Closing Out November

  Now that Thanksgiving Day is over, I would like to set out a few decorations for the Christmas season. Before starting that project, I need to document our last few weeks before I forget the details. Early in November, we made a reservation for a stay at an Airbnb in Gatlinburg.

We left for Tennessee on Tuesday, Nov. 16, and arrived at our Airbnb by 4 p.m. The road to the location was up a steep road with lots of twists and turns. Our host helped me with the WiFi password when I misread one letter. The house had a beautiful view from the deck. Even though it was chilly in the mornings, we enjoyed a cup of coffee in the comfortable rocking chairs on the deck. Our timing was about perfect as we had beautiful weather and there were still leaves on some of the trees.

View from our deck

We spent part of Wednesday hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park after getting some information and advice at the Welcome Center. We parked at the Sugarlands Welcome Center in the park and headed out on a nearby trail, eventually ending at Cataract Falls before heading back to our car.

An oddly-shaped Sycamore

We drove to Clingman's Dome, the highest point in the park, finding a crowded parking lot, but we still had a half-mile walk to the Dome. We strolled, taking frequent breaks, as did many others, finally reaching our destination.

Clingman's Dome

We made it!

Back in Gatlinburg, we had one more adventure. We purchased tickets for the SkyLift that included access to the new SkyBridge that opened in 2019. Before walking the bridge, we stopped to enjoy refreshments in the SkyCenter. The bridge is over 680 feet long and 140 feet above the valley floor. There is a 21 feet difference in height from the ends of the bridge to the center. The SkyBridge is the largest suspension bridge in North America. After viewing the town below, we walked the trail back to the SkyLift to descend to the streets of Gatlinburg. We found a restaurant and enjoyed a leisurely meal before returning to our Airbnb. Finding our way back was an adventure in itself as it was past sunset, and we were unfamiliar with the steep road with all its twists and had a hard time recognizing the street we needed to take.

The SkyBridge

Descending

The following day we headed back to Greenwood thinking that our timing was perfect. It wasn't fun driving in the rain, but we wouldn't have enjoyed hiking on soggy trails. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving at Joe & Nancy's House a week later, taking an apple cobbler dessert and spinach/gouda quiche for my contribution. We hadn't seen some of Joe's relatives in a long time, and it was good to make a connection with them again.

Nancy & Joe

Dustin & Kylie

On Friday afternoon, Ray's nephew and his family stopped in for a visit before returning to Illinois after their Thanksgiving with Carla's relatives in the nearby town of Plainfield. We last saw them three years ago at a wedding. Joel wasn't at the wedding, so I was surprised to see how much he had grown!

Ray, Rebecca, David, Carla & Joel

This and That: We've been watching a lot of football. Two local teams, Lutheran High, Class A, and Center Grove, Class 6A, won state championships in football over the weekend. Alas, the Colts and Oklahoma did not win. Ray had a fall while in The Smoky Mountains National Park, and his elbow is healing nicely. My bread machine did not fare as well when it fell on the floor. I'm now the proud owner of my third bread machine. 

        Christmas lights on an outdoor bush brighten the front of our house. Now I'm going to concentrate on a few indoor decorations.

Some of our neighbor's lighting in the background

Weather and a Short Trip

    Where do I start after not posting for a while? On Sunday morning, we had our first snow of the season! There was no accumulation, and a few hours later, all traces were gone. It was our first sign of winter and what it felt like: windy and cold. Brrr! Because we had beautiful weather in October and early November, most trees still had their leaves. That changed dramatically over the last two days. Leaves are swirling everywhere. 

    In late October, Gloria and Ross arrived in Indiana on a Thursday afternoon to go to the Purdue-Wisconsin football game. We had time to play some bridge and catch up on each other's families. They decided to leave the following morning for Toledo, Ohio, to visit Ross's brother, Rich, who was seriously ill. They returned for another short visit on Sunday afternoon until it was time to head to the airport for their late flight home. During our visit, Ross received word that Rich had passed. 

    We decided to get our COVID booster shots and made appointments online since you couldn't walk in and ask for the vaccine. I thought our appointments were consecutive, but I received a cancelation and found another one at the Kroger store. Ray received his shot at a CVS. Neither of us had any reaction to the booster shots. 

    Last Wednesday, we drove to Fort Wayne for the Scholarship Luncheon at Concordia High School. We met the three freshmen students who received tuition help from the Seddelmeyer Memorial Endowed Scholarship and got to know the students, two girls and a boy. We are looking forward to meeting them again next November.

The tables are beautifully decorated.
The centerpiece is now gracing our table!
The food was delicious.

    Before heading back to Greenwood, we drove past the Tillman Road home and discovered a new house built in the wooded area at the end of the road. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo.

The barn is in excellent condition.

The house is almost invisible. The trees have gotten big!
Another home is located just to the left (north) of the house.
I remember this as a field where the pigs grazed.