http://www.blogger.com/html?blogID=4316350785635987648 Cave Dwellings: November 2013
Cave Dwellings

Buckhorn Creek, Lake O' The Pines, Jefferson, TX

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Giving Thanks, BIG TIME!

  A short blog to let all our blogger frieds know that I got good news on my 13 biopsies today…ALL BENIGN! AMEN AND PACK THE CAMPER!! We are hoping to leave this Friday or Saturday for Texas. WOOT! WOOT!!

First stop, Wally docking at Blytheville, Arkansas…Flirt male

Second stop, Texarkana, TX..We stay at Clear Springs Campground, Lake Wright Patman:

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Taken 4-2-2010, Clear Springs

 

Then it’s on to Jefferson, TX…Lake Jefferson, Buckhorn Creek Campground.  We have reservations Dec. 8th for 10 days…gotta see the Xmas Parade!..

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Taken 12-6-2010…We have this same spot this year..WOOT!

Next stop will be Canyon Lake, North of New Braunfels TX, Potter’s Creek Campground…

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Taken 3-14-2010…Great sites and cheap for us elders! We always stay 2 weeks…

After that, it’s all up in the air…

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Could be Falcon Lake on the Rio Grande……Or Bandera TX, Cowboy Capital of the World, or  possibly Goose Island State Park in Fulton, TX.

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I do love Goliad State Park, where there a mission right the campground, and you can walk to the Presidio La Bahia!!

It just doesn’t matter..What DOES matter is how perfect that tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day, and I have got a bucket load to be thankful for this year…

I also am very thankful for such a wonderful group of bloggers, who have been nothing but encouraging every step of the way with my Merry Medical Holiday!! Some of you we have met, and those who we haven’t seem like old friends to Dennis and me, just the same…Blogging is soooo much more than keeping a diary ..It’s getting to know such a great network of caring people! I THANK YOU ALL!!!

Monday, November 25, 2013

An early Thanksgiving here at the Cave…NO turkey involved.

  This last weekend was another in the long line of Cave-A-Paloozas..and it was a hum dinger!  We all decided early on that there would be no turkey.  Most of our family will be somewhere on Thanksgiving Day that DOES involved Mr. Gobbler..Our family opted for lots of appetizers all day long…Beginning with a salad…

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…Hey!  At our house, a Bloody Mary is considered a salad!! They were complete with celery, marinated mushrooms, dill pickles and green olives..Very tasty, even though I realized too late that I had bought the olives with the pits still in!! Well, it made it much more interesting to navigate through it!

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Only our daughter, Terrie, could manage to get the celery caught on her sunglasses…Disappointed smile

Uncle Kelly and Aunt Cindy told everyone they were bringing a surprise…That could be anything animal, mineral, edible,  motorized, playable, wild, tame or indifferent..Ninja The only  hint they gave was to bring very warm clothing…

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WOOT!WOOT!. TODAY WE ARE ALL OFFICIALLY FROM THE SOUTH…Y’ALL GOTTA HAVE ONE OF THESE IN THEM THAR SOUTHERN STATES!! Actually, lots of people have them all over…Our daughter-in-law’s father lives in Oklahoma and he gave it to Kel and Cin…Kelly can use it to haul the deer out of the woods that he hunts in… But, today, we were all going for RIDES!

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Of course, it had to be the coldest day of the year!! Uncle Kelly let Peyton and Taylor drive it (with  him on the back instructing)…The little kids loved it too, but MAN it was soooo cold!!

My brother, Michael and his wife Helen came from Marseilles, IL to spend the day with us…Kelly and Michael hunt deer and wild turkey together, and have been since Kelly was old enough to learn to shoot.  My brother was very adamant about him learning gun safety at a young age…  They hunt with shotgun and bow and arrow, when hunting season arrives.  Kelly got himself a nice buck last week. I won’t post the photo.  I do understand that some people have a problem with hunting and I respect that…But I have to say that Kelly and Michael EAT what they hunt.

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My brother, Michael and his wife, Helen..I DARE you to say that our family doesn’t have a sense of humor…They all LOVE to photo bomb!!

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Me and my baby “bro”…After we saw this pic we both thought we looked like “Don and Cora”,( our mom and dad)…And yes, I did have one of my many ensembles on by early evening…Hey, my family had come to expect this from me!!

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Our son, Kelly, and nephew Aiden…Our middle daughter, Terrie, and nephew Maddox…Our youngest daughter, Chris and hubby John.

Later in the evening, Kelly cooked us up some awesome Hooter’s recipe Buffalo Chicken Wings….and also some fresh Crappie…all battered then deep fried in our turkey fryer outside..

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I’m pretty sure the neighbors thought we had all lost our minds, and they probably weren’t too far from the truth…This was one of the COLDEST Cave-A-Paloozas yet!

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The kids surprised us with a plaque to hang outside when we take the Hiker on trips..Terrie made it, and it is on a slice of  wood with hangers that is hung on a small flag hanger…One side has our “story”, and the other side has that very perfect saying for any RV’er… (I am waiting patiently impatiently for the results of my 13 biopsies so we will know WHEN MacGyver and I get to “hit the road”).

Yep, “the best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been and the memories we’ve made along the way”…NO TRUER WORDS!!!!  Thanks for stopping by …I know, I know..this has to be one of my longest blogs to date…I AM stopping now..It’s cocktail hour and I have a Rum and Coke with my name written aaaaaaaalllllllllll over it!Martini glass

Friday, November 22, 2013

44 years!! It CAN’T BE, WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED!

  Today I have been Mrs.Dennis  (MacGyver) Cave for 44 years!! Dennis and I met in May of 1969, got engaged in August that same year, and were married on November 22nd, 1969…a whirlwind romance of 6 months that had a few eyes rolling for sure!

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We had a pool when our kids were little….and…what the Heck was I thinking in that outfit???”Lady of the evening?”

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Mr. and Mrs. Dennis TravoltaRolling on the floor laughing….Remember the leisure suits??..and I look like a waitress at Medieval Times.In love  This was taken in New Year’s Eve, 1976..”Stayin’ Alive", eh?

Our wedding was at 1PM at the Congregational Church of Sandwich.  The minister came in from mowing grass to marry us.  Our wedding “reception” was cake and punch in the church basement.  My parents couldn’t afford a big fancy reception.

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My mom made my wedding dress and the bridesmaid’s. I had been working for the local florist and he did our flowers for almost nothing. I think the most costly thing was the cake..it had a fountain in it. If my memory serves, that cake cost $65.00  but I just HAD to have it!! Check out the sideburns on MacGyver…and am I moon-eyed in love, or what???

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There was absolutely NO alcohol in those glasses.  We were in the church basement, after all…no band, no DJ, no Chicken Dance…CAKE AND PUNCH, END OF STORY!

As I said , we were married at 1PM, had the reception in the basement, and Dennis and I were on “Honeymoon Road” by 3:00PM…Yep, goin’ to the Holiday Inn at Steven’s Point, Wisconsin for 3 nights..WOO HOO!!  I felt like I was flying to the moon!!

 

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WHO ARE THESE TWO  YOUNG KIDS??

Fly me to the moon
Let me play among the stars
Let me see what spring is like
On a-Jupiter and Mars

In other words, hold my hand
In other words, baby, kiss me

Fill my heart with song and
Let me sing forever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore

In other words, please be true
In other words, I love you

Fill my heart with song
Let me sing forever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and I adore

In other words, please be true
In other words
In other words, I love you

Songwriters
PORTER, COLE

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

One year ago today…

  Well, most of  you might remember that I did have my “turkey neck” removed last year, just in time for Thanksgiving…I was in mortal danger of being on someone’s platter that year…

Here are a few before pictures to remind you (and ME) of why I chose this elective surgery…

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Left, 1-14-11………………………Right, me as my alter ego, Maxine..2-9-11

Taken 4-4-11 (I was demonstrating some of the hand signals I give Dennis when he backs the Hiker in..Winking smile)

And today marks one year since I had that surgery…I am soooooo glad I did it….The self esteem is certainly better!I don’t even ind all the wrinkles because.. THE NECK IS GONE!

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Left, taken 2-18-13, this year.                                                Right , taken 6-24-13…Yep, feelin’ good.

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Taken last week ….what a difference….

And the last two are just to really show how BAD and  how much BETTER my neck looks…No danger of becoming “dinner” this Thanksgiving!

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Left pic was taken the day of surgery last year….                           Right, what an improvement…I could have had a purse made from all that stuff hangin’ off my neck!

I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die I’m going to donate my body to Tupperware                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                                               ~Joan Rivers