Petal, MS
We reached Jane’s house in Petal on November 1. This is one of our homes away from home and it is always good to return. Jane is family and we have a lot of friends here as well.
One of our traditions while in the Hattiesburg area is to meet at 4th Street Bar on Friday evenings. Many of our friends gather there and then we all go to supper together. Our first Friday in town was no exception. Supper that evening was at Keg & Barrel but because of the size of the group, we had to eat on the patio. Luckily, it was not too chilly and I had a jacket along. Missing were Bill and Louise, Ken P and Maurine. After supper, most of us went to a German beer and coffee place, Fabelhaft. I was so full and the coffee cup was so large that I could not finish it and of course, Dave was not interested in helping me!
Dave continues to spoil me. It was shortly after the anniversary of Steve’s death plus the pains I have had for 3 years were especially bad this week so he surprised me with beautiful roses.
We joined some of the group at Sidelines on November 9. Ken and Maurine were playing that night. They were joined on stage by Mo’s son and daughter and also our friend Cole Hill. It was an awesome evening of good music.
Jane was gone for a week, visiting her daughter-in-law and grandson in Seattle while Gavin is deployed. We joined Tom and Derrick at Becky (Tom’s sister) and Eddy at Becky’s house for Sunday night football while she was gone. It was so much fun that we went back the next Sunday also, this time with Jane.
Thanksgiving came and we found ourselves at Becky’s house again. This time, it was Tom and Jane, Becky and Eddie, Eddie’s parents, his son and son’s girlfriend. It was a delightful day with delicious food, contributed by all.
The night before Thanksgiving we were invited to Anna’s dad’s house for a feast of chili and tons of other food. We met a lot of new people but did not get any pictures.
The night before Thanksgiving we were invited to Anna’s dad’s house for a feast of chili and tons of other food. We met a lot of new people but did not get any pictures.
We spent hours (okay, minutes) putting out our Christmas decorations. Dave put up the chasing lights outside also.
There is a pond in Jane’s back yard, often visited by white or blue cranes. The koi have gotten huge.
Boo continues to enjoy playing with Jane’s dog Daisy and Garret’s dog Bindi. In addition, Garret and Anna now have two cats at Jane’s house, Biscuit and Zara. Boo is fascinated.
One evening, Chef Dave was busy creating a masterpiece, Corn Chowder and it was yummy.
We made a quick trip to Minnesota in early December to celebrate Christmas with our kids. It was only a family time except a Happy Hour with Rebecca and Mike. The trip gets longer and longer so we split it up now, staying in a motel part way up and back.
Once in Minnesota, we stayed with Angie for 3 nights. During that time, we had lunch with Mike, drove to Minneapolis to get Sierra from school and spent time with Angie and her kids. Then we all went to Teresa’s where we spent two more nights and had a family celebration. My theme for gifts this year was Disney kits. I hope they all like them. Hopefully everyone will send me pictures of their finished projects.
Getting back to Petal, we were very busy. On Friday, December 15, we took supper over to Tom’s house to share with him and Jane (crock pot wild rice hot dish). Then Dave and I went to Sidelines to listen to Hub City Sound Machine for a couple of hours. It was the first time we had gotten to hear them on this trip.
Later that evening, we met Tom and Jane at the Grill and Grocery to listen to Ken and Moe sing. It was a very fun evening.
December 16 was our last day in Mississippi and we were finally able to attend the Singer Christmas party, given by Bill and Louise Singer. This is their 31st annual party and we were so happy to finally attend. All of our friends were there plus many people we did not know. Sound Machine gave us a concert at the end of the evening.
We will be back!