A cousin of mine and a cousin of my husband's both got married last week. I was determined to make it to both of them. My vacation days at work are slim the rest of the year, but it was worth it.
We left Friday night to spend it at my in-laws, then we all caravaned down to Tallulah Falls, GA for the first wedding. It was a beautiful event by Lake Rabun on Sunday evening, with some of the best wedding food I've ever had and good company. After GA, we caravaned again with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law to their home in Charleston, SC. They house is beautiful, and I started to put together some thoughts on what Hubby and I would like in a house. When not getting eaten alive by mosquitos, we had good food by the water and went shopping at what was formerly a slave market, and now a flea/farmers market of sorts. I bought a handblown glass bracelet for my cousin's daughter (9), and a wooden frog with ridges that make a "croak" when rubbed with a stick for his son (6). I don't see his kids often, so I love to bring them a gift when I get to see them.
After Charleston, we made our way down to Lake City, FL to spend some time with my grandparents. I hadn't seen them in 4 years, so it was wonderful to see them again. Despite being 84 and 88, Gramma and Grandpa seem to be in good spirits, although Gramma's hard of hearing and somewhat senile. My mom joined us the next night and together we made them a nice chicken dinner with peach cobbler dessert. It went over well for all parties!
Friday, we all left my grandparents to get to our hotel for my cousin's wedding. On the way down, we stopped for a small lunch in my favorite little town: Micanopy, FL. It's a tiny little place with a few antique stores and two restaurants near Gainesville, FL. I make a point of stopping there every time I travel that way. I'm particularly fond of the antique bookstore and the ice cream parlor/restaurant there. Once we checked in, we were going to stay in a room with my mother, but Hubby caught a cold and she decided to get another room for herself. We met my father and his wife for dinner that night and ended up sat at a table next to, of all people, the head father of the catholic church and school I had attended for two years in middle school. Luckily he didn't recognize us; I don't think he'd have liked to hear "Yes, Father, I'm incredibly successful, happily married, and haven't attended a church service willingly since I stopped attending your school."
The next morning, Mom, Hubby and I piled into Mom's car and we drove down to our (Mom's and mine) old hometown. I realize I still consider that place home after all these years away from it. Despite being away for so long, the roads are still familiar, as are the buildings and the faces. When we went to the downtown area, even though it was restructured on the road, I got to see an old high school friend and her husband, one of my two favorite high school teachers, and an elderly couple from the neighborhood I grew up in. We drove by two out of our four old houses (although one was unrecognizable and the other in sad disrepair) and all of my old schools. We visited by grandmother and grandfathers' graves, and had a quick chat with an old neighbor when we visited one of our houses. Our hometown is a small town, and I desperately miss that feel of closeness, of everyone knowing everyone else and being unable to go somewhere without seeing someone you know. North Carolina may be my home, but it will never be my home.
After seeing everything we wanted to see again, we returned to the hotel to get dressed for the wedding. It was a lovely ceremony and a fun reception. We were seated with my other cousin (the groom's brother) and his family, and their grandfather with his date. We had a wonderful time rekindling our relationships, and all-in-all it was a great evening.
And now we're home. I took today off as what was going to be a sick day to relax and unwind after a 10 hour drive from FL to NC. Irony of irony, I caught Hubby's cold and actually had to use today as a legitimate sick day. So much for relaxing.
As for my Day Zero list:
#21 - Cooked a recipe from Stephanie V. for my grandparents.
Cheesy Chicken Breasts
boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/8 tsp pepper
½ tsp salt
1 (12 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 cup stuffing mix
1/4 cup butter
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350°. Layer chicken in bottom of 2 ½ qt casserole. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2.In a medium bowl, mix soup, cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, lemon juice, milk and curry powder. Pour over chicken.
3.Melt butter. Crush stuffing mix and blend in melted butter and crumble over chicken.
4.Bake uncovered for 40 minutes and serve with rice.
#24 - Baked a Lazy Day Peach Cobbler from cookbook. It's from a compilation of recipes from my mom's boyfriend's mother's church. Very simple but very declicious cobbler.
#32 - Read the rest of the existing Song of Fire and Ice books - A Song of Swords and A Feast For Crows.
#61 - No Facebook for a week - Completed! I debated with myself on this one, but despite travelling, I had access to a computer on every day of the trip, either hotel computers, or family computers. I think I'll add an extended one for a week without facebook when not travelling.
#89 - Bought the two gifts for my cousin's children, and a pair of earrings and a necklace my sis-in-law said she'd been looking at for ages.
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