Elizabeth and Kate's Christmas Visit, 2017

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Last edit 2017-12-25 .
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This brief page will describe the visit by Elizabeth and Kate, December 19-23, 2017. The visit was home-centered and simple, perhaps the best kind.

Nedra and I met our guests at the airport. Their flight was a wee bit late, and I had left Nedra momentarily to check the board. Kate was disappointed when she saw only Nedra seated (background) and asked, "Where is Granddaddy?" Seeing me as I returned, she charged with full speed. (I had to have reconstructive heart surgery after that!) It brought to mind the many many times that Nedra met me incoming at the airport and our children raced to be the first to jump up on me. I usually brought them a little something, so it might have been to get dibs on the contents of my pockets instead of undiluted love. Anyhow, it was fun.

We had lunch at the SmashBurger. As we ate, Kate looked up at her mother and casually said, "Mom, I really love to be with your parents."

Wow, what a good start!

We were late eating Nedra's delicious dinner (butternut squash and peanut stew over multicolored quinoa) because of the l-o-n-g nap that Kate needed when we obtained home. Kate had anticipated the trip and was awake most of the previous night. Her dad relented around 4 am and got up and made her breakfast. Hopefully, she will learn to sleep normal hours; I have not.

Kate takes her birthday very seriously and so did Nedra. Kate had requested Nemo and Dory, and, to Nedra, that was an order. Nedra made the cake custom from the ground up, including blending the colors and fashioning the decorations by hand. Kate was thrilled.

It is fun to watch her grow up. Now that she's four, she's ready to drop the title Baby Kate and told her Uncle Will so this summer. She relishes retelling his comeback ("Well, you need to get a job, then.") and her retort ("No, I am still little."). Her conversations border on being adult, but then there's the inevitable slip back to toddlerhood ("My friend Ruby is a good little vegan but eats meat.") :)

Ha. I caught Nedra giving Kate an unauthorized assist with blowing the candles. Happy Birthday, Kate (b. December 18, 2013).

It was a marathon shopping day for the girls--no street left unwalked, no antique store left unseen. They had a great time, which was my joy. We started with Huckleberry's Creations, below, located next to the cafe. Then I lost count.

Kate misses little. I mentioned that I was returning home by a different route, through Miccosukee. That did not set well with her! She had her heart set on stopping (every time) on our driveway and picking a Keraji mandarin. Once we convinced her that our driveway would be part of the alternative route, she accepted it. However--just to be sure--she reminded us every whipstitch. Nedra thinks she might have a one-track mind, like her Uncle Will.

We were tired and Wednesday slipped away with a whimper. Roasted potatoes, green beans, a vegetable medley (also roasted) and Tuscan bread with an avocado spread. The big girls had homemade Amarone and Kate and I had water.

On Thursday, the girls went their way, and I went mine. Truly, my shopping cup runneth over. Besides, I had some time-sensitive issues to deal with (finances and wine-making). Particularly, it has been hard for me to keep up with wine-making as I made many experimental batches in 2017. In most ways, it is as time-consuming to make a 0.5 gallon batch as it is to make a 5-gallon batch; indeed, it is probably harder to make the smaller batch (e.g. filtration is impractical, some reagents are pre-packaged for 5-6 gallon batches).

Pint-sized Kate (right) poses by a small batch of Taris Burgundy. The private breeder, Mathias Tari, will not divulge the parentage, but it is possibly 25% shuttleworthii, a south Florida grape, with the remainder being vinifera. Susceptible to black rot and Eutypa and does not escape late frosts, but has an interesting raspberry flavor that presents when the sugar/acid balance is favorable. Of course, there's more to say, but no space to do it.

Nedra, Elizabeth, and Kate started at Belk's, then went to Iola Pizza for lunch (below, left). Kate didn't like the intial seating as she remembered that a year ago, they were seated at a different table. Then, she gave suggestions as she remembered what her mother and grandmother had last. Nedra thinks their crust is the best she's ever had.

Of course, Barnes and Nobles is Kate's go-to place, and wherever we are, she insists on going there (below right).

Later on Thursday, the Christmas tree was trimmed. The top ornament (below, left) was a crocheted star, flattened and ironed, and which was made by my mother (1918-2001). Meanwhile, Kate was a big helper girl and worked lower on the tree, attaching another of my mother's ornaments (below, right).

As this is not required reading, I will indulge myself and post a few other ornaments and comments. Below left (a gift from Judy Hammonds Bond to Nedra): "This Pot Belly stove at the Conyers Depot was manufactured of cast iron by the Hanks Stove & Range Company of Rome, Georgia in the early 1900's. The purpose of this stove was to provide heat for passengers and visitors to the Depot in its early years." Artist: Orrin Morris. Below right: The Santa was purchased in Germany while I was Senior U.S. Scientist at the Technical University of Munich (Arcisstraße, in the group of the late Prof. Dr. H. Ziegler) and at the University of Tübingen (auf der morgenstelle in the group of Prof. Dr. R. F. Hampp) in 1984 and 1985, respectively. Good memories after so many years.

The angels in the second row were gifts of two sweet little sisters, Claudia and Barbara, that we met while traveling. For some time, the sisters were pen pals with Elizabeth.

So--on Friday morning--Kate's time had finally come (below, left); look, there's Dory, again. (She had put up compelling arguments to reschedule opening to Thursday, but we stood our ground.) Our gifts were simple; like Kate, Nedra and I got books. Incidentially, the chair behind Kate was made by her 3d greatgrandfather Samuel W. Watson. Mama had two, had them refinished and gave Carolyn and me one each. I had the bottom of mine redone in leather by the late Bro. Mark Webb; he tanned the leather from his cow, so it is as authentic as I could make it.

Later, we spent time outside, and Kate poses by a Meyer Lemon (Many many years ago, I purchased it from the late Sherwood Akins as a "Ten Degree Tangerine," but that's the way of plant labels.)

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