Author: David

December 25, 2018

Leonard Christmas 2018

The entire Leonard clan was together this year for Christmas at Dick and Jill's house in Marietta.

Front row: Leslie Leonard, Chuck Hou, Jaiden Leonard Stafford, Melissa Muñoz, Jim "Pap Pap" Waugaman, Phyllis "Nan Nan" Waugaman, Jerry "Grandpa" Leonard, Diane Leonard, David Leonard
Back row: Richard Leonard, Jill Leonard, Kiki Alliston, Blake Alliston, John Muñoz, Dan Leonard, Hanna Leonard, Beth Leonard, Don Leonard

Dan and Dad drove up from Tallahassee. John, Melissa, and Jaiden flew in from Chicago. It was a night to celebrate!

The coffee table was the base for the evening's jigsaw puzzle. I'm sure that Beth and Leslie had it all sorted out by the end of the night.

The big news of the day (at least for me) was that Melissa and John are expecting a child. They first broke the news at Thanksgiving. Boy, can this family keep a secret! Seriously, congratulations to you two! We can't wait to be a great uncle and aunt again!

Also big news of the day - Dick and Jill have torn down the small one-car garage and are constructing a new two-car garage. This is the future site, albeit after a week of rain and an unforeseen issue. When the crew dug the trench, a supporting brick wall simply fell over. It apparently wasn't supporting anything!

Dick shows Don the blueprint for the garage construction. Ideally there would be a courtyard, but the county easement requirements nixed that idea. Still, it will certainly be a handsome addition to the house with completion expected within 3-6 months.

After we took pictures we all headed out to Chicken And The Egg for dinner. They had a delicious something for everyone!

I saw Dan (seated at one end of the long table) taking a picture of Jaiden (seated at the other end) with his iPhone all zoomed in. I thought I'd try doing the same with my Canon camera (32x analog zoom) with no flash. The original is pretty horrible, but with a few filter tweaks, looky there! We have a brooding film star in our midst.

And now it's just the die hard gamers playing the really fun, really stupid stuff! This year was the Saran Wrap Ball Christmas game. Small gifts are wrapped in plastic wrap with the best gift all the way on the inside. Players must unwrap the ball using oven mitts. One player tries to unwrap the ball while the following player rolls a pair of dice. When doubles are rolled, play moves on to the next players. Click the picture for a little game action.

Here is our rather serious side, seriously wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2019!

On Christmas Day THIS happened! It's official - Leslie and Chuck are engaged! Best Christmas ever..

June 14, 2018

Carnival Dream Cruise

This trip began as an idea that Tim, Bev, Diane and I kicked around at Thanksgiving 2017. One of those conversations that ended like, "We need to do a cruise together!" "Yeah, let's do that!" And we went back home.

In January, I called Tim to get the ball rolling, and by March things had lined up to where it was all clear. Bev did the research and we picked the Carnival Dream, departing from New Orleans for the week of May 13-20.

The plan was for Tim and Bev to get to NOLA on Friday and celebrate Tim's birthday, we join them Saturday and try to do the town in the French Quarter, and get on the boat Sunday for a week together.

So now two more things are crossed off of my bucket list: Bourbon Street and boat cruise. We all had a great time together, but it took me about another week to unwind from the getaway!

Our first time on Bourbon Street! Actually, it's Frenchman Street, where we started out. We walked a couple of miles to get to Bourbon Street looking for a restaurant along the way.

Tim and Bev pose together on the same corner. Right now they look great, but by the time we walked to Bourbon Street and back it was a different story! Ouch! My aching feet!

Gone Gay. That pretty much says it all!

You gotta have a drink when in NOLA. Hand Grenades were everywhere. Pretty tasty, but we really needed some food!

We finally found a great place called Cafe Sbisa. Nice upscale and intimate with great food and service. This is one of those cool shots where the mirror plays an important role.

The previous day, Friday, was Tim's birthday, so this was also kind of a birthday celebration trip as well. So, it happened that our server's birthday was the following day and her name was... Timmie!

Our first cruise dinner together in the Scarlett Restaurant. Obviously, it was casual night! We both stayed on the vegetarian diet this night with an Indian style dish, but I was sure tempted by the seafood.

Our server, Derita, was delightful. Maybe we are biased, but we all thought we had the best server in the room. Occasionally all of the servers would leave the room, come back in costume, and dance for us. Click the picture for a video.

Our next door dinner mates were David and Gale Miller from Mississippi. We were sure we had ruined their cruise by our loud behavior the first night, but we all became good friends quickly.

The Alchemy Bar was the first stop before dinner every night. Best drinks on the ship.

Sinan was our mixologist. Here he has just made some kind of gin drink with melon and cucumber (A Cucumber Sunrise). On a hot day, this is just the ticket. Click the picture for a link to a video where he makes an extravagant smoky bourbon drink for Tim.

On the first day I went to a cooking demonstration in the fancy restaurant where they showed us how they made things like mushroom cappuccino and tiramisu. The only problem was that the restaurant is directly under the basketball court, so nearly every minute the walls shook from the collisions of the people upstairs.

Our first port was Montego Bay, Jamaica. None of the excursions interested us, so we got off the boat and headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe and just hung out for the afternoon. Here we are, taking it easy Jamaican style. Yeah mon.

There were two "elegant" dining nights during the cruise. This picture is of all of us just before the first one. Tim and his tux made us all look like we just got in from the golf course. Click the pic for a lesson on how to drink a chocolate martini.

Diane spiffed up for the next fine dining experience. Awesome outfit, no?

Tim and I pose like Siamese twins in front of the Scarlett Restaurant. This was after dinner so my jacket is definitely unbuttoned!

We made it to the whirlpool tub and let the jets massage our weary feet and legs.

The second port was Georgetown, Grand Cayman Island. We took the Captain Marvin excursion out to Stingray City. That was both exciting and scary. Cross that off the bucket list!

All of us got a chance to kiss a stingray. The one pictured here is a female - they're the larger ones that swim near the surface. The males are smaller and generally hug the bottom. Legend has it that kissing a female brings you 7 years of good luck. Kissing a male is 10.

The other neat trick is to let the stingray give your back a massage. We all got to experience the feeling of the fin flapping against our backs. Happy endings all around.

We brought our ping pong paddles and one of our 3-star balls from home onto the ship. They had one table, located in the corner of the smoking deck, along with super cheap paddles and basically a ping pong wiffle ball. I don't know how anyone every plays a real game here. While Diane and I were playing, Joe came up and asked to play. It was nice to have the company.

We're posing with Jimmy & Mel Hodge, aka Black Jack, the country music entertainers on the cruise. Small world. When we told them we were from Atlanta, Mel asked, "Do you know Tommy Dodd?" Turns out Jimmy is a steel guitarist and they both know Tommy and Donna (they did a double-take when they saw Diane).

Click the pic for a video of a little bit of the 80's glow stick party. We walked like Egyptians.

Our last port was Cozumel, Mexico, where we booked a bar-hop excursion. Our first stop was Tequileria Reyes, a Mexican tequila manufacturer. Of course, we got educated on how the liquor is made, how agave nectar is a by-product, and the difference between clear, reposado, anejo, extra anejo, and ridiculously extra anejo. Every time I go to Mexico, I get hooked by the sales pitch. This time I walked out with a bottle of 12-year old extra anejo, which we christened with a toast on our last night. Click the pic for a video of our takeoff in the jeep on the way to stop #1.

We made a stop at Coconuts, a place where Tim and Bev had been a few years back. It's a little walk up the jungle path to the top of the cliff overlooking the gulf, with cozy tables, shade, and great drinks.

This was actually our third stop, the second one being a little roadside bar where I spent all my cash on two huge 32-oz drinks - a Mojito and a Margarita. This left no money for any more drinks at bars that didn't accept credit cards (like this one). The is the Coconut Cabana, and it was charming.

Alex, the bartender, not only fixed some great margaritas for the cash customers, but he also freshened Diane's margarita as a favor to the senora. He looked at my half finished 32-oz drink and asked, "What is that? Soup?!!"

Last stop was Tortugas, where we ate lunch and had tequila shots along with our last cocktails. The food was delicious, the drinks were great, and the patio was a great place to hang out.

Ah, the Tortugas Farmacia! We ran out of time before we could take advantage of these no-prescription bargain drugs. We had a half hour to drive back to the cruise terminal on the other side of the island, walk the mile or so to the gangway, and get on board before the ship sailed. We made it back in time, thank goodness.

Click the pic for our toast to you! As they say in Mexico, "Arriba, abajo, acentro, y adentro."

June 13, 2018

Leonard Cousins Reunion 2018

Our second Leonard Cousins Reunion was held at Juli's One Love Cafe in Gainesville on Sunday, April 21, 2018. The turnout was smaller, but the love was just as great.

From left to right:
First row - David Leonard, Diane Leonard, Alayna Neyer, Emmy Louanne Leonard
Second row - Pam Wamsley, Sarah Wamsley, Jenny Jackson, Mary Brown, Jerry Brown, Jean Leonard, Jennie Carmody, Liz Carmody (moving gypsy), John Leonard, Scott Leonard, Khristin Porter, Juli Denney, Cliff Denney, Kathy Brugger, Jim Leonard.

Jerry and Mary

These two act like they're still dating - and that's meant as a compliment.

Big smile, now!

Aunt Jean still looks amazing. This year she will be turning 90!

Doggie needs a drink!

The little critters were taking over this year. Pam's little Lucie seems to have worked up a big thirst as Sarah looks on.

The flying pup

Diane poses with Maya. I think the wind might carry her away by the ears!

Catching up

We had plenty of time to just sit and chat. This is Sarah and Pam at the table with Jennie.

Liz

Liz was kind of everywhere helping with this and that, and just brightening up the place in general.

Good grub

What would a Sunday Leonard get together be without the food? Juli made us some delicious and healthy eats. Naturally we loaded up on all of the veggies.

After-party

When all of the responsible people left for home, we stayed until some time past midnight just having a blast with each other. Love our cuzzies!

July 6, 2017

July 4 2017 Weekend

We had a nice long weekend this year. Dad, Dan, and Joe joined us over the weekend from Saturday until Monday, and Dick and Jill had their pool party on Tuesday, the 4th. The fireworks were awesome, as usual. Here's the link to a video on David's FB page.

Here we are, soaking up whatever rays can make it through the reflection of the pool into the gazebo. This was a little over a week past David's heart attack. The weight loss was one nice benefit. Diane's smile is infectious.

Dad soaked up a little sun on the big swan. I hope that's me when I'm 86.

This was the family just before dinner together on Sunday night at the Marietta Fish Market. L-R: David, Diane, Chuck, Don, Leslie, Beth, Dan, Richard, Jill, Dad, Joe.

On the 4th, the gazebo was packed, with Richard's big egg (L) producing some fine BBQ beef, pork, and turkey for everybody. There were two long tables of food on the right and plenty of places to snack and catch up.

Nice lazy afternoon by the pool.

They was throwin' the sack near the deep end.

I got a cool picture of Chuck here. The water plant seems to be reaching out to his face.

Leslie is shown here setting up for beer pong.

Beer pong in full swing. Amy and Niki vs Leslie and Chuck. I actually did capture the ball in mid air, but it looked more like a white cloud than a ping pong ball. Thanks, Photoshop, for a better solution.

Just had to include a shot from the garden by the pool. The flowers were so beautiful.

Leslie's friend Reem and her husband Khaled flew in from Qatar. It was great to have them with us.

This is George. He has the right idea. Red white and blue shutter shades.

June 16, 2017

Leonard Cousins Reunion 2017

We held our first ever Leonard Cousins Reunion at One Love Cafe on Sunday, May 21, 2017. There were about 30 of us who came, representing every branch of the descendants of C.B. and Homer Leonard. In this picture, from L-R are:

David Leonard, Diane Leonard, Mark Wamsley, Pam Wamsley, Dan Leonard, Jerry Brown, John Leonard, Mary Brown, Cliff Denny, Jean Leonard, Juli Denny, Tawanna Leonard, Don Leonard, Jerry Leonard, Jenny Jackson, Steve Leonard, Shelly Delacrosse, Ralph Delacrosse, Lou Townsend, Peter Townsend, Jim Leonard, Kathy, Noah Lamere, Jamie Lamere, Angelina Lamere, Mike Lamere, Annabelle Lamere.

David made a video especially for the occasion, using photographs that were sent in by the cousins. I think the highlight was Uncle Jim's famous joke about Archibald Holman. Due to copyright restrictions on the musical content, it was not allowed to be uploaded to Facebook. However, if you click Nana's picture, you'll be able to enjoy it for yourself!

Jerry

Dad was tickled pink to be here! Love that grin.

Lookin' good as ever.

Jenny and Aunt Jean pose for the camera as Steve looks on. Some people just never seem to age.

The Jack Leonard Side

Steve, Jenny, Shelly and Peter, doin' what they do best - blowing up the camera!

Johnny

Johnny was a big help to me in setting things up. We took his Porsche all over Gainesville buying nametags, poster board, and other odds and ends.

Jamie & Shelly

It was a treat for me to finally get to meet my cousin Barbara's child Jamie in person. I wish Babs could have been here, but unfortunately there was a medical condition that kept her away.

Dan & Diane

Two peas in a pod who know how to enjoy themselves!

Testing..

I was setting up the group shot and Jim volunteered to make sure the camera was working. You still got it, buddy!

David

Looks like I'm sleep-walking my way through this event. But I'm sleep-walking with a smile!

Don

Brother Don came down from Atlanta to Tallahassee and drove Dad and Tawanna over to Gainesville Sunday morning. Dan drove in straight from church in Bainbridge.

Steve

Tell me that's not the Cheshire cat grin on Steve's face.. Jerry's got a good spot under the fan.