Shopping trip

First of all, I want to say thank you to all of you who commented over the last few days about the tornado.  I got a couple of e-mails and a text from blogger friends asking if we were ok, right after the tornado hit.  It makes me realize how comforting it is to know people who don't even know you, care about you.  And yes, this town was devastated.  It wasn't as bad as some places, but it is bad.  We did go out last night and look around on our way to pick up our Christmas tree.  Oh my.  Homes one block east of our house in town were destroyed.  Some streets are still blocked off.  Huge generators are running in one neighborhood to light up the entire area.  People have come in droves to help.  From other communities.  The Salvation Army posted on facebook the only thing they need at this point is canned goods.  They have enough of everything else.  Isn't it wonderful that throughout something like this, the good people stick together and help each other out?  I love that in a community.  And I am trying to visit your blogs.  I'm also getting ready for Thanksgiving...and as you know, I was out of town over the weekend.

The shopping trip.

Plans were made.  Dad was going to drive us to the designated location, we would hop in the drivers (Gloria) van and head to our selected shopping location.  However, first things first.  Dan's Donuts.   And Gloria was running a bit late, so Theresa brought the donuts inside while we waited.

 And Vickie just loves donuts on a stick (glazed, as I tell her), and she was waiting at her house, in another town, so I had to send her this picture for a tease. Not the one above, where it shows three donuts on sticks...but this one....

 

 that shows me eating HER donut on a stick!  That's just how we roll....lots of teasing and laughing.

We went to the outdoor mall in Ft. Wayne first.  Brrrrrrr....it was so cold out.  We even had snow.
Then we went to the indoor mall.  We did not ride the carousel but I always think it is so pretty.

 As my Sister and I were shopping together (we break up into little grouplets of two, and meet up throughout the day, or we'd never get a thing done) we ran into Ann.  A friend of Vickie's (they used to work together and remained friends).  I was commenting to my Sister how it's interesting that Vickie, Theresa and I all know the people that each of us work with, or used to work with.

Theresa, Ann, Cindy

On the way to our motel, on one of the busiest intersections there is in Ft. Wayne, we noticed the lights were out.  We looked around and there wasn't any power in a lot of the buildings!  I got on my phone and saw all of the Indiana Weather Alerts on facebook!  Then I read, "......If you are in the Forth Wayne area watch out for some very slick roads, particularly icy and hazardous bridges and overpasses."  NOOOOO!!!!  We didn't even know it was getting bad outside!

 After last week, I have to admit I was nervous. And if we were staying at the motel we usually stay at, we would not have had power!  The only reason we weren't staying at the usual motel is because Vickie "made a mistake and booked us at the wrong motel." 

(I think that might have been a God thing!)

That evening at the motel, we were going to get in the hot tub.  Only we found out after checking in, there isn't a hot tub (sad face)  It was filled in.  They had a pool and a sauna (say soowwwwnaaaahh - that's what we called it!)  Our feet needed a hot tub!  So, Gloria was the only one that bothered to put on her swimsuit.  The rest of us grabbed a glass of wine and went to the pool to chat.  Ashley, the youngest of us, got in the sauna.  And really...you had to be there....but I'm gonna try.   As it turned out, the water in the pool was very warm.  So Mom soaked her feet anyway.  Vickie, Theresa, and I sat at the table from whence I am taking the picture from. 

Gloria said, "Is the water helping  your feet?"

Mom, "what?" (it is kind of echo-y in the pool room)

Gloria, "IS...THE...WATER...MAKING...YOUR...FEET...FEEL....BETTER?"

Ashley pops out of the sauna room, which was in a corner and says loudly, "Good grief!  IS THE WATER MAKING YOUR FEET FEEL BETTER!"  Then closes the door and goes back in just as quickly. We all burst out laughing!

 That night...Mom and Gloria played dominoes while we sat around in our room, chatting, looking at magazines, watched tv, and sleeping.  We were asleep by 10:30.  Back in the days of the 1980's we used to shop until 10:30!!!!!

 Ashley and her lovely hair!

 Group photo.  I have a full blown view but I'm now allowed to show it because of gifts.

 Mom hung back while everyone else loaded the van.

 Theresa snuck inside too.  It was so cold out.

 Yes we take a car top carrier!

 hmmm....just realized Ashley is missing from these pictures.

 Where is she?  Maybe inside the van holding packages?

 We tend to have to do that when we pack up our purchases and overnight bags.

Or maybe she snuck back inside to warm up.

 You can tell we're all cold.

 Back inside for a couple of photo ops.

 Mother daughters

 

Mother daughter

 We had to go back to the outdoor mall for some more shopping.
But first, we were going to go to Dick's Sporting Goods, which isn't at a mall.  There was discussion as to who wanted to go to Dick's and who wanted to be dropped off elsewhere.  I told Mom if she didn't want to go to Dick's, I'd go with her elsewhere and she said,

"No.  I like looking at Dick's!"

Ashley made a comment...about what Mom said....and we all burst out laughing, like a bunch of school kids hearing the word 'dick'.  (sorry Mom, had to share)

Theresa decided to buy a huge turkey platter and they did NOT have a box to put it in.  So they wrapped it all up in paper and put it in this shopping bag.

 Do we have room for that bag?

After shopping, we went to O'Charley's for lunch and they were going to stuff us all into one booth.  Mom would have none of that!  She told the hostess that they would just sit over there, and off she went to sit in her own booth!  Gloria followed.....the hostess, a young thing, just stood there looking stunned.  I said, "it'll be ok honey, just go with it."  She then said, do you want me to clear off the booth behind them so you can sit closer together?  Someone in our group said, "naaah, we'll be with them all the way home. It's ok."



You know what..... rarely do any of us just shop anymore.  We used to.   We were talking about how when we were in our 20's and 30's we would meet up and just go shopping for something to do.  Like it was a hobby.  On this trip, we do shop for Christmas presents, and for ourselves, but we mainly go to be with each other.
It's tradition.
We're family... 
and we're friends.

Cindy Bee

Christmas shopping...through the years

Before I tell you about my weekend, I am going to do a post I tried to do last year!  You see, I've been going on a traditional Christmas shopping trip for what seems like my whole life.

 Sometime in the 1980's my Mom bought us matching sweatshirts, we started spending the night in a motel on this shopping trip, and more traditions began.

I wanted to do a post with all of our group pictures.  I'm living in one room right now, and everything else, including pictures, are crammed somewhere else in our basement.  I found some of the Christmas shopping trip group photos and I wanted to share them with you.

(Theresa, Vickie, Mom, Gloria, Ashley - if you have others handy and want to send them to me, I'll edit the post and add them.)

And I apologize for the fuzzyness of some of these photos.  These were back in the day before digital camera.  You took the pictures, you got them developed, and saw what they looked like when they came back a week later.  And these are pictures, of pictures.

Here we go...a trip down memory lane.

This picture was taken sometime in the 1980's....obviously!  Look at the hair!  B.I.G.

Theresa, Vickie, Cindy, Aunt Irene, Mom, Gloria

 

This picture was sometime in the 1990-1992 era

 I don't have dates on these two.  We would wear our sweatshirts two or three years in a row, so it's hard to tell what year some of them are exactly.

 1998

1999

 Cindy, Mom, Gloria, Irene, Theresa, Vickie

Ashley

 2000

 2002

 2004

 

 2007

  

2007-2008(?)

 2009

 2010

 

  we stopped wearing matching clothes in 2011

2012 - only four of us went

 2013- together again!

So there you have it.  Pictures of our traditional shopping trip through the years.  

What do you do that's tradition?  

I think traditions are what helps keep families together.  Don't you? These ladies, are all friends, but they are also family.  

 I'd love to read/hear about your traditions.

 Cindy Bee 

Tornado 3

On Tuesday, My Shug asked me to go check on his Mom.  She is in an assisted living facility and cannot hear to talk on the phone.  On my way there, I drove past one of the areas that got hit.

 This is the roof to a bank that was hit. The roof is on the ground.  The bank was leveled.  I don't know what happened to stuff in lock boxes.

And again, what I did was drive by and hold my camera up and just snap pictures.  I had to keep my eyes on the road.  Traffic was horrible.

After visiting my MIL, I went to the grocery store across town.  These pictures aren't great, and I did try to edit them, but it gives you an idea of the damage on one street of many.

 When I got to the end of the street, it was closed.  I had to turn down another street, and even in that area, windows had been blown out of homes. 

 When I got home, these trucks were all over the area we live!!!  YAY!!!  I was thanking them and clapping I was so happy!

 We didn't get power until the next morning. 

 But that evening, the wind died down, and my Shug fixed the TV antenna.  We hooked up the generator to the TV and watched a show before going to bed. 

Our town had over a thousand businesses and homes damaged.  We are seeking federal aid.  The thing is....no one died.  It's going to be hard for a lot of people and it's not just stuff to them.  It's their life.  But it can be replaced.  I now value things like a hot cup of coffee, lights, heat, warm water, running water, toilets flushing, a shower....you get the idea.  And as bad as our town got hit, it was nothing at all like the Philippians.

Cindy Bee