During the Thanksgiving call, son said they did talk to granddaughter about the dolphin encounter and she’s all for it. I wasn’t surprised, but it was important to confirm in case I needed to cancel. When she was younger, there would be adventures she would think about and then change her mind when the time came. Now, we simply have to hope Mother Nature is kind to us from a weather perspective.

Since we will have the 28th, 29th, 30th, and 31st as days, there are multiple options. The dolphins are the 29th and I’m planning the 30th for son and daughter-in-law to have “date day” as granddaughter and I maybe go to the nearby park, have pool time and maybe bake some cookies or brownies. I will have given my vehicle to the kids, so if Hubby is home we can go on some type of adventure. With their flight back scheduled New Year’s evening, there will potentially be a few hours which might include a drive out to the Everglades after a hefty New Years’s Day brunch . At this point we don’t know how much Hubby will have to work even though it is often almost the whole visit. Lots of people come here specifically to dive for the holidays.Other friends in Redland have a New Year’s Day reception and we might all pop around to say hello depending on how everyone is feeling.

I haven’t quite decided on New Year’s Eve menu yet as I’m not certain if we’re having 9, 11, or 13 for the party. I was considering food laid out for constant eating instead of sit-down and am now thinking sit down instead (buffet style). The decision will be easier if we find out Hubby has to work that day. That will impact how much I’ll have to do even though the kids will of course help.

One of the local activities available here is interacting with dolphins. There are three different places. One is Island Dolphin Care, the therapy group I have posted about before. Although that does help fund their programs, they have had to be extra cautious during this time of COVID. The more commercial group in Key Largo is the one I booked the kids with a few years ago and further south at Theater of the Sea, there is the choice of dolphins or sea lions. Traffic is so heavy in the Keys on weekends and during holiday periods, there’s no reason for them to go the extra distance for what is a similar activity.

While swimming with dolphins is a definite experience, you do have to be a confidant swimmer and so the “shallow encounter” is better for younger children and adults who aren’t overly confidant in the water. In talking with the kids when we were up in Virginia, we decided the shallow water for granddaughter is the right choice at this stage. With the condo pool closed yet again this past summer, she didn’t get actual swim time and went to the parks with like splash pads. The shallow water encounter will allow her contact with firm footing. Also in discussion with the kids, Dad will go in with granddaughter and Mom is booked as a “watcher”. Since they have a professional videographer as an option I will check to see if they want that added on. After all, at age six, this could be something granddaughter wants to watch multiple times.

What I don’t know is when they want to tell her. My inclination is to wait and I’ll have some kind of book about dolphins under the tree wrapped. I’ll run that by them and see what they think.

I have previously posted about one of the aspects of living in South Florida is the lack of traditional “seasons”. In many parts of the country, this is the time of crisp fall mornings with smoke wafting from at least some houses and brilliant colors are seen as the leaves change. Treks are often made to pumpkin patches to pick out decorations as either just pumpkins or to create jack-o-lanterns and perhaps homemade pies, bread, etc., While I appreciate the decorative characteristics, other than roasted pumpkin seeds, neither Hubby nor I care for the taste of these famous gourds. I know it’s strange and I have friends and relatives who welcome the array of pumpkin-flavored items. I will admit my former mother-in-law did make a pumpkin chiffon pie that was mild in flavor so that when combined with graham cracker crust and the meringue topping, it was enjoyable. And a neighbor from another time did a pumpkin cheesecake that was also mild enough for us.

We actually eat pumpkins seeds routinely either as a snack or in a salad. We made a couple of attempts roasting our own and fairly quickly decided it wasn’t worth the effort. Since I don’t do any of the pumpkin items I  don’t know how many people bother with true “made from scratch”. If one goes by the many cans stocked in the grocery store, I assume most people opt for that approach. And speaking of real pumpkins, I saw a post on Facebook the other day that said if you are in an area with chickens, rather than tossing out jack-o-lanterns, give them to someone with chickens. Apparently they don’t even need to be cut up, as the chickens will peck away at them. I don’t know if it’s true, however, it does sound reasonable.

Well, my trip to Louisiana is not necessarily more complicated than at other times; merely a case of sequencing that literally won’t have me staying in any spot for more than one night. The situation for anyone who might be new to the blog is I go back to Louisiana each year (barring something like COVID) for Daddy’s birthday. We didn’t really expect him to make it to age 97, yet one never knows. I haven’t been able to get him on the phone the last couple of tries so I called the Director of the ALF he’s in. She said he’s basically in the same condition as when I was there in 2019 and does still come out to play dominoes. I was checking on the COVID rules as well – vaccination and masks as it turns out.

The difference for this trip is my sister and brother-in-law are coming over from Houston and my brother and sister-in-law up from Mandeville. (Sister-in-law will depend on how her knee is doing). In order to do my “loop” though that allows me to see some of my high school friends and the branch of my mother’s family that lives mile30 s from there, I have to juggle a bit. So, I arrive in Minden late Sep 29th. Check out of the hotel the next morning, go visit with Daddy for a few hours and drive to Natchitoches; about 1.5 hours. I have dinner with friends, check out of the hotel the next morning. Lunch with the other friends, then over to Many. Spend night with Aunt and whatever number of cousins are around. Leave Saturday morning to go back to Minden. The usual way for Daddy’s birthday is cake, cookies, and ice cream in the mid-afternoon in the dining room. We siblings will have dinner somewhere that night. I assume the others will depart for home on Sunday and I will go back by and see Daddy for a while, then drive over to Shreveport where I will spend the night and hopefully have dinner with third high school friend. I’m on the really early flight back as is my habit. Oh, duffel bag drag is a military term that means exactly that; hauling your duffel bag around without settling in one place for any length of time.

Okay, made the trip home with about an hour delay which I suppose isn’t bad. Enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with the kids on Wednesday and extra good-bye hugs. They’ll be down for a few days after Christmas and for the New Year’s Eve party although they do have to fly back Jan 1 in order to have one “down day” before school/work starts. It will be an afternoon flight at least.

Have been chipping away at the top of the to-do list making as much progress as is reasonable considering the number of tasks involved. Have multiple activities for the day; the final is to stop at the American Legion and pick up lobster dinners to bring home. I did an article for the paper as this is a new type of fundraiser they are trying. (http://www.southdadenewsleader.com/eedition/page-a03/page_791dea2e-db2d-5fbe-9c62-4dd1102c77b6.html)

There is one other event we considered trying to squeeze in for tonight as well and decided four in one day/night really was simply too much. Three of the four things for today are outside and I am keeping my fingers crossed for no rain. We are in the pattern of afternoon rain; some quite heavy. Even though there isn’t anything one can do about it; I figure a plea to Mother Nature can’t hurt.