HAPPY BIRTHDAY, STEVE!!!!!

Today's a big day at our house. Steve turns.......ok, if you don't know, I'm not gonna tell!!! But suffice it to say he's celebrating "One year closer to retirement" in his own words!!!

For his birthday I took Steve to downtown Charlotte yesterday where we had a LOVELY lunch at a small and elegant restaurant. He opted for the burger (with white linen tablecloths on the table???)... which he said was VERY good. They brought him his condiments (catsup, mustard and mayo) in small individual cups... I had tortellini with blackened chicken, chopped onions, peppers and tomatoes in a cajun cream sauce. I think I had the best dish. It was delicious!!!

After lunch we went to Discovery Place. This is a very cool place with all sorts of interactive exhibits for kids to play on, in and around. There were a number of exhibits that reminded me of the Franklin Institute from my childhood. (I stayed with the sand in the suspended funnel display for a long time!!) There is also a small aquarium, rain forest, and other traveling exhibits on display. The traveling exhibits are an additional fee, over and above admission to the regular exhibits. One of the traveling exhibits was the reason we went down town in the first place.

We saw an exhibit on "A Day in Pompeii". It was riveting. The most impressive part was the very last room in which they displayed plaster casts of people and animals that were preserved in the ash from the volcano. The display was very well done and presented in a timeline fashion. It showed what people may have been doing at the time of the eruption and what the city and buildings looked like just before that fateful moment. As I said, it was very impressive...

OK, now I'm ready to meet Chris's challenge. I'm not currently reading a book. I can give you all sorts of reasons (excuses) for this, but I decided to grab the last book I read, so here goes:

Page 56, fifth sentence (plus):

She blinked. "Not me, I'm as straight as a new nail that never met a hammer."

"Why does that sound to me like there was a hammer, maybe a lot of hammers, but you didn't bend?"

"I don't know. I don't know why it sounds that way to you. Maybe you're always inferring hidden meaning when none is implied."

"I'm just a bricklayer."

"Most car mechanics I know - they think deeper than any college professor I've ever met. They have to. They live in the real world. A lot of masons must be the same."

"There's a reason we call ourselves stoneheads."

She smiled. "Nice try."

The book is called "The Good Guy" by Dean Koontz. I actually LOVE Dean Koontz and this one did NOT disappoint me. This stone mason really was a good guy!!

Tomorrow is the start of "The Big Trip". I'll be leaving Charlotte in the morning and arrive in Abilene in the afternoon, at which time I will hop in the awaiting Acadia and we will immediately begin the journey back to Charlotte. We expect to be on the road for about three days, get settled in for a day and a half and then get back in the car for the trip to "THE GREAT TOWHEY CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA". (I just love saying that!!!)

I'm really looking forward to having Katie and Maddy with us for such a long stay. I'm sure it will take Dixie a few days before she feels the same way about Nash!! LOL.....no worries!!!

Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for a safe and uneventful trip. We'll spend the first night at the Air Force Base in Little Rock, the second night at Chris and April's house and finally, the third night here in Lancaster. We'll let everyone know when we get here safely.

See you all next weekend at "THE GREAT TOWHEY CHRISTMAS EXTRAVAGANZA". (I just love saying that!!!)

Love ya!!