Andrew has extended family in Gustine, CA.
What? You’ve never heard of Gustine? That is so strange considering it’s a town with less than 5,000 people, only one (1!!) fast-food joint and the shortest ‘Main Street’ I may have ever seen.
The weekend after Thanksgiving I went up there with Julie … to see Sarah sing at their church and just hang out with family….
Cooking – I learned how to make homemade turkey enchiladas, a neighbor gave us a big bowl of homemade vegetable soup, and Aunt Debbie made potato soup.
Knitting and crocheting – not me, though. My yarn is in storage somewhere.
Watching movies – Elf. And then some Hallmark movie called ‘A Dog Named Christmas’ (hahahaha!). And Uncle Dave got a new sound system, so all the rest of the time we were subjected to really (really really) loud war sounds as he watched various movies on surround sound.
Taz showing off – Sarah has taught this dog all kinds of tricks. Play dead. Stay. Roll over. ‘Leave it’ (in which Taz both stays put and willfully ignores whatever Sarah is balancing on the dog’s face, body, etc). Singing.
True story. This dog will sing (read: howl pretty much on one note) when Sarah sits down at the piano.
I think she said ‘Hey Jude’ is Taz’s favorite song.
Oh yea, and not so much a trick. But for whatever reason, Taz really loves the smell of shampoo. Loves loves. Wants to role her whole body in it.
So when Sarah lays down to Taz’s level, she gets basically smothered …. it’s pretty hilarious!
Newly restored Mustang - Sarah’s dad restored this gorgeous (1971, I think?) Mustang for her. She and I stopped by the grocery store (mostly so I could check out the car).
And then back home again for work.
Now, I know some of you grew up in a small town like this.
What did you all do for entertainment?
Every small town has these real cool old pavilions that have these amazing dances every Friday and Saturday night with live rock bands and some pavilions had polka bands for the older generation. We always went to everyones wedding dance whether you knew them or not… just to dance and have fun. Yes, we danced a lot.
In the fall, ‘friday night lights’ football games. No one missed the weekly game.
In the winter, basketball games, band & chorus concerts.
And in the summer, fast-pitch ball games every single night in every ball park.
That is just some of what we did in small town America.
They are a fun family to visit and hang out with. I’m glad you went with me. Don’t forget the Rick Steves on the drive up and back. I am now a fan. Fun Times!
We spent most of our time outside playing at the beach, in the woods, at the school, parks, or whatever little corner we could find.