November 2009

Sorry I got behind on the Heatherly blog. We've been so busy and time just slipped up on me. So here we go:

November 1 we attended the AFL (My Company) picnic and family day. The food was pretty good and the company really went all out for the kids. Susan and I rode the old Cleveland Park train that we use to ride as kids. That old train is still going strong but you could tell it was as old as I am. It was a true sentimental journey remembering my childhood in that park and on that train. And, remembering bringing my own kids to ride the same train. I'll be bringing my grandchild to ride that old train next year. Can't wait.

November 7th was the day of Kristen's third and final baby shower. This took place at our house and all the family and friend attended. Kristen was thrilled and Kelly and Johanna did a great job with all the preparations. Don and Ben took off the Chief's Wings and Firewater for beer and football. The beer and wings were great but the Gamecocks got beat. That's OK, we ended the season good with a bowl bid and a victory over Clemson.

13th - 15th: We took off the Gatlinburg with our good friends the Crouts. We spent Saturday all day in Dollywood. If you haven't been there at Christmas you are missing a treat. You pay one price and see one show after the other. The decorations are the best thing next to Disney and there is a parade and light show. Gatlinburg is very nice at Christmas. It is the only time of year we enjoy going there.

The next week was not too fun as Susan had to undergo her fourth back operation. They removed what was left of her L5/S1 disk. They replaced it with a cadaver knee cap. Weird I know but that's what they do. She is doing good but still will have pain for a year or so until the nerve heals. There will always be some arthritis pain. She has to wear a back brace for three months.

Thanksgiving Day: Kelly, Travis and I had to take care of Thanksgiving this year since Susan was on the mend from surgery. That was quite a challenge but we pulled it off. Boy you just don't realize how much work goes into a Thanksgiving meal until you do it yourself. Travis deep fried a turkey, which was very good, and cooked up a mac and cheese. Kelly and I handled the rest. Dressing really takes a lot of work. My version was different from Susan's but it was pretty good. Mom came over and we had our traditional meal around 1:00 PM. Kristen and Ben couldn't come of course and missed having them here.

That's all for November folks. Thanks for reading the Heatherly family blog. December update coming soon. Big news is in store.

October Highlights

October was fairly active and fun. Since we're in the heart of football season, most weekends were spent watching a game somewhere, somehow. Let's review what the Heatherlys were up to in October:

We started the month off attending the annual Hanger B Ball with our friends Joy and Wayne. They always get us tickets to this event and have a blast. They had a great band and we just couldn't stay in our seats. Since it was a work night we could stay as long as we wanted to but we had a great time. Thanks J&W for including us in this every year. You guys are the best.

Kristen had the big 30 birthday on the 6th. I just can't believe our youngest daughter is that old. Wow, am I getting that old? Oh well, can't wait until Tyler gets her and we are able to babysit and spoil him rotten.

Susan got a new MRI on her back because her back pain is getting progressively worse. The doctors finally were able to see what is causing her pain. The L5/S1 disk will have to be removed as it appears to be putting pressure on the sciatic nerve. They will do surgery on November 18th and remove this disk. Weird, they will replace the disk with a knee cap from a cadaver. I know she will do great and be pain free soon. She is very nervous and not looking forward to surgery number 4 on her back.

We took off to Atlanta to visit the kids on the 17th. Kristen had a shower and Ben and I went to a beer festival. That was a lot of fun sampling a number of beers I've never heard of. I had everything from amazing to bad. But it was a fun day. We took the MARTA so we didn't have to drive. It was a long ride but worth it. Below is the group I went with. My son-in-law Ben is in the center. The others are friends of him and Kristen.

On the 20th we took friends from Church with us on our annual Spartanburg Ghost Tour. This is a fun thing to do if you are into ghost hunting and stories. This is more Susan's thing than mine but go along and take pictures. We got a picture in the graveyard that had an "Orb" in it. This was verified by the expert when I sent it to him. See photo below. (orb is the white dot between the tree and the tall monument in the back.

We attended a birthday party with friends Joy and Wayne for Joy's dad, Bill Otts, who turned 85 this month. We had fun chowing down on some good home cooking and Wade's. Love their fried chicken.

The month ended with Halloween starting on Friday night with a costume party among our Empty Nester pals. The party was at our friends the Crouts and there were some cool costumes. Susan, myself, Carol and Roy Scheffler went as Dorothy, The Lion, Scarecrow, and The Tin Man respectively. It was great fun and we won the prize for best couple or team costume. See below.

Halloween night was fun this year because we relaxed, stayed home, and gave out candy to the neighborhood kids and kids of friends. It was rainy so the turnout was lite but it was nice to stay home this year. I'm normally helping at the Trunks of Treats event at Church. I missed being there. Pictured below are Susan, Zoey, and me with our friend's child Spenser.

The End

September Fun

September was party month at the Heatherly's. We started the month out on Labor Day weekend with a cookout with some old friends from our previous neighborhood. The whole family came and we sat outside and talked until late and laughed about old times when the kids were little. Babysitting horror stories came rolling out from Kelly and Kristen while Jack, Sam and I solved all the world's problems. It was ideal weather that night and the food and fellowship was great.

The following Saturday, we hosted the Church Choir party. About 40 people came over for barbecue, beer, and football as most of the men watched a great game between USC and Georgia. I set up the canopy in the yard and we served out there giving us plenty of room to sit and eat on the patio and around the pool. The weather was great and everyone had a wonderful time.

The next Saturday we spent the day with our friends the Crouts at their lake house and on their new pontoon boat. We ate dinner at Shealey's in Batesburg SC where the down home cooking is as good as it gets. Its about a 2 hour drive but it is worth it. I couldn't breath I ate so much.

The next weekend start with dinner at a place we've never even heard of, Minnow Creek, near Gaffney on Hwy 11. This was with our monthly BBT dinner group from Church. On the way home it started raining and poured so hard we could barely see the road to get home. The company and food was great. We enjoyed it a lot. I would go back to this restaurant but it was a bit out of the way.

The next day, Saturday, we went to a friend's house, the Hanson's, for gathering of Susan's work friends and husbands. Wow, the food was flowing again as chowed down an various yummy appetizers, burgers, brats, and desserts. USC played their game on the previous Thursday beating Old Miss so the husbands watched some other games while the work friends talked shop.

Well that about sums up our significant activities in September. Stay tuned for an update after October is over. We are still excited about our new grandson due in December. We bought more cloths and sent a swing to Kristen's show in DC at her in-law's house but we couldn't attend that far away. We will be going to Atlanta in October and having a shower here at our house in November. I don't think baby Ty will be in need of much when he finally gets here. He's moving and kicking and hiccuping like crazy. I felt him move, which was both cool and scary at the same time. Can't wait to see him.

We had dinner with Kelly and Travis at Macaroni Grill on the 18th. That was nice and I ate too much there as well. But Italian is mine and Kelly's favorite food so we were both in heaven.

Summer 2009 Update

I know, its been a while since I updated our blog. We've been kind of getting into Facebook so that has distracted me from keeping the blog updated.

So here we go. What a summer we've had. Its been very busy but lots of fun.

May:

Our Empty Nester group at Church had a great evening on May 30th. We had a Mystery Dinner where select members played characters in a murder whodunit. The photo below shows the cast of the event. I played the no-good drunken brother of the murdered head of the family. Each character in the play had a motive to commit the dastardly deed. Susan was the narrator. It was great fun. This was our first time doing anything like this so we did know what to expect or how it would turn out. Everyone said they had a great time also.

June:

During the second week in June the whole Heatherly clan spent Wednesday - Sunday together in Hilton Head just veggin' on the beach, eating shrimp, and having a great time. This was the first time we've done this since the kids were young and living at home. We really enjoyed doing this. Susan and I were there the entire week and the kids come down on Wednesday. Here are some photos.

Believe it or not but we not sooner got unpack from the Hilton Head trip when we were of to Disney World. We went with our good friend Maryanne and Jason. Jason work at Disney so we met him there. We had a great time although it was hot as H E double hockey sticks. We managed to keep cool by running from one AC area to the other. Still, we really enjoyed it because it is the happiest place on earth as you've heard. I could just stay at Epcot the whole time while Susan loves the Magic Kingdom. The trill rides at Disney Studios and Animal Kingdom are great too. If you haven't be there in the last three years or more, I would recommend a return visit. There are some cool new rides and shows.

I (Don) went to a conference in San Antonio the last week of June. It was hot there as well. 100+ everyday. The riverwalk is always nice and it did cool down the last day I was there.

July:

IT'S A BOY !!!! Yes, that's right, the new grandbaby will be a boy named Tyler Davis Sullivan AKA, Ty. Can't wait to take him fishing with Papa. Nana can't stop buying little boy clothes, books, etc. Check out the ultrasound:

Our annual Church Beach Retreat was July 16 -19 but Susan and I went down two days early. Our friends Danny and Maryanne come down a day early and we had a great time finding fun places to eat seafood, chillin' on the beach, and siteseeing in Charleston. On Thursday the whole gang come in and we just had a fun on the beach, playing cards and dominos, talking, and dinning out. This was the adults only retreat. We had one grandchild that we all spoiled. Here is a photo of the group taken on the deck at the retreat center. This place is comfortable and feels like home because we go there every year and have since the kids were young. Its not the Hilton but you have a great time anyway because luxury doesn't matter during this type of event. Making friends and becoming closer with old friends is the something you don't get at a fancy hotel.

April 2009

Well, let's see what the Heatherlys were up to in April:

After the cruise, which ended on April 5th, we settled back into our daily routine. It was so hard to come home and get back into the real world. After the tropical paradise of Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman, we just got depressed going back to work. However, it was nice to see the dog again. She missed us and we her.

I took a business trip to Nashville on the 15th but it was very quick so I didn't get to do anything but have a nice meal at a very nice restaurant out near the airport. I can even remember the name of it but it was one of those old house converted into a restaurant. You know the type.

I also got some great barbecue at the airport and heard a couple singing that could make it big on American Idol if they wanted to. Its amazing how much talent is in this town just walking the streets and playing in bars undiscovered.

Easter day was very special for the Heatherly family. Kristen, our daughter, and her husband came to visit for the weekend and announced that we are expecting our first grandchild in December. We were ecstatic, of course, and have already started buying baby stuff. We refer to it as Baby Boo. We've seen two ultra sound images and he/she it growing and doing fine. We can't wait to be grandparents. Happy, happy day.

On the 21st we left for Myrtle Beach. I had to attend a conference and Susan went along for the ride. We had a great time in the evenings during the conference and we stayed over the weekend to enjoy the beach. Saturday was a perfect day weather wise. We spent the whole day by the pool and walking on the beach and the pier.

The day after we arrived at M.B., the forest began to burn. The wind was blowing 50 - 60 miles per hour when we arrived Tuesday night. If was like walking through a hurricane when we got out of the car at the hotel. The next morning, the news was all about the fire which was spreading quickly due to the wind. We could watch it burning from our balcony. See photos below.

We could also watch the helicopters dropping water on the fire from our room. That was very cool. Luckily the smoke was being blown north and away from the section of beach where we were. But, you could see the gray skies over the ocean north of us and it looked erie.

Here are some more M.B. photos I took on the beach:

I won't have much to report for the month of May. Not much going on. But, in June we have to trip planned so I will get you caught up at the end of June.

March 2009

What have the Heatherly's been up to during the month of March? Well here we go:

March 3rd was our dog Zoey's 7th birthday. Big deal, you're thinking, but it is to a couple of empty nesters. The dog becomes your child. Cute huh?

Zoey says Go Cocks!

On March 7th we attended a party for our neighborhood's HOA board members.

March 14th was our Church's annual Empty Nester group St. Patrick's day Bunco party. If you've never played Bunco, you should try it. It's lots of fun and can get wild and loud. This group of seemingly normal, calm, and collected adults can turn into screaming loonies in about 5 minutes during this fast paced dice game.

Susan (right) with friend Maryanne

Susan and Don at the St. Patrick's Day Bunco Party

Out big event in March was our recent Cruise. We boarded the Carnival Legend in Tampa on March 29th and set sail for Grand Cayman, Cozumel MX, Belize, and Roatan. The weather was perfect and the seas were relatively calm the entire trip. We had a great time and did not want it to be over. Boy, did that 7 days go by fast. Here are some photos of the trip. Almost Paradise as the song goes.

And, Don got his 2 minutes of fame on the last night at the big show in front of the entire ship, when he got up on stage and sang two Motown songs (first verse only), My Girl and Ain't Too Proud To Beg. This was not planned at all but everyone seem to enjoy it, at least they didn't walk out. What a hoot that was. I still don't believe I did it.

We returned on April 5th. Susan had a birthday on board during the cruise on April 4th. We celebrated by having our room decorated and having birthday cake at dinner while the wait staff sang Happy Birthday to her in the dinning room. Red faced and embarrassed, she finished her big day shopping for birthday gifts in the gift shop. Nothing like a little jewelry to make a girl forget how old she is.

January - February 2009

Well not much has been going on other than the ordinary day in day out work, Church, and life at home for the Heatherly household since Christmas. All is quiet as we weather the winter weather and look forward to spring.

Our BBT adult dinning out group from JOY has had two nice dinners since I last wrote in the blog. We met at Steak and Spirits in Spartanburg which is the old Steak and Ale. Nothing at all has changed. The food was good as usual and we had a big crowd that night. Susan was sick with some kind of crud she no doubt caught from one of her kids in her class at school. So I went stag but I still had an OK time.

Our BBT group met at a new place in Greenville last night, Brick City Grill. The food was very good but the service was a little slow when it got to getting us our checks. But that's no bid deal since we usually sit/stand around after dinner anyway and socialize. We had a great time. We took our good friend Ella Rose with us an we had lots of laughs. She is such a hoot to be with as usual.

I did get to visit Kristen and Ben this month. I had a seminar to attend in Atlanta so I stayed the night with them. We went out to a New Orleans restaurant downtown and had a great time. We got Mardi Gras beads and had the best gumbo I've ever had. The entrees were good but nothing to rave about. But I would go back there again and just order a big bowl of that gumbo. It was so good.

Kelly and Travis came over for dinner and also Kelly and my Mom came over after church last Sunday for homemade vegetable soup and cornbread. It was delicious, probably the best Susan has every made. I ate leftovers all week long.

I guess that's about it for now. I'll update after we return from our cruise, yes I said cruise, the first week of April (spring break week). We are very excited. We depart on Carnival's Legend cruise ship out of Tampa and go to The Caymen Islands, Cozumel, Belize, and Roatan. We'll have lots of photos and stories to tell after that. So check back again after March 5th. So long for now.

A 2008 Heatherly Christmas

The Heatherly house at Christmas

Well Christmas and New Years have come and gone. I doesn't seem possible that it has already passed by after all the preparation and busy schedules building up to the big day.

The Heatherly Living Room at Christmas

Christmas day was very traditional here this year. All the kids and their hubbies were here on Christmas day. Susan sister and bother-in-law came and we all had a big dinner after opening huge amounts of gifts that morning. Dinner was the same as last year which was a daring departure from the menu of every Christmas the past 33 years. No more turkey, ham, dressing, etc. for the Heatherlys these days. We are now doing Fillet Mignon and grilled shrimp. It was big hit this year and last year.

I (Don) didn't get to attend Christmas Eve church services this year for the first time since becoming Lutheran 35 years ago. That left a big hole in my overall Christmas experience this year. That always make Christmas special. Why didn't I attend this year you ask? Well Murphy's Law decided that Christmas Eve night would be the time when the septic tank would become full. While taking a shower the bathroom floor suddenly became flooded and every drain and toilet in the house was stopped. Nothing was flowing out.

As you can imagine, I had no hope of finding a plumber on Christmas Eve at 4:00 PM and even if I did, I doubted he/she could fix my problem and get things back to normal that night. After three attempts and as many rejections, I called Roto Rooter. They are as nice as could be and were at my house digging up the septic tank within the hour. They had the tank pumped out and everything back in order by 8:30. I really felt blessed. I had imagined us having to spend Christmas at a local hotel this year.

The kids playing Bachi Ball in the front yard Christmas Day

New Years evening we went to a movie with the Crout's. We saw the remake of "The Day the Earth Stood Still". The original was a standard SiFi flick from the 50's that Susan and I have seen dozens of time since we were kids. We had to see the remake. I wasn't expecting much and that made the movie not too bad. I actually enjoyed it. The update to modern time as done well. I heard comment about Keono Reeves performance as stoic and dull. Well, you had to have seen the original to know that this is how the character, an alien, was suppose to act. If you go see it, go rent the original movie and see it first.

New Years day we attended a dinner party and some old friends of ours. They do this every year on New Years day and we look forward to seeing them and catching up as don't see them as often as when we were next door neighbors a few years ago.

That's the scope for the Heatherly holidays. Other than the sewage debacle, it was relatively smooth and nice.