Monday, September 29, 2008

Tea party fun...

A gaggle of gals gathered yesterday for some tea party fun. We had seven new ladies show up, and some are interested in forming a new Beta Sigma Phi chapter! Woohooo...that's good news!

Yummm, we had lots of good food, served on Joy's pretty depression glass plates...
...with a variety of teas...oops, the tea pots were being filled in the kitchen...
And Joy is now a published author! She had an article published in our "Torch" magazine on "What Beta Sigma Phi means to me," and she read it to us ladies...
Check out these hippie chicks, waaaay back in '88 when we first started as a chapter! Joy and I are the only ones there that you might recognize. Can you find us???
We've experienced loads of miles and smiles since this picture was taken. Sadly, a couple of members are now deceased...some have moved away, some have dropped out...but we still have lots of good memories in common, no matter where we are. Life is good!
Footnote:
Chunkygal can't find us, so: I am on the top row, second from R. Joy is on the next row down, far L. Pam (next to Joy) and Sophia (in the middle) are the only other sisters from this group in our current chapter.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Red Hat fun...

Doodlebug had to play with my hat before I left for our Red Hat luncheon...

Here are the beautiful ladies who showed up for some good food and lots of laughs...
Empress Bee, you were missed. All the ladies said to tell ya HI. We'll have to tell you about a new fella called Norton that Maryan has met and that has her confused. He has some tools she doesn't know what to do with...and before your imagination goes wild, I am talking about Norton Anti-virus! Maryan needs some computer 'destructions,' so I promised to go give her a bit of help. See, this group not only has fun, we learn from each other cuz we were giving her some *good* instructions for sure. Sure we were.

And for dinner, I made chunkygal's famous spaghetti carbonara recipe. Go over there and read about it and tell her HI. She is a Mayberry doc who is sporting a broken, now-pinned ankle, so she'd love a big howdy as she sits (a lot) and heals during this long process. Sigh. No fun, but she is learning to adapt...and learning what it is like to be the patient and not the doc.

Enjoy your Sunday. Mine is gonna be busy...Joy, Jennie and I are hosting with our land chapter a BSP informal tea this afternoon to perhaps launch a new chapter here in Mayberry. Wish us luck!

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Pole barn progress...

Tighten up the rope for Sandy to hold steady on the other end...

Climb back up on the machine to lift and settle in place...
One section all in place and anchored down...

Whew...Dick was one tired puppy after all this work! This part was finished just in time to go enjoy a nice dinner prepared by Amy and Jason, and to get some good sugah from the wee boys. No, this is NOT the end of the pole barn story, but I'll wait to show more pictures on the progress after there is a lot more progress.

I am heading in for a red hat luncheon, so that will be fun, even though Empress Bee can't join us. Co-Queen Joy and I will have fun with our chapterettes. Ta ta for now. Y'all enjoy your Saturday!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Pole barn...

So what 'xactly is a pole barn you ask? No, it is not a place to stuff Polish people, nor telephone poles (although one could do that), nor is it a place for pole dancing, although I suppose a 'dance' pole could be installed inside. It is basically a roofed barn that is normally open on the sides, as opposed to an enclosed building with sides and a door. Below you can see Dick and Jason (yes, Jason is up on the, um, platform on the R side). This structure is located up the hill from our house, next to Dick's shop and storage area...our 'stuff', 'stuff' belonging to friends, family, neighbors. If a vehicle is dead, bring it to Dick's storage area and let it sit and finish dying. Need a part? Come check out his bodacious supply of 'stuff.' He shares!
Below is Thursday's progress...trusses put together so that they can be hoisted up to sit on top of the wooden sides. A metal roof is going on top of the trusses.What is going inside the pole barn? Well, rumor has it that maybe the fifth wheel is going inside. Never fear...it will get filled up! I drive by with blinders on my eyes:-) He is at least cleaning up the *stuff* that is visible from the house.
I am blessed with a guy who can fix most anything, and has the right tool for the job...and can (most of the time) find the needed tool. Now if he'll just tackle MY honey-do list, I'll be a happy camper. Oh yes, and get it all completed before his siblings and cousin arrive in a couple of weeks! That's not asking for too much now, is it? Life is.................never dull!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Happy fall, y'all!

Disclaimer: This is a photo from last fall (it isn't this colorful yet this year), but I love this tree and enjoy watching the colors change on it...

Remember I had the three 'big kids' Sunday? Well, here is a hula hoop session out on the deck. Did y'all ever try this?
Doodlebug wasn't the least bit interested in those round things, preferring to eat his chowder instead and let the big girls play.
The talented Miss Macey showing off!
I had to give the hoop a try to see if Grammie still had it...and forbid Dick from touching the camera! Yes, I can still hula hoop, but I decided I didn't want to twist my expen$ive knee so I wisely yielded the hoop back to Macey.

Dick's back is better...he is supposed to be careful and not twist it. Yeah, right....like he's gonna sit and do nothing after he went and bought sakrete yesterday to put up a pole barn! Sheesh. At least my honey-do list won't hurt his back, but he wants to ignore those chores, bless his heart, since they are not so creative.

Life is good. Happy Wednesday, y'all! What's for supper???

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Sunday stuff...

See Dick and how he should have spent his Saturday...
Instead, he was out moving hoses and watering the grass seed he recently sowed (using water from our small pond). He slipped and fell on the wet ground...and now his bad back hurts awful bad! He'll be spending the day in the chair above, the bed, or the couch below.......
He is NOT a happy camper because he had planned to drive to Augusta today to pick up a tractor he bought, and there is NO WAY he can now do that. He'll be visiting the chiropractor tomorrow. He went Friday already, and that adjustment got undone for sure! He has a partially collapsed disk and frequently has problems with his muscles in that area. Of course he wants to avoid that *surgery* word!

I had a perfectly good Saturday...I stayed home all day and got mundane paperwork done, did some online training on my new phone (more on that another day), and never went beyond our back deck. I considered staying in my bathrobe all day...now that would have been PERFECT!

This last official day of summer will be a good one. I'm heading to church shortly, and will have 3 g/kids this afternoon to let the parents all have a date night. The other g/mother will have wee Will (see, I share!) so that she can take him to her church and show him off. I think that is a great idea, since he is such a cutie pie. Oh yes, he is now rolling over....so that means he now needs closer watching:-)

Hope y'all have a great Sunday. Life is good, in spite of the bad back! BTW, a very big HAPPY BIRTHDAY today to friend Lois Grebowski. Y'all go over and wish her a good day, OK?

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Happy bloggaversary to me...


Today is the first anniversary of this blog! Wow...the time has flown by, and the counter sez over 7,000 slaps have occurred during this past year. That's exciting...I know that is small potatoes compared to some of my blogging friends, but that's OK......this was started just so family and friends could keep up with the two of us on our world travels, but it has expanded now to include folks from all over this world. Thanks to all of you who take the time to visit, and especially to those who leave a comment. I feel very blessed.
And I also want to extend a big Happy Birthday today to my BSP sister and friend Judy. She is spending the day sorting and boxing up for a move from OK to KS. She is a very dear, witty person...who doesn't blog but should write a book someday. I threaten that if she doesn't do that, I'm just gonna take some of her musings and post them here on my blog to share with the world. She is the artist who has personalized many graphics for me (and other friends).
Now before we can cut the cake, hold on just a minute while I put some candles on it, then we'll sing "Happy Birthday" to Judy! OK, they're there. All together now...

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Olympic sports training...

Introducing Speed Crawling...

...followed by Mountain Tumbling...
......practicing for running track...
..........Sponge Cube Diving event...
....Padded Horse Sitting...
And finishing up by extreme napping for Mommie and Doodlebug! They both get medals and a 10!!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Deck view yesterday...

This is our view from the deck...note the bare bank on the L where the lake is disappearing. This is normal, since this is a TVA lake that is used for hydroelectric power and other functions, mainly though, it was built to flood protect Chattanooga. Yes, our Georgia water flows north to TN, KY, and upward before heading W and S, winding up in the Mighty Mississippi and going on down to the Gulf of Mexico, plum worn out by then. It is quite an interesting process, but don't ask Dick about it unless you have an hour or two to spare, bless his heart. He is known as Mr. TVA locally and can quote chapter and verse:-)

That short bank to the R of the deck and below those trees is where Missy had the snake cornered. Fortunately, the snake has disappeared. We are seeing a bit of fall already, with the sourwoods and dogwoods popping out a bit of red already. It was 59 when I woke up at 6:30, so cooler temps are also very welcome.

Now y'all sit right down on the deck, enjoy the view, and eat one of those fresh, juicy peaches you saw yesterday. We still have a few left over. Enjoy your Tuesday. I sure will, cuz I'll see 'da boys' this morning and get some sure 'nuff good sugah...

Monday, September 15, 2008

Monday stuff...

Here are the last of the peaches. Dick bought them from a guy in town who sells fruit and veggies from the back of his pickup truck. Yummm, they are soooo sweet.
And this was our project at scrapbooking class yesterday. Now I'll have to decide which pictures to put on these two pages. They are 12x12...and in an interesting color combination that will work well for most any season....and I do have some cutiepie photos to place on them. Now to decide just which ones to use!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Curious Missy and the snake...

I walked out on our back deck yesterday and found Missy having a staring contest with this black snake, who was just sitting on a small slope. She kept inching closer to the snake, and wouldn't budge from her watching post, so I threw some clumps of dirt and rocks at Missy to make her move away from the snake. The snake finally dropped down to the lower level........



...and I picked up Missy and put her in the house, out of harm's way...just in case.
The snake was not very active, and I think it was because 'lunch' was being digested and a kitty wasn't particularly appealing nor threatening to him. Black snakes are beneficial, harmless and always welcome, as long as they stay outside! So now Missy is settling down on hummer watch.......
Here, hummer, hummer! Isn't she cute?!!!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

The 'real' Olympic Village in Greece...

This is the area where the chariot races were held. The grassy banks held 40,000 spectators on the grass...no seats...and NO FACILITIES. Ewwww, don't you know it didn't smell so good! The judges sat in a back corner, I'm sure on some sort of elevated stand so they could look down and check on what they had to judge.

If you want to see the rest of the photos of the Olympic site, click on the following link...and let me know what you think..., OK?:
http://ivylog2.spaces.live.com/
(The pictures in the Olympic Village album are doing an automatic slide show. If you want to check out some of the photos of our recent cruise, go to "Photos" and click on that. It will display all the albums, and you can pick which location you want to see...simple!)

Enjoy your Saturday...I'm heading over to Haley's stamping open house! She has some new pages up on her site, so go see what she has created with her cute models!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Berlin Sony Center and Windows Live Photo Gallery

This is a panorama of the Berlin Sony Center. Notice the ceiling...made of glass and canvas...not waterproof, but it keeps out most of the wind and rain. Pretty tall, huh? And wide...

This photo was actually 26 photos that were stitched together using Windows Live Photo Gallery, a free program from Microsoft that has changed the way Dick and I take photos. I stood in one spot and simply started clicking away, being careful NOT to change my zoom. That is the secret, plus a bit of an overlap from one photo to the next. Simple. Dick thought I was nutz taking so many photos for my one shot. He took fewer, didn't overlap very well in places, and wound up with gaps in the edges of his 'stitch.' Ah, the learning curve! And here is another neat feature of WLPG......when you upload the pictures for the panorama, you don't have to fret about uploading them in the correct order. It is so smart, it figures out where to put them! Amazing...and easy.

Techspert Tricia was our outstanding instructor for the digital workshop onboard the HAL Eurodam. She rocks!!! I'll put a link to mine and Dick's sites at the bottom. Here is an overview of the program...go check it out if you are interested:

Easily share your photos
The "Publish" button makes it simple to share your photos and videos online. Or you can easily e-mail as many photos as you’d like to friends and family. You can also display your photos with cool screensavers and slideshows.
Quickly find and organize your photos and videos
Import your photos from your digital camera; the Windows Live Photo Gallery will automatically organize them based on date and time. Keep your images organized by name, date, rating, and type. Locate similar photos with tags you add.
Enhance your photos
Create a cool panoramic view by combining multiple photos. Capture the moment by adding captions. Enhance your photos by adjusting things like color and exposure. Improve your photos with simple crop and red-eye fixes.

Want it? Here is where you get it...for free:
http://get.live.com/photogallery/overview

My photo site:
http://ivylog2.spaces.live.com/

Dick's site:
http://ivylog1.spaces.live.com/

Check it out.......and let me know if you have any questions.

And, of course, I ask everyone to join me in prayers for the victims and families of 9/11. This is a day we will never forget. Please check out a brilliant tribute to that day at Sandee's blog. Peace to all!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Candid Camera!

Remember when I posted this awhile back, wondering what critter had feasted here? Well, Jason set up a critter cam to see if we could solve the mystery, but we had to wait to get the cam returned to the owner and download the picture. Amy sent it to me while we were on the Eurodam, so I am now finally getting around to posting it...

Cutie caught on the critter cam is now revealed...ta da.....

Everybody say CUTE...but where is his mama??? We don't want to meet her! Dick saw a fox cross the yard just the other day, and of course we have lots of deer, cranes, Canada geese, ducks........a rather irregular zoo around here! How 'bout that!!!

Enjoy your Tuesday...I'm still wading through mail/paperwork.......urrrggghhh......whose idea was it to be gone for a month? And we're gonna do it again? Call me crazy! No, call me a Gal Friday...or a Guy Friday!!!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

CDB...patriots for sure!

These are the two best pictures taken from our seats. I know, one of us should have gotten off our sorry butts and walked down closer. At least I cropped off the bald head that showed up on the second picture...no, not Dick's head........it was a guy a few rows down from us. It wasn't a pretty sight.


Ole Charlie still has it together...the band sounds good, has a good time in the process, and all are patriots, loving this country! They rock!!!
Dick and I both listen mainly to current country music, as opposed to the twangy stuff my parents listened to and I hated as a kid. Funny how that works. That same cycle happened with our kids, and now they all like current country, too. Actually, we like most any music except for that rap crap. So, tell me what your favorite genre of music is, OK? Let's see how many respond. You gotta do it.......go ahead.......it'll only take a minute! Have a great Sunday.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Gone shoppin'

Good morning, y'all!

Amy, Haley, the wee ones, and I have gone to Gainesville shopping. Nothing exciting--a trip to Kohl's, Wally World, maybe Marshall's just for fun. We all are in need of items that are either hard or impossible to find here in Mayberry. That is one of the disadvantages of living in a small town, but the advantages far outweigh the negatives.

Then when we get back, I've gotta change for dinner with friends, then a concert by the Charlie Daniels Band. How 'bout that? Both of those will be fun.

Now tell me what is happenin' with you. I left Parker to watch over all of you, and he'll tell me who has been lurkin' and not leavin' a message for sure! Have a great Saturday, whatever you do!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Mutiny on the Miracle

Here is a shot of the NYC skyline from the port one week ago today, which is where we docked after our transatlantic crossing on the Holland America Lines Eurodam...

Carnival Miracle parked next to us. Hi, pretty ship! And then it left on a grand adventure...


..............however, I just read on Bee's blog that the adventure did not have a happy ending! Her link took me to the headline that sez "Hanna-caused detour prompts 'mutiny' on Carnival Miracle." Helllloooo, folks...y'all got cheeeep fares during huricane season! Guess they forgot. Oh yes, some of the passengers are lawyers. Go figure. They need to read the fine print on their tickets.

Dick just booked us another cruise, but we won't have to worry about hurricanes Down Under. Guess where we are going in November???

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Breaking news from Alabama...


Breaking news:
All of the Wal-Marts across Alabama sold out of ammunition as of yesterday.
A reliable source said that one of the purchasers commented that while Russia may have invaded Georgia, they sure as hell ain't doin' it to Alabama.

Good afternoon, y'all! We love the folks over in Alabama for sure.

All our company is now gone (we loved seeing Gene/Janelee and Wade/Ginger)...but now it is time to attack all this paperwork that has been sitting here, some for a whole month! Anyone want to volunteer to come help me??? Anyone, anyone............BTW, Sarah Palin ROCKS! She kicked some serious butt last night. Nice lipstick on that pit bull:-) If you didn't hear her, you won't get that line. I hate politics; I hate politics...

Enjoy the rest of your day. I at least have dinner with friends to look forward to for later.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Eurodam Harbor Symphony at last!

Dick has spent hours 'figgering' out a way to get the video posted. We learned that for a mainly audio video, we'll use a lower resolution for the picture quality next time. Our Windows My Space blog wouldn't let us upload, nor would youtube. Dick re-recorded the video from our TV, so go check it out on the link below. Double click on the harbor picture and it will bring up the new video, WITH SOUND. Let us know what you think, OK?

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx/?mkt=en-us&cid=681257796351970559&wa=wsignin1.0

Monday, September 1, 2008

Will's christening...

We have a new christian in the family...and big brother is looking on.........

With a grand celebration afterward at his home. Will threw a fine party, but his big brother was worn out and is napping, so he isn't in the picture, dang it.
We love a happy ending...and a new beginning. Life is grand!