It was so great to spend some time with them this trip. And I’ve got to say right off the bat… I am sooooo impressed with Tammy’s guest room! Wow! She’s worked so hard to make it nice and neat and pretty and homey and comfortable… She’s getting it decorated little by little and she was sure to have the dresser drawers and closet empty so we could really “move in” while we were there. She even had a little “guest basket” thing made up (a cute little tin bag actually--which I FORGOT and left in your bathroom, Tammy!) with little containers of shampoo and conditioner and toothpaste and brushes and q-tips… Wow! She’s become so very hospitable!!! She’s always been that way at heart, but now that I’ve stayed with her I can testify that she’s a follower-througher. A doer of the work, and not a hearer only. :-)

We were able to play I Buy, Pictionary, and Balderdash while we were there, one time each, so that was fun. We didn’t have a whole lot of time for such things because of the tight schedule, but we were sure to work them in. :-) We also watched a movie we’d been wanting to see for a while. It was great!

On Saturday Sam delivers papers to all of the businesses around town (don’t most editors double as the paper boy?! Ha!), and Tammy had to run the regular route on the southwest side of town. The kids helped her fold and band all of the papers, then I drove the van all over that side of town while Tammy and the kids took turns chucking them out the windows. It was fun! Reminded me of the mail route I used to carry. I loved that job! Stuff like that is fun.

That afternoon we zoomed down to Odessa so we could go to Johnny Carino’s, for old times’ sake. :-) I broke my own record and had four Italian sodas! I wouldn’t have been so greedy except that there is no place in Albuquerque (that I’ve discovered anyway) to get a good Italian soda without paying a fortune—for just a little tiny one. So I haven't had one in months. And they give free refills at Carino’s. :-) I started with cherry cream, then raspberry cream (oooooh, so good!), blackberry cream, and finally orange cream—although I couldn’t finish the last one. I ate very little chicken parmesan (imagine!), but I sure enjoyed the sodas and bread and salad! :-) And I enjoyed the waitress trying to figure Brother Sam out, as they all do. He’s such a nerd! Ha!