Nothing Could Be Finer Than To Be In Carolina...

Carol came to visit the week between Christmas and New Year's. We went to lots of parties and ate fine holiday fare. We also visited Savannah where we ate lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant - Lady & Sons. In the first photo we went to the Andrew Low House, father in law of the founder of the Girl Scouts Juliette Gordon Low. Next two photos are in Beaufort, a cute little town just 1/2 hour north of our home. Carol and I took a carriage tour and saw the beautiful old houses and trees. Lots of movies have been filmed here including The Prince of Tides, The Great Santini, The Big Chill, and many scenes of Forrest Gump. Last day we drove to Charleston where we took another carriage tour and saw bigger and more beautiful homes. The largest house is a whopping 24,000 square feet on three floors. We shopped in the old market buildings and ate a fabulous seafood meal at Hyman's Restaurant. We ate at a table where Pat Conroy and Erma Bombeck had sat.

Carol flew home on the 31st and we spent much of the day napping and getting ready for New Year's Eve.

Aruba Farewell

Aruba was great! Thanks so much to Hinda and Marty Klinghoffer for their terrific hospitality. We spent a fun week touring, snorkeling, sunbathing, swimming, and EATING! There are a ton of really good restaurants on Aruba (pricey, but really good). We sampled as many as we could. Madame Janette's was probably our favorite, but Amazonia - a carnivore's delight - was right up there for me.

I replaced my lost wedding ring. My last one is at the bottom of the Schroon River where I lost it tubing last summer. We bought this one in Aruba because that is where we bought the last one. Of course I had to buy it when gold is at a record high, but what are you gonna do?

Coming back wasn't as bad as it could have been. We were delayed in Atlanta for about an hour due to the snowstorm up north, but there were travelers who were seriously stranded. So we have no complaints. It was easier to travel when we lived near a major airport instead of having to travel through a hub, but that's one of the costs of living in paradise.

Last night I called my very best childhood friend, Biff. (My BFF is Biff?!?!) I found out in Christmas cards from him and from his sister that he had a triple bypass last summer. He is mostly OK but has not been able to work since then. His spirits were good, and it was great to talk to him.

This week we will be going to a bunch of parties, and then - finally - the end of National Gluttony Month. Let me see. I already did my exercise for this year. I guess I'll have to start thinking about which exercise I'm going to do in 2010.

Happy Holidays to all!

Fiddle De Dee

That's Judy playing the fiddle. (She is NOT playing violin; I don't care what it looks like!) The group is called the Mountain Strings and they play folk/bluegrass music. Though primarily a dulcimer group, there are violins, guitars, a bass, a dobro, and sometimes even an autoharp.

Most of the dulcimers as well as the dobro are homemade. A dobro is a type of guitar with a metal resonator. It is usually played in a horizontal position and a metal slide is use to change the notes rather than fingering chords. Jim Hoehl (back row, white shirt) is playing his homemade dobro. Doug Linn is standing in the foreground playing lead guitar and Jack Toritto is standing in the rear playing bass. Next to Judy (back row on left) also playing violin - er - fiddle is Arleen Melamed.