These two could have been named Ying & Yang. Sophie, is our two year old lil chiweenie who is a very compact twenty pound sweet girl who would make an excellent ferocious derby gurl with a wicked hip~check, has been with us since she was a ten week old five pounder. Ginger is not quite a year old, by all accounts. She too is a mix of chihuahua, but the Italian Greyhound is the predominant breed in her. She is allllllllllll leg. Fully grown now, she is about twelve pounds. So we now have a short dense lil dark girl and a tall {comparatively speaking} leggy blonde one. They get along like they have been besties from birth.14 November 2012
Sophie's new friend: Ginger
These two could have been named Ying & Yang. Sophie, is our two year old lil chiweenie who is a very compact twenty pound sweet girl who would make an excellent ferocious derby gurl with a wicked hip~check, has been with us since she was a ten week old five pounder. Ginger is not quite a year old, by all accounts. She too is a mix of chihuahua, but the Italian Greyhound is the predominant breed in her. She is allllllllllll leg. Fully grown now, she is about twelve pounds. So we now have a short dense lil dark girl and a tall {comparatively speaking} leggy blonde one. They get along like they have been besties from birth.
08 November 2012
One of my latest projects
03 August 2012
Bug~Eyed
Wow, I started this yesterday and finished it today. It's my first counted cross~stitch in years. I did one, well a partial one, when I was in uhm seventh grade? Home Ec. That was almost thirty years ago {...wow...}. Then almost ten years ago, I did some plastic canvas and then used the same principles to make a keepsake quilt for my friend's baby. But this is the first actual counted cross~stitch I've ever completed. I improvised a lil with the legs, cuz I wanted to give it character. The back looks atrocious, but you can't see that, cuz I didn't take a pic of it. There are a few places where my stitches get really wonky, with one side of the X a bit shorter and the other side a bit longer, so it's really sorta lop~sided. But if I didn't go pointing out all that, would you have noticed?20 July 2012
Flowers of the Month
My mom embroiders quilts, wall~hangings, etc. In fact, this one pulls double duty! Mom made it for me about five years ago, as a wall~hanging that covered my windows above my bed when I lived on the farm. Now it is used as a quilt on the guest bedroom that contains my bed from before I was married.
Her work is very good, entirely by hand. The back of her work looks beautiful. When held to the light, no loose threads, knots, etc are visible. She's my mom, I know, and I may be biased...but objectively? She's awesome!
Dare to Dream
My mother had made this for me around ten years ago. She embroidered and quilted it entirely by hand. Some folks asked to see some of her work, cuz ya know, I was bragging on her. So click for enlarged view to see detail.
17 July 2012
Fire in the Bowl
I'm still getting used to the techniques, what the brushes can do, what the layers of the colors do, and how things will look on the finished product. It's a learning experience! It's fun, tho I think sometime I will go when I am by myself so that I can really take my time.
12 July 2012
Bidding farewell
Well, after a leisurely morning, a few movies, and a lunch at Mugshots; my friends and I picked up our freshly glazed and fired ceramics. I'll include a pic in a future blog of my yarn bowl {"fire in the bowl!"}. We returned to the house, where the rest of them watch a movie, while I napped for a bit til Jerry came home from work. Then we saw our company off.
Now Jerry and I have watch a couple movies this evening. It's going to be a SOMSA* weekend. I am really looking forward to that!!
*Sit On My Sorry Ass
Now Jerry and I have watch a couple movies this evening. It's going to be a SOMSA* weekend. I am really looking forward to that!!
*Sit On My Sorry Ass
Today {or ya know, yesterday...cuz it's after midnight}
So here we are, late Wed night, early Thursday morning. This morning when I woke up, I felt kinda weird, so I sat up for awhile even tho it was five. After my husband left for work, I went back to bed and slept a lil longer.
Then when I woke up for the day, my friend and her son had both been ill to their stomachs, apparently the pizza they'd eaten the night before didn't agree with them. Whatever it was passed tho, and my friend and I watched "Kiss the Girls". Then I, my friend, and her husband braved the downpour and went to Woodlawn, a small community a county or so away which has a furniture facility in the old school campus.
After we returned from that, my husband was already home as he'd taken the afternoon off, so that he could grill chicken quarters for my friends and mom. We had a nice afternoon and the food was so good it made my tummy very happy! Later, Jerry made us all shakes, and oh my, does he spoil me rotten!!!
The other three adults went to bed early, while me and the kids watched a couple movies. One was "the quiet" and the other was "orphan". The first was eh, so I deleted it after we watched it. But "orphan", dude! That was a good movie and I saved it so that my husband and I could watch it this weekend.
Tomorrow, my friends will leave later in the afternoon, or early evening. That way they can drive the night thru and the kids can sleep, with the family arriving back home in Pennsylvania on Friday. Hopefully, our ceramic pieces will be ready for pick up tomorrow afternoon before they go, so that they can take them with them; but if not, it's no problem to mail them when they are ready.
It's been fun to have them here, we'll have to get together more often than once every ten years and then boom, twice in nine months. Perhaps we can take turns, and see each other at least every other year, sorta like the Olympics...either the summer {us in the south} or the winter {them in the north} occurs every two years...just an idear...
Then when I woke up for the day, my friend and her son had both been ill to their stomachs, apparently the pizza they'd eaten the night before didn't agree with them. Whatever it was passed tho, and my friend and I watched "Kiss the Girls". Then I, my friend, and her husband braved the downpour and went to Woodlawn, a small community a county or so away which has a furniture facility in the old school campus.
After we returned from that, my husband was already home as he'd taken the afternoon off, so that he could grill chicken quarters for my friends and mom. We had a nice afternoon and the food was so good it made my tummy very happy! Later, Jerry made us all shakes, and oh my, does he spoil me rotten!!!
The other three adults went to bed early, while me and the kids watched a couple movies. One was "the quiet" and the other was "orphan". The first was eh, so I deleted it after we watched it. But "orphan", dude! That was a good movie and I saved it so that my husband and I could watch it this weekend.
Tomorrow, my friends will leave later in the afternoon, or early evening. That way they can drive the night thru and the kids can sleep, with the family arriving back home in Pennsylvania on Friday. Hopefully, our ceramic pieces will be ready for pick up tomorrow afternoon before they go, so that they can take them with them; but if not, it's no problem to mail them when they are ready.
It's been fun to have them here, we'll have to get together more often than once every ten years and then boom, twice in nine months. Perhaps we can take turns, and see each other at least every other year, sorta like the Olympics...either the summer {us in the south} or the winter {them in the north} occurs every two years...just an idear...
10 July 2012
Late Night Posting
Well, I missed posting yesterday, having posted late Sunday night but being too tired last night. So let me think, we girls did go have mani/pedis done {their first} and then we went to see my mom for a bit. Mom said that my friend's daughter does look lots like her when my friend was her age. Since mom knew my friend since she was ten, I'd say she was qualified to know! We caught up for awhile and then came home to join her husband and son for a few minutes before my husband came home from work.
Then mom brought some of her wine over for a tasting. There was strawberry white zinfandel, Arkansas Indian Peach, Cherry Chocolate, and Ozark WildBerry. We have a partial bottle left from our annual autumnal trip to Natchez last year of Miss Scarlett, a sweet red muscadine wine that the winery there makes.
In the meantime, we girls have become looming fools. My friend has bought her own set of round knitting looms, so there are more than enough for the three of us to be working on an assortment of hat sizes at one time. We've made hats for babies, for children, for adults, for ourselves, single brimmed, double brimmed, no brimmed, acrylic, super soft and plush, blue, green, white, pink, and just about any other combination of hats there of! It's been fun and I get to figure out how to correct mistakes without ripping the whole hat out and redoing it.
Today, we went to the local public library, then for lunch at Lil Dooey's, a local favorite. I ordered a sampler to share, with fried green tomatoes, fried okra, and fried pickles. Then my husband and I had bbq, while the kids had chicken tenders, and their parents had the daily special {great burgers}. My husband took the afternoon off and took their son fishing, while we girls went to Dandy Doodlez and painted plates, trivets, and bowls. Then I took my friend and her daughter to Tuesday Morning, where we each found some finds.
Time's flying by and before you know it, our visit will be thru! I think they are having a good time, so that's good. I know I am.
Then mom brought some of her wine over for a tasting. There was strawberry white zinfandel, Arkansas Indian Peach, Cherry Chocolate, and Ozark WildBerry. We have a partial bottle left from our annual autumnal trip to Natchez last year of Miss Scarlett, a sweet red muscadine wine that the winery there makes.
In the meantime, we girls have become looming fools. My friend has bought her own set of round knitting looms, so there are more than enough for the three of us to be working on an assortment of hat sizes at one time. We've made hats for babies, for children, for adults, for ourselves, single brimmed, double brimmed, no brimmed, acrylic, super soft and plush, blue, green, white, pink, and just about any other combination of hats there of! It's been fun and I get to figure out how to correct mistakes without ripping the whole hat out and redoing it.
Today, we went to the local public library, then for lunch at Lil Dooey's, a local favorite. I ordered a sampler to share, with fried green tomatoes, fried okra, and fried pickles. Then my husband and I had bbq, while the kids had chicken tenders, and their parents had the daily special {great burgers}. My husband took the afternoon off and took their son fishing, while we girls went to Dandy Doodlez and painted plates, trivets, and bowls. Then I took my friend and her daughter to Tuesday Morning, where we each found some finds.
Time's flying by and before you know it, our visit will be thru! I think they are having a good time, so that's good. I know I am.
09 July 2012
Today, after we were all up and about, and I ate my third breakfast and drank my second pot of coffee; my husband went to work at the library and the rest of us set off in my lil cute car. We drove over toward Columbus and chatted about cat~fish farming and other Mississippi sights and smells. Once in Columbus, we drove thru the old cemetery, Friendship, and visited the weeping angel {for the Teasdale family}. I told them the bit about what we know as Memorial Day being started at the Columbus Friendship Cemetery, as the women in town would decorate the soldiers' graves for both the Union and Confederacy dead. It was a sign of honor and respect, and is a true tradition that continues thru much of the USA, having its roots ri'icher, in our Golden Triangle.
Then we drove around, looking at various homes and building styles and such. I pointed out the Palmer Home for Children and told them the back story there. We then decided to head on over to the Waverly Mansion, as I wasn't sure how much time we had left before they stopped accepting guests for the tours for the day.
Melanie, Rob't Snow's daughter, was gracious and my friend and her family had a blast and enjoyed themselves very much. We walked the grounds afterward, and altho we all were so heated and damp, we enjoyed the staying of the heat, instead of the climbing soaring humidity. The sun was beginning to set and the hottest part of the day was past. We also took a walk into the old family plot, viewing some of the stones and such.
Then we drove back to Starkville, taking the back roads thru West Point and out past what til recently had been Oktibbeha County Lake. We stopped to eat at Abner's, a chicken spot that is truly a local favorite. Then we drove home, thru the odd storminess. It was a long day, but we all showered and settled in for FernGully {1982} with the adults struggling to stay awake and the kids wanting to stay up past our bedtime {we adults were zzzzonked!}.
We'd talked about plans for the next few days, and I'm about ready to head to bed myself. The house in quiet except for the chirping crickets that my husband had bought yesterday for bait when he and our friends' son went fishing, out back at our two small ponds. The dogs are slumbering, with Shaddow doing her Zzzzzzzzzen breathing.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhmmmmm
Have a good start to your new week!
{HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my husband's youngest son, he's 29 for the first time; whereas my mother is celebrating her 29th for the uhmmm 37th time this year; at this rate, she's still younger than me! ~*snicker*~}
Then we drove around, looking at various homes and building styles and such. I pointed out the Palmer Home for Children and told them the back story there. We then decided to head on over to the Waverly Mansion, as I wasn't sure how much time we had left before they stopped accepting guests for the tours for the day.
Melanie, Rob't Snow's daughter, was gracious and my friend and her family had a blast and enjoyed themselves very much. We walked the grounds afterward, and altho we all were so heated and damp, we enjoyed the staying of the heat, instead of the climbing soaring humidity. The sun was beginning to set and the hottest part of the day was past. We also took a walk into the old family plot, viewing some of the stones and such.
Then we drove back to Starkville, taking the back roads thru West Point and out past what til recently had been Oktibbeha County Lake. We stopped to eat at Abner's, a chicken spot that is truly a local favorite. Then we drove home, thru the odd storminess. It was a long day, but we all showered and settled in for FernGully {1982} with the adults struggling to stay awake and the kids wanting to stay up past our bedtime {we adults were zzzzonked!}.
We'd talked about plans for the next few days, and I'm about ready to head to bed myself. The house in quiet except for the chirping crickets that my husband had bought yesterday for bait when he and our friends' son went fishing, out back at our two small ponds. The dogs are slumbering, with Shaddow doing her Zzzzzzzzzen breathing.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhmmmmm
Have a good start to your new week!
{HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my husband's youngest son, he's 29 for the first time; whereas my mother is celebrating her 29th for the uhmmm 37th time this year; at this rate, she's still younger than me! ~*snicker*~}
08 July 2012
LOOK~~more childhood friends!!
Yesterday, my bestest friend from childhood who resides in the town we grew up in came to see me from Catawissa, PA {on the north branch of the Susquehanna River}. She and her husband are celebrating their twentieth anniversary next month. Dude, she's old! Well, only five days older than me, but still...And her hubby is uhhhhhm, 8? no, 9? years older than her. Their two children came down too, Daughter is thirteen {how the hell is that possible?!?} and Son is eleven.
They'll be here til Thursday, when they must return to PA, as it is slightly more than a thousand miles {about eighteen hours, with minimal stoppage for gas and restroom breaks} and my friend must rest a bit before returning to work on Sunday night. So, yesterday we visited, unpacked the food they brought for me {sweet lebanon bologna, extra sharp cheese, and ring~bologna} as well as the cases of assorted sodas {Big Ben's Bottling Works makes some of the strongest soda, including Moxie, which will put the curly hairs on your chest, it's that potent}, then She and I went over to see my mom quick before we ended up getting texted by two folks and called cuz "we're hungry". So my husband and I took them to China Garden, for the buffet, and then split up, guys in one car to go to Noxubee Refuge and the girls in the other to drive around and do some story telling. Then we met back at the house where the guys went fishing and we girls started to loom/rake~knit some hats. We watched a movie, the first four episodes ever of Futurama, and we all dropped off like flies as the night wore on.
Today, I'm not sure what's in the works yet. My husband and I, along with our chiweenie {my lil "schnausage dauk"} Sophie went for coffee {humans} and TOTS! at the TOT~SPOT! {Sophie}. We read our papers when we returned {humans}, while Sophie took her early~morning nap. The rest of the house is still snoozing along with her.
A few years ago, when my husband and I wed; I had told my out~of~state friends not to worry about coming to the wedding as I wouldn't have much time to visit with them and so if they made the trip here, it'd be better to wait til some other time when we could actually focus on each other and catch up without tons of distractions. I'm glad that we are able to spend the time now! I think tho after this, we're going to be thru with company for awhile, but then again, it's hard to believe it is this late in the year already, right?
So, I may not be around much this week, or you might see an entry EVERY DAY {gasp}. Cuz I was using my blog as a way to journal events and thoughts and such, so that I can look back and be all like, oh yeah! That's what was going on in my life then. But in the past year, I've kinda gotten away from that. So guess what? I may be BACK. {does that scare ya? no? well, good. cuz if'n it did, you shouldn't be here; skirtee kat}
Good Sunday to all!
They'll be here til Thursday, when they must return to PA, as it is slightly more than a thousand miles {about eighteen hours, with minimal stoppage for gas and restroom breaks} and my friend must rest a bit before returning to work on Sunday night. So, yesterday we visited, unpacked the food they brought for me {sweet lebanon bologna, extra sharp cheese, and ring~bologna} as well as the cases of assorted sodas {Big Ben's Bottling Works makes some of the strongest soda, including Moxie, which will put the curly hairs on your chest, it's that potent}, then She and I went over to see my mom quick before we ended up getting texted by two folks and called cuz "we're hungry". So my husband and I took them to China Garden, for the buffet, and then split up, guys in one car to go to Noxubee Refuge and the girls in the other to drive around and do some story telling. Then we met back at the house where the guys went fishing and we girls started to loom/rake~knit some hats. We watched a movie, the first four episodes ever of Futurama, and we all dropped off like flies as the night wore on.
Today, I'm not sure what's in the works yet. My husband and I, along with our chiweenie {my lil "schnausage dauk"} Sophie went for coffee {humans} and TOTS! at the TOT~SPOT! {Sophie}. We read our papers when we returned {humans}, while Sophie took her early~morning nap. The rest of the house is still snoozing along with her.
A few years ago, when my husband and I wed; I had told my out~of~state friends not to worry about coming to the wedding as I wouldn't have much time to visit with them and so if they made the trip here, it'd be better to wait til some other time when we could actually focus on each other and catch up without tons of distractions. I'm glad that we are able to spend the time now! I think tho after this, we're going to be thru with company for awhile, but then again, it's hard to believe it is this late in the year already, right?
So, I may not be around much this week, or you might see an entry EVERY DAY {gasp}. Cuz I was using my blog as a way to journal events and thoughts and such, so that I can look back and be all like, oh yeah! That's what was going on in my life then. But in the past year, I've kinda gotten away from that. So guess what? I may be BACK. {does that scare ya? no? well, good. cuz if'n it did, you shouldn't be here; skirtee kat}
Good Sunday to all!
24 June 2012
doings and such
Well, the year is almost half over and I've only a baker's dozen of entries since January! I'm not going to do a complete update, which is what has been so overwhelming and actually keeping me from posting; but I will share some stuff that has been going on recently over the next few entries.
Brenda and I went to high~school together in Pennsylvania, stayed in contact thru our college years, and then lost touch in our mid~ to late~twenties. I'd moved to Georgia and then Alabama and then went with my father to Colorado for a few months. He still lived in PA, so when I was there visiting, I called Brenda's mother's place and found out that Brenda had moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee years before! Right around the same time I moved to Georgia! Turns out that we only lived a few hours apart, so when I returned to AL, we re~established contact and kept in touch over the years, thru my next several moves.
This past week, Brenda came to hang out with me for a week here in Mississippi. Her daughter was at summer camp at the Tennessee School for the Blind near Nashville and her son was staying with his father for the week. Brenda's husband had to work {as he already planned to use his vacation time next month, when the entire family will celebrate the daughter's sweet sixteen}, so he wasn't able to join us, but maybe next year. So this is the first time in six years that Brenda was able to take a trip away from home, without the kids, for an entire week! Wahoo!!!
Brenda is completely blind. She can see only extreme bright contrasted with extreme darkness. So if we were inside a darkened house and then stepped out into bright sunshine, she can sense that change. But if she were outside when the sun is setting, she wouldn't see the gradual darkness, tho she would eventually know that it is dark.
So I describe lots to her about our surrounding environment, whether it is driving, walking, indoors, and what not. I didn't realize how much stuff I don't really take an active notice of until I started painting verbal pictures for her. We even got the various maps out and I showed her the outline and how the road cuts thru the state or county and where we live and where town is and such and so forth. As a child, she loved maps, and I still do; so that's cool, cuz it helps to orient us in relation to where we've been, where we're going, and where we are.
Last Saturday, I went to Chattanooga and Sunday we returned to Starkville. The foothills of Chattanooga eventually fade away into rolling foothills in Birmingham, and then the land flattens as we drove west thru Tuscaloosa into Mississippi. Occasionally, I'd not provide enough detail and she'd ask what river we were crossing, cuz she'd feel the road surface change to a bridge. Sometimes, it'd be water, but it might be just as likely to be a bridge over a ravine or an overpass, since we stayed on the interstate for the most part.
My mom joined the two of us and we went for soups, salads, and sandwiches at Newk's after we got into Starkville Sunday. Monday, I took her on a driving tour of Starkville and some of the surrounding area. We went to the university's library on the main campus; on the fourth floor is the Charles Templeton's Music Museum. There are scads and scads of gramophones, Edisons, Victrolas, automatic pianos, player pianos, display cases, and such. Templeton bought these items when they were newly invented and produced, acquiring them from about 1880 thru the 1930s. The entire collection of Templeton, an area business man who loved rag~time music and lived during the era when that was contemporary, was gifted to MSU. A student gave us a tour of the holdings, demonstrating and playing several of the pieces for us, including a few models of the Victrola and what was one of the first jukeboxes. She was very gracious about allowing us to take our time, as I fumbled for some adequate words to describe some of the features that are so very different from our own era of technology. The student did a wonderful job answering questions and allowed us to inspect several items up close so that mere words didn't have to suffice. Kudos to her!
We ate at so many local places this past week, including Lil Dooey's, Mugshots, BookMart DownTown's Cafe, Local Culture, La Terraza, City Bagel, HalfWay House, and I am sure that I am forgetting a place or two. I tend to avoid franchises and chains, preferring to support local stuff that gives local flavor; local eateries help to give a town its identity, like Jim & Nick's BBQ in Birmingham. However, we did hit Sonic, Logan's and Pizza Hut while on our trips to and from Chattanooga as that was where she wanted to go, and this was her vacation.
Monday afternoon, we were able to actually go inside the Chapel of Memories. Altho I've often sat outside the Chapel and listened to the bells and carillon, I'd never been inside before; so that was extra cool. The Chapel of Memories is a favored site for weddings and such for the MSU alumni. It was constructed in part, using the bricks from the original old dormitory that had burned a century ago. So in addition to having some current significance, it also has a bit of history.
Brenda probably now knows more about Starkville, MSU, and the surrounding area's history then most folks who call Oktibbeha County home. I kept asking her to stop me if I was giving too much detail, but she pointed out that she'd rather have too much than not enough. So we visited Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, as well as attending a presentation at our local public library about Mayhew Mission, which started what eventually became the influx of European settlers into the area, pushing out the Choctaws, and leading to the development of the railroad, Boardtown, and eventually Starkville.
I'm not a huge shopper, but Brenda had asked to go to a few specialty stores. So we went to a few places that are unique, including Aspen Bay Candles, which are made here in Starkville. That store was awesome, as there are different lines of candles, various scents in each line, complete with a variety of products in addition to candles {like room freshners, reed diffusers, linen sprays, soaps, etc}. The various lines are all presented and packaged differently, so it was an interesting few hours of leisurely inspecting products.
Most places were really cool about letting us poke around and stuff. The art galleries and museums were staffed with excellent folks! The museums here are very small and highly specialized, for instance, there is one that focuses on over four HUNDRED different types of clocks. We didn't visit that one, but I'll check it out some time in the near future.
On Thursday at noon, the Columbus Arts Council hosted a free mini~concert by several of the students who are taking part in this year's summer camp by the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. It was awesome! There was also a show on Saturday night, that we didn't go to. If you ever have a chance to see this floating ensemble, DO!! It's well worth it and very unique.
We also watched a few movies here at my place, including the latest X~Men and Despicable Me. Describing X~Men wore me out, I ended up going to bed immediately afterward. I had it downpat, the whole describing thing, but some of the action sequences got kinda confusing, what with all the names, characters, outfits, special abilities, who was who and what they did to whom, and all of it is occurring simultaneously. We started to get a kick out of how many times I ended up saying, "meanwhile" to talk about different engagements of the battle toward the end of the movie. It took about three and a half hours for us to watch a two hour movie cuz I kept having to pause things and then we'd go back and rewatch a sequence after a detailed description with me just mentioning key words here and there the second time around so it could flow better.
At one point during our driving around, this was in the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge, I bit my tongue and cheek. Do you realize how difficult it is to talk with a sore tongue? I was trying not to further irritate it, yet be clear and not slur. However, I had to take a break from narrating. As we drove back into town, Brenda was able to say what we were passing as we did, cuz we'd been down that road several times. So I said, "great! You drive for awhile!"
Brenda has a great sense of humor, tho sometimes it will take folks by surprise cuz there are some things that folks think are taboo and she pokes fun at herself. Like saying that she got distracted, missed the sign, had to drive around the block, and by the time she got back, the parking spot was taken. Didn't see any other. So she parked in the handicapped spot, do you think that's alright? She asked, and at first the store's employee was nodding her head, but you could see it dawning on her, and then she didn't know that it was ok to laugh.
One of the favorite parts of the week was our visit to Dandy Doodlez, a local business where you paint the preformed ceramics and then they fire it, so you can pick it up. Brenda likes dolphins and I like leaves and trees. So we each painted away. The folks there were nice and helpful, tho the one woman kept gesturing while talking with us, which is fine, except she didn't use the accompanying verbal cues; but we were able to find everything and had a good afternoon. When I pick up the finished products, I'll take pix and post them!
We stopped in Birmingham on our return trip to Chattanooga and visited with some friends that Brenda knows. They treated us for lunch at Jim & Nick's BBQ. It was awesome! Also, we had the best service ever. When we got there, it was lunch time on a Saturday, which meant there were people waiting to be seated. But as we crossed the parking lot, from my car to the restaurant, I spoke to one of the employees to ask if it was ok to park where I did. She assured me that it was fine, and then she went ahead and I think spoke with the manager. I'm not positive. But I think so, cuz he met us at the door, and seated us immediately. I wasn't expecting that. On the other hand, we were definitely the blind leading the blind, since we'd formed a sort of chain with me as the seeing~eye person, leading Brenda, who lead her friend, who lead her husband. We're all different sizes with the two ladies being slight and thin and me being a big girl {which was good since I was leading the way} and the husband being a large man, tall and broad. We had a good time and there was lots of laughter, both at ourselves and at the various situations, including one of the t~shirts that was available at the restaurant {"you can smell our butts!" with a large smiling pig's face}.
This morning, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so got on the road and traveled back to Starkville, arriving just as my husband opened the door to take Sophie on her weekly tot~run. Jerry, Sophie and I went to Sonic and got our breakfasts. Jerry and I had egg and meat burritos, with coffee; while Sophie got the tots. So that was a great way to start my Sunday!!
Brenda and I went to high~school together in Pennsylvania, stayed in contact thru our college years, and then lost touch in our mid~ to late~twenties. I'd moved to Georgia and then Alabama and then went with my father to Colorado for a few months. He still lived in PA, so when I was there visiting, I called Brenda's mother's place and found out that Brenda had moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee years before! Right around the same time I moved to Georgia! Turns out that we only lived a few hours apart, so when I returned to AL, we re~established contact and kept in touch over the years, thru my next several moves.
This past week, Brenda came to hang out with me for a week here in Mississippi. Her daughter was at summer camp at the Tennessee School for the Blind near Nashville and her son was staying with his father for the week. Brenda's husband had to work {as he already planned to use his vacation time next month, when the entire family will celebrate the daughter's sweet sixteen}, so he wasn't able to join us, but maybe next year. So this is the first time in six years that Brenda was able to take a trip away from home, without the kids, for an entire week! Wahoo!!!
Brenda is completely blind. She can see only extreme bright contrasted with extreme darkness. So if we were inside a darkened house and then stepped out into bright sunshine, she can sense that change. But if she were outside when the sun is setting, she wouldn't see the gradual darkness, tho she would eventually know that it is dark.
So I describe lots to her about our surrounding environment, whether it is driving, walking, indoors, and what not. I didn't realize how much stuff I don't really take an active notice of until I started painting verbal pictures for her. We even got the various maps out and I showed her the outline and how the road cuts thru the state or county and where we live and where town is and such and so forth. As a child, she loved maps, and I still do; so that's cool, cuz it helps to orient us in relation to where we've been, where we're going, and where we are.
Last Saturday, I went to Chattanooga and Sunday we returned to Starkville. The foothills of Chattanooga eventually fade away into rolling foothills in Birmingham, and then the land flattens as we drove west thru Tuscaloosa into Mississippi. Occasionally, I'd not provide enough detail and she'd ask what river we were crossing, cuz she'd feel the road surface change to a bridge. Sometimes, it'd be water, but it might be just as likely to be a bridge over a ravine or an overpass, since we stayed on the interstate for the most part.
My mom joined the two of us and we went for soups, salads, and sandwiches at Newk's after we got into Starkville Sunday. Monday, I took her on a driving tour of Starkville and some of the surrounding area. We went to the university's library on the main campus; on the fourth floor is the Charles Templeton's Music Museum. There are scads and scads of gramophones, Edisons, Victrolas, automatic pianos, player pianos, display cases, and such. Templeton bought these items when they were newly invented and produced, acquiring them from about 1880 thru the 1930s. The entire collection of Templeton, an area business man who loved rag~time music and lived during the era when that was contemporary, was gifted to MSU. A student gave us a tour of the holdings, demonstrating and playing several of the pieces for us, including a few models of the Victrola and what was one of the first jukeboxes. She was very gracious about allowing us to take our time, as I fumbled for some adequate words to describe some of the features that are so very different from our own era of technology. The student did a wonderful job answering questions and allowed us to inspect several items up close so that mere words didn't have to suffice. Kudos to her!
We ate at so many local places this past week, including Lil Dooey's, Mugshots, BookMart DownTown's Cafe, Local Culture, La Terraza, City Bagel, HalfWay House, and I am sure that I am forgetting a place or two. I tend to avoid franchises and chains, preferring to support local stuff that gives local flavor; local eateries help to give a town its identity, like Jim & Nick's BBQ in Birmingham. However, we did hit Sonic, Logan's and Pizza Hut while on our trips to and from Chattanooga as that was where she wanted to go, and this was her vacation.
Monday afternoon, we were able to actually go inside the Chapel of Memories. Altho I've often sat outside the Chapel and listened to the bells and carillon, I'd never been inside before; so that was extra cool. The Chapel of Memories is a favored site for weddings and such for the MSU alumni. It was constructed in part, using the bricks from the original old dormitory that had burned a century ago. So in addition to having some current significance, it also has a bit of history.
Brenda probably now knows more about Starkville, MSU, and the surrounding area's history then most folks who call Oktibbeha County home. I kept asking her to stop me if I was giving too much detail, but she pointed out that she'd rather have too much than not enough. So we visited Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum, as well as attending a presentation at our local public library about Mayhew Mission, which started what eventually became the influx of European settlers into the area, pushing out the Choctaws, and leading to the development of the railroad, Boardtown, and eventually Starkville.
I'm not a huge shopper, but Brenda had asked to go to a few specialty stores. So we went to a few places that are unique, including Aspen Bay Candles, which are made here in Starkville. That store was awesome, as there are different lines of candles, various scents in each line, complete with a variety of products in addition to candles {like room freshners, reed diffusers, linen sprays, soaps, etc}. The various lines are all presented and packaged differently, so it was an interesting few hours of leisurely inspecting products.
Most places were really cool about letting us poke around and stuff. The art galleries and museums were staffed with excellent folks! The museums here are very small and highly specialized, for instance, there is one that focuses on over four HUNDRED different types of clocks. We didn't visit that one, but I'll check it out some time in the near future.
On Thursday at noon, the Columbus Arts Council hosted a free mini~concert by several of the students who are taking part in this year's summer camp by the American Wind Symphony Orchestra. It was awesome! There was also a show on Saturday night, that we didn't go to. If you ever have a chance to see this floating ensemble, DO!! It's well worth it and very unique.
We also watched a few movies here at my place, including the latest X~Men and Despicable Me. Describing X~Men wore me out, I ended up going to bed immediately afterward. I had it downpat, the whole describing thing, but some of the action sequences got kinda confusing, what with all the names, characters, outfits, special abilities, who was who and what they did to whom, and all of it is occurring simultaneously. We started to get a kick out of how many times I ended up saying, "meanwhile" to talk about different engagements of the battle toward the end of the movie. It took about three and a half hours for us to watch a two hour movie cuz I kept having to pause things and then we'd go back and rewatch a sequence after a detailed description with me just mentioning key words here and there the second time around so it could flow better.
At one point during our driving around, this was in the Noxubee Wildlife Refuge, I bit my tongue and cheek. Do you realize how difficult it is to talk with a sore tongue? I was trying not to further irritate it, yet be clear and not slur. However, I had to take a break from narrating. As we drove back into town, Brenda was able to say what we were passing as we did, cuz we'd been down that road several times. So I said, "great! You drive for awhile!"
Brenda has a great sense of humor, tho sometimes it will take folks by surprise cuz there are some things that folks think are taboo and she pokes fun at herself. Like saying that she got distracted, missed the sign, had to drive around the block, and by the time she got back, the parking spot was taken. Didn't see any other. So she parked in the handicapped spot, do you think that's alright? She asked, and at first the store's employee was nodding her head, but you could see it dawning on her, and then she didn't know that it was ok to laugh.
One of the favorite parts of the week was our visit to Dandy Doodlez, a local business where you paint the preformed ceramics and then they fire it, so you can pick it up. Brenda likes dolphins and I like leaves and trees. So we each painted away. The folks there were nice and helpful, tho the one woman kept gesturing while talking with us, which is fine, except she didn't use the accompanying verbal cues; but we were able to find everything and had a good afternoon. When I pick up the finished products, I'll take pix and post them!
We stopped in Birmingham on our return trip to Chattanooga and visited with some friends that Brenda knows. They treated us for lunch at Jim & Nick's BBQ. It was awesome! Also, we had the best service ever. When we got there, it was lunch time on a Saturday, which meant there were people waiting to be seated. But as we crossed the parking lot, from my car to the restaurant, I spoke to one of the employees to ask if it was ok to park where I did. She assured me that it was fine, and then she went ahead and I think spoke with the manager. I'm not positive. But I think so, cuz he met us at the door, and seated us immediately. I wasn't expecting that. On the other hand, we were definitely the blind leading the blind, since we'd formed a sort of chain with me as the seeing~eye person, leading Brenda, who lead her friend, who lead her husband. We're all different sizes with the two ladies being slight and thin and me being a big girl {which was good since I was leading the way} and the husband being a large man, tall and broad. We had a good time and there was lots of laughter, both at ourselves and at the various situations, including one of the t~shirts that was available at the restaurant {"you can smell our butts!" with a large smiling pig's face}.
This morning, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, so got on the road and traveled back to Starkville, arriving just as my husband opened the door to take Sophie on her weekly tot~run. Jerry, Sophie and I went to Sonic and got our breakfasts. Jerry and I had egg and meat burritos, with coffee; while Sophie got the tots. So that was a great way to start my Sunday!!
12 May 2012
new neighbor
So she is now painting the two top coats where applicable. She's getting ready to lay the tile on the floors where the carpet/pad was ripped up. The kitchen cupboards and drawers have been scrubbed, the hardware soaked and replaced. The window blinds have been replaced, the ceiling fans have been scrubbed, and all the outlet and switch plates have been cleaned {just need to be replaced}.
Some folks are coming in to help move all her stuff in, and while they are here, they will be putting the skirting on the trailer. Perhaps they will even hang the gutters and downspouting so that when it rains, she doesn't need to worry if the wind will find any cracks or crevices and damp spots appear later. They might even be able to replace a kitchen light {the one that had been there was a frightful mess}.
Welcome to Mississippi, Mom!
{and happy mother's day to you}
03 May 2012
I have to praise you like I should
There is something catchy about FatBoy Slim's "Praise You" that I really like. I'm sure that it drives some folks bonkers, cuz it is very repetitive, but I like that simplicity and it falls in line with my admiration of "tell me something good" and the encouraging endorsement of being appreciated and appreciating others and tell them so.
The reason I've been thinking about these things is because my husband has been so very loving, caring, supportive, accepting, and a bunch of other exceptional qualities that I'm sure my friends get sick of me harping about ~~ literally harping, I have a tiny harp that I whip out and flutter my fingers across while singing his praises. Did that just make you throw up a lil in your mouth? Good, that serves your cynically jaded self right.
I've been extremely exhausted for quite some time. Dreams, nightmares, night~terrors, jumbled and jangled, and when I awake, I'm exhausted. It would seem humorously ironic, to be exhausted from sleep; but it isn't. It's terrifying. Cuz your mind begins to play tricks on you, or at least mine does. Humans are meant to get sleep, restful, restive, peaceful, lovely sleep.
In the past, nappage has served to provide a great gap to give relief when I've had a rough night. But that doesn't even seem to be working well anymore. I easily reach the depths of REM, where the ongoing twisted adventure of anxiety awaits to suck me down and spit me out, even more exhausted than before I slipped between the covers.
Yes, I am addressing this with both my counselor and my pDoc {in this case, she is a nurse~practitioner who specializes in psychiatry~~I'm loving this woman to the nth degree, esp since it took so long for me to find her}. I've been yappling about it of late with just about anyone who knows me, including unknown folks like you and you and that guy over there with the gum in his hair.
My husband has been right along with me, offering to slay the beasts and demons in my dreams. He's my hero, always. Thing is, he can't enter my dreams at will. I can't seem to control much in the way of my dreams, either. So his suggestion of calling him forth into my dreams to save the day isn't really viable, tho it is so sweet and loving that it almost makes me cry. Which these days, it doesn't take much to make me weep, lack of peaceful restive sleep can wreck all kinds of havoc.
I know I haven't been posting much, or often. Part of that is simply life events and part of that is lacking the energy to focus well. However, that may be changing.
I have been knitting afghans, lapghans, fashion scarvettes, shawls, and caps. Some pix are forth coming. Also, I've been rereading Susan Wittig Albert's The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. It's a series that I'd begun a few years back, but since she's published more, so I've reread the first few so that I know where I am in the story line. I'm enjoying them, even if they do take me awhile to get thru...I end up reading paragraphs several times before I realize that I'm not retaining anything and need to pick this up some other time.
In a way, all this seems very similar to ten years ago...with the huge difference that I'm not quite so panicked about it and also that my husband lends me a security that gives me the chance to feel safe in facing these things. He deserves all my love and he has it!!
The reason I've been thinking about these things is because my husband has been so very loving, caring, supportive, accepting, and a bunch of other exceptional qualities that I'm sure my friends get sick of me harping about ~~ literally harping, I have a tiny harp that I whip out and flutter my fingers across while singing his praises. Did that just make you throw up a lil in your mouth? Good, that serves your cynically jaded self right.
I've been extremely exhausted for quite some time. Dreams, nightmares, night~terrors, jumbled and jangled, and when I awake, I'm exhausted. It would seem humorously ironic, to be exhausted from sleep; but it isn't. It's terrifying. Cuz your mind begins to play tricks on you, or at least mine does. Humans are meant to get sleep, restful, restive, peaceful, lovely sleep.
In the past, nappage has served to provide a great gap to give relief when I've had a rough night. But that doesn't even seem to be working well anymore. I easily reach the depths of REM, where the ongoing twisted adventure of anxiety awaits to suck me down and spit me out, even more exhausted than before I slipped between the covers.
Yes, I am addressing this with both my counselor and my pDoc {in this case, she is a nurse~practitioner who specializes in psychiatry~~I'm loving this woman to the nth degree, esp since it took so long for me to find her}. I've been yappling about it of late with just about anyone who knows me, including unknown folks like you and you and that guy over there with the gum in his hair.
My husband has been right along with me, offering to slay the beasts and demons in my dreams. He's my hero, always. Thing is, he can't enter my dreams at will. I can't seem to control much in the way of my dreams, either. So his suggestion of calling him forth into my dreams to save the day isn't really viable, tho it is so sweet and loving that it almost makes me cry. Which these days, it doesn't take much to make me weep, lack of peaceful restive sleep can wreck all kinds of havoc.
I know I haven't been posting much, or often. Part of that is simply life events and part of that is lacking the energy to focus well. However, that may be changing.
I have been knitting afghans, lapghans, fashion scarvettes, shawls, and caps. Some pix are forth coming. Also, I've been rereading Susan Wittig Albert's The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. It's a series that I'd begun a few years back, but since she's published more, so I've reread the first few so that I know where I am in the story line. I'm enjoying them, even if they do take me awhile to get thru...I end up reading paragraphs several times before I realize that I'm not retaining anything and need to pick this up some other time.
In a way, all this seems very similar to ten years ago...with the huge difference that I'm not quite so panicked about it and also that my husband lends me a security that gives me the chance to feel safe in facing these things. He deserves all my love and he has it!!
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