We traveled to north Georgia Monday through Friday to visit my aunt and uncle, grandfather, and cousins (all on my Mom’s side). My parents met us there. We enjoyed catching up, meeting my cousin’s son Maddox for the first time, and introducing Charlie to them for the first time.

Some highlights:

• Maddox and Charlie playing together on the swingset
• Visiting the Edge of the World Trail and rapids on Amicalola Creek.
• My cousin’s husband taking the two boys on rides in an excavator and loader. They even got to control the boom and bucket. It made Charlie’s week.
• Charlie getting to feed a horse.
• Stromboli night, a longstanding tradition at Higgins family get-togethers.
  • When I was young I was thrilled at being able to pick what I wanted in mine and having the first letter of my name marked on top with dough.
• Learning about tenkara-style fishing from my uncle, which includes a rod very similar to a Western fly rod, but without a reel or floating line and mostly collapsable. The line is fixed length. Typically uses barbless hooks. I am very intrigued. I picked up a couple books to read on it and started researching starter rods.
• My uncle also makes his own nets out of branches. I love the look of them.
• There are armadillos in north Georgia!
• Driving through Atlanta is nostalgic for Amanda and me. We had an apartment downtown for a summer the years before we got married. It was our first time living together and a big early taste of independence.
• We visited the Morrisons on the way there on Monday. It was great to see them! Charlie did not want to be in the photo.
• I picked and tasted some wild muscadine grapes. Very thick skins.
• Sitting on the porch, listening to the Barred owls, and watching a storm roll in.
• Having some great sausages from Frankfurt in
• Watching my grandfather, who can’t hear very well or move quickly, light up when Charlie or Maddox interacted with him.
• Checking out a couple styles of camp chairs my uncle made and getting measurements so I can make my own.
• Catching glimpses of Amanda and my parents each (at different times) reading to the two boys together.
• Charlie did great on the plane! He also liked the Plane Train at ATL. We sat in the front so he could see the tunnel.
• Learning some of the Cherokee treasure lore in the region. Check out Cry of the Eagle by Forest Wade.

---

After we got back home:

Friday night we grilled some burgers and I whipped up a quick aioli for them. Flying in and out of White Plains instead of LaGuardia or JFK made the difference of being able to cook at home instead of getting takeout.

Our nasturtiums look great!

My hot peppers are finally producing after a very slow start.

Saturday was mostly a “stay at home and put our life back together” day. I mowed the grass, Amanda and Charlie made mini blueberry muffins together, we did laundry and picked up around the house, then we were able to spend some extra time in the afternoon making a meal from scratch that we don’t typically have time for: Chicken and rice with homemade ginger scallion sauce, and scallion pancakes on the side. (Yeah, we had a lot of scallions to use 🙂 )

Charlie also helped me waterproof the Little Free Library by caulking the inside edges and adding weather stripping inside the door. I showed him how the caulk gun works and we applied it together.

Sunday Charlie and I went out rowing early with Jon Richer. Charlie did great out in Peekskill Bay, even as the wind picked up and it got choppy. He is also starting to figure out how to help me navigate: I point out where we want to go, and tells me when I’m not going the right way and points toward the place I pointed out. He got a thrill out of going under a train trestle.

Turns out Jon is interested in tenkara too, so we’ll probably get out on some streams in the spring.

Midday we went to a birthday party at Fishkill Farms and picked apples.

I’m mentioning mostly highlights here, but it is worth mentioning that it was kind of a tough weekend. For large parts of both Saturday and Sunday Charlie was inconsolable. He must be going through some developmental changes right now and is having a hard time. It is age appropriate and makes sense, but that knowledge doesn’t make it any easier. We are trying our best to be patient and supportive, but it is very grating. We all ended the weekend emotionally exhausted.

Here is to an easier next week! 🤞