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Jerry has always been able to ferret out surprises I plan for him...except this time! His birthday and the family reunion were on the same day this year so we decided to celebrate his 66th on Sunday instead. He knew Amanda, Shawn, John, and Tracy would be here for dinner. What he didn't know is that Rob drove all Saturday night to get here as THE surprise. Rob got here early while Jerry was still in the shower so I went back to the bedroom to encourage him to quickly finish getting dressed so he could get his birthday gift. When he rounded the corner at the end of the hallway and spotted Rob, he threw out his arms and exclaimed, "When did you?...How?....When?...." Jerry was speechless! Yep, JERRY was speechless, one of a very few times in his lifetime that he couldn't utter one complete sentence!! Rob and I had kept his visit a secret from the others and they, too, were taken by surprise.
We crammed as much as possible into the 2 1/2 days he was in Kentucky -- Jerry and he went clothes shopping; we had a couple of dinners here; the three of us went to a movie; Rob and John went to the Falls of the Ohio and wandered around; we talked and talked and talked. Like Jerry said, it's good to frequently talk to your child on the phone but nothing is quite as satisfying as seeing them in person.
Rob did a fun painting a few years ago. The subject is based on a brand of fireworks; it shows a monkey driving a little car so the name of the painting is Monkey Drive. Cassie wants to hang it in their bedroom in the condo they're buying so Rob packaged it up to take back with him. Since it's too large to fit into the bed of the truck, he, Jerry, and John struggled and fussed while lashing it down onto the bed cover. Of course, my job was to record the whole thing. :-)
Where did all that snow in our hair come from? Seeing only five of us in this photo seems wrong; I sure do miss Cleda. Also, this time I hated to part with the rest of them at the end of the day. Toots, Vanzell, Neal, Wendell, and Zuela.
Family reunions leave me with feelings of mixed emotions. I'm so happy to see whoever shows up but sad missing ones who can't be there -- for whatever reason. This year Vanessa and Brad hosted it at their home which is about 2 miles off the main road half way between Bardstown and Springfield.
Bette in the horse drawn wagon that took us on the porch tour.
When Bette/Lance and Jerry/Zuela were first married, we lived right beside each other in Morehead. Bette and I were both short, had dark hair, and were small so many people thought (and have thought over the years) that we were sisters. It was so convincing that some old women who lived on the little street to our house got totally confused as to which one of us lived in which house. To add the to the confusion, Bette and Lance had lived in our house prior to Heidi's birth. Those women would "work" out in their yard (They would actually lean over the fence to watch.) so they could watch the comings and goings at our two houses. The four of us were good friends so on any given day, Lance might drop in to visit for a while, Jerry might run over to their house, Bette might bring Heidi over or I might go over there to play with Heidi. Since we realized our actions were being closely observed with FROWNING, DIAPPROVING eyes, we decided to play into their disapproval. So, we would do things like both of us leaving one house and going to the other. I'd leave my own house and go to Bette's, pretending it was mine. Jerry and Lance did similar things. You could almost imagine the nosy neighbors keeping a clip board nearby and making notes on the activities.
After my recent trip to Cincinnati, I posted this picture of Bette on Facebook. The mistaken identity is still happening. So, rubbing our hands together in conspiracy, we went back to our old trick; I posted her picture as my profile photo and fooled a number of people, INCLUDING MY OWN DAUGHTER! That was the funniest. Bette reminded me once when Rob and I were up there, we'd all gone to Jungle Jim's. Rob turned to ask me something but spoke to Bette instead!
When the two of us stand side by side, the differences are very obvious now. Bette has stayed petite and I have chubbed up!! Also, she has aged better than I have. Despite that, I still love her. *grin*
Weslea holding the blanket and hat that Donna crocheted for me to give to her. Donna's favorite finishing needle for her crocheted items is one that belonged to Nancy's mother, the new baby's great-grandmother.
Jerry waits outside an antique mall in Montgomery, Indiana.
October -- a busy, fun-filled month this year. Since we are so interested in the Amish culture, we took a trip over curving, winding roads past fields where hundreds of pumpkins were being harvested, corn stalks being cut down to Montgomery, Indiana. About a mile outside of town is an Amish village with large restaurant, bakery, antiques, gift shop. The buffet features many homemade products, the best being the bread. Jerry and I decided we could make a meal just on the wonderful bread and butter. The day was nippy but brilliantly sunny so the top went down on the car -- heated seats turned on, windows rolled up, but TOP DOWN!! From Montgomery we headed south to Jasper then took another turn toward French Lick, played for a while, then drove home late in the evening. Driving a convertible in the fall is bracing!!
Saturday was Weslea Hottman's baby shower at Don and Nancy's. Ordinarily, showers aren't my cup of tea but this one was actually fun! The shower games didn't dominate but were woven into other activities. For instance, while we were eating, each guest had a glass of "Prego-ritas" (virgin margaritas) into which an ice cube was placed. The ice cube had a tiny plastic baby frozen into it. The person whose cube melted first got a prize. Weslea was showered with so many gifts that the hallway was filled with them. I hope they have a large enough house or apartment to hold it all. :-) One present held very special meaning. When Don and Nancy's first son was born, Don's mother gave them the rocking chair he'd used when he was little. Then it was passed on to the next son. They had the seat recovered in a fabric that fits the new baby's nursery and presented it to Weslea at the shower. What a wonderful way to connect the various Hottman generations.
As soon as the shower ended, I hopped into the car for my journey north to Cincinnati. My old friend from Morehead, Bette Evanshine, was waiting for me at her home. As soon as I got there and changed shoes, we went to an area of the city that was having a porch tour. Hundreds of luminaries lined the sidewalks on both sides of the street, a band played, children ran around and played in the streets, food aromas wafted over our heads. We took a horse-drawn wagon tour of the neighborhood; a docent talked about the architectural features on the houses as we slowly made our way in the wagon. The evening was turning cold so, after leaving this event, we went back to Bette's neighborhood for a heartening Indian meal. The rest of the evening was spent in pajamas, talking, reminiscing. Before leaving the next day, we went to the new Nordstrom's near her and did a little shopping and eating at the bistro. Side note: Shopping is so much more fun when you have a girlfriend commenting, pointing out things, enjoying it with you.
At the wedding:
Shawn and Amanda, Jerry and Zuela (Michelle's mother, Loy, is in the background just behind Shawn.)
When we went walking on the trail at the end of the swinging bridge, our intent was to walk all around the lake. I was positive that I'd done that before and was ready to make the hike this time. We came up to these steps, huffed and puffed our way to the top to discover.....A PARKING LOT! So, we just retraced our steps.
We talked to Rob Saturday night. It was Jerry's turn so he went out onto the deck to talk to his "baby".
Thank goodness Michelle and Matt's wedding was at Red River Gorge!! The wedding sent us east on a PERFECT weekend retreat. The two of us, Amanda, and Shawn shared a log cabin perched high up on the side of a mountain. It was so cozy that it would be tempting to hole up there for a whole season. Since we got to the cabin first, we sat on the screened-in porch to wait for Amanda and Shawn to arrive. We sat quietly so that the only sounds were soft rustling of leaves on branches brushing up against each other and occasionally the distant tweet or chirp of a bird. The only human produced sound was the soft picking of a banjo coming from the cabin up above ours.
Following the wedding rehearsal Friday evening, there was a cookout at the cabin the bridesmaids had rented. We drove on the main road, turned off that to a narrow paved road, left that for a graveled road full of ruts that finally led us to the top of a mountain that took us into a huge, open meadow with a few cabins built on each edge of the opening. At the cookout cabin, the front faced the meadow but the back sat close to the edge of a cliff. From there the whole valley spread out so you could see a teeny road before snaking its way around and around with Matchbox sized cars on it. As the evening began to darken, an enormous fire circle with crackling fire drew everybody close because there was a definite fall nip in the air. We ate, drank, met new people, reconnected with some old friends and neighbors and just generally had a wonderful evening. By the time we headed back to our own cabin, it was totally dark. I should amend that -- not totally because on the meadow road on our way out, I stopped the car, turned off the headlights, and we sat for a while just enjoying the scene with the full moon painting trees and buildings with silver.
Sleeping that night was restful. We cranked out windows to welcomed, cool night air and snuggled under a blanket for GOOD sleep.
Saturday morning, Jerry and Shawn stayed at the cabin to do Jerry and Shawn activities while Amanda and I drove to the area below Natural Bridge to walk around and explore for a while. We strolled around the small lake, watching the wedding decorations being put up, inviting ourselves to a family picnic (They actually said we were welcome to join them!), exploring a small graveyard that seemed to contain only children's graves, jiggling and swaying the swinging bridge trying to dislodge the other person, and hiking a section of a path alongside the lake.
What a special wedding this was! It was a combination of formal and casual, performed on "Hoedown Island" at the base of the mountain from Natural Bridge. The sun was brilliant but not too hot. As the couple exchanged vows, a woodpecker tapping a staccato rhythm on a tree, a breeze whispering past, a distant dog barking were the other sounds heard. After they were officially declared "husband and wife" and the guests applauded, a group of children on the other side of the lake could be seen clapping and cheering along as if they, too, were part of the wedding party.
Kentucky products -- locally bottled wines, Ky. brewed beers, catfish, roasted buffalo -- took center stage at the reception buffet. A talented bluegrass band, Kentucky Fried Pickin'" played for us. (Clever title) Tommy, an old friend of Amanda's and Rob's, and his girlfriend and I wanted to get back down the mountain from the reception to the parking lot and do all that before it was totally dark. We almost didn't make it because the path was not only hard to see but rough walking. Some of it was paved but much was just large flat rocks and uneven gravel. I made it safely with Tommy's help. Thanks, Tommy.
Sunday morning we set the alarm and did all the last minute packing, straigtening, and checking out to leave for home. Jerry and I stopped in Midway for lunch at an interesting little cafe called Quirk. Midway is a gem of a small, central Kentucky town. Running right through the middle of town is a railroad track with shops, art galleries, and restaurants lining both sides.
The whole weekend left me with a pleasant, lingering satisfaction.
Zoom into the parking lot...
hug, hug...
rush inside...
quickly make decision about lunch (We almost always get the same thing so I don't know why we even ponder over the menu. We get Pad Thai noodles with tofu and a wedge of lime, hot tea, and steamed dumplings.)...
slurp,... chomp,... talk, ...sip, ...chew-chew-chew, ...talk, ...pour hot tea..., talk about Rob ( :-] ), ...gulp, ...talk about plans for weekend in cabin at Red River Gorge, ...laugh, ...hug, hug, ...rush back out so Amanda can get back to work on time.
All around satisfying lunch at Thai Smile.
