Beach pictures

Today was a very quiet day. I'll just post some photos from the beach.

Facing into the wind, after the storm.
 












Storm sculpture.
 
 

A Lovely Day!

There's a huge front/rain system headed our way from the west. We're not supposed to get much, if any, rain out of it, though. That's not unusual. Frontal systems hit the Cumberland Plateau and mountains west of us and to what the weather folks call "The Chattanooga Split". The fronts will divide and slip north and/or south of us. It does happen a lot - you can watch it on the radar.

We tied a record low of 60 last night. We ate out on the porch again tonight, with the ceiling fan turned on - temperature about 82 - it was quite comfortable. I broiled some grouper filets, and they were SO good!

John and I both worked at the library for about an hour today, "deprocessing" books. As I've said, these are books that are being discarded by the library for one reason or another, and will be available at the upcoming book sale at the end of August. What we do is scut-work. The skilled workers sort those book into subject matter to get it ready to be taken to the book sale.

Today's photo is of a sea turtle nest in front of the house next door to ours. It's so great that the turtles are returning to the Fort Morgan area to lay their eggs.
 

To the PA

I saw the Physician's Assistant (PA) this morning. He said that, to him, it looked like atopic dermatitis - 0ne of those nasty things with no specific cause, and not much in the way of treatment. He appreciated it when I told him that I'd like to get some alleviation of the symptoms, without totally masking the problem, until I saw the dermatologist in midAugust. He did prescribe some nonsteroidal cream to try. And he suggested that we get some photos of the affected areas, so that if it cleared up more, I could show that to the doctor. I with I had thought of that over the weekend, when it was much worse. I'll take pity on you and not share any of those photos with you. Yuck!

The cards were mostly pretty good today at bridge, but I managed to pull some incredibly stupid plays. I just HATE it when that happens. I think I still had a pretty good score. John had at least one great round (not when he was playing with me, though).

Instead of yucky stuff, I'll share a photo of the full moon while we were at the beach.


 

Sunday, Sunday

The itching has been better today, but I've been quite liberal using cortisone cream. So far, that's the only thing that's seemed to help. I'm going to skip swimming in the morning and go to see the PA in the doc's office. I want to see if there's something they can get me to help with the symptoms without masking them so much that the dermatologist can't make a diagnosis.

It's delightfully cool here, and we're really enjoying it. I marinated a pork loin, John cooked it on the grill, and we ate on the porch. Allan came over, and brought some fresh green beans and tomatoes that he had gotten this morning at the Chattanooga Market (locally grown). A delicious meal.

I did get our usual laundry done, plus we stripped the beds, washed sheets, and remade them. Always good to get that done.

We had a special treat - we got to see all of An American in Paris. That's such a terrific movie. And this was on TCM with no commercials and uncut. There were scenes I'd swear I've never seen before.

 

The itch has me

This itching rash has been driving me nuts today, and I really can't think about anything else. And, certainly, nobody else wants to hear about it. I do have an appointment with a dermatologist, but not for another month.

At least the weather is cooler today, with a high of only 81. We've had the back door open nearly all day. It's lovely tonight, listening to the crickets serenading us.

And now I'm off to apply some more lotion, take a benadryl, and hope to get to sleep.

No compromises!

On Friday nights, we watch the line-up on our local PBS station. In our area, first is Washington Week in Review. That's followed by a local program with a similar format. There are usually two elected officials or activists, one each Democrat and Republican; one TV reporter; and one reporter from the local newspaper or a radio station. One of the discussions concerned the Senate hearings for Supreme Court Justice nominee, Sonya Sotomayor. The Republican panelist could say absolutely nothing new about Sotomayor - he went on and on about how awful she was. How he would never vote for her and there should be no compromise.

Following that program, Bill Moyer's Journal was on. The first two guests were from Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. They had supported Obama, but now were furious with him. The President had not ignored everything else and concentrated on the climate/global warming. They took him to task for compromising with the opposition.

These are perfect examples of what Dalton Roberts talked about in his column this morning. I was already planning to share the column with you for my blog tonight. And then there were these two interviews tonight as a lead-in. And now I'll turn the blog over to Dalton.

STANDARD DEBATES MIGHT CIVILIZE US
By Dalton Roberts
Chattanooga Times Free Press
7-17-09


One thing that's wrong with America is as plain as the nose on your face. And in case your nose has been removed, it's as plain as that strange-looking place where your nose used to be.

From my peephole, here it is: we have screamed at each other so much that we literally detest everyone who is not just like us. If we are liberals, we detest all the conservatives. If we are conservatives, we hate all the liberals.

As I pointed up in a precious column, we would not have Social Security and Medicare if members of both parties had not put it together. Call it socialism if you wish, but good ideas are non-partisan. If helping old people live their final days decently and die with a little dignity isn't a good idea, I don't know what is.

If it had not been for Republican senator George Norris of Nebraska, there might have never been a Tennessee Valley Authority to lift several states out of the economic Stone Age. Some called it "socialism," too.

I am thinking if we could homogenize Democratic senators Humphrey and Proxmire with Republicans Goldwater and Norris, and then clone such an advanced being, we could find solutions to all of our challenges. Well, at least it would be an incredible experiment,

We call TV news analysts "talking heads" but there are no talking heads.
There are only screaming heads. The one getting in the most licks is always the one who is rudest and screams loudest. Even one of the presidential debates this last election season resembled a bar room brawl more than a debate.

The truth is there are no more liberals or conservatives. The liberals perished with Truman and the conservatives passed with Goldwater. We have screamed at each other until we have all gone off the deep end and are blithering radical idiots and it is all about the use of government power. Each group wants to use it to punish those who disagree with them and to reward their own kind.

One thing that would help civilize America again would be to require that all debates be conducted with standard debate rules with timed openings, rebuttals and closes.

When I was in office and was invited to debate, I always said, "Yes, if it is a standard debate." I simply would not debate without a moderator and a timer. Otherwise, you foster screaming and other disrespectful behavior.

Why is this so important? One word: respect. After the debate the debaters must return to working with each other and we cannot work with those who have screamed away our respect.

When I was president of the Young Democrats and my friend, the Honorable Judge Ted Milburn, was president of the Young Republicans, we had such a debate. Instead of it driving us apart, we developed a deeper respect for each other and have remained friends through all these years.

We will not survive as the democracy our founders envisioned if we develop a pendulum government where the radical right governs for 4-8 years and then the radical left governs a while. For starters, we must become civil with each other. It de-radicalizes people to work together.

Somehow we must become idea oriented. We must become solution-minded. It might require dropping parties and letting people run on their own merits and advance the ideas they think will foster progress. Every time I question the value of the two-party system, someone calls me a dreamer. I am certain we could dream up a better way to do our country's business. I am certain nothing is going to work unless we can become civil toward each other and respectful of all views.

We don't need screaming heads. We need people who will shut their mouths long enough to listen to others. And that means standard debates.

A bowl of cherries

I went to a different supermarket today - just a brief visit to get some things that I've found only there, and to take advantage of some items on sale. You know how I despise going to the store, but this is a nice store and does have some good sales. For instance, they had Zatarain's rice mixes, buy one - get one free. I always keep those on hand, so I got stocked up.

I also tried a product new to me - Rainier cherries. These reminded me of the canned Queen Anne cherries that I always liked as a child. But, according to Google, they are two separate varieties. Anyhow, they have a good flavor. Give them a try sometime.

Here's a different Bowl of Cherries (sorry - couldn't resist).

 

Books, books, and more books

Another hot day today - about 93 and humid. But it's supposed to "cool off" for the next few days - down into the 80s. It'll be a nice change.

I had a fairly short day at the gallery. After lunch, I headed to the library to help with some "deprocessing". The library has been purging the shelves, getting rid of books that are very old and/or out-of-date (like a computer programming book from the 1970s) and/or rarely checked out. The library staff pulls the books off the shelves, boxes them and takes them to a storage area. These will be offered to the public at the Friends' book sales during the year.

But first, the label on the book spine is marked through with a felt-tipped marker. Then, any place on the book with the name of the library has to be overstamped with the word "Discarded". There are anywhere from one to six places where the library name might be stamped, usually depending on the age of the book. After the volunteer (me) marks the book, the library staff person and the head of the book sales divide the books into the categories (fiction, sports, travel, religion, etc.) used at the sales. As the areas fill up, the books are then placed in appropriately labeled boxes, and put in a storage area to await the sale.

It's pretty mindless work, and not really hard, but it is something that needs to be done. John and I are both going to try to help out a couple of hours a week. Amazingly, I only brought two books home. One was an Ivan Doig book we hadn't read and another was an old book I got for a gift.

I'm looking foward to sleeping later in the morning. Hope it happens.

Tuesday

Lisa Bentley is one of our "beach bums", a professional dancer and make-up artist, and a very special lady. Check out this video of her dancing. It's a long video, but worth watching.
Click here to watch.

The gallery got rearranged a bit while I was gone. It looks good, though. We're featuring all of the group this month - with no solo show scheduled until next month. I stayed all day, since I had a Friends of the Library council meeting at 4:30. There was some controversy about some personality conflicts during the meeting this time, and it ran almost 2 hours. Personal dynamics and clashes can be most interesting - when you're not one of those involved. Fortunately, I wasn't. And, as usual, I was oblivious to the various cliques and rivalries. I'm SO out of place in this group - and really feel that I don't have much to contribute. I'll stick with it, though - at least through the end of my term (December 2010).

I've been doing a lot of knitting of different things lately. I finished a short-sleeved, light-weight sweater for Jean to wear over tank-top dresses to work. I got that mailed off to her this morning. And I've started another one today. Also, I'm doing one of the baby "surprise sweaters" for one of the swimmers' first grandbaby, due in October.

Today's photo is the shrimp boat that was regularly working the water along our beach. We thought it would be nice if he would just make deliveries to our door, but alas.....

 

Back to the grindstone

Enough of the lying around and doing nothing. Today was the catch-up-after-vacation day.

It was great to get back to swimming. It feel good, and it's always good to see the friends again. Not necessarily so go to go to Aldi's and Wal-Mart to restock the larder. Even the car needed fueling.

It was good to get back to bridge, too. Except the cards were lousy - and the few we had, we played poorly. Oh well, we just have to get back in the swing of things.

When we got home, we finally started tackling the held mail. And, lo and behold, there was the feared letter from the IRS. As expected, it was a form letter saying that our check had been returned for "insufficient funds", and we should pay up the amount, plus a penalty. On the form, it said that you could write an explanation to ask for "relief" from the penalty. We've now written the letter, and are waiting for an OK from our CPA before sending it off to them. The penalty wasn't enormous, but we still thought we'd try to get it waived. Stay tuned!

We're still thinking about the good food at the beach. This is a typical supper plate-ful. From center right, going clockwise, there is corn (from Margaret), blue crabs ready for picking, red sauce, boiled shrimp, and Caesar salad. Yum!

 

Stormy weather

It's starting to storm here, so I'll be brief.

We had a great storm one day at the beach. There was a lot of lightening before it started getting light. Later on the wind was really strong, with and the rain was pelting the windows.

The first photo is John enjoying some porch time. The second one shows what all that wind can do to those molded plastic chairs.

 
 

Back from the beach

We got home about 5:30 ET. It was a great week, but we're always tired after the long drive home. We unpacked the necessities, but the "beach boxes" will keep until tomorrow to go through and repack for next year. We did have great luck with the traffic. Driving down on the fourth meant that all the construction projects were stopped for the weekend. And when we drove through Montgomery, the back-up at construction sites was in the south-bound lanes. We smiled a lot about that!

We stopped and got peaches for Margaret and Wanda to put up. I just snagged a few of them when we got home. They're out on the porch ripening up a big more. Sue had brought some from SC to the beach, and they were delicious! Margaret brought blackberries and blueberries, and got some nectarines, so we had fresh cut-up fruit every morning with breakfast. It makes us feel healthier about consuming all that cholesterol that we have for the rest of the meal. Cutting up the fruit is my contribution to breakfast.

We had gorgeous weather most of the time. We even got two days when there were strong breezes and low enough humidity to sit outside on the porch to read/knit/talk. We did have one day of storms, but that was even fun to watch - I love watching the weather over the ocean. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

We started out with a high number of 22, and ended up with 12. We are certainly lucky to have such a great group of family and friends.

This photo is the FMOF&BSS (the Fort Morgan Old Farts and BS Society).
 

A short hiatus

We are at the Fort Morgan area of Gulf Shores, AL - just east of the mouth of Mobile Bay. The drive down on the 4th was relatively easy. We didn't see any of the big fireworks displays in the area - we're too far from the center of town. And there were just a few folks setting off stuff in the neighborhood.

All is great here, though. We have almost a full house this year, with 22 folks through tomorrow, then four will be leaving.

We've had storms today - so no swimming, but I love to see the stormy weather over the water (as long as it doesn't last TOO long). Some folks have gone into town to do various kinds of shopping. Others are just hanging out - reading, knitting, sleeping, computering - all that vacation type of stuff.

I've made our reservations for next year. And John and I are looking at the possibilities of a small house to rent for a week this winter - just for us.

12 hours

In 12 hours,we'll be on our way!

I worked at the gallery until I closed up at 2. I did a small watercolor, but mostly read and knitted. We had a couple of people come in. We DO love that drop-in traffic. It'd be getter if they'd buy something, but they've got to come in the door first.

Margaret got here this afternoon, and the car is packed except for the cameras and computers and the stuff from the fridge/freezer. Plus we put some stuff in Allan's car.

I don't have a formal check-list for packing, but I do have a couple of big plastic boxes where I keep stuff that doesn't get used except at the beach. For instance, some old towels, bath mats, left-over soap, dishwashing liquid, non-perishable stuff. And I keep a list in the top of each box. And there are big grocery stores and a WalMart in town, so getting something we forgot is no problem. We don't try to take everything, just get it locally.

It's been a lovely day today - warm, but with low humidity. We had carry-out Chinese for supper, and we ate out on the porch. It was very comfortable. But dinner tomorrow will be better!

Day after tomorrow

We had a good lunch, but only four of us there. We still talked a lot. We had the buffet, but managed to not overdo (for a change). Good Southern food. But they did have one thing we'd never seen before. Fried macaroni and cheese fritters!!!! I thought I'd seen everything in the world fried, including fried ice cream, fried Twinkies, and fried dill pickles. But fried macaroni & cheese?????? Guess what - we didn't even try it.

We'll be at the beach in less than 48 hours!

Short-timer's attitude

I've got a BAD case of almost-ready-to-go-to-the-beach syndrome. We are getting things consolidated and piled by the front door.

I ordered some yarn from a place Essie recommended and it came today. It surely is pretty. John's been fighting to get it wound. It's nubby and handspun, so not super smooth. They are great color and feel, though. I may be doing another short sweater for Jean out of the color she chooses.

It's still in the 90s, but with the lower humidity. Our week at the beach shows a typical phone-in forecast: highs in the mid90s, lows around 80, with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms.

Early errands

It got up to 95 here today, but with unusually low humidity. Not too bad, actually. I had a bunch of stuff to get done before going to the Gallery, and amazingly, everything went smoothly. First I went to the rheumatologist's office for the 2-week lab work to be sure all was okay with the new anti-inflammatory. Guess it was - they called in the 90-day supply prescription.

Then I went by a local quilt shop. I've been saving "special" t-shirts - either from travel or just better "fun" ones to have a quilt made from them. After weeding out my clothes and shirts, I finally got the discards accumulated. I wanted to get them out of the house, so today was the day! I'm really looking forward to having the quilts. The travel one will be full-sized, the fun one will be some smaller. I'll post photos when I get them near the end of July.

Next I stopped by the Community Kitchen to leave off another batch of clothes. And still got to the gallery before opening time. It was a quiet afternoon and evening, though.

A good Monday!

We've had a high of 90 today, but much lower humidity. And John loves it. The temperature now (about 11:30 p.m.) is in the upper 60s. That is pretty special!

Bridge today was great! Last week, John was high and I was second. But for the average scores over the last 13 weeks, out of 17 players, John was second and I was high!!!!! HOORAY!!!! Our leader gives the winner a gift certificate to the restaurant of the winner's choice. We've asked for one to our favorite local Chinese restaurant.

Finishing that shawl unleashed something or other. All of a sudden, I have four works in progress, and a plan to make a baby surprise sweater for one of the swimmer's first grandbaby-to-be. I probably ought to make 2-3 of those, just to have some on hand.

Close-ups

 
 
 

The Shawl!

Here are some of the photos of the shawl.

 
 
 
 

Triple Play

The eczema has really been itchy the last couple of days. Some of my Bosom Buddies made some recommendations about treatment. I made an early trip to the drug store to get some soaps and lotions. Hope springs eternal that I'll find something that will help.

I'd planned to spend the whole day at home (predicted and actual high was 97 today). But then Essie called to tell me that she had finished the shawl. So, of course, I went zipping downtown to meet her and pick up the shawl. It is spectacular! Everything I'd hoped it would be! Sorry, but this is a teaser. We didn't get photos taken today. I promise to do that tomorrow.

The day ended up with a Hitchcock movie - never a bad choice. And Notorious (1946) is not only Hitchcock, but with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman. Plus the great supporting cast of Claude Rains and Louis Calhern. This is one of the grand old movies. Be sure to watch it if you get a chance.



 
 

Eczema vs Psoriasis

On the medical front, does anybody have eczema or psoriasis? How do they tell the difference? I've looked at a number of sites on line, without really getting an answer. I've been told by the family doc and her PA that what I have is eczema. Nothing really seems to work for it, and the itching is really starting to drive me crazy (not that I'm not most of the way there). I'm taking benedryl to try to help with the itching, and applying cortisone cream and various other lotions, but nothing really seems to help much. Isn't it nuts how something as ordinary as itching can make you so miserable and be so constant. I know there is a form of arthritis that can be associated with psoriasis. I have to go in to the rheumatologist's office next week for lab work. I'm going to ask his staff if they have any recommendations.

The gallery was open until 7 tonight with an Art Night on Main Street. It was hot, but there were still folks out walking and checking out galleries. We had a number of people stopping by. It was nice to get home, though, and get into "soft clothes" and get my shoes off.

I finally turned off the TV news and the radio. Way too much stuff about Michael Jackson. I read that somebody said that probably the only people who has caused such a commotion by death was Princess Diana and Elvis. Seems like that to me, too.

Lunch & Glass

We went for our Thursday lunch today, to a new location. The food and the service at the last one we tried was pretty mediocre, but I think we've found a place we can stay for a while. Good food, good selection, and reasonable prices.

We went to a talk at the Hunter Museum of American Art this evening. The Hunter and the TN Aquarium have a joint exhibit called Living Jellies, exhibiting various kinds of jellyfish and glass from various glass artists. It's a terrific exhibit, and well worth a stop here to see it. One of the glass artists, Stephen Rolfe Powell, gave a talk and slide show at the museum. He was a good speaker, and his work is fantastic. A definite WOW!

 
 
 

Definitely visible

Not even the Iran election and riots could knock Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina from the top news spot today. He really does defy description.

What arrogance!

What stupidity!

Why is it that people with "high visibility" (celebrities, politicians, etc.) cannot seem to realize that they are truly VISIBLE!!!!

How could he possibly think he would not be found out? Even as an SC reporter met him at the airport in Atlanta on his way back from Buenos Aires, his office staff was announcing that he had been hiking the Appalachian Trail. And in response to the reporter's questions, he said that he wanted to go somewhere more exciting, that he was alone in BA, that he spent his time driving up and down the waterfront.

AMAZING!

He's resigned as Chairman of the Republican Governors Conference. When is he going to resign as Governor?

----------------------------------------
Well, in local news, I don't have my shawl yet, but I do have photos that Essie took while it was being blocked. Thanks, Essie!

 
 
 

The Case of the Missing Governor

Have you heard the story about the Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford? He's not been heard from since last Thursday. He has not contacted anybody - his wife, children, lieutenant governor, staff - not anybody!

How bizarre is this!?!

There are lots of stories about this story on Google News.

There are all sorts of stories about the whys and wherefores. But if anybody really knows, he's not talking. I guess we'll find out eventually.

RIP: Kodachrome

Mondays are always busy, and today was no exception. Bridge was fun, though, and we both had some good cards for a change. I gather that I'm in the running for the top average for the last quarter. Our "fearless leader" gives the winner a gift certificate to the restaurant of his/her choice. It's always good for bragging rights, though.

We're still in this heat wave. Our high today was 97, but that dropped quickly to about 80 when a small line of showers came through. We had only a few drops of rain at our house, but the drop in temperature was refreshing. It'll quickly go back up into the 90s - unfortunately.

RIP: Kodachrome film.
Those of us who are semi-serious photographers have always known Kodachrome film (even before the Simon & Garfunkle song) as the epitome of quality. Due to the race to digital photography, Kodak has decided to stop making Kodachrome.

This photo from National Geographic of the Afghan girl is perhaps the most famous image filmed on Kodachrome film. The photographer who took this image has been chosen to use the last roll of Kodachrome film. It'll be great to see the photos he decides to take.

Summer doldrums

I guess the summer doldrums hit early around here. I just couldn't get a blog written last night. I could blame it on the heat - but that probably wouldn't fly.

I wasn't a complete slug this weekend, but didn't miss it by much. I went out for a bit yesterday morning and (gasp!) did some shopping for clothes. I got several things - a new smaller robe for swimming, some white capris, and a couple of tops. It's good to have to do this, I guess, but I still hate doing it. The high on Saturday was 97.

Today was the usual laundry day. The usual three loads of laundry per week had shrunk to two. We just don't wear as many clothes in the summertime, and they're not nearly as bulky. Guess that's supposed to balance out the constantly-running air conditioner. Allan came over for dinner (dirty rice, with chicken livers). He went to the Chattanooga Market today, and brought us some green tomatoes and a few peaches. I'll get the tomatoes done in a day or two, and the peaches will have to ripen for another couple of days. Yum! The high today was 98!

Hot, but not for penguins!

At 11 p.m., it's still in the upper 70s. It was 96 today, and predicted to be 97 tomorrow. Really bad for several more days.

Several pairs of our penguins (at the TN Aquarium) have laid eggs. The first one hatched yesterday, and they've had film of the baby on the news today - just a little ball of grey fluff! Exciting stuff! Click here to see the Aquarium page about the baby. This photo came from google images.

HHH

It's been a scorcher today, and predicted to be even hotter tomorrow. Yuck! Plus we had a session of lightning and thunder about 4 a.m. this morning. We didn't get any rain. I was aware of it, but fortunately, went right back to sleep. And so we get the standard summertime weather forecast: Hot, Hazy, and Humid

This was the Third Thursday, so we kept the Gallery open until 8. It was so hot this evening that we didn't have any pedestrians or folks dropping in. We went to Blue Orleans for dinner, and even there it was only about 1/3 full. I had one of my weird meals of salad and appetizer - but YUM! Their Vieux Carre salad is mixed greens topped with crumbled blue cheese and bacon, with a bacon vinaigrette dressing. And the dressing was warm! made with real bacon grease! Oh, a REAL wilted lettuce salad - how divine! I even mopped up the plate with a piece of bread. And my second course was their fried green tomatoes appetizer. Well, nobody said it ALL had to be healthy. And, as John and Allan kept telling me - all I had was some tomatoes and a salad. Right!

Is it summer yet?

Summer doesn't officially start for four more days (21 June), but you couldn't prove it around here. We had a high of 95 today, with predicted highs on the next few days of 96, 98, and 95. Of course, around here, that means there's humidity to match. I think that means we can say, without fear of contradiction, that it's actually summer!

We are SO ready to go to the beach!

Dentists, doctors, and speakers

I had two doctors' appointments this morning. Got my teeth cleaned at 7:30, followed by a visit to the rheumatologist at 8:30. Everything is okay with both. Of course, all the aches that had been bothering me for the last couple of weeks were gone by today, but Dr. B did change my anti-inflammatory Rx. I'd been on Sulindac for a number of years, and it was time for a change. He started me on Diclofenac sodium this time, and we'll see how that one does. As usual, he prescribed a drug available in generic form.

Not too much going on at the gallery this morning. I gave a program to a small art group tonight. This is not something I usually like to do, but I don't have a problem with "public speaking", so it was okay. They asked me to talk for about 15-20 minutes about my work. I can do that. I thought my problem would be keeping it down to 15-20 minutes. I took some paints, brushes, and a canvas I wanted to rework. I talked about my work and showed some pieces. Then I made a mess and put some paint on that canvas. One lady was perceptive enough to comment, "Obviously, you're all about 'process'." And, of course, that's quite true. I've said that frequently. Anyway, it was a nice group, and they were attentive. I even pretty much stayed in the time allotted.

Yucky cards

Somedays, we wonder why we play bridge. It's supposed to be fun, and to be a challenge. It was definitely a challenge today - more so for John and for me. Both of us had lousy cards. It's really not much fun when you never get cards good enough to even gt in trouble. Oh, well - we keep coming back.

We're going to have almost a full house at the beach this year. We've got some "new blood" coming. It's always exciting to add new people to the mix. It gives folks somebody different to tell all the old lies and stories to. It does keep us going.

Music?

We spent most of the day in "soft clothes". I did get the laundry done - and we even got out of the house for a while.

John had read that a local group of amateur musicians who got together to play baroque string music was giving a free concert this afternoon. The group played concertos by Bach and Vivaldi, plus Handel's Water Music. Afterwards, all I could think of was the old joke about the musicians who played Beethoven, and Beethoven lost. The ensemble played with dedication and obvious love of the music and their craft. But, in all honesty, Bach, Handel, and Vivaldi lost.

One of my Bosom Buddies called tonight. She lives in south Alabama. The line of severe thunderstorms that went through the area had a lot of lightening associated with it. Her computer got fried, and she just wanted to tell me so I could pass the word. I'm glad that storm missed us today.

Sleepy Saturday

I guess I should just skip writing on Saturdays. Most of them I do what I did today - read, knit, and watch the NCIS Marathon on the USA Network.

I do have a new M.C.Beaton to read: Death of a Witch, A Hamish Macbeth Mystery. We do love the Hamish books.

Phone-in-forecast

I had in mind to take a nap this afternoon, but the cleaning crew didn't come until about 1:45 and were here until nearly 4. John got in a killer nap after that, but I didn't. I surely would like to sleep late in the morning.

I got a call Wednesday from a local artist inviting me to be the speaker at the monthly meeting next week of their small art organization. She said they would like me to talk about my work and show some pieces. That's not usually my forte, but I can always talk about my work. So I'll be thinking about that all weekend, and making some notes. At least it only needs to be about 15 minutes long.

John noticed in the weekly entertainment section that there was going to be a free afternoon concert on Sunday by the Chattanooga Baroque Strings ensemble. That should be a good concert - and we'll be there.

It's definitely turning into summer, with the standard summer forecast - hot, hazy, humid, with a chance of afternoon thunderstorms. The "phone-in-forecast". Stay cool!

Poor prose

I'm current reading Rogues' Gallery: The Secret History of the Moguls and Money that Made the Metropolitan Museum by Michael Gross. It's really an interesting book, and I'm learning a lot about the Met and its beginnings. However, it's not the best-written book I've ever come across. And, it's definitely emphasizing the lack of any kind of editing in publishing today.

This convoluted sentence is one of the worst pieces of prose I've read in a long time. In this quote, the pronoun "His" refers to Henry [Harry] Osborne Havemeyer.

"His tastes evolved, moving from volume to quality and from objects to paintings after he married Louisine, who'd led a privileged childhood in Philadelphia and Europe, before her first $100 purchase from the unknown and financially strapped Degas, who, legend has it, was about to quit painting when she came along."

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A county just north of us is under a tornado warning, and there's a wicked weather front moving our way. We're having our Riverbend festival in downtown Chattanooga this week, but it should be just now ending for tonight. The Bonnaroo music festival started tonight - just west of us about half-way between here and Nashville. It's all outside, and they're probably getting hammered with this storm. Oh, dear!

Chapter 2

Of course, I had to tell my story at swimming this morning. Oh, my, they are SO helpful! After nearly drowning from laughter, they were all busy setting up a schedule to visit us in the federal prison in Atlanta and bring casseroles and desserts and bake files in cakes. And these are my FRIENDS!!!! The internet Bosom Buddies weren't much better - they're going to visit and bring me knitting to do.

When I left coffee, I picked up some "counter checks" now from the bank. It turns out the bank had changed the routing numbers somewhere along the way, and that was the problem. I've talked with our accountant, and she says there's nothing to be done about the IRS to stop their logging in the unchashable check. She e-mailed us another payment coupon, and I'll just send the payment in again. There's still plenty of time for me to get the payment in on time. The IRS will just send me a note saying the check was no good and to send them another one, but I will have already done that. They might charge me a fee, but she wasn't sure about that. If I get a letter and phone number from a "real" person, I'm going to call, and maybe they'll waive the fee.

I'm not quite as panicky about it any more. The accountant said that account numbers and routing numbers sometimes get changed with bank mergers. That wasn't my problem, though - we bank at a credit union, and it hasn't changed in the 23 years we've been here (except the routing number, obviously).

So I'll mail the second check tomorrow, and then all there is to do is wait.

Shot in the foot

Unaccustomed as I am to putting in an 8-hour day, these second-Tuesdays are long. Gallery and Friends of the Library meeting. I picked up Chinese carry-out on the way home.

The first thing I did this morning was go to the post office to mail the quarterly payment to the IRS. I went to the studio as usual on Tuesdays. Then came the bad news. Vicki opened her mail, and there was a returned check - the one I had given her last week. WHAT????? It certainly wasn't from insufficient funds.

Oh, damn! Old cheap Mary had run out of checks, rummaged in the back of the cabinet, and found an old box of checks. OK, I said - "I'll just use these up - don't need to order more. I pay most things online, so I don't write many checks anymore." They're so old the date line still says "19___". Well, guess what?!? The checks - the paper itself, not the money - are no longer good. I don't know why - I'm guessing a coding number or maybe some magnetic ink in the routing numbers now or who knows what. Oh, DAMN!!! And I've just mailed one of these invalid checks to the IRS.

I'd written four checks on these things - one a donation to the ambulance service (got that one back in the mail when I got home), one to pay a friend for a painting I'd bought, one to the Gallery for my dues, and today's check to the IRS. My first call was to the friend - she was understanding, not a problem. Next to the accountant to find out how to get in touch with the IRS to let them know, and what to do next. (I haven't heard back from her yet.) Then I called the bank and placed an order for checks through them, to be delivered in about a week. The guy told me that I can come by the bank tomorrow and they can print me some temporary checks to use until then. What a mess!

It's really hell when you shoot yourself in the foot!

A day off

No blog tonight - I'm taking the day off.

Keep smiling (it keeps people wondering what you're up to)!

A time to remember

We've done almost nothing today - but we did it very well! I did fix bacon, eggs & chorizo, and biscuits for breakfast this morning. The other six days of the week are always the same - alternating between an egg & toast and cereal, so I splurge on Sunday mornings. And I do the laundry on Sunday, so that happened today, too.

But last night was one of my rare non-sleeping nights, so I got in a solid 2-hour nap this afternoon. However, while I was up at 2 a.m., I got to see a lot of the D-Day ceremonies from the US Cemetery in Normandy. We were in France 10 years ago with Paul, who was 14 at the time. The cemeteries in Normandy are incredibly emotional places - the heroes still surround and protect us there.












The U.S. Cemetery above Omaha Beach is huge (upper photo from Google). We also found a much smaller Canadian cemetery farther east and away from the beach. It was full of flowers, and we were especially moved to notice that the area was planted with maple trees - the symbol of Canada.(lower photo from Google)

Finishing and starting

I kept the Gallery today. Nothing much in the way of traffic, but I did finish a J.A.Jance book (Joanna Brady) and finished the washcloth I was knitting of 100% bamboo yarn.

As a start, I got started on a new lace kimono-type garment. I got the yarn from Missy - a Jaggerspun wool/silk blend of cranberry fingering yarn. We'll see how this works out.

I love a lazy day!

Our Swim Team brunch was delicious - as always. It's fun to get together from time to time, on dry land

I went hurrying from there to the optometrist for my biannual exam. John took the first appointment, and then he went to the breakfast while I was getting my eyes checked.

After that great breakfast, we pretty much skipped lunch. John got in a good nap, but I had a followup appointment with our family doctor. She'd changed my blood pressure medication, and wanted to check it. All is well, so I got a new prescription for the med, and another bottle of samples. And the nagging cough is gone now.

I'm going to head to the bed early again tonight, and hope to sleep later in the morning.

A Rainy Thursday

We've had a lot of gentle rain today, but nothing to keep us from our appointed rounds.

We got Allan to the airport. He's gone back to NYC for a week - to see his sweetie, to do some work, and to take a few more music lessons.

After our usual Thursday lunch, John finally got a haircut.

The Swim Team is having a post-class covered-dish breakfast tomorrow. I'm going to take a fresh-fruit medley, so I spent a good while cutting up fruit this afternoon. Everything is pretty good - pineapple, canteloupe, honeydew melon, and oranges. I'm going to put in some blueberries and blackberries out of the freezer. Yum!!!

Did anybody else watch the premier of the new show, Royal Pains, on the USA network tonight? It was pretty good - with some potential. We'll be watching that one for a while. Check it out if you missed it tonight. The USA network is turning out to be our network-of-choice this summer.

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Update: Both houses of the Tennessee Legislature voted to override the Governor's veto of the bill allowing people who are licenses to carry a concealed weapon to carry a weapon into an establishment that serves alcohol (bars, taverns, restaurants). A person who is "carrying" will not be allowed to drink. There are absolutely no words to describe how utterly stupid this is!

Lagniappe

The internet is such fun! You never know what will happen when you post something.

I know that you have to use common sense with posting factual information about yourself. And you certainly have to be careful about dealing with people you might meet online. Having said this, I'll tell you about some out-of-the-blue contacts I've gotten as a result of a posting I made on a large public site.
One of my favorite sites is A Word A Day. I've always loved words and languages, and this is a fun look at various words. I check it daily.

About a week or so ago, I posted a comment about one of the words - nothing special or unusual or controversial. About two days later, I got an e-mail from a gentleman in Gulfport, MS, relating to MY comment. Over the course of several days, we exchanged about 10 e-mails, culminating with his sending me several photo calendars that his company had compiled with photos of that area of the Gulf Coast. So we've made a nice new friend.

Today brought me another e-mail as a result of my comment on A Word A Day. This one came from a young man who wondered if I was the mother of one of his high school classmates. Of course, that was the case - he had been in Jean's high school graduating class. He didn't remember, though, that we had been acquaintances of his parents and very good friends of their next-door neighbors. He is now a successful professional in Texas, but is planning to attend the high school reunion.

Lagniappe!
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I have to share Clay Bennett's "on target" (pun intended) editorial cartoon from the 3 June 2009 edition of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Idiocy!

The Tennessee Legislature, in its infinite iodiocy, passed a bill allowing licensed gun owners to carry loaded concealed weapons into places where alcohol is served (i.e. bars, taverns, and restaurants). I have to say that this is one of those instances where I can find absolutely NO logic in this bill. This is absolutely nuts!

Obviously, our Governor felt the same way. He vetoed the bill as soon as it hit his desk. That was last week.

Well, you've never heard such screams as those that came from the legislature. How DARE he do that! He didn't even tell us he was going to veto the bill! Etc., etc., etc.

Today, both houses introduced bills to override the Governor's veto. Unfortunately, in Tennessee, it takes only a simple majority vote of each house to override a veto. The Governor is expecting the bills to pass. It does boggle the mind! The only good things I've found in this situation is pride in our Governor and that both our senator and representative voted against the bill and will vote against the override.

As William Bendix as Riley in The Life of Riley would say: "What a revolting development this is!"

Starting on a newone

Missy had some lovely silk/wool commercial yarns, and I'm going to buy some of a rich cranberry color for my second shawl. Obviously, I'm just a glutton for punishment. This yarn is going to sell by the pound, which we don't know how to measure from the pattern. We'll weigh the shawl when it's finished to figure out how much yarn I used. Always something new and different.

Well, Monday shopping isn't new and different - except I've added a stop at Aldi's to the mix. The prices there are much cheaper than WalMart. I have to see how well I hold up - shopping at two stores.

The cards at bridge were definitely mixed. I'm sure I'll be solidly in the middle when the scores are added up for today.

With any luck, we'll both sleep a bit later in the morning. Yawn!