Comings and Goings and Kissin' Kin

Yesterday was a busy travel day, for sure. Mary Ann and I drove to Knoxville where we couldn't seem to get past West Town Mall for the longest time. We didn't even get out of the clothing department of the first store we entered! Belk's Department Store had all their summer clothing on clearance racks. Mary Ann found a wonderful cache of tops. I found a good pair of dress pants (sorely needed) as well as quite an array of clothes for two little girls that I know. I sure hope that Nana's choices are in keeping with the fashion modes of Blakeburn Elementary.

Before we even got out of the store, Sandra called to say that she was home -- she had been able to get off early. We made out way to Sandra's beautiful house. What a treat to see the lovely home she has created. It's a very nice, well established and slightly upscale neighborhood and she has decorated with wonderful taste. I can't begin to do justice to it with just words and I don't think the pictures I have seen do it justice either. I loved being there. The only thing that would make it better would be to have been able to sit and listen to her play her violin. She did promise to bring her violin with her when she comes to visit tomorrow.

Sandra drove, and we set course for the America Cafe in Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It's about a 2 hour drive and, aside from some delays for road work, we had a pleasant, though uneventful trip. It wasn't too long after we found the cafe in the mall that Chaundra arrived from Atlanta. She, too, had about a two-hour drive. We chatted and laughed and reminisced as we ate supper. It was so GOOD to see her. We were sorry that Chris could not come, but, as a new attorney, he was busy closing his first deal at his office in Atlanta. I wish it could have been a longer visit, but we had to leave to get to the Knoxville Airport in time to meet Nita.It turned out that we had lots of time, so we went back to Sandra's house, dropped her off, and took the little Suzuki to the airport. Nita's plane was a few minutes early, and since I had carried most of her luggage with me, she was able to by-pass the luggage pick up and meet us right away. We drove the hour and a half trip back to Pine Knot and even had a cup of tea before we finally went to bed sometime after 1:00 am.

We got up this morning, had a leisurely breakfast and then headed up the highway toward Somerset. We stopped at a pottery place and spent a great 40 minutes or so looking at all the nice pieces. After we almost bought out the place, we went on to Somerset and . . . you guessed it . . . stopped at the mall. This time Nita found all kinds of bargains, and Mary Ann and I added to our list of purchased items. We had a fashion show when we got home and Nita and I took stock of our purchases so we will be able to declare them when we cross the border.

I also bought a new gizmo to hold my GPS unit in place. It is terrific -- exactly what I wanted, so I'm pretty happy with that.

Tomorrow, Chris is singing at church (hooray!) and then we're going out for lunch -- all the kissin' kin and extended family. It will be fun. As I sit at the computer, Nita is shortening my new pants so I can wear them tomorrow and Mary Ann is cooking supper. Dee and Amy will be here before too long to join us. What a lovely way to spend a holiday!