'Scuse Me While I Kiss The Sky

Mom

2011-07-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

I have a wonderful mother. She has been not only a parent but my best friend. I have always tried to be like her. She is the kind of person that everyone likes to be around. We have had so much fun together. I can’t remember how many times we have “gotten tickled” about something and laughed until we cried. I have always been able to talk to her about anything. She taught school, and so many people who had her have told me that she was their favorite teacher. When I was younger she would get out in the yard with us kids and play football, softball, basketball, whatever we were doing. And she was good at it too. She played on a women’s softball team for years. She also had a group of women on Monday nights playing volleyball at the Jonesville School gym. She has always been so active. She turned 80 years old in February but still competed in the Yadkin Valley Senior Games in May. It was my first time as I am now old enough, and we had a great time together participating in the different events. She is very musically talented. She played piano at her church for years and often would sing solos. She has a beautiful voice. She sang “The Lord’s Prayer” at my wedding. When I was in elementary school she would teach music to all the classes. Not boring songs, but cool songs like Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” and Herman’s Hermits “Henry the 8th”. My Mom has always been a great example to me. She taught me about faith, because she always had so much. She taught me kindness and charity. I learned from her to laugh and enjoy life, to always be optimistic. I love her very much and always will.

Two Different Fiddlers' Conventions

2011-06-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a few years since I wrote here, so I guess it's about time to do so. I was biking today on the greenway in Mt. Airy and rode by the fairgrounds. There is a Fiddlers' Convention here this weekend, and the grounds were full of campers and fiddlers. I was reminded of a different fiddlers' convention I used to go to. I actually went four years in a row (1972-1975). It was in Union Grove. As I rode by the one today I noticed a lot of differences. Today the field was full of vehicles - campers, RV's, trucks, cars, and then the tents where groups were sitting in camp chairs playing music. As I rode by you could hear different songs from the different campsites. But it just looked really crowded with hardly any space to walk around.

So the one in Union Grove was totally different. There were no vehicles at all, just tents. Everyone carried in their own stuff. AND there were no camp chairs back then. I know, hard to believe, right? People would either sit on the ground or on a blanket. There was a lot of cut wood to be had also, plus you could find some downed trees in the woods close by and drag some logs to your campsite. I don't really remember music being played at the campsites. What I do remember is everyone was smoking marijuana. You could walk down lanes/roads between rows of tents, and EVERYBODY would invite you to come smoke a joint with them. And these people came from all over. I remember reading in the paper back then that they estimated 150,000 people were there. The event took place in a huge field with rolling hills, and tents were just everywhere as far as you could see. So with the campfires and the pot there was always a haze of smoke hanging over the festivities. There was a big tent somewhere with a stage for the musicians, but each time I walked by it there was hardly anyone there. The crowd seemed to just be there for the partying. And it wasn't wild, just peaceful. I never saw any alcohol, just the drugs.

I don't mean to glorify this or anything, it's just a perspective on the differences as I was riding my bike this morning.

ARIZONA

2008-11-21T05:32:00.000-08:00

We went to Arizona last week to visit with Justin and Vanessa. It was a great trip! My first plane ride too. I was really worred about flying, but Dr. Ballard fixed me up, and it was actually pretty nice. Everything was so different there. I was just amazed practically the whole time.

We flew into Phoenix on Wednesday the 12th. Justin met us at the airport. He looked so good. I hadn't seen him since last Christmas. We went to our hotel, ate supper, changed clothes, then went to the Mesa Temple for an Endowment session. That is a beautiful temple. The next day we drove to Tucson, going the scenic route so we could just see the countryside. It is very rugged, a lot of scrub plants and cacti. I was looking out the window at everything and all of a sudden I saw a cow, just standing out in the desert - actually a long-horned steer I guess. He just looked so out of place.

Then we got to their apartment in Tucson and got settled in. We did several day trips - going up to Mt. Lemmon (8,000 feet! - with snow on the ground), going to Tubac one day for shopping at quaint gift shops, eating Mexican, Italian, just eating. I tried really hard to stay on my diet. We just had a really good time. I saw tumbleweeds, a roadrunner, and heard coyotes howling in the middle of the night.

One day we went to the Desert Museum. That was a fun place to visit. It was like going to the NC Zoo and seeing the Sonoran Desert section, except it was ALL desert section.

On Sunday afternoon we had dinner with some of Justin and Vanessa's friends from church. Their home, like most of the houses, was made of cinder blocks and looked like it was sitting in a vacant lot with all the scrub brush in the front "yard". We went in, and inside it was beautiful and roomy. Then we went out the back door to sit at their patio table. Their back "yard" was amazing. The ground was just dirt - but not dirty. It was kind of sandy and rocky, but looked like it had been swept clean or something. There was no scrub brush in the back but several mesquite trees shading the whole walled in area. Yes, most homes have walls around them. They had pomegranate bushes and a coy pond with a sparkling fountain over big rocks. There was a trampoline at ground level that their grandkids were jumping on. And they had a small area (maybe 30x20 feet) of grass growing with borders around it. It was kind of the opposite of our yards with our bordered areas. Anyway, like I said, I was just amazed at everything.

We took a few pictures. This is me and Justin in front of the Mesa Temple.

These are orange trees growing on the temple grounds.

Me and Justin just in the desert.

The desert.

Me and Bennie.

Justin and Bennie.

More desert.

Saguaro cactus. I liked these the best.

The weather was perfect all week. One morning Justin and I went running at a local park trail. It was in the 50's around 8:00 a.m., and by lunch time it was in the 70's every day. And the sky was that perfect clear blue the whole time. We had a really good time, and Justin and Vanessa are great hosts!

Poor Vince Young

2008-10-28T04:21:00.000-07:00

Yeah, cry me a river. This kid had everything going for him - EVERYTHING. Then he had a bad game, got a little hurt, got booed by his own fans, and then just quit. So now he is back - as second string QB for the Tennessee Titans, behind - of all people - Kerry Collins (remember the former Panther?). So, now Collins is leading the team, and they are UNDEFEATED - the only NFL team that is. But it could have been Vince Young in the spotlight instead of Collins, because actually Young is the better quarterback of the two. He HAS to hate this whole situation. So I'm wondering if he still is getting his big bucks just sitting on the sidelines smiling all the time - at least every time the camera turns to him he is smiling or laughing with his teammates. Well, maybe he's not so dumb after all . . .

5K

2008-10-12T05:36:00.001-07:00

I ran (mostly walked) my first 5K yesterday. My number was 161, and that was close to where I came in as. I was one of the last ones - but at least not THE last. Anyway, it was fun. Challenging. I started out with Quentin. He ran with me until I had to stop and walk, then he went on. As the race went on there was this older lady (late 60's/early 70's) that was always about 50 yards in front of me. I kind of told myself that at least I could beat HER, but every time I would run a little, so would she. Then I would have to stop and walk again, and she would too. It was almost like she was keeping an eye on me or something. So she beat me in the end. My time was 41 minutes. I know, I know. People can walk three miles faster than that, but I walk slow too. So, another one off my "bucket list".

Sad Stuff

2008-09-27T16:01:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days have just been full of sad stuff for me. Yesterday Mom and I went to see "Nights in Rodanthe", which was a great movie - just sad. I love Richard Gere. He just gets better and better with age. And then last night and today I've been catching up on my television shows I've recorded for the last few weeks. My gosh, did any of you see ER? They always kill off someone that you really like. And One Tree Hill - they lost someone. Oh, and BTW I'm getting really tired of the "torture" scenes with Dan. I know he is a really bad guy, and at first it was okay because he was getting some payback, but now enough is enough. And then I come in here to the computer and find out that Paul Newman is dead. He is without a doubt one of my alltime favorite actors - ever. I love "The Sting" probably the best, and then "Butch Cassidy". He was just good in everything. And also in his personal life he gave so much to help sick kids. So, yesterday at the movies I cried a lot, and then today I've cried watching stupid TV. All I can say is that the Panthers HAVE to win tomorrow.

How 'Bout Them Cats?

2008-09-08T07:41:00.001-07:00

Yesterday's Panther game was one of the best I've ever seen. It was so exciting, and came down to the LAST TWO SECONDS. Jake is back! And I really like D'Angelo Williams. He can read the defenders so well and will change his direction if needed, not just go into a bunch of players just because that is where the play is supposed to be run. And Dante Rosario was very impressive. He should be way ahead of Dwayne Jarrett behind Steve Smith and Muhsin Muhammed. Phillip Rivers (NC State) did a good job for San Diego. And I loved to watch everyone's reaction at the end. Jake was on Cloud 9 running down the field toward Rosario, and John Fox was cute as a button dancing out to the field. The poor SD coach just looked disgusted. Anyway, the game was a lot of fun to watch. I honestly believe we can go all the way this year!

Autumn in August?

2008-08-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

This is the view from our driveway looking out our backyard.

Phone Calls And License Plates

2008-08-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

Today I got a phone call. The caller ID read "Northern Hospital", which is our local hospital in Mt. Airy. So I answered, and a female voice asked if this was the residence of Bennie Harris. I said yes, starting to get a little scared. Then she said her name and that she worked in the Emergency Room at the hospital. Now I'm really scared. Then she said, "Do you have any John McCain signs?" WHAT? I'll be so glad when Bennie is no longer chairman of our county Republican party.

And below are pictures of my new license plate. The old one is first, then the new one. Isn't it cool?

1997 Nissan Maxima

2008-08-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

That is what multi-millionaire, academy award winner Morgan Freeman drives - or did drive until he crashed last night. I hope he is okay, but I just found this strange.

East/West

2008-07-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

Mom and I went to the East/West all star basketball game on Monday night at the Greensboro Coliseum to watch Victor Davila (6'9") play his last high school game. There were ten on each team - the twenty best players in the state, and Victor dominated! He scored 24 points against a 7'1" guy who has signed with Wake Forest (who in turn only scored 12 points against Victor). He tied with a guy from the East who also scored 24 points, and who was the MVP - but just because the East won. If the West had won Vic would have been MVP. Anyway, it was exciting to watch. AND he only played a little over half the game. The coach would sub all five at one time halfway through the quarter until the last quarter, then I think Victor played the whole time. So, now on to Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!

Ponyboy, What Happened?

2008-07-08T16:56:00.000-07:00

I just finished watching a TV movie, "A Gunfighter's Pledge", I think was the name. C. Thomas Howell was one of the main characters. If I hadn't seen his name in the credits I wouldn't have recognized him. He has not aged gracefully at all. On the other hand, Luke Perry, who was also in the movie, has really come into his own since the Dylan McKay days. He has finally shaken off that teenaged punk look and has actually grown up into a pretty decent-looking actor. I think it's interesting to see how people age. When I go back to Starmount to a ball game or something I usually will see some people that I haven't seen since high school. The guys who were so cute back then are such rednecks now - beer bellies and all. It's like an opposite thing. The nerdy guys have actually grown up to be pretty handsome and seem to take better care of themselves. And the girls/women. Most of us have also gained a lot of weight, but there was this one girl at one of our reunions a few years ago that was always really heavy in school, and now she's got the body of a model. It's just strange.

Golf - Me?

2008-06-17T04:59:00.000-07:00

I have never enjoyed watching golf before, and I don't really know how to explain this, but on Sunday I happened to come across the end of the U. S. Open and watched the last few holes. I guess I just kind of got caught up in it, and then the thrilling ending where Tiger Woods tied Rocco Mediate. He was so excited. So the two guys had a playoff on Monday - all 18 holes again. Well, I didn't really plan to watch it, but while I was eating lunch yesterday I turned on the TV, and there it was, finishing up the 9th hole. So I recorded it to watch later. Then last night Bennie and I both watched the rest of the match(?) together, and I loved it. I liked Tiger Woods, but I had never realized what a baby he is. He makes a shot he doesn't like and cusses and pouts. On the other hand Rocco really seemed like a fun guy to be around and very likeable. Plus he was the MAJOR underdog, so Bennie and I were both pulling for him. The problem was he CAN'T PUTT. Not worth a nickel. He would start off and get his ball really close to the hole, and then it would take a couple more to actually get in the hole. Whereas Tiger would be terrible starting off - getting his ball in the sand or the high grass. But then he would just hit it right out and get it within a yard of the hole. Several times Tiger's ball would be twice as far away as Rocco's on the green, and he would putt it right in, and then Rocco would barely miss and have to tap it in. It was fun to watch. After the 18 holes in the playoff they were tied again and went to sudden death. At the end Rocco actually had a chance to tie it again, but, like I said, he CAN'T PUTT. He barely missed it, and lost to Tiger. I never thought I would say this, but that golf match was exciting to watch. Maybe I'll become a fan now - of Rocco, not Tiger.

IPODer

2008-05-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's me. I can Ipod with the best of them, thanks to a LOT of help from my family. I have 177 songs and 469 pictures on my new free Ipod. Yes, I said free. I got it for free from our Greenpoints by shopping at Lowes all these years. I've got things organized, and I feel really good about it. I hate learning something new technology-wise, because it just seems so foreign, but once I get some of it down I just feel good about it. So now I'm ready to go.

On a down note, several of my favorite TV shows have been axed - New Amsterdam, Men in Trees, Shark, Women's Murder Club, and October Road. Oh well.

But some other shows are just starting back - Last Comic Standing, Mad Men, Burn Notice, just to name a few.

Oh, and I've seen two really good movies the last couple of weeks. The first one was Prince Caspian. The Narnia books are my all-time favorites, and this movie didn't disappoint. And then last Friday we saw Indiana Jones and the KOTCS. I thought this was better than or as good as the first one, but a LOT better than the second and third ones. It had everything in this movie. I enjoyed it immensely.

I think I'm starting to be a little less afraid about our trip this November to Arizona. It's kind of like having a baby. You go nine months, and you try not to think about the labor and delivery, but just having the baby with you afterwards. So I'm trying not to think about the flight and just concentrate on being with Justin and Vanessa.

If anyone has any ideas for good songs let me know. It's hard to think of songs that I like to put on my Ipod. Sorry I've been rambling - oh yeah, Ramble On. There's another one!

It Finally Happened Last Night

2008-04-18T09:45:00.001-07:00

A few months ago I posted a blog about the show, "Don't Forget the Lyrics", and how they did the million dollar song. When you got all the other songs and went for the million dollar one they wouldn't tell you anything about the song, nothing about how many words you would have to know, and once you said you would try it there was no going back, you had to sing it. If you didn't know all the lyrics you would lose your money from $500,000 down to $25,000. So, of course no one was going to even try. Well, last night someone DID try. But things had changed. NOW they told you that the song was a number one hit, AND you would only lose down to $100,000 instead of $25,000. So, that helped a little. Anyway, last night Kimberly Locke, an ex-American Idol contestant, was on for charity and got all the way up, winning the $500,000. So after hearing the apparently new rules for the million dollar song, she decided to go for it. The song was "You're Sixteen" by Ringo Starr. What a dud. She tried not to let her face show anything, but you could tell she had no idea, AND she had to come up with 15 words. When the song started she didn't even know how it went, and Wayne Brady had to sing along with her a little bit. Suffice it to say, her charity only got the $100,000. BUT, at least I got to see how they did the million dollar song, finally!

Brooke The Mouth

2008-04-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

I am getting really tired of Brooke White's mouth on American Idol. Can't she just shut up?? Every time she has finished her song and is standing there while the judges critique her she has to mouth back stuff, constantly. And she is very obnoxious about it. She doesn't seem to be at all grateful that she is even there. I hope she is gone next week. Even last night while she and Kristy Lee were standing there in the bottom two, and Simon was voicing his thoughts about Kristy Lee, Brooke stood there like a stupid mother hen with her arm draped all over her friend and shouted to Simon, "Hey!", like she was telling him not to talk like that to her chick or something. I just don't like her at all.

On a side note - I am so excited about something. I made fudge the other day the way I saw someone make it on the food channel, and it worked! I added my margarine, evap milk, and sugar, and when it started to boil I turned it down a notch, put the lid on the pot, and forgot about it for ten minutes. I was scared that it would stick or something, but it turned out great! No more having to stand there and stir constantly for all that time.

And, we talked to Josh last night. He won a music composition contest - first prize. Congratulations!

Better Than The Best

2008-04-09T06:41:00.000-07:00

I just saw an article about people's favorite books. Of course the Bible was #1, so then they were talking about the #2. It had the usual - "Lord of the Rings" for men and "Gone With the Wind" for women, and then regionally they mentioned "The Stand" and "Angels and Demons". Now this is what I thought was interesting. I always thought that "Angels and Demons" was better than "The Da Vinci Code", but the DVC was #1 on the charts forever - maybe a couple of years, I don't know. It seems like when it came out it was always #1 week after week after week, and I NEVER remember A&D even being in the Top Ten.

As for my personal favorites - I would say both of those books by Dan Brown (I never could get into his other ones), all of the Chronicles of Narnia, LOTR, GWTW (the book is SO MUCH BETTER than the movie, which is really good), all the Calder series by Janet Daily, most of John Grisham (except for his latest ones - he has really gone to pot) especially "The Partner" and "Bleachers", which reminds me, "Beach Music" and "Prince of Tides" by Pat Conroy, Stephen King's earlier books (including "The Stand"), and my all time favorite - "Wild Bells to the Wild Sky" by Laurie McBain.

I'm looking forward to Dan Brown's new book, but from what I've read it is not going to be very kind to our church. At least it will be fiction, and maybe people can remember that - just like the DVC and the catholics.

Nooooo . . .

2008-04-08T05:37:00.001-07:00

I really wanted Memphis to win last night. The only thing I like about Kansas is their coach, who looks like July Johnson, and I always felt sorry for him.

And one other thing. Toward the end of the game last night, as they were going into overtime or maybe already in overtime, I can't remember, but one of the announcers said, and I paraphrase, "Kansas knows how to play in overtime. They won in triple overtime in a tournament championship," then he says "in 1957". What?? Who was there who remembers that? Except maybe the announcer.

How Cool Is This Show?

2008-04-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

My new favorite TV show is New Amsterdam. If you haven't seen it you should. You can probably start from the beginning and watch episodes on the computer. It would be well worth your time. The premise is this guy (John Amsterdam) who was living in the 1600's. He saved the life of an Indian woman, and she placed a spell/curse on him that he would live until he found his soul mate. So he is living in New York (which used to be called New Amsterdam) and is working as a detective. On each episode there will be a flashback of things he did maybe a couple hundred years ago. He has been married many times and has had a bunch of children. It is just a really interesting show with great writing.

Go UNC!

2008-03-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

I hope Carolina DESTROYS Kansas.

Go Wildcats!

2008-03-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

Can you believe Davidson?? I'm really enjoying watching them right now. They are a fun team. There is so much hype about Stephen Curry, and he deserves it all. He scored 33 points last night against Wisconsin. I read that in the second half he outscored the whole team by himself something like 22-20. He scored 40 points in the first NCAA tournament game against Gonzaga, and then 30 points against Georgetown last week. But it's not just him - the whole Davidson team is really good and well coached. It's just fun to watch this run.

Having said that, they play Kansas tomorrow. But still, making it to the Elite 8! Who'd have thought.

Twice in My Lifetime

2008-03-22T05:43:00.000-07:00

About 20 years ago our family was traveling to Shelby to visit some good friends, and on the way - right in the middle of nowhere - we saw a blimp. It was the Metlife blimp and had Snoopy on it. It looked huge and weird up in the sky, and it seemed to be moving very slowly, although it didn't take too long to go on out of sight. I thought it was amazing.

And then yesterday as Bennie and I were coming back from Apex we saw another blimp! This was the Direct TV blimp on its way to Raleigh for the basketball tournament. Bennie had made the comment that we have now seen two blimps.

Speaking of the tournament, did anyone see Davidson play yesterday? Stephen Curry, who is Dell's son, scored 40 POINTS! He was awesome. I filled out four different brackets, and I had Davidson on three of them. UNC was boring. But I hope they come away with it.

And on the NIT side, VT played a good game last week. I hope they go all the way. I think they play again Monday.

And on Sunday, on the women's side, Temple will be playing at 9:30. They have a girl who played for East Surry the last four years - Marli Bennett. So, we actually have a local playing in the NCAA, even if it is on the women's side.

VT Fan

2008-03-15T06:17:00.001-07:00

As of yesterday I am trying to become a Virginia Tech fan, so I will be ready to watch Victor next year. So Yesterday I watched them play Miami. This is what I don't understand - they start five freshmen. So is Victor going to have to wait three more years before he can start??? I like the coach, though. The announcers liked him too, which helped me to like him, I guess. He seems like a good guy, and he was named Coach of the Year for the ACC this year. He looks kind of like an older Chris Daughtry. The only problem I see with VT is their school colors. Ugly. BTW as far as colors go I think Starmount has the prettiest - Navy blue and orange.

Pisgah

2008-03-06T06:34:00.000-08:00

That word just conjures up all kinds of bad memories for me. In November, 1975, Mom and I took a trip to Pisgah, NC (west of Asheville)for a football game. My brother, Jimmy, was the star quarterback at Starmount High School, and this was, I think, the first time Starmount had ever been in a state playoff game. Back then only one team from the conference would go (and that was usually Elkin). So, we made the trip and had booked a room for the night because it was so far away. But what we didn't count on was the weather. It was cold. It was freezing. I have never before NOR SINCE been that cold in my life. The wind was blowing really hard the whole time, and the temperature was 0. I don't know how those boys played. Starmount came out in their usual football uniforms with a lot of skin showing - bare arms and legs. And then here came Pisgah, covered from head to foot. That was the first time I'd ever seen a football team wearing gloves. So, suffice it to say, we lost. Pretty bad too. It was a heartbreaker - going all that way. The only good thing to come out of that game was a scout from Western Carolina who was watching the game and liked the Starmount quarterback, so Jimmy got a full scholarship to WCU.

Okay, now to last night. As you might know I've been following the Starmount basketball team this year (pretty much for the last four years), because I love to watch Victor play. He is THE MAN. This is his senior year. About three or four weeks ago they recognized him at halftime of the last regular season game as being the highest scorer ever at Starmount. That night he had accumulated over 1800 points over the four years. So, to say he has been as asset to the school is an understatement. Also he is, as everybody says, a "fine young man". Nice, humble, quiet - but he can be a monster under the basket.

So, Starmount won the regular season this year. They started off pretty slow, losing about 6 non-conference games, and a lot of people just gave up on them. BUT, once they started conference play they only lost one game - to North Surry. And then in the conference tournament they beat everybody. So, they were #1 seed in their section going into the state playoffs. They then proceeded to flat out beat North Lincoln, Bessemer City, and last Friday night a very good Salisbury team. And then last night was the Regional semifinals. There were four schools from the west and four from the east. We were to play Pisgah in the first game, then Shelby and East Lincoln played the second game - winners playing this Saturday, and then the state championship next Saturday against the east team. Now last year we won the semifinal game at this point and then beat Shelby at the Regional final in double overtime to go to Chapel Hill, only losing to the east team - Cummings.

But, last night was a different story. Pisgah - how I hate that name! They came in and ran all over us last night. They were hitting everything they put up, and only missed ONE foul shot all night. The final score was 69-60. It was really sad. It's like the "Victor Era" is over.

However, on a final bright note - we can all continue to watch Victor play next year at VIRGINIA TECH!!

They're All Three Snakes

2008-02-10T12:47:00.000-08:00

There is a story about an old man who was walking up a pretty steep hill one day. About halfway up he came across a snake, who asked the old man to carry him the rest of the way up as he was too tired to make it on his own. The old man reached down, picked up the snake, and carefully put it in his pocket. He then proceeded up the hill. When he got to the top he took out the snake and put it on the ground, at which point the snake suddenly bit the old man. As the old man lay dying, he asked the snake, "Why did you bite me after I helped you to the top?" The snake replied, "You knew what I was when you picked me up."

This is how I feel about our three top contenders for President - Hillary, Obama, and McCain. And there's just nothing we can do about it.

Exciting Night

2008-02-04T04:56:00.000-08:00

Ever since NE beat the Panthers a few years ago in the Super Bowl, I have not been a fan of them, SO of course I was going for the Giants last night, which made it a great game to watch. I'm glad that Eli has come out of his brother's shadow finally. The BIG PLAY of the game that they keep showing over and over, where Eli had to scramble big time to get away from all these huge defensive linemen and then threw a beautiful pass to the Tyree guy, who in turn made a fantastic catch - that was one of those plays where I had to call Bennie in to watch. Actually I called him in a couple times, but that was the best. It was just a good game overall.

And speaking of brothers, this morning on Fox News they had a short segment showing Peyton and Eli coming together for the first time after the game, where they were just talking about the game, as brothers, not for the cameras (although they HAD to have noticed all the cameras). Peyton was talking about different plays they had run including that catch, and you could hear Eli saying, "Yeah, he's (Tyree) a gamer, I told you he was a gamer." You could just tell they were close brothers.

And now for the commercials. I liked several. I liked the Justin Timberlake one, except for the mailbox scene. What was it, three times he had to bounce off that? I thought that was a little much. And I liked the Prison Break commercial. I thought that was a real preview for the show. I told Bennie it reminded me of being in Washington a few years ago. We rode the subway to the Smithsonian, and we came up the escalator right in the middle of a big field. And I liked the horse/Rambo commercial. I DIDN'T like the Doritos/mouse commercial. Or the ugly girl one. And I thought Tom Petty was a little old last night.

But all in all it was a good show. Just one last comment. This morning on the Today Show Meredith Viera was talking to Tiki Barber (who BTW I bet is SORRY he retired last year), and at the end of his little segment she asked if Giselle (TB's girlfriend) left with Eli after the game. Poor Tiki didn't really know how to respond to that.

Okay, NOW I'm Mad

2008-01-25T12:30:00.000-08:00

I haven't really been affected so far by this stupid writer's strike, until now. Today was the last new Y&R for a while. Next week starts reruns. Why are they striking anyway? Not enough money? How much is enough? Millions of dollars instead of hundreds of thousands maybe? What greed. What are they making now while they're out of work? I remember when the air traffic controllers went on strike years ago, and President Reagan didn't bail them out like they thought he would. Instead they all lost their jobs, and new people were hired in their place. So why doesn't that happen now? I'm sure they can find new writers. Anyway.

Better Than Radio

2008-01-18T06:41:00.000-08:00

I am really getting sucked in here. I have an Itunes account, thanks to Christmas presents from family members, and so far I have bought songs that I've heard on TV. I actually love this. These TV shows - the ones that I watch anyway - have great music playing in the background. I discovered "Hallelujah" by watching the O.C. a few years ago. "Hey There Delilah" was on some show last year. Recently I was watching Criminal Minds and heard "Decoration Day" by Drive-By Truckers, which was on my blog a few weeks ago. Then last night while watching October Road I heard another song I had to buy - "Mystified" by Rocco Deluca and something. These last two songs I had never heard before on the radio, and never heard of the bands either. I was trying to tell Justin about Drive-By Truckers, but, since they are from ATHENS he knew a little more about them than me. And Supernatural has great music, however it is stuff I grew up with, so I know it. Anyway, I'm enjoying this trend of mixing good music with good TV shows. And it is so easy to find out what the songs are, and then, of course, to buy them on Itunes!

Cormac McCarthy

2008-01-11T06:55:00.000-08:00

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about the movie "No Country for Old Men". This is from a book by Cormac McCarthy, who I guess is pretty far down my list of favorite writers. So a few days ago I watched another movie, "All the Pretty Horses". I remembered when this came out several years ago that I wanted to see it but never did. It has Matt Damon and Penelope Cruz, and the trailer at the time looked like it would be a good love story. So, last week I noticed it was coming on TV and recorded it. When I got some time to watch it I was pretty excited and got settled down to see a good romance, with apparently some cowboys thrown in. And then, as the credits were rolling at the beginning of the movie, I saw where it was also based on a book by Cormac McCarthy. That is when I started feeling some dread coming on. And sure enough, it was another movie that I would not recommend to anyone. What is wrong with people when they feel like they have to have these bad endings to their stories? All I ask for in a movie or book is a happy ending and one that wraps everything up nicely. I'm done with Mr. McCarthy. He's up there with Erich Segal as far as I'm concerned.

Debbie Does . . . Dobson?

2008-01-09T04:19:00.000-08:00

This is the story. Bennie got me a Foodsaver for Christmas. I've been wanting one for a long time, but they are kind of expensive. So I was delighted with it. I read the little booklets that came with it and tried to learn about it before trying to use it. Then last Sunday I was finally ready to try it out. One last thing. There was an instructional DVD that came with it, so I was going to watch it too. Bennie was watching something on TV so I went to the computer and put in the DVD to watch in here. Instead of Foodsaver stuff, "Debbie Does Dallas" stuff came up. Suffice it to say I was surprised. However when we tried the DVD in the TV it was the Foodsaver stuff. So Monday I called Foodsaver. The "supervisor" I talked to said that it had happened to someone else too, and they were investigating it. She got my name and number and said they would call back. Oh, and she apologized profusely. I emailed Quentin to see if maybe I could sue, but he pretty much shot me down about that. Anyway, I am using and enjoying my Foodsaver (just maybe not as much as Debbie did).

Cool Song

2008-01-02T13:19:00.000-08:00

DECORATION DAY
It’s Decoration Day.
And I’ve a mind to roll a stone on his grave.
But what would he say.
“Keeping me down, boy, won’t keep me away”.

It’s Decoration Day.
And I knew the Hill Boys would put us away,
but my Daddy wasn’t afraid.
He said “We’ll fight till the last Lawson’s last living day”

I never knew how it all got started
a problem with Holland before we were born
and I don’t know the name of that boy we tied down
and beat till he just couldn’t walk anymore.
But I know the caliber in Daddy’s chest
and I know what Holland Hill drives.
The state let him go, but I guess it was best
cause nobody needs all us Lawsons alive.

Daddy said one of the boys had come by
the Lumber Man’s favorite son.
He said, “Beat him real good but don’t dare let him die
and if you see Holland Hill run.
Now I said, “they ain’t give us trouble no more
that we ain’t brought down on ourselves”
But a chain on my back and my ear to the floor
and I’ll send all the Hill Boys to hell.

It’s Decoration Day
and I’ve got a family in Mobile Bay
and they’ve never seen my Daddy’s grave.
But that don’t bother me, it ain’t marked anyway.
Cause I got dead brothers in Lauderdale south
and I got dead brothers in east Tennessee.
My Daddy got shot right in front of his house
he had noone to fall on but me.

It’s Decoration Day
and I’ve got a mind to go spit on his grave.
If I was a Hill, I’d have put him away
and I’d fight till the last Lawson’s last living day.
I’d fight till the last Lawson’s last living day.
I’d fight till the last Lawson’s last living day.

A Movie Review

2007-12-17T05:49:00.000-08:00

Quentin and I went to the movies last week to see No Country for Old Men. This was highly recommended by Chris (my middle son, who I used to call Justin). Anyway I can't really make up my mind whether I liked it or not. It was the BEST acting but the WORST story. I even had to look away from the screen a time or two because of the violence - which was the reason it was rated R I'm sure, as there was no nudity and very little bad language. I usually don't watch R rated movies because of the explicit sexual content, but this had none, so I guess I thought it was okay. Tommy Lee Jones was at his usual best as the sheriff. He was kind of the narrator as well. Even then he was good, when you couldn't watch him but just heard him. He is a great storyteller. Of course the writing was good too. And Josh Brolin was great too. I honestly didn't know who he was until the end when the credits rolled. I knew I recognized him, but he was such a totally different character than what I had seen him play (Mr. Sterling - the TV show about the senator). And then there was the DARK SIDE. I hated, absolutely hated the bad guy. I guess he was a good actor, but he was scary and really gave me the creeps. And I hated his hair. And what was he using? I don't want to give anything away, but I'll just tell you that he killed people with air. So, do I recommend this movie? I can't honestly say. Maybe some of you will comment with some better insight. But I did have fun spending some time with Quentin.

My Favorite Books

2007-12-15T19:27:00.000-08:00

Coming this summer!

http://www.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK//video/trailer/me60638658/

Disappointed

2007-11-15T07:32:00.000-08:00

Remember those old horror movies where it took forever to see the monster, and then sometimes they never even showed it at all, and you were left feeling disappointed. That is the way I felt after watching "Don't Forget the Lyrics" this week. If you haven't seen this, they have different contestants sing parts of songs, and if they get it right they will advance up the list winning more and more money each time. There are I think 8 categories they have to pass through to get to the big ONE MILLION DOLLAR song. This is hard because they have to get the lyrics absolutely correct. So far no one has won the million dollars. AND no one has even gotten close, until this week. So I've been wondering about the million dollar song and how they would do this, what the song would be, how many words they would have to sing, etc. So this week the woman got all the way to the top, winning $500,000, and the next step was the million dollar one. AND THEN, before they showed the song, Wayne Brady, the host of the show, explained that she would not know the artist, the category, how many words, anything at all about the song, except that it was a #1 hit, and there would be no helps (she has three to start with but has to use them all before the last song), AND if she chose to go with it (before seeing what it was) and lost, she would be all the way down to $25,000 to take home. So, of course she says she will take the $500,000 and go home - who wouldn't, right? So now we'll NEVER get to see the million dollar song, because who would be that dumb to give up a sure $500,000 for a maybe and not very likely million?

Who is San Diego's Favorite Quarterback?

2007-11-12T05:38:00.001-08:00

No, not Phillip Rivers. It's PEYTON MANNING. I watched the Chargers/Colts game last night and this morning. It was so cool. I really wanted the Colts to lose - to anybody, after they beat the Panthers, plus Phillip Rivers is an NC State graduate, so I was for them. So during the game Peyton Manning - America's sweetheart QB - threw for SIX interceptions. SD started off with a kickoff return for a TD. Then they returned a punt for one. Anyway they racked up 23 points to the Colts' 0 points. But then after the second half the Colts came storming back and came to within 2 points at 21-23. They had a chance to tie it after their last touchdown and went for 2 points, but failed. Then later with a little over a minute left in the game the Colts had another chance to win with a field goal, but missed. Then, last play of the game PM threw his SIXTH interception, and the game was over, 23-21. It was a fun game to watch.

Life's Little Lifts

2007-11-04T09:47:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while we get these little lifts. I'll tell you about one of mine. I hate my hair right now. I'm trying to let it grow longer, and my bangs are driving me crazy. They are just at that length - long enough to be in my eyes but not long enough to pull back. And the back of my hair is just different lengths and sticks out all the time. I'm trying to let it grow out some and then start cutting it to eventually get it all one length. So, in the meantime I just feel that it looks awful all the time. Then last Friday Bennie and I went to Winston to do some shopping. We were at Kohl's, and at one point this lady was behind me and said, "Your hair is a beautiful color." I turned back and smiled and said thanks. That is not really a big deal to me. All my life people have commented on my hair color. I always say thanks, even though I had absolutely nothing to do with it. So I didn't really think much about this lady, but then she said something else - "And it is cut really nice too". At that I almost said to her "WHAT??", because, like I said, it looks terrible, but she was just smiling and had really given me a compliment, so I again said thanks. As I was wondering what she saw in my hair, it really just gave me a little lift, and I suddenly felt better.

Well, maybe I'll tell you about another time something made me feel good about myself - this happened in high school. My senior year I was in a government class, and we were going to have a mock court to learn about legal proceedings. I was sick one day, and the next day when I went back I learned that I was a judge in this court, actually a co-judge along with a friend of mine, Cathy Robson. So we had the court, which I don't really remember much about, but a few months later, during the summer, Cathy and I were doing something together, and she started talking about the court. She said, "Wasn't that neat the way everyone picked us for judges." Well, I didn't remember being actually picked, and then she reminded me that I hadn't been to school that day. What had happened was - the teacher told the class to choose a classmate for judge, someone they thought a lot of, that they knew they could trust, and would make good decisions. As it turned out Cathy and I had tied, and that is why we had become co-judges. At the time I thought that the teacher had just assigned us to do that, I didn't know anything about the class choosing. So when I heard that it really made me feel good. And also a little sad, because I didn't know about this at the time, and that summer was kind of late to be finding out. I didn't really have low self esteem in high school, but I think it would have been higher than it was if I had known this.

Anyway, I still think my hair looks awful, but not as much as before.

The New Shows

2007-10-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I thought maybe it was time to review the new TV shows this fall. There are a few I've tried but didn't like - K-Ville, Chuck, Dirty Sexy Money (which I'm glad I didn't like because I don't like the title), and I accidentally saw part of Kid Nation which was terrible. So, the shows I do like:

Cane - This is a great show, probably my favorite of all the new ones. It has a great cast. I love Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo (from Pretty Woman), but Ken Howard is a hoot. He was the basketball coach on The Gray Shadow, I think was the name. Anyway, this is one of those shows where the main character is actually a bad guy, but you're still rooting for him.

Reaper - I really tried not to like this one, because I'm watching way too much TV, but I just can't help myself. It is such a cute show. This is one where you can tune in on any episode.

Bionic Woman - So far so good, but I can see it either getting boring or getting better. We'll see what happens.

Back to You - This is one of the best sitcoms I've seen in a while. And I really like Kelsey Grammar.

Women's Murder Club - This was a latecomer, so I've only seen one, but it has great potential. Angie Harmon is a police detective, and the first episode was really interesting.

So I guess this is it. I'm still watching ER, Shark, House, Supernatural, Men in Trees, and Criminal Minds. And then of course there is Y&R every day. I feel like I need to quit my job just so I'll have time to watch everything.

A Few More Pictures

2007-10-12T16:13:00.001-07:00

These are a few more pictures from VA Beach. This is King Neptune. It is really cool and bigger than it looks in the picture.

One day we rode up to Yorktown and Jamestown.

Just on the boardwalk watching the sand sculpting.

Handsome guy.

You might need to click on this picture. There are two dolphins in the water. We saw dolphins every day. They would just be swimming up the coast, jumping up out of the water.

This is the sunrise from our room.

We were getting ready to go on the dolphin-watching cruise. There were SO MANY. You could actually lean over the front of the boat (bow?) and see them in the water swimming along with the boat.

I thought this was interesting. If you look really close (click on the picture) you can see this guy on the beach who looks like a toy or something on top of the castle. It was a fun week!

Playing in the Sand

2007-10-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures of the sand sculpting. This is how they started, getting these round or rectangular molds full of sand and water, letting it set and get hard, then taking off the mold. They started on Wednesday and had to be done by Friday. They were all timed, taking breaks at the same time, etc. This was a big contest and these people came from all over the world to compete. This guy is Peter. He is just starting.

Then he had some bad luck. It fell, and he had to start over.

And again, it was timed, and he had lost a whole day, but he did pretty good.

This is Matthew.

He's actually making the holes here with a white tube, just putting wet sand around the tube, then he pulled it out.

Some kind of religious thing with Moses in front and the ark in back.

This is Damon Farmer. He actually has a website. He was posing for me. He is just starting here. What will it be?

This is Rich. This one actually ended up being mine and Bennie's favorite.

And these are the rest, pretty much finished. We had to leave before they were completely done, but, you get the picture.

And th-th-th-that's all folks!

Dancing with the . . .

2007-10-03T04:28:00.001-07:00

Not stars. I am almost ashamed to even write this blog, but, well, I've started watching Dancing with the Stars this year. I've never watched it before, but I was curious. This year Marie Osmond and Wayne Newton are two of the dancers, and I wanted to see them. Marie gave somewhat of a PG13 show last night, which kind of surprised me. But she has a lot of "presence" on the stage and seems really comfortable. But Wayne Newton. My gosh. Have you seen this guy? He looks really weird. I guess he's had a lot of plastic surgery done. But he CAN'T DANCE - not a lick, as Thelma Lou says. But so far he has stayed in. So, watch it next week. I think it comes on Monday night. Probably my favorite is the boxer. I think his name is Floyd Mayweather. Anyway, he's like a little boy up there, cute as a button. And also Kelly from 90210 is in it. She's pretty good too.

Our Week in the Sun

2007-09-30T17:43:00.001-07:00

We got back from VA Beach two days ago, and I still feel behind on everything. I did manage to get all the laundry done by last night (with Bennie's help), and I read all 63 emails. But TV. That's another story. I set our recorder to record all my usual shows as well as some new shows I wanted to try watching to see if I liked them. And of course this was season premiere week. So, and this is awful, I have about 25 hours of TV to watch. AND they are all coming back on this week too.

Okay, as for the beach. We had a GREAT time. The weather was perfect!. The sky was a crystal clear blue most of the time with a few wisps of clouds once in a while. On Thursday it sprinkled for about five minutes, barely getting us wet, then it stopped. We rode our bikes a lot and walked all over the place. I bought a body board and "rode the waves" a few times. After the last time I felt like I had been beat up by the ocean. But it was fun. And I ate. All the foods I try not to eat, like fried foods, pizza, ice cream, etc. On Tuesday we went to Yorktown and Jamestown. On Thursday we took the dolphin-watching cruise. I loved that. We saw a BUNCH of dolphins! They would get right next to the boat and swim along with us, jumping up out of the water now and then. It was cool. And the jets were flying all over the place. And we watched all the big ships going and coming.

Also every year VA Beach has a "Neptune Festival", and on Wednesday there were around 12-15 people building sand castles, or sand sculptures I guess. This was amazing to watch. It took them three days to finish, and we actually had to leave before they were done, but you could see what it would look like for the most part. I took a bunch of pictures and will try to post them next time.

And then yesterday Bennie and I went to the Dixie Classic Fair. I love the fair! We brought home some maple flavored cotton candy. It was a good week, well except for today when the Panthers lost to Tampa Bay. Oh well.

Just a Piece

2007-09-21T04:35:00.000-07:00

I heard just a piece of a conversation yesterday as I was walking by the US Cellular stand in the Mayberry Mall. There was a guy with his son looking at a particular cell phone.

1st Salesgirl: "You can get that cheaper on the internet."

2nd Salesgirl: "Don't tell him that!"

Customer: "I thought they were free anyway with the plan."

1st Salesgirl: "Oh yeah."

Monster Mouse

2007-09-17T06:30:00.000-07:00

Another mouse in the house story.

Since we have the occasional mouse come in I just always keep those small black glue traps around. I have two in the laundry room against opposite walls, and I check them every morning. For months there has been no change. Then last Saturday I walked in to do some laundry and I looked down at the trap, but it wasn't there. So I looked at the other one, AND IT WASN'T THERE EITHER. They were both just gone. So, I went back and asked Bennie if he had moved them for some reason, and no, he hadn't. So we went back to look for them. One was lying on its side up between the freezer and ironing board, and the other one was inside the little closest that has our air compresser - both still intact and still with the dollop of peanut butter in the middle. So, that was just strange. So, thinking that maybe they were just old and not sticky anymore I threw them away and got new glue traps. I put new peanut butter on them and placed them back in the same places. I also put one in our closet just for good measure and one under our bed against the wall. So then yesterday morning, first thing, I go look at the traps. As I was walking into the laundry room I saw a strange site. Where the trap had been there was now just an area of tiny black particles, about a foot in diameter. As I looked around for the trap I saw it lying a couple feet away with a big chunk of the plastic gone. Stranger and stranger. This time, though, some of the peanut butter had been eaten. And then this morning when I opened our closet door, the trap in there was gone. When I looked around I found it about three feet away - perfectly intact, PB and everything. Today we are getting WOODEN TRAPS, and just for good measure a larger one for rats. I just shiver thinking that it might actually be a huge rat. Who knows what is going on at this point.

Morning Neighborhood Drama (Thanks, Michael Vick)

2007-09-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

This morning started off pretty usual. I got up, got dressed, ran my 20 minutes (and walked 10) on the treadmill, then I went out on the front porch to sit on the swing and cool off for a few minutes. As I opened the door there was a stray dog on our front porch. His tail was wagging, so I figured he was okay. Actually I had seen this dog a couple other times in the last two days, just hanging around. He wasn't wearing a collar, and I didn't know who he belonged to. But, as I said, his tail was wagging. So I went on out to sit on the swing. Now this was a big dog (later I learned it was part pit bull and part chow). As I walked over to the swing I noticed the kid from next door was out with his dalmation, who is a house dog, but they bring him out to walk him and let him "use the yard". I was sort of talking to this boy, who is about 12 maybe, and was asking him if he knew anything about this other dog who was on my porch. He didn't, and then the stray dog left my porch and ran over to him and his dog. He started playing with the dalmation, kind of wrestling at first. Then it became something more. The boy was trying to shoo him away from his dog, which seemed to aggravate the situation. AND THEN the stray starts growling loudly and starts actually attacking this dalmation. I couldn't believe it when I saw him take the dalmation's head in his mouth - his whole head! I was just frozen watching this play out. And the boy was trying his best to get them apart the whole time. So then the mom comes out yelling and trying to get them apart, but no luck. THEN the dad comes out - with a 45. So he starts shooting. He shot the back of the stray, and it finally let go of the dalmation. So the mom, the kid, and the dad get the dalmation in the house, and the stray runs off. I went in to get Bennie, and we both came out on the porch, but then here comes the stray back to our porch. So now I'm kind of scared of this dog. So Bennie called the animal control people, who btw waited for a couple of hours before actually coming out. Then I went over to tell our neighbor that we had called and to see if they were okay. He told me that his wife and son had left to take the dog to the animal hospital, and his arm had two long scratches on it from the dog. So, to make a pretty long story somewhat shorter, I went on in to take a shower. When I came out the neighbor had shot the dog, who wouldn't die. So he went and traded the 45 for a 22 rifle and shot it again a few times, this time killing it.

So Bennie and I had to leave for Winston, but when we got back our neighbor was out with the dalmation (who had a big gash in his neck but was otherwise okay) walking him down the road, and he came into our driveway and told us the rest of the story. The animal control guy finally got there, but someone from the newspaper got there first, and she was asking demanding questions like why it took so long for the animal control people to respond. Anyway, the guy said that for the last month they have had a lot of instances with these kinds of dogs being set loose, fallout from the MV fiasco. Apparently this dog had been trained to fight, and the AC guy actually praised our neighbor for killing it.

Summer TV

2007-08-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd review some of my favorite summer TV shows. And it is strange that I have been watching so many of them because always in the past summer TV has just been reruns and boring fillers. Last year I watched America's Got Talent, but I think that was about it. So this year . . .

Mad Men – I LOVE this show. It is set in the early 60's and has the look and feel of the time. Bennie watched five minutes of it with me the other day and proclaimed that it was one of the most depressing shows he'd ever seen. Well, he just saw a bad part of it. The main guy, Don Draper, is a cad, but he's the BEST LOOKING CAD I've ever seen. And everybody chain smokes on this show. If you don't want to watch it, just watch the opening credits. It is just like the old spy shows from back then.

Greek – I started watching this show because the main character is Kelsey Grammar's daughter. Then I got hooked. It is one of those bubble gum college aged angst shows, but I like it.

Side Order of Life – I've gotten hooked on this one too. I started watching because Brandon from 90210 was in it, but I don't really like him. What I like, and what I'm waiting for is, the main character dialed a wrong number and started talking to this guy, and now they call each other a lot but haven't yet met. So she has now broken up with "Brandon", and I want to see what happens when she and mystery guy meet.

Don't Forget the Lyrics/Singing Bee – I'm grouping these two shows because they have the same premise – singing karaoke style. I thought that I was pretty good with singing along with the radio, but you have to sing the EXACT lyrics or you're out. I happen to like DFTL better that SB, I think because of Wayne Brady. He's cool. And I like their format better.

Burn Notice – I think I've already mentioned this one in another blog. It's probably my second favorite. You can come in on this one at any time. It reminds me of A-Team, but better.

Psych – I had forgotten, but I watched this last year too. Come to think of it, this is probably tied for second with BN. It is a quirky show about a fake psychic who solves crimes. The way he does it is just that he is very observant. It is a really funny show. Plus I like Corbin Bernsen, who plays his dad.

America's Got Talent – This show is almost over for the year, but it was a good ride. I like the ventriloquist the best. I hope he wins next week.

Last Comic Standing – I also really like this show. I started watching just for the comedy routines, but I've gotten into it. The comedy is great. My favorite (and one that I showed to Bennie and Quentin) was Dante, who is a great impersonator, but he is already kicked off. Oh well.

So, this is how I've spent my summer vacation. Almost time for the new fall shows!

Just Another Day

2007-08-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd tell a story. Quentin was home this weekend, and yesterday morning he was leaving to go back to Greensboro. So before I left for church I was helping him get up some food and stuff to take with him. Then I laid out some hamburger for my and Bennie's lunch, and went on to church. So about two hours later I was standing in the lobby between meetings talking with Bennie and someone else when President Cozzens came out of his office and came up to me and Bennie. He said that Quentin was on the phone and needed to talk to one of us. Well, that kind of scared me. So I went into his office and picked up the phone, saying hello. Then Quentin said, "Mom, I think something pretty bad has happened." Well, now I'm freaked out even more, because I knew he was on his way to Greensboro, so all I could think of was WRECK. So I asked if he was okay, what had happened, you know the usual. Then he said, "Were you going to have spaghetti for lunch?" WHAT? I said something like I didn't know and what was he talking about. Then he proceeded to tell me that he had seen me lay out the hamburger, but then he took all my spaghetti noodles and sauce with him and was afraid I had planned to use it. So like I said, just another day. Although my hair got a little bit whiter yesterday.

Not Guilty - Yet

2007-07-19T09:15:00.001-07:00

Am I the only person in the world who still believes MV might be innocent?? At least they should let him play football until they prove otherwise.

Optimus Prime, et. al.

2007-07-14T12:16:00.000-07:00

OP is the one that I remember from when my boys were little and played with transformers. And I thought he was a good guy. Megatron also sounded familiar, but I don't remember liking him as well. Yesterday me and Quentin went to see this movie. I really enjoyed it! It was a fun movie. It had a lot of parts that reminded me of other movies, especially Independence Day and Wargames. And when it was over, I mentioned to Quentin that they set it up for a sequel.

This morning I made a pound cake. The boy scouts from church are having a BBQ dinner tonight and needed people to make cakes, so I signed up to make one. I let it cook for 90 minutes ( 1 1/2 hours), thinking that was long enough. Well, it wasn't. When I went to turn it over on the plate it fell in and all this liquid cake (batter I guess) started pouring out from the middle. So, quick thinker that I am, I stuffed it all back into the tube pan, and put it back in the oven for another hour - just to make sure. This time it cooked. Except it looks terrible. It will probably taste good though. So anyway, I made a plum cake to take to church (which turned out great!), and I guess Bennie and Quentin will just have to eat the raggedy cake.

And I got a really good deal yesterday. I love good deals. We're having company for lunch tomorrow, and I thought about getting a ham. Well, this week in the flyers there was a spiral sliced ham on sale at Galaxy for 98 cents a pound, but the flyer said it was frozen. So, yesterday I went to Wal-Mart, which lets you have the sale prices of other places. I found a great spiral sliced ham (not frozen though) for $1.96 a pound. So I got it for half price!

And lastly, there is a new TV show that I really like. It's called "Burn Notice". You should check it out. It comes on Thursday nights on USA. Also, did anyone see "America's Got Talent" this past week? Did you see the magician who cut the guy in half? That was so cool! I have no idea how he did that.

Diana's Concert

2007-07-04T09:03:00.000-07:00

I've just finished watching this concert. It was on last Sunday, and I recorded all six hours. It started off really good with Elton John singing my favorite song of his - "Your Song". Then the princes - William and Harry, who were really cute - came out and welcomed everyone, then introduced their mother's "favorite band", Duran Duran. That is when the concert started going downhill. They only sang one song I had heard of, and I didn't like it. After that was a succession of bands and singers and dancers. There were a lot of hip-hop/rap singers, and needless to say I fast forwarded it through all of that. There were several British bands I had never heard of, but I did like a band called Take That (I think that was the name). Tom Jones was there, but again, he didn't sing anything I knew. Then they went through several broadway songs by ALW, who showed up too. And that was good. And then FINALLY someone good came on - rockin' Rod, who started off with Maggie May. It ended with Elton John again, but there were some technical delays, and he was cut off just as he was getting started. I should have recorded the next show, but I didn't. And guess who got the biggest applause of anybody (other than the princes I guess)? David Beckham, who just came out to introduce someone. So, overall the concert was pretty much of a disappointment to me. The only other highlights were when the camera would go to William and Harry with their friends, and they would be clapping or dancing along with the music. I think I would give this concert a 2 on a scale of 1-10 with Live Aid being a 10.

Harris Happenings

2007-06-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, mostly MY happenings. I spent last weekend with a group of women that I graduated with in 1974. There were 10 of us, and we rented a house above Boone. It was SO much fun! My stomach was sore for two days afterwards just from laughing all the time. I got there around noon on Friday to check in and open up the house. The other girls drifted in that afternoon. But before anyone else came Josh brought Isabella over for a visit. She is such a cutie. She told me that she wasn't scared of spiders anymore, and I wondered how does someone get to that point. So after they left, around 2:30 the girls started coming in. It was a great reunion with everyone. That night we went to Eseeola for supper and to hear Josh play piano. Everyone loved Josh. Someone took a really good picture of all of us with Josh, which when I get I'll try to put on here. We stayed up late on Friday just gabbing. Then on Saturday we all had breakfast together. A couple of the girls brought breakfast casseroles, which were really good, and we had honeybun cake (my favorite), muffins, fruits, juice, etc. Then we left. First we went to the Mast General Store. I mostly just sat on the porch listening to the music from a little country band. Then we worked our way over to Roan Mountain for the Rhododendron Festival. We kind of got lost, and then went a really scenic route, out Hwy. 194, but it was really pretty. The festival was fun with good food. Then we went up to the top of the mountain to see the flowers, which were just a little bit past their peak, but were still pretty. Then back to the house. A few of us went swimming. Then we ordered in pizza for supper and played some Trivial Pursuit, and again stayed up just talking into the night. Sunday morning was clean up, pack up, and checking out with hugs all around. We were already talking about next year's weekend, and we are going to even add an extra day. I can't wait!

After I left the house I went to church with Josh. He was speaking that day and gave a great talk. And it was good to see some old friends again from Boone. I love, absolutely love, Howell Cook. He doesn't look any different than when we lived up there 20 years ago.

On another note, I am now the proud mother-in-law of a doctor. Vanessa passed all her stuff (as I knew she would). Good job!!

Justin and Vanessa are getting ready to move to Tucson in a month. The other night Justin was on the phone and walked me through Google Earth to find his apartment. That is amazing! We did something that turned it sideways, and you could see the mountains in the background. It looks like a beautiful area. Now I want to Google Earth everything.

And Quentin passed his first year of law school. Yay!!! We didn't really know if he had made it or not until a few days ago when he got his grades, although I had great faith in him that he would pass. He is living with us this summer and interning with an ADA here in Dobson (assistant district attorney). He is so much like his father. It's like living with two Bennies.

I guess that is why I had such a GREAT TIME last weekend getting away with the girls! (LOL)

Cool Song

2007-06-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

During one of the last AI shows Green Day performed a song that I remembered from years ago and hadn't heard in a long time, John Lennon's "Working Class Hero". Since then I've heard it on the radio a few times. I remember being in high school and hearing that song, and hearing the "F" word - twice - for the first time on a record. But, not counting that, I really liked the song. And what is so cool about the Green Day version is the last two lines. The song just kind of stops, and you hear the original Lennon song with John singing those lines.

And He Did It Without Locke's Help

2007-05-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

This 11-year-old boy shot this wild boar in Alabama. It weighed over 1000 lbs.

Misc Stuff

2007-05-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night Bennie and I took out Quentin for his birthday. He picked the restaurant - Le Blon in Greensboro. This is now one of my favorite restaurants. It is Brazilian and exquisite. When we got there they took us right to a table, in front of people waiting, because my brilliant son had called ahead and made a reservation for us. So we sat down and a waitress came right up and got our drink order. She then explained how things worked. So, first of all we went to the salad bar. This was a really cool bar with a lot of exotic food items. And best of all were cards with names of everything, so we knew what we were getting. For the most part anyway. So I tried to get a bite of most everything, and my plate was full. Before I really got halfway done with my "salad", the waitress brought us cheesy bread balls and then a platter of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes along with a crusted banana. Then, here came the guys. And when I say guys, I mean really CUTE Brazilian guys with hunks of meat - all different kinds including top sirloin, filet mignon, turkey, chicken, pork loin, ribs, well you get the idea. So we had these cards at our table, green on one side and red on the other. As long as the green side was up the meat guys kept coming. They would carve a small slice of meat (about 2 or 3 bites worth) and we were given these little tongs that we used to help get the meat to our plate. After I got full I turned my card over to red. But Quentin's was still green, so the guys kept coming, and it looked so good I would get more too. It was one of the best meals I've ever had - not just the food but the whole experience. And then of course we had dessert. Me and Quentin got the Godiva cheesecake, and Bennie got the mango cheesecake. I don't know how I could even eat anything else, but it seemed easy at the time. Anyway, I'm ready to go back again. As far as I can tell there was just one problem with this restaurant - the bill! But it was worth it.

Since my root canal last week I've noticed that I can now drink cold drinks and eat ice cream on the right as well as the left. Just thought I'd throw that in.

We have an indigo bunting frequenting our front yard birdfeeder. We had one several years ago when we lived in Westfield, and I haven't seen one since then, so this is exciting. I think it is a beautiful bird. It is blue all over with dark wings.

And about AI this week. I have just one word - BORING. You would think that with the Bee Gees music it would have been a really good show, but half the songs were some I'd never heard of, and the ones I had heard of were so screwed with that they weren't any good. AND, that was NOT Barry Gibb, I don't care what they say. He was some imposter. If you didn't see it, they had this really old white-haired man who sounded like Sean Connery (at least that part was okay) pretending to be the main BG. The real Barry Gibb is really cute and sings really well, not like this senile/homeless-looking guy who could barely croak out the song last night.

And Bennie had a really sweet blog this week. I guess I'll keep him.

Finally!

2007-05-03T04:43:00.000-07:00

Phil is gone - and Chris too. Yay!! Now we have the best final four there is. These four are the ones I've been pulling for the whole time. Any one of them can win. I'm really glad they didn't vote off Lakisha. She had an excellent night on Tuesday, one of her best yet. And a kiss from Simon to top it off!

To change the subject. Yesterday I went to the dentist to have three teeth filled. I hate to go to the dentist and haven't been in years. I remember going when we lived in Boone (1985-87). Anyway, I went a couple months ago to get checked and he found three cavities, one on top right and two on bottom right. So yesterday I went back to have them filled. (Why does it take months to get the next appointment?) Anyway he numbed the top first and said he wanted to "get in there" to make sure a filling was all I needed, and if so then he would take care of the bottom. Well, it wasn't all I needed. As I was sitting there with gloved fingers and instruments in my mouth he informed me that actually I needed a root canal. He asked me if that was okay. What could I say? So he went ahead and performed the RC. That was fun. The thing about a root canal is, there really isn't any pain involved. You're numb, so you can't feel it. The bad thing is having to HOLD YOUR MOUTH OPEN for so long. My mother had a bad experience with this once. She actually had her mouth open so long that when the dentist was done she couldn't close her mouth. She had to sit there for several minutes until her jawbone relaxed so she could move it again to close it. And of course that was all I could think of while I was sitting there. But this dentist, Dr. Gravitte from Mt. Airy, was really good about everything. He would stop every once in a while and tell me to "just rest", so I could close my mouth for a little bit. Then he would go again for a while. He explained everything he was doing. His office even called me at home yesterday afternoon to make sure I was okay. AND he gave me some Darvocet. So, if you can have a favorite dentist, he's mine.

Standing O!

2007-04-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

That is what everyone at the BYU commencement ceremony today gave Dick Cheney after he spoke. I watched most of the graduation on TV, forwarding it through the boring stuff. But I was really impressed at the warm welcome the VP received. After all the bad press I really didn't know what kind of reception he would get. President Hinckley walked in with several people, including Cheney, and everyone was clapping - but they were probably clapping for President Hinckley. Then the guy (President of BYU) was announcing everyone, and he announced President Hinckley - who got a big applause, but then he announced Dick Cheney, and HE ALSO GOT A BIG APPLAUSE! It was great, and Cheney seemed to be overcome with it. To my mind he looked like he was really trying not to cry. He was given an honorary degree for public service. And again, after he gave his remarks, he got a standing ovation. It was sweet, and I was really proud of the respect everyone showed him.

To change the subject, last night's AI was a great show. I especially liked Il Divo. They have the BEST voices, and talk about easy on the eyes. And Kelly Clarkson was great, but what blew me away was Celine Dion and Elvis's duet. I don't know how they did that, but it looked so real and sounded so good with the harmony. And then, Ryan kept saying throughout the show that everyone would be shocked at the results - who was leaving. So I was kind of afraid that either Melinda or Jordin might leave, because they were the frontrunners. So, as the show went on Ryan would go over the six finalists and pick someone and tell them that they were safe. He told this to Melinda, Blake, Lakisha, and Phil. So that left Chris and Jordin. So then at the end of the show he goes over to them again and asked those two to stand up. So I'm hoping against hope that Chris goes home, because I don't like him anyway. But then Ryan says, "Chris, you're safe." So there is Jordin, and you can just feel the shock through the whole audience. And poor Jordin. All this time all she has heard have been good things, so you know she thought she would be on a lot longer. And then Ryan says, "And Jordin, you are also safe." WHAT??? So that was the shocker - no one had to leave. Ryan made some comment to the effect that they couldn't throw someone off the show on "charity night", so next week two of them will leave. I still think that was mean though to Jordin. And did I mention that Il Divo sang?

Yay!

2007-04-25T07:41:00.000-07:00

Bennie has left the building! Well, I shouldn't be so elated I guess, but it is hard living with a sick person. He got sick last week and went to the doctor on Friday. He was diagnosed with Strep throat and got some medicine. Well, over the weekend he continued to get worse instead of better. On Monday I took him back to the doctor where he got a shot and more medicine. This time it worked. This morning he left for work. What was interesting is that from Friday to Monday he had lost TEN POUNDS. So this morning as he was getting dressed he was having trouble keeping his pants up. Anyway, he's back to work and feeling better.

Ok, about last night. I don't know what is up with Lakisha. She was sooo good at first, but she's just gone downhill, and last week she was giving the sob story about how hard it was being a single parent. I think that probably turned people off more than on. So, she may be gone after tonight, but I hope not. I hope it's either Phil or Chris. I don't like either one of them. And Jordin was fantastic. I remember my mother singing that song in church when I was little, "You'll Never Walk Alone", so it is one of my favorites. Melinda, as always, did a great job. So I guess I'm picking for the AI either Melinda or Jordin. I would be happy with either one. But I hope Blake is in the top 3, because I really like him too. He did a good job with "Imagine" last night. I'm looking forward to tonight's show!

Why Do They Do This?

2007-04-19T05:27:00.000-07:00

Why do companies change things? I'm getting really tired of this. Whenever I get to liking a product, the company will come along and "improve" it, and it isn't the same anymore. For example, I have been using a lotion for over 20 years now, St. Ives. It isn't greasy. It softens your skin. No smell to it. So it's perfect. Now, I can't find it anywhere. They have upgraded it and changed the packaging and label. Now to get what is supposed to be the upgraded original, it stinks, and it doesn't feel as good on your skin. The closest I've found is the Aloe and Chamomile lotion, but it is too thick and just isn't as good as what I've been using for YEARS AND YEARS. So I'm trying to find a new lotion. I've tried Oil of Olay because I like their soap, but the lotion is too thin.

I remember years ago, probably when I was 13 or 14, somewhere around then, I used to love to eat Chef-Boy-Ardee spaghetti. It would come in a box with a small box of the spaghetti, a can of sauce, and a small can of Parmesan cheese. It was my all time favorite meal since before I could even remember eating. And then, like I said, when I was around 13 or so I cooked it one day and it tasted different, and not good. I got to wondering about this and looked at the can of sauce, at the ingredients. Guess what the third ingredient was? Carrots! Now what are carrots doing in spaghetti sauce? So I couldn't eat my favorite food anymore. Years later I learned to make my own spaghetti sauce and put in it what I liked.

So anyway, if anyone knows of a really good lotion please let me know. And I think I'll write to St. Ives and just tell them what I think about their stupid improvements.

It Wasn't Like That

2007-04-18T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'm referring to the Drudge Report's article about Simon Cowell rolling his eyes while Chris Richardson sent his condolences to the families of the VA Tech victims. I know exactly why he was rolling his eyes. And I would have done the same thing. After Chris sang his song, which was terrible, Simon was right on with his criticism, and Chris didn't like it. Simon said it was "nasally", which it was, and then Chris talked back saying that "nasally" was a form of singing. And then Chris went on to say a few words about the VA Tech stuff, which was really not the right time. It was so obvious that he was just trying to get votes. Yeah, everybody agrees that the massacre was horrible, and everyone feels for their families, but I think that Chris was way out of line to bring that up in the middle of the show like that. I hope they vote him off!

Sanjaya was back to being his usual no-talent self. But at least he sang a song that I had heard of. And so did Lakisha, who I thought did really well, but the judges didn't like it. Phil probably deserves to stay another week. I liked Blake and Jordin, but Melinda was absolutely the best. So, my prediction is bye bye Chris - but of course because Simon rolled his eyes, he will probably stay, which will hopefully mean Sanjaya will leave!?

I Can't Believe I Felt Sorry For Her

2007-04-13T05:53:00.000-07:00

Juliet, oh Juliet. Why hast thou lied? Just another twist in an amazing season.

Boring

2007-04-11T05:12:00.000-07:00

Last night's AI was the most boring show I think I've ever seen. Nobody did a really good job. I think the best of the worst was probably Jordin. Even the top two - Melinda and Lakisha - were just average. And with the Latin theme there was so much potential. All the guys were terrible, but Sanjaya was actually no worse than anybody else. So it's a toss-up tonight as to who leaves, and right now I don't care who that is.

On another note, Victor Davila, the standout basketball player from Starmount, won the Spencer Award - which is a big deal. He was voted the BEST player in northwest North Carolina - not just 2A but all the A's. AND he had twice as many votes as the 2nd best player! He has had offers so far from NC State, UNC, Wake Forest, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Memphis, well, the list goes on. I just hope he stays at Starmount for his senior year. I love to watch him play, and just think, in a couple of years EVERYBODY can watch him play because he'll be on national TV!

Gina's Gone

2007-04-05T05:24:00.000-07:00

While Phil and Sanjaya are still in. What is wrong with people?!?

Noah Made Me Cry

2007-04-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was running (at my usual 4 mph) I was watching the end of last night's championship game between Florida and Ohio State. I was pulling for Florida to win again, which they did. It was a good game. At the end there was the typical jubilation on the floor and in the stands with the crowd, everybody hugging and jumping and stuff. But then the camera turned on Joakim Noah, who is a standout junior on Florida's team. He started going up into the stands, obviously looking for someone. He would go up stairs and across aisles - getting high-5's and pats on the back from all the fans. He kept going, for a couple of minutes it seemed like, until he reached his destination - his MOM! It was so cool.

"Old Music"

2007-04-02T18:16:00.000-07:00

Quentin was home this weekend and surprised me with a mixed CD he had made for me. He said he thought I would like it, and that it had a lot of "old music" on it. I took it with me to Jonesville Saturday night, listening to it going down 77. The thing is, when he said "old music", I was thinking Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, the Who, you know, 60's and 70's music. What was on the CD was Alice in Chains, Foo Fighters, Fuel - mostly 90's music. Then I realized, that was "old music" to Quentin. He was 10 in 1991 and grew up with this just like I had grown up with the other stuff. It really gave me a strange feeling. BUT, I still like the CD. Thanks Quentin.

It Wasn't Paulo Lies

2007-03-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

It was para-lyzed. What a horrible ending!

Our Cocky Mouse

2007-03-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

This morning, as I do every morning, I check our glue mouse traps for the occasional mouse that comes in our house. Guess what I found on one? That's right. A mouse "pill". How that happened I have no idea, but I REALLY want to catch that mouse!

Go Gina!

2007-03-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

Gina did the best last night by far! And she especially stayed in the pop category they were trying to go for. Melinda and Lakisha did well again, but I didn't like their songs. I hated Jordin's and Haley's songs too. On to the guys. Phil surprised me and did an okay job. Good song choice for him with the Police. I DIDN'T LIKE Chris R's verson of "Don't Speak". I thought it was terrible. Blake, I hate to say, was just downright boring. He is a smooth singer, but a bad song choice. I also didn't like the other Chris - the smartmouth one, although he didn't really have any kind of comback last night. He just wasn't good, and I think he knew it. And then we come to Sanjaya. My goodness. I totally agreed with Simon, what else can you say. That poor guy. All I can say is, he tries. The hair was just weird. I guess he was trying to get into the punk look, but it just didn't work for him. But he will probably be back again next week. I think one of the Chris's will be gone after tonight. Of course I've been wrong every other time. We'll see.

Spring Stuff

2007-03-27T03:01:00.000-07:00

As the weather has gotten warmer we've been getting out and about more. As Bennie wrote in his blog, we went to Stone Mountain last Saturday. We hiked the "easy" backpacking trail, working our way up to the main loop trail which we'll do hopefully in a few weeks. Just like Vanessa, we didn't see any deer on the hike at all. There was ONE small doe on the side of the road on the way there, and that was it. There was a lot of gravel on the trail that I didn't remember from before, and my feet didn't like that very much.

On Friday afternoon Bennie and I went outside and practiced our disc throwing. My arm is still sore four days later. Bennie can throw it twice as far as me. I've got to get better because we're taking our stuff to Georgia in a couple weeks to play with Justin. They have a neat disc golf course at a park down there - you just have to watch out for the FIRE ANTS!

Yesterday I took my bike apart and put it in the back of my car. I had to go to Mt. Airy to turn in my work, so after that I went over the Greenway and rode for about 45 minutes. That is a really nice trail - paved and flat, just like I like them. At one point another creek comes into the main creek, and there is a beaver dam there. Last year there would just be a slightly rounded pool at the dam. Yesterday there was a POND. It was about 80-90 feet in diameter with trees and weeds coming up out of the water, looking almost like a swamp. I stopped for awhile watching for the beavers but never saw any. The dam itself was really nice, about 5-6 feet high. I could imagine the beavers being behind all those sticks watching me watch for them and laughing. Oh well.

And one more spring bit of news. Last fall Bennie planted 50 hyacinth bulbs for me right in front of our porch. That is my favorite flower, and I couldn't wait to see them springing forth. Well, they are nowhere to be seen, except for one scraggly pink one that halfway has come up and seems to already be dying. Maybe next year they'll come around.

What A Game!

2007-03-24T04:54:00.000-07:00

No, not the Carolina/Southern Cal game, but the Vanderbilt/Georgetown. That ending was fantastic. I love endings like that, especially when the team I'm pulling for pulls it out at the very end. Going into this game I really didn't have a preference between the two teams, until I found out about Patrick Jr. Then I wanted them to win, just to see them play Carolina. So, on to the game of the night. I'm glad I tivo'd the next two shows after the ballgame or I would have missed it. Carolina was down by 16 at one point, then went on a RUN AND A HALF to pull ahead, winning by I think ten points. And did you see the USC coach ASK FOR the technical? He killed any chances his team may have had at that point. Good luck to the 'heels tomorrow night!

Get Phil Outta There!

2007-03-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

Phil needs to make like a tree. I can't stand him. I'm surprised he's lasted this long. I thought Melinda was the best, and again I really liked Joan Jett, oh, I mean Gina. I hope she stays for awhile. Haley was a little desperate I thought. The guys, well, what can you say about them? Blake was pretty good, but that's it. Phil was just horrible. And what's up with Sanjaya? And the little girl crying over him?? Lakisha was just average last night. And one more thing - if this was a "British Invasion" show, where were the Beatle songs?

The Bottom Three

2007-03-15T06:29:00.000-07:00

Were guys, just like I said in my other post. The girls have it made.

Some thoughts - Diana Ross seemed to be having trouble walking in that longer than she is dress, like she thought she was going to step on it and trip. And I didn't like her singing that song ("More Today Than Yesterday). I love that song - the original by Spiral Starecase, and she should have sung one of HER originals! Also I was kind of disappointed in most all the contestants because they picked really weird songs that no one has heard of when, as Simon said, there were SO MANY other songs to choose from. I think it would have endeared them to the audience more to have sung the more familiar favorites. I didn't like ANY of the guys this week. I tried to like Blake again, but he "just didn't do it for me Dawg". Although he was probably the best of the worst. I liked Gina again. She is really growing on me. Of course Lakisha and Melinda are so far and away more talented than anyone else, but I didn't like their song choices. Jordin was better this week. And I liked Haley better too.

To change the subject, here are some sayings that are becoming overused, and I'm personally getting tired of hearing them:

The real deal.
Been there, done that.
My bad.
Peace out (or just "out").
And the weather guy saying EVERY SINGLE MORNING, "Here's what happening in your neck of the woods".

It Was BLUE Today In Chapel Hill

2007-03-10T17:32:00.000-08:00

We lost - and that's all I have to say about that.

Idol Thoughts

2007-03-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

After watching last night's AI I realized something. If Antonella Barba - Queen of the Internet - can make it one more time she will have it made for several weeks, because the guys will be gone one by one starting next week, and that will leave it for the girls. There might be one or two guys who will stick around for a while, but ALL the girls probably will until no guys are left. I've never seen this show so one-sided before. My two picks to leave tonight from the girls are Haley and Jordin. I kind of liked Jordin at first, but she's really gone downhill. And I didn't like Haley at all. Like Simon says, who is she? Nobody remembers. And I haven't liked Gina at all, but last night I thought she did a great job. It's about time someone did some Evanescence. As far as the guys go, Blake was good the first week, okay the second, and maybe just okay this week, but he is still the best of the guys. And, I actually liked Sundance this week with Pearl Jam's "Jeremy". And Sanjaya was better I thought, but his hula hooping didn't help his "pretty" image very much. So, we'll see what happens tonight.

How Many OT's Can One Heart Take?

2007-03-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

The answer is 2. That's how many overtimes we had tonight to WIN THE REGIONALS!!!! I'll start from the beginning. Starmount came to play Shelby at the Joel Coliseum at 6:30. So, just as they were getting ready to introduce the players the lights were turned down with spotlights flashing all over the arena. So cool! So then they started playing. We scored first, and kept the lead most of the game, but it was close throughout. Tied at 27 at halftime. After the third we were 8 points ahead, but then they came back and were ahead of us by 3. So, with just three minutes left in the game we were tied at 45. Then Shelby just threw it around and held on to the ball, not trying to shoot or anything, just running down the clock. So with about 15 seconds left they tried to drive in to shoot, but they missed. We got the rebound with 0.3 seconds left, couldn't do anything, so it was overtime. No one scored, and Shelby again held the ball for about three of the four minutes. They tried a shot at the end again, but missed again. Double overtime. We couldn't STAND it. It was so nervewracking. So four minutes, and they shot a little bit this time. They scored twice, and we scored twice, making it 49 all. So, Shelby AGAIN holds the ball as time runs out, but THIS TIME with about 7 seconds to go we STEAL THE BALL, dribble down, and then one of our guys finds Victor under our basket and throws it to him, and VICTOR DUNKS THE BALL with about 2 seconds on the clock!!! Time just ran out, and it was over. This had to be the most exciting basketball game I have ever been to. What a finish. So, next week to Chapel Hill for the State Championship!

77 to 55

2007-03-02T08:18:00.000-08:00

How about that score!! Last night Starmount came roaring in to the coliseum in Winston for the Western Regionals - on March 1st - how appropriate is that? It was a fun game to watch. I know it probably sounds like it was boring, being so one-sided, but there were times when West Henderson was within 8 or 10 points, and we had to step it up again to get back to our 15-17 point lead. At the end I think WH just gave up. So we won by a pretty good margin. Starmount had a crowd and a half there. They have really good fan support. An interesting note - the coach started five players that usually come in off the bench, and left his usual starters sitting for about the first three minutes. But we were up by 7 or 8 points when he put them in. So, no worries. After our game North Surry played Shelby and lost 55-54. We will be playing Shelby tomorrow night, same place. And the winner of that game with go to CHAPEL HILL next week for the state championship.

Also, have any of you noticed the farewell song on AI this year? It's Daughtry's "Home". How cool is that?

Better Late Than Never

2007-02-25T10:57:00.000-08:00

Quentin holding up the wall.

Mother and daughter.

Isabella all dressed up.

Me and Justin.

Isabella in her new robe and PJ's.

Isabella at Great-Grandma's

Mom and Bennie

My three sons.

Josh at Grandma's

Justin and Vanessa at Grandma's.

Josh had put in the bubble bath, then turned on the jets. Isabella had a time!

WHEW!

2007-02-23T19:46:00.000-08:00

I just got home from the ballgame. It was a close one - up until the last three or four minutes. Monroe was ahead of Starmount after the first quarter, at halftime (30-28), and I can't remember about the third quarter. But they were pretty neck and neck with the lead going back and forth the whole game. And then in the middle of the fourth quarter SM just took over! It was a sight to see. Of course the crowd was going wild. We ended up winning by 14 points! So we are now Sectional Champs. Next week we go to the Regionals in Winston at the coliseum. These playoffs started out with 64 teams, and now it's down to the "elite" eight - four from the west and four from the east. And guess who else is still in? That's right. North Surry. I don't see why SOMEBODY can't beat them so we won't have to play them anymore!

Letdown

2007-02-23T11:28:00.000-08:00

What a dumb ending to a really good show, well at least it was good up until Marissa died. That is when they "jumped the shark". If you don't know, I'm talking about The O.C. I've been watching this show from the beginning, several years ago, and it has been a very interesting, fun show to watch. But last night's series finale was absolutely the worst ending to a series I have ever seen. It was just dumb. They left out so many things, like Ryan's child - what happened to him (or her?). And did they forget that he had a real mother? And his father, although Kevin Sorbo is a hunk and a half, he just didn't quite fit the picture of Ryan's abusive, alcoholic father. I mean I know people can change, but . . . And what did they do about their house? Just leave the mess there after the earthquake for someone else to clean up? Anyway, it was very unrealistic, and I was very disappointed. It was a good show, and they ruined it. At least this way I won't miss it though.

And what about American Idol this year? I thought the girls did really well, but I only liked one guy - Blake. And did you see Fantasia last night? She was fantasia-stic! And one other comment. They showed the musicians who are going to be mentors for this season. Where did they get some of these people? Peter Noone? I mean I liked Herman's Hermits, but a mentor? Jennifer Lopez? Gwen Stefani? And who has heard from Lulu in the last 40 years? Jon Bon Jovi will probably be okay, and Tony Bennett should be great. Anyway.

Well, I've got to go and get ready for the ballgame. Go Rams!

Another Good Game

2007-02-22T06:32:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to Denver, NC, to watch Starmount in the second round of the sectional state playoffs. Starmount, because of a very close loss to North Surry last week in the conference tournament (buzzer shot), was ranked #2 in the conference and played East Lincoln, #1 in their conference. So, after driving through the stupid Charlotte/Lake Norman traffic we got to the school about 20 minutes early. They had a beautiful gym. Everybody was commenting on it. It was kind of strange though because five minutes before the game the visitors' side was full and only a handful on the home side. More came in later, but still, Starmount had a LOT more people than East Lincoln. So, the game started. We have Victor, 6'9", and they had a guy 6'8". This was going to be different because usually Victor just towers over his defenders who haven't been nearly as tall has him. AND the EL guy looked just like Napoleon Dynamite. Anyway, the game started, and we started scoring. We were ON FIRE. After the score got to 12-0 their coach called time out. The Starmount stands just rose as one and yelled, cheered, whistled, etc. It was so cool. I knew then that we had nothing to worry about. So we just enjoyed the game. Victor must have dunked the ball 7 or 8 times. He came away with 31 points for the night. We actually put in the JV subs at the end of the game. I think the final score was 77-59. It was a really fun ballgame.

Last Monday we played in the first round against Ledford and beat them by about 30 points. Tomorrow night we play Monroe. This will be a different ballgame. Monroe has consistently been one of the top ten teams in the state. So, back to business.

2007-02-19T10:36:00.000-08:00

FINE

Pandemonium . . . Rock Star(?) in the Gym!

2007-02-10T07:11:00.000-08:00

Last night I went to a fantastic basketball game! North Surry (11-0) came to Starmount (10-1) for the final regular season game. The only team to have beaten Starmount in the conference was NS, but the two best players from Starmount couldn't play that night. So, this was the real deal, to see who was the best. I've been to a bunch of ballgames at Starmount over the last 43 years, but I've never seen as many people as last night. The stands were full, the aisles were full, there were people sitting and standing on each end of the court along the walls, the lobby was full, AND there were a bunch of people in the cafeteria watching it on TV. So, the stage was set. North Surry has a really good team, and they played hard - just not quite hard enough. It was a nail-biter, close the whole time. NS actually was ahead with three minutes left in the game, but SM came back. It came down to the last few seconds - tied at 51 with 6 seconds. SM called time out, then came back, got the ball to Victor under the basket, and an easy 2 points to seal. With 2 seconds left NS tried to get it down the court but just couldn't. When the buzzer blew the SM stands just emptied onto the floor. We were sitting in the corner on the visitor's side, and the referees came RUNNING out the door as soon as the buzzer went off. It was so cool! So next week is the conference tournament, and this will probably happen all over again, but at Wilkes Central's tiny gym. Fun times ahead.

AND, before the game I noticed a commotion like someone was making their way through the throng at the door. There was this really cute guy, dark hair, with a WF shirt on. I was just wondering if he was a scout or something when I realized he was just running interference for the man himself, Skip Prosser. They sat about five feet from me. I saw him give out several autographs. Nice guy.

A Visit to the Grocery Store

2007-01-31T11:57:00.000-08:00

Do you ever do something that you wished you hadn't as soon as you did it? I've been doing a lot of that lately, and I don't know why. The other night I told a friend that I didn't like her soup. I shouldn't have been so blunt, but I didn't like it. But, as soon as I said it I wished I hadn't said it. I should be nicer. And then today at the store. I had my cart about halfway full and went up to check out. There were a lot of people in the two lines that were open, like four or five deep, so everybody was looking at the closed counters, kind of waiting for someone to come by and say, "I'll get you on 6", or something like that. So, that is what happened. I saw the lady coming, and before she could get the words out, I guessed, correctly I might add, where she would be and started that way, passing this Mexican woman with a small boy in the seat and a cart full of groceries. As soon as I got by her she noticed the woman too and started that way, but I got there first. And then, as soon as I did, I regreted passing her. I looked back to let her go in front, but she had by now changed her mind and was up a few counters in another line. So, feeling guity, but happy that I got there first, I proceeded to get checked out. Now, Lowes has this promotion thing going where if you spend $75 at one trip once a week for eight weeks you get a $50 gift certificate. Well, I knew that I had made it last week but wasn't sure about when the new week started. I asked the checkout lady, and she said it started today. So I was kind of hoping that I had that many groceries. But I didn't. I only had $67 something. And then I remembered that they had shrimp on sale - regular $14.98, buy one get one free, so I asked the bag boy if he minded running back and getting the shrimp. So he did, and the lady finished bagging my groceries. So he brought back the shrimp, and it still wasn't enough, because you can't count tax. Well, now the guy behind me was starting to get irritated, but I only had a couple dollars to go. So I ran over and got a bunch of bananas. I already had one bunch, but the bananas were close by. So she added those, and the guy left the line (big mistake). Well now I needed ten more cents. So I reached around the lady behind me and grabbed an Almond Joy candy bar. By now the guy realized our line was shorter, so he comes back, but has to get behind the woman behind me. So he's pretty mad by now. But anyway, I got my $75 - before taxes. And then when it printed out, the week doesn't start until Saturday, and I had already qualified for this week. The checkout lady apologized to me over and over, but I think she probably should have apologized to the mad guy. Soooo, as I was leaving the store I got right in front of the Mexican woman with the cute kid again, feeling bad for doing that. Anyway, as I was putting groceries in my car I came across the second bunch of bananas and had one of those inspirational moments. I quickly ran over to the Mexican woman and gave her the bananas. She thanked me, and I feel better now.

I Wonder If It's Cold Where Saddam Is Now?

2007-01-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

Bennie is going to the basketball game with me tonight!

Good News

2007-01-16T05:57:00.000-08:00

I woke up to good news this morning. Dan Henning was fired. Yay!! Now maybe we can do something.

We'll See If This Works

2007-01-03T20:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures Quentin took last week.

Isabella on Grandpa's lap.

Me and my beautiful granddaughter.

Isabella relaxing.

Christmas with the family.

I Love Christmas!

2006-12-28T04:55:00.000-08:00

I was just sitting here working and thinking about the past week or two. I just love Christmas, everything about it. All the decorations, food, family coming in from everywhere, and just sitting and looking at our tree at night with no other lights on. And not having to work for a few days! I love watching people open the gifts I got them. And, okay I'll admit it, I love getting gifts myself. I got really good gifts this year - well I do every year. I got GC's and money, which I really like because I can pick out stuff, I got some disc golf gear - my new hobby, a hand-painted mug from Isabella, and then a really cool gift from Bennie and Justin combined. Years ago (20?) we got a Nintendo and my favorite game was Zelda - the original Zelda without all the dimensions and different angles and stuff, just the fun, simple Zelda. So anyway Bennie got me a game cube and Justin gave me his game that came with his (but didn't come with mine) that had the original Zelda on it, as well as other Zelda games. I'm in heaven! We've had good visits from all three boys, Vanessa and Megan, and sweet Isabella, and we've visited other family. It seems like Christmas is a time to step away from your everyday life for just a few days. And then, New Year's is right around the corner. I have to work today, but then not again for five more days! Did I mention I'm in heaven?

Hitchcock's in the Neighborhood

2006-12-07T04:39:00.000-08:00

Something strange just happened that I thought I would share. I was sitting here at my computer this morning, a little after 7:00, working on my transcription. Bennie was still asleep. So as I was working I started hearing these little murmurings, like soft voices or something. I would stop typing and listen, thinking maybe it was the TV and Bennie was up, but then it would be quiet again. I would go back to work, and again hear these little whisperings. Then, I realized it must be a mouse. So again I stopped work to listen, but it wasn't quite the mouse noises. And then all of a sudden the whisperings/murmurings got a little louder, and then got a little chirpier. And it was coming from outside. So I got up to look out the window and parted the blind - that's when I saw it. Our backyard was black with birds. I have never seen anything like that. Apparently we have a lot of bugs or something in our yard because they were all picking at the grass for something. I watched a while and gradually they would move over to our neighbor's yard, a few flying up at a time. So after a little while I went to our other window to see them next door, and I noticed across the road in the vacant cornfield was the motherload of black birds. And - contrary to popular cliches - they weren't all the same. There were black ones with brown heads, black ones all over, and speckled grayish ones. It was a sight! Now, back to work.

That Doesn't Sound Good

2006-11-16T07:41:00.000-08:00

Starmount has had a terrible football season this year, but they are supposed to have a really good basketball team, so I've been looking forward to going to the games. They have a junior this year who is ranked #1 in North Carolina. He is from Puerto Rico and has played the last two years at SM. He is really good and is around 6'10". They also have two other Puerto Ricans playing, plus a guy who transferred from Surry Central to play this year. So, they are supposed to be really good. They have even been invited to the holiday tournament at NC State, playing some of the top teams in the nation.

So, imagine my surprise. I was looking on the NCPreps.com site and reading about this team. They had a scrimmage game last night with High Point Central. So there were comments asking about what time, who was playing, etc. And then this morning when I went to see how they had done last night I saw the following comments from Starmount fans - "Who won?", then "No one kept score", and finally, "Thank goodness".

Prestigious

2006-10-28T08:59:00.000-07:00

I visited Quentin on Thursday, and we went to the movies. We went to see a movie he had already seen and said was really good - "The Prestige". It WAS really good. It was one of those movies that you are lost the first half, and then the second half answers all the questions. Very interesting questions. I can't remember the last time I had to think so much, and enjoyed the thinking. If you haven't seen this, you should. Remember when you saw "The Sixth Sense", and you had to see it again right after you finished? That is how this movie is. I can't wait to see it again.

Also, Thursday afternoon Bennie and I met Quentin at his law school for a family thing. We had a "tea" and met his professors and deans, and then we went into a classroom and observed his professors "teaching" the class. It was a lot of fun.

One other thing that happened this week. I was talking to Josh on the phone on Wednesday night, and Isabella got on. We talked a little bit, then it got kind of quiet, and I asked her a question. She didn't answer. So I asked again. Still, no answer. I said, "Isabella, . . . Isabella?" Then I said , "Josh, . . .Josh?" No answer. I could hear noises and conversation in the background. So I just waited. Finally I heard the phone being picked up, and Josh said, "Mom? Are you still there?" Apparently Isabella was through talking to me and just laid down the phone, then went on about her business.

Don't Mess This Up

2006-10-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

That is my message to Marcus Vick. He was just given another opportunity to play in the NFL. He had some trouble at Virginia Tech last year, BUT he did a great job as their quarterback, although he was still kicked off the team. So he went in to the NFL draft, but the only team who wanted him was Miami. So he tried out for the Dolphins and played in the exhibition games. But then he was cut from that team. The next day he was placed on their practice squad. And then a couple days ago he was called up to be on their regular team. I can't wait to see him play. I think he is a great football player with a lot of potential.

Life's A Beach

2006-10-14T13:03:00.000-07:00

Bennie and I got back last night from a week at Virginia Beach. We had a great time. The first couple of days it was storming and raining off and on. But the ocean was beautiful! I had never seen it like that. We always stay right on the beach, and our room on the 5th floor had a big window that we could just sit and watch the ocean. The waves were huge, and there was white water everywhere. By Sunday things had calmed down, and the sun made its first appearance.

On Monday we were out about all day riding our bikes. There is a great boardwalk at Va Beach, 2 1/2 miles long, with a bike trail right next to it. And then there are bike trails all over town. Each day the ocean would get calmer and calmer. By Thursday, our last full day, it was so calm that the surfers were just sitting on their boards doing nothing. So we took a dolphin-watching tour. We had done this before and had always seen the dolphins, but never like this. There were dolphins EVERYWHERE! The boat would ride right into the middle of them and stop, and we would just watch them come up out of the water - like Flipper, and then we would move on another 100 yards or so, and there would be another school (herd?) of them. The announcer said there were approximately 50 at one place. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. And we ate. I gained three pounds. I had to try the she-crab soup every place we went. And Bennie usually got the key lime pie. I think every restaurant had those two items. And then at night Bennie and I would play Yahtzee. I think I won the most. And as far as TV went, Law and Order was on ALL THE TIME. What is up with that show? It was a good thing I was recording all my favorite shows at home.

Also one day we went over that stupid long bridge that I hate, but Bennie loves it, so I went. But I told him that was the last time I would ever do that. We took our bikes and actually found a park on the other side that we rode around some. And we saw a strange-looking snake crawling across the parking lot there. I had never seen one that looked like that. It had ugly gold-yellow and black markings, mostly the dark yellow. I stayed away from it, but Bennie had to circle it a time or two on his bike.

One day we went to a state park just up the beach called "First Landing". There was a biking/hiking trail that went 6 miles. So we got on that trail which was pretty neat, at first. It went through the woods, and then through a murky swamp, which was kind of scary, and then out around a back bay. There were mile markers telling us how far we had gone. I was getting kind of tired at about 4 1/2 and 5 miles, thinking that we were almost done. Well, instead of circling around, the trail just went somewhere and stopped. So we had to come back the 6 miles too. We were both dead by the time we got back. And sore the next day. But still I'm glad we did it. It was an ACCOMPLISHMENT.

It was sad to leave yesterday, but a week is about right, for me. I was ready to get back home, and get back to my SOFT bed. Why do all hotels have such hard beds?

Next year we're talking about going out west for a couple weeks for vacation. I dread the ride, but I'm looking forward to the sights. And of course visiting Josh, Megan, and sweet Isabella.

Exciting Fall

2006-09-22T04:59:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking about all the things going on in my life right now, and since I needed to update anyway I thought I'd just write about stuff. So- boring alert. You can stop reading now if you want.

Since Bennie and I got bikes a few weeks ago we have been doing some fun riding. We've taken them to Mt. Airy to a trail called "The Greenway", which is right beside a creek and is 2 3/8 miles long. So we ride that end to end a couple of times, and then a little more to make 10 miles. It is nice, level, easy riding - very enjoyable. And then for the last two weekends we have taken them up in the mountains to the New River Trail. That is spectacular. It also is level and is a beautiful ride. We've been to two different sections so far, and, if it doesn't rain, we're going back tomorrow with a church group.

Speaking of church, since I'm the activities person I kind of get to do whatever activities I want, which is fun. So I planned this bike ride. We have about 12 people interested in going, and then some who don't have bikes but want to go and walk. Also I'm planning a Trunk or Treat for Halloween. If anyone has any ideas on this, let me know. One thing I want to do is have a pumpkin-carving contest. So, I want to have prizes for best decorated trunk (or back of pickup), best costume, the pumpkin art, and - what else? I need ideas.

Also I'm enjoying being involved in the political stuff. I think it's interesting watching the whole process. Our county Republican party has had three rallies already in the last couple of months, and we're having two more before Election Day. On the 30th will be a big one. We're going to the Elkin park and having free BBQ and a band- "None of the Above". And this week we have a booth at the county fair, so that's been fun, although it was freezing on Wednesday when I was there.

And then there's FOOTBALL. I love watching football. The Panthers HAVE GOT to win this week. They are without a doubt the best team in the NFL and WILL win the Super Bowl. They've just had some off moments in the last two games. I know everyone was talking about Chris Gamble's trick play last week that lost us the game, but the thing is, if it had gone well it would have been a fantastic play. Oh well. AND, what about Michael Vick? That guy is incredible. And I watched some of the highlights from the Giants/Eagles game last week. Eli Manning came through bigtime. It was 24/7 Eagles going into the fourth quarter. The Giants came back - in overtime - to win 30/24.

Plus, the new TV season is really shaping up. You know I already am hooked on "Justice". I've seen "Men in Trees" (not sure about that one yet), "Smith" (probably will like), "'Til Death" (half and half - but it's a short show), "Vanished" (hooked on it too), "Studio 60" (which was a GREAT premiere - I think it will be a favorite also), and I am recording but haven't seen yet "Jericho", "Shark", "Heroes", "Help Me Help You", "Friday Night Lights", "The Nine", and "Brothers and Sisters". I know this is way more than I can watch every week, because I'm already watching stuff like "House", "ER", "Lost", "Criminal Minds", "One Tree Hill", "The O.C.", "Supernatural", "My Name is Earl", and "Y&R". How many hours is that? Actually I'm just trying the new shows, kind of hoping I won't like them, but so far I've liked what I seen pretty much. And there's a show - "The Bachelor" - that I have never seen and never wanted to before, but this year one of the girls is a step daughter of sorts of one of my best friends, so I have to watch her.

So, like I said. It's an exciting fall. And another good thing about all this is by staying busy I'm trying not to miss my family so much.

And JUSTICE For All

2006-09-08T11:33:00.000-07:00

OK, it's that time of year. I have been going over the Fall Preview of the new TV Guide and picking out what shows I want to watch. Two shows have already started that I like. One is called "Vanished". It is really good, but if you didn't catch the first one you're lost. It continues each week and has a lot of mystery to it. The second one, which BTW has become one of my all time favorites already, is called "Justice". It stars Victor Garber (Titanic, Alias) as a lawyer. It is a really good show. It moves quickly and is very interesting - not like another law show that seems to move like mud with the investigation in the first half and the courtroom stuff in the second half. AND another thing I like about "Justice" is that you don't know for sure what happened until the end. They will do the whole show, and then the last couple of minutes they will go back to the crime and show what really happened. PLUS they have a great theme song, Warren Zevon's "Lawyers, Guns, and Money". Each show is its own episode, so you can pick it up at any time. I highly recommend it.

I'll Believe What I Want To Believe

2006-08-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

I was just sitting here working, occasionally checking my email, and realized that I'm tired of people trying to tell me what I should believe or how I should feel about something. I got some email from one of these groups that was all up in the air about Sam's Club putting out advertising about the "holidays" instead of "Christmas", and they wanted me and everybody else to email Sam's Club to tell them not to do this, to keep the word "Christmas" in all their advertising. Well, I guess that's all well and good, except I could care less how Sam's Club does their advertising. I like to go there, and I will continue to go there whether they say "Christmas", "holidays", or "go jump in a lake". I don't care. AND I'm tired of getting emails from people with these stupid stories about someone having extraordinary experiences and then telling me to send this to 10 people so I will get blessings myself. Well, I feel like I'm being blessed every day of my life WITHOUT having to send some stupid email to 10 other people. 30 years ago I joined the Mormon church because I felt like it was right, and I still feel that way. I don't need other people telling me what I need to believe in, what I need to be praying about, what sites I need to go to for spiritually uplifting stories, etc. You get the idea. I feel very comfortable in my beliefs, and I DON'T NEED OTHER PEOPLE trying to force THEIR beliefs on me. I don't care about prayer in school. I think everyone can pray to themselves WHENEVER AND WHEREVER they want to. They don't need to have some kind of organized prayer in the classroom every morning. In fact, I don't think they should do that. Does that make me an atheist? I don't think so. And why have a "moment of silence" at ballgames? That, by the way, has taken the place of prayer. Years ago they would always have some preacher go up to the press box and give a prayer before the games so no one would get hurt. So now they do the moment of silence. Last year at the Starmount football games I noticed the chorus would be down there getting ready to sing the National Anthem, and during the moment of silence they would all together, out loud, recite the Lord's Prayer. What was up with that? And another thing. Concerning all these experiences all these people supposedly have (for example the little boy stuck under the garage door and seeing the angels). I know that some people DO have spiritual experiences. I have had many of them myself. The thing is, you shouldn't be talking about them to everybody in the world. You keep them to yourself - they are sacred. I'll admit there are some times when you feel like you should share them with someone else, but it would be at an appropriate time and in an appropriate place - not on the internet going to who knows who. That just cheapens the experience. I also feel that if you do this, you stop having these experiences, and personally I don't want that to happen. So, I hope I haven't made anyone mad. This is just the way I feel about some things.

Bad Day All Around

2006-08-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

This is a bad day. Quentin has been living with us all summer and today he has moved out. I'm trying not to be sad. I'm trying to think of all the positive aspects of this. For example, no more crumbs in the mayonnaise. No more running out of bottled water because he came in late the night before and drank all the cold ones - without putting any back in the fridge. No more looking for the laundry basket. No more banging my head on the hangers of clothes in the laundry room that for reason he can't carry to his closet after he gets them out of the dryer and hangs them up. Well, I could go on and on.

But that's not the only bad thing about this day. We have ANTS in our kitchen, and I HATE ants. I called the guy from Wilson Pest Control, and he came over yesterday to take care of them. We have been doing business with them for over a year now. They come every three months and spray around the outside of the house, and we haven't had a problem, until here lately. I've seen some bugs and spiders too in the last few months. So, the guy came yesterday and put out some stuff that looked like glue and some ant traps. Then he said to me that it would probably take a couple of weeks to get rid of them. A COUPLE OF WEEKS? I just smiled and thanked him for coming, but I am steaming. And I can't stop scratching my head. I just FEEL them all over. So, goodbye WPC, hello Orkin!

Surprised

2006-07-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

I've been surprised by some things here lately. I'll start with this morning. As I was driving downtown Dobson to go to church I met a red pickup truck. This truck was one of those big ones with the stuff all over the outside and a backseat, something not uncommon to Dobson. In my mind I expected to see someone who looked like Larry the Cable Guy driving. As I passed the truck I was really surprised to see not Larry, but a black guy with a suit and tie on. That just didn't seem right.

And yesterday I received an email from my brother-in-law, Bill. This was one of those "tests" that you scroll down and don't really know what it's about until the end. So I was taking it, and at the end you were either in 98% of the people who took this test or the 2%. Bill said he was 98%. I was 2%. I didn't realize I was that different.

And last night I was visiting with some friends in Low Gap. We had walked outside as I was getting ready to leave, and we stood there for 15-20 minutes talking, right after it had gotten dark. As we were talking I would feel, every once in a while, a crawling sensation on my legs, and I kept swatting at them, just in case there was something there. Well, this morning I was SURPRISED to find 15 mosquito bites. Why was I surprised? I don't know. I just didn't think about that feeling being actual mosquitoes last night.

AND, I guess this will be the last one, I was surprised to learn that another Puerto Rican is going to play basketball at Starmount again this year, and he is supposed to be AWESOME. This will make five PR's in the last three years, so I don't really know why I'm surprised. Since Starmount is supposed to have a pretty bad football team this year I guess they will be making up for in basketball.

Oh, and btw, two more days of no chocolate. I've sticken to my committment, but also I've gained 4 pounds this month. Another surprise!

'I'll Show You How"

2006-07-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

Last week Josh and his family stayed with us a few days. On Monday, while Megan and Josh went to Thomasville, I kept Isabella. We had a great time together. We watched a movie, walked around outside, played, ate, and read books. Isabella knows where I keep "her books", so she went right to them that morning and wanted me to read to her. I have "Bambi", "Brer Rabbit", "Peter Rabbit", and a few story books. She got out one of the story books, and we started reading. What I do is find a story I know, point to the pictures and just tell the story by the pictures. As she was flipping the pages looking for the next story she stopped on one and said, "Read this". I didn't know that story, so I said, "I don't know this one, let's find another one." That is when she said, "I'll show you how", and then she commenced "reading" the story to me. How cute is that?

Yahoo Graphics

2006-07-06T04:41:00.000-07:00

I don't know if any of you have noticed the Yahoo Graphics. They change a lot. A couple of weeks ago it was this beach scene. The ocean would come in, and a little starfish would jump around, and a crab was crawling. So then a few days ago it was for the 4th of July with fireworks. Now it is a soccer theme, I guess because of the World Cup. If you want to see the animation just move your cursor over the red YAHOO letters at the top, and the balls will start bouncing, then the countries' flags will pop up. Anyway, there is always something different up there.

Speaking of soccer, my favorite teams (England, Argentina, and Brasil) are out. So I guess I'll go along with Quentin and pull for Italy next Sunday. ABF!!

July Sans Chocolate

2006-06-28T05:58:00.000-07:00

I have made a major decision in my life. No more chocolate for the month of July. That's right. The whole month. I realized this morning when I weighed that I have now gained TWENTY POUNDS over the last couple of years. So I've been thinking about what has caused this, and chocolate seems to be a really big part of it. Of course that's not all I've been doing wrong. I just eat too much of the wrong things. So, I have put this summer resolution on the world wide web for everyone to see - all five of you - to maybe help me stick to it. I'll try to give updates on how I'm doing.

Just Now Summer

2006-06-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of summer, so I'm updating. What better reason, right?

I wrote my first ever letter to the editor tonight. Well, Bennie helped some. He had actually written a letter, but it didn't go through, and then he changed his mind. So I took some of what he had said and added some thoughts of my own. The Mt. Airy News had written a rotten article about a friend of ours who is a county commissioner in Surry County. He lost his job a while back and got into some financial trouble. Now he is working again, but is behind on a payment, and they splashed this all over the front page. So, I wrote and let them know how I felt. In a nice way. Bennie's original letter was really mean, so it's probably good that it didn't go through.

And, I'm really getting interested in soccer. Yesterday's England vs. Sweden was really exciting. But I couldn't stand the way the announcers kept trashing David Beckham. He's not superman, but they expected him to be. They blamed him for everything that went wrong with England, even blaming him for one of Sweden's goals, and it wasn't his fault. I know, because I was watching. He is a really good player, and I especially like to watch him "bend it". Today Argentina played. I recorded it and will watch it tonight. Tomorrow Brasil (note the spelling) and Japan. That will be a good game, or is it match? Quentin has been teaching me a lot about soccer, which makes it a lot more interesting to watch. And I like the way the clock just keeps going. At first I thought the clock was backwards, then I realized it is right, and the clocks on all the other games - football, basketball, etc. - are backwards.

I saw the Da Vinci Code last week. I thought it was a great movie. I had read the book and had looked forward to the movie for two years. So, I wasn't disappointed. I know there were a lot of bad reviews, and I tried to see it as someone who hadn't read the book, but I think it still would have been good. I really like puzzles and treasure hunt kinds of things. "Angels and Demons" is a really good book too.

Quentin is here for the summer and is eating us out of house and home. I've been used to throwing out a lot of food that we just didn't eat, and now I can't seem to keep food. I'm going to the store every other day. And why can't people use mayonnaise without leaving crumbs in the jar???

So, I guess this is a boring post. It's hard to think of things to write about. Nothing exciting has really been happening, except for the soccer. So, on that note I guess it's time to go watch the Argentina game/match. BTW if you haven't seen Argentina play, you should watch them. They have some really HOT guys on their team!

Me and the Senator - Again

2006-06-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had lunch with Richard Burr! Well, along with about 20 other people, but still . . He is such a cute guy! And really nice. He came to Mt. Airy for several different events – one of them being a ribbon cutting at the Republican Headquarters. He talked for about 7 or 8 minutes, then took any questions anybody had, and then we ate. While we were sitting around eating it was like he was just one of us, just talking and joking and stuff. He just didn’t seem like a big shot United States senator. AND when he got there he drove his own car and was ALL BY HIMSELF. I was really surprised. I thought that senators had all their aides and security people and stuff. Can you imagine Hillary driving to some small town in New York alone? Can she even drive?

So, this was my thrill for the week, especially having him put his arm around me for a picture!!!