Category: Family

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Three Weeks in Virginia

In this post we have returned back to our home in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains from our fall trip to Europe. We have so many things planned in the next three weeks including a family get together at Christmas. This will be our first Christmas at our home in eight years. Since before I retired and we sold the prior house, bought an RV, and took to the road. Let’s see what we accomplished in three weeks!

Back Home Again

Some of the activities when we returned home on Dec 10, were to clean the house, get out the Christmas decorations, make some homebrew beer to be ready in the spring, a meeting with some co-workers, get back to bowling, prepare a huge Christmas meal, and celebrate our 52nd wedding anniversary.

The photos below are of the beer making process and two loaves of artisan bread baked in cast iron dutch ovens.

Mash tun process
Boiling wort

For our wedding anniversary, I selected a local rooftop hotel restaurant right here in Radford. Nice fine dining! For the night we were there a local bluegrass jam session was also scheduled. Maybe 20 people playing. It was great! All to serenade us for the anniversary!

Back to our home with all the kids for Christmas.

This year, I prepared two turkeys. One in the usual electric roaster and the other in my pellet smoker but prepped in a secret brine curing process for a week. Oh my. Not even close on the vote tally after the humongous meal. The brine and smoker wins by a landslide! That one is a keeper! Thanks Tommy!

Turkey in the smoker after the brine soak…Yummy!
Pat hard at work on this massive meal
The gang
Jenn and Bryan in front of our first Christmas tree in eight years
Distillery tasting
Scary

Once the above are completed we have three days to load up the 5th wheel trailer before we head south to our winter destination in New Port Richey Florida. This year we have three stops on the way down. And this is the latest in the year that we have waited to go. Boy, did we get lucky with the weather. After Christmas it can be very cold and ice or snow, but this year it was 60 and sunny. Hard to leave weather like that, but it would drastically change as soon as we left the state!

On the way to Florida, we enjoy a stop in Savannah, Ga.

Finally, to Florida for the next three months. I’m still quite behind on publishing these blogs and have many new adventures, so keep watching for the latest updates!

Meanwhile, here is the morning coffee group braving the cool weather this January.

Take care and God Bless!

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Steak Florentine & Central Market

Before our son Ross left for his sailing adventure, the three of us tried an upscale restaurant and the food specialty the city of Florence is known for: Steak Florentine. We also checked out the huge city market, a place to either buy fresh meat, vegetables, baked goods, candy, and you name it! Then upstairs is one of the largest food courts I have seen with everything. And I mean everything.

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Tuscany and Winery Tour

We booked a local tour that left Florence on a small 18 passenger bus headed to two of the most picturesque small towns in Tuscany. The tour also included a stop for lunch at a small family run winery. This was a couple of weeks into our European adventure and the weather has made some significant changes. From upper 70’s and humid to highs at barely 60 and nights down into the 30’s. The short pants and t-shirts are now exchanged for warmer wear. We are continuing to enjoy the fall in Italy!

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Pat’s Mother

It saddens me to write this post. We have lost a dear lady, Pat’s mom and my mother-in-law died yesterday at the age of 96. She has been in some declining health since this spring when she had to leave her home and go into a care facility. Within 10 months, I have lost both my own mother and now a lady who I always considered to be a second mom. In this post, I will share a few memories and photos. A small celebration of her life, if you will.

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Florence Museums and off to Cinque Terre Region of Italy

Pat and I are continuing our European adventures along with our son Ross. In this post we spend the weekend with some more museum exploring in Florence and then catch the train to the west coast of Italy for three days exploring Cinque Terre. This is five small and very scenic towns that hug the rugged, rocky coastline and are connected by a very popular hiking trail.

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Highlights from the Summer of 24

It is nearly fall as I write this update. The nights are now much cooler, and the daytime temps are not high enough to run the A/C. It is a very comfortable time of year. Pat and I are preparing for a major international trip in a few days and then of course we will leave for Florida after the holidays. So, a very busy fall for us. In this blog update, I wanted to share our rather low-key summer. It was great, but nothing too exciting! So here is a summary:

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Back Home in Virginia

It is now the middle of the summer, and the hot and humid days are lingering like an unwelcome guest. Even here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, we get into the upper 80’s for a few weeks. And nights only cool off to a very humid 70 degrees. We did have the remnants of hurricane Debbie meander through and dumping a few inches of welcome rain. As usual, I wonder how we are already well into August, and I still have many to-dos on the list. Oh well, some may remain there next year to keep me occupied! On to the blog!

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