Waiting for snow today???

For several days the weatherman has been predicting snow for Alabama and everybody's getting excited - except me! We have experienced enough snow for a lifetime and that's why we retired to the sunny south 14 years ago. I only remember it snowing once when I was growing up and that was in March when I was in the 6th grade. We went outside and collected some and made milkshakes by adding some milk and vanilla.

Our weather seems to get colder each winter and hotter each summer. I suppose it's because we are so warm or cool inside with air conditioning and central heat. Then when we go outside there's a drastic change.

Oh, well. I'm going to search the newspaper today for firewood just in case we use up all we have on hand in the next few days. There's nothing like standing in the front of a hot fire and warming your backside and then sitting in a recliner with a cup of hot coffee or chocolate, and catching up on the stack of magazines or a good book.  Our morning temperatures have been in the teens and low 20s almost every morning for the past week and aiming for 13 degrees Sat. morning. The high hovers near 40 but the wind chill is much lower.

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Christmas of 1995 it snowed in Elba. James and I drove to Elba from Albany, GA two days before Christmas to spend the night with Aunt Bob and cook some Christmas food for her to have since she lived alone. As we were driving into Elba, it started snowing - giant snowflakes, and I had to turn on the windshield wiper in order to see. We got to her house and she was waiting for us and was bundled up to go outside. She wanted to go to Kelly's barbecue for lunch and for a ride in the snow.

When I suggested we wait until it stopped snowing, she said "No" - that she had been waiting for me to get there and take her out to eat. She knew I had driven in snow many times before and I would not have any problems. Soooo... I helped her into the car and away we went.

James and I had planned to spend the night at our farm, 8 miles out in the country. I was so cold when we got to the lake house but the little propane heaters soon warmed the little house and we settled down to watch TV. During the night James woke me up and said he was cold. I got up and checked the heaters and they were all cold. We had used all the propane gas. I got out more blankets and when it was daylight, we got up and got dressed and headed home to GA. But we couldn't leave right away. The snow had melted and had frozen and our front yard was like an ice skating rink. The car wouldn't go. James was getting very frustrated by this time. He had not wanted to go to Ala with me in the first place! Today was Christmas Eve and he was so afraid Santa wouldn't know where he was. We didn't have a cell phone back then or phone at the cabin so nobody knew we were stranded.

Well, the sun came out and started melting the ice, and we managed to get the 1/4 mile to the paved US highway to start home. On the way home we passed the Coffee County courthouse in Elba and saw the ice in the water fountain. 

Cold Down South

The temperature dropped down into the 20's last night and the big, roaring fire in our fireplace feels so good this morning. Jim had it started when I got up at 6:30 a.m.

He gets up early to check on temperature in the greenhouse. It was in the 40s inside the greenhouse today and 28 outside. So far so good. Plants are looking great.

Last Wednesday, Dec. 30, we went to Opp 
and while there we stopped by Mizelle Memorial Hospital to check out the Tree of Light where ornaments were purchased for $5 in honor of or in memory of people in 2009. Three friends from Opp purchased ornaments in memory of our son James and we found two of them.


The tree was so full of ornaments it was difficult to locate all 3 with his name. Proceeds for the sale are used for a hospital auxilliary project each year.

We spent New Year's Day doing absolutely nothing but watching TV and eating. Too cold to go outside. The Auburn/Northwestern University football game was so exciting.


When that was over we watched a very long movie "How the West Was Won" and neither of us remembered having ever seen it before. It was released in 1962 when we were living in Bremen, GA. With 3 little boys, and both of us working, I guess we didn't have time to watch long movies back then.

Looking Back at 2009

January 16-19 - we took a road trip to Sarasota, FL to visit my sister Judy and her husband Guy. James always looked forward to visiting them. Judy would take him to see the circus headquarters and shopping, just the two of them.
January 28 – James had gall bladder surgery at SE Medical Center in Dothan. This was the day the workers came and poured cement to enlarge our front driveway. Also on that day Gappa Wise came and started removing the bricks from the back of our bedroom wall to add a bathroom. We were surprised when we got home from the hospital on Jan. 31 to see the new driveway turn-around and a tarpaulin covering the back of our bedroom.


February 2 - James was taken to the ER in Opp due to complications following surgery and he died at 8:30 pm that night. He had multiple problems and his system just shut down and he stopped breathing.
February 5 – funeral at 2 p.m. for James at Elba United Methodist Church. The church was filled with friends and family on that very, very cold day (in the 20’s). James did not like cold weather and I had problem sleeping that night because I kept thinking he was freezing out in the cold cemetery.
March - Jim spent most of March getting physical therapy for sciatic nerve pain in his hip and leg.
March 11-12 - Jim went with me to Auburn to the annual state DAR meeting.
March 27-30 – Jim’s brother Larry and wife Suzi came from Virginia Beach for a week-end with us. We met them at airport in Montgomery. Jim and Larry spent the week-end reminiscing about their mother who passed away in Sept. 2008, and of course talking about James. Weather was so bad they couldn’t come to his funeral.

April 12 – Easter Sunday and spring break for Bill’s girls. He took Katie and Caroline on a cruise for a week. Nerissa had her spring break earlier.
April 30 – we took a road trip to Austin, TX to see Ron and Cindy and granddaughters Liz and Ally, and their new home. Had planned the trip in April for about a year, to see the bluebonnets and there weren’t many last year, and they were all gone.

May 3 – Dedication day for Habitat for Humanity home in Elba. I wasn’t present but was recognized for landscaping the home as a Master Gardening project.
May - our new bathroom was completed and furnished and clothes moved into the “his and hers” walk-in closets.
June 6 – Granddaughter Katie graduated from West Florence (SC) High School. We 
gave her a bicycle to have for transportation when she went to College of Charleston that fall. Couldn’t have a car on campus due to lack of parking spaces.
June 8-17 - long road trip from Florence to Charlotte to Greensboro, NC and then sisters got together at Cyndi’s (niece) in Emporia, VA on Sun. June 14 to celebrate Jake’s graduation from high school. On to Nanticoke, MD for a couple of days visiting Chris and Al. We got back to Elba on Wednesday, June 18.
July 14-21 - vacation time.
July 15 – celebrated Bill’s 51st and Jim’s 75th birthdays with a cookout at Alice and Jerry’s house in Charlotte, SC.
July 16 - Jim’s 1952 high school class reunion in Harrisburg, NC – Jim was one of the organizers and worked long and hard on getting this together and everybody had a great time.
Jul 18-20 – traveled to Olive Hill, KY to the Logan family reunion. The cousins got together on Sat. night and then the big covered dish luncheon was on Sunday in Vanceburg, KY.
Jul 20 – spent the night at Black Mountain, NC with Nell’s sister Carolyn and husband Dave and stayed at their B&B. Returned to Elba on July 21.
August 7-15 – Grandma Camp: just Caroline this year. We had fun doing this with her for a week.
Aug 21 – Nell had surgery on her eyelids at Eye South, Dr. Bryant. She spent the week-end putting ice packs on her eyes and wondered why she ever decided to have that surgery. But later it paid off since her eyesight improved so much.
August 11- went to Florence, SC to help Katie move to her dorm at College of Charleston.

Sept 26 - helped our pastor and his wife move into an apartment and store most of their furniture. The parsonage had to be abandoned due to black mold coming in from underneath the house. Did not know that they would be in that apartment for almost 2 months!
October 3 – Our 56th wedding anniversary. Also Grimes family reunion. Our family was hostess this year. Good attendance. Reunion was held at picnic pavilion at Curtis (New Ebenezer Baptist Church).
October 10 – 24th Curtis School Reunion – Judy and Guy spent the week-end with us.
October 23 – Nell went with Master Gardeners on a trip to Birmingham to Aldridge Botanical Gardens and stopped over at Petals from the Past in Jamison, AL.
November 11th – Debbie Davidson, James’ friend in Winston-Salem, died.
November 20-28 - Florence, SC. Attended Caroline’s Mock Trial competition in Lexington, NC on Sat., Nov. 21. She was awarded “Most effective Attorney” in the SC State Middle Schools competion.
Nov 25 – Nell turned 75 and celebrated with a party at Bill’s house in SC.
Nov 26 – spent the day at Sunset Beach, NC for Thanksgiving Day with lots of relatives attending.
December 3-9 – another road trip!! Austin, TX to attend Liz’s graduation from University of TX on Sunday, Dec. 6th.
Dec 8 – James’ birthday. We left Austin at 9 am that day to start home (2 day trip)
Dec 18 – had a Christmas luncheon for Nell’s cousins.
Dec. 25 - spent Christmas alone, just the 2 of us, for the first time in 55 years! Went to several Christmas gatherings at Nell’s cousins. Ate Christmas dinner with cousin Tom and wife Sharon.
Dec 27 – Aunt Ida turned 90. Went to visit her at her home in Brewton on our way home from TX earlier in Dec.

Getting ready for a new and better year – 2010.

Christmas Day 2009

Christmas Day is almost over and it was a good one.
After having spent half the night under "tornado watch", we were surprised to wake up and see the sun shining. After breakfast, we went into the living room

and took turns opening our gifts under the tree.

I got to go first and I'm holding a gift from our son Bill.
It's a machine that you stack 35mm slides in and convert them to digatal images on the computer so you can put them on a CD and make copies. Also can do the same with negatives. We have lots of old slides of the boys when they were younger and the color is fading so I hope to transfer them very soon.

Santa brought me an under the shelf AM/FM radio and 7" pull-down screen TV to use in the kitchen. I have been looking for one of those so I was very surprised to get one.

Jim was hoping to get a new brierwood pipe. He got

3 pipes and was very happy. Bill ordered one online and it came from the Ukraine, the one Jim is holding in the photo. Ron also gave him two pipes. They are hard to find and you almost have to order them online. A local service station keeps pipe tobacco in store for him. He also got some clothes, chocolate candy, a new LED flashlight, a Clemson sweatshirt, and a bunch more.

Even before we started opening our gifts, our phone started ringing; family calling to wish us

Merry Christmas. We were either calling people or they were calling us throughout the day. What fun! And we were all sending pictures on email throughout the day.

My cousins Tom and Sharon invited us to have Christmas dinner with them and their children from Orlando. Tom's sister Kathy and her family also came. What a spread! Turkey, ham, chicken and dumplings, all kinds of veggies, hot rolls, cranberry casserole (I brought this dish) and a table filled with desserts of all kinds. We had a lot of fun recalling Christmas with our grandparents on the farm, many years ago. We also talked about James and how he loved Christmas and things he would do and say. Talking about him helps us not to be so sad.

Now the temperature is dropping almost freezing. We have a fire going in the fireplace and just being lazy. Turned off the TV for awhile and enjoying the peace and quiet. It has been a nice Christmas Day. God bless everyone!

Christmas Eve is Here

It's time of year when the stockings are hung by the chimney by care, and the kids are being tucked in their beds - my favorite time of the year. Since Dec. 1955 we have "Played Santa" for our 3 boys and their children.


This year we are alone :-(  By this time of the year, James would be so "keyed up" he didn't want to hear Christmas music or even talk about Christmas. It got worse as he got older and last year was really bad for him since he wasn't in good health and very nervous. We had no idea it would be his last Christmas with us.



Our extended family of cousins here in Elba have made sure we keep busy and we've been invited to all of their Christmas celebrations.


I invited them to a Christmas luncheon last Friday (Dec 18) and we've been going to other dinners and parties ever since. Last night we went to Chip and Linda's family gathering for soup and sandwiches (and lots of other goodies) and homemade desserts. It was such a nice time, singing carols, eating, meeting our cousin Stan's fiancee' and her 3 young children for the first time. Her husband was killed in an auto accident 3 years ago and her children are now 5,7, and 10. She is an elem. school teacher in Enterprise and Stan is a coach and teacher in Enterprise High School. They are getting married in April at the beach. Stan's parents, Betty and Bo, are so excited about getting granddaughters - finally. They already have 2 grandsons.


Tomorrow we are invited to have Christmas dinner (1 pm) with cousin Tom and Sharon and their family (Janet & Ed, and Jimmy from Orlando).


We will get up in the morning at our regular time, have breakfast, and then open our presents. I'm sure by that time we will be getting phone calls from the granddaughters in SC and TX. James is gone but he will be here with us in spirit tomorrow, as he was today. And we will have made it through our first Christmas without him. Christmas will never be the same without his "Ho, Ho, Ho's" echoing throughout the house.


James is pictured here opening his gifts on Christmas morning, Dec. 2008, wearing his new shirt with "Best Pals Forever" and Santa on his shirt.

Remembering our Loved Ones at Christmas

Saturday, Jim and I went out 8 miles into the country to New Ebenezer Church to the cemetery to place some Christmas flowers on family graves.

First we put a white poinsettia on our plot and a railroad conductor

figurine dressed in a Santa suit near James' marker. He loved railroads and Santa so this was just for him! This will be our first Christmas in 53 years without having James around to celebrate Christmas, his favorite time of the year.

Our family plot is behind that of my parents, Lawrence and Ruth Wilson . We placed a big red silk poinsettia on their site.

Then I went to the first row of graves and placed a red poinsettia
on Mama and Papa Wilson's graves.

There is a beautiful arrangement on top of their monument and neither I nor my cousins know who placed it there. My grandmother Wilson's father, James Shorter Grimes, was the first person to be buried in this cemetery in 1903. Many of those buried in this cemetery are related to the Grimes families.

The cemetery was filled with pretty flowers and is well kept, with a large American flag waving over the graves on a flagpole donated by Hayes Funeral Home. We visit about once a month to check on the flowers and to pay our respect to our loved ones. We buried our son there to be near other family members.

First Cousins' Christmas Luncheon

I have several first cousins living in Elba now, and my brother Perry. I decided to have a special Christmas luncheon and invited all of them to come.

We are all pictured here in our den, after lunch.
My brother Perry Wilson and his wife Carol live in Elba. My 5 sisters live in MD, NC, and FL so none of them could be here.

The first cousins are all children of my father's sister. One cousin, Billy, lives in NC and he and his wife Lorrie could not be here with us.

The table was set with our Christmas dishes and a pretty Christmas table cloth. I plann the luncheon to include things we had for Christmas when we were growing up on the farm. We usually had chicken instead of turkey.

Our menu included chicken keiv (breasts), butterbeans, fluffy white rice, broccoli salad, apple & cranberry casserole, French rolls, tea and coffee. The most nostalgic item was the Lane Cake, made by my Mama Wilson's recipe and flavored with lots of blackberry wine.

Everybody enjoyed their meal and several had to hurry back to work. We got to visit longer with some of the cousins. I should have been standing on a stool in the back. I think I am the shortest of all at 5'.

Some of us will be gathering at Kathy and Bobby's home for Christmas Eve, after we go to communion at church that evening.

As you get older, it's so important to keep in touch with your family. We are enjoying being with our cousins since our boys and their families won't be coming for Christmas this year. We recently spent a week with each of them so we are staying home for Christmas.

We have been busy going to church cantatas (3 last Sunday!), dinners, and other events. Today we went to a Christmas Open House and later to Lowe's to look at dishwashers. We seem to always have one "ailing" appliance.

Today was a great day - lots of sunshine for a change. But also very cold. It's one of those days that you go about thinking "it's good to be alive and well, and enjoying life".