Eeyore's Birthday

Eeyore has always been a member of the Preston family.  For as long as I can remember, Corey and I always thought of and referred Les to Eeyore.  It had to do with his pessimistic attitude and the way he would always say, "It doesn't matter" in the voice of Eeyore.

This picture was take of Eeyore and Corey at Disneyworld on his 18th birthday.  He was asking for Eeyore's autograph when he was apparently mugged by Eeyore.

http://youtu.be/3k_cVLHEIDI

National Picnic Day

It’s National Picnic Day! People have been eating their meals outside in the beauty of nature for centuries. In fact, our modern-day idea of a picnic evolved from Medieval hunting feasts and Victorian garden parties. These were usually quite sophisticated affairs, which involved multiple courses and elaborate preparations.

During the early 19^th century a group of wealthy London citizens formed “The Picnic Society” to promote picnics as social gatherings. These picnics were potlucks, and each participant also had to provide a share of the entertainment. The society members drank from crystal goblets and listened to a live string quartet while eating their meal! Today, picnics are usually casual meals enjoyed on a comfortable picnic blanket.
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I love picnics and have some fond memories of them.  My earliest memory of a picnic is with Mom.  She made some finger sandwiches and we went into the backyard where she spead a blanket and we ate the sandwiches.  After we'd eaten, then we layed down on the blanket and looked into the sky and told what the clouds made us think of.  I think that was when we were living in Virginia.  My sisters would most likely have been with us, but for some reason I don't remember them on this occasion.

I remember our "family" picnics were usually held alongside the highway as we traveled.  It was more for necessity rather than fun as the restaurants were few and in between at times and with a family of six, meals could get very expensive.  Probably my most notable roadside breakfasts were when Mom had purchased a gazillion boxes of Captain Crunch cereal at the commissary for about .10 or .15 cents a box. So, we ate LOTS of Cap'n Crunch.  In the beginning it really was quite fun and exciting.  Cold cereal was not normally kept in our home (with four children it wouldn't last long).  We usually had hot cereal such as oatmeal, grits, farina, cream of wheat, etc.  By the time I'd eaten the Cap'n Crunch several times, it was no longer fun.  In fact, I've never bought a box of it at all in my entire life.


These are some other picnics I have pictures of...

Picnic at Andersonville National Historic Site which was a POW camp during the Civil War with Travis and Sarah.

Touring the grounds of Andersonville National Historic Site with Sarah and Travis.  I was pregnant with Corey at the time.  I think this was around October of 1978.

Les with Sarah and Travis.

Checking out one of the cannons at Andersonville National Historic Site with Uncle Les.



Another memorable picnic...After driving across country and back for two weeks, Corey and I had lots and lots of picnics.  This was the last one we had near the end of our trip.  We had left Arkansas that morning and around lunch time we kept looking for a roadside park or some place to stop and eat, but never found a place.  Finally in Mississippi we discovered a spot alongside the road that had been cleared away.  We just stopped there and that's where Corey took a picture of me sitting on our very large cooler eating my lunch.

Today In History...FDR Died

April 12, 1945…U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died of a massive cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 63. At the time he collapsed, Roosevelt had been sitting for a portrait painting by the artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff, known as the famous Unfinished Portrait of FDR. Roosevelt said, "I have a terrific pain in the back of my head." He then slumped forward in his chair, unconscious, and was pronounced dead at 3:35 p.m. His vice president, Harry Truman, was sworn in as the country's 33rd president.
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This is the headline about his death in a copy of the newspaper that I have.

On January 30, 1982, Les and I decided to do some sightseeing several miles from our home. We decided to go to Warm Springs, Georgia which was the Georgia home of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. There was a celebration taking place commemorating the 100th birthday of FDR.

We passed through the town of Preston and Les wanted his picture taken by the sign...

Here we are at Warm Springs...

The Little White House...

Outside The Little White House...



Inside the home we got to see the original of the painting that was being done when he died.

The celebration even had a birthday cake and we each had a piece...

This was F.D.R.s car...

This was  a ship made by F.D.R...

We passed through Plains, the home of President Jimmy Carter...

It Could've Been 34 Years Today.

I just realized that had my first marriage lasted, I would have been married 34 years ago exactly today.  I wrote in an earlier blog about my meeting and falling in love with Les. http://jocarweaver.blogspot.com/2010/03/love-at-first-sight-december-5-1977.html

So in pictorial order here are some pictures heading up to the wedding that I've not printed before...

This was taken at my parent's home the day that I brought Les home to meet the family.  Yes, we were wearing matching t-shirts.

This picture was taken the night of our engagement party...

One of my bridal showers.  This one was held at Aunt Rachel's house.  That's me with Mom and Grandmother McGhee.  When people would ask me (before I met Les) when I was going to get married, Grandmother used to say "She'll get married when she wants to.  But, when she gets ready, you'd better pick up your feet because she'll run right over you."

Some of my loot from the shower.  I still have the blanket in the back which was made my Aunt Grace.  The yellow recipe holder was put together by Mom and Nancy and it's still used.

We had to get special permission to be married in the Tifton chapel by Bishop Flanders since we were members of a ward in Atlanta and not in Tifton.  So, we were quite surprised when we got a letter signed by the prophet, Spencer W. Kimball giving Gary permission to marry us.

This is the receipt for my wedding gown.  I was in Jonesboro, Arkansas and decided to purchase the gown there.  It seems unbelievable that I paid $5.00 to hold the gown and only paid $185.40 for it.  I missed out not having Mom or any family member or friend there while I tried on the various gowns.  And then, it arrived just a couple of weeks before the wedding which meant I hadn't tried it on for a couple of months.  Les and I paid for our entire wedding with the exception of the reception and our wedding pictures which were a gift from Mom and Dad.

Nancy and Susan.  Finally, I was the last daughter getting married.

The happy and excited groom.  While getting ready for the wedding that morning, while getting his shower, Les said he didn't realize until later that instead of using shampoo that morning, he used hair conditioner in its place.

After a shaky start, we got married.  The music I was using to walk down the aisle, had been left at the pianist's home and she had to run back and get it.  It was the music from the movie "Evergreen".

Then during the ceremony, a very good friend sang one of my favorite love songs.  It was "Time In A Bottle" by Jim Croce.

And here we are - the newly, married happy couple.

Removing the garter...

Getting ready to throw the bouquet...

And then there was our car...

When we got inside the car, the velour seats were covered with shaving cream and corn flakes which got all over my wedding gown and Les' suit.

Mom and Dad with Jennifer.  Les and I had bought her little outfit for the wedding.

A Western Union wedding wish from Mum and Dad McLean while they were living in the United Arab Emirates.

As far as a honeymoon, we didn't have one.  We visited with friends and family and then left to go back to Atlanta where we lived.  We had made plans to go and stay in the mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, but the day we were leaving Les' car tore up.  We had the car towed from Atlanta to Tifton and wound up spending our honeymoon at Mom and Dad's and paying to have Les' car repaired.

Today In History...

August 17, 2004…Singer/songwriter Dan Fogelberg announced that he was battling advanced prostate cancer. He died from the disease a little more than three years later.

I'm writing about this because it reminds me of a memory dealing with Les and I think it may be one that Corey doesn't know about his Dad and I.

After Les and I met in Louisiana, he came back to Georgia with me to meet my parents.  When we returned back to his home to pick up his things since he was going to move back to Georgia permanently.  We drove up to his house and out in the snow was his stereo and speakers and all of his record albums.  Apparently we had arrived about the time someone was stealing things from his home. 

Although the items had been left in the cold and the snow, they were all in good working order.  Among the record albums was one by Dan Fogelberg.  It became one of my favorites and many a night Les and I would put it on the stereo, turn down the lights, sit down on the couch and snuggle up with each other and listen to the album.

Some of our favorite Dan Fogelberg songs include:

It's amazing to me how music can stir so many memories such as these do.  Happy days, happy memories which make me still wonder what went wrong?

On This Day in History...

...June 12, 1981…"Raiders Of The Lost Ark," starring Harrison Ford and Karen Allen, opened in North American movie theaters.

Les and I went to see this movie the day it came to the theaters.  He loved it so much that one day I found a fedora just like Indiana Jones wore and bought it for him.  He wore that hat for as long as I can remember.  I don't know what finally happened to it, but I bet it would be worth some money now.

This is the letter we received setting up the time and date of our temple sealing.

Journal Notes

May, 2, 1979

(I had been married to Les a little over a year when I wrote the following entry in a journal)...

"Disappointment is so hard to bear I've come to realize. After going to the doctor Monday and him telling me I was pregnant and then finding out finally today that I'm not. I can hardly stand the pain by myself. Les is working night shift this week and I feel so all alone. I've had my one good cry earlier this evening. My expectations were built so high only to be crushed. I feel as though I can never trust another doctors opinion until it's confirmed. I know now what Susan was feeling when she lost her baby.

I guess I feel sorrier for Les more than anything. He was so looking forward to a baby. I guess Heavenly Father knows best though. He's blessed us so much during the past few months that it's really unforgivable to complain. We have our own home, all the things that we need and want and our marriage is going so well. I love Les more than I ever have. He's so good to me. Maybe sometime soon we can have a baby".

One Hot Summer Day

One afternoon there was a balloon fight. I don't know where the balloons came from and who started the fight, but lots of kids were involved with Uncle Les in the middle of it all.


Poor Helen tried staying out of the way as much as possible...


Nancy had the right idea - bring on the shampoo and it's baths for everyone!!! (Mom is sitting in the porch swing behind Nancy).


Helen most likely thinking "Hey, I was just sitting here minding my own business when someone stuck some balloons down the front of my swimsuit"...

Disneyworld - 1982

In 1982, Les and I were the Young Men/Young Women leaders and we took a group of them to Disneyworld for Spring Break. (It was a good thing I was younger back then - 30 years old).

Here is Les and I at one of the Disney restaurants...

Les on one of the paddlewheels...

Me on one of the paddlewheels near the Haunted Mansion...

Les in one of the stockades. Hmmm, what a great idea!

It was while on our way to Disneyworld that I started experiencing dizzy spells from time to time. I'd never had them before, but found out later that it was an early pregnancy sign for me.