Alice and the Girls Spend Saturday Together

Alice spent the afternoon with the girls on Saturday!

They started at Stevi B's pizza, where the speciality is a baked potato pizza. Sounds nasty, but it is yummy! After they ate, they got a baked potato pizza to go for Shorti and Rick.

Then the girls took Alice to the Hobby Lobby!

The Fall artificial flowers were 90% off, which made them about 10 cents a bunch. Alice and the girls picked out some beautiful flowers to take to the cemetary. The funny thing is that the flowers had just gone on sale when they got there...

but when the girls went back later that night, there was only a pile of petals!

Alice looked at decorations...

... and ornaments.

And played a little bit, too.

After Hobby Lobby, the three girls went to Wal-Mart. This is Beth and Alice at the Wal-Mart tree.

Wal-Mart on a Saturday afternoon wore everyone out! That was the last stop of the day!

Afterwards, they all went home and put together a puzzle with Rick, while Shorti watched from the sofa. FYI, Shorti is home and feeling better, but she is still resting and can't yet drive or go back to work.

Beth and Mary Pat then went to buy a new roaster pan for Alice to coook the turkey for Thanksgiving! Everyone is meeting at a big house on Lake Norman for Thanksgiving - it should be lots of fun and produce lots of great Blog material.

Stories Around the Caregiving House

While we are sorry that Shorti had shoulder surgery and is in pain, we "hens" are having some fun spending some time together. (I do have a picture of Shorti recouping, but I'm smart enough not to post it and to hold all details close, right now, anyway!)

The best story told round ailing Shorti was the snakebite her sister, Pat, got when she was a child. We - the girls - had heard this story secondhand from Shorti for years, but Pat got to tell it this time. Oh, and we also got to see the snakebite scars, but I was too unsettled to get a picture for the Blog, darn it!

So here's the story: They were playing coed softball when Pat ran after a long drive into the wood. She felt something sting her, so she rode her bike three blocks home.

Alice had gone out, and Grandpa was in the tub, but he got out quickly when Pat came home with the sting/bite. He took her to the fire station, but no one knew what it was, so he went to the hospital, where the doctor determined it was the bite of a poisonous snake. He said that of they'd been just a little longer, Pat wouldn't have made it.

After Pat was nursed back to health, Grandpa and two other men set out to the park to find the snake. They found a water moccasin and killed it, assuming it was the one that bit Pat. I thought that was so very Southern, to go hunt and kill what hurt you. Hopefully it WAS the right snake, or that snake was wondering what in the world he'd done to extract that kind of beating!

Alice's Saturday

Alice had a full day on Saturday! The girls decided she needed a break from caregiving for Shorti, so they took her out and about. Beth, aka Little Alice, and Alice preparing to leave the house.


For those of you who've commented that you never see Alice smile - look at this one! It was right before we set out for the day!

The first stop was the "Alternative Gift Fair" at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church. It was an opportunity to buy "non-gift" items for Christmas, like donations to local service organizations in someone's honor.

Alice bought a flock of chicks from Heifer International.

Alice visited a cat from a local animal shelter as Beth bought a "non-gift" from All 4 Paws, an animal charity led by a ninth grader.

We also bought some goodies from a mini-bazaar they had, stuff like Russian Tea, baked goods, etc.


Afterwards, we stopped at Swiftwater Beads so Mary Pat could get some earring supplies, and on the way home, stopped to see Ernest "Chicken Man" Lee, a local artist who sells his work on the street corner. Alice was a little hestitant to get out of the car for this stop, but the girls had a ball talking to Ernest Lee, who is truly a one-of-a-kind character. The girls have several of his pieces in their house and offices.

When we got home, Beth stayed with Mom, s0 Alice and her daughter, Pat, and Mary Pat could go to the Fort Jackson Commissary. It was like a Kroger, except the prices were lower. Alice lost Pat and Mary Pat several times, but she always knew where she was!

Alice has been a big help with Shorti's recovery. Shorti is doing well, thanks to the meds, but isn't the world's best patient. Tomorrow she starts physical therapy, which may be rough, and she sees the doctor on Tuesday.

Alice the Nurse

Alice is working hard this week to take care of her daughter, Shorti, who had rotator cuff surgery yesterday! With the help of her other daughter, Pat, and the girls, Shorti is in great hands. Please keep Shorti and Alice in your thoughts and prayers!

Alice's Grandson Receives Honor

Riverside principal gets system-wide honor
From The Durham News

James Key of Riverside High School has been recognized as Durham Public Schools' Principal of the Year. Key will now represent Durham Public Schools in the 2008 North Carolina Wachovia Principal of the Year competition.

Key was chosen by a committee of former principals of the year and DPS administrators. The next stage of the competition is regional, and then the six regional winners will advance to the final level. One principal will be chosen from these regions as the winner of the 2008 North Carolina Wachovia Principal of the Year award.

Key has led Riverside since 2004. Prior to this, he served as principal at Carrington Middle School.

Key received both his undergraduate degree and a master's degree in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. No stranger to recognition, Key was named the 2nd Best Principal in the Triangle by The Independent Weekly in 2008 and was recognized as Teacher of the Year at both Riverside High and Chewning Middle School. Key also taught social studies at middle- and high-school levels. In addition to his background in education, Key was an American Defense Leadership Award and Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army in 1989 and served for 10 years in the U.S. Army Reserves.

"Jim Key is a leader among leaders and very deserving of this great honor," said schools Superintendent Carl Harris. "... Jim fosters the kind of spirit that is critical to a school's success. We are confident that he will represent DPS well in regional and state competition."

Alice and Five Guys

The Girls, Shorti, Rick and Alice enjoyed lunch at Five Guys today. Five Guys is known for their burgers and fries, but also have the best hot dogs.

Alice was surprised just how good that first bite was!

Alice, don't let that dog get loose!

After that close encounter, Alice needed a napkin!

Beth, aka "Little Alice," helped Alice get a hold of that dog!

Alice and the Kids

On Saturday, Alice and the Baldaufs had company: Will and Frances Anne! Their mom was out of town, and their dad had to work the football game, so they hung out on Bevery Drive! Will enjoyed an afternoon on TV; Alice tucked him in halfway through the day.

Frances Anne enjoyed some computer time.

Alice, Will and Frances Anne also did a puzzle, but no one took pictures! The girls came over later for pizza and to celebrate Frances Anne's birthday, but the paparazzi wasn't present.

Alice and the Preacher

Alice's preacher from Cameron Baptist Church, Preacher Wayne, and his wife visited Alice this week!

Alice took them to her new favorite restaurant, Lizard's Thicket.

She had also prepared her child's shoebox for Samaritan's Purse and gave it to Preacher Wayne to take back to Cameron Baptist Church.

Alice Celebrates Halloween

There weren't too many trick-or-treaters on Halloween, but this one was the craziest - neighbor Johnny.

Scarier with or without the mask? Just kidding, Johnny!

Since there was some candy leftover, Alice and the girls enjoyed it! Mary Pat and Rick liked the Butterfingers; Alice and Beth the Hershey's bars.

Not to ignore the granddogs, Alice went to Three Dog Bakery and bought the dogs Halloween cookies! She loved the Three Dog Bakery and said that the treats looked good enough to eat. The folks at Three Dog loved Alice, too; on Election Day, they were still talking about how much they enjoyed her visit!

Alice and the Gals

Alice recently had a visit from Debbie, who lives in Alice's house, and Mary, an longtime friend from Vass. Apparently, Shorti was holding the camera a little crooked that day, but we are happy she took pictures! Unfortunately, we didn't get a lot of 411 on the visit, but I did hear that Debbie and Mary brought collards, which thankfully Alice didn't cook while the girls were there.

Alice Has a Busy Blog Editor

Apologies, again, for the lack of content the last week or so! Alice hasn't fallen of the face of the Earth - her Blog editor is just stretched thin.

Alice has had several visitors and had some fun new experiences in Columbia, and we have pictures to prove it! Check in Monday for plenty of new Blog material.