FINAL WEEK IN ALABAMA

This is another sad week as our family lost another precious lady. My cousin, Norma from Buhl, Idaho passed away after an extended illness. She was 81 years old and had been staying with her sister in Arizona. Norma has been a delightful part of my life for many years—assisting me with my genealogy work and sharing her incredibly sharp memories of the “olden days” in our family as well as copies of the pictures that had been handed down to her from her father. My mother’s mother and Norma’s father were brother and sister. She was a very special person, one of a kind, and she will be missed!

After much discussion, Phil and I decided to sit out Hurricane Ida when she was downgraded to a Tropical Storm before making landfall here in southern Alabama earlier this week. After the calm before the storm, we had some windy days and quite a bit of rain but for the most part, she was actual fairly mild-mannered in this area. Watching her path we have been amazed how much wind and rain she had left in her as she made her way north and east. Ida certainly went out with a bang on the east coast. As I recall, Katrina did the same thing back in 2005. We were in Massachusetts that year and remember the rain and flooding from Katrina, days after the devastation in New Orleans and the Gulf States. Hurricane season ends in less than two weeks and hopefully most of this wild weather is over—until next year anyway.

I have never eaten any part of a Pomegranate before. One day on the web I watched a video about how to cut into them and extract the seeds. Because of my curiosity, I bought one last week when I found them on sale. W-e-l-l-l-l have I ever told you about my mild case of diverticular disease? (I know ... too much information!) Anyway, they were delicious and I sprinkled those bright red seeds on my salads and my cereal for two days—then they hit me! It took another day to put two and two together but when I did, was I ever relieved! I really had been suffering and I was certain I had developed a life threatening condition. Just a friendly warning to all who suffer from a similar problem Stay away from pomegranate seeds!

Phil and I drove to Pensacola, Florida on Saturday. The Blue Angels were performing in an air show beginning Saturday afternoon and we were swept up in the bumper to bumper traffic with thousands of show goers and ended up on the Naval Air Station. It took almost an hour to find a place to get out of the line, turn around and get back to the main road. Had the air show been earlier we might have joined in the fun but when we are in a strange area, we do not like to drive after dark. On our way out of town, we found the famous seafood purveyor, “Joe Patti’s” market. The store was jammed with people and what a wonderful assortment of fresh seafood they provide. I also bought a small bowl of gelato while we were there. Another first for me and it was delicious! We bought scallops and shrimp for our freezer.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time,