How Are You Spending Your Labor Day Weekend?

[JoanieBlon]

Besides hanging out at PlayaInfo.com, we're doing regular "housework" things. Making crawfish enchiladas for supper and "maybe" will do some painting. Oh yah...guess we will pick up SAHARA and watch that this evening instead of the non-stop stream of hurricane news on TV. I'd like to do something "interesting" or "exciting" but I'm not erxactly sure what that might be.

[Jacko]

Beeeutiful Day here in Western North Carolina. Went to our local Apple Fest festival in Hendersonville, NC....great to see tons of people accepting and giving contributions to help out the Gulf Coast folks. Even folks selling beignets and contributing $1 of every $3 to the relief effort. Small town America is stepping up to help everywhere!

Going over to some friends house for a community get together and drinks and then over to see a neighbor playing guitar at the festival. So far, it is a great retreat from the stress of the past week!

[SunKneeMarie]

Our 13 year old is in a soccer tournament so that took up last night and will take up most of this evening.

Right now he and Dad have taken Freckles the mini-dachshund to Lewisville's Annual Western Days festivities to enter her in the Dachshund Dash. Last year she placed 5th out of about 65 Dachshunds. Have no idea how things will go this year. She's definitely not the brightest bulb in our doggy multi-pack, but she's fairly speedy. Just might have to remind her which way is forward. :p

Am taking the checkbook to church tomorrow and will hear what their plans are for Hurricane relief. Usually they have a good handle on help. Then I'll finish going through cabinets for blankets, sheets, etc that one of the local charities is collecting.

Monday we plan to hit the stores that might be having end-of-summer pool supply sales and buy some fun pool things to use when this flippin' pool ever gets completed!!

Updating the Peep Fest 2006 Official Web Site...

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by SunKneeMarie

Am taking the checkbook to church tomorrow and will hear what their plans are for Hurricane relief. Usually they have a good handle on help.

I'll be doing the same, even though I've already given twice to Red Cross, our church seems very good and channeling money through various contacst closer to the "front lines" of the needy...without any beurocratic red tape getting in the way..a good way to know that the money is actually being received where it is needed.

(Char, that's too funny about your dog! I'd love to see that race. )

I took the kids yesterday to the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition). We watched the pig races, Superdogs show (dogs race through tubes, over hurdles, etc), the Freestyle Motocross Champions, some good dance teams, saw the farm animals, pet the baby ducks and chicks, ate some good fair food (hotdogs, burgers with lotsa' fried onions, something called "Those Little Donuts" which are mini donuts cooked right when you order them, covered in cinnamon sugar, popcorn, enough pop to drown our innards, and topped off with candy apples on the drive home...yikes!), watched the kids ride all the freaky midway rides, roller coasters, etc (funny how I take some kind of sick pleasure out of seeing my kids get thrown around and watching their faces as they scream in horror...oh, and delight... ) played some midway games, won a bear, etc. etc. And reminded my kids as we ate lunch how lucky we are to be here enjoying ourselves, eating and drinking to our hearts content, while some others in the world are in such jepoardy still. (nothing like a little guilt thrown in for good measure.... Seriously though, I did feel guilt all day about this...)

Tomorrow after church we'll go to a good friend's 40th b-day surprise party. John and his brother have known this friend since they were 6 years old, and remain good friends still.

Monday will be cleaning and getting out the backpacks, lunchsacks, and getting ready for the first day of school the next day!

(hip-hip-hooray! The kids are back in school and out of my hair!...oops..did I say that out loud??)

[cuffedlinks]

We're going to a funeral (just a tragic thing really)...and a wedding today.
Our good friends have weddings for their sons 3 weeks apart...This is their final wedding...

Originally Posted by SunKneeMarie

Am taking the checkbook to church tomorrow and will hear what their plans are for Hurricane relief. ...

Excellent idea.

If you're unsure - I might suggest the following.

Samaritan's Purse

Ruth and I have friends (mentioned above) who work as Counselors and also help to train counselors...and minister to them as well - these people see and hear the worst of all of it. They were in Florida twice last year...and also in Grenada (Ginger, they are the ones I sent you the article on)...and also in New York for MONTHS with a counseling center set up for the Firemen and Policmen (and women) after 9/11...
ALL of this through the auspices of Samaritan's Purse.

SP also conducts a world-wide distribution you may have heard of called "Operation Christmas Child", which Ruth and I are involved with here every year.

FYI.

[SunKneeMarie]

Originally Posted by Ginger

(Char, that's too funny about your dog! I'd love to see that race. )

Update on the race: Freckles' heat was over before it began. Apparently through some sort of flukey selection process, all of the OTHER dim-bulb dogs ended up with Freckles in her heat and when they fired the capgun, they all just stood there looking around. Then 2 of the dogs laid down, one ran out of the fenced area and Mike said Freckles thought it was a doggy social and trotted over to play with one of the reclining dogs. Two false starts later, they just packed it in.

What Freckles did last year was chase the lead dog, for no other reason than because that dog was running. Kind of a Lemming Effect in dog racing. So she would place 2nd in each heat, and kept advancing. Nobody ran this year for her to chase. And Lord knows she's no leader.

Maybe next year.

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by cuffedlinks

.

Samaritan's Purse

Ruth and I have friends (mentioned above) who work as Counselors and also help to train counselors...and minister to them as well - these people see and hear the worst of all of it. They were in Florida twice last year...and also in Grenada (Ginger, they are the ones I sent you the article on)...and also in New York for MONTHS with a counseling center set up for the Firemen and Policmen (and women) after 9/11...
ALL of this through the auspices of Samaritan's Purse.

Tim, I sent some info to my minister after I recieved it from you, just as an FYI. Thank you for reminding me, I'm going to mention this again to him tomorrow, I'll go early so I can catch him before session begins.

I'd recommend anyone to check out this website. They are doing terrific things around the world.

[Nerak936]

Originally Posted by SunKneeMarie

Update on the race: Freckles' heat was over before it began. Apparently through some sort of flukey selection process, all of the OTHER dim-bulb dogs ended up with Freckles in her heat and when they fired the capgun, they all just stood there looking around. Then 2 of the dogs laid down, one ran out of the fenced area and Mike said Freckles thought it was a doggy social and trotted over to play with one of the reclining dogs.

Oh, my gawwwwd, Char!! I would've been on the ground howling!!!

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by SunKneeMarie

Update on the race: Freckles' heat was over before it began. Apparently through some sort of flukey selection process, all of the OTHER dim-bulb dogs ended up with Freckles in her heat and when they fired the capgun, they all just stood there looking around. Then 2 of the dogs laid down, one ran out of the fenced area and Mike said Freckles thought it was a doggy social and trotted over to play with one of the reclining dogs. Two false starts later, they just packed it in.

What Freckles did last year was chase the lead dog, for no other reason than because that dog was running. Kind of a Lemming Effect in dog racing. So she would place 2nd in each heat, and kept advancing. Nobody ran this year for her to chase. And Lord knows she's no leader.

Maybe next year.

Char, I laughed so hard at this! That's so funny, thanks for that!

[SunKneeMarie]

Originally Posted by cuffedlinks

We're going to a funeral (just a tragic thing really)...and a wedding today.
Our good friends have weddings for their sons 3 weeks apart...This is their final wedding...



Excellent idea.

If you're unsure - I might suggest the following.

Samaritan's Purse

Ruth and I have friends (mentioned above) who work as Counselors and also help to train counselors...and minister to them as well - these people see and hear the worst of all of it. They were in Florida twice last year...and also in Grenada (Ginger, they are the ones I sent you the article on)...and also in New York for MONTHS with a counseling center set up for the Firemen and Policmen (and women) after 9/11...
ALL of this through the auspices of Samaritan's Purse.

SP also conducts a world-wide distribution you may have heard of called "Operation Christmas Child", which Ruth and I are involved with here every year.

FYI.

Thanks for the link, Cuff. I will definitely look into that.

[Shammy]

Originally Posted by Jacko

Beeeutiful Day here in Western North Carolina. Went to our local Apple Fest festival in Hendersonville, NC....great to see tons of people accepting and giving contributions to help out the Gulf Coast folks. Even folks selling beignets and contributing $1 of every $3 to the relief effort. Small town America is stepping up to help everywhere!

Going over to some friends house for a community get together and drinks and then over to see a neighbor playing guitar at the festival. So far, it is a great retreat from the stress of the past week!

Hey Jacko

FYI....Just last night, I showed hubby the web site for your Inn, telling him that I want to go there someday! It looks like such a serene and comfortable place to be. We went through all the different pictures of rooms and cabins picking our favorites. Then we thought of how much it would cost in gas to get there from the Joisey Shore and said maybe it would be cheaper to fly!

But, while we're not coming THIS weekend (obviously), your place is on my list of "must sees"!

[Shammy]

Originally Posted by Ginger

Monday will be cleaning and getting out the backpacks, lunchsacks, and getting ready for the first day of school the next day!

(hip-hip-hooray! The kids are back in school and out of my hair!...oops..did I say that out loud??)

Yes you did! And you must have heard me because I've been screaming it form the rooftops for a week now!

I'm thinking of putting up a countdown timer that goes until Tuesday!

Big surprise b-day party tonite, golfing tomarrow, relaxing the rest of the time. The weather is absolutely perfect here!

[Jacko]

Originally Posted by Shammy

Hey Jacko

FYI....Just last night, I showed hubby the web site for your Inn, telling him that I want to go there someday! It looks like such a serene and comfortable place to be. We went through all the different pictures of rooms and cabins picking our favorites. Then we thought of how much it would cost in gas to get there from the Joisey Shore and said maybe it would be cheaper to fly!

But, while we're not coming THIS weekend (obviously), your place is on my list of "must sees"!

Thanks for the kind words....We look foward to it! I would love to buy you dinner...you've been through a LOT this year and you are so wonderful in helping people out! then, you can buy dessert with our "Buy Dessert for the Relief effort" special..you pay full price, but half of the money (not the dessert) goes to the ARC...and YOU get to eat the entire dessert!

Unfortunately, many people will begin to find gas too expensive ....so...check out our "Gas Guzzler" special...or maybe we can even make a special exception just for you and give you our "Evacuee Special" lodging rate! Its got to be pretty dangerous around that Joisey Shore, right?