Sweet Onion Country
Yes, indeed, we are finally able to connect long enough to post a blog. And what, you're asking, is the reason for our prolonged absence? Did we stop caring about our new audience? Have we rejected modern appliances like running water and blogging in favor of a new monklike spirituality? No, you'll be surprised to find that the answer is none of the above - it's merely as simple as the fact that we weren't connected!
So, since we've been up to quite a bit of stuff since last we blogged, let's get on with it:
First of all in the list of "Interesting Things in the Lives of J & B" since a couple of weeks ago, we got to enjoy a visit from B's brother Tim and his wife Rebecca and child Meredith. Among other things, we ate a lot of good food, got our pictures taken, um, and ate some more food. Yummy. It was great to see them one last time before we head overseas!
In other exciting news, Steven had his first taste of real food. He may not have enjoyed it all that much at first, but our goal is to have him well on his way to weaning before we leave. Rumor has it that if he takes after his mom's side of the family, he won't dislike food for long! (Note: this is not a fat joke in any way, shape, or form. It is merely a commentary on an appropriate enjoyment of good food shared by B's family.)
Most of our time since last posting, however, was spent in Vidalia, GA. Yes, that Vidalia - home of the tasty sweet onions. A family group in that area took us in for a conference that would prove to be a great time for all. Here I've posted a picture of one of the tables at the ladies' meeting, where they gathered for small morsels of various salads. The men, on the other hand, were across the street eating all the fried fish and hush puppies we could eat off of styrofoam plates. I'll let you decide who got the better end of that deal.
One of the nicest things the folks there did for us was give us all a "Christmas in March" event, in which they gave us a bunch of stuff we needed/wanted. Here they're handing out the gifts to all the gathered workers.
Incidentally, we learned while there how to pronounce the name of the town (and the onion). It's not "vih-DAHL-yuh," like I had always thought. It's pronouced "vai-DAY-ya" ("vai" like as in "vine"), with NO L. If you pronouce the "L," people will look at you as if to say "y'all ain't from around here." Just a tip, in case you ever find yourself there, or discussing their tasty sweet onions in any context.
While there, we stayed with a great family, the Dixons, who practically adopted Steven as their own. It was hard to leave them this week, as we really did enjoy our time there in their home so thoroughly. Here Mrs. D plays with our hero.
We also got a chance to visit a local garden, complete with a replica tomb. It was quite an interesting place - very peaceful.
The family group has a small school attached to it, and one day we were privileged to be able to present our future work to the group. Here J gives his famous "Look at all my brownies that I'm not going to share with the starving girl" speech, the object being to compare our need to share important things with people who don't have access to them. I don't know how well received I was, but they did enjoy the brownies!
Anyway, we've also been up to a few other things, but I'll leave B to post sometime in the next week or so with her adventures to Savannah (Hint: they went to a famous restaurant and met someone you might have heard of there!) The ladies were taken there while I dominated on the golf course. Actually, I'm one of the world's worst golfers, but we had a great time. Thanks to all of our new friends from Vidalia for a great week!
This week's Blog Debate™:
Napoleon Dynamite or Search for the Holy Grail - which has the better one-liners?
