (yes, I have my priorities in order), and bought a gallon of Georgia Belle white peaches, fresh picked blueberries, vine ripened tomatoes, a SWEET smelling cantelope, a bag of fresh picked figs, a bag of white acre peas, purple hulled peas, and butter beans. I have our little refrigerator packed and will have to blanch and freeze the beans tomorrow, but Billy is eating well! Oh how I wish that I had a big kitchen right now, and I would have purchased a bushel of those beautiful figs and put up lots of jars of fig preserves. Life is good today!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Rock Hill, SC


We left Caroline's house on Monday for the trip to Rock Hill, SC where I was born and lived until we moved to Athens when I was in the 6th grade. I certainly enjoyed hearing the wind blow in the pines while in Athens. Definitely made me homesick. We have been visiting with my brother while here in Rock Hill. Our camper is parked at Ebenezer RV park on the shores of Lake Wylie and it is really quite nice. The price fits our budget at $70 for the week, including electricity, water, sewer, WiFi, and cable. Life is good. The transmission on our truck made unusual adjustments as we climbed hills entering the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains so we sent the truck in today to be checked out before we head northwest. Billy is on his way into town now to pick up the truck. Seems the only thing wrong is that these two flat road Floridians forgot how a transmission sounds as it "pulls" a hill while towing our home behind us....:)

Yesterday I went out shopping with my sister in law and her sister. We had a blast along with a nice lunch followed by dessert of a Frappe Mocha from McDonalds. My kind of shopping. We fondled, sniffed and carried treasures all around the store before putting them back on the shelves. I left without a purchase but Billy and I had made our routine trip to Wally World earlier in the day. So far I am taking a day off today and catching up on MORE rest and relaxation. Tomorrow my brother has an MRI and hopefully his 2nd MRI on Friday will end early so that he and I can go to Cherryville, NC. That is where my mom and dad are from and I believe we are meeting some of the folks attending our family reunion on Sunday. We will show them around the Cherryville Museum and of course "stomp" through a few cemeteries. I picked up the family genealogy studies after my dad passed away. It is amazing how much more we can learn about genealogy since the onset of the internet. I tried for years to involve my brother and sister in my research and finally hooked my brother....hook, line and sinker. He has done intensive and prolonged research with great success, so I have passed the baton on to him and forgotten everything that I had learned.

Thanks for stopping in. Maggie is having a great time here by the lake. Everybody that she meets thinks that she is a Min Pin and we met 3 Min Pins while walking around the park. She looked at me as if to say "I am SO much cuter than those Min Pins!" and she is.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Playing with the Grandsons






On Thursday we took the boys to the swimming pool and Phil jumped off the diving board without his floaties. Big Daddy and I had him practice jumping off the board and swimming to the side without help so that he can jump by himself while Caroline watches Lincoln. Think we stayed at the swimming pool too long as Phil had a meltdown at bedtime. On Friday, I made the necessary trip to Wally World for supplies. Seems I forgot to bring all of the prepared casserole dishes that I had frozen for the campler. Phil is attached to Big Daddy's hip so he stayed in the "club house" while we went to Wally World. Big Daddy and I got to babysit for Phil and Lincoln while Caroline went out to dinner and to the movies for a date night. I have no idea how I cared for Brandon and Caroline all alone while they were only 2 1/2 years apart. We had fun with the boys and Billy enjoyed his special Brunswick Stew that Caroline got for him.

I have lots of friend and family here in Athens that I would love to see; however, it has been impossible for us to get away from these boys. It will be a long time before we see them again. Tried to call and visit cousin Weaver while we were in Athens, but I was missing the last number off of his phone number on my cell phone.

On Saturday, I tidied up the camper and rearranged the cabinets in hopes that they will travel better when we leave here for South Carolina on Monday. My brother has not been feeling well, and I am anxious to get to Rock Hill for a week visit with him. I love my big brother. Thanks for stopping in for a visit.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Oglethorpe Co, GA

We were in the car for eight long hours driving to North GA yesterday and my people never noticed that the little house on wheels was chasing us the entire time. We came to Oglethorpe County and parked in the front yard of the “little people.” My Dad was too busy to play with me for a long time because he couldn’t set up his satellite tv dish to work properly. Never mind that some thingie broke on the water pump, and I badly needed a drink of water. We made a few stops on the chase here yesterday, and I had bacon, eggs, tator tots and iced tea for breakfast. For lunch I had French fries and iced tea. Life is Good for this little Manchester Terrier. When we got to the little people’s house, Caroline fired up the grill and cooked steak for dinner. Mom saved me a few bites.

On Wednesday, Dad went into town to buy a part to fix the pump so that we can have water in our little house. Then he went to take the little people to the swimming pool. He says that Phil swims like a tadpole, but I can swim, too. My Mom and Dad keep holding the chubby little person, and he can’t even talk. They seem to think it is cute when only makes little gurgling sounds. I have to bark loudly to let them know that I am even around. Mom has to go to grocery store. She cooked and froze a lot of meals to bring with us in the house on wheels and forgot to bring any of the freezer food. I am thankful that she didn't forget to pack my dogfood. Thanks for stopping by......Maggie May

Monday, July 19, 2010

Leaving Tomorrow

They have packed up all of my toys and even my dog food. I hope I was not so bad they are putting my toys in that bucket and taking them outside to never be seen again. I think that is new dog dishes that I see, and they didn’t even forget to pack my puppy shampoo. They put it all in the “house on wheels,” so I think we are going somewhere. I will have to stay real close so they don’t forget to take me along. I like to ride in the truck because I can sleep on Mom’s lap as long as I want to. I get a hamburger as well as ice water every time we go by one of those window thingies. When we get to our new neighborhood I smell lots of new things and get taken on many long walks. Life is Good for this little Toy Manchester Terrier. My people took everything off of the back and front porch and it looks real strange to me. I keep barking telling them to put the furniture back in place, but they are ignoring me. Think I will quit making so much noise or they will put that silly puppy leash back around my neck. I am so excited because I know that we are going “bye bye” in the house on wheels tomorrow. Stop by and see me again….Maggie May

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Only Two More Days

Billy and I are still making separate lists and checking them twice. For some reason, I am super low on energy so I would say that he has done the bulk of the work. Today he packed most of the outside away in the sheds should a hurricane decide to blow through here while we are away. Yesterday we packed up our summer/winter clothing to go into each of our one foot wide closets. We decided that our winter coats would reside in the truck. We had to try on quite a few outfits that seem to have shrunk since we last wore them. Oh my! Much to Maggie’s (our Toy Manchester Terrier) dismay our sundries are piled on the kitchen table to go into the camper. You see she has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and goes into a barking hissy fit should anything in the house be out of place. I told Billy that I trained her that way when she barked continuously at his ball cap that he “accidentally” hung on the kitchen chair. We are not having our mail forwarded so we purchased a few mail folders already stamped to leave with our neighbor should we receive something she deems important. We pay most of the bills online which reminds me that Billy put security codes on each of our laptops should they be stolen. That would not be funny.

With just a few reservations made in advance we are certainly excited to begin our journey. We are staying a week at West Yellowstone in a KOA campground, a week at the Air Force Academy Fam Camp at Colorado Springs, a week at the Fam Camp at F. E. Warren AFB in Cheyenne, WY, and a few days on the French Broad River at a campground in Asheville, NC. We hope to stay a week at the Ebenezer Campground in Rock Hill, SC but they do not take reservations in advance. While there I will be visiting with my brother and traveling around western NC to see my cousins and my aunt who is in a nursing home. This is after spending 6 days in Caroline’s front yard so that we can visit the two grandsons and babysit while she has a dental appointment. Caroline also wants me to go school shopping with her so that I can watch the boys while she shops. This will be fun. Only two more days! Thanks for stopping in to visit!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Almost ready to depart.....

Our Texas grandchildren have returned home and left us with a way too quiet house and lots of plans to make. Our trip to the northwest will begin on August 20th and last until the end of October. With Road Atlas and laptops at hand Billy and I attempted to tie down a few dates to make reservations across the country. Since I don’t know what I am going to be doing tomorrow planning that far in advance is like taking a shot in the dark. Oh well, plans made in jello. We are really looking forward to getting on our way. Saw our doctors, had blood work done, picked up our medications, picking up Maggie’s medications, picking out clothing to pack and still wondering how to clean out the refrigerator/freezers. Thank goodness we found a neighbor who will mow our yard for us while we are away. Still a few items to purchase here and there, but we can do that shopping on the road. I think the weekend will involve lots of housecleaning and packing up the outside of the house should a hurricane decide to blow through.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Only Two More Weeks

Our three grandchildren from Texas are here visiting with us this week. Their week so far has been fun-filled with fishing, fireworks, movies and Pier Park. They plan to go deep sea fishing tomorrow if the weather holds out. We have had lots of rain here with the tropical lows hanging around. The power went out night before last for about five hours and we retreated to the camper where Billy set up the generator. There we comfortably stayed with lights, tv, and the all important air conditioner. The generator worked fantastically, and we are looking forward to our big trip soon. We have met with our doctors and I have to have some lab work done before we depart. Billy has the paperwork on hand for us to fill out in order to get our prescription medicine filled ahead of time. We found someone to take care of our yard while we are away and I don’t think we will have a problem clearing out most of the freezer while the three grandkids are here this week. Our plans are progressing nicely! Life is Good!