WHAT A DAY!!!

Today is one of those days that makes up for the dull days.

Margaret and Jesse came over and Jesse picked up his new Harley (dark orange and black). He took it home on a trailer, but then got it licensed and had it out riding. Even though he froze his butt off.

Kate called about suppertime and their power is finally back ON!! It was off for 10 days - an eternity! They had just finished emptying out the refrigerator when the fridge light came on. They think the stuff in the freezers in the garage are okay, though. She's still planning to bring all her dirty clothes when she comes down for Jesse's homecoming party.

#1000!!! Pat Summitt and the Lady Vols got their 1000th win tonight. Georgia was the unfortunate opponent, but it was a terrific night in Knoxville. This is an amazing lady, by any standard. One of her best accomplishments is that every player in her program who has played for four years has graduated! John and Margaret were there for the game and the festivities. Here are some of Margaret's photos.

 

 

 

 

Changes

Delaying the change from analog TV to digital is stupid! There will probably be the same number of people not ready for the conversion in 6 months as there are now. They've already had several years to get ready, plus zillions of PSAs on TV.

It's the same thing with changing to the metric system, or getting rid of the penny coin, or replacing the dollar bill with a dollar coin. There's never going to be a time when everybody is happy about it. The changes should just be done. We'll all get over the brief inconvenience. Sheesh!

Poor Kate and Wayne are still without power at their house. The hospital where Kate works has power by now, of course. They're letting employees use the showers in the fitness center there. And a friend let her do a wash load of underwear. The low there tonight is predicted to be 6 degrees F. Wayne's office has power, and they are spending the night there. Sleeping bags, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and no TV. But at least it's warm and they have lights and cell phones and I-pods and laptops and movies to watch.

Margaret and Jesse are coming down in the morning. Margaret and John will be heading off to Knoxville to see the Lady Vols play Georgia, and hopefully see Pat Summitt win #1000. Jesse is picking up his brand new Harley at the dealership here. He'll be taking it back home on the trailer on the back of his truck. That'll keep him busy for the rest of his time home. I'll get a photo of him on it when we're there on Saturday for his welcome-home party.

Today's picture is from google images.

 

Slow day

Today is one of those days where writing just doesn't happen. Sorry.

It has turned very cold this evening - currently (nearing midnight) 18 degrees F. And the high tomorrow is predicted to be only 32. Stay warm!

Two of the swimmers came into the shop today to see the exhibit. One of the gals bought one of the small paintings. That's such a treat for me. I hope she enjoys it. The painting that was sold to a viewer in Florida arrived at its new home. There was only a small problem - the painting (watercolor on paper) had slipped in the mat during shipping. I suggested that it might slip back in place, or she could take it to a local framer who could fix it easily. I hope it all works out to suit her.

This painting is titled "Fields" and is one of the paintings (acrylic on canvas) in my exhibit.

 

Monday mish-mash

Kate is still without power, and probably will be for a while longer. They'll stay here over the weekend - coming down for Jesse's party. She said if they haven't gotten power by then, she'd be bringing "two metric shitloads of laundry" to do. We're still laughing about that one.

The cards weren't too bad today - nothing spectacular. It was snowing when we left the house, but there was sunshine by the time we came home. It's been in the mid30s all day today.

Have I mentioned that I realized the sheets I'd had on the twin beds dated back to when the girls were at home? That's over 30 years ago! The beds don't get much use any more, so the sheets are in pretty good condition, but still... So I got new sheets and comforters today, got them washed, and put on the beds. They'll be surprised when they come to visit - unless they read about it here.

I got a letter from the hospital that my mammogram looked okay. Now I see the surgeon for followup next week.

I'm thinking about asking for a Kindle for my birthday. That's the electronic reading device from Amazon. A friend has one and just loves it. Maybe she'll let me borrow it for a couple of days for a trial run. They're pretty expensive, and I'd hate to get one and then find out I didn't use it. My hands have really been bothering me lately, and I can't hold a book open very long.

Basketball news: the Lady Mocs beat Elon, and the Lady Vols lost to Oklahoma (stalling Pat Summit at 999 career wins). I do hope she wins that one on Thursday, at home in Knoxville, with John and Margaret in attendance.

Today's photo is a google picture of a Kindle.

 

A lovely Sunday

Today was a lovely sunny day - with temperatures around 60. John headed out to the RiverWalk to get some exercise, serotonin, and Vitamin D. He said I must've been the only person in Chattanooga not at the RiverWalk. Today was the kind of day that brings folks out. Plus, it's supposed to be much colder and snowy over the next couple of days.

The Governor of Kentucky called out the National Guard to help folks who have been so devastated by the ice storm. We didn't hear from Kate today, so I guess they still don't have power.

Margaret and Bobby are having a fish fry to welcome Jesse home next Saturday. We'll be there with bells on. The 10-day forecast even calls for nice weather. Christmas dinner over there looked like this. For the fish fry and Jesse, there will be lots more food - and lots more people.

 

Only basketball today.

We have done absolutely nothing today, except watch basketball games. All of our teams who played today won - the Lady Mocs beat UNCGreensboro, the UTC Mocs beat GASouthern, and the Vols beat Florida. We never even put "real" clothes on - just wore sweats all day long.

Kate and Wayne are still without power. She said they tried to do some clearing in the yard, but kept getting hit by falling chunks of ice. They have gotten out of the house, and said they couldn't believe the number of power poles that were just broken off. It'll be a while before power is fully restored in the Ohio Valley. She is going back to work tonight - trying to get things working again.

It is great to know that all of our chicks are where they're supposed to be, even if some are without electricity.

Today's photos are from google about the ice storm.

He's really home!

We picked up Margaret and drove to Nashville. Jesse's finally home! What great hugs! All he wanted was a sack of Krystals, a hot shower, and lots of sleep. We'll just enjoy him!

 

 

JESSE IS ALMOST HOME!!

JESSE IS IN BALTIMORE, trying to get to Nashville tonight. If he gets on the plane, we'll be heading that way!!!

Happy Birthday, Kate!

Happy Birthday, Kate! (even if you can't read it today). Their area got hit really hard by the ice storm that ran along the Ohio River. They finally got a phone call out today. They've been without power since Tuesday, and were running out of propane and dog food. They drove as far as Nashville looking for propane, without success. They're back at home, and now have located some propane. No telling when they'll get power back. She said there were huge amounts of really big limbs down in their yards - with an inch of ice on them, plus 2" of snow. Not a fun event.

One of my paintings has sold! One of my Bosom Buddies fell in love with one of them after looking at the web album. I'll be sending it to her tomorrow. As I told her, I'm always thrilled when one of my paintings finds a loving home.

Allan flew back to NYC today - both flights were uneventful and on time. It almost makes travel a pleasure.

We think Jesse is between Kuwait and Baltimore, and we're hoping to hug him on Friday. The yellow ribbons are still out.

 

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Click here to read the 29 January 2009 entry on The Sandbox. I wanted to leave a comment, but the comment box wouldn't open. So I will leave it here: Zachary, I could never judge you. My heart breaks and I cry because of the pain you bear, and I can only send you love.

Photos of Paintings

This was one of those weird days, when the high for the day (61) was at midnight last night. The temperature has been going down ever since - and it's now 35. We still haven't heard anything from the Kentucky contingent as to how they weathered yesterday's snow and ice.

Nothing specific still about Jesse's arrival time, but his mom is expecting tomorrow night or Friday.

We ate out again tonight at a local eatery with some of Allan's friends, who are also folks we have lunch with on Thursday. It surely was a good meal - county-cooking stuff. I couldn't resist the turnip greens and fried green tomatoes. Yum!

I took photos of the pieces in the Eccentric & Eclectic exhibit. They're not great photos - problems with the angles and reflections, but you can CLICK HERE to browse through them.

Busy Tuesday

It got really warm today - up around 60 - ahead of the front that is now hammering the Ohio Valley, and west into MO, OK, and TX. We'll be getting that over the next few days. Fortunately, we won't be getting the ice and snow.

Allan was doing some legal work for Vicki this morning, so he went into the Gallery with me this morning. Matt called to tell us that the movers were at their apartment in Knoxville, and that he and Amanda would be heading to Atlanta. They wanted to stop and have lunch with us when they drove through. So we had a great late lunch at Logan's. It was great to hear about their move, jobs, plans, etc.

John and I each got great naps this afternoon. They were greatly needed and overdue. It was sweet!

We still don't know exactly when Jesse will be coming in, but we'll be there!

 

Maybe on Friday

I had my mammogram today. The tech told me that they'd be sending the results to the doctor, and a card to me. I didn't get a call this afternoon for additional films, so I'm going to take that to mean that everything was okay. We shall see.

Jesse is in Kuwait for "decompression". He told his mom he'd probably be home sometime Friday. She's still not sure how certain that is. She's going to let us know as soon as she knows something for sure. He'll probably fly into Nashville, and if we have enough lead time, we'll be there for sure (we're about 2+ hours from the Nashville airport).

We went to the Lady Mocs game tonight - Lady Mocs 68, Furman 52. During half-time, an 8th-grade percussion group from a local middle school played a number on garbage cans - some metal and some plastic. It was FANTASTIC!!!!

It's looking better for Allan to be able to move back to Chattanooga. He's been doing a lot of real legal work on this trip, and making a bunch of solid contacts. He'll be leaving on Thursday, and then probably be back again in about a month. This is more good news.

Thanks so much to all of you folks out there who have celebrated with us about Jesse's homecoming. Of course, I'll be posting photos. Today's photo was taken when he was here before he shipped out last spring.

 

On the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!

JESSE IS IN KUWAIT - ON HIS WAY HOME!!!!!

The Yellow Ribbon

This is the yellow ribbon at our house. Jesse made this huge "Z" for us.

 

The weekend!

We had a fun time at Margaret's yesterday, Kate got all the usual "Old Lady" presents - denture cleanser, Preparation H, prunes, a red hat, etc. A lot of this stuff has just been saved and passed on to the next one to turn 50.

Then we had a extra-special party activity. We all made huge yellow bows, and tied them to the trees lining Margaret's driveway. Jesse called and was hoping to leave Iraq today!!!!! I made an extra one to put at our house.

The first photo is of the Gallery from the street at night. The others are photos of the birthday presents, the birthday girl in her red hat, and our yellow ribbon display.

 

 

 

 

Two great days

These have been two very special days. I'm having to digest it all to write much, but I'll start with two photos of the main part of the display of my paintings at the gallery.

 

 

Post Reception

The reception was great! We had such a good party, and had a good crowd. Folks were coming in for the whole time - mostly friends who had been invited, but some people who only read about it in the Sunday paper. I loved all the compliments, and we got good additions to our mailing list. Nothing sold except for some cards, but the hope is always that someone will come back to look again and then purchase.

And afterwards, the family and close friends adjourned to a nearby restaurant to cap off the evening.

It was an evening I'll always treasure, and many thanks to all who made it so special - you know who you are!

Photos will come tomorrow (or maybe Sunday). Tomorrow we go to Margaret's for Kate's big birthday party.

Reception Eve

We did our lunch thing, and got our much-needed haircuts. Then we went to the Gallery to work more, and work we did! Even John spent time with the heating pad this afternoon. Vicki, Allen, and the workmen had done much more.

We got the paintings moved to the Gallery side of the space - so it's totally different from the pictures I posted the other day. But it just looks great! Vicki is also a decorator, so now, she's working her magic with the small stuff.

I'll go over about noon tomorrow to get more finishing done - dusting and wiping the glass on the paintings, getting the food set out, etc., etc. I'll take my "nice" clothes to change into just before the starting time. I guess we're almost as ready as we're likely to be.

Today's photo was taken in Prague in 2007.

 

Nothing but hard work!

We worked really hard at the Gallery today. Made more decisions about hanging spaces and furniture arrangements, etc.

Then, even worse, when I got home, I tried on clothes - to see what fit and which I wanted to wear. John did agree to help by offering some opinions, and we've narrowed it down to three possibilities. You'll have to wait for photos to see the decision (and I don't know what it is yet).

This photo obviously wasn't taken in our area (it's in SE Colorado), but there's been a lot of snow in the Carolinas.

 

"With Hope and Virtue" (G. Washington); With Pride and Hope (me)

 

Renee called to share the moments of the inauguration with us. She made me realize that I needed to think about the day and think about what I was going to write tonight. Fortunately, thanks to CSpan, I got a chance to listen to the inaugural address again. So these are random notes I made this afternoon.

Memories that I took away from today's Inauguration and history-making events:

As I said in my last entry, how wonderful to participate, however vicariously, in this wonderful peaceful transition.

It was cold, as expected in January, but there was brilliant sunshine on the proceedings. And how great it is to have the literal sunshine AND the figurative sunshine in the hope for more openness in our government.

I loved that the new president pledged to protect the country from terrorism and outside dangers, without tramping on the rights and liberties promised us in the Constitution. "We reject the notion that it is a choice between our safetly and our ideals. We will not give them up for expedience's sake."

President Obama was eloquent in his placing the problems we face today in the context of historical events.

The phrase that I remembered specifically was directed to the rest of the world - that we would "extend a hand if you will unclench your fist".

Both of the Obamas actually sang the Star Spangled Banner along with the Navy choir (as did Gen. Colin Powell).

Bill Dahn asked in his blog what his readers were feeling today. My answer was Pride and Hope!

Another quote: "Our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness."

You've never heard me say anything nice about "W", but I have to say that his and his staff's handling of the transition has been most gracious.

How lucky we are to live in this wonderful country!