Fall Day

We drove south in the rain last night. Darkness had come early aided by the thick dark clouds. Thankfully the rain stopped south of Birmingham but the roads were still treacherous. We made it to Opp by 10 and were welcomed by our friends Wes and Deidra Laird. We had to make an early night of it because of an engagement at the Opp Middle School at 8 a.m. where we talked about American Folk Music and its importance. Jilda is a pro at public speaking. She had those kids wrapped around her little finger. We started the show off with "Wayfaring Stranger" which is one of my very favorite traditional spiritual folk song. Jilda then told the children about Steven Foster, Woody Guthrie, Odetta, Bob Dylan, and Pete Seger. We sang some more songs and then closed the show out with Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land". The kids joined in and it was a lot of fun.
We did the same gig at the elementary school at 10 a.m. and after which it was off to Wes' house for lunch. Meals at their house is always an experience. They never stop by and get fast food or call for pizza when we are here. Today was no different we grilled up some chicken breasts for a chichen salad. While the chicken was cooking, Wes started the Jambalaya that we will have Saturday night after the RobinElla show. I can't wait to taste it.
The clouds left out by 10 and the sun was warm. Wes had some business to take care of so Jilda and I took a nap. A vacation day is just not a vacation day without a nap.
After that, Jilda started helping Deidra with last minute decorating for the wine and cheese gathering here for the Arts Council Patrons before the show on Saturday. Their house looks like it came right out of Southern Living. They have pumpkins every where. Jilda and Deidra put glue and glitter on some small pumpkins which made for a really cool feature. I would never have thought of that.
Wes and I went out into the woods to search for turning leaves and berries to finish off the decorations. He has a golf cart so we made our way into the afternoon warmth and fetched foliage. It was a hoot.
Tonight Wes cooked inch and a quarter thick center cut pork chops on the grill and we fixed small bunches of green beans wrapped with a slice of bacon. Again, I would never have thought to do that, but dang it was good.
Lamar and Cathy Morris joined us for dinner after which we sat around the living room playing old and new songs. Lamar is a guitar player extraordinaire who was in Hank Williams Jr's band for over 20 years. He is one of the best guitar player's and singers I've ever known.
It's late and I'm off to bed because tomorrow will be another busy day. Having fun can be hard work :)