Cute Quote

Quote of the day - from an internet "forward"....worth sharing, though....

NO MATTER HOW BIG AND BAD YOU ARE, WHEN A TWO YEAR OLD HANDS YOU A TOY PHONE,
YOU ANSWER IT! 

Apparently, I don't get to "Make a Difference"!

It had been a while since I had donated blood to the Red Cross. I had gone to a "mobile" blood drive a year or so ago, only to be told it was a 1 1/2 hour wait. So, when the nice Red Cross lady called asking me to schedule an appointment a month or so ago, I thought that sounded like a good idea. So, at 10AM sharp this morning, I signed in, read all the documents they require....got my sticker and was shuttled to the next station.

Got my blood pressure, temp, etc. documented....and the worst part of the whole thing for me - the dreaded finger stick to test for iron deficiency!

The next stage is to answer all kinds of questions to determine if you've been exposed to AIDS or the mad-cow disease.  I, of course, pass those with exceptional ease!  The last questions were about your recent travels.  In the past 12 months I have been out of the country 3 times - the Bahamas, Taiwan, and the Turks and Caicos.  Guess which one disqualifies me??? 

The one I wouldn't expect - the Bahamas!  Actually, it's because we visited the Exumas - they are a malaria risk.  Most of the other Bahama islands are not on the "no-donate" list.  I can't give blood for a year!  Who woulda' thunk it????

Thanksgiving at The Joneses!

Our family was invited to Miranda's folks house for Thanksgiving this year - Richard had to work 24 hours on Thanksgiving Day, so we opted for a Saturday meal.  All the usual trimmings - very nice.  Gotta love Miranda's new haircut!!!

We even played a fun game of cards...

I didn't manage to get a group shot - but also in attendance was Robert and Miranda's brother Stephen.  A wonderful relaxing  evening!

Turks and Caicos Trip

Off we were for a short trip to a new island!  This time it was to Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.  It's a small British Territory south of the Bahamas.

Sharon and Buddy's plane from RDU met up with us in Charlotte for the final 3 hour flight.

Rented a little car - note that I'm sitting in the passenger seat - Duane is driving...took a little getting used to!!

The island is pretty small - so we were to our home for the week pretty quickly. It was a 2 bedroom condo that was just beautiful!

The view from the condo the first morning thru the screened porch.

What followed was day-after-day of heading to a different beach...it was windy and the umbrella was kinda mis-behavin'...

Wandering down the beach, Sharon spied this pretty specimen!

A few of the days were cloudy and stormy-looking.  Still beautiful!  And, no, we aren't inclined to do the para-sailing....

Next day, different more-deserted cove.

If you look closely, there are specks out in the middle of the photo.  The bay is so incredibly shallow, you an walk for what seems like forever in clear, waist deep water on a powdery sand bottom.

I won't bore you with too many food shots - but this was a local restaurant serving "cracked conch, rice & peas, fried plantains, and lobster fritters".  Yum.  The diet starts now.

Buddy and Duane in their normal positions, books in hand.  The dark stuff on the beach is just some seaweed leftover from Hurricane Sandy. 

This is the view from a restaurant we ate at overlooking the Chalk Sound.

The lovely couple!!

Another view of Chalk Sound....not sure the color in this photo does it justice - it was even prettier than the photo!

Several days, we found deserted shelters and other items on the beach to sit on....here I'm sitting on a couple of cement blocks propped against a shelter in front of an abandoned building.

Here's the abandoned building - looks like it's a hotel, about 1/10th finished.  Anyone want a business opportunity? 

We saw some odd things while on the island....one of them was this fellow on a horse.  We were sitting at a restaurant on the deck overlooking the water.  This guy rides up on the horse - and a waiter goes out to him.  A minute or two later, I see the rider getting out his wallet as the waiter approaches - with the bottle of beer!  The cowboy sat there for a good while on the horse, sipping his beer.  Hmmm, I think that's the ultimate drive-in for a beverage!

Different day, different beach.....Sharon found a hammock....

We spied this large yacht going into the nearby marina....

And this lovely vessel - Aiyana - had to "hold" while exiting the marina since the channel looked very narrow.
I looked her up - you can charter this 82' beauty for $35,000 per week. 

I was napping....and as I woke up, this was my view....so I decided to try to capture the feeling.

Speaking of the motor yacht....a little while later, we went over to the marina to a nearby restaurant and we saw a tanker drive towards the yacht.  Looks like they fueled the yacht directly from the tanker.  Boy, I'd hate to see that bill!

Different day, different beach!

Our last day....

Snapped one quick group photo before heading to the airport!

Late fueling. Cool airplane.

I got a call from an airport near Ft. Bragg saying that they were out of jet fuel and the had a "Casa" airplane coming from Wisconsin for a military parachute "mission" that needed fuel. They asked if I could have "somebody" meet the plane at Siler City. Sure, I can have "someone" meet them. Haha yeah, I'm somebody!! Cool plane!!

Tough job!

I love a good pizza....

And I actually like Pizza Hut pizzas....

But they really should stop this ridiculous practice....

Poor guy....

Dressing him up like a pizza.....seriously?

Doesn't make me want to stop in to order!

We flew down to the boat this weekend - beautiful weather!!! (Not for sailing as it was glassy-smooth on the Neuse River!) I keep up with Oriental by looking at the Town Dock website most every day....and I saw that the theater group in Oriental was putting on an old-fashioned "radio play" this weekend. It's kindof like a local version of the "Prairie Home Companion". Very nicely done - I'll share a few tidbits. The outside of the Old Theater, Oriental, NC:

Big John and Ready John (the main plot centers around who is the father of "Lilly" to the right.)   One of the "Johns" is the mayor of Oriental!

The main actors (turn up your volume!):

Periodically, the story was interrupted by commercials - Coke-a-Cola. Good fun!!!

Inside flowers

Since it's been getting frosty out, I decided to rescue some of my last surviving mums....not the best arrangement since they were a bit "spindly" - but added some nice color to the kitchen table!

Bull City Street Rod Association comes to the airport

What a beautiful fall weekend! Our neighbor, Al, belongs to the "Bull City Street Rods" car club. They like to "cruise out" to various locations as a group, so he had invited them for a day of fun at our airport.

A few of the nice cars.

Someone in my family can probably help me with this one - is this like the old "blue bomb" Impala that my brother Eddie purchased as his first car?  (Probably in 1976 and I think the story goes it cost him $100).

There was some flying going on as well.  Why come to an airport if there are no airplanes! 

And chatting about airplanes, too!

Look at that beautiful sky!!!

And of course, what event would be complete without Barney's Famous Hot Dogs???

And after all the plane looking, car looking and hot-dog eating was over, Pat took all the newcomers on a "hay-less" hay-wagon ride around the airport.  A nice time was had by all!!!