Happy Birthday, Morgan!

Apparently, every 7-year-old niece needs a mini-Me to help them celebrate an occasion like this!

Hopefully, it wasn't as rainy up there as it was in this little corner of heaven!

12 Hours at EPCOT

This is what one's niece looks like after a VERY full day playing tourist.

And, yes, those are my socks. They are covering up a pair of feet that are almost as worn out as she is.

We did a LOT of walking today. (In case you didn't know it, EPCOT is an acronym for Everybody Comes Out Tired.)

Had to battle with the elements, too. It was rainy and blustery when we first got to the park this morning. Then, as the cold front finally pushed thru this little corner of heaven, we were forced to break out the sweaters and gloves. Ah, Florida winter weather . . . gotta love it!

Anyway, Miss Morgan provided us with endless entertainment today, the highlight being at the Moroccan restaurant where she boldly left our midday meal to school the natives in the fine art of bellydancinig.

No wonder she is so tired, huh?!

Maybe, this means she (and her brother) will sleep all the way back home tomorrow?

I doubt it.

A Day at Universal

Many thanks go out to Valda of Jenks Manor this evening for graciously hosting my posse at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure today.

Without her authoritative presence as our escort, I don't think we would have survived the throngs of other tourists in the parks this eve of new year's eve.

The niblings particularly enjoyed meeting her better-known co-workers, like Spiderman and The Grinch.

But, I think the highlight was probably the primo spot we staked-out for the Macy's parade. (It's the same one New Yorkers have to brave nasty, wintery weather to see on Thanksgiving.)

Thanks again, Valda!

Happy Trails!

It's been so nice having my sister and her family come home to Orlando, even if only for one week.

Today, though, they hit the road on their way back up to South Carolina.

Safe journey, Simmons clan!

Come back soon and often, and try to avoid all the crazy holiday travelers on the interstate!

The Magic Kingdom will never be the same

Not after these two mousketeers get a hold of it!

According to my spies, their parents are having a pretty good time, too.

Mom has ridden Space Mountain 7 times since the gates opened, and is back in line for another go-round.

And, Dad is riding the bumper cars at Test Track to hone his driving skills for the trip back up I-4.

Fun times in this little corner of heaven today . . .

A day at the Disney Studios

I thought ye socks might get a kick out of this picture my brother-in-law took of the niblings today, using his handy-dandy new Blackberry.

They were visiting the Disney Studios, in case the background befuddled you and the title of this post escaped your attention.

I believe that's the fountain in that mock-up version of New York City they have on property.

A pretty photogenic pair, no?

Shuttle launch scrubbed for tonight.

What a disappointment! I was hoping to celebrate my niece's birthday tonight with a shuttle launch.

Night time launches are awesome, due in no small part to the fact that they can be seen from my 2nd floor window. The glow of the booster rockets fills the night sky. And, most important, you don't get stuck in traffic driving over to the cape and back.

But, it was not to be tonight. Something about a fuel leak, and they'll try again tomorrow.

Still, I hope Morgan had an "out of this world" 6th birthday!

Latest photos of the niblings

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . . iginition . . . BLAST OFF!

To commemorate my niece Morgan's 5th birthday today, I had my friends over at NASA arrange an early morning shuttle launch.

If ye socks have never experienced a night-time launch, it's pretty spectacular.

From my humble abode in Apopka, we generally only get to see something like the picture posted here.

But, the closer you get to the coast, the greater the glow from the rocket boosters.

In fact, at Jetty Park, it gets as bright as high noon!

This morning, though, it was so cloudy in Apopka that I couldn't see anything.

Oh, well, back to bed til a more decent hour . . .

Visiting in Tallahassee

I'm enjoying a quiet day up in Tallahassee today, visiting with Gaga Lois and her daughters Joanna and Patricia.

One of the things we're doing to occupy our time is going thru some old family photos.

I thought ye socks might enjoy this one in particular.

It was taken in front of the old family home at #1 East Princeton Street in Orlando, in early 1926.

Left to right are my great-aunt Agnes Morgan Newell, her newborn daughter Lois (Gaga) who was born 1/25, my great-grandmother Sarah Cox Morgan, and her newborn son Billy who was born 1/18. (The cousins were born just one week apart!)

Another author in the family

There must be something in the Morgan genes that predisposes us to writing . . .

The most recent publication to hit the bookstores comes from our cousin Andrea de Robilant.

His Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon [ISBN 9781400044139] is actually a sequel to his very successful first novel A Venetian Affair.

I just picked up my copy yesterday, so haven't had a chance to finish reading the book. But, I can tell you the basics. It recounts the life of Andrea's 4th great-grandmother Lucia Mocenigo (1770-1854), a noblewoman from Venice, Italy, who moves to Paris, France, and rubs shoulders with a bunch of folks whose names you'd probably recognize from your history textbooks (including the Empress Josephine). She was an interesting person, to say the least. Unfortunately, she is perhaps best known as the much-despised landlady of Lord Byron.

Anyway, this book (besides being a very good read) is also serving as yet another reminder to yours truly that I need to get off my rear end and finish the sequel to my own recent masterpiece.

That's MY little pony!

The Niblings Made the Nightly News

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Road trippin'

Wow, I can't believe it's already been a week since I was getting ready to go on the big Labor Day road trip up to South Carolina.

I also can't believe it's taken me this long to post one of the pictures we took while we were there.

That's my mom, sister, nephew, and niece, in case you were wondering.

Nothing quite so exciting planned for this weekend. The road trip just leads HOME this afternoon. And, that's a good feeling, too!

Hope all you socks out there have a good weekend yourselves.

Cheers!

Thanks, Cousin Patricia!

Happy Labor Day to all the socks out there.

I'm still up here in South Carolina visiting my sister and her kids, but will be back in the fun and sun that is Central Florida later today.

In the mean time, my cousin Patricia Rivero sent me this really cool family photo she scanned over the holiday weekend.

That's my great-great grandmother Lola Blakesley Morgan (1872-1954), otherwise known as "Mammy," wife of the ORIGINAL William Swinney Morgan. The four girls are their daughters Agnes, Laura, Lola, and Isabel.

Turning a negative into a positive

So, I'm up in Charleston visiting my sister and the niblings, and our big "adventure" for the day was SUPPOSED to be a trip up to the neighborhood Publix.

I know, I know, how DO we pack so much excitement into a single day?!

Anyway, after all the shopping was done (and, you socks who know me well, know how much I like shopping) we got out to the car to discover my sister had lost her keys!

That was the bad news.

The good news was her friend Eric also happened to be shopping at the same store at the same time.

So, he was able to run my sister back to her house to get another set of keys. And, in the mean time, I got to take the niblings to a kid-friendly restaurant in the shopping center.

We had a blast!

So much so, we almost forgot about the lost key situation until my sister returned.

Then, to top it all off, we decided to check with the grocery store "lost and found" one more time before we headed back home. And, lo and behold! Someone had returned the keys!

Anyway, what could have been a frustrating situation actually turned out to be a lot of fun.

I love it when that happens!

Latest photos of the niblings

That's my nephew Tater hanging out at the bottom of a slide, and my niece Morgan apparently playing hop-scotch on a shuffleboard deck.

Shout Outs to . . .

1. Patty B - best wishes on the big move to Illinois. I expect pictures soon!

2. Lisa T - praying y'all get that house sold soon and that the car problems get resolved.

3. My sister - hope Morgan's staph infection clears-up quickly. Sounds gross.

4. Amigo's - so glad you're in business. But, I don't understand how you can sell enchiladas so cheaply . . .

Weekend picture gallery

Took the guy at CVS wayyyyy too long to get these "one hour" pictures developed, but here they are:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=ow3xb1l.amncshxp&Uy=fnn903&Ux=0

Berkeley Museum, etc.

Spent the morning at The Berkeley Museum in Monckton, South Carolina. As the sign notes, it is the home of The Little David.

When I got inside, I also found it was the home of the taxidermic remains of the largest catfish ever caught. 110 pounds!!

The reason I added this place to my itinerary was I hoped it might contain some information--and possibly some relics--from the plantations our ancestors owned in the area. I was not disappointed in that regard, and walked away with a pretty outstanding book as a souvenir.

Afterwards, met up with Sister and the Niblings (sounds like a bad 80's techno group, doesn't it?!) for some Low Country grub at Seewee.

Happy Birthday to me!

This bird is flying the coop!

Driving up to South Carolina to see my sister and the niblings.

Miss me while I'm away!