When we found out this year that Nissa's family and Jake couldn't come to Kentucky for Thanksgiving or Christmas, Claude said, "Well darn-it!!" I was quite amused by his response. I just looked at my dear hubby and said, "Do you suppose Bonnie (Claude's mom) still says that when you say you aren't coming home for Christmas?" This gave us both a grin.
Claude and I pondered the situation and decided to take Christmas a little early to the Michigan contingent. We checked with the kids and made sure it was a good time for them. Then we packed my red Buick Lucerne and headed north last Wednesday (Dec 15th) morning.
As was our custom, we left without eating breakfast with the plan to stop at the McDonald's in Dry Ridge, Kentucky for my favorite breakfast of a plain biscuit and a Dr. Pepper. Claude pulled into the McDonald's and was surprised to find a handwritten note taped to the ordering speaker. It said, "Sorry, we will not open until 9am." We were stunned. Claude drove past the drive-thru window and there was another note with the same message taped to it. We just crossed the street and went through Arby's drive-thru instead. But we were amazed that the McDonald's next to I-75 was closed for breakfast.
After Cincinnati my tired caught up with me. I completely missed Dayton. Now, Dayton is always, and I do mean ALWAYS, under construction. So missing Dayton from the Interstate view is not necessarily a bad thing. However, when I woke up Claude informed me I missed a HUGE wreck.
We made it to Lansing, Michigan in pretty good time. I'm crocheting like a fiend and Claude is driving at close to the speed limit. Suddenly he said, "Are we at Grand Rapids already?" It didn't seem like enough time had gone past to either of us. Sure enough we saw signs for the Gerald Ford Airport. We were in Grand Rapids. We felt like we had been through a time warp.
Claude found the exit and we headed to Krispy Kreme to buy a dozen donuts for Nissa and her family. This has become a very nice tradition.
On to Muskegon we flew. We really weren't going that fast but we sure got there quickly. We checked into our hotel and rested for a few minutes. Then we called the Thompson home and found out the kids were there so we headed over. Lots of hugs (my favorite part) were given. We had a bit of time before Todd got off work and could join us. The kids entertained us with their increasing musical abilities. The first picture is Aubrey Anne singing and Katelyn playing the piano. The second picture is Paul playing his guitar.
I had been diagnosed with bronchitis on Tuesday, December 7th. I had finished my Z-Pack but am still taking the cough syrup. Claude was getting a cold and on over-the-counter medicine. The kids had school the next day and Nissa and Todd had to work. So we parted ways at Golden Corral. Claude and I headed to our hotel room for a good night's rest.
Thursday we slept in a bit. Then Katelyn had us pick her up at college and the three of us went to 'The Pita Place' for lunch. This was Katelyn's Christmas present to Claude and me. I love a good falafel and Claude loves a good gyro. This place a great falafels and gyros. We had a wonderful time visiting and enjoying good food until it was time to Katelyn back to college for a final exam in the afternoon.
Katelyn finished early and Claude and I picked her up at college again and headed over to Aubrey and Paul's school to pick them up from school. Katelyn took this opportunity to go into the school and say hi to teachers from her high school years. The amusing thing was watching our Paul come out of school with his arm at the small of a young girls back. Oh my!!! They gave each other a quick kiss good-bye. My old Gramma heart was not ready for that!!!
After finishing chores at the Thompson home, we took the kids back to our hotel to enjoy some time in the swimming pool. There is nothing quite like snow on the ground and swimming in the pool. Great combination. In this picture you have Aubrey, Katelyn and then Paul.
Friday morning Claude and I slept a bit late again, trying to give our poor old bodies a chance to rest and heal. Then we loaded in the red car and headed off to Chelsea.
I eMailed Jake and told him we were on our way. He sent me an eMail back stating something like, "The weatherman says we have a 20% chance of snow. I guess I'm seeing that 20% out my window."
Our big concern for traveling was driving in snow. We left Kentucky with a forecast for snow topped with ice on Wednesday. We received a Facebook post that we had 6 inches of snow in our yard in Kentucky. We were very fortunate that the only snow we had to drive through was flurries during the entire trip.
At 5pm we picked Jake up at work and the three of us headed to Joe's Crab Shack in Ann Arbor for dinner. Yummy!! Then we did a little Christmas shopping. I even managed to find a pair of shoes for me to wear with my jeans. Successful on the shopping front. Then back to Chelsea to Big Boy for a piece of pie for dessert.
There was more snow on the ground in Chelsea than there was in Muskegon. When the server showed us to our seat by the window, I was taken once again with the lovely icicles they produce in Michigan. I tried to take a picture with my cell phone camera. These were actually hanging from the roof at a slant. Jake explained that the last snowfall was just a whirl of wind that hung over their area for a long time. As a consequence, the icicles were all hanging at a slant.
After dinner, Jake, Claude and I headed back to the Comfort Inn to chat for the remainder of the evening.
When Bailey was born we gave her a stuffed monkey which she named Wah-Wah as she began to talk. This is her most treasured lovey. At one point Claude and I purchased a back-up Wah-Wah. Any mother of a little one knows this is an important thing to have tucked away so you can wash one while the child plays with the one they think is the only one they have. It's also important in case you lose one of them. This is what happened with Bailey's back-up Wah-Wah. So every trip to Chelsea, we go back to the Chelsea Teddy Bear Factory and check to see if they have any more Wah-Wah's. They stopped making them about the time Bailey lost her back-up. Each time we checked they still didn't have any more. We really didn't expect success on this trip either but 'one must try'.
Claude pulled up in front of the store, I hop out and ran in. The store was just opening. I was the first customer. I hurriedly went to the back of the store where this particular style of stuffed animal resides. I carefully checked the side of the display cabinet closest to the door and there were no Wah-Wah's. Then I walked around to the other side and shouted, "Wah-Wah's!!". The sales person must have thought Gramma lost it in the back of the store. I was stunned. They were also marked 50% off.
I purchased two of this treasure and headed to the car to show Claude and Jake my find. Then I promptly called the Marx home and spoke with Michael. I asked him to tell his dear wife that we are now in possession of back-up Wah-Wah's. Andie later eMailed me and called it the 'Christmas Miracle'.
The goal for the rest of the morning was to find the Casual Male XL store with lots of great clothes for big & tall guys. Jake led the way in his car and we followed into Ann Arbor again. The store had some great sales on and we found some fun items for Claude and for Jake.
It was time to head for Sadieville, much to our chagrin. We had our good-bye hugs in the parking lot. Then Jake pointed us in the right direction for the highway to Toledo, Ohio.
We had a safe drive home. As we neared our home we wondered if we could get my car into the driveway with 6 inches of snow in it. There had been no let up in the temperature in Kentucky and the snow was sticking around. We were so happy to pull up in front of our home and find our driveway plowed clean. Dominic Whelan, our wonderful neighbor down our street, had plowed it for us. I called Sandy, his wife, and told her what a wonderful gift that was to us, after a quick but long trip, to come home to a clean driveway. Thank you Dominic!!
We had a bit more snow and some ice last night. I was able to go out to the deck and take some pictures this morning. I know that to people who live in areas where you get tons of snow this may not seem like a lot. But, for heaven's sake, we are in Kentucky!! This is a lot to us and it is just beautiful.
The first picture is a view down to the creek. I think that the creek covered with snow is a thing of real beauty. The others are different views of the back yard and the lower deck on the back of our home.
We are about ready for Christmas to happen. I have one more thing I wanted to try and get made for the mini-Marx's. I found a pattern to make bath mits out of wash cloths that are animals. Hopefully I'll get that done Thursday or Friday.
I'm enjoying the cards and eMails and phone calls from friends we have known through the years. That is one of my favorite things about Christmas, catching up with old and dear people from livin' life.
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