A Day of Honor For Veterans

 It's your day to shine Veterans!!!  We cannot thank you enough for the FREEDOM we have today.  Were it not for you, we would be in dire straits.  Thank you for your spirit, your fortitude and for your patriotism.  

It was foggy once again here, though the camera sees through a lot of it and doesn't pick up the moisture.  It's wet for sure.  Just walk across the lawn and your Levis will be wet to the knee.

Mr. Cooper and I went for a quick walk, getting all the way to the end of the driveway.  The sunrise was quickly burning it off.  I love the early mornings ... it's so quiet!!

Even our County Courthouse got in on the celebration.  Way WAY back, about the third job I had with the County, we rehabbed the Courthouse, meaning I got to investigate every nook and cranny.  It was built in 1875, so there's a huge ancient safe in the scary, damp and cold basement.  When it became too small for court hearings, which was AFTER our renovation, it was made into a museum.

Lucky me, I actually got to climb to the rooftop and look out over the city because we put in the lights that shine on the roof.  It's amazing how well they built buildings back then, because it's still standing with all the original decorations on the outside.  Don't tell anyone, but I actually have one of the original chairs from the courtroom, given to me by the guy who refinished the entire room, the desks and all the furniture.

I had a lunch date on this day ... no, not THAT kind of date ... I was meeting an old photography friend who bought a van like mine.  We went to the fanciest place in town, where I ordered the fish and chips because it sounded so good.  That's something you never see around here, nor should I ever see it again.

Sorry, no pictures ... but it was almost a tempura batter made with some weird kind of terrible tasting BEER.  Ewww that aftertaste ... you couldn't even taste the fish.  BUT they had three dipping sauces that were amazing!!  Garlic something, something really HOT, as in burn your tastebuds, and ketchup.  The fries were thin and delicious!!

We talked for well over an hour about trips to take, but she s always going North when I'm going South.  I come back from Arizona after Christmas, and she is going TO Arizona.  I want to go North the first of next year and she wants go to Newfoundland.  I have critters, so that's not possible.  We'll keep in touch, mostly because she hasn't RV'd much and is having trouble with dumping tanks, the secrets of water conservation and blowing circuits using the microwave and a hairdryer at the same time.  

After lunch, having found myself locked into the parking lot by maintenance trucks, I was late to drop off an iPad left by my friend from Sacramento.  I took it to a friend, who took it to a friend, who would leave it in Sacramento when they flew out for a vacation.  

On the way, I passed the Field of Honor at our local Junior College.  The flags are getting closer together and cover a huge area.  These are both for those who have passed and those who are still with us, all from our tiny town.  God Bless every one of them.

The rest of the day was spent with this kid.  My poor baby has these growths all over that can't be removed due to this age.  Sadly, he's not interested in the ball any more and never wants to play.  He's so sweet, he follows me everywhere like ... well ... like a puppy dog!  

After dinner, I couldn't sit still.  I whipped up a batch of pumpkin bread.  I love this stuff ... too much.  I try to make it last however, by stuffing it in the freezer.  I only get one slice a day.  If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you!!

Today will be filled with Veterans at the lodge.  We feed every Veteran that comes in the door an all-you-can-eat barbecued chicken dinner with all the fixings.  Here's where the rest of those quilts come in.  There are twelve in these two boxes that will be given out today.  I've got two already done for next year and ordered another ten panels to work on here and there.  I hope they like them.

And so ended a nice day as I admired my flag.  I love driving in and seeing it hanging out.  Today I'll replace the cheap flag with a REAL one, MADE IN AMERICA.  

Respect, Honor and Gratitude to all our Veterans!!!!