Welcome to Pat's Place

Thanks for stopping by Pat's Place. I hope you enjoy my blog.

As a writer, I will be blogging about many things that interest me. My posts will be about what I am writing and other things I'm doing. Enjoy!


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Family Vacation continued


We got an early start the next morning, well, early for us. With many hugs and waves, we started toward Nashville, our friendly but aggravating GPS directing every turn. Early morning coffee necessitated a stop and more coffee for me.

How it happened I’ll never know but my hot (make that HOT)coffee landed on my crisp clean shirt and went right on down to my white pants. Not a drop of it landed on the seat of the car – it all soaked into the front of me. I exited the car with a gasp. Hot coffee will do that. The waitress didn’t or couldn’t say a word. My family was all sympathy and began dabbing me with napkins while I was trying to hold the hot fabric away from my skin.

After dancing around in the parking lot for fully five minutes and assuring the waitress we wouldn’t sue, we decided that since my suitcase was on the bottom on the trunk, I could wear the mess to Gatlinburg.

I will not bore you with the details of the rest of the drive. We stopped for lunch somewhere with me hiding behind one of the granddaughters before sinking into a seat in the restaurant. Maybe people thought my coffee stained shirt and pants was the new look in tourist wear. Yea sure!

We arrived in Gatlinburg in time for a quick tour of the ‘burg and steaks on the grill at the fabulous cabin the family had reserved for our stay.

Words cannot describe the beauty of the Smoky Mountains. We saw a Momma bear and twin cubs in Cades Cove; we loved the old buildings that are kept in good repair by the park service. In one place, we were amused to see a crowd gathered around a long black snake. We stayed well back from that phenomenon. Being from the Ozarks, we were all too familiar with that kind of wild life.

One evening we arrived back at our cabin to find that a bear had been clever enough to open the trash bin and scatter our trash all over the yard. The next morning we saw the culprit, scoping out the possibilities again. That is a little too close for comfort. We took his/her picture safe on our cabin deck.

The granddaughters introduced me to geocaching. I don’t think they will take me again. My comments consisted of, “You’ll catch poison ivy. Don’t stick your hand in there. There could be snakes in there. You are gonna get lost, running round the country side in strange places.”

Needless to say, our trusty GPS got us home safely and so ends our family vacation of 2011.

Family Vacation continued

Family Vacation 3

We got an early start the next morning, well, early for us. With many hugs and waves, we started toward Nashville, our friendly but aggravating GPS directing every turn. Early morning coffee necessitated a stop and more coffee for me.

How it happened I’ll never know but my hot (make that HOT)coffee landed on my crisp clean shirt and went right on down to my white pants. Not a drop of it landed on the seat of the car – it all soaked into the front of me. I exited the car with a gasp. Hot coffee with do that. The waitress didn’t or couldn’t say a word. My family was all sympathy and began dabbing me with napkins while I was trying to hold the hot fabric away from my skin.

After dancing around in the parking lot for fully five minutes and assuring the waitress we wouldn’t sue, we decided that since my suitcase was on the bottom on the trunk, I could wear the mess to Gatlinburg.

I will not bore you with the details of the rest of the drive. We stopped for lunch somewhere with me hiding behind one of the granddaughters before sinking into a seat in the restaurant. Maybe people thought my coffee stained shirt and pants was new look in tourist wear. Yea sure!

We arrived in Gatlinburg in time for a quick tour of the ‘burg and steaks on the grill at the fabulous cabin the family had reserved for our stay.

Words cannot describe the beauty of the Smoky Mountains. We saw a Momma bear and twin cubs in Cades Cove; we loved the old buildings that are kept in good repair by the park service. In one place, we were amused to see a crowd gathered around a long black snake. We stayed well back from that phenomenon. Being from the Ozarks, we were all too familiar with that kind of wild life.

One evening we arrived back at our cabin to find that a bear had been clever enough to open the trash bin and scatter our trash all over the yard. The next morning we saw the culprit, scoping out the possibilities again. That is a little too close for comfort. We took his/her picture safe on our cabin deck.

The granddaughters introduced me to geocaching. I don’t think they will take me again. My comments consisted of, “You’ll catch poison ivy. Don’t stick your hand in there. There could be snakes in there. You are gonna get lost, running round the country side in strange places.”

Needless to say, our trusty GPS got us home safely and so ends our family vacation of 2011.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Family Vacation 2

Forgive me; I’m behind on relating this little saga of the family vacation. Age has a way doing that to me. There is much to relate, so please bear with me. After the granddaughters got the luggage settled, they declared no one could buy anything to take home unless they wore it home. We all promised we wouldn’t buy a thing on vacation. Fingers crossed. Everyone settled in and down the road we drove. It was fun talking and snacking and drinking. Water, we were drinking water.

As I said, our destination was Gatlinburg, TN, but son and daughter-in-law had just built a new house in Cunningham, TN and we couldn’t pass by with seeing it, could we? Of course not! Besides not visiting would be rude and if we stopped they would ask us to spend the night and save the price of a motel. We couldn’t just drop in and saw hi and by. Of course not!

But before Tennessee was lunch. Yes, I said lunch. You don’t think those snacks were lunch do you. Of course not! But could we make a decision between us? Of course not! Four women, four ideas. We decided we would have to stop at Poplar Bluff as there wasn’t much between there and Paducah. I’m not sure where they stopped. I just remember this old woman and the creaking bones when she got out of the car. “You’all go on and get a table. I’ll be there directly.” Glad I wasn’t sitting humped up on that cooler.

We will not mention the bridges that came before entering the beautiful state of KY or was it TN. I'm not really sure which state it was. Because the river was in flood stage and Grandma hates bridges especially if they have water under them. Believe me there was water under those bridges. At least I saw water when I peaked through my fingers. Note. There wasn't any bathroon until we reached Paducah either.

The kids house was truly beautiful. I will call them kids all their lives I guess. They deserve a beautiful home as they have lived in military housing for over twenty years. Son, David was off on one of his missions, as usual. But, we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at The Catfish House. Afterward we split our sides laughing, playing the game Balderdash. Then granddaughter Kim sent us over the top with the meaning of qwif being when you jump off a cliff at the lake if you have a lisp. I think it was after that grandson Jared said he had to go to work. That is reasonable. What 19 year old wants to hang around the house at 11 p.m. with six, count ‘em six hysterical females.

Stay tuned for Family Vacation 3. We actually make it to Gatlinburg.

Family Vacation 2

Forgive me; I’m behind on relating this little saga of the family vacation. Age has a way doing that to me. There is much to relate, so please bear with me. After the granddaughters got the luggage settled, they declared no one could buy anything to take home unless they wore it home. We all promised we wouldn’t buy a thing on vacation. Fingers crossed. Everyone settled in and down the road we drove. It was fun talking and snacking and drinking. Water, we were drinking water.

As I said, our destination was Gatlinburg, TN, but son and daughter-in-law had just built a new house in Cunningham, TN and we couldn’t pass by with seeing it, could we? Of course not! Besides not visiting would be rude and if we stopped they would ask us to spend the night and save the price of a motel. We couldn’t just drop in and saw hi and by. Of course not!

But before Tennessee was lunch. Yes, I said lunch. You don’t think those snacks were lunch do you. Of course not! But could we make a decision between us? Of course not! Four women, four ideas. We decided we would have to stop at Poplar Bluff as there wasn’t much between there and Paducah. I’m not sure where they stopped. I just remember this old woman and the creaking bones when she got out of the car. “You’all go on and get a table. I’ll be there directly.” Glad I wasn’t sitting humped up on that cooler.

The kids house was truly beautiful. I will call them kids all their lives I guess. They deserve a beautiful home as they have lived in military housing for over twenty years. Son, David was off on one of his missions, as usual. But, we enjoyed a scrumptious dinner at The Catfish House. Afterward we split our sides laughing, playing the game Balderdash. Then granddaughter Kim sent us over the top with the meaning of qwif being when you jump off a cliff at the lake if you have a lisp. I think it was after that grandson Jared said he had to go to work. That is reasonable. What 19 year old wants to hang around the house at 11 p.m. with six, count ‘em six hysterical females.







Thursday, June 16, 2011

Family Vacation

Destination: Gatlinburg Tennessee

What could be more fun than four females on a road trip? We get along fine, I kid you not. I am blessed with family who invite me on vacation. But four of us, cooped up in a car for two days – would it work? We would make it work. My daughter and two grown granddaughters and I, planned to have an rip roaring good time without husband, father and son-in-law Greg who wisely decided to take to the back roads on his new motorcycle. And we were pleased to let him do it. He of the “Why do you want to stop for a soda? You’ll just need a rest stop. We can’t stop at every flee market, antique store you see.” And “If we are going to get to Gatlinburg we have to keep truckin.”

Needless to say, we planned to stop at every flee market, every antique store, every cute restaurant and every time one of us needed to ‘rest.’ And if he made it to the Gatlinburg cabin before us, he could shop for groceries, prepare dinner and wait for us to appear. Our battle cry was ‘of course, we’ll stop for ice cream, we’re on vacation.’

We had every type of snack invented in the car. We weren’t going to get hungry, no siree. Had them handy too. Snacks in the back seat. Snacks in the front seat. There was chocolate – oh was there chocolate. We are related remember and we have chocolate in our genes. There was twizzlers. I really haven’t figured out why people like twizzlers. They taste like flavored wax to me. But I go along with the crowd and chew and chaw like everybody else. We had crackers and cookies and M&M’s. We had water and tea. Like I said we had everything. Everything that is but room.

The Luggage Snafu

And that is where things became interesting. Four adult females on vacation have a lot of baggage. Daughter Dayna has a large luxury car with lots of luggage space but… Besides our luggage, we had a cooler of water and soft drinks and a motorcycle helmet. A motorcycle helmet? How did that get there? Well, let me explain. If any of us gypsies of the road wanted to ride on the new motorcycle, we needed a helmet. Capice? So let’s begin again: that is four suitcases, a motorcycle helmet, a cooler, and each of us had a small bag besides our suitcases. Oh come on, you didn’t expect me to get everything into one small bag did you?

We packed the trunk of the car. We unpacked the trunk of the car. We packed. We unpacked. I gave up. They packed the trunk of the car. They unpacked, they packed. They finally put the cooler in the back seat of the car. Crowded, but that made sense didn’t it? It if we wanted water or tea, it was right there. “Sure, right there, under someone’s feet.”
“Well, we will take turns sitting on that side of the back seat.”
“Grandma can’t sit back there all doubled up. She already has back trouble.” And so – age has priviledges.

Stay tuned for episode number 2 of Family Vacation coming soon.

Family Vacation

Family Vacation

Destination: Gatlinburg Tennessee

What could be more fun than four females on a road trip? We get along fine, I kid you not. I am blessed with family who invite me on vacation. But four of us, cooped up in a car for two days – would it work? We would make it work. My daughter and two grown granddaughters and I, planned to have an rip roaring good time without husband, father and son-in-law Greg who wisely decided to take to the back roads on his new motorcycle. And we were pleased to let him do it. He of the “Why do you want to stop for a soda? You’ll just need a rest stop. We can’t stop at every flee market, antique store you see.” And “If we are going to get to Gatlinburg we have to keep truckin.”

Needless to say, we planned to stop at every flee market, every antique store, every cute restaurant and every time one of us needed to ‘rest.’ And if he made it to the Gatlinburg cabin before us, he could shop for groceries, prepare dinner and wait for us to appear. Our battle cry was ‘of course, we’ll stop for ice cream, we’re on vacation.’

We had every type of snack invented in the car. We weren’t going to get hungry, no siree. Had them handy too. Snacks in the back seat. Snacks in the front seat. There was chocolate – oh was there chocolate. We are related remember and we have chocolate in our genes. There was twizzlers. I really haven’t figured out why people like twizzlers. They taste like flavored wax to me. But I go along with the crowd and chew and chaw like everybody else. We had crackers and cookies and M&M’s. We had water and tea. Like I said we had everything. Everything that is but room.

The Luggage Snafu

And that is where things became interesting. Four adult females on vacation have a lot of baggage. Daughter Dayna has a large luxury car with lots of luggage space but… Besides our luggage, we had a cooler of water and soft drinks and a motorcycle helmet. A motorcycle helmet? How did that get there? Well, let me explain. If any of us gypsies of the road wanted to ride on the new motorcycle, we needed a helmet. Capice? So let’s begin again: that is four suitcases, a motorcycle helmet, a cooler, and each of us had a small bag besides our suitcases. Oh come on, you didn’t expect me to get everything into one small bag did you?

We packed the trunk of the car. We unpacked the trunk of the car. We packed. We unpacked. I gave up. They packed the trunk of the car. They unpacked, they packed. They finally put the cooler in the back seat of the car. Crowded, but that made sense didn’t it? It if we wanted water or tea, it was right there. “Sure, right there, under someone’s feet.”
“Well, we will take turns sitting on that side of the back seat.”
“Grandma can’t sit back there all doubled up. She already has back trouble.” And so – age has priviledges.

Stay tuned for episode number 2 of Family Vacation coming soon.



Saturday, February 26, 2011

First DBook Ever

History was made right here in Springfield when George Joslin wrote the first DBook. That's right not Ebook but Dbook. It is a book for Deaf, signed in ASL (American Sign Language) and spoken in English for those who hear.

Joslin is an ordained ministery who has many years experience working with the Deaf. He wrote the story about the deaf man in the Bible, how he might have reacted to seeing Jesus, what he and his deaf friends might have thought about the man who walked about the country side healing and talking to people.

One day the kind man healed the deaf man. After that the deaf man, Benjamin, witnessed for Jesus. This is a story deaf and hearing both can understand and enjoy. I believe it is truly God inspired. It is the first of it's kind and I hope Joslin writes many more.

Read about in today's News Leader at this URL.
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110226/LIFE07/102260327/Biblical-story-inspires-dBook?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Life
and
http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110226/LIFE07/102260328/Speaking-reading-their-own-language?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p




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Monday, January 31, 2011

SUNDAY BLOG ON MONDAY MORNING

The title of our Sunday School lesson yesterday was Right Not to Remain Silent. Many people in our world do not have the right to share their views, both political and spiritual. So I’m taking my right to share my spiritual views on my blog. Come along as I share our lesson from yesterday.
I’ve always been intrigued with the miracles in the Old Testament. The book of 2nd Kings tell about the prophets Elijah and Elisha, to the evil kings in Judah and Israel. Miracles in these Old Testament books abound. If you want to read about miracles, read about Elijah and Elisha.
What I want you to learn from 2 Kings 7:3-16, is God takes care of His people and we should tell others about His grace to us.
Here is the story in a nutshell. The Syrian Army had surrounded the Israelite city of Samaria. The citizens of Samaria were starving. They were to the point of committing cannibalism. If they surrendered to the Syrians, they would be killed. The king blamed the prophet Elisha. Elisha prophesied that by the next day the city would be saved and there would be plenty of food.
Elisha’s prophecy came true. God caused the Syrian Army to hear a noise of chariots and horses and the sound of an army coming upon them. The Syrian Army ran away. Four lepers decided to go the Syrian camp. They thought they might as well die there as die at the gates of Samaria. They were surprised to find the Syrian camp empty. They took what they wanted and hid it. The lepers could have kept the good news to themselves but they didn’t. They told the people in Samaria. They didn’t owe the people of Samaria anything. Those people had shunned them because of their disease. But they shared the good news that the Syrian army had ran away. The city was saved. There was food for all.
Remember God is on your side. He is working for you even if you can’t see his work right now. If God is doing something good in your life, share it.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

FROM MY BOOKSHELF

I predict that Danielle Steele's new book Legacy will be on the TV Screen soon.
Brigitte is content to go with the flow until one day she loses her job and her boy friend. Shocked and bored, she agrees to help her mother with the family tree. Much to her surprise, her journey takes her to the Dakota's and to Paris where she discovers her ancestor the Marquise de Margerac was once a Dakota Sioux Princess named Wachiwi.
Wichiwi's American adventures takes her from the plains of the Dakota's to New Orleans, across the Atlantic to the Court of Louis the XVI and Marie Antoinette.
Brigitte finds purpose and love (and a job) in Paris. Ah, Danielle always leaves us with a happy ending, doesn't she?