Last full day of painting

The painter finished with all the walls today. He’s coming back in the morning to do the kitchen ceiling and some touch-up areas. Then he’ll return again after the rest of the work is done to the inevitable chips and bangs that the other workmen do. Sounds like a plan…

I got my clothes put back in the closet (YEA!!!), and I wet-mopped the floors in the bedrooms. I’m not going to do much in the way of cleaning until the rest of the work is done.

Allan and Tina came by for a bit, and then we met them later at Rib & Loin for some BBQ. Yum! I guess most of life and social interaction revolves around food.
---------------------------
This is the Swallow Point Lighthouse, Grand Manan, NB.

 

And all that jazz

We've just found out that Alison is going to be at home in SC for a few days next week. If it suits them, we surely would like to go over for a day or two. It’s always a treat to see her.

We went for haircuts today, and then went to the concert at the Hunter Museum. It was the Grand Dominion Jazz Trio, which is part of The Great Dominion Jazz Band from Vancouver, BC. They're here in town for a three-day jazz festival, and this concert is part of the event. We're not going to the rest of it, but this concert was free to museum members. We met up with Allan and Tina, and then went to dinner at our favorite Mexican place.
------------------------------------------------
Our Lady Mocs basketball coach changed his mind, and asked our AD to rehire him. We’re thrilled that we’re going to get to keep him here.
----------------------------------------------
This photo is of a herring weir in the waters of Grand Manan, NB.

 

Oh, No!!!

Lady Mocs’ fans are devastated that we’re losing Coach Wes Moore to Eastern Carolina Univ. He’s been such a successful coach for 12 years, we’re really just surprised that it’s taken so long for a larger school to grab him. He’s getting a much bigger salary and lots more recruiting and team travel money. Plus all his wife’s family lives within 50 miles of the campus. We’ve always thought an SEC or ACC school didn’t get him is because they seem to be hiring women. One of the names being mentioned is Kyra Elzy - who played for Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols. John and I would really like to see her come here.

The painter didn’t get here today. He had called to say he’d be late, so things obviously weren’t going well - and then he called to say that he’d had a blow-out on the interstate and didn’t have a spare tire. So he was having a really bad day. Anyhow, he’ll be here in the morning, and he says he’s going to be using Kilz on the walls - really nasty, smelly stuff for the day. That’ll definitely mean eating out!
-----------------------
The flowers are gorgeous in New Brunswick!

 

The job is underway.

The painter came this morning, and is well into the job. Things are taped off and/or draped with plastic sheeting. This called for lunch from Burger King, and dinner at Lily May’s. It’s a tough job. He has left things so we can get to the coffee pot and info the refrigerator. I think this is a guy who really knows what he’s doing.

Vicki picked me up and we went to Lowe's to pick out stuff. I picked out a sink (white acrylic), countertop (laminate), and bought a new faucet.

John stayed home this afternoon, and I went to bridge and WalMart. I had a couple of good hands, but nothing spectacular.

The painter is due back at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

I don’t know why I’m so tired tonight, but I am - hence the early blog posting.
----------------------------------
This photo is the front of the Marathon Inn, Grand Manan, New Brunswick.

 

What if????

"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise. Read this blog. It’s interesting to think what would have happened in history if one little thing were changed.

Think about it!

Brutal weather

What terrible storms ravaged Mississippi today - many deaths and incredible damage. We’ve had rain and thunderstorms all day today (nearly 2” of rain), but nothing like that. The weather has kept things nice and cool today. But we’re still under a tornado watch.

The coolness has been great for the work. John and Allan got all the heavy furniture piled up in the middles of the bedrooms. We finished getting stuff off the walls, and then started peeling wallpaper. John got most of it done, and I did what I could reach. There’s a little bit left to do tomorrow. The painter really has a job ahead of him.

But, we hate all the empty walls. It even echoes. Going through all this stuff is really going to be a chore, but it’ll be nice to have paintings on the wall again.
-------------------------------------
This is the Marathon Inn, Grand Manan, New Brunswick.

 

A busy Friday

Just a usual Friday around here. I went to the gallery, finished up a couple of pieces and ate lunch with Vicki. I stopped at a relatively new BBQ place on the way home to pick up a couple of carry-out orders for our dinner tonight. The place has been reviewed very highly in the paper this past week, and it was very busy. People were leaving when they were told it would take at least 30 minutes to serve them. My carry-out order took about 30 minutes, too - but I'd already paid for it, so had to wait. The place may be a victim of "good reviews" - at least for a while. I hope they can "weather the storm" - and I hoped that our dinner was worth it. We do love good BBQ (I got one pulled pork, and one rib), and are always looking for new places to try. Of course, the standard by which all BBQ ribs are measured is the Rendezvous in Memphis - absolutely the best in the world! This was a bit sweeter than we prefer.

Do any of you have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine? What prompted you to go for testing? This morning, John suggested I go for testing. We both snore, but obviously, I'm keeping him away with MY snoring. I sleep soundly and go to sleep quickly, usually only getting up during the night to go to the bathroom. Maybe we should go for testing.

Our weather-guesser says we’re going to get rain - starting during the early morning hours. And there’s a possibility for some severe weather.

We’re still working on getting these rooms ready for painting. Amazing the things that we’re finding. I came across a belt which an old boyfrbeiend had made for me in high school - leather tooled with my name across the back (high fashion in Texas during the early 1950s. I can’t believe that belt once went around my waist. It now will go around my thigh!!!!! And there was a metal box with some of Pink’s letters and papers - fun to read through.

Sue & Randy and Margaret have been talking about going on an Erie Canal trip like we did last year. John said he'd love to go along with them - and they've invited him. He and Randy have to agree that they will NOT discuss politics on the trip, and John has to realize that Randy will be the captain, with John as the "able-bodied seaman". John quickly agreed! I'm passing on this one. They'll be going with a different company from the one we used - it begins closer to Rochester, NY. John's going to drive, and he'll pick them up at the airport - so they don't have to rent a car. They're all excited about it.
----------------------------------
This photo was taken on the deck of the Marathon Inn, Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick.

 

Working all day

We’re not due to get the rain until early Saturday morning - but we’re looking forward to it - hoping to wash the last of the pollen out of the air.

I worked at the gallery all day today. I got some painting done, and there were actually customers and lookers in and out all day long. Usually nothing happens at all. Plus John went by our favorite Mexican place and got some carry-out for us for lunch. Yum!

The painter is coming at 9 a.m. Monday, so we have a lot of work to do this weekend. We got started this evening after supper. I think it’s best to just get the stuff out of the way beforehand, and then cull and clean as we put stuff back. We are throwing some stuff out, though. We got everything off the walls tonight. As you can imagine, that’s a major undertaking in this house. Allan is going to help us over the next couple of days, taking down some beds and moving a desk, chest, file cabinet, and bookcases. We are taking it a little bit at a time - working for a while, then stopping for a while. At least we know we have a schedule to meet.
--------------------------------------------------
This is the last photo from Seneca Falls, NY - the birthplace of the Women’s Rights Movemen

 

Kitchen renovation

The kitchen renovation is moving right along. The flooring guy came today to measure. The painter called with his estimate, and he is due to start painting on Monday.

That really puts us under the gun! Now we’ve GOT to clean up this clutter - just so he can get to the walls. I’ll have him start in the kitchen, I guess - that’s the easiest to get ready. The middle bedroom isn’t too bad either. It’s the corner room that’s going to be hard. The computer, storage closet, storage boxes, art stuff are bad enough. But then there’s one whole wall that is covered with bookshelves. It’s needed to come down for some time - and this is it! And we’ll just have to do something with it.

Tomorrow I’m going to be keeping the Gallery, so that’ll give me some thinking time about what to do with all this stuff.
--------------------------------------------
This is one more pattern photo of cat-tails from Seneca Falls, NY.

 

And the eruption goes on....

The volcano in Iceland is still rumbling right along. I do hope it decides to settle down soon. We now have our plane tickets and the tour part of the trip paid for. So now we wait and see. In the meantime,
CLICK HERE for some incredible photos of the eruption. (Thanks for the link, Sian!)

We got maybe 0.5 inches of rain today. I was driving some in it, so some of the pollen got washed off my car, but it’ll take more rain than that to really clear up the air. I’m not going to get my car washed until this pollen deluge is over.
-----------------------------------------
This doesn't compare for drama with the Iceland images, but this is what can be seen up close to the boat at a dock.

 

Monday, Monday

Kind of a run-of-the-mill Monday. So I'll just leave it at that.

Today's photo is an old factory building in Seneca Falls, NY.

 

A lovely spring Sunday

I really slept in this morning - 8:45!!! So breakfast was more like brunch.

I headed out to go to our Four Bridges Arts Festival. There's always some great stuff to look at there. I got a few painting ideas, but only bought a small glass snail ($15.00) for our chair-side table. We love little glass pieces - and couldn't resist that or the price.

Then I went back to the Gallery. Our building owner was having a benefit (for Chattanooga Cares) art show in the parking lot next to the building, and we were participating in that. I kept the shop while Vicki stayed with some stuff outside. It was a gorgeous day today - lots of sunshine, a breeze, and temps in the 70s - so it was pleasant. By the time I left, half-way through - we'd sold one of Vicki's paintings, one of Sandy's, and had lots of lookers. So it was a good thing to have the Gallery open. Plus, they had food - free for participants - so I got some BBQ and potato salad to bring home for our dinner tonight.

It'll probably be another early-to-bed night, since tomorrow starts at 6 to get to swimming.
---------------------------------
This of several Canal-side sculptures in Seneca Falls, NY.

 

The Friday 56 (or maybe Sunday will do)

This is from Bev Sykes’ blog, Airy Persiflage

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

Standing Tall: A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph by C. Vivian Stringer

We’d made a deal: I’d pay the bills and get the creditors off his back, and he’d draw up a schedule and pay me back. To be honest, I think he was at least as relieved to be heard and understood as to have the debt taken care of.

Exhibit reception

Our reception went well. We didn’t get a large crowd. We had thought we’d get some spill-over from the much larger art festival down the road. But that didn’t seem to be the case. Sandy had a few friends and family come by. Margaret came over (always a treat), and several of my swimming buddies came with spouses. There maybe 5-6 other folks who came in, but all were friends. And no sales - at least not yet. We’re still pleased with the show and how it looks.

John and I didn’t even go out to eat afterwards. We were both so tired, we just came home, got into “soft clothes”, and ate some of the party leftovers. John’s already gone to bed, and I won’t be up much longer.

This photo shows the three artists - Sandy, Mary, and Vicki.

 

Good grief!

We almost never agree with, or even read, George Will. So imagine our distress when we both totally agree with his article, This Nuclear Option is Nuclear, in the 19 April 2010 issue of Newsweek. This is the final paragraph of his piece, but read the whole thing - it’s not long.

Today, a mini–Manhattan Project could find ways to recycle used nuclear fuel in a way that reduces its mass 97 percent and radioactive lifetime 98 percent. Today, Alexander says, 10 percent of America's lightbulbs are lit with electricity generated by nuclear material recycled from old Soviet weapons stocks. This is, as Alexander says, "one of the greatest swords-into-plowshares efforts in world history, although few people seem to know about it." It is a travesty that the nation that first harnessed nuclear energy has neglected it so long because of fads about supposed "green energy" and superstitions about nuclear power's dangers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The symphony tonight was definitely our least favorite of the year. The featured selection was one with orchestra, symphony chorus, and two soloists (soprano and baritone). The voices were wonderful, but this is just not our favorite kind of symphonic music. Oh well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Happy Tax Day!

I said last night that I planned to stay home all day today - and I did just that! My planned late sleeping didn’t happen, though. The phone rang about 5:20 a.m. The man with the unintelligible (to me) eastern European accent obviously had a wrong number. I had almost gotten back to sleep by 5:45, when he called again. Oh, well - I finally got up about 6:30 - John had gotten up a little earlier than that.

I did get a few things accomplished in any case. I got all the paperwork ready to send in when payment for our summer trip. I went through my shirts - taking out the too-big ones to take to the homeless shelter, and putting the winter ones away. I even made a tentative pass at clearing up some of the stuff in the corner bedroom. The cleaning there is going to be SO major - but it’s got to be done before any painting can be done.

I finished my book - Sweetgrass by Mary Alice Monoe. It’s a nice book about the low country of South Carolina. I have another of her books on reserve at the library.

I hope you’ve filed your income tax by now - if not you’d better hurry to get to an open post office before midnight. I always remember Pink saying how happy she was to pay her taxes. She was glad that she had the income that was taxable, and that she contributed to the services provided by the government. So pay your taxes with a smile!
-----------------------------------------
This church is in Seneca Falls, NY.

 

Rennaisance Park sculptures

Tennessee Leaf by Terry Allen is one of the two new sculptures in Chattanooga’s Renaissance Park (our newest park). The second one is called A Walk in the Park by Carol Mickett and Robert Stackhouse.

The Hunter Museum of American Art sponsored an event to introduce these two new pieces, with a few words by the artists. Fortunately, it was a lovely day today - bright sunshine and not too hot. Sorry I didn’t take a camera - we’ll have to go back and take some photos.

The five finalists for each of these commissions were submitted to the public for registering their choice. I voted, and actually voted for both of these pieces. They are terrific!

We’d never been in this new park before this afternoon, but today won’t be the last. It’s a fantastic urban park, right on the river, but has had hills “built”, walkways laid out, bridges built, to allow for exploring, but still have a feeling of solitude.

We do love living in Chattanooga. Come visit us!

Happy Birthday, Pinkie!

It’s been a long, busy day (for a change).

I left the house about 8:45 this morning, and didn't get back home until nearly 6 p.m. I had to pick up some cookie trays to take to the various library branches as "thanks" to the staff members from the Friends of the Library - something we do every year. Next to the library to pick up a couple of books I'd reserved, and then down to the gallery. I stayed there until closing at 4 p.m. - there was a Friends of the Library council meeting at 4:30, so there's no point in going home, and then going back downtown. The cookie trays got passed out to others to take to the various branches tomorrow - I only have to deliver one. The meeting was okay - but I did get a chance to tell the head of the nominating committee that I'm not going to serve another 3-year term on the Council. I've decided I want to help with projects that the FOL does, but I just don't want to be "in charge" of anything any more. That was a relief!

Vicki has taken over my kitchen renovation as my "decorator". She is a licensed decorator, so I'm more than willing to have her do this. She's already got three people ready to come talk to me and make estimates on work to be done.

We’ve spent the whole evening getting our plane tickets for our trip this summer. We talked to the travel agent doing the tour part, and got a quote for flights. Then John did a lot of checking. He could save over $300 by doing it ourselves - so that’s what we did. He got all the information up on the computer (I hate doing all that searching). Then I did the actually ordering (my typing is so much better than his and is much easier for me). In any case, it’s finally done - we’ve spent a bundle of money - but at least we’ve definitely got a trip. BTW, in case I’ve forgotten to mention it, we’re going to Iceland on a tour with the Rice Alumni Association, and then visiting a friend near Oxford, England.

April 13 is always special to me - it’s Pink’s birthday (1908 - 1983).
-------------------------------
Here are some folks watching the double lock on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal.

 

"The Polio Crusade"

The American Experience on PBS tonight was a program about the polio epidemic around 1950 and the development of the Salk and Sabin vaccines to combat the disease. I remember how scary this disease was, how devastating the effects were, and with what relief, the vaccines were welcomed. You can listen to the program online or see if you can find it in a rerun.

Those of you much younger than I don’t remember, and need to see this program. Just to see what great things can be accomplished with immunizations.

 

 

T

Spring surprise

Marty and the grands left about 8 this morning, and arrived safely. It was fun to have them here.

We got started on our usual Sunday stuff - breakfast, CBS Sunday Morning, laundry - all the usual fun activities. But then Flo Jean called. They were on their way to Florida and a cruise. We met them at Cracker Barrel for lunch. We just don’t get to see them often enough, so it was special.

John did the first mowing of the season this afternoon. Speaking of the yard, I found a real treat in the yard the other day. I had planted a lilac bush right after we moved here 23+ years ago. It’s never bloomed - obviously just doesn’t get cold enough in the winter here for a lilac to do well. Amazingly, this spring there are TWO bloom clusters on this lilac. We’ve totally ignored it - and I actually thought I had dug it up. So the blooms were a total surprise. You never know what you’ll get in the spring around here.
---------------------------------------------------
This is an old abandoned industrial building along the Cayuga-Seneca Canal.

 

Tennessee Aquarium

It’s been fun having Marty and the grands here this weekend. I took them to the Tennessee Aquarium this morning - the first time they’d been here long enough to visit it. They had a great time - there’s so much to see and do there.

The kids (11 & 8) had a good time finding and playing with our table toys. This is the first time we've gotten to meet the little ones, and it was a treat. They're bright, nice youngsters. And we even managed to get carry-out Chinese for dinner.

A good day!
----------------------------------------
Watching the boat going through the lock, from up high.

 

 

Sunny & Cool

Mostly just a usual Friday today.

Marty and two of her grandchildren are here for a couple of nights. We haven't seen her for a while - and had never met the grandkids, so it's nice for a visit. They're going to stay two nights, and do Aquarium stuff tomorrow.
----------------------------------
A lock "fountain" on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal.

 

A slow, rainy day

Today was a slow, rainy day. We didn’t get the storms that others did, but the rain gauge shows we got about 1.2” of rain. It was a nice slow rain around here.

We went for haircuts, and then to a chamber concert at the Hunter Museum. That’s lovely music in a lovely setting.
---------------------------------------------
This photo is of a huge osprey nest on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal.

 

Second set

This is the second group of photos of the exhibit. Come see it sometime this month, and/or come to the reception from 5-7 p.m. ET, Saturday, 17 April 2010.

 

 

 

 

First set

This is the first set of photos of our current exhibit at Studio 2/Gallery 2.