IT'S NOT EASY BEING A SOUTHERN BELLE-EVEN AFTER YEARS OF PRACTICE!













Friday, November 23, 2007

IT'S ALWAYS BETTER THE 2ND & 3RD TIME!

We all had a discussion about why the Thanksgiving meal is always better the 2nd & 3rd time you eat it. Well to be correct, my turkey sandwich tonight would make the 4th time, but they were all good. We were pretty much at the end of most of the left overs, but it was great each and every time. The spinach madeline, when Camille is around, doesn't usually last but about 1 1/2 serving. She is known to actually ration it out to everyone else and count how many helpings you all have had. Since she was not around this year, it actually lasted until tonight. Now we never knew that it got hotter and hotter with each reheat. Tonight's serving burned all the way down, but in a good way!

We had a wonderful day with the boys & Caroline. We started our day together with a look at the house they have a contract to buy. It is down right by the Colorado River. It is in a really quirky part of Austin and you really do not have the feeling of being in a large town. It reminds me of the quaintness of a lake community with the feeling of old and new all around you. The houses are not cookie cutter, but have a very unique feel. I think it will suit them very well and hope all works out for them.

We then drove into Austin to see Gabe's apartment. More of the feel of living in downtown and near the action. The drive from Scott's to Gabe's parallels the river and goes along the side of the hills. It reminds me of Hot Springs and is really quite beautiful.

We then watched the LSU ballgame and decorated the tree with the boys. They have a 9 ft tree that has the majority of the ornaments on the bottom 3 ft. It was great fun to watch the boys decorate. Cade especially enjoyed decorating.

We have so enjoyed our visit with the kids and it is always good to see them in their environment. The boys have done a lot of maturing in the 18 months they have been here, but they are all boy. You never knew from moment to moment if they would be best friends or in the floor trying to kill each other.

My sweet niece, Adrian, asked me about Uncle Bryant. Uncle Bryant was the president of the bank in Farmerville when we were growing up and pretty much the aristocracy in Farmerville. They had a lady that had an apartment in their house, Mary, that cooked and cleaned for them. They also had a man, William, that drove them and helped with the yard. Shades of "Driving Miss Daisy". I will probably never know the truth about what caused the rift between Daddy and his brother, Bryant. I do know that it makes me incredibly sad to know their lives ended like this. Uncle Bryant and Aunt Maddie Maude had a reversal of fortune many years after Daddy's death and both died with little or no fortune. Do you think it is harder if you once were financially well off and lose the money?

As an important side note, my brother Noel, is actually named for Uncle Bryant, Noel Bryant James, II. Obviously there was a time that the family was still close and Uncle Bryant was held in high esteem by Daddy.

They enjoyed the best of the best at one point in their lives. Uncle Bryant was a Republican delegate to the national convention and proudly displayed his picture with President Eisenhower & Vice President Nixon. They lived in a beautiful and unique home on the top of a hill. The landscaping was breathtaking as Aunt Maddie Maude was quite the gardener. For someone that was from Dubach & Farmerville, they cut quite the metropolitan figure. They both died sadly, bitter and angry for the reversal of fortune. We all tend to always blame shift when things go wrong and always look outward rather than examine ourselves for blame. HOW SAD!

I did get up and run 5 miles this morning in the COLD Texas wind. I should have run another mile, but my hands were so cold that they were extremely painful. I came back to thaw out! Home Sweet Home tomorrow!

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