July 2, 2009

• Incredible Heat Prevails And Sunburns Begin!

  Although we had all retired fairly early the day we arrived at Kay's, we slept in a bit later than we normally would have. All except for Bratfink, of course. She was up earlier than all of us and made coffee. We were glad to have it and she made it strong enough that I had to shave my chest before putting on my bathing suit. j/k but it did make my eyes pop open and I was grateful.

  That was our first full day and we were in the pool by 7:30am. When Kay woke up much later that morning (she doesn't often get to sleep in and we tried to keep quiet enough not to wake her), she could hardly believe we were already in the pool. She put on her suit and joined us for a while before she started futzing with the lovely landscaping and all her flowers. She never wants help because it's a job she loves and totally enjoys so we have stopped asking her. The new tent has enough grounds for her to totally indulge in the things she enjoys and that makes us happy for her.

  Later on we did our usual shopping for various things we needed for our reunion which includes my fresh fruit salad. I had checked and found out that Bee was making her potato salad (always wonderful and I wouldn't even TRY to make it just like she does). Since Cee was not able to join us this year due to her recovering from HER surgery for a bleeding ulcer, we actually forgot about her seafood salad that she usually makes until it was too late. Besides, we had all kinds of appetizers, including Bee's spinach dip with Hawaiian bread. We picked up hamburgers, hot dogs, buns and made sure we had all the condiments for them since we were trying to keep it simple so we could enjoy sitting and chatting. The usual liquors were purchased also and assorted mixers. We even picked up some for making mudslides which tasted wonderful in the heat and humidity. We picked up some wonderful country ribs and Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce (if you haven't tried it, do so.....it's wonderful and there are several variations) for one of our dinners prior to the reunion.

  We had to pick up some aloe gel for Buttmunch who was so pale she almost glowed when we first got to Kay's but she had managed to get a quick sunburn the first day. We didn't laugh later on when both Bratfink and I needed it but at least I only had one small patch of it from sitting with a slice of sun hitting just one spot that didn't get under the umbrella shade. Figures, right? By day 4 of the trip but day 3 of the sunshine and pool, poor Bratfink looked like a boiled lobster. She claimed it didn't hurt her but it sure hurt to look at her. The only place she complained about was the top of her ears, believe it or not. She claimed she didn't ever remember having sunburn there before.

  The rest of the day was pretty much just fun in the pool, drinking, eating, more drinking, more pool time....did I mention drinking? In fact, I think of all the reunion get-togethers, we really did NOT indulge in as much consumption of alcohol this time as in previous years. I think it was a combination of weather and age plus it was just more fun to swim and sit around in the pool. We took our drinks with us and they sat a lot on the edge of the pool. We didn't seem to be able to multi-task (drink AND talk) as well. Who can say? For my part, I really didn't want to have any kind of a hangover to recuperate from since I might have had to do some driving in that sun and heat. It turned out I didn't have to but, hey, who knew?

  We tried to keep our mess down to a minimum for the sake of Mr. Herbowski, did I mention he is a bit of a ....err, neat freak? We also heard the news about Michael Jackson earlier that day (I think Bratfink turned on the news and greeted us with that little tidbit when we awoke). I was a bit taken back by all the hoopla over him and the little tiny bits about Farrah Fawcett, who had been fighting cancer and doing so much for the cancer research society. I know that it was a shocking and unexpected death of a pop star at the age of 50 but I think there was way, way, way too much hype about him. His life was so very controversial and, let's face it, weird! He was talented, however, and I truly enjoyed a lot of his music. I also loved his *We Are The World* project and think that was a fabulous song and video with all that marvelous talent brought together for charity. God Bless him for that. I really and truly hope that he is now at peace and in a better place where he can BE Peter Pan and live in Neverland.

  We did have a bit of fun discussing who, what and why there would be fights over his children, his fortune and that mansion of his in California. It always happens, no matter what, when a fortune is at stake. I heard that most of his family believed he had died without a will and it was a shock for them to find out he had one that he made out in 2002. Tee hee hee! Wonder how they will attempt to break THAT one?

  We also heard a lot of MJ jokes, some funny, some not so much but we heard them whether we wanted to or not. Even the Beast greeted me with one he heard that involved Farrah Fawcett, Heaven and Michael. I won't tell it here but I am sure that it has made the rounds.

  I was kind of glad I arrived earlier than I usually did prior to a reunion because it gave me/us a chance to visit calmly for a while before we had to start all the preparations. I missed having time with my cousin, Patsy, due to her being ill for a while and still not over it. She was very reluctant for company due to some of the *problems* that accompanied her illness and I respected that. I hated to but she almost begged me not to put her through what could have turned embarrassing for her. I wouldn't do that for the world so I just spent time talking to her each day I was there. She is not only my cousin but we have been close friends since we were young kids. I just hope she is better and still here with us (and I hope I am here, too) for a nice visit next year.

  Time to hit the sack for me now. I have two of my granddaughters visiting with me and they are already in bed. The Beast bade me goodnight a bit ago so he is probably sound asleep, too. The Princess is taking them to one of the waterfalls in Gadsden tomorrow (it has a beach at the pool below and a playground nearby for them to enjoy). It will give me a day to finish up unpacking from the trip while they are gone and before I get Chewlee on Friday. It seems the Day Care Center is closed for 4th of July (even tho' that is on Saturday, it's a holiday they MUST give their employees). But it should be fun for the three girls even with the big differences in ages. At least, I hope so....LOL.

  Love you all. More tomorrow. Have a great day and I hope you are all getting better weather than we are. It's hot as hades here. Here's a thought for the day: He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless, DEAD!!!! (Do you hear that Beast?)

  • 12:19 am
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