Roundup of end of 2020 activities

 Christmas in Huntsville was fun, although more low key because of covid restrictions.  The only ones who participated indoors were those who either had tested negative right before getting there, or who had already had covid.  Charlotte and Harry were wonderful, loving hosts, as always.

Christmas Day

"Official" portrait
Lee and Harry's mom in foreground.
Alan and I, wearing our Christmas "hats." 
Susie, Harry, Andy, and Sarah on stairs. 
Those not in picture:
Charlotte took pic.
Susie's husband Ed was in Nashville
helping get AT&T operations back up after the bombing.
Brian, Amy, and children in Louisville at Amy's mom's.
Andrew in New York, unable to travel due to the pandemic.

Andy and Sarah's baby is due early in January.
Charlotte gifted them with special Christmas pajamas.

We stayed in the trailer at Monte Sano State Park.  It was very cold and rainy, and we had some issues because of that, but otherwise, things were fine. (Folks back at home in TN had over 4" of snow on Christmas Day.)

The skylight in the bathroom started to leak, so Alan had to crawl on the roof to do a patch.  It worked out fairly well, but there is still a very slight leak.  We will take to pros here to deal with it.

Alan had to use a hair dryer to heat the roof,
 so the patching tape would adhere.

One day, one of the tanks ran out of propane while we were gone, so the heat turned off.  The regulator that was supposed to switch to the full tank malfunctioned.  (Alan got a new regulator for Christmas, so that won't happen again.)  When we got back, it was 35 degrees in the trailer, and our poor kitty had burrowed under the comforter on the bed to stay warm.

Lump in bed is Shelby under covers.

Shelby likes sitting on bed in front window of the trailer.

I caught this great pic of her yawning one day.

You can see front of truck through window.

We exchanged our personal gifts Christmas morning in the trailer, next to our little tree. The fuzzy top I am wearing was a gift from my sister and husband.  I am including pic so you can see how long my hair has gotten.  Except for Alan cutting my bangs, my hair hasn't been cut since March. It is usually in a pony tail.

The trip back was very problematic because we decided to travel on the Sunday after Christmas.  We will never do that again.  We were in bumper to bumper traffic for many hours trying to get around Chattanooga.  It was frustrating and exhausting for Alan, towing a trailer with impatient people all around him.  We ended up stopping and spending the night in the parking lot of a winery in Cleveland, TN.  We just joined Harvest Hosts, where members can spend nights at business parking lots, as long as you buy something from the host.  The winery wasn't very scenic and was near a busy highway, but it was better than a Wal-Mart parking lot, which would have been our alternative.  We did get and enjoy a nice blackberry wine to unwind after the stressful day.

The big-screen TV finally arrived the day after we got back.  Today, Alan is enjoying a football game and pizza on a rainy New Year's Day.

Tennessee still leads in Covid cases, but there is good news.  The state just approved giving the vaccine to those 75 or older, which is me.   They will do appointments once enough vaccine is available.  Alan's turn will come later. In the meantime, we are really hunkered down, having almost no contact with the outside world.  It would be ridiculous to let our guard down and catch it when the vaccine is so close.

Stay safe!