November 2020

 Alan and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving here at home.  We had planned to go to Atlanta to be with Alan's sister Susie and her husband Ed, but the covid rates were too scary.  We decided to celebrate here with a traditional meal for the two of us.  We did have a great, fun Zoom meeting with the Gamble clan.

Amy labeled this "Family Photo, 2020"

Pre-Thanksgiving arrangement on kitchen island

I made a pumpkin pie for me and a pecan for Alan.

I loved cooking in my spacious new beautiful kitchen.
After all the years in the one-butt kitchen in Kingsport,
it was a real joy.

I used our good china and the Gamble family silver.

The Gamble family twice-baked potatoes were a must.

Alan ordered a huge screen TV for the den.  When we had the entertainment center built, we planned for it.  Unfortunately, when the TV arrived the day before Thanksgiving, it apparently had been damaged in shipment.  So now, Alan will have to figure out how to deal with returning a gigantic TV and getting another.

Update:  We were on the phone with Sony tech support, trying to problem-solve why TV doesn't work.  Alan was holding one end of heavy TV, so I could look behind with a flashlight and find a tiny serial number.  Precisely at that moment, the black cat that Shelby hates showed up at the window, right next to where we were working.  Shelby had a screeching, yowling hissy-fit, as usual.  We had to stop and chase the black cat away before we could continue.  I'm sure that tech support guy never had that happen before! Apparently, Sony is going to replace the TV, though.  We shall see.

Looks great, but doesn't work

We have been doing a lot of yard work.  I ordered 100 daffodil bulbs from White Flower Farms, and Alan helped me plant them by drilling the holes with his electric drill and auger. I wanted to replicate the beautiful bed of daffodils I left in Kingsport.  My nephew Pete sent 100 White Flower Farm bulbs as a wedding present in 1992, and they continued to divide and be gorgeous the whole time we were in the house.  Leaving my flowers behind was the only regret I had from selling that house.  But there were too many to dig up and take with me. 

Alan also helped me move a huge bed of Shasta Daisies from a shady site where the former owners had planted them to a nice sunny spot, where they should be happy. The former owners had a problem with understanding the difference between shade and sun plants, so a lot more things will have to be moved in the spring.

I also planted pansies in front of the house.  They will grow and be lovely all winter.  Right now, they don't look great because I just planted them.

We had a most enjoyable weekend visit with my nephew Paul, who has moved from Columbia, SC to Albuquerque, NM with his family until the Covid epidemic is over next spring.  He can do his job teaching at the university virtually, so it seems to be working fine. We loved having him here, even though it was a short visit.  We went hiking at the Doe River Gorge on the old Tweetsie Railroad railbed.

There are a couple of fun tunnels

Paul hiked down this embankment to pick up trash.

cliffs, railbed trail, and embankment to bottom of gorge

Doe River at bottom of gorge

Still some pretty trees on this date:  November 7

Before Paul got here, Alan took out the crappy tiny old sink that was in our guest bath and put in a nice new vanity and mirror.

new vanity that Alan put in

Old sink, on its way to Habitat
Brian said it looked like it came from a trailer,
and we agreed!

Pictures of the rest of our guest area, which will be available, once this pandemic is over!!

Private entrance that looks out on pool area,
deck and woods in back of house

Even though we only had two trick-or-treaters, we still had fun getting ready for Halloween.

No one messed with our Biden-Harris sign;
but then, we are on a dead end street in a very out of way neighborhood.

Visited a great local pumpkin patch 
Had fun picking out all these different varieties

So we are doing fine, always thinking of safe things to do and places to go.  To paraphrase Kenny Rogers, the secret to happiness is someone to love, something to do, and something to look forward to.  These days of seclusion have been a time of wonderful connection for Alan and me.  We still love spending time with each other and our sweet kitty Shelby. (Apparently that's not true for everyone.  A lawyer friend said that when the $1,200 checks came out, she was deluged with people wanting a divorce!)

Shelby snuggles next to Alan