The second morning we were there (Tuesday), the Young Prince and Unka once again got up early and went tramping through the woods in search of a turkey. Either of them could have just looked in the mirror and found one, but I digress. The rest of us slept in a little longer and got up and visited for a while. The hunters came home empty handed. We fixed breakfast. Some of us learned how to fry eggs. Some of us ate a fried egg for the first time. Some of us did both. Some of us did neither.
A couple of my Aunts came to visit. We always enjoy our time with them. Aunt T, the Young Prince and I helped one of them pick a few greens. After picking greens, Unka and the Youngest Princess joined us for a ride through the woods. Unka and the Youngest Princess were on the four wheeler, and Unka kept on hitting the breaks to make the Youngest Princess's head bump his back and her feet fly in the air. He took great glee in doing that. Just like a kid! We found a very unusual tree that even my Aunt did not know. We took pictures of it in hopes that some of our friends might know the name of it. My Aunt pointed out a sweet gum tree and told us how they used to chop into the bark of them and then chew the sap that ran from the tree like gum. So, we got an axe, and chopped into it a little. Not realizing that it takes several days before the sap runs out. So, we did not get to see that one through to completion.
It was just sort of a misty rainy day, so for the most part, we stayed in and visited. Some of us took naps. The whole time we were there, The Youngest Princess really enjoyed going with Unka to check his game camera. She loved looking at it to see what new animals it had captured. There were raccoons, a red fox and a doe, usually.
There was great confusion over what trash went in what can. Some was to be burned, some to be taken out to the big trash cans. No food in the burn pile, because we didn't want the dogs to be attracted to the fire by the smell of food. I almost broke into hives each time I threw something away, hoping that I was throwing it away in the right place and not doing something wrong! In the end, there was an extra big can, that we did not realize we still had, and a cousin offered us the use of her extra can, so all the stress was for naught! I was greatly relieved to know all would be okay.
Tuesday night, the men grilled steaks for us. They were wonderful! Steaks, salad, stewed potatoes, peas, and bread. It was all delicious. We were finishing up the dinner dishes, when my cousin L and her husband dropped by to visit. It was good to have time to visit with them. They were asking the Oldest Princess about her friend the Gray Ghost. Somehow, they decided to face time him. He was wrapping up a Bible study, so we had to wait a few minutes and let him finish, and then we tried him again. He was a good sport about being "interrogated" a little. Unka was able to "meet" him for the first time.
Unka meeting the Gray Ghost via face time.
L and her husband left, with L promising to come back the next evening if possible to play some Dutch Blitz with us.
Unka wrote a letter to the Youngest Princess while we were straightening up a little and getting ready for bed. She wrote him back.
The next morning, the hunters took off again. This time leaving us a note. I guess Unka was finally in the mood to write. Usually we get a note every morning. But so far, we had none this trip, so it was nice to finally wake up to one.
But, again, they returned home minus a "thunder chicken". I was sad for the Young Prince, because this was his last chance to get one this year. They were disappointed, but a little warmth, a shower, some dry clothes and some food in their bellies seemed to cheer them up a little.
My sister had brought a container of old pictures from when she and my brother were little, I was not even thought of yet, and they lived on the family land. I enjoyed walking down memory lane while looking at them. There was one of my tall, lanky, daddy playing a ukulele, and if we put the Young Prince's face over my daddy's, it could have been him. There was another of daddy on a porch and one of daddy in a swing, and again, they look just like the Young Prince sitting there, only with my daddy's face. It amazes me how he really doesn't remember daddy at all, but he still has some of daddy's mannerisms and personality traits. There were some of my momma "all dolled up" to go to a Mardi Gras ball (to the best of my sister's memory). And some of her cleaning house (which should surprise no one who knew her). I miss them so much! And I always miss them even more when we are there. There were pictures of my Fat Momo, and the Youngest Princess was excited to see those. She is always amazed when we talk about her, that we affectionally called her Fat Momo. To me it was a term of endearment and the only name I ever called her. To my brother and sister, who had two "Momos" when they were younger, it was a term of distinction. They would get confused over which Momo was being referred to, so my daddy's mother said, "Just call me Fat Momo," as she WAS considerably more "fluffy" than my momma's mother.
Aunt T took the kids out back and got a few pictures of them while the rain had stopped. My Aunt Y and Uncle H came by to visit for a little while. Of course they looked at some of my sister's pictures and laughed about old times. I love to hear my uncle tell stories of when they were young. He used to give my momma fits. He loved to get her riled up. Eventually, they had to leave, and my sister decided it was time for her to leave, too. She was going to stop and visit with one of my aunts, and she didn't know if she would go on home, or spend the night there.
Aunt T fried some chicken for lunch, and the Oldest Princess helped her by frying the french fries. They fixed enough so that we could heat it up again for dinner if we wanted to. We ate, and then cleaned up the dishes, and played a game out on the porch. The Youngest Princess was getting pretty cranky, so Aunt T talked her into laying down for a 30 minute power nap with her. While they napped, I made some buffalo chicken dip. B came to clean the pool, and of course we invited her in to visit with us. She finished cleaning the pool and came in right about the time the chicken dip came out of the oven, and Aunt T and the Youngest Princess got up from their nap. We ate some dip, and my cousin L and Uncle H came in. That meant it was time to play some Dutch Blitz! Aunt T's table is just the perfect height to stand up and play, so that is what we did. Uncle H didn't play, but he watched, and laughed at us, and gave me a hard time. I think by the time we were done playing, that we had all been able to yell "Blitz" at least once. It was fun.
Us playing Dutch Blitz, with Uncle H taking it all in.
After L and Uncle H left, My Prince and the Oldest Princess started trying to get some pictures from Aunt T's computer to our computer. My Prince went to a local store to buy a thumb drive to put them on, but her computer would not recognize the thumb drive. So, thus began about a two hour struggle to outsmart the computers and move the pictures. B was a big help. They googled what to do every time they ran into a new problem, and worked around problem after problem to get the job done.
Meanwhile, Unka and the Young Prince decided that they would pull a trick on the Youngest Princess. The Young Prince and the Youngest Princess have been on a kick of watching the television show Finding Bigfoot. There had been talk off and on of a Sasquatch or Sasquooch as the Young Prince and some of his friends call it, since we had been in the country, and the Youngest Princess listened intently to every word said. So, when she went to take her shower and get ready for bed, even though it was pouring down rain, Unka and the Young Prince snuck off. Remember the game camera that the Youngest Princess loved to check with Unka each day? Well, with the help of a Gilly suit and and ornery Unka and big brother, that game camera caught pictures of a Sasquatch that night. And the Youngest Princess went to sleep in peace, never the wiser.
Meanwhile, the pictures finally got successfully transferred from one computer to the other about midnight. B said her goodbyes, and headed home, and the rest of us went to bed.
And that is a good place for me to stop. I've got a wisteria covered bridge to hunt down and some pictures to take.
Until tomorrow...
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