Eileen & Tom's Visit.......and After.

Though Eileen and Tom left on Monday, it's taken a while to get around to posting again.  This week has been busy with one thing or another, and I've been pooped.  Also, I had lots of photos of their visit, as well as copying those from each of their cameras........so many photos that I really didn't know how to approach the task of consolidating them.  It was only today that I actually had time to devote to it.  There are probably more than you want to see and many of the places are familiar to you by now, but I hope you enjoy them.

Needless to say, we had a great visit and I hope they enjoyed their time here as much as we enjoyed having them. First and foremost, it was great to see for myself that Eileen was doing so well after her bout with breast cancer. All reports from friends who had seen her were good, but I'm relieved to see for myself. She looks great (as you can see) and has boundless energy, and it's wonderful to see her come through it all with such a positive outcome. The years have treated Tom well and it was good to see him in such good form, too. Those of you who follow this blog will certainly recognize our site-seeing spots:

•  The little town of Beaufort
•   Savannah
•   Harbor Town, South Beach and Coligny Beach
•   Palmetto Bluff (whose beauty and tranquility seem to appeal to all)

There were some unexpected surprises and variations.

• One of the pleasant surprises was the Palmetto Quilting Guild's display that we happened upon on the only rainy day of their visit.  The owners of Pineland Station houses the guild free of charge in one of the vacant shops, which I think is a wonderful idea, as well as being a colorful attraction.  It was tailor made for Eileen, who is a quilter. 

• Rather than doing the usual carriage ride in Beaufort, we did a walking tour, had lunch and then went to Hunting Island, which is more remote and rugged than most.  It was a beautiful day for walking in the surf and looking for shells.

•  It was the week on the Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival so we participated in some of the events associated with that: the blessing of the boats and gospel singing on Sunday and the street fair and fireworks on the following Saturday, for which my mother joined us.  Who would ever expect to see fireworks in October??

 

Thanks to Tom for the video.

• During their time here, there was only one day of rain, which I believe was also the case during their time spent in the Indiana/Ohio area.  The first few days were wonderfully sunny and warm, then after the rain we had our first real fall day.....cool, crisp, but still sunny.  In the photos you'll notice that Eileen and Tom are still in short sleeves, but I've gone to a jacket!!  Fall is officially here. The crispness remains but the days are sunny and bright.

I'm sure I've forgotten something.  If so, I hope Eileen will add it or refresh my memory.   As I've said many times before, longtime Aramco friends are among the best.  The years just melt away and we pick up where we left off.  It was great to see both Tom and Eileen and I'm so glad they came.

As for the intervening time, I had a dental appointment on Tuesday and my mother wasn't feeling well.  She stayed in her pajamas all day and was complaining of her head feeling funny.  She had just taken a course of antibiotics for the mucus build up, but a sinus infection seemed to linger.  So, on Wednesday I took her to the doctor again.  After rest and the meds, she seems to be feeling better physically.  Wednesday afternoon I worked at PAL.  On Thursday, I took Mama Mia to the vet as she was not acting herself and seemed to be having trouble pooping (more info than you want to know).  They kept her and "flushed" her out but I'm afraid it might become an ongoing problem as she eats only dry food.  The doctor suggested mixing mineral oil with her food (which she won't go for) or giving her pumpkin (won't go for that either!).  Sometimes I wonder if they know cats!!  So, I'm just keeping an eye on her and hoping all goes well.  I can't remember what I/we did on Friday but on Saturday from 10:45-3:30 I helped with the first birthday celebration of the PAL facility.  I really didn't intend to stay the full time, but it was so much fun seeing it all and being a part of it that the time slipped away.  Animal and animal lovers are wonderful!!  I really enjoyed it and I know I contributred to the adoption of one kitty (which were fewer than the dog adoptions).  On my way home, I stopped at my local wine shop for the wine tasting.

That brings us to Sunday (today), which was my day to catch up on photos and the blog. We began the day with a southern breakfast (minus the sausage for me) and I even managed my walk, which I did several other days this past week.  Though there is a long list of things to do this coming week, slowly but surely I'm getting caught up.