11/6 Bye bye Jan and Tim

Some shrimp boats in the Ocean Springs harbor on one of the bayous. These boats were everywhere and were so cool. Tim bought 30 pounds of fresh shrimp from one Vietnamese woman who was from a town near where Tim served. A nice coincidence.



Many beautiful homes can be found like this--on stilts. FEMA determines the required elevation.


Jan and Tim left early in the morning. It was wonderful having them visit and we sure had lots of fun. I miss them already.

10/25 A short note

Jill and her family are fine and everything is back to normal at their house. The kids are back in school so Jill is able to go back to her office to work.

I'm so grateful that the fire has been contained and they are all safe.

Two other things:

The bridge between Biloxi and Ocean Springs is going to open up November 1. There are going to be big parties on both sides of Biloxi Bay. So traveling will be easier while Jan and Tim are here.

Also, instead of possums on the road here, there are dead armadillos. Funny, I'd always thought of armadillos as only being in Texas. Maybe that's where the live ones are--the deads one are here.

6/17 A wonderful Fathers' Day

First of all my brother, Joe, wrote a funny and wonderful tribute to Dad on his blog. His blog started as a blog to make fun of other ones--mostly mine. But it's turned into so much more. It's a place where he honors (and teases) everyone on their birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions. We all love it! If you want to check it out, be warned that there are tons of inside jokes. Some of which I don't even understand because I've been gone so long from Quincy. :)

Today's been good in other ways too. Q woke me up at 5:30--nothing different about that. I lazed around a bit (nothing different about that either). Then cleaned up the dining room and emptied four more boxes. Afterwards Quincy and I went to the beach. We went to Ocean Springs because it's not as crowded or "touristy" as Biloxi beaches. I knew Q wouldn't go into the water (after watching her yesterday--loving the swimming pool but refusing to go in the Gulf).

Then I saw a young couple with two big dogs. I asked them if Q could play and their dogs teach her to go into the water. Before they could even say, "Sure," she was chasing the other dogs into the surf. She ended up swimming like a fiend and seemed to have a great time. I know I did.

Rachel and Kevin both work at USM Gulf Coast Research Facility, right on the water. What a cool job. He's a toxologist and she's a biochemist--and from Stevens Point, WI. A nice surprise.

The dogs (and us) played for over 90 minutes. It was a great way to spend part of the afternoon. I know I'll see them again. Nice folks.

On the way home Q slept (of course), and I talked to my kids on the phone. A nice treat for me. Jill, Todd, Kayla and Hunter were in Santa Monica having lunch and then were going to take a bike ride along the path that runs by the beach. Sounds like fun. Rob and Beata were napping. That sounds like fun too. (Hope "napping" wasn't a euphemism for something else.) :)

Anyway, it was super talking to them. Miss them all so much. Beata and Rob are going to try to visit sometime this summer. In November Jill is flying to NC to spend time with Rob and Beata. Maybe I'll drive up so I can see all of them at the same time. I'd love that so much.

Guess that's enough for today. Nap time, and then more work. Love to all.