Bailey's Blog

On Sunday 22 December we attended the Raleigh 2nd Ward. However we arrived at 10 am and their sacrament meeting began at 9, so we attended Gospel Doctrine and PH/RS. Then we took the sacrament in the Hispanic Ward and returned to Heather's.

I forgot to mention that we had brought boiled peanuts with us from Ellijay! We got Cajun style for Heather and Tom. It's quite the thing here in Georgia.

"Boiled peanuts are popular in some places where peanuts are common. Fully mature peanuts do not make good quality boiled peanuts; rather raw or "green" ones are used. "Raw" denotes peanuts in a semi-mature state, having achieved full size, but not being fully dried, as would be needed for roasting or peanut butter use. After boiling in salt water they take on a strong salty taste and become softer with the length of cooking, somewhat resembling a pea or bean, to which they are related. The most flavorful peanuts for boiling are the Valencia type. These are preferred in the United States, being grown in gardens and small patches throughout the South.

"Boiled peanuts are widely consumed and commercially available in an area of the Southern United States from southern Virginia, south to central Florida, as far north as Ohio and west to Mississippi. The peanuts are sold in the hull and either boiled with only salt or with a piquant spice mixture such as Old Bay. The latter are often called "Cajun boiled peanuts" in many recipes.

"Boiling peanuts has been a folk cultural practice in the Southern United States, where they were originally called goober peas, since at least the 19th century." (Wikipedia)

Several football games were on the TV while I read "Tales for Fifteen, or, Imagination and Heart" by James Fenimore Cooper. An interesting fact about Cooper is that Cooperstown, New York, where the Baseball Hall of Fame is located, is named after his father.

James Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851)

I finished reading "Yorktown Victory Center A Pictorial Guide."

Of course, we enjoyed our grandson 10-month-old Liam!

Grandmom and Liam

Liam with gift

Grandpop and Liam

Today we have had our Avalon for one year and we are just 51 miles shy of 32,000 for the year!

On Monday 23 December Heather's in-laws, Tom and Donna Dowd arrived from New York and watched Liam while Heather, Eileen, and I went shopping.

I finished reading "The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales" by Bret Harte which I had begun on 27 March.

Bret Harte (1836-1902)

On Tuesday 24 December Tom Sr. and I had some of Eileen's fruitcake for breakfast! All four grandparents were up early playing with Liam.

We sang "happy birthday" to Holly Hughes back in Georgia!

Ralph, Holly, and Eileen

Heather made a delicious supper with lamb, new potatoes, asparagus, and chutney for the lamb.

I finished reading "Mrs. Lirriper’s Lodgings" by Charles Dickens.

Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

On Wednesday Christmas Day we had fun opening gifts, primarily those of Liam's, of course. We enjoyed face-timing with Colleen and her family in Arizona, hearing and seeing their gifts and Sean assembling some of them.

We had a bit of excitement while Heather was making supper when the whole neighborhood lost power for about 10 minutes.

Heather made a delicious supper with boneless rib roast, scalloped potatoes, greens and bacon bits, and roasted brussel sprouts. She is quite the chef as is Tom!

After supper the power went out again for a couple of minutes!

On Thursday 26 December we left Heather and Tom's about 9:45 am. We made our usual stop at the New York Bagel Deli in Raleigh just north of Heather and Tom's. Eileen got an Italian hero bagel sandwich and I got an American hero bagel sandwich.

We ate at The Boiler Room Steak House in Franklin, NC. We went there for dinner with Laurene Mathis who was on our mission with us in Salt Lake City in 2010-2011. The train ambience was cute!

The Boiler Room Steak House

Laurene and Eileen

We stayed overnight at the Comfort Inn in Franklin.

Comfort Inn

I finished reading "Life of Saint Columba Apostle of Scotland" by Frances Alice Forbes. F. A. Forbes (1869 – 1936) was the nom de plume of Mother Frances Alice Monica Forbes, RSCJ, a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart from Scotland and a religious author. We heard a great deal of Saint Columba on our trip to the U.K.

On Friday 27 December we checked out after our hot breakfast. I left them the following notes:

"LDS Church

828-369-8329

33 Pine Ridge Dr.

Franklin, NC 28734

"RLDS is now Community of Christ

"No TV listings in room 209. We were told at checkout that they were "hidden" inside the envelope that they put our door keys in!

"Floor lamp shade needs replacing."

The drive home on US64 from Franklin to Hayesville was fun and scenic. We got a couple of gallons of gas at a convenience store and the clerk said "Yes" to my two questions. I will mail a Book of Mormon to her on 2 January. We were the only vehicle heading west and I said that we'd run into a slowpoke sooner or later. We did (see photo)!

Icy cliff

Lots of ice

Along US64

Log truck on US64

We got home safe and sound about 1 pm. All well here!

In the evening we enjoyed watching the Christmas Concert 2012 with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the Orchestra at Temple Square, tenor Alfie Boe, Tom Brokaw, and Col. Gail Halvorsen, the "Candy Bomber" of the Berlin Airlift, age 92. He and his wife served full-time missions for the LDS Church in the 1980s in London, England, and in 1995 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

LDS Conference Center in Salt Lake City

Alfie Boe and Tom Brokaw

Col. Gail "Hal" Halvorsen

We celebrated Christmas ourselves opening our cards to one another and then our gifts.

Eileen got three Jim Shore figures from the Hallmark store, three Jan Brett books, the 2013 Frosty Friends figure which she has been receiving for over 30 years, a Madame Alexander doll figure, a bottle of English Clotted Cream, and a pearl and diamond ring from North George Diamond in Ellijay.

Along with my camera, which is shown below, I received New York Yankee pajamas and socks, two packages of my favorite candy Chuckles from Cracker Barrel, and Terry Goodkind book "The Third Kingdom." And, of course, we gave each other very nice Christmas cards!