Disney and Christmas all in the same Month!

What a wonderful treat!  Thanks Ryan and Veronica for asking me to you join you guys.  This trip was to celebrate all three of our birthdays!  The kids had planned on going back in August for V's birthday but the park was closed due to Covid.  So when they finally opened it back up in November, they decided what a perfect why to celebrate all three of ours.  I was more than happy to agree to the plan.

And we are off to see Micky!

With the theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom operating at a 35% capacity limit, it seemed like a perfect time to go.  We bought our tickets and we were off for a 3 day whirl wind ride through the parks.  The only one we didn't do was the Animal Kingdom.  Gotta save something for the next visit!

Day 1 - Magic Kingdom 

After getting our Micky Ears we headed out to conquer the rides.  Our first stop was in Fantasyland where we rode Peter Pan's Flight and It's a Small World, Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid (V's a huge fan of the movie) and finally the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Whew!  Thanks for limit capacity for the lines were awesome!

Next we headed over to Tomorrowland and where we rode Space Mountain.  After that our next stop was Frontierland to ride the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  By then it was time to head back to Cinderella's Castle for the parade and firework show.    A perfectly magical way to end a birthday! 

Day 2 - Hollywood Studios

This park would be my favorite day by far!   Once we got past the mask police and all of us had a new mask, we cleared to continue our day (story for a different time). 

First area on our list was Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.  Weather you are a fan or not this place is amazing.  You really feel like you have just stepped onto another planet! 

After a short line we were on the Millennium Falcon and heading into battle!! Veronica was the gunner, Ryan was the Engineer and I was the Pilot.  They were awesome! I on the other hand sucked.  But hey...we survived the mission!

These guys were so real looking that when the instructor said move, you moved!!

Our next ride was the craziest one in the park.  First of all you have to sign up ahead to get a time slot and even with that you will wait and wait and wait in line.  But boy was it worth it.  However a word of advice, if you get motion sickness, skip this ride!!!

Meany number 83!

After lunch at the Docking Bay 7.  We strolled through Toy Story land to make our way to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror!!    

 

This is the No. 1 scariest ride at Disney World.  The 199 foot tall ride hurtles you up and down inside a haunted elevator. To Ryan and Vernoica's shock, I chickened out once it was time to step into the elevator!  I still don't regret that decision! 

With night upon us, we say a farewell to Holiday Studio's and vow to return again some day!

W

A Much-Needed Thanksgiving Break!

 Thanksgiving at the Beach!

 

Once again, we found ourselves in Santa Rosa Beach on 30A in my son's and daughter's-in-law lovely home.  Thank you, Veronica, for hosting Thanksgiving this year.  You did a wonderful job! 

 

After a day of feasting, the family sat down for game time.  Normally, karaoke is popular with this group but tonight it was Charades and Heads Up.  I must say I'm not very good at remembering things under pressure.  And you definitely don't want to hear me singing either. But it is totally fun to watch the guys in action.

The girls had a movie day and watched one of their favorites. Mama Mia.  Izzy loves dancing and couldn't resist when Dancing Queen came on.  Dance your heart out, kiddo!

The afternoon, after our photoshoot on the beach, I helped the girls make their own Christmas Gnomes.  Both of the girls ended up with two each.  For dollar store items, we think they turned out pretty dang cute!

I have to also give a shout-out to Liv who had also gotten braces put on this month.  She has truly handled it like a champ!  And I have to admit she did so much better than I did!  Keep it up, Sweets!

Finally, the time had come to say goodbye to my son, Austin, his wife, Ali, and the granddaughters.  D and I had decided to stay for a while longer cause someone was going to Disney World for her birthday!

 

November 2020

This month Brought Its Own Issues and Boy, were they Big Ones!

Rotten to the core!

We discovered a weak spot in the back corner of the laundry floor.  Turned out, it was not just the corner but half of the laundry floor!  With the rising prices of lumber due to Covid, we knew that was not only going to be a tough job but an expensive one, too!

Yep, floor joists and all had to go!

Yep... that's daylight showing through!

This project was so above our skill set but learned way back in August that finding a contractor in this town was not happening.  Thank you, Youtube, for being our advisor!

 

Who in Their Right Mind Would Cover Beautiful Log Cabin Walls?

Upon demolishing a shelving system in the bedroom that had been created for a make-shift closet, we discovered the original wormy chestnut logs were in great condition. 

 

 

Back in August we had researched the history of the cabin and found out it had been built around 1895 as a schoolhouse for the town of Mountain City.  It was also used as a meeting house for the local Baptist and Methodist during that time, too.  We were also told that the last students attended there around 1923 and it was then sold to the Hunnicutt family.  Great history!

 

With the discovery that the logs were in great shape, we decided to uncover at least one of the walls.  Well, that resulted in our learning to "Chink".  Not only did I not know what the word meant but how to do it.  Once again, thanks, YouTube!  We decided to go with a recipe that was true to the era in which the house was built to it keep it true to its form.  Surprisingly, it was easier than I thought.  Who doesn't like to play with mud!

Now we just have ALL of the outside of the house to do!  Got a feeling that's going to get old in a hurry!