Over the past week, I’ve been consuming a lot of shakes that look like this:

It’s green because I added spinach. My smoothies aren’t always green — my favorite, easy-to-make combination is a scoop of protein powder (either vanilla or chocolate), 1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree, 1/2 banana, 1 cup of almond milk, and some random spices (usually cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice).

Protein powder isn’t paleo, but the brand I use only has 1 gram of sugar per serving, so it’s not too bad. Plus, one of these shakes keeps me full for hours.

I started consuming other soft foods (meatballs, shredded pork, salmon) over the past few days, but I still have stitches in my gums from last week’s procedure so I’m trying my best to be careful until sufficient healing has taken place. I have a check-up scheduled for tomorrow morning.

This past weekend, Paul and I drove to my hometown of Buckingham, Virginia and also attended my cousin Jacquelyn’s housewarming party in Concord, Virginia. It was a 3.5-hour drive to Buckingham on Saturday afternoon, 40 minutes between Buckingham and Concord the next day, and another 3.5-hour drive home on Sunday night. In other words, we drove a lot this weekend! But it was fun. I hadn’t seen my cousin or other various family members in over a year, plus both of my sisters and nephews had traveled to attend the party as well.

(Best Boyfriend Ever shout-out to Paul: Not only did he spend his entire weekend visiting my family in the boonies of Virginia, but he didn’t complain once. Also, when we climbed back in the car for our 3.5-hour drive home last night, he asked if I had my umbrella. Which I didn’t. I would have left it at my cousin’s house! I really hate to lose umbrellas. I’m pretty proud of the fact that I’ve had my current umbrella since 2008.)

Between Buckingham and Concord sits the town of Appomattox, VA (best known for being the location of Appomattox Historical Park, where General Robert E. Lee surrendered). I spent a lot of time in Appomattox as a kid because my paternal grandmother lived there, along with my Aunt Annette, her husband, and their two kids. None of them live there anymore (my grandmother passed away in 1999; my other relatives moved away), but it was nice to take a few minutes and drive by their old houses.

My grandmother’s house, where we spent almost every Sunday afternoon for many years (we went to church in the area and would visit her after the service was over), looks a lot different now than it did in 1999. Ivy covered the front of the house back then, and tall hedges hid most of it from the road. It looks like the current owners are taking good care of it, but they’ve cleared away most of the shrubbery.

Here’s me in 1986 (age 6) at Appomattox Historical Park (visiting with a different grandmother who lived out of state). I didn’t go to the historical park yesterday because Paul and I needed to get to the party, but I’d like to go back for a visit sometime. I bet I haven’t been there in 20 years.