Google/Picasa glitch

I've had to suspend my daily photo e-mail. For some reason, Picasa has been refusing or unable to send photos as usual. I checked the Picasa forums, and it's obviously throughout the system. Supposedly Google is trying to find and fix the problem, but after about a week, there's been no fix.

And yet, photos posted to the blogger work just fine. I guess we're not supposed to understand.
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This is one of my new paintings. It's acrylic on canvas, 20x16" (I think), and framed in a shadow-box frame. The name is "Miss Goldie".

 

On to the Sweet Sixteen

We went to Knoxville this evening for the second round of the NCAA. Betty and Buddy went with us to use the extra ticket. We had no problem getting an extra ticket, and it was fun going with them. The Lady Vols pretty much “had their way” with the Univ. of Dayton, winning by 28 points. But both sides played good games, and the Lady Vols move on to the Sweet Sixteen.

We had snow showers this morning, and it was sleeting like crazy when we came out of the Y about 8:45 this morning. But the sun was out from time to time by suppertime. It’s supposed to be around 70 again on Wednesday, and then maybe some flurries again on Sunday. Welcome to Spring in TN.

I’ve just found another delightful blog from Scotland. Check out Dancing Beastie.
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Which way would they have us go along the Canal?

 

HOORAY!

I just saw on the news that the Health Care bill finally passed. Finally! It had gotten to the point that the only reason for wanting it to fail was to make Obama look bad. What a shame that our government has come to this!

But at least there is now something in place - something to start with.

Rain and upsets

Mostly rain and gloom today.

But there was lots of women's basketball on TV this afternoon, with several upsets. They're always fun (except when it's the Lady Vols, of course).
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You're sailing along on the Erie Canal, and all of a sudden, a train overtakes you. It's a bit disconcerting at first, but not as much as when the bicyclers overtake you.

 

 

The Census form

Have you completed and mailed in your census form? It only takes a few minutes. Do it ASAP.
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Today has been all-day basketball. We went to Knoxville with a friend to see two games. The Lady Vols beat Austin Peay in the first game. Then Dayton beat TCU in an exciting buzzer-beater game. We listened to the men Vols on the radio on the way home - they won over Ohio University. And then we saw the end of the #1 Kansas/Northern Iowa game - and saw Northern Iowa beat the #1. Exciting.

Our Lady Mocs played a terrific game against Oklahoma State for the first half. Unfortunately, OK State revved it up in the second half, and the Lady Mocs couldn't keep up their pace. They lost 70-63. And so their season is over.
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This photo is looking north from the Erie Canal.

 

Sad news today

There was sad news this morning. Bobby’s sister, Diane, died in her sleep overnight. She had been in poor health in the last few weeks, and had had many challenges in her life. But 56 is way too young to leave. Our hearts go out to all her family.
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Queen Anne's lace at Lyons, NY.

 

Men's Tournament begins!

We took our tax stuff by the CPA’s office on our way home from haircuts today - so it was a good double play! John went walking on the riverwalk this morning with his rowing partner. They always have to get caught up on daughters (7 between the families) and grandkids, and hadn’t chatted in a while.

We went to the Photo Society tonight - a good program of the speaker’s trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

Today is the first day of the men’s NCAA Tournament, so the games have been on and off all day. Tennessee is playing in the late game, so it’ll be a late night here.
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Goldenrod is lovely - if it doesn't make you sneeze.

 

St. Patrick's Day

John’s stress test went fine. Between films, they even let him “out” for some coffee and breakfast. He has an appointment to see our family doc on Monday for results, followup, and whatever.

I was supposed to go to an organizational meeting about the Tennessee Watercolor Society biannual show and workshop being held in Chattanooga in May/June. I totally forgot - can’t believe it! Oh, well - apologies have been sent.

Would you believe two men dressed like leprechauns tried to rob a bank in Gallatin, TN? Unfortunately, they got interrupted by the police and both were killed in a shoot-out. That’s right up the road from where we lived near Nashville.
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These are the roses that John brought me on Sunday. They're still just beautiful!

 

The best birthday present!

I got an interesting birthday present this morning. John woke me up a little after 6, telling me that he was having some chest pains. He had already taken four low-dose aspirins. I got him quickly to the ER. His pain was minimal, but constant, with none of the classic stuff (squeezing, crushing, sweating, nausea, etc.). They did an EKG, chest x-ray, blood work (cardiac enzymes), with followup blood work at 4 hours after the onset of the pain (or when it woke him up). All tests were negative, and a minor abnormality on his EKG had been present on an old EKG they got from our family doc’s office. So they let him go home (6:30-10 a.m. in the ER). He is scheduled for a stress test at 7:30 tomorrow morning, and is to be followed up in the doc’s office after that.

He was grumbling about having caused a “false alarm”. And as I promptly told him, I’d rather do 20 false alarms than one real one. The negative results made for the best birthday present as far as I’m concerned.

We went out to dinner with Allan and Tina (thanks SO much for the flowers and for dinner). Bonefish Grille has some terrific food. It’s probably good that it’s across town - we’d probably go more than 1-2 times a year if it were closer.

Thanks so much for all my loved ones for the birthday cards, calls, e-mails, and Facebook wishes. But the best present was John’s negative results at the ER this morning.
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This is the courthouse in Lyons, NY.

 

Birthday #3 - ME!

I had terrible cards today. In the last progression (45 minutes), our opponents had THREE 700-rubbers, including two slams, for a total of 4420 points in something like 8-10 hands. We played one hand and were set. I think we set them once. Grim!
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We got our 2010 Census Form today. It is filled out and ready to be returned to the Census Bureau. We were surprised at the tiny amount of information that was asked for. The only things asked for were the number of people living at this address; whether we owned the dwelling (rented, or had a mortgage); the names, ages, birthdates, and races of people living at this address. We had expected many more questions.
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It’s not really funny, but….
One of the stories on our local news tonight was about a guard dog from a local establishment that got loose and literally ATE the front bumper and tires off a police car. You may think this is far-fetched - even with film of the damaged car. HOWEVER, this has actually happened. Margaret’s dogs, Alice and Maypop, ate the tires and fenders of her van. She assumed that they had cornered a raccoon or some other critter up under the car, and tore it apart trying to get it. I told her that I just would’ve liked to hear the phone call with the insurance adjuster. Life really IS stranger than fiction.
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And today is the third birthday.
Happy Birthday to Me!
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This dome is in Lyons, NY.

 

Happy Birthday, Sarah!!!

Happy Birthday, Sarah! This is the second of our Birthday Triology.

This was the end of the recuperative weekend. I slept so late that by the time we had finished breakfast, CBS Sunday Morning was completely over. How sweet it was!

Today was the end of the regular college basketball season - and now it's truly into March Madness.

The special time of the day was when John brought me some roses for an early birthday present. He's SO sweet - and they are beautiful. Thanks, Love!
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This steeple is in Lyons, NY.

 

Happy Birthday, Alison!!!

This is the beginning of our Birthday Trio!

We've had off and on rain today. But mostly today was for catching up from tournament week - sleeping late, taking naps, and watching a few more ballgames.

I hope you've all remembered to "spring forward" with your clocks, for the start of Daylight Saving Time 2010.
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These dandelions were at the boat dock in Lyons, NY. Pink always loved dandelions - she said they were the first bright spot of color to herald the start of Spring.

 

Fog, rain, thunder, sunshine - take your pick

There was thick fog when we first left this smorning, then rain, lightening and thunder...but by 5 p.m., the sun was out. Like they say about lots of other places, "if you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes - it'll change".

It felt good to be back to swimming on a regular basis. Our instructor gives us a really good work-out. At the studio, I had to check to be sure all my pieces for the show in April had prices and tags. Vicki had picked out a couple of older pieces for the April show and a whole-group show in May focused on flowers (“April Showers Bring May Flowers). She had them laid with the framing she and her son had recommended. They are really artists in the framing, too, and these pieces will look terrific. I’ll try to get some good photos of them.

We got together with Allan and Tina at Vicki and Roger’s house tonight. Vicki put out a great meal of a bunch of appetizers - lots of variety and all really tasty. And we sat and talked until after 11 - just a fun evening.

I’m hoping for a do-nothing day on Saturday.
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This is the underside of another bridge on the Erie Canal.

 

Thursday rain

It rained this morning. At least it's a bit warmer. Sarah and Emily left in the rain about 11, but said that they were out of by the time they got to the state line. All got home safely. Sarah was coming down with a really bad cold. I'm sorry, but I hope she took it all with her, and didn't leave any of the germs here.

We went to a music program at the Hunter Museum tonight - two guitars. It was a great concert. Allan's Tina got into town again tis afternoon, and they came to the concert, too. Then we all came back here for some dinner. Tina has a couple of interviews set up during this visit. Hopefully something will work out soon, so she can get moved down.

We don't have any plans for the weekend - and that will be nice.
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Back to "normal"?

So today, we’re sort of back to “normal” - whatever that is. We went to swimming and coffee, and then I went on to the studio. Vicki has rearranged stuff and, as always, it looks great. She’s gotten one of my new pieces framed, and it looks SO good. When the other one gets finished, I’ll try to get some decent photos to post.

I did get to the Walmart to get a minimal amount of groceries - it was more crowded than I expected, but I really did have to pick up a few things.

Sarah and Emily came in during the afternoon. Their main order of business was to go to the Aquarium, and they had a good visit there. Then we took them down to see the gallery, and to eat dinner at Blue Orleans. Yum! Both of the girls have come down with colds and are feeling pretty yucky. They went to bed early. They’re going to head back to SC tomorrow. It’s been fun getting together with them at the ballgames and back here at home.

Have a safe drive home, gals!
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This is an early glimpse of spring in Charlotte a few days ago.

 

Mert's Soul Food

We don’t often get excited about a restaurant, but while we were in Charlotte, we found Mert’s Soul Food in the center city on N. College St. We went there on Sunday for breakfast, and liked it so much, we went back that night for dinner (between ballgames). And, last night, we went back again. Check out their menu - we loved everything we had. And be sure to eat there if you’re ever in Charlotte.

One unusual item on the menu at Mert’s is an appetizer - Soul Rolls. The rolls are like egg rolls, but filled with rice, black-eyed peas, collards, and chicken. Excellent! Small loaves of cornbread are served before each meal - a bit more cake-y than I’d prefer, but not sweet - and with a good crust. Yum!

We got home about 2:30 this afternoon. We came home through the mountains - on the Cherohala Skyway. It took a little bit longer, but was ever so much more pleasant than driving through Atlanta. We had wanted to go that way, too, but were afraid there would be snow. And from the snow we saw that was still beside the road (at elevations up to 5300 feet), the road would’ve been impassable. It’s a beautiful drive, though, and I’d recommend it when you’re not in a hurry.
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From Charlotte, NC, this is a photo of a statue of the namesake, Queen Charlotte.

 

Championship games

The UTC Lady Mocs won a hard-fought game over Stamford to claim the Southern Conference berth in the NCAA tournament. Now we wait to find out the seedings, the opponent, and the location.

In the exciting men's game, Wofford won its first trip to the NCAA by beating Appalachian State University.

And we'll be homeward bound early in the morning.
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Here's another spillway along the Canal.

 

Semifinals today

More tournament today, but only four games. Our Lady Mocs won, so they’ll play in the championship game Monday at 5. The player who collapsed last night is okay today, and came to the arena with the team to watch the women play. Unfortunately, one of our seniors on the women’s team hurt her hand on the 1st or 2nd play of the game, and had to be taken out. We heard she had a torn tendon in a finger and had to have surgery on it. It’s been tough on the players this year.

We found a terrific soul food place right next to the hotel, and had both breakfast and an early dinner there today. The food was so good, but you’d definitely need to wait a couple of weeks after eating there to have your cholesterol checked.

We’ve enjoyed being with Sarah and Emily. Their team (College of Charleston) lost tonight, so the girls will probably leave tomorrow. They’re on spring break and have other plans.

The games today and tomorrow are in an arena right around the corner from our hotel, so that’s been great - just short walk. Just a bit of badly needed exercise.
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This is a spillway next to one of the Erie Canal locks.

 

Another long day

A long day again today - some good, some not-so-good.

We had a great visit for brunch with one of my Bosom Buddies and her spouse. They live not too far from Charlotte, and came to spend a couple of hours with us. That's always a treat.

Then we went on to the ballgames - just saw men's games today. Sarah and her friend Emily got here in time for the last two games. Their College of Charleston soundly defeated our UTC Mocs. Unfortunately, during the game, one of the UTC players collapsed on the court. He had to be intubated and given oxygen on the floor, and was taken immediately to the hospital. All we've heard so far is that he's "stable". All good wishes go to him, his family, and the rest of the team family.

Sarah and Emily are staying with us for the next couple of nights. Then we'll head for TN on Monday.
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I just can't pass up the chance for abstract photos.

 

A long day!

Lady Mocs beat UNCG by about 20 points.
The Mocs beat Georgia Southern by 40 points.

We had lunch with some friends from Chattanooga at a great Cuban place.

All in all, we saw 5 ½ ballgames today.

Enough said!
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Another view of the bridge.

 

Travel time

Greetings from Charlotte and the Southern Conference Basketball Tournament! The Lady Mocs play their first game against UNCG tomorrow about 11:30.

We had an almost uneventful trip here - just long. We had to go well out of our way because the two easiest routes were blocked by last fall’s rock slides. We’re going to try to come back home through the mountains - if the snow has melted.

Our only glitch was having to make two stops to get lunch. Waffle House is one of our favorite places to stop for lunch when we’re on the road. This is the letter I sent to Waffle House after we got to the hotel.

Today, about 12:30 p.m. ET, we pulled into a WH at (I think) Exit #60 (the BMW exit at Greer, SC) on I-85. There were several open booths. No one greeted us when we came in the door. We went to one of the open booths. It had not been wiped clean, so we stood by the table for a couple of minutes. Several waitresses walked by, and talked to folks in the next booth, but did not acknowledge our presence. The cook did speak to us. We finally sat down, and still nobody came to wipe off the table, greet us, or take an order. After a total of about 5 minutes, we stood up and headed for the door. My husband said that we were leaving because obviously nobody was going to wait on us.

We left and continued east on I-85. We found another WH at Exit #66, and because we do like the food, we decided to give WH another try.

What a difference! It was like night and day. We were greeted as soon as we walked in the door. The tables had all been cleaned. Our waitress, Donna, was there immediately to take our drink orders, and then to get our lunch orders. She steered me to a better buy for what I wanted with one of the $5.00 meals, and kept our coffe cup filled.

We made a point of being sure of the exit #, so I could write the head office - not just to complain about the poor state of outlet at Exit #60, but to give praise where it was due - to the outlet at Exit #66.
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This photo was taken looking up through a bridge.

 

Leaving in the morning

Is there such a thing as a “gee, I was tired yesterday” hangover? I’ve been pretty cranky today. Well, I’ll just use that as my excuse and plod along.

We got the bags packed and stuff ready to head out in the morning. No telling what we’ll be forgetting, but there are Walmarts everywhere.

We’ll be doing mostly basketball for the next few days, and keep cheering for our Lady Mocs. One bonus on this trip is that we’re going to meet with one of my Bosom Buddies from Seniors & Friends. We’ve met in person before a number of years ago, and it’ll be great to be able to visit again.

I’ll have the laptop, and I’ll try to keep up.
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This poor baby really looks forlorn and lost, doesn’t she.

 

Support your local FOL

Support your local library and the Friends of the Library (the volunteer support group for many libraries)!

We’ve been working at the semi-annual FOL Book Sale. Today was the last day, and it is really busy. For the first time, we signed up to help with the take-down at the close of the last day (today).

We're really whipped, and we didn't even stay until the bitter end. I think a group from one of the Knights of Columbus groups helps with the set-up and take-down as a community project, because there were a slew of folks there, boxing books, taking off tablecloths, loading the boxes, taking down and loading the tables, etc., etc., putting all this stuff in a rented truck. I don't have a clue as to where all this stuff goes - probably into the basement of the downtown library (the main building). About an hour into the take-down, John and I both just faded suddenly, and headed for home. And then we sat like zombies in our chairs, having taken x-strength acetominophen and with heating pads behind our backs.

The Friends of the Library has these sales twice a year - for 9 days. It's always at the mall. And folks really look forward to it - especially the last day - Bag Day. They can buy a paper bag for $3.50, and put as much as possible in it - even more of a bargain than the usual prices. Anyhow, I'm glad it's over for another 6 months - and I'm only a volunteer.
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This is a “lock fountain” - where the water sprays through gaps between the lock doors.

 

More snow???

Snow in the forecast again for tomorrow - but only “minor accumulations”. They’re saying rain in the morning, changing to snow. Oh, well…

I didn’t go to bridge today (although John did). I had a committee meeting for the annual meeting/author’s talk for the Friends of the Library. If we plan what we’re talking about, it’ll be completely different from what’s it’s been in the past. Stay tuned…
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Even the reeds along the Erie Canal make nice patterns.

 

Reading

I worked another shift at the Library Book Sale this afternoon. It was quite busy. I hope the income from the sale reflects the traffic we had. It’s so great to see the parents bring their little ones up to buy their very own books. There’s absolutely nothing better than reading!

Should I feel guilty because I’m reading almost exclusively from my Kindle now? I don’t think so - reading is reading. It doesn’t matter what the medium that brings the written word into our lives. It’s just important to read.
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Great blue herons are found just about everywhere!

 

Quiet Saturdays

Our Lady Mocs played a great game tonight, demolished Samford 92-62. That gives us the undisputed championship of the Southern Conference, and the #1 seed in the SoCon tournament next weekend.

That was about the extent of our activity today. But it was worth it!
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It's hard to believe this peaceful scene is in the middle of New York State.