Weekend With the Fam

I know I've been remiss in updating ye olde blog...life just somehow got away from me! But the pictures are loaded, and I've got a few stories to tell, so let's get started!

A couple of weekends ago, I went home to celebrate the 40th anniversary of my parents, visit with my sister, and, as it turned out, work my ass off.

I spent the better part of Friday crawling around in my parents attic and helping Dad haul things down. You can't get a sense of the accumulation in the space, unless you picture everything you've taken out of your house for 35 years being shoved into a space above your head. That was the attic. ;-)

We made tremendous progress on Friday, though!

(Holy crap! Barbie's dreamhouse and the old treehouse I loved! It's a treasure trove up there!)

Saturday morning, Michelle and I headed over to Nashville for a walk-round and some lunch. It was a gorgeous day, and the streets were packed with people and shoppers. There must have been a wreck on the way to Nashville - only in Indiana would you find a stretch of highway with everyone out of their cars socializing. :-)

Michelle bought some jewelry and a kicky pair of new shoes, but I didn't find anything to strike my fancy. But there's something about wandering the shops and smelling the air in Nashville that makes it officially "autumn" for me. A great place for a walkabout!

We headed back to the homestead (after picking up our contribution to the planned dinner) to whip up a fabulous meal for the folks and get pretty for the evening. Mum and Dad came over for steaks, twice baked potatoes, bread, nibblies and a trifle made by me.

The best part, of course, was giving them their anniversary/Christmas present.

Mum has said for ages that she would love to spend Christmas in a cabin in Brown County, Indiana, but the cabins in the state park there are booked two years in advance.


So, we found another cabin (not in the park) nestled away, secretly reserved it, and "gave it" as a gift. We're going to spend three days in a cabin for Christmas, and I can't wait! It's got a hot tub, pool table, fireplace, loaded kitchen and everyone has their own room. It's going to be lovely.

Also lovely was seeing Mum's reaction when she figured out what the gift was. :-)



Sunday morning we returned to the attic and hauled down more and more and more...

It was hot and exhausting (could my face be any more pink?!), but we accomplished a ton! After a cool off, we watched the Talladega race, and I headed home - slowly. I sat on I-65 for 1.5 hours waiting for a wreck to be cleared off. I was mightly glad to finally get back to TinyTown and fall into bed after 11pm (on a school night!)...

All in all, a great weekend - beautiful weather, a lot accomplished, some quality family time and a happy present for a longtime anniversary. Good times. :-)