Papa Charlie We Will Miss You

My father-in-law passed away this morning. He was 94. He was a man of great stature and a first generation Greek-American. He was the last of his family to go and he was ready.

He was the Patrician of the family. He insisted on naming my two sons. The names are good strong names for boys, so I didn't mind.

When I visited him after Spousal Unit's and my first baby died, he invited me to stay for several months to grieve and heal since I would be alone in the house. The Spousal Unit was away most of the time because of his job in the Air Force.

Papa Charlie didn't want me to be alone.

He could be very gruff. His gruffness covered up that he was a cream puff on the inside.

He loved his grandsons. Even though he could barely walk at times he visited us every Fall to see the boys. And they delighted in him also.

He lived a long life and was well loved. Papa Charlie we will miss you.

Moments in Destin.


Me and my feet in the Gulf. One of the few times that I could get near the Gulf. The storms caused dangerous rip tides and I never got closer to this foot in the waves stuff.

My Gal Pal Tammy dancing in the sand.
It's been 5 years since she's been back to Destin. She's really excited to be in Destin. Look at her joy. Dancing in the sand is awesome.
Boo Hoo. This is what we lived with for the whole visit. Double red flags. That means do not think of getting in the water.

With those waves and the rip tides I had no problem with that.

The hot tub was there every night and I was all over that.

Prayers are Requested

I just got to the hotel room after driving the majority of the day. The drive was mostly uneventful and I was enjoying my solitude.

This past week has been sheer joy for me, spending time with two of my favorite people, in a place that I truly love.

I had been having so much fun that I put the reality of my father-in-law's current health state in the back of my mind.

He is 94 and has some health issues relating to his age. He is frail and he is showing some sign of senile dementia. All "normal" things for a man of his age.

He had been complaining of not being able to swallow well and has not been eating properly. The doctors found a hernia in his esophagus and operated 3 weeks ago.

In my moment of fun I lost track of time and just got a full update on his condition. He is not doing well. He is not doing well at all. He is just not recovering.

Please keep my family in your prayers. I do not know what I want those prayers to be at this point, but Papa Charlie is very well loved. And I want him to feel the love of your prayers.

I guess the most powerful prayer I could ask you to offer is - Thy Will Be Done.

I Bought the Hardbacks and Didn't Wait for the Softback Edition

Please forgive my silence for the past few days. I am at the beach, gaining a slight golden glow. My last, for a couple of years.

Actually the real reason for my silence is books. I love to read and don't read, except at the beach these past few years.

I am under the spell of Bella and Edward. Jacob is also placing me under his spell. I am reading the Twilight series.

The first book started and finished on Tuesday.

The second book on Wednesday. I am almost finished with the third book today.

Tomorrow I will finish the last book published.

Stephenie Meyer has delayed the final book indefinitely because her 5th book chapters were leaked on the Internet.

I am sooooooo........ hooked on this series that I bought the hardbacks and didn't wait for the softback edition.

We May Need To Do a Little, on the Fly, Travel Planning

The first day's drive was uneventful. We stopped twice. A potty break and then found some cheap gas. 3.45 a gallon is awesome. At home its 3.69 recently. It really irks me that just across the river it is 30 to 40 cents a gallon cheaper. I just can't justify driving the Big Red Truck over the river to save the money.

Right now, I am doing the happy, happy, joy, joy dance that the truck is getting 17.7 miles a gallon on this road trip. Most of the Summer has been in the 12.2 mpg range and it is really eating into the budget.

We checked into the hotel, right on the money, per my mileage predictions. We ended up leaving two hours later than I had originally projected. Gal Pal Tammy likes to sleep in on her days off and she took full advantage of the day off.

Since I had decided to break the trip into two segment, this later departure was of no concern. We just arrived at the hotel at cocktail hour, rather than sitting around twiddling our thumbs with an earlier arrival.

We got all our stuff into the room and Tammy turned on the TV.

Hanna is going up the East Coast and Ike has changed course. At this time, it looks like it is going to hit Destin.

We may need to do a little, on the fly, travel planning.

On The Road Again

The Big Red Truck is just about loaded and I am just waiting for Gal Pal Tammy to finish getting ready.Next stop is Huntsville, AL. Let's hope the weather is nice and the drive is easy.

Later.

No Silly Boys Allowed

OK, Gustav listened to me and I think Hanna will also. Thank you.

Its the upstarts, Ike and Josephine that I have to worry about now.

Friday I am driving down to Florida. I plan on taking two days to get there and possibly do a side trip or two. Sitting in the truck and concentrating on my driving, for a straight-through drive is a little more than I am willing to do.

Gal Pal, Tammy, decided last night, with the reluctant, though approving permission from Timmie, that she would be driving down to Destin with me. Woo Hoo - Girls Week at the beach!!!

The reluctant is because he is jealous that he is not able to come too.

Now, that is just too ridiculous to even discuss. Hello... this girls week at the beach, no boys. We are going to hit the beach, shop, dine, and watch Chick Flicks.

I may, on occasion, do a little tipsy blogging.

BUT....

No silly boys allowed.

Hurricane Gustav, Go Away. Hanna Don't Even Think About It.

I am now back with Tammy and Timmy for the moment. I am only staying a few days before being on the move again.

I have several errands that need to be done prior to leaving for Florida. Being unimployed, this is now easy.

I will be driving down to Destin this week. Yeah, Florida, on the beach, girls gone wild, Stuff I won't even discuss. Please let there be some beach left. Trust me there will be NO pictures on the Net about this time on the beach. Deal with it. Tee Hee.

Hurricane Gustav, go away. Hanna don't even think about it.

I don't need to deal with this Stuff right now. America doesn't need to deal with this stuff right now.

Just go away.