level 4 drought

it was a hot dry summer and altho cooler now, its still dry. folks everywhere are warning conserve water now before we run out. indeed we are not allowed to pull from our rivers or resevoirs anymore. landscape watering has been banned for months. restaurants are only serving tap water to guests on request, roommates are showering together, okay, well this was probably already happening, but you get the drift. we went out to our local park on the river sunday to walk the dog and check it out. yep you can practically walk across the wide oconee river on the exposed boulders. see there's some water in the bottom left hand corner of this pic. pray for rain.

memphis in the meantime baby

aubrey bought yet another stove on ebay...but its a beauty and we got to go to memphis to pick it up! it happened to be my birthday weekend so i requested a spa hotel, good sport that i am, and agreed to go along. we lodged in mississippi and dined in memphis, tennessee. the region is full of double consonants and more towns in one area than you can imagine that start with the letters Tu. Tupelo, Tuscogee, Tunica, and i'm sure i missed a few. we checked out the town of tunica simply b/c it had a casino with real live poker rooms for aubrey, the bellissimo spa for me, and it was $200 cheaper than the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. So much for the ducks, i mean they swim, they walk, we've all seen it right?
We easily popped in to Beale Street for dinner one night at the King's Palace, took in the cocktail hour sights at the Peabody, and bought Janie more Elvis paraphenalia to put in a glass case and not actually use. The stove fit nicely in the back of the chevy silverado that we rented for the trip. And I, refreshed from a half-day at the Bellissimo spa was happy to ride away the weekend on Hwy 78. Yes, the same one here in Athens, in fact runs from Myrtle Beach, SC east of us to Memphis, TN, west of us and then some. that wraps up september and a road trip every weekend, looking forward to staying home in October.

Fall in love with georgia

amicalola falls is known as tumbling waters in Cherokee lingo. it is indeed the tallest falls east of the Mississippi. this photo is only the top of the falls. we live only an hour and a half away and usually only go up for day trips. but recently, dear old friends from DC came to town from their new homes in salt lake city and winston salem for a conference in Atlanta and we kicked off the visit with a big chill weekend in the north georgia mountains. it was grand.
we rented a big 3BR cabin with screened in porch, and all the trimmings of a perfect never-leave-the-cabin weekend. well, we did wander out once to hike the falls, not all 600 steps though, since we had some toddlers with us. it was truly the first sign of fall for the southeast. temps cooled off, we donned long pants and gasp, even socks. we built a campfire in the evenings, played board games on the porch, cooked delicious group meals and reconnected. there was a huge pumpkin patch nearby with hayrides, cider, funny corn and all. they offered wheelbarrows to haul your beasts up to the cashier. tixie picked out a nice one. we lugged home a 100 pounder and aubrey later carved it. by the time halloween came, it was gruesome. perfect i said.

isla del encanto

boy do we wish we'd stayed in puerto rico, it really is the island of enchantment. temps in georgia have been 100+ all week. although we were worried that it might be hot in PR before we went, it turned out to be doable. you could stay in the water, hide out in the rain forest, or lounge by the pool to stay cool. indeed it was a low 78 at the rain forest inn. we enjoyed the beauty of the island waters, blue flag beaches, yagrumo trees in the rain forest, and colorful vendors everywhere. we were surprised by the amount of trash on roadways and at local hangouts like behind the kioskos at luquillo beach. aubrey's favorite activity was kayaking at night in the bays to see the bioluminescence in the lagoons. we went in with kayaking puerto rico tours to learn about and feel the 'fireflies in the water'. sorry no pics. they no longer allow you to swim in the waters b/c too many folks are wearing deet bug repellent and sunscreens loaded with chemicals which kill off the microorganisms that create the glow. we were fine with that and sufficed to swirl our paddles, hands and toes to see the effect. the food chain is at work for the dino flagellates as well since the fish who often swallow them in the water glow as they swim through it and thus they are targets for much larger fish.
my favorite activity was the relaxation i achieved staying in the chalet up in the rain forest with all the flora, magnificent rain storms and greenery, not to mention mountain views of the beaches below. we were served a gourmet breakfast every morning on our balcony and not at some ungodly, we need to start our day early and so must you hour, no it was at 9am. we not only ate like kings, healthy kings who enjoy fresh tropical fruit, yogurt, wheat germ, spinach omelets, blueberries from maine pancakes and most importantly, we were in control of the coffee pot. i read 2 books, aubrey played a lot of solitaire and we both gave the 1970s edition of trivial pursuit a try; there's a lot we dont know. let me not forget to mention that we also loved the snorkeling day sail we took out to cayo icacos where they fed us an awesome lunch and we fed the fish leftover breadcrumbs, which needless to say made us very popular among the caribbean fish. its an affordable chance to get out in the ocean, over to another island and look back at where you are which is always fun for a maplover.

crabcakes in ocracoke

25 folks in an 8-bedroom house who take turns cooking dinner, making tea, using the kayaks, and playing tournament bocce ball makes for a nice vacation believe it or not! thats what aubrey and i just returned from and aunt connie and uncle howdy hosted us all. it was a great time at the beach and not too hot, although the same cant be said for home.
we flew up to newport news and drove down to the beach in a rental car turned 4x4 rental truck b/c they were out of cars. 'you can drive on the beach in this thing' the agent said. we never tried, we not only thought it was wrong, we were (or i was) chicken and didnt know how to not get stuck in the soft sand. plus i didnt want to be the tourist on holiday who had to phone in a request for another vehicle b/c i'd gotten the first one stuck on the beach.
we took the ferry over from hatteras and were the first vehicle loaded onto the ferry so we sat in our 4x4 and watched for land. we had the best crabcakes ever at the creekside cafe in ocracoke, the best seafood lo mein at the boardWok in Rodanthe and the rest of the meals we enjoyed right at the beach house. i read a book and just relaxed. it was grand.

summer travel rewards

we've been working hard on 2 houses and finally have a vacation lined up to reward us for all our efforts. we head to OBX with family in june and Puerto Rico, just us, in august. we even managed to use flight credits on both trips for 1 of the tickets. i've been the ultimate bargain shopper and its paid off. i invite you to check out my newest discovery: www.farecast.com. oh my gosh, it worked for me and its awesome. i had just missed a cheap fare on PR and that irked me to no end. i came across this site which watched the fare for me and advised 'wait, wait, buy!' every day until the magic day came and the cheap fare reappeared. i grabbed it and thanked the website profusely. and did i mention its free? like it should be. give a look. meanwhile, anybody been to PR and have advice about lodging? we like the sounds of the rainforest for a few days, and the beach for even fewer. oh and aubrey must hit a casino to try to find texas hold'em. but only very briefly...i hope.

beauty comes to green county

aubrey is putting the finishing touches on his remodel in green county this month and its just gorgeous. i cant bear to think of someone renting it, so i'm hoping to convice him to sell it. either that or we have a psuedo lake house now...or we can at least spend weekends there this summer, drive the 10 miles to the lake, rent a boat for the afternoon and claim we have a lake house.

meeting socrates

my nephew nick turned 10 today and he, his sister, his dad (my brother chris) and I went to see the Atlanta soccer team play for his birthday. he and madison are both rocking in the oglethorpe county league and very into soccer. so we sat on the front row of the half field line at silverbacks stadium in gwinnett, built recently for the team. seeing minor league play is so great b/c everyone is so approachable. the kids got autographs, pictures, and immediately developed not 1, but 3 favorite players! OJ (pictured below), Rodrigo Rios, and Tony McManus.
the atlanta silverbacks are in the USL not the MLS which is why i called it minor leagues. and indeed there was a little less profes-sionalism on the field than when i used to attend DC United of the MLS or world cup matches in general. we saw 2 fights, lots of fake injuries, 16 yellow cards, 1 red card, followed by a police escort off the field. i just hope the kids dont think thats what the game is all about. oh, and a penalty kick deflected by a header came right at us and the tall guy next to me stood up and caught it, at the last possible second. the kids loved that (i was a little nervous)! meanwhile, socrates, oh yeah i'm getting to that. their mascot, a silverback gorilla is named socrates. and they got his autograph too. now tell me, why is a gorilla named socrates?

all dressed up

another school year is done and we've graduated 30 more leaders. aubrey and i got all dressed up for the occasion and celebrated with them over a nice dinner. we never dress up so that's why you get a picture of it. of course, the pic is me with some of my students. i'll round one up of aubrey shortly...okay, here we go.

3rd times a charm

my 83-year-old grandmother on my father's side is remarried and living in Naples with her new husband, Rock. they swung thru athens recently on a frequent journey from FL to DC. my grandfather passed away when i was a teenager and my step grandfather passed in the last decade, but ada lou is still going strong. and grandmother loves a man in uniform, so 3-star general rock to the rescue. more power to her. i'm sure she wonders when i will begin to follow in her footsteps...

Mobile tour of homes for spring break

I spent spring break relaxing in Mobile with aunt kathy before she moves to idaho. we hit the junior league tour of homes, where we met all the lovely azalea maids. we beached it on dauphin island, ate sushi at liquid, got my hair done at studio 33, and took in the pompei exhibit and imax of ancient greece. we topped it all off with home movies from the 1950s of her and my dad as wee ones. who knew it was the original home of mardi gras?

chalotte not charlotte

Aubrey and i went to pick up an ebay purchase last weekend at the coast. (he bought another antique philco fridge). anyway, we originally thought, charlotte, NC, no problem. we'll check out some hoops while we are there. but it turned out to be chalotte, NC near the coast and just south of wilmington or north of myrtle beach. fine with me, i love the beach in winter. grabbed a pet friendly hotel and ate sushi and walked on an empty rocky beach. just as we were leaving we spotted a sweet lime green rental that we may go back to, especially when we learned that aubrey's brother's girlfriend is from the very beach we were visiting! imagine the outdoor shower in winter though. brrrrr.

cirque de soleil in atlanta

a visit to one of my favorite shows that mom had never been to: cirque de soleil. a nice customer of hers arranged tickets for us in late January on closing weekend. the location of the cirque was in a new area of atlanta that we had not even been to yet, Atlantic Station. its a well designed, pedestrian friendly shopping, dining, and living district. they even haved shared cars, for residents who bike, to use. dont quote me, but if i had to move back atlanta one day, this is where i could live. its in midtown and a new bridge at 17th street connects it to the 'other' side of town. there were numerous restaurants and a rare department store for intowners. we had a blast. dined on tapas at the grape for lunch, had tea at PJs cafe before the show, walked over to the show, enjoyed the event, then dined again at doc greens salad bar and popped down to our car in the garage to head home. we'll be back for sure, great stores, great food, and fun hats!

close out on 2006...bargain prices

2006 is for sale! i know there's only 1 day left but you can have it now for next to nothing. i know this will sound disgruntled in the beginning but i will bring it around to the positive, i promise. the year at the institute for leadership advancement started with 2 vacancies and 2 more arose, tilting the sinking ship again, and those of us hanging on clutched our 4% raise knowing it was the reminder not to leave (given the state budget had operated in the red for the past 5 years). our Ph.D. assistant suggested we might want to read the leaderless organization as he departed for his newly appointed deanship at a small florida college. indeed we might. things have shaped up with a new director finally, but it is still an unstable environment, so much so that a colleague shared the openings on campus so that i might have a plan B. women's studies and international education are staffing. i'll definitely keep that in mind. you see this is a college town in an agricultural state. so, unless i want to raise cattle or grow cotton, i should plan on working for the uni and that i do. its just difficult to operate at wages that i believe i began my career with in the 90s. can i have some cheese with that whine?

okay enough about work. my family is well, sister-in-law is out of the gutter, and everyone is happy. aubrey and i are quite content in the tiny matchbox we call home. hopefully the yoga room renovation will be completed soon and we'll have another room to escape to. the deck and yard are expansive but not as frequented in wintry weather. aubrey continues to remodel homes and is currently finishing one near lake oconee. actually its not near enough to the lake to call it our lake house so we will sell it for sure. i guess his next one will be near athens...or there has been some talk about exploring asheville, NC. its just talk though, i think.

before i quit bitching, let me throw in the health card. i've been reading up on 'women's health after 35' and the window it covers is from age 35 to menopause, commonly believed to be around age 51. the book is full of useful info that explains the changes but come on, its a 15-year window of time. its like, be ready for any of this at any time. so far, i'm not thrilled with the changes and they really throw a wrench into my other plans for life. i suppose this is the adjustment period. humpf. anyway, i'm grumbling my way through it reminding myself that i have my health, home, family, career, and partner. and i'm thankful for that. see, thats positive right? i brought it back around.

hope your 2007 is what you expect and if not, i'm sure someone has written a book about it. head to the local library.
all the best,
grumpy

deck the halls...

the holiday buzz started weeks ago with office luncheons, followed by office luncheons, i think i went to 3 this year. and now i'm off for 10 days, yahoo academia! we'll hit mom's for dinner and presents tomorrow, then visit friends xmas eve, then aubrey's mom's for dinner and presents on monday. we just cancelled our post xmas road trip to DC to enjoy the quiet of our college town sans coeds. we'll finish the yoga room remodel and just catch up on things. this is my first adult tree after decades of living in studio apartments and observing it solo. miracles do happen. hope your holidays are relaxing too. merry merry.

meet the johnson's...for thanksgivinig

well, as a couple we're progressing, to the point where we drive all over the state visiting every family member on both sides for holidays. whatever that gets ya...we went to canton to the johnson's and had the best dressing ever: its chicken and dressing all baked into one dish. its so awesome, we took what was left home with us.

Colors of autumn...or the 70's

aubrey and i painted the house recently. we went with a green/ orange/brown colorscape, otherwise known as my favorite colors. given that autumn is also my favorite season, its a no brainer as to the color choices. when we were all done though, aubrey said it was very 70's...not sure what that means b/c that certainly wasn't my favorite decade. well anyway, here it is with a fresh coat of paint and a shed to match. Color names are rice paddy, fudge truffle, and pumpkin umber. hungry? the green is just shy

of a pale celery shade, it has a tad more yellow than i wanted and in sunlight looks more pale yellow, but on a good shady day, its pale celery green. now the fudge truffle brown is just the right shade but it turns out you have to paint brick with oil-based paint if you want it to stick and thus it has a sheen. i'm very much into matte finish and they say the sheen will dull quickly in weather. i'm still waiting. lastly the deck is sort of a terra cotta shade which i love with green and brown. you may notice the shed is green with brown trim and that

the brown is subtler. thats the mocha brown in matte finish that i selected initially but opted out of for fudge truffle. so truth be told, there are 2 browns. and the front door is stripped down to natural wood and we loved the color so we just put on a coat of poly to protect it. come to think of it, the steps dont look so shiny anymore in full sunlight. whew! who wants a shiny house with 70s colors. oh and finishing touch, that's aubrey's sculpture on the front porch.

Let the eating begin...

Mom had her retirement age birthday yesterday and the whole family made it to the brunch celebration. Not that she can actually retire just yet, but any excuse to eat big eh? So we went to the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle, GA, reknowned for its fried green tomatoes, fried chicken, and mac-n-cheese among other typical southern specialties. Bad time to try low-carb diet...but I made the best of it. Said no to the mashed potatoes, dressing and gravy. Tried awesome turnip greens, butter peas, squash with bacon, mac cheese (had to), pork bbq, and a tiny pinch of corn muffin. The food was like most southern food i've had actually, which is fine, but not what i really eat these days. so i dont know if the menu is awesome, but the decor is fun and we ate in the charleston room. all in all, mom loved it and it was her favorite birthday in a while. i think she just loved grandkids crawling all over her. ;-)

aye matey

as usual, we decided at the last minute to dress up for halloween. really it was just for the trick-or-treaters who came to the door. i mean we didnt actually go out for halloween, no that would require leaving the house. well, actually we have in years' past, but anyway, we did have candy handy and i whipped up a pirate's outfit.

cumberland island solitude

the highlight of the birthday weekend was the day trip over to cumberland island. a perfect off-season excursion from 9am ferry ride to return at 4pm. it was just enough time to take a ranger-led hike, eat lunch at the beach, take another hike back and soak up the indian summer. there was literally no one on the beach when we arrived, having taken the road less traveled, or simply having waited for others to choose their path and then take the one no one took. we collected sharks teeth, shells, frolicked in the ocean, dried off, hiked over the dunes, explored the marsh, and learned about the island's history on a ranger hike. the wild horses have been there forever, they arent 'maintained' so some look pretty scrawny. the dungeness castle remains are from the gilded age and there were some posh parties during the summer-long vacations folks took here back in the day.