Happy New Year!

It's 2024, and I'm so happy to be here! A year ago, we were anticipating a surgery that we knew would change our lives. We could never have dreamed what 2023 would throw at us, but we weathered it all. The final day of the year was our 30th anniversary, and you can bet it was a special meaningful day to both of us.

At the end of each year, I add a charm to my Pandora bracelet, something to represent that year's most significant event in my life. What would it be for 2023? I thought for weeks about this...a pink ribbon charm perhaps to represent my fight against breast cancer or a baby charm perhaps to represent my sweet grandbaby. I perused the Pandora site several times but couldn't decide, and I ended up not ordering anything. Well, my sweet hubby, unbeknownst to me, did his own perusing of the site. He couldn't decide either until he came across this particular charm, and he said he knew immediately it was the one. He ordered it, along with a new bracelet because mine was full.

It's a love letter charm, and it's so perfect! This year has been me and him all the way--the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful. I wrote him a letter to be read while I was in surgery January 9th-a love letter. And his care of me this year has been his love letter in action to me. Yes, I cried when I saw the charm he picked.

To celebrate our anniversary, we loaded up the car and took a little trip.

And the pups came with us!

We went to a little cabin by a river, and that was home for three days.

We were only about 35 miles from home, but we might as well have been half a world away. The town is tiny, a place called Juliette, Georgia. When I tell you it was the perfect getaway, I am not exaggerating.

Jamie cooked for me on the cookstove he brought.

We took walks with the pups, lots of walks with the pups.

We walked over to town and did some shopping in the second hand stores.

The town, btw, is cute as a button.

We had lunch one day here at The WhistleStop Cafe. If you've seen the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, you've seen The WhistleStop Cafe. It was filmed here.

I'm a Southern girl, and I know Southern cooking. Let me tell you, this was, hands down, THE finest Southern cooking I've ever had. We waited an hour to get in, and it wasn't even what they consider a busy day. Our waitress, Brittany, told us people come from all over and wait 3 and 4 hours to get in. And they do wait. And yes, they do serve fried green tomatoes.

Now that's a Southern menu!

Brittany was such a delight, we had to get a photo with her. Sweet Southern charm.

Back to the cabin for a nap.

More walking...

More napping...

On our anniversary, Jamie grilled steak and shrimp, and we toasted life and love with a glass of wine.

Did I mention it was the perfect getaway? The pups were wonderful the whole trip.

Didn't even bother us when we ate...

Thank you, my sweet, for this weekend. Thank you for 30 years, and here's to the next 30!