It seems like Hardee’s was the place convenient to everyone last week. I ended up there twice. Judy was there three times—once for a breakfast I had planned to cook!
I was thrilled to be able to hug my truck-driving Uncle Roger again and meet his sweetheart, Brenda. She is pretty, smart and kind. In case you missed previous posts, Uncle Roger is who I call for driving directions. His instructions helped me make it all the way to Mexico as well as home this time.
Roger and Brenda
When I was thinking about driving more to see my friend, Judy, I wasn’t sure I could get back in the car! Yes, I wanted to see her, but I was flat out tired of driving! I also know her work schedule, and I didn’t want her to be exhausted if I stayed too long. She’s the kind of friend everyone needs—I know I’m always welcome at her place for however long I need to be there. She’s been at my side during some hard times as well as good times. Everybody needs a Judy! After thinking hard about it, I felt like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TD_pSeNelU&feature=player_embedded
The view from her place is fabulous.
Great view from Judy’s house
The water bed is the most comfortable I’ve ever slept in!
Best water bed ever!
This was the same day we went to Lisa’s. Again, there was a kid with a camera handy!
Sneaky kid took our pic!
In our visits, nobody had a dog until we stopped to see Frances. We were really missing our two! I pulled into the driveway reasonably sure I was at the right house. Seeing it brought back memories.
My daughter was reading the mail box and said, “I’m not getting out until you make sure this is the right place.” I’ll admit, my road memory skills were slower than normal to return, but seriously? I got out and Bela said, “The mail box says DAILY!” I had to laugh because in our adopted town, there are a few people with Daly as a surname. What she had actually read was DAILY TELEGRAPH on the newspaper box!
Frances and I have been great friends for more than 20 years!
Misty is a great little dog, and we enjoyed playing with her so much! Thanks for sharing her with us! We were experiencing dog withdrawal!
Bela and Misty
We had a great (too brief) time catching up after so long. I went to see her mom as well. She got to meet my Bela.
Ysabela, Verna and Frances
Frances’ sister was there with her two lovely daughters. If you really want to see one of the girls doing something cool, check out this video. I was amazed.
While reviewing the pics on my cameras, I noticed some interesting pictures. They were the result of kids getting my camera.
Let me take a selfie….
She looks happy!
See what happens as soon as I turn around?
I thought our order would never come!
If you’ve been keeping up with us, you will know we FINALLY arrived for our visit. It had been about three years since we’d been back in Virginia. We had missed family and friends long enough, so we made the trip happen. We arrived Sunday (later than I wanted to be), rested a bit (and ate some great food) and started making the rounds of visits we had on our list.
Richard and his chicks!
Who can resist chicks?
By the time we finished chatting, I was (almost) mentally ready to drive over to see “my” Judy. (Her daughters and I fight for visiting time!) We had planned to meet at Canton (Chinese place), but it was closed. Plan B landed us at Hardee’s.
Too long between visits!
Judy drove my car so we could visit another friend and her son. Lisa and C. J. have always kept in touch. Lisa’s my go-to person for class supplies, handouts, etc. It was good to reconnect.
Nice to see Lisa again!
Stay tuned for the next installment! I have to get a bit more rest….
Kitchen Helper
Materials needed:
roll of paper towels
brillo pad (scrubber)
wooden spoon
2 dish towels (different, but complementary)
button (to sew on a dish towel to make it into a scarf)
needle and thread (to put a couple of stitches on the lower dish towel and to sew the button)
marker (to draw face)
I had never seen one of these before, so I was thrilled when my mom said she was sending it to my house! I can’t wait to make a few for shower gifts. I bet if you wanted to modify it for other occasions, it would be simple.
faces of joy
Before I got home, Mom warned me she had put my picture on the WDBJ7 channel to celebrate my birthday. I was glad for the warning! 🙂
I hate seeing myself in pictures, but at least I’d had a good night’s sleep. (We got to Mom and Dad’s a little after lunch Sunday.)
It was funny because when we were within two miles of the house, I told Bela, “I can smell the macaroni and cheese from here!” There was a feast prepared for us–homemade mac and cheese, fried chicken and green beans……yummy!
Dear friend Judy called in the moment I was deciding to stop, and that sealed our fate. Judy said for me to rest. I was tired (almost weepy), and I had to sleep.
The Motel 6 in Cookeville was passable, but not stellar. We had a room on the second floor, the bathroom was tiny (barely room for a butt on the potty because the walls were so close), but there was a queen bed. It was around 11 (p. m.), and I had a wake-up call coming at 6. We had just enough energy to drag our “devices” (laptops, Nooks, etc.) and our carcasses up the two flights to the room. We were settling in when our friends, Joseph and Pam, called to check on us. (To meet them, see Mother Trucker-Part 1) They are the COOLEST! After connecting the phones to charge, we crawled into bed.
After being told about breakfast at 6, we trudged to the car with our devices, drove to the office area, and went looking for food. We found only coffee. I was slightly (!) annoyed. We drove across the street (in a huff), grabbed a coffee and topped off the tank. Cookeville was a memory in no time!
Ysabela kept helping watch signs for Bluefield. It finally appeared. When it was 14 miles away, Ysabela was ready to do a happy dance. I was too, but I explained that we were NOT going all the way to Bluefield—our exit was SOONER! I finally spotted the exit we needed, gave a war whoop (we are part Cherokee) and felt like
Nashville was finally showing on the road signs!!!! Wait…that meant Ysabela and I would be on our own. Hmmmm.
Joseph pulled the rig into a truck stop, and we had one last discussion about my directions. (Road warrior Pam was sleeping.) He said he’d call us when he turned off to offload, and I would continue driving. By this time, naturally, I was getting tired and my back was hurting. My neck was tight, and I swear I had a cramp in my palm from gripping the wheel.
I thanked him for all the help he and Pam had given us. I felt a bit sad at being on my own again, but home was a lot closer than before!
Ysabela and I went back to playing Banana! and Punch Bug! to amuse ourselves. (I’m sure I won the banana game.) I started singing with the radio to stay alert. We drove and drove (and drove) until I felt it would be dangerous to keep driving. At Cookeville (TN), I gave in and got us a room. I figured I could breeze on home after I got five or six hours of sleep. After all, I had been driving for a whole 24 hours. Enough already! I had been driving like it was my job! The trip was taking longer than I had anticipated and I was feeling
Part 3 is on the way…..
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