Are We in the Ozarks or the Smokies?

Rain, heat and humidity have created quite a fog over the river tonight...

Evening Boat Ride on Greers Ferry Lake

Steve and KathyJo Anderson invited us to take an evening boat ride yesterday. Steve and KathyJo maintain Fred Davis' boat in the summer while he and Tempa go home to Michigan... and they have use of the boat in return! Thanks, Fred, for leaving such a wonderful boat here!

We motored up to Peter Creek and dropped anchor... sat and enjoyed fruit, cheese, crackers and bottled water and a lake so "glassy" that pretty much the only thing that broke a ripple was fish that were jumping! Peaceful... temps cool enought that there were no flies or bugs... and a beautiful sunset on the ride back to the dock! We had incredible weather Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - unseasonally cool temps and crisp, clear skies. The boat ride was a great ending to a really amazing weekend in Heber Springs!

A Visit From the Dollars

Marla Ann and her grandchildren, Griffin (almost 11), Ruby (almost 8), and Roman (5½), came for dinner and a visit tonight. They are staying in Heber Springs for a couple of days... their annual summer visit. The kids have really grown, and Ruby enjoyed showing the boys around... the room she and Grandma slept in back in the winter, and where all the toys and games were! Tomorrow they will swim some more, visit more friends, and go for a boat ride in the evening before they return to Fayetteville on Tuesday.

(click on images to see full size)

It's Been a Great Birthday!

This has been a really good birthday... lots of well-wishes... cards, e-mails, phone calls, Facebook "Happy Birthdays" - and even some presents! We went to garage sales this morning and had lunch at Seven Springs - a great local restaurant. I even had the cutest phone call from Stephen and Ladd Choate (age 3½) - and a wonderful visit from our great-nephew, Timmy (age 7 weeks!). He's spending the weekend with my sister and her husband while his parents work. Here are some pictures of Aunt Debbie and Uncle Greg with little Timothy.

Tomorrow we will go to church and hear Olivia play bells with The Little Ringers. It doesn't get much better than this!

Meet Owen!

Today I went to meet my newest cousin, Owen Nicholas Norton. Owen was born on June 23rd to my cousin Natalie and her husband, Darrell. He weighed 8 lbs, 4 oz., and he was 20 1/4 inches long. He is adorable. Everyone seemed to be doing well. Olivia is off to a great start as a big sister!

What a Weekend!

It's been a wild weekend... but a good one! Greg's mother was awakened about 3:00 a.m. Saturday by a wild noise. It was coming from her air conditioner. She later duplicated it for me, and all I can say is it sounded like the tornado siren was going off in town - SCARY! So she jumped up and tried to determine the source of the noise... then turned off her AC. (Repair is scheduled for Monday.) Since the temperature on Saturday reached 102 or better, her house heated quickly! She laid on her couch and watched a movie and tried not to stir too much, but Greg had told her, "If you are not at our house by mid-afternoon, I'm coming after you!" I think she arrived about 4:30 p.m., when her movie ended.

We had dinner and watched some television, and I checked Facebook. There was a post from a woman who lives one block from my grandmother - the power was out. So I called Mam-ma - no answer, and no answering machine. I called her friend Ruby, and Mam-ma answered the phone! She played "Chicken Foot" (dominoes) at Ruby's Saturday afternoon with her friends, and when she was driven home, her garage door opener would not work. A neighbor shouted to her that the power was off. She didn't have a purse or her house keys, so she returned to Ruby's. I determined that she didn't have her medications, so Elaine and I went to get Mam-ma and unlock her house so she could gather pj's and her meds. We did this, and while there, I discovered she had NOT locked her house up completely. I "battened down the hatches" and returned her to Ruby's house.

We made a quick stop at Elaine's for Sunday shoes, and the house was STIFLING! I couldn't believe how it had heated up... but that goes to show how hot the day got! Back at home, we watched another TV program with Greg, and around 9:15, my grandmother called - her power was back on, and she was at home!

Sunday was Elaine's birthday and also the first day for our new pastor, Bro. Tommy Toombs, to preach. We went to church and then out to lunch with our friends - Steve and KathyJo Anderson, and Fred and Tempa Davis. Then we came home to read the paper and rest. There were phone calls for Elaine, and a visit from Bruce, Caitlyn, and Chase, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Last night we watched an old Alfred Hitchcock movie, "The Trouble With Harry." It was a good one! Today we will hopefully get the AC repaired at Greg's mother's house - we have loved having her here, but we know she is anxious to get home. It's cooler here today, and maybe the week will be uneventful... MAYBE!