Touring an Aircraft Carrier and A Submarine

My brother and sis-in-law came for a visit from MI a couple of weeks ago. Being that my brother is an ex-Navy man, all he wanted to do was go to Charleston and go aboard the USS Yorktown. It was the best thing we could have done for him. He was like a kid in a candy shop! lol

Hubby is ex-Army, so my brother was showing him every inch of the ship....literally! It took us half the day to get through part of it. lol

Here it is in all it's glory! The USS Yorktown We were getting ready to cross the bridge to board. WARNING: There are a lot of pictures!

It's hard to believe so many planes take off and land on a carrier.

Even harder to realize how are military sleep in all kinds of conditions. They release the chains to lower their "beds" for the night.

The hospital had cots that were more "plush". lol

The armory.

Look at the size of those bullets.

I've never climbed so many narrow stairways in my life!

The many planes on one of the decks.

This is the catapault that propells the planes off the ship at over 100 miles per hour.

This is the hook that catches the plane to slow it down and stop it on the upper deck when it comes in for a landing.

Hubby sitting on a Gunner.

It was a perfect day, weather wise, and the scenery was beautiful!
We ate lunch on board in the officer's lounge.   Not the big brass, though.

Another steep staircase. I told you I was climbing them of day. lol

I thought we were leaving the pier and the next thing I knew the guys were taking aboard this submarine......it's a whole different ballgame from the carrier!!

Can you see my apprehension????

Officer's dining quarters on the Sub.

Servicemen's dining quarters. Very small!

If you thought the sleeping quarters were bad on the carrier....look at this! The men slept with the torpedos on the same wall. Officer's sleeping quarters coming up...

Talk about tight quarters....Yikes!

The bathroom facilities were barely better than an airplane and those poor sailors they lived on the sub for months at a time.

This officer has been on many tours aboard this very Sub.

Again, I am reminded of all our great military personnel that are serving in different ways to keep us safe! You have and deserve our admiration and deepest thanks!!

Well we're heading off the bridge after a full day in the life of a sailor.

If you still with me, thanks for hanging in there! I appreciate each of your visits.

Till next time!

Lt. Colonel Oliver North and A Wedding

It's been a full week already! Time goes so fast, doesn't it?
Hubby and I went to a banquet last night to support a Free Medical Center in our area.
It always has GREAT food, cute decorations and VERY interesting speakers.

Taylors Medical Center provides FREE medical care to those without insurance and gives emotional & spiritual help as well.
Notice their logo. The T is a cross, Y is a stethoscope and the R had an Rx on it.

The table had a lantern, which is so popular now, tied with a burlap bow. They used brown and gold napkins and leaves sprinkled on the table. Our speaker was Lt. Colonel Oliver North. It was a honor to meet and speak with him. He is a highly decorated veteran with a Silver Star, Bronze Star for Valor and two (2) Purple Hearts for wounds in combat.

We enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken, potatoes and veggies. An assortment of desserts followed.

We enjoyed a wonderful speech by the Colonel. He talked about his life, family, & his relationship with Jesus Christ. He then showed us footage of many brave soliders that are fighting in combat to keep us free here on the homeland.

As he said, we live in one of the few countries where we go to the tap and have clean drinking water, flip a switch and have instant light, travel from state to state if we choose, have the privilege to vote, women can drive (did you know there are countries where they can't), have amazing grocery stores with all kinds of fresh foods in them and the list goes on & on.

We are so blessed to live in America!

It was a great night! On a lighter note:

We had an outdoor wedding to go to this week. It was a little unusual, as you will see.

It was in a very wooded setting for one.....

See the groomsmen are walking from a path in the woods to the altar.......

One of which is the groom's dog! lol He wore the same tie as the others!

The bride coming down from the house.

The groom seeing her for the first time. They did their pics after for that very reason. His look is priceless!

I tried to get a close up of the goomsmen's boutonniere. It has two cotton plants along with the flower. We are, after all, in the deep south where it grows.

The dog was so disinterested by now. lol

That's what's been happening here. How's your week been going? Would love to hear about it!

Fall Family Room

I'm sharing the Fall decorations in our family room today. It's hard to get good pics because of the light streaming in the windows.

We love the big pumpkins we got a few years ago from a drug store in the small town of Boone, NC. ( Some of you may remember that story.)

The grandkids love the big ottoman to roll around on or watch their TV shows.

I changed one thing on the mantle after I took some of these pics. Can you spot it?

Hobby Lobby had the monogramed pumpkins at 50% off a week or so ago. I grabbed one real quick!

The pics below were taken before I switched the clock for the pumpkin!

I've had my decorations up for a couple of weeks, it's just been hard finding the time to post. I know you all know what that's like. lol

The gallery wall on the right and walkway.

Sofa table with pumpkins and leaves.

I'm linking to Kim @ Savvy Southern Style for Wow us Wednesday!

I hope you're having a great week!

Pumpkin Tree

After seeing this in a Florist shop, I took an old small Christmas tree and turned it into a pumpkin tree. Ceekay was visiting from AZ and we were shopping and saw this idea! We left there and bought the ribbon, picks, etc. to make our own. We both already had trees. The shop priced theirs at $300, if you can believe it. That wasn't happening! lol I had the ribbon already and found picks for half off so my cost was under $18.oo. Huge difference!!
I put mine up in the hallway before entering our bedroom.

You can use almost anything for a topper. I chose cattails for the Fall look.

You can add Fall flowers, picks, lights, pumpkins, etc. (I used white lights instead of orange so it would be ready to switch out the picks to Christmas ones.

Daytime shot. Added a brown cloth skirt and pumpkins at the base. Super easy!

Let me know if any of you make one. Would love to see your pictures!

I'm joining Kristen @ Share Your Creations Party #4 and Liz @Savvy Seasons by Liz for Autumn Arrives Party!

Fall Table

I was in the mood to make broccolli soup the other night, as the temperatures took quite a drop!
I got out the pumpkin dishes and large pumpkin cookie jar that I now use as a soup tureen. lol
Oops, just notice one of the light bulbs is out! You didn't notice, did you????

These dishes are from Walmart (Better Homes & Gardens). They are so cute and are dishwasher and micro. safe.

Black chargers, napkins and place mats really accentuate the pumpkin color.

The large pumpkin doubles as a centerpiece!

The pumpkin name card holders are from Pier One.

The salt & pepper shakers are from Steinmart. (Sorry the pic is blurry) The little acorns on the table runner are from Michael's.

 I hope your week is off to a great start!  Thanks for stopping by!  Till next time!

I'm joining Marty @A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday & Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday!