What A Day....Glorious Day!

I have been dreading today for awhile.  Today is the anniversary of my dad's death and I really wanted to just dig myself into the bed and not wake up until today was over....but Frank had other plans.  Our first stop (after a Walmart and Mickey D run) was the White Plains Country Fair just outside of LaFayette, AL.  I had been hearing people talk about this for sometime and I was expecting a huge arts and crafts thing....the weather was beautiful and the crafts were too....but it took us less than an hour to do the thing from start to finish.

After White Plains we took Hwy 50 to Co. Road 11 so we could hit the Waverly Annual BBQ.  It was good to get all the great hugs from our Waverly family.   We bought our stew and bbq, visited, went to see a precious new addition to the Waverly family.  David and Kayla have adopted a precious little girl.  Her name is Ella Grace.  Kayla was working the BBQ and told us to go see her.  It did not take any arm twisting on my part.  She was all pink and pretty....she weighs 4 pounds and 14 ounces.  While I was standing there looking down in her bassinet I was reminded of a story on my SIL.  When my own granddaughter, Hannah Ruth, came home from the hospital she too only weighed 4 pounds.  She was so tiny and Roulain asked Brian if he wanted to hold her.  Brian's response was, "Is your hair on fire?"  The whole family has laughed over this....and while I was standing there....David asked me, "Do you want to hold her?"....but when I looked....his hair was not on fire....so I declined.  Babies that are that little make me so nervous.  I enjoyed myself a lot at Waverly today.  I got my Barbara, Patsy and Kayla fix of hugs and 3 pounds of bbq and 3 qts of brunswick stew.  Did you know I did not even eat brunswick stew until I moved to Waverly and tasted theirs?  What a waste of time.  They cook this stuff all night in a huge cast iron pot...and stir it with a boat paddle.  How cool is that?

After Waverly we were on a mission to find Woogump(red eyed mythical creature) eyes for a Haunted Hayride.  We were meeting Kat and Brian for lunch so we headed to Auburn.  The day was so much fun.  Now...I am NOT and I repeat...NOT a Halloween person.  I personally hate the event....but can be a sport about it for those who really like it.  This year I am helping with a haunted hayride and participating in Trunk or Treat.  I feel I will be in Halloween overload.  We just knew that Party City would have some...either glasses with eyes, or red glowing eyes.....but to no avail.  So we went to the Halloween store, conveniently located in the old Books-A-Million store....and no luck there....so we thought....we will paint the faces white and take red grease paint and outline their eyes in it.  I am writing the story that will be told on the hayride and cooking chili to eat after the hayride.....ok...so maybe my participation is limited....but it is still important.  Frank is reading the story I am writing to the people on the hayride....he has a big booming voice....and I can imagine it will scare several of them.  After the costume part search ended we drove back to Tiger Town to check out an IPad at Best Buy...(don't tell Frank but he is getting one for Christmas).  When we finished with the IPad explanation and demonstration it was time to meet Kat and Brian for lunch.  We chose Moe's Southwest Grill.  I love this place...it is the Subway of Mexican food places and the food is always fresh.  I also love it when you walk in and they shout, "Hi!  Welcome to Moe's."  We had an hour and a half lunch, talking, sharing, shedding a few tears, and catching up on the past couple of months.  Kat and I have been so busy since school started in August that we have not seen each other.  We talk just about every day....but we just have not been able to get a visit in.  I got lots of Kat and Brian hugs and that made my day.  It was now 3:30 and we had been gone since 8 this morning.  With a few tears and a lot of sadness on my part we left Kat and Brian in Auburn to head to Alexander City and sell my dad's truck.  This was going to be hard.  From Waverly to just outside of Alexander City I could not stop the tears....I did not cry out....but they just kept escaping from my eyes...I was selling my dad's truck.  We pulled up in my uncle's yard and went in.  I had all the paperwork he would need to get a title and tag for the truck....signed the papers, took the check, visited a while and headed back home.  It was now....4:45 p.m.  Poor Beau (our dachy)...I am sure he was dying.  Once inside the Rock Mills limits we had one more stop.  We stopped at Marcie's to drop off a qt of the stew and pound of the bbq.  Yes, I shared....Marcie had surgery on Thursday and I had been wanting to do something nice for her....and this was it.  We visited a few minutes and drove the last few feet to our house.  Beau was so glad to see us....and not just to go to the bathroom.....Frank brought him some rawhide treats at White Plains.  The day had come full circle and I had survived.  Frank achieved his goal....keep me so busy I did not have time to dwell on the day.  WTG baby.  I fixed some of the stew and bbq for us for supper, we ate, and I was history!  Tomorrow Frank is taking me to see Max Lucado, Third Day, TobyMac, Michael W. Smith.  Monday we are going to Knoxville to spend a few days with one of my childhood friends and her husband.  I mean...can it get much better than this???? Do I have the best husband or what?  I will tell you all about the dinner and concert in my next post.  I am turning in.