Let's see - what have you missed since we got back from Maine ----
We came home to discover that the RV had been the victim of a vehicular hit and run in the lot where it's kept. Not significant damage, but a miserable discovery. Our insurance company came through wonderfully and with time and effort, she's back together again. It took a few weeks.
Smoke could not be happier - home, sweet recliner. This is the blissful sleep of a happy cat.
Heather and boyfriend Pete came up for a visit. We drove to the Peaks of Otter - beautiful year round, but especially so in the early fall.
It's a rather harrowing bus ride to almost the top of the peaks. Not for the faint of heart... Once you've departed the bus, there is still the last 1500 feet of a rocky, rugged strenuous hike to the top.
OK, maybe not for the 40-somethings, but I was sure glad to get to the top!
Thanksgiving was spent at Phyllis and Peter's home in NC. I can't believe we didn't get any pictures of the festivities. But, of course, we did get one of Smoke sleeping on their antique, handmade bed.
While in NC, we spent a couple of days with Bonnie and Pete. The big adventure was going to the small town of Aurora, home of the Aurora Fossil Museum. The world's largest phosphate mining and chemical plant is located here. Deep - about 100 feet - below the surface are the deposits of a 15 million year old sea. As the company digs up phosphate, they also dig up something else - fossils. Mostly shark teeth fossils. About every 2 weeks, the mine takes a huge load of the sandy rock that they have been digging into over to 2 large "sandboxes" in Aurora. The boxes are free for digging about in, looking for shark teeth and other fossils. We collected a ziplock bag full of them - some teeth just sitting on the surface, others found using a sifter. We are all standing in less than 1/4 of the sandbox.
This particular fossilized tooth is a from an extinct Tiger Shark.
Next, a trip in the other direction, Pittsburgh. Luke spent a lot of his growing up years, plus collage, in Pittsburgh, so it's always nice to go back and visit. Boating friends Wendy and Warwick live there. We went with them to the Carnegie Mellow Natural History Museum. Dinosaurs! Over 115,000 sq feet large, the museum gained prominence in 1899. Today the dinosaur collection includes the worlds largest collection of Jurassic dinosaurs and the third largest collection of mounted, displayed dinosaurs in the US, including the worlds first specimen of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
We visited the church where Luke's dad was the organist for many years.
And down to The Strip, for a fish lunch at Wholeys seafood market and grocery. Founded in 1912, it's a "must-do".
And joy, oh joy, we came home to snow. Light snow, but still the first snow of the season for us.
Smokey indulges herself in one of her favorite pastimes - helping me knit. Of course, she'd like it a lot better if I didn't actually have knitting in my lap.
Early December, and it's tree time. We use a small artificial tree, but Smokey doesn't care. She's a cat... At least she doesn't try to climb up it!
And it's Christmas day and Christmas cheer!
Both of my daughters have taken up quilting this year. Both have made several. One of Heather's quilt tops, ready for finishing.
Nikki surprised Heather with a quilt for Christmas - again, just the topper, but ready for finishing!
A Christmas present for me came from an unlikely source....I did a couple of days of cat care for a neighbor. The good kitties "gifted" me this when I went over to feed them....thank goodness it was well dead and licked completely slick by the time they brought it to me....I love living in the woods...
So now begins the preparing for winter in FL. We look forward to going. Friends from last year will be there again, plus there are several planned visits from our local friends. It'll all be worth it once we get the RV packed and ready to go!
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