Southern Hospitality

Please excuse my absence- haven't been feeling much like myself this week. Turns out my thyroid may be trying to rebel against me. Not too much going on here, but this was a topic Peter and I discussed a lot this week- we love southern hospitality. It seems to be true; most people in the south are friendly. Want to help you out. Or just have a two-sentence conversation in passing.

This week I made a quick stop at a grocery store I normally don't go to. When I was getting ready to pay, the checker asked if I had a Winn Dixie card. I did not. So the checker called out for the woman who had gone through the line before me (and now had one foot out the door) to come back. The checker asked for this woman's card again, scanned it for me, and waved her on. I've never experienced that before. And I saved $8.

We are noticing some unspoken rules that are practiced in our neighborhood. When you see someone walking by, you call out a "hello" and have a 30 second conversation as they walk past your yard. If there is a dog, you also acknowledge it. If you (or the person you see) are mowing the lawn, you both wave. You also wave to any car that drives past your house. They wave back. Motorcyclists nod their greetings. We are surprised to see that everyone seems to keep to this code. Also that people seem to spend so much time outside and in their yards. Each evening when we walk with our dogs we have several conversations with people we've never met. Everyone comments on our dogs. Even a teenage guy working on his car stopped what he was doing to have a small chat.

And in closing, the second picture in the "You know you're in the South when.." collection.

Day trip to Mobile

Beautiful day in Mobile!

Went to see the USS Alabama

Cool plane

I should have asked Peter to caption these... or Jack Atwater..

The Alabama and one of the propellers.

Smile!

Seaside

One of our new favorite restaurants. Their crab soup is on the Alabama Bucket List. Mmmmm.

A day in New Orleans

The gulf coast is a fascinating place.  Peter and I took a day trip to New Orleans recently. I love driving down the streets lined with oak trees. Peeking at all of the old ornate mansions.  We visited the World War II museum and saw part of a retirement ceremony being held by the Army.  Walked around town reading different restaurant menus. Ate amazing food (at the Sugar Mill, I think). And of course, took pictures! Enjoy...

 

                                                                                  

                                                                                                   

                                                                                

Goodbye Summer : (

Yesterday morning I stepped outside and was greeted by quite a surprise. It was cold! I quite enjoyed the seasons in Puerto Rico- hurricane season, the wet season, the rainy season... all of them humid, and seldom below 75 degrees. This year Delaney and I will get to experience Autumn and (gasp!) Winter. I don't like to be cold. Delaney doesn't know what it means to be cold- yet. So we are soaking up the last of the sun's warmth now. The humidity has already left us. Here are some of our favorite summer moments.

Enjoying the sunshine.



Gulf coast :)

 
     A boat that washed up during Hurricane Isaac.

                                                                                 

                                                                                     Paddleboarding!

Bedroom before and after

Halfway painted room

Finished painting and new furniture! Still not done...

A new collection..

I always have a camera with me (thanks to BH's training). Sometimes two. Now that I have a smart phone, make that three. One never knows when a great photo op will present itself. Instead of collecting tchotchkes (EE) or other things to collect dust and/or take over my budget, I have photo collections. They keep so nicely in their files on my laptop's desktop. Hardly any dust. : ) I have a collection of birds sitting on statues. There is a collection of funny signs and unique storefronts. A collection of flamingos, of course (which is starting to materialize as a physical collection too, uhoh). Tattoos. Sunsets. And my favorite collection of pictures that I have taken, entitled "Only in Puerto Rico." Some of these collections have made it onto facebook, and I think my newest may have to as well. This week started a new collection for me. It doesn't have a title yet. One of the ideas that I'm playing with is "You know you're in the South when..." and here is the first picture of that collection, "Cajun wine glasses." : )

Making it ours

In an effort to feel more like a resident and less like a guest in this house, I have begun to change things around a bit. It is a nice house and Peter kept it well, but it still has this bachelor feel and look to it. The kitchen was an easy "take-over," but I have left the rest of the house alone. Til now. : )
It took some time and a few compromises, but we have finally picked out bedroom furniture. By this time next week, there will be dressers and drawers. No more suitcases strewn about the room. We are going to paint a few walls and hang a wall sconce (or two). Pictures coming soon : )

Technology amazes me. I have appreciated it over the past few years when Peter was stationed in various places. At the end of each day we were able to talk "face to face" almost, no matter if he was in Texas, Mississippi, or the Middle East. Now that we get to actually see each other in person everyday, I have new reasons to love technology.
One of the highlights of my week is getting to be a part of different classes at ESD in Puerto Rico. I miss those kids and teachers and the life there, but when I am "facetimed" into their lessons, we get to be together again. Elizabeth likes to invite me in to her Bible/devotions class with the little boys. We each take a turn to pray, and then we share their Bible story for the week. Last week they took turns reading to me about David and Goliath, each showing me a page and telling a part of the story. Love it.
Another reason I love technology? This blog! I didn't want to do it at first, but different friends asked that I start it up again to let them see what we're up to, and what our new life is like. I didn't think it would be that big of a deal, but it has been fun to post pictures and share lil bits with you. Surprisingly, people from eight different countries have visited and read our musings. We will do our best to keep it up!

Marriage conference

Our church hosted a marriage conference this weekend. Out of the 150ish attendees, we were probably the newly-est married couple there. It was good to hear about lessons and struggles that others have gone through. Peter had to go into work on Saturday, so I attended the breakout sessions alone. We laughed about the irony in me attending the seminar on "Military Marriage" by myself because he was working. Thankfully he was able to join me for the last two sessions. We met a few other couples and got to know some of the people in the church a little better. Good times.

:)

So the storm is over now, the water levels have gone back to normal. The towels have all been washed and dried. Every yard in our neighborhood has a pile of leaves and tree limbs stacked at the curb, waiting to be picked up. Neighbors swapping storm stories. Good times. Our friend Steve (from the 9th ward in New Orleans) has come back to stay with us until the electricity comes back on in his area. Thankfully they did not have too much flooding or damage done this time. A few shingles missing from his roof, a little bit of water in the street, but that is it. Read this article to learn more about what he is doing out there. http://www.cchf.org/resources/steven-euler/