Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Lisa And Mexican Food Time

 Hey Friends,

This is Odie reporting in from the beach cottage. I hope you are having a great day. I am here today with a look into a couple outings I had last month with my cousin.

First, a special reminder about something happening in most of the United States before we wake up tomorrow.


It is time to spring our clocks forward. We lose an hour of sleep tonight. I am not a fan of the time change, but I am glad to get more sunshine. Also, I am looking forward to the warmer weather.

Lisa  And Mexican Food Time

Our regular readers will recognize our Cousin Lisa. Several of us often call her Mama Lisa because she is always taking care of someone. She is a tremendous blessing to our family. Today, she gets an extra shout for being awesome.


Lisa and I love it when our schedules work out for us to spend some extra time together. Even if it is just a couple hours for lunch. Lots of laughter and fun is always involved.


Salsa from Alcapulco is often in the equation, too.


Then we have some yummy food from Alcapulco. These pictures are making me ready for Alcapulco right now. I can almost taste it!


God gave me an excellent person to be in my corner. Lisa brings a smile to my face on a daily basis.


I am so thankful for Mama Lisa! Thank you, Lisa, for being there for me! I love our happy memories. I try my best to always express my gratitude. The words thank you can never truly convey my thankful heart. Everyone needs a person in their life who is as awesome as you!

The food, fellowship and friendship make for a wonderful trio. Here is another picture of the yummy Alcapulco food. 


A highlight of going to my favorite Mexican restaurant is seeing my friends! Jorge is the owner and a wonderful friend to our family. He came over to check on us. Also, to get an update on Dad! We love Jorge and his family!


Thanks for joining me for this post telling you about Lisa. 
She and I are already planning another outing in a couple of weeks that we are excited about. I will tell you about it in another post.

Odie

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Scrambled Eggs And Salad

Thank you, dear friends. I had no idea that a Mile Marker about eating lettuce would stir up as much excitement as it did.😍 I believe that some of you are as genuinely thankful as I am. 

Thank you for that. All the texts and phone calls were very encouraging. I do appreciate your kindness.

In the interest of full disclosure, Kelly Jo drove about 30 minutes to the nearest Ruby Tuesday's on Tuesday and prepared a salad for me at their salad bar. I ate about half of it at home with very little difficulty at all.🙌🏽🙌🏽

I have also been eating scrambled eggs for breakfast every day this week. The first several days I was home in mid-January, I struggled mightily to eat scrambled eggs. That is another great improvement.

With my swallowing improving, that should also translate to my vocal cord operation. The therapist has told me it all works together and as one improves the other improves.

My voice was stronger the last two days during our practice sessions, but it goes very up-and-down at times. I am hoping this is a permanent gain. I will know more in a few days.

Thank you as well, for the warm welcome back to A Word For Wednesday. Many of you went out of your way to comment or send a text with your hearty approval and I appreciate that very much. My Wednesday crowd has never been large in the grand scheme of things but you have been faithful!

A few nice compliments were forwarded to Odie and then to me and I am thankful that the Lord used a few of my words to speak peace or encouragement to someone. There is no way I can work all that out on my own, Thank God for that.

Thank you for being patient with me. I have committed to be as consistent and faithful on Wednesdays as much as I am physically able. I am already excited about next week. I believe the subject will be "Peaches and Frost". 

Thank you for hanging out with us today.

Davy

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Lettuce Move Forward

I have eaten a lot of salad in the last 10+ years. It is not exactly a "health food" salad that some people love and a rabbit would enjoy, but it is salad and it must be better than a cheeseburger or pizza. At least, that is what I tell myself.

I eat so much salad in the course of life, that I get really sick of it and have to back off for two or three weeks. After a short time, I almost crave a good salad with dressing and cheese plus maybe a little ham or bacon bits. 

I ate from the salad bar at Ruby Tuesday’s when we returned from Africa in December and I think that is the last salad that I have had. The swallowing problems from the stroke have caused me to avoid lettuce altogether. 

The therapist has told me that lettuce is often one of the last things that people can consume after having swallowing problems. I have avoided it, knowing it would be a challenge for me.

Each session with the speech therapist Kelly Jo tries to take some kind of food that I have not eaten yet and we try that as part of therapy. Most things have been successful and a few things have been much more difficult. 

The therapist has given me a few foods that I was sure I could not eat from recent experience, but I was able to do it. That gives me more confidence to try new textures and foods that have been difficult to swallow in recent weeks. 

Monday, KJo became extremely adventurous. She drove to the other side of the interstate and picked up a serving of salad from Olive Garden. I love Olive Garden salad, but I thought she was a little touched in the head. 

The therapist thought it would be good to try and so I tried it. Much to our surprise, I was able to eat it without too much problem at all. I needed to be careful, but I am getting used to that. The more dressing, the easier it was to eat and that is OK with me. I love Olive Garden dressing.

That is quite a Mile Marker for me. There are a lot of things I still cannot eat but ultimate on the list is a big Outlaw Ribeye from Longhorn Steakhouse. I think today brings me a little closer.❤️❤️

Thank you for stopping by today. Remember, we will have A Word for Wednesday available tomorrow. The subject will be Trusting Our Lord to Lead, He Maketh  No Mistake.

Davy

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Odie's Pre-Cruise Sunday And Monday

Hey Friends,

I hope this finds you having a good weekend. Can you believe we are more than halfway through February? 

Before I get to the topic of today's post, my Aunt Theresa had a request. We were discussing the blog, and she had something special for me to tell you today. She wanted me to tell the world that I love my AWESOME aunt!

Well, I love my Aunt Theresa to the moon and back! She is one fantastic lady. She has been by my side since my first memories, cheering me on! Theresa has been there to wipe my tears, dream with me, teach me to imagine big things and love life!


I am really so blessed to have her in my life! She always tries to help wherever needed and brings me so much joy! Theresa, is that good enough? Hope this makes you smile!

Odie's Pre-Cruise Sunday And Monday 

Now, back to regular programming. This post is number 2 to recap my vacation last month. Click here to see my travel day to Florida. Today, we will be focused on Sunday and part of Monday leading up to the big Singing At Sea 2024 event. Pictures shared in this post are from mine and Nicole's phones. 

Sunday

Sunday was dedicated to much needed rest and relaxation. We spent the whole day on the property of the Hilton Garden Inn. It was the chill day that we needed to enjoy our vacation to the fullest!

Church was on Mixlr with my church at Dryden Road Pentecostal Church. Bro. Jared Burris preached a message that really spoke to both of us! We had a great conversation,  Bible study and prayer that afternoon that encouraged our hearts.

Good food was also on the menu for the day! We ordered breakfast and dinner from local restaurants through DoorDash. Sunday's brunch was yummy; we ordered coffee and croissants. It was from Foxtail Coffee Co., but we promptly forgot to take any pictures.

Dinner was from Proccolino's Ristorante & Pizzeria. We placed the order at the same time as brunch and scheduled the evening delivery. We anticipated dinner time all day!

Before dinner, we went outside to enjoy some sunshine and see the beautiful hotel grounds





Below is our Sunday Dinner.

Bread


Stuffed Shells


Nicole's pasta dish. She said it was one the best things she had ever eaten.


Desserts, the cannoli for Nicole and chocolate cake for me.
 


Sabrina was the lady at the hotel front desk in the afternoons and evenings. She was extremely helpful and friendly!


Then It was back to the room to prep for cruise day on Monday. Nicole decided to pre-order Monday's breakfast. She chose another local place called 407 Cafe. We were excited to wake up Monday morning. Their frappes were amazing. We will order from them next year. It is already on our radar.




Monday 

It was embarkation day for Singing at Sea 2024. We were up and ready to head to the ship before 9 AM. 9:30 was our scheduled shuttle time.


When two shuttles arrived to pick up the cruise guest from our hotel, neither shuttle was equipped with a lift for me and my scooter. Several other wheelchair users decided to get on the shuttle with the assistance of family members. I could not climb the step so we had to wait for the accessible shuttle to arrive.

Angela was a Carnival Cruise Line employee helping with the shuttles. We were so thankful for her assistance that day. Angela stayed in contact with us while we waited. She assured us the shuttle would arrive for us. We just did not know the timing. A horrible accident caused a shutdown and major traffic backup between the hotel and the cruise port.

Thankfully, we had a good place to wait for the shuttle. The firepit outside the hotel was nice to sit by as we waited.


This was a screenshot of the weather while we waited. This was a chilly day for Orlando. 



Thanks to Angela from Carnival Cruise Lines, Amy Brown from Templeton Tours INC and Mr. Richard, the shuttle driver. With their assistance, we were shipbound by 1:30.


We were thrilled to be headed to board the Carnival Freedom! Although we were many hours behind schedule, we were excited to be going forward with vacation!


Port Canaveral bound! We had the shuttle to ourselves.


First glimpse of the Carnival Freedom, our home for the next five nights.


By 2:30 in the afternoon, we were on the ship. We were some of the final people to board. I was happy to finally be on the boat. 


Here is a look at the tiny cabin we called home during the cruise. Room number 6311 was a fully accessible stateroom. 


It met our needs perfectly. Nicole and I worked together well as roommates! Thank you again to Nicole Estes for being a superb travel companion. We made so many fantastic memories during our vacation! I am still smiling when I remember all of them!


That wraps up our pre-cruise adventures. Come back next week for another Singing At Sea 2024 recap. The real fun is about to begin!

 Singing At Sea PSA. 

Several people have contacted me in the past, interested in the Singing At Sea cruise. I highly recommend this cruise chartered by Templeton Tours! It is my favorite vacation! We are planning to go next year! 

2025 is already booking up fast for the 49th annual Singing At Sea. Next year, it will all take place on the Carnival Freedom again. The dates are January 27-February 1st 2025. 

The ship sails from Port Canaveral, Florida, on Monday. Tuesday is spent at sea. Wednesday is a port day at Amber Cove in the Dominican Republic. Thursday is another port day at Grand Turks. Friday is another sea day sailing back toward Florida. Saturday morning the ship arrives back at Port Canaveral. The bars and casinos are shut down on the ship for the week. You are surrounded by fantastic food, fellowship and great southern gospel music for your time on the ship.

Contact Templeton Tours here for more information. You can put down a deposit to reserve your spot today. The remaining balance is due in November 2024. The southern gospel groups on board get credit for every passenger who signs up with their group as their host. You can choose any group from the list of entertainers for the week. 11th Hour was our host this year. They were great to sail with, and we highly recommend them as a host group.

It will not give you any special perks, but if you sign up for the 2025 cruise, tell Templeton Tour that Andrea Boggs recommended it! 😆

See you next time!
Odie

Thursday, November 23, 2023

So Much To Be Thankful For-Happy Happy Thanksgiving 2023

We are very thankful for so many things in our lives. As individuals and as a family we have been blessed beyond measure. Thank you for being a huge part of our lives. May God bless each of you on Thanksgiving 2023! 

Below you will find a few pictures of our formal Thanksgiving meal earlier in the week at Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, Missouri. 

Speaking of being thankful, as we were preparing to walk into Lambert's we saw a dear friend, Bro. Ray Riggs from West Plains, Missouri and he provided the money for our Thanksgiving Feast! 

He was 170 miles from home and we had been parked next to his home in Junction Hill only a few hours before. We had no idea we would see him that afternoon. Wow! Thank you, friend.

Thank you for reading today and thank you for being our friends.

Davy











Monday, November 13, 2023

The Weekend Dispatch 11/13/23

Wow! What an amazing weekend! I hope you enjoy going along with us. We are going to give you a wide variety of pictures today.

Originally, we were closing revival in Wichita on Thursday to give us an extra day to drive 400 miles to Birch Tree, Missouri. Once the Birch Tree revival was postponed, we kept the extra day built in.

We took our sweet time Friday morning and did not leave until after 1:00 PM. We drove straight south to Crosslight Chapel in Moore, Oklahoma. We are always looking for an excuse to go to Crosslight and Friday was a perfect one. Bro. Mike and Sis. Tonya Switzer were there!




















Saturday morning we vacated Crosslight early and drove to Sand Springs, Oklahoma. We were parked at Landmark Tabernacle by 11:00 AM and we were pulling the Jeep into Bethany Holiness by noon. They were having a surprise 80th birthday for Sis. Joy Cummins and we wanted to be there since we were so close.


















Saturday evening we drove to Vinita, Oklahoma with the Meadow and Millikin families for supper. Bro. Darrell Meadow invited us to Piguet's Prime Time and it was awesome!








The services at Landmark Tabernacle on Sunday were excellent! This was our first time preaching for Pastor Robert Whitley and his folks, although we have known lots of these folks for years. We had a wonderful day!













































That wraps up our weekend. Now, we make our way toward West Plains, Missouri. Thank you for stopping by.

Davy