As Monday, October 26, was the designated day to pull the houseboats out of the water, Sunday the 25th was spent at the boat trying to get everything stowed away for the move...so, little got done for the Getaway that day. Now we are at day 4 and counting down till the Getaway and still there were Welcome Bags to complete, dinner table favors to do, booklets to finish compiling and have printed and bound, and the list went on. Plus I also had two appointments on Monday that took me away from concentrating on the weekend tasks. Luckily, cousins Joanne and Mayme were coming in a day early and would be here to help with some of the cooking for the Friday evening carry-in supper. And as has been the case the whole month, the rains were falling again--flash floods were predicted. When Joanne and Mayme arrived about noon on Thursday, we immediately got down to cooking. We did ham salad, split pea soup, chicken tortilla soup, and two apple pies. It was fun having my cousins here and spending the afternoon cooking up a storm together in the kitchen.
On Friday morning, we got up to what else...more rain! Fred took Sophie to the sitters and then he, Mayme and Joanne went to get the breakfast supplies for the weekend. By about 10 a.m. we were ready to leave for Kentucky, about a 45 minute drive. On the way there it poured...so hard at times you could hardly see. The four of us met Jim and Joe Hartman at the Whaler's Catch in Paducah and had lunch together before driving on to the Lake and the Village Green Inn. When we arrived, cousins Darrel and Randi were already there napping and cousin Mary Ann was there to open the door and greet us. Thus began another fun-filled weekend with cousins!
Immediately we started unpacking the crockpots and getting things brewing for the evening carry-in supper. Randi's Chili was already warming up in her crockpot and we added a crock-pot of Split Pea Soup and one of Chicken Tortilla Soup. Jim brought the pulled pork for sandwiches and we got that cook'n too. We got the food tables set up and as more cousins arrived, more delicious dishes were added.
By dinner time, our family group included Randi and Darrel Moore, Ken and Dee Moore, Mary Ann Sturm Craig, Jim Hartman, Sharon Ackerman, Hazel Ackerman, Joe Hartman, Mayme Bialeschki Satterthwaite, Joanne Bialeschki Klitzing, Shirley (Moore) and Noel Biery, Fred Moehle and Nancy Hartman, and Tom Hartman. Family mascots Jelly Bean and Ms. Lillie also joined us.
After we ate, Fred and I had a couple of activities for the gang. The first was a contest to see which team could design the best costume from a shopping bag full of various materials. We had three teams of four and they had 20 minutes to make a costume for one of their team members who they chose to be the model. Team One members were Shirley Biery, Darrel Moore, Hazel Ackerman (model), and Mary Ann Craig. Team Two members were Joe Hartman, Mayme Satterthwaite, Dee Moore and Jim Hartman (model) and Team Three members were Ken Moore, Noel Biery, Randi Moore and Joanne Klitzing (model). Each team was judged on: Best Runway Presentation, Most Original, Best use of materials, Best Design, and Most Pitiful. Awards went to Team One for Best Design and Best Runway Presentation. Team Two won Best use of Materials and Most Original Design. Team Three was declared Most Pitiful.
The second contest was to determine the more dominant 'litter mate' of the Ray Moore siblings, Darrel and Shirley. The 'alpha award' was to be given to the one who could unwind a roll of toilet paper the fastest. With spouses, Noel and Randi holding the stick with the toilet paper rolls, Darrel and Shirley attacked their rolls with avenge. And by a narrow margin, the speedy hands of Shirley prevailed and she was declared the winner!!!! (And that's a true story).
Following the games, a short Power Point picture show titled, 'What I have Learned by Attending the Cousins' Getaway' was shown followed by pictures of Pete Sturm's current sailing trip of which word had just been received that he had just reached his destination of Bermuda the previous day.
The fun thing about the Getaway is that you never know what unexpected surprise the cousins might come up with. It is like grade school 'Show and Tell.' One year it was a collection of clothing labels that referenced family member names, another year after Hurricane Katrina it was MRE's (Military Meals Ready to Eat), and this year Noel and Shirley Biery brought their Spine Aligner Back Board to share with the group. Shirley read about this gadget in an airline catalog and ordered one. She and Noel use it everyday to keep their back and neck lined up. Over the weekend, I think everyone in the group tried it out, including the housekeeper. To use it, you have to get down on the floor and lay on the board until you get aligned...then you roll off and lay still for a couple minutes before getting back on your feet. At our ages, getting down on the floor was the first major challenge and then getting back up was another matter. But after everyone gave it a try they all seemed to agree, it did work.
Two very interesting family quilts were also brought to the Getaway for 'Show and Tell.' Mayme brought her friendship quilt made of blocks that friends and family had pieced or embroidered. It was a very pretty quilt and several of us had contributed blocks of our handy work. It was interesting to how all the blocks fit together. The other quilt was an antique block quilt made by Grandma Moore that had been given to Aunt Buelah and Uncle Marsh many years ago. Again, it contained blocks that had been made by family and friends years ago. One of the blocks had been made by my mother, Betty Moore Hartman, and her name was embroidered in the block. This quilt was a wonderful remembrance of the people we so love and fondly remember.
An unusual thing happened on Friday evening. Because everyone had driven miles through pouring rain to get to Kentucky Lake, they were exhausted from their trips and were ready to turn in early. So by 10:30 p.m. everyone at retired to their rooms for their night...except me, I was too wound up to sleep and sat up by myself for awhile taking in the evening. How great it is to be gathered with family.
On Saturday, the sun did shine. Jim and Joe decided to play golf and with the golf course right across the street from the Village Green, they were off and running early. Most of the rest of us decided to kick back and relaxd and visit the day away. We had 6 p.m. dinner reservations at the Lodge and of course had our annual group picture taken in the Lodge's main lobby. After dinner, we returned to the Village Inn for a short business meeting at which I passed our the 'Moore Ways of Life' booklet I had compiled from all the input on Moore family home remedies, wives' tales, and superstitutions. After the meeting, the Great Moore Auction was held, with Randi Moore serving as auctioneer. A great variety of items were auctioned, many hand made works of the cousins. The rest of the evening was spent visiting and watching the World Series game between the Phillies and the Yankees.
The sun again greeted us on Sunday morning as people got up, got packed, and said good bye. As always, the time went too quickly.
And to wind up October, it was announced on the evening weather report that 9 1/4 inches of rain fell in our area during October, the wettest on record.
