This week

It's been a great week. Here's some of what happened.

Dave and I spent a lot of time together and not watching TV side by side while surfing the net, which is our usual disengaged way of spending time together. Nope! This week, every night and some afternoons, we played cards together. Our game of choice was, of course, Hand and Foot. We also played Solitaire seeing who could win first, and we played War several times. It was such a wonderful way to spend time together. We laughed a lot and sang a lot of country tunes while listening to the country music channel. Of course, when I called Mom to tell her we were playing, she got jealous that she didn't have anyone to play cards with her; so, we are going to try to schedule a play date this week with her and Aunt Linda.

Last weekend Mom and I finally got a chance to go see Little Miss Sunshine. In a word, it was GREAT! We laughed so hard that we cried. I don't like "The Office," but Steve Carell was great in this movie. I didn't realize until we got to the theater that the movie was rated "R," but that was only because of the language. If you get a chance to see this movie, go! It was the best use of my Greenbax that I could imagine. Best movie I've seen in quite some time.

Tuesday morning we set out for Summerville to visit Dave's Grandpa and Granny. We made a quick stop in Orangeburg on the way to pick up something for Grandpa from Tractor Supply Co. We got to Granny and Grandpa's in time to visit for a while before lunch. Dave and I went and picked up lunch for everybody (Granny wanted Chinese, Grandpa wanted a cheeseburger from Hardees). After lunch Dave and I took some time to fix Granny's falling bathroom wallpaper. We promised her months ago that we would fix it for her, and I wasn't about to get on her bad side by leaving without it being fixed. In the meantime, Grandpa slipped out of the house to go pick up some worms so Granny could go fishing for bream. A little later in the afternoon after I'd had a nap and Dave had caught about 9 bass, we loaded Granny up in the truck and took and her chair and fishing pole down to the pond. She was thrilled to be able to go fishing. She said it had been 3 or 4 years since she'd last been fishing. We stayed out until almost dark then loaded Granny onto the tailgate of the truck and took her back to the house. We stayed for some supper then headed home. We made some old folks pretty happy and we had a great time, too. I wish we could go visit them more often.

Last night was the annual Dove Shoot in Cameron. My cousins and their associate host this event every year. I've been attending for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I used to dress in my camo and hang out with my cousin Olivia. The Shoot was usually held that same night at the first football game at CA. That always made for a big day. Well, for the past 4 or 5 years, Mom and I have helped in the serving line during the BBQ dinner. It's quite an event with several hundred folks there. The governor usually makes an appearance, and I fully expected to see him there this year because it's an election year. But he didn't make it this time. I did get to see several of my former class mates, some fellow and former DOR employees (several of whom used to be Dad's bosses), lots of cousins, friends from church, friends from the area and former neighbors.

After the BBQ Mom and I went by Aunt Penny's house to take her a plate and visit with her and her grandson Jacob, my cousin Olivia's son who recently turned 1. He's the cutest thing I've seen in a long time and has the sweetest disposition despite the fact that he's teething. What a handsome, sweet boy! I always enjoy visiting with Aunt Penny because she cracks me up! And I got to visit with my cousin Marie who I don't get to see very often even though she lives here in Columbia, at least during the week. All in all, it was a nice night. Of course, Dave had to work so he wasn't able to attend. Luckily, he did get a plate of BBQ thanks to cousin Kay.

I look forward to more weeks like this: spending quality time with family, friends and loved ones. What better way to pass the time?