Author: Easin' Along

This post will be primarily picture-driven. With church projects and house projects, Helen has not slowed down for a minute, and I’ve been, well, supportive. The Christmas season is busy, and blogging time is hard to come by. Activity is good, however, and we both enjoy prepping our home for the holiday season and preparing to entertain friends and family.

Before I delve into a few preparations, I need to keep one promise from last week’s Easin’ Along.  In that post, I mentioned that we attended one event that I would detail in this week’s post. I saved it because it is a great way to transition from Thanksgiving week to the sights and sounds of the Christmas season.

Our youngest granddaughter, Cason, has been a member of the Dance Conservatory of Charleston for the last two years and worked hard preparing for this year’s performance of The Nutcracker. Helen and I attended a special performance for school children at Charleston’s Galliard Center on the Monday following Thanksgiving. The performance was outstanding, and without a doubt, Cason was the best of the Ribbon Candy ballerinas. She is on the far right of the picture below, taken with an iPhone without a flash…the best I could get away with. Another photo shows the young ballerina on her way to the performance.

Cason participated in a second performance that afternoon, so Helen and I took her sister, Bennett, to lunch at the Amen Street Fish and Raw Bar, our favorite Charleston restaurant.  I ordered fresh Oysters on the Half Shell and an Oyster Shooter on the side.  Bennett showed me what she thought about that delicacy.

Soon after that, it was time to return to Knoxville and dive into the active days ahead.  As we waved goodbye to the Edisto Marsh and drove away from our campsite, we captured another sign of the season left by the campground host (picture at top). We think Elves and Flamingos make a great combination.

Our children will not be coming to Knoxville for Christmas, which is why we make the most of Edisto week during Thanksgiving and will go to California for three months in mid-January to spend time camping close to our California kids. Nevertheless, we will host both my family and Helen’s family on two separate days around Christmas day and host our friends for our annual meatloaf party next week. That means we must get in gear and get the decorations up.

The outside decorations are in place. Our artificial tree (three pieces and pre-lit) is up but not decorated. Helen has the snow village in place but is still tweaking.  I love our snow village now that it includes an RV Park.  By now, it is evident that decorating is still a work in progress, but we’ll get there. I always bring out my old Lava Lamp and place it on the desk in my Man Cave. I like the red glow visible to those passing by in front of the house. The picture isn’t great, but you get the idea.

Our little community of Rocky hill has conducted a Christmas Parade for the last six years, and it gets better each year.  We didn’t attend this year but could see the lights and hear the marching bands from our home…another example of the sights and sounds of the season.

We did have Christmas cards printed and plan to address them early next week.  You will have yours soon, but if it gets lost in the heavy Christmas mail, I have included a copy below.

That’s about it for this week.  It’s time to get back into the swing of things as there is still a lot left undone.  Helen and I leave everyone with sincere best wishes for a great start to a wonderful Christmas season, overflowing with love, happiness, and great joy.

P.S. I want to recommend two recent posts by fellow bloggers.  Donna (Retirement Reflections) posted a fun checklist for readers, asking about your Christmas traditions.  The responses from her readers are a fun read.

Suzanne (Picture Retirement) gave us a very lovely illustration of the way she and her husband, Malcolm, decorate, celebrate, and entertain in their new home.

I think you will enjoy both.  We’re Easin’ Along.

Our second week at Edisto Beach was a bit more active than the first. My son, his wife, and daughters live in Charleston, about a 45-minute drive from the campground, which allows Helen and me to be hands-on grandparents for a change. No matter how much time we have with them, it’s never enough, but it’s better than FaceTime.

On Saturday morning, I woke early and noticed that the first light offered the promise of a lovely sunrise over the beach. I left Helen sleeping away, grabbed my camera, and walked around the giant dune guarding our campsite. An opening above the dune was a hint of things to come. I made it to the beach and witnessed one of the most stunning sunrises I’ve ever seen (pictured above). The only editing I did to this image was a touch of sharpening. 

Next up was a drive into Charleston to watch the girls play soccer. Cason, our youngest, was up first. Kickoff, set for 9:00 am, would require breakfast on the run. We made it with time to spare.

At age nine, Cason plays goalie on a team that plays hard but has met with little success. Nevertheless, she holds her own in the goal and always encourages her teammates to give it all they have. I was proud of her effort and assured her that next season would be much better.

Bennett, age eleven, plays on a team of exceptional young athletes. They rarely lose and travel throughout the south seeking the best competition. We’ve lost count of her medals and trophies, but they fill her room. Bennett plays defense and seldom leaves the game. I don’t know where she obtained her running speed or foot skills, but it certainly didn’t come from my side of the family. Those skills were on display in the afternoon game against a team from Augusta, Georgia. Our side won impressively. 

The following Tuesday was the last day of school for the week. Helen and I picked them up when the bell rang at 11:30 to take them back to Edisto for two nights of “glamping” and beach walking. They seemed eager to join us, which pleased us greatly.

On our way back to the campground, we stopped at Walmart to pick up a few supplies and the board game; Sorry. It has been years since I last played Sorry and, rather than read the rules, we jumped right in after dinner and played a few rounds. When we finished those two games, I sensed something was not quite right and decided that it might be a good idea to check the rule book…good idea.

I let the girls know we needed to hit the reset button and have a new session the following day. They wanted to play immediately, but I persuaded them that it would be better to let the anticipation build throughout the day. At around 4:00 that afternoon, we decided that we would play a game outside to make sure that everyone had the rules down. I asked Bennett to create a certificate that we would award to the winner of the 2021 Edisto Beach World Sorry Championship. She handled the task beautifully.

We began the familiarization game outside, but the chilly weather drove us in before we finished. We decided to have dinner then play the World Championship after dessert. As soon as the plates were in the sink, I asked everyone to stand. Next, I asked Siri to play the National Anthem. We all put our hands over our hearts and joined the singing. When the last note sounded, Cason looked up and said, “Now we’re going to war!” (Remember, she’s nine!) 

Big Daddy (me) won the game, but it was a dogfight. I was just plain lucky. We followed the rules explicitly, but these girls were so competitive, we had to endure a tantrum or two. Cason was the runner-up. I can’t remember when I’ve had more fun!

Early on Thanksgiving morning, we made the drive to Charleston. Collin, our son, organizes a neighborhood run/walk/bike ride, and the start time is 9:00 am sharp. About thirty hearty souls gathered to join the event at the appointed hour. When the start signal sounded, the participants took off on a three-mile journey except for Helen and me. Being the oldest by far, we chose the one-mile short route in the interest of time. Otherwise, we might still be out on the course.  

That afternoon, we enjoyed a fabulous smoked turkey dinner that Collin prepared on his Big Green Egg smoker. All the traditional trimmings accompanied the spread, including an over-the-top sweet potato dish. The weather was lovely, and we set the table outside to view the Charleston harbor. Our daughter-in-law’s mom, Carolyn, and her husband, Johnny, joined us for the feast. Austin’s good friend, Caroline, also joined in.

I’m going to sign off with some pictures of Christmas lights. Collin always goes Griswold (Christmas Vacation) for the season, and his house illuminates the block. I’m confident that the inspiration comes from the Charleston Festival of Lights at James Island County Park, which is one of the premier Christmas Light displays in the south, if not the country. We drove through the display on Monday. A few samples from our drive follow below.

Helen and I sat out Black Friday at Edisto while feeling the blessings of the Thanksgiving season during these two weeks, and returned home grateful for every moment. We attended one more event in Charleston that I will share with you next week. Please join us. In the meantime, have a terrific start to a holiday season filled with joy.

Helen and I arrived at Edisto Beach on Wednesday after two stops on the way. We spent one night in Cherokee, NC, to rub a little ointment on her casino itch.  My lotion worked better than hers, but that’s all I’ll say about that. We spent the next night in our son’s driveway in Charleston, SC. I invested in a partial share of a fifty-amp electrical outlet at Collin’s house, and we now have water and power for the Mother-In-Law Suite, also known as Dora, our fifth-Wheel trailer.

After our granddaughters left for school the following day, Helen and I did some Costco shopping then drove 50 miles for our fifth straight year of camping in Edisto Beach State Park. We love the beach campground, and our campsite sits behind a dune along the shoreline and overlooks a lovely salt marsh teeming with egrets, spoonbills, cranes, and one pesky raccoon.  We’re here for eleven relaxing days.

November weather at Edisto can be somewhat mercurial. Still, so far, we’ve had sunny days in the ’60s and low ‘70s with nighttime temperatures in the high ‘40s—perfect for campfires, and we’ve enjoyed one every evening. I’m not sure how much of this I can take, but I’m in for all I can stand.

For exercise, we walk the beach every day. The shorebirds wander along with us as though we need escorts.  The water is surprisingly warm and feels warmer than wet sand to my bare feet. There are so few people here that we have the beach almost to ourselves. Did I mention that we love this place?

This narrative will be shorter than my usual posts.  We’ve had only three days to record the experience, but I captured a few images that I hope give readers a feel for the occasion. The plan is to share our visit with you after the Thanksgiving holiday.  Would you please join us then?

Oh, one more thing…

On Thursday, around four in the morning, I woke up and remembered that a lunar eclipse was near the peak.  My camera was unpacked and sitting beside the door. I grabbed it, stepped into my flip-flops, and walked into a dark campground in my pajamas. Nobody screamed, so I assumed I was alone.

Looking to the south, a meteor crossed the sky just below the eclipsed sphere dubbed the Beaver Moon. I decided to forgo any attempt to put my camera into perfect settings and went to automatic mode. I snapped away. Looking through the long lens, the lower left portion was as shiny as ever, but the rest of the moon was shrouded in an eerie shade of red. The image below was captured at 4:06 am.

Helen and I send our best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday to our friends and followers everywhere.  We’re blessed, and we’re Easin’ Along.