Alabama 2019 - Days 5 & 6 : Grand persons and digging in the dirt

Tuesday 26 Novenber

This is not a sight we would see at home, a vulture walking round a dead animal in the road.  I think the carrion was another bird or a rabbit.  Mauve was fascinated, I was grabbing my phone to record it.

Today's main event is Grandparents day at Robbie's school (Cary Woods). The sign at the entrance was Grand persons day.  Pam had driven Mady, Jo and I to the school, it is only a few minutes away.  Robbie loved showing us around and took us down to the hall to eat.  The Thanksgiving meals were all set up ready to go.  We collected our meals and found a table.  One of Robbies friends sat at the other end of the table and his grandmother kindly offered to take a picture of us.

Here we all are:

On our return, Pam leaves to go to other members of her family for Thanksgiving.  We stay with the children.  First we clear the leaves from the front a little. Then they are playing on the front grass, Mady digging in the dirt.  One of the boys from down the road sees Robbie and comes to play, he is 9 years old. More of his friends arrive, they are older.  A very boisterous ball game gets underway, eventually one of the older boys is hurt and they all go home - which is a relief for us.

Now all is peaceful and quiet, I can pretend, just as the children are.  My pretence is not Pokemon related, but it might involve digging in the dirt. I'm just enjoying sitting on a verandah in a rocking chair with my faithful dog lying there.  I'm watching my lands, enjoying the late autumn sun, satisfied with a good day and a good season.  Well all the elements are there and I can dream too, can't I?  It was a lovely day, quite like Mid-September in the UK.

Dinner was home smoked red-snapper, it was delicious. 

Wednesday 27 November

Today is also like mid-September, it is raining hard, so hard water is running out of the gutters.  There will be no walking a dog while it is like that! The rain didn't last long, almost all traces of it were gone in an hour or so.
I looked after the children while Karen and Jo went shopping. We did a little more leaf clearing, it's harder work when the leaves are damp. A guy in a truck stopped and offered his help, I told him we were just playing and were not serious about clearing the leaves.  They are deposited by an Oak and a Sweetgum tree mainly.  Both trees are quite large, so there are lots of leaves.
Mady dug in the dirt again, I think it is her favourite outdoor activity. We had to go out, so I was following instructions to keep her out of the dirt.  She had a melt down when I told her to stop. So, we played games while cleaning her up and her usual pleasant temprament soon returned.
When Karen and Jo got back we loaded ourselves into Karen's car.  There really isn't much room and Jo is stuck (literally) between the two child seats. We are soon at Taco Mama.  Mady is then with Carly, one of the employees and is very happy.  There are all sorts of people in the restuarant, and it soon gets busy, so arriving early was a good choice.  The food is good as always.  Robbie enjoys his meal eating quite a lot.
After lunch we visit the new bookshop next door.  It is very nicely laid out and has a few nice souvenir type gifts too.  Back home I play with Mauve for a bit, and take her for a walk about 4:15.
Later, we go for dinner at Cracker Barrel.  Its a nice place, but a bit of a disappointment.  Our orders are  not delivered properly, Robert's is completely wrong, mine is incomplete, Karen's is overcooked, Jo's is OK.  They sort it out, but it shouldn't have happened.