Every year we end up having to buy an extra suitcase for all of the Christmas gifts I have ordered for everyone, but this year we had our limit of luggage and weight. We thought we had plenty of space until the last week when we (and by ‘we’ I mean Norman) finished up packing the last bits and pieces (i.e. my case). Norm came up with the clever idea of putting the clothes that needed to come with me to George in one case and Caitlin and Bree’s gifts in another for ease of hand over.

Over December, we spent 3 weeks at my Mom’s house in Ringgold, Georgia a tiny town on the fringes of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is a 16 hour flight directly from Cape Town to Atlanta. We then have to change from the International to the Domestic terminal and then take a 2 hour shuttle from the airport to Chattanooga.

The politics there are very Republican aligned so I feel very much like an outsider. My mom is fairly challenged with going out and about. She takes a diuretic for the swelling in her feet. She is very uncertain when using a walker and sometimes the seats are too low for her to get out of easily. Rather than dealing with these things, we stayed in and went out only on the rare occasion. There were a couple of shops she really wanted to just be wheeled around in for a viewing, so we did those excursions. She has her house decorated very sweetly but has given up the 2 trees and various other elaborate decorations she used to have during the holidays. She also has a fairy garden, she is the one who got me addicted.

Norm went for his daily constitutional and walked the neighbourhood which was decorated so festively.

Joy and Tim were our first visitors at Mom’s as they came to visit us prior to us all going out for lunch. Joy had already given me a huge container of the most luxurious Shiseido face cream and they also gave us a gift card for Longhorn’s, our favourite venue. We were very pleased! After we exchanged gifts, we followed them to Logan’s Roadhouse.

They treated us to lunch. I had very nice chicken strips. I cannot remember what anyone else had. The food is usually generous but generic in the USA.

I always crave Mexican food and when we finally made it to a Mexican place I was so excited!

Unfortunately the food was very ordinary. At least you get to see my lovely new Christmas gift (the cardigan).

Both of the taco shells were broken and sort of soggy. Why are there 2 shells per taco?

Mom and Norm were complaining endlessly even before the food arrived so I said ‘pretend like you are having fun!’ and snapped a pic.

The strange little waiter came over with some tiny perfumed flowers made out of paper. Luckily he gave mom hers first and she sniffed it. I thought it was edible chocolate and would have eaten it. We all laughed when I told him that so he made a huge one for me. The rest of the visit I made do with Taco Bell.

I always make an effort to have BBQ as well which in the US is what we call pulled pork in South Africa, but the flavours are not the same. That is one food that Mom, Norm and I all agreed on so it was good that we had a takeaway nearby.

My cousin Susan and her husband Bobby came by for a visit after church on Sunday.

Susan’s sister Mona also came by to visit which was lovely. Her dog was ill so she could not stay long.

Mom’s brother Joe came to collect us in his brand new Lexus. We went out for a pre-Christmas lunch with Joe and his family.

This year we went to J. Alexander’s. We usually go there every year but last year we tried Malone’s because it was new and you can read about that visit here. I wish we had stayed with Malone’s, even in a flood it was better! From the point of arrival the vibe seemed odd. There were 8 of us. We were ushered to the area where we always sit, but they have now bolted the tables to the floor so they cannot be reconfigured and we were shown 2 small tables.

They did not tell us this when booking so we were all surprised to see that we were not seated together. I expressed displeasure and the hostess huffed with indignation that I dare to be unhappy. Doll, your restaurant is just some little chain in a little city in a little state, calm yourself.

It was awkward to interact or share anything. We were at least able to catch up with Maddy who sat with Mom, Norm and I.

I ordered an Arnold Palmer and the waiter said they do not have lemonade so I changed it to just a half and half tea (annoyance number 2). I knew someone else was paying so I did not want to spend loads and I ordered the French Dip sandwich thinking it would be leaner than the Prime Rib sandwich which was on special. It was not. The first bite was full of gristle and fat (which I spat out in the corner behind my au jus so look away now). The French Dip description is ‘Thinly sliced, baguette, horseradish $24’ which is over R390 in my money. For that I can take out a family of 2 in SA. It was really dreadfully over priced. The bread was nice, the chips were okay, the meat was sliced nicely but it was the side with the fat and it is no bueno.

Norm had ordered a plain old club which was very average IMO but at least it was not revolting so we swapped my other half of the French Dip for a quarter of his club sandwich. I give the visit 1 Kitten Star ⭐ We collectively agreed to go to Malone’s next year.

Since we had the gift card for Longhorn’s that Joy and Tim had given us and Mom was tired from the previous day’s activities, on the 24th Norm and I went out on our own as a date afternoon while mom rested. The venue is in Dalton but the traffic was not too bad so it was not stressful. Norm preferred driving in the daytime and avoiding motorways as the traffic was chaos over the holidays.

We both had the fillet steak. I had the smaller fillet with the lobster, baked potato and Caesar salad. Sorry I had already mashed it all up before I remembered to take a pic.

Norm chose the broccoli and chips. He was exceedingly happy with the quality of our steaks, they were like butter and cooked perfectly.

The best quality of takeaway food we had was from the local Asian food place called Tao Asian Cuisine. The food just tasted clean and not plastic. We did a lot of take aways collected by our white night Norm. We also cooked as and when we felt like it. Or when we went to Costco we always got fresh prawns and Caesar salad for a healthy quick dinner.

If we felt inspired, we cooked. If not we got take out. Many places you can order via an app and someone just has to go through the drive through to collect it. Norm never went through the drive through as they never understood his Scots accent.

Norm cooked steaks one night but the quality of meat at Publix is average at best.

Norm developed food poisoning on Christmas Eve. We had Taco Bell that night and he was the only one who ordered chicken.

We spent Christmas day itself in a greasy spoon cafe with our besties. Tim and Joy came over around noon in their beautiful Lexus. Norm did not want to come with on Christmas so he slept while the 4 of us headed out to find something that was open for breakfast and lunch. We went to the Waffle House but it was packed. We searched online and saw there was a Huddle House out in Chickamauga so we headed out on the country road and had a very pleasant drive in a gorgeous, comfortable car. We arrived and a corner booth became available as soon as we arrived.

It was basic fare but it did the business. We all had a huge breakfast and sat and reminisced and chatted.

I often speak about manifestation. Sometimes we have a guardian who looks out for us before we even know what we need. Tim was sent to Joy and I am so happy that they found each other.

This year because of our shorter time to visit, I made a decision to only see the people who made an effort to come and see us and / or who contacted us first. I usually end up chasing people and almost feel like they are coming out of responsibility and I want them to come out of love. I left it to the universe and had a wonderful set of visits!

My cousin Gregg and his father Hiram came to visit. I had not seen Gregg is about 30 years and when he walked in my heart stopped, he looked so much like my Dad!

Gregg is left and my Dad is right.

Gregg’s a first cousin from my Dad’s side. His father Hiram is almost 90 years old and looking great. Hiram married my Dad’s sister Jeanette who has since passed away. It was lovely to catch up with them and hear about their lives.

On Boxing Day my cousins Mona and Warren both came by separately with their families. From left is Mona’s daughter Stephanie, Mona, Stephanie’s boyfriend Matt, me, Warren and his wife Anita, all surrounding my Mom. Warren cut Mom’s hair because it was a mess. We all told funny stories, had a laugh and felt the love of generations. We discussed Steph, Matt and the other cousins coming for a visit to South Africa.

On our last night before our flight my childhood friend Jackie came over.

Jackie is so kind and supportive with my Mom, she takes her to Atlanta and waits for her to have her infusions and drives her back. It takes a full day and is a lot of an effort for someone to do, but Jackie does it. She has been my friend since we were about 11 and has been loyal no matter what, she always shows up. She has never judged me and is always there to listen and support me. I adore her.

She brought us all presents and we felt terrible for not getting her anything since she is so good with mom. But she did a great job choosing though, I love my ring! She made some homemade gifts and treats which Mom loved and gave her a ring too.

The following day Norm managed to get us packed up and compliant with the baggage allowance rules. Mom’s neighbour Karen dropped us at the Groome shuttle. On the way from the shuttle to Atlanta airport, a station wagon turned in front of a big truck right next to us and we were nearly T-boned. If we had been further forward, if the truck had not managed to stop, if the station wagon had been pushed into us….the list goes on. We were protected.

We had a 14 hour flight home but it was direct Atlanta to Cape Town and my seat came with a footrest and extra leg room so it was not too bad. The dogs were thrilled to see us when we got home and the house was intact.

Caitlin popped by the following day to collect her and Bree’s Christmas gifts. Wes received a gift certificate because I know he will appreciate spoiling himself. All of Caitlin’s gifts fit her and were well loved and she was thrilled with all of the toys and clothes that Bree received. Great news!

That night we were invited to a friend’s birthday party at Tintswalo and we had RSVP’d yes so despite feeling rubbish, I had a nap, then a shower and perked up enough to show my face. Nic and I have been friends for almost 40 years, we met when our oldest kids were in playschool in George. She is such a beautiful human, both inside and out.

It was fancy dress (theme was come as your astrological sign) so I just put together a last minute Virgo outfit from an old wedding fascinator, a new white pool kaftan and some white angel wings. You can always conceive something around a set of angel wings and I have both black and white. Norm had it easy, he had ordered his Cancerian outfit from Amazon while we were in the USA.

It is a beautiful venue with lovely cocktails and canapes. We had a lovely evening and then the following day I packed my bags and headed off again to the Cape Town airport, this time to catch a plane to George. It was incredibly hot and I was melting. When I got to the gate I ordered some sort of frozen coffee drink and it calmed my core temperature but froze my brain.

Josh and Amelia met me at the airport and it was so sweet to see her little face there watching me with happiness. She waited patiently for my 2 bags to arrive. I had to pay an extra R580 in overweight luggage as I had so many gifts. My bags will be ever so light going home though.

When we got back to the house, Amelia had such fun piling up everyone’s gifts and giving them to them from my suitcase. She was a mini-Santa. Everyone loved their gifts and Lily looked gorgeous in her new dresses even though literally 9 months pregnant. Trevor had his gifts the following day when he came over to visit.

Early on the 1st of the 1st of 2026 Lily and Josh headed off to the hospital for her c-section. Little Reuben Eli was born on 8:18am.

It took our entire village to amuse and parent Amelia while her Mommy was in the hospital. The first day I had Josh’s sister Bronwyn and her boyfriend to help me and I had Trevor on the other days. It went best when Josh put her to sleep, else we were often unsuccessful.

We managed to keep her eating and napping and bathing and everything else until Mom came home on Sunday the 4th of January. One day I was looking after the monitor and the battery crashed. I crept upstairs and plugged in the monitor in Lily and Josh’s bedroom. As I didn’t want to move the charger I lay down and fell asleep. I was lying on my back and it felt like a kick in my backside and jolted me awake. It was almost 3pm and I thought I would just let her sleep until exactly 3. Someone had kicked me awake but failed. Next thing I know it’s 3:30 and Trevor is shouting from downstairs. He came in and woke me and laughed then he went to wake Amelia.

It is tiring! We have cooked or had takeaway and everyone is getting fed.

Josh and Amelia went to collect Lily and Reuben at the hospital while I waited at home.

In preparation for going to collect them, Amelia had packed up a little ‘family’ of Peppa Pig, George Pig, a mini Peppa pig and a small dinosaur which represented her family but left them behind when the weather suddenly turned and she put on her rain coat.

On Tuesday I took Lily to the shops to pick up some new underthings for her newly non-pregnant belly. I wore my new dress.

Lily is amazing and patient. She is brilliant with both Amelia and Reuben making sure everyone is looked after.

I go home on the 15th and Caitlin comes back on Lily’s birthday on the 16th. Then Josh’s Mom comes home at the start of February. Hopefully Lily will feel well supported across all of us.

I hope I have not worn you all out with my tale, it is definitely abbreviated or would be even longer as it covers about a month.

I will catch up to normal soon. Until next time, Kisses from the Kitten xoxoxox