A good time was had by all

I mentioned that we were going away for a few days. Our trip was to Pensacola, Florida, to see my niece graduate from flight school. She is in the Coast Guard and plans to fly helicopters on rescue missions. We had four generations of Ward's family there which was part of the fun. We rented a house and when we weren't out and about there was time for sharing stories, both present and past. The fourth generation was a four month old baby with a very calm, adaptable disposition that did not hamper any activities. Very different than the babies I had and a welcome addition.

I was not exactly in my element during this trip. For example, I didn't understand the different military branches and their different rank designations. I was among service people from the Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force, Italian Navy, and the Saudi Arabia Military. My knowledge went as far as recognizing the flags from different countries. I didn't know any of the aircraft kinds beyond plane and helicopter.  All of the number and letter designations meant nothing to me.

I did not have a hankering for freshly caught sea food like Ward and the others did, but I had some good salads while they enjoyed the catch of the day. I didn't want to go to the beach like the rest of the crowd, but I slathered up with sunscreen and went with them to see the baby experience her first time in sand and the first time in the ocean. She didn't like it much, but her parents were fun to watch as they hung on every expression the baby made.

But despite my hesitation, I enjoyed all of the above activities. And I also liked the things we did that were more my style. We took a walk every morning in the pleasant neighborhood where we were staying. We visited houses and museums in historic Pensacola and worked a jig saw puzzle. We talked. We talked about the baby and how remarkable she was. (The only thing better than watching first time parents is watching first time grandparents.) We heard stories from the Ward's father about being stuck in jungles of Peru and his travel around the world in different military aircraft. He was a civilian for the Army and he (his lab) developed night vision goggles. Some of his travel was to help implement the use of them.

It was a great trip and a good time was had by all. Below are a few picture from it. 

I'm not sure what kind of helicopter this is but my niece will be flying
a Dolphin helicopter in her next assignment.

After a day of festivities with the graduation, we headed to downtown, historic Pensacola. Our first stop was this church which has had some kind of religious activity here since 1763. That's our tour guide telling about the history of Pensacola (five flags have flown over it) and the history of the church.

Next stop was the Victorian Dorr House. A fairly typical Victorian house including art made from dead relatives hair.

From the Dorr house, we visited the Museum of Industry that showcased early industry including brick making, fishing, and logging. This is one of the machines used on the logs but I can't remember exactly what it does.

Then onto the museum that everyone was really waiting for, The Naval Air Aviation Museum. Ward and our nephew spent a while with this jet discussing its various specs as well as every other flying vehicle they saw. I learned that this is called a fixed-wing aircraft.

And this is called a rotor-wing aircraft. See, I'm learning.

The next day we went to one of the beautiful, white sand beaches of the Florida Gulf Coast. The water was a little cold, so no one was too excited about jumping right in. Extra points if you can identify the baby, the mother, and the grandmother.

I did it!

You may have noticed that I finished the A-Z Challenge! Hip, hip hooray! I wrote and scheduled the final posts before I left town. We had a great trip that I'll fill you in on soon. Also, I'll read your comments here and respond shortly as well as try to catch up on your blogs, but I'm not sure I will have time to comment on all of your past posts.

In the meantime, it's back to work and all of the other necessities of life including a trip to the hardware store last night to get a piece for the garage door.  That was important so we could open it this morning to get the cars out to go to work today. Welcome home. :(

Z is for Zip in and Zip Out

I'm sure you heard that Kate Middleton, wife of Prince William, had their third child last week. By all accounts, she zipped in and out of the hospital quickly as far as these things go. Kate entered the hospital around 6 am and 5 hours later she delivered a healthy baby boy. She went home a mere 7 hours later. And some time during her short stay they introduced the new baby to the crowds waiting outside.

And Kate looked beautiful. Granted, she is a beautiful woman to begin with. Granted she had her hair and makeup done by a team before she went out. But she looked perfect and she was wearing heels! I don't know how she did it.

After I gave birth to Wally, I was totally wiped out. It had been a long, induced labor, but nothing out of the ordinary. I stayed in the hospital a couple of days as we tend to do in this country, longer than they usually do in Britain. When it was time to bring Wally home we carefully strapped him in his new car seat and I rode in the back with him while Ward drove. We had a fairly short drive I think, but I don't remember. What I do remember is that I was exhausted and not feeling great. As soon as we pulled into the driveway, I went into the house to lay down.  On my way, I asked if Ward could get Wally out of the car and deal with him. I had to lay down. No ceremony about welcoming the baby home. Just an exhausted mother, a proud father, and a crying baby.

Newborn Wally

So when I think about that experience, there's no way I could have done what Kate did. Even with a whole team around me like she had, I don't think I could have faced the crowds. I don't think I could have worn heels. I don't think I would have been ready to leave after 7 hours even if I had been going home to a household of helpers. I just don't think I could have zipped in and out like she did. But who knows? Maybe she didn't feel like doing it either, but she's a royal and that's what you have to do.

Y is for You Choose

I got a potato peeler as a wedding gift (1). It was just like my mother's and the only kind I had ever used. It worked great for about 25 years without any special care--meaning I put it in the dishwasher when I shouldn't have and so on. Then I decided it was getting a little dull so I bought a few inexpensive, new ones supposedly just like the first one. They didn't work as well as my old one, so I got rid of them and used my old one. Then after a few more years, my thumbs started to hurt when I used the peeler and it was still a bit dull, so I tried another kind altogether (2). This one has a place on the back to put your finger through so you hold the peeler in the palm of your had to use it. It was advertised to be gentle on your joints and hurting hands. Well, maybe my thumbs felt a little better, but I could never get the hang of using it. Thus I went back to using the old one.

A year of so later I listened to a friend's daughter give her pitch for Cutco products. These are expensive, fairly good knives that kids sell to raise money for college. I didn't want to spend much money, so I bought one of the cheapest things they had--a potato peeler (3). This one had an ergonomic handle with a good blade. It felt okay in my hand and I actually took care of it like I was supposed to. However, after a little while, I went back to the one I had gotten as a wedding gift. It just seemed to work better.

Then enter Theo who was doing the majority of the peeling in the house. He asked if he could buy a new peeler because none of the ones we had worked very well. He liked the original one the best also but the blade was getting dull. I asked if we could sharpen it, but he said there were several nicks on the blades and he thought that it wouldn't sharpen well. I said sure, so he researched and bought one (4) for $6 on Amazon that was guaranteed to be just like the ones that your mother and grandmother had. Sounded great because it looked just like the favorite one we have. However, when we got it, I found it is not as comfortable to use because the handle was narrower than the one we got all those years ago as a wedding gift.

These days I find myself using a knife (5 or 6) as much for peeling as a peeler. The peels are a little thicker so I'm wasting more of the fruit or vegetable, but that's what works best for me. Someday I'm going to look into having my 35 year old peeler sharpened. It seems to have a design that can't be beat.

However,  you choose for yourself. Which one of these things would you want to peel with?

But wait, before you make your decision. I just found another one (8). I felt like I was missing one and I was. I found it as I was putting the other ones away. So add this one when you make your choice.

X is for an 'Xceptional Afternoon

Recently, Ward and I visited the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. The weather was warm and the spring flowers were in full bloom.  We had a great time both looking at the flowers and plants, and people watching. Here are some pictures from our eXceptional afternoon.

Tulips provided the major color in the gardens. Notice that daffodils were intermixed with the tulips.

A closer view

There were total white beds, also.

Ward liked the angles on this arbor and thought he might want to build one like it.

There were both paved paths and mulch paths through gardens and woods. The grass there hadn't greened up yet.

I think these are Jack-in-the-Pulpits, but Jack has a rounder, whiter head than I've seen before.

The trees were providing shade for the plants along the path in this hosta garden.

I really liked these dark red tulips.

The yellow tree is a yellow leafed Japanese maple.
 I had never seen one before and was totally fascinated by it. Now I want one.

This is the entrance to the Korean Bell Garden which is part of the park.
 (Next 5 pictures are from the Korean Garden.)

 Ponds provide water for the plants in the gardens.

These statues, representing grandfathers, are used to guard villages.

This is the 3 ton bell that the Korean gardens were designed around. The bell represents peace and harmony.

These totem poles were also used to guard villages among other things.