chapter two: sweet home alabama

Friday.

The night before, Danny slept in Grama Bama's bed with her. Cate slept on her inflatable pink princess bed that Grama Bama had bought for her (genius idea since Cate is a beast to sleep with) and Dan and I slept on the spare bed.

Danny walked into our room calling "Wakey, wakey!" around 7:30. Not good. Not good at all. He was all smiles though so I forgave him quickly. I can't remember if he woke up Cate too. Probably.



We took our time getting showered, fed and dressed for the day. Danny played a little on Grama Bama's phone and watched some golf and football on tv. He's never watched golf before but decided he likes it now.

Then it was off to do some shopping. I didn't pack anything but high heels for the reunion dinner night. Mama needed something to wear. I found a few outfits and called it good. I don't love shopping.



We also headed to Target because someone had failed to pack a baby doll for Cate to play with while we were away from home. The shame. She found one there and also a tea set. You can never have too many baby dolls or tea sets.

Guess what Grama Bama's Target has that ours doesn't.

Pink lemonade and green apple flavored Icees. Ours only has blue and red. It's like a whole new world out there. They also have a Starbuck's eating and sitting area. We didn't care about the coffee but it was nice to have a place to sit.



After all that shopping we were pooped. Kids and various grown ups had quiet time while I took some pictures of my childhood home. Don't you love the kitchen? That decorative trim above the window. The vintage cupboard handles and hinges. All original to the house. Vintage for sure.

And the basket of tools on top of the fridge. It's still there. I really have no idea why there's a basket of tools on top of the fridge. I can't remember it not being there though.

I'm sure Grama Bama is not happy that I took a picture of the kitchen with dirty dishes in the sink. Let it be known that the dirty dishes are all my fault (as well as that clutter between the toaster and the tea kettle). The kitchen is usually spotless.



I took a few pictures outside too. This one is looking towards the street from the house. Dan had a hard time backing out of the driveway and not going over onto the grass. He did get better as the days passed and he got more practice.

Danny posing at the front door minus his shoes.



I had to take a picture of the wall in the carport. See all those black circles and dots? I remember the time we were playing some kind of game with a ball and that wall. We bounced the ball and then marked on the wall the spot where it hit. I really have no idea why we did that. Kids make up dumb games sometimes.

I'm not sure what we used to make the black marks either but they're still there after at least 25 years. Sorry about that, Mom and Dad.



Dan and I were headed to the reunion Meet and Greet that evening so Grama Bama made some chicken and peas for their dinner. Canned peas. That's what they like. Danny's never had canned peas a day in his life. I buy frozen. There's a slight difference in the color between the two.

Danny took one look at those peas and said, "Ummm, these need to be much greener."

He ate them anyway, despite their lack of green.



Dan and I headed out to my reunion meeting place, the Auburn Oyster Bar and Grill. Oh, yes. They gave us Bud Light wristbands to wear as we entered so that we could have access to the free bar.

Not very exciting if you don't drink alcohol. First time I've ever worn a beer wristband though.

I had fun reuniting with old friends and also wondering from a distance who in the heck a few of those people were. No name tags. Just beer wristbands. Some people change a lot in twenty years. Some people (like me, of course) age so gracefully it's a piece of cake to recognize them.

Dan was mistaken for one of my classmates a few times. Then the real guy showed up. They look nothing alike. Maybe it was too much beer. I don't know.



Despite being woken up way too early, I'd call it a good day.

It was fun to see my old friends again. Some I recognized instantly (many thanks to facebook for that) and some not so instantly.

The best part, nobody even mentioned my wrinkles or gray hairs!


If you missed chapter one, it's right here.