More Arkansas Christmas

 My Aunt Joyce and Uncle Bob's Christmas tree. It was a warm Christmas.

Their festive fireplace.

 

Aunt Joyce with her great granddaughter Dallas

 

Santa left us a baby with batteries included!

I didn't take a lot of photos while in Arkansas but here's a recap of what we did and who we saw.

We took a quick car ride to Memphis because my aunt and uncle do their shopping on Christmas Eve. I say short because the store was closed by the time we got there. But, the store was near Graceland so I got to see the huge manager scene on the lawn of Graceland.

I cooked a Christmas Eve dinner of prime rib, scalloped potatoes, and some really sweet corn on the cob. I just love Arkansas produce and I live in Florida! After dinner we discovered we were almost out of milk so at 7:45 we were searching stores in West Memphis trying to find something open where we could buy milk. Finally ended up finding a Walgreens and it was so busy that people were triple parked! They were leaving the store with carts full of product - I guess shopping at the last minute is a West Memphis area kind of thing.

The next morning I made breakfast of two quiches and a fruit salad. Mom slept late and we were all kinda lazy drinking coffee and watching Christmas movies so it was almost noon before we opened presents.

Midafternoon my cousins Vickie (aunt Joyce and uncle Bob's daughter) came over with her son, daughter in law, and granddaughter. They had prepared much of Christmas dinner at their house but finished cooking at my Aunt's. She smoked a fresh ham and it was delicious. After dinner there was napping and visiting.

Pretty low key and non stressful.

The day after Christmas Jerry, me, and my aunt and uncle took a drive to Lawrence County to the family cemetery so I could visit my dad and my Manning family. My mom got terrible news that a longtime family friend has a terminal illness so it was a somber drive home.

Vacation Day 3 - Philly & New Jersey

Nice start of the day!

First stop - the Liberty Bell! Truth be told, I was itching to see the bell from the moment we landed. It was very hard to wait until day 3. It was very moving.

And there's Independence Hall. We didn't get the inside tour - save that for another trip. I do hope to come back to Philadelphia sometime and visit the museums. The city is polluted with them! lol

Mom wanted a ride via horse carriage since the sound system and the view on the double decker bus wasn't so hot on the lower level.

Love the houses.

So many nice flower boxes too. Philly was much greener than I expected.

Saying goodbye to our horse.

A cement and tile park across the street from Reading Terminal Market.

It's ALL candy. It's the only inside photo I took of the market but it was awesome.

Nachos at Hard Rock so I could buy a shot glass for a work friend.

Organ inside Christ Church

That night Cousin Maureen and her Hank came and got us and took us to a restaurant in New Jersey called The Library 2. Food was good and company even better. Amazing how you can cross into different states so quickly and easily - in Florida we have to drive about 8 hours just to cross the state line! Me and Cousin Maureen (below).

After dinner we had a quick trip to Audubon to Hank and Maureen's house. I spied this HUGE sunflower across the street. Hank is standing by it so you can tell just how tall it really is.

Busy Saturday

My cousin Lea blowing out her birthday candle - we went to her daughter Erica's for cake and coffee after dinner at Cheddar's.

My fist cousin once removed Erica, her mother Lea, and my mama Vee.

Erica's daughter Sarah (blond with manatee temporary tattoo) and her friend Jolene who is the daughter of the contractor who remodeled my bathrooms.

Husband Jerry, cousin Sonja's husband Tommy (Sonja was sick and stayed home - Sonja is Erica's sister), cousin Erica, Don & Lee.


Early this morning Eddie and I visited two cemeteries to take photos of headstones, as a volunteer, for some folks on Find-A-Grave. My family thought that was wierd ;)

Cousins, Cousins, and more Cousins

Today proves to be a cousin-packed day and I am very excited. A bit rushed perhaps, but excited indeed. The photos above are some special packaging of a birthday present but I am getting ahead of my story.

After my hair appointment this morning (I need to get moving instead of blogging, lol) I am meeting my first cousin Linda from Chicago for lunch. Her mother and my dad were brother and sister. They were very close and lived across the street from each as young adults and parents until Aunt Barbara Jean's untimely death. Linda and I lived together a short while in second grade when we were both staying at my Grandma Manning's house. Then later, in junior high and high school, we lived in the same area and would spend the night with each other. I've always felt a special bond with Linda and am very happy that she is visiting. I know she made my Dad very happy partially because she is an extension of a sister he missed but also because she is a very nice person.

Most of the rest of the day is devoted to Sarah and the celebration of her 5th birthday. Gee, I wonder what it is like to be 5 years old? Think of all the things you know nothing about such as a mortgage, retirement funds, medical copays.......... Sarah has been in my blog several times and is my first cousin twice removed, her mother Erica is my first cousin once removed, and her grandmother Lea is my first cousin but enough of that.

Erica is having a kid party for Sarah this afternoon and then we (the moms, me and jerry) are meeting Lea, my first cousin once removed Sonja (who is also Lea's daughter and Erica's cousin so Sarah's Aunt) will be over from Lakeland, and of course Sarah & Erica. Now that you more about my genealogy than you cared to know!

So the hat boxes.......I got Sarah a cowboy hat and a princess dress for her birthday. I knew I wanted to get a hat box for the hat because a) it would be an interesting presentation and b) probably the only way it would survive in a 5 year olds closet. I was just about out of time looking and was about to go the way of gift bags when I found these beautiful hat boxes at JoAnn's.

I was at the checkout line when I saw these two beautiful pink hat boxes, two different sizes just like I wanted, on the front clearance area! I quickly snatched them up and ran back for a couple spools of ribbon to tie them up. they turned out exactly as I had pictured with the exception of that septor/wand thing. The princess dress, which is beautiful and hopefully I will get a photo of her in it, came with a crown and that thing. The thing is too long for the hat box so I had to put it on top. Believe it or not, the hat boxes ended up costing little more than a couple gift bags with tissue paper and ribbon but I think they look a whole lot better. Ooooh, note to self - charge digital camera.

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez

Some of my New Orleans relatives are here on vacation. Mom and I visited with them Monday night but I stayed out too late to post that night ;) They were a lot of fun and I really enjoyed our visit. I hope to see them again soon.
My mom on the left and cousin-in-law Thania on the right. I remember Thania from when I was a child and we lived in New Orleans. She was so very cool - a career woman, smart, funny. She is married to my first cousin , Bill, but he grew up with my mom so he "feels" more like an uncle. That happens in large families where mothers and daughtes are having babies at the same time.

Three generations of beautiful women: Thania with her daughter Denise (my first cousin once removed) and Denise's daughter Sarah (my first cousin twice removed). The last time I saw this part of the family was at my Grandmother Barnes funeral in 1993 and Sarah was a toddler.

Sarah, me, Denise, and mom which is technically four generations just not direct lineage.

Maybe one day I will darken their doorstep in New Orleans around the time of Mardi Gras!

Dinner At Mom's

We went out to dinner with the mom's tonight. Jerry chose Smokey Bones because they had a $10 off coupon for checks of $20 or more. It was such a good deal that they had loooooong waiting lines. Luckily, we got there early and only had to wait 25 minutes ;) Butm, let's talk about last weekend!

My Mom cooked dinner at her condo instead of us going out last week. Doesn't she set a lovely table? She searched high and low to get that set of dishes because they are sold by the piece and no store had the whole set. I believe it was worth it because they seem to make her happy and may have brought out some creativity (lots of new recipes).

Erica & Sarah. They weren't feeling well but they joined us anyway. Poor Erica felt so poorly that she slept on my mom's couch after dinner. Despite her feeling awful and not wearing makeup, she is still a cutie! She definetly got the cute gene in our family :)

Fried chicken with some Polish sausage and red potatoe wedges. Yummy!

My Cousin Lea & Jerry. Lea is dishing out some fried okra. Now don't turn your nose up, my mom makes good fried okra. Lea is my first cousin and Cousin Erica is her daughter (and Sarah is cousin Erica's daughter) so I had my first cousin, my first cousin once removed, and my first cousin twice removed at the table. How cool is that?

Marge waiting for the rest of us to sit down. Those are pinto beans right above the text. Love them. Amaizing how bad they smell when you burn them though. It's an odor you will never forget.

Consanguinity

It must seem like I use the term "cousin" quite often in my posts. My "skin & bones" friends, as opposed to "online" or "blogger" friends (I coined that term after "brick & mortar" businesses versus "onine" business) have asked just how many cousins I have since I mention them often. My answer is when both of your parents are #8 out of 11, you have a lot of cousins!

Before I answer that question I would like to address a pet peeve of mine - the use of the term second cousin. I have repeatedly been corrected when I refer to my cousin's children as my first cousin once removed and am told they are my second cousin. This is NOT correct and I am flabergasted by the number of people who believe this and determined to argue their belief. Even when I explain that I do genealogical research and use professional lineage programs I am told that I am wrong or that my family must do it differently. I couldn't get a chart to copy well so click here for a Wikipedia page with a great chart that explains consanguinity.

To answer the question at hand - 37 first cousins and approx 65 first cousins once removed!

Dad's side "Manning" first cousins - Tom (2), Betty K (2), Patsy, Mike, Danny (2), Evelyn (2), Andy (1), Chuck (5), Bob (7), Jeanette (4), Bud, Donnie (2), Bill (4), Mernie (2), Bobbie (3), Diane (2), Mike (1), & Linda (2).

Mom's side "Barnes" first cousins - Lea (2), Bill (4), Baxter Lee (3), Ernest (2), Frankie(?), Carol Jane (2), Phillis(2), Ricky (2), Terry (4), Raymond (?), Roy (?), Larry Don, Alice Gail, Jimmy, David, Wayne, Vickie Lynn (1), Rhonda (2), & Elizabeth (1).

Sadly, I cannot name all my first cousins once removed (my cuzzie's kids) so I've put the number in (parenthesis) although I could have missed some, sorry family members :( In a large family sometimes a cousin seems more like an aunt or uncle and vice versa. Sometimes I am closer in age to my first cousins once removed than their parent who is my first cousin.

Happy Birthday Aunt Flossie!

My Aunt Flossie (who lives about an hour and a half away and is my dad's only remaining sibling) is having a birthday tomorrow. I believe she will be 92!

A couple years ago we (Dad came down for the occassion) went down for her 90th birthday hoping to take her to a nice dinner. When we arrived we saw she had baked herself a big birthday cake. She wouldn't hear of going out; instead, she made a dinner for 15 people! Some days I just ponder her life and try to figure out the secret a long and healthy life.

These photo are from a family gathering at my cousin Linda's in Illinois. It's the early 90's I believe and the only photo of Aunt Flossie on this particular computer.

First photo: the two kneeling are little Andy (Cousin Linda's son) and my Cousin Bud (deceased). Standing from the left: Aunt Flossie, behind her is Cousin Linda, then me in the jumpsuit, next to me is Mindy (Cousin Diane's dau), Then Dan (Cousin Diane's hubby & all around nice guy), then Cousin Diane, then my Dad & stepmom Bessie (deceased). The last person is Linda's ex-husband who will remain nameless because I am still angry with him.

Second photo is great shot of Cousin Linda in forground drinking applejuice (LOL), an almost shot of Cousin Diane's head, Aunt Flossie with her arm up, and finally Aunt Mary who died about 5 years ago.

Cousin Maureen's Visit

Jerry's cousin Maureen visited Marge this week. She is alot of fun - lots of energy and really fast northeast talker (Philly/New Jersey). Her plane for home leaves in about an hour. These photos are from Sunday when we all went to the Colonnade and then for ice cream at the The Cone Cabin.

Maureen with Eddie. She's a dog lover too.

Maurenn, Marge and Eddie with sunlight coming in from the window above the front doors. Funny what it did to Ed in this photo.

Daisey with her after-dinner ritual of wanting to smell your breath to figure out what you ate. First she got Maureen and then was on her way to sniff Marge.

Daisey standing on Maureen ensuring that Eddie couldn't get back up.

Finally a photo of me in my new sundress. I got smart in trying to photo myself - do it in front of the bathroom mirror then you can see the camera screen reflecting in the mirror and know if you are in the shot. Dah!