A Week of Fun

Martha Lynn Rushmore

On Saturday, October 30^th, my sister Denise Conley and my niece Shalyn Conley came to visit. Shalyn left very quickly to go to Tampa and visit a friend.

Denise and I had many good talks, laughs and a few tears. We tried to solve all the world problems, but unfortunately no one would listen to us. We may have had some good ideas, but I am sure not enough for this world to get totally better. Well, maybe we did. We said, “If everyone would go to the Bible and obey it, our problems would be solved.” There would be no more lying, no more backbiting and no more jealously; every political leader would do his or her best to make our world a better place to live.

Since we do not have Sunday evening services because of covid, we passed out candy to trick or treaters in our neighborhood. We had pizza afterwards with our good neighbors across the street. Lots of laughs.

Shalyn came back on Monday, and then, we had places to go and much to do. We went shopping, ate out and shopped some more. Shalyn had two specific places she wanted to go. One was the Renaissance Room. This store is full of second-hand good things from nick knacks to furniture. I was so good for a change; I did not buy anything. Now, I saw a lot of things I liked, but I controlled my urges.

Shalyn also wanted to go to the restaurant in Ocklawaha – Gator Joe’s. This restaurant has some of the best gator and fish around the area. It is on a lake that has a beach. Seaplanes, boats, airboats and jet skies come in and beach themselves on one side of the restaurant and wharf, and there is a place to swim on the other side of the building. You can sit outside on a dock built out over the water. Shalyn really enjoyed the restaurant and bought herself a Gator Joe’s hoodie.

The girls talked about leaving on Wednesday, but they did not want to start traveling again. So, they stayed and helped me dust and rearrange our built-in living room shelves. It was a lot of work, but we had a good time with lots of laughs. I really appreciated all their help. These shelves are loaded with items we brought back from overseas, some old antiques and some things not so old. We lined each shelf with a shawl that we brought back from India, Myanmar and Guyana. We were all happy with our accomplishment.

On our down time, we relaxed on the lanai. We three ladies had a great time. I did not want them to go home, but that was not an option. On Thursday morning about 7:00 a.m., they set out for Denise’s home in Marietta, Ohio. Then, Shalyn headed to her home in Belpre, Ohio. I love my sister and niece. I look forward to their visit every year.