Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/27/07.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Meet Delta, the Mississippi Queen
We made our final addition to our family! She is a 7 week old terrier mix mutt. We found Delta at the adoption fair for the DeSoto Animal Rescue Organization. She was the last puppy of the day, and it was meant to be! She's been fitting in well with Cuba, our other dog, and the cats, JoJo and Kesey. The cutest thing possible is watching Madison play with Delta! More picutres to come, I'm sure!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Spring break chronicles
On Saturday, Madison and I headed to Kentucky from Memphis. Madison went to spend the night at Jerry's, and I spent the night at Emily's. I went with her and Billy to see 300. That was an interesting experience I never would have had if they hadn't bought me a ticket.
On Sunday, I picked up Madison from her dad's in J-town and then dropped her off at her Uncle John and Aunt Mandy's in New Haven. Then I went to kick it with my buddy Rich in Munfordville.
On Monday and Tuesday, I chilled at my mom's and enjoyed the splendid weather. I picked up Madison in New Haven on Tuesday afternoon, then we went over to our friends, the Howletts, in Hodgenville to visit for a spell. From there, we stopped by Great's (my grandma) over in White City.
Wednesday morning, Mom, Madison, and I set out for Randleman, NC to spend the night with Aunt Debbie and Uncle Sean. On the way, we stopped in at the McDonald's at the Biltmore Estate exit in Asheville, NC. It was resplendent with a player baby grand piano, a stone fireplace, and tapestries. Pretty cool.
Once we arrived at my aunt's and uncle's, I had a lovely time exploring the small creek behind their house. I found a couple of kinds of mosses, an animal burrow, a centipede, two types of frogs, saw some bats, and listened to a frog duet up close and personal amongst some cattails. Sweet.
After dinner, we all had a nifty time enjoying my aunt and uncle's spectroscope. This contraption dates from the early 1800's and contains off-set lenses that create a 3D effect when viewing a photographic image-card. They had like 50 cards, each one a glimpse of a time gone by. Even Madison was reasonably impressed, until she was ready to take advantage the cable opportunity.
Thursday morning, we set off for Charleston... right after I clumsily managed to inadvertently smash an ornamental ceramic box of my aunt's. She graciously claimed that she didn't like it anyway. On our way out Randleman, we couldn't resist the temptation of taking pictures of Richard Petty's house and gates from the road....yes, THE Richard Petty. We didn't make it to see the town's statue or to Richard Petty Museum on this trip, but maybe some other time.
Once underway, our route to Charleston took us through rural NC and SC, which was quite scenic, and we still were making pretty good time. Our time record was ruined when we decided to get adventurous for lunch, and we stopped into the JR's Grocery and Grill for a quick bite. We got lunch, but it wasn't quick. That was okay, because we weren't in a hurry and could appreciate the much slower pace of country life.
We arrived in Charleston at the time to check into our hotel. We got off the exit but couldn't find it, so I called. It turned out that they had bumped our Priceline reservation to another hotel that was a couple of miles closer to downtown, which worked out really well. We checked in and then headed into downtown.
We decided to roll by Carter's address to see if his area was as bad as he had billed it. It was. But surprisingly, it was immediately adjacent to many blocks of cool areas. We followed the crowded streets of nifty shops and galleries away from there, down to the tip of Charleston's peninsula, the Battery, and drove around and gawked at the amazing houses.
We figured out how to get onto and drive across the new Ravenel Bridge across the Ashley River to Mt. Pleasant. We got off at the Patriot's Point Park and took pictures of the aircraft carrier they had hanging out there. There was a great view of the bridge with a bit of marshy area nearby. It wasn't long before Carter called and asked us to pick him up at his apartment.
Going into Carter's apartment was considerably cooler than seeing the outside. He's done a good job fixing it up with posters and kick-down furniture. Mom was still sketched, so we headed out pretty quickly.
Carter directed us to James Island and down to the Folly Beach washout. This is now a preserve area that used to have houses and stores through there, until the hurricanes made it untenable. Several building foundations remain to lend a somewhat desolate feel to the place. But the dunes and beach are lovely. Also, there's an abandoned lighthouse just off the coast in the channel. It is separated from the beach and just stands in the water, no island around it. It used to be connected to the coast, but the channel eroded out the connection. It could topple anytime and is another relic, lending to the sense of an era past.
We spent some time enjoying the beach and collecting shells, but the sun was setting fast, so we headed back to the van. For dinner, we ate at Carter's former place of employment, the East Bay Crab Shack. It was indeed shacktacular, as advertised. After dinner, we dropped Carter off at his apartment, since he had to rise at 6am to work until 12. We ladies went back to the hotel and hit the hay shortly after that.
We awoke Fri. morning to a big rainstorm and the prediction of persistent precipitation throughout the day. We brainstormed on inside activities, which was tough because we hadn't really planned any. While we got ready to go, though, the skies cleared out, and so we headed downtown.
We started out at the Visitor Center, which was in a neat old building with several cool exhibits. From there, we went to find Marion Square. When we were driving around the day before, we noticed that there were folks setting up tents and booths at Marion Square for the next day. We decided to check out what that was about. It turned out to be exhibitions of students from the Charleston College of Building Arts, the only institute of its kind. It was cool, with guys doing ironwork, plastering, framing, painting, etc. Marion Square was nice as well, with trees and benches, statues and memorials. I also found it amusing that the former Citadel building on the square, looking much like a formidable pink stucco fortress, is now an Embassy Suites.
Carter called and said he would meet us there, so we had a seat on a bench to wait for him. That was when the bird pooped on me. Once Carter joined us, we went back to the van so Mom could clean me up; the poo was on my back.
Once tidied up, we set out to find the French Huguenot church, because I really wanted to see the architecture up close. We found it, and it was impressively old and architectural. It also had a small, lovely cemetery on the grounds. Carter advised that we make it to the Market, which was nearby.
The Market is a row of open-sided buildings that vendors set up in, a la flea market style. Much of it was flea market fare, but there were some more interesting items as well. Carter had misinformed us that this building was the same thing as the Slave Mart (it's not). But not being able to find any mention of this (incorrect) fact anywhere on the premises, I wandered upstairs to the Museum for the Daughters of the Revolution to ask about the building's historical significance. They said that, while it wasn't the Slave Mart (that was a block over), many slaves did work in the building, which was dedicated to the selling of produce and livestock.
Some where along the way, Mom asked a local guy about the the crazy birds overhead. He said they were grackles, which are bit smaller than crowes and a dark-brown in color. They have rounded tails and a distinctive song!
Carter had stayed behind to nap in the van while we checked out the Market. Once we'd seen it all, we returned to the van to regroup. Carter suggested we go to the Waterfront Park, and so we did. It was lovely, with a pier-like area over the water with benches and swings. Adjacent to that was a park with a huge pineapple fountain. When we went out on the pier, it became obvious that the rain was on its way back in a hurry. Before we headed back, Carter noticed that a group of seagulls were diving at the water, and the water boiled in the spot they were diving at. I said it was a school of fish, which I guess it was, because a couple of porpoises were moving through there as well. This gave us all a thrill, and we stood watching them for longer than we should have, since we wound up getting quite soaked before making it back to the van.
Mom and I came to Charleston with the idea that we might be able to make some meager contribution to Carter's household arrangements, so while we were rained out, we went to the Store for the Habitat for Humanity that Carter had heard about. That was a new one on me, and it was pretty cool, but we didn't have much luck there... only a mirror and wooden trivet shaped like fish.
For dinner, we went back to our hotel to eat fried chicken and kick it for a bit. Then I took Carter home while Mom and Madison stayed behind to watch Ocean's 11 (...hmm). At any rate, we had a great time kicking it and playing with Pootie. I hung out with another tenant in Carter's building for a while, and he also strongly felt that, after 2 years there, the situation looked worse than it actually was, and things were improving overall. That was encouraging. I also briefly met Carter's girlfriend, Courtney, before heading back to the hotel.
Carter and Courtney were going out on Friday night, so on Saturday morning, Mom, Maddie, and I went to do the sort of touristy stuff Carter was less enthusiastic about. We parked downtown and started out on foot at the Rainbow Row. We found a little greenspace, Washington Park, with some nice statuary. We walked the length of Charleston's longest cobblestoned street on our way to the real Slave Mart. It will soon be open as a museum, but I wanted to see the building anyway. It turns out that the slaves we actually sold on the steps of the Old Exchange Building, which we also found just a few blocks away.
We came upon a large Irish gathering on the steps of the Hibernian Hall, complete with a band and fully decked-out bagpipers. After hanging out in that scene for a bit, we disentangled ourselves to head back to the van by way of gawking at the houses on our way down the street.
Back at the van, Mom popped into the shop in front of which our van had been parked. She had scoped a cool piece of architectural salvage earlier and went back for it. Meanwhile, Madison and I stood out in front of the shop with the pleasant and docile shop dog, Buster Brown. Buster musta smelled Pootie Pop on my jeans, because while I was turned the other way gawking at another house, Mr. Brown marked my leg. I only realized when I heard Madison laughing into her hand and saw she was pointing at my now-moistened pant leg. She saw the whole thing and let it happen while I was looking away...argh! Funny, funny. But did anyone want to go back to the hotel so I could change? Of course not... and I'm supposed to be some kind of hippie, right?, so I let it ride. This turned out to be for the best.
Around then, Carter called to say he was up and getting ready. Mom didn't want to go wait around his place while he got ready, so we hopped in the van and drove around. We quickly happened upon this park we hadn't seen yet. It had a semicircular set of steps with 4 old, ornate columns, attached to nothing. Mom asked a lady walking her dog what the story was on the steps and columns. They were the front of the old Charleston Museum, all that remained after it burned. This made for a cool backdrop for a game of frisbee with the Madison souvenir frisbee that was her plate at the Crab Shack. Unfortunately, the backside of the steps was grown up with some shrub with giant thorns. I found this out after the frisbee kept being drawn into it like the Bermuda Triangle. Finally we had to give up on frisbee because the third romp among the 2 inch thorn-spikes was really quite enough for me. By then, it was time to rendezvous with Carter and Courtney anyway, so we headed back to the hood.
On the radio the previous evening, I had heard that Folly Beach was having a craft fair and music for St. Patrick's Day. We went back to James Island, and first went to the Folly Beach Goodwill. There we found a dresser thing that was perfect for Carter. He also found a microwave and got some bath towels and a couple of pillowcases. We loaded our booty in the van then went to the craft fair.
The setup was small, but there were some lovely items from the local artisans. I found a cool ceramic spoonrest for Andrew there. Madison got a nifty cat picture with her allowance she'd been saving for the trip. The park was next to a pier over a marsh and out over the water. We strolled down that way, but we all decided we wanted to go back to the washout.
We spent the rest of the afternoon playing at the beach. Carter had brought Pootie, who was absolutely hysterical in the sand. She and Madison had lots of fun playing in the sand together. Carter and Madison tried to play a game of psuedo-lacrosse (scoop without a stick and light-duty), but the wind made it extremely difficult. We adults had been sitting on a retaining wall made from railroad ties, so when we got up, we had creosote all over the backs of our pants. Everyone else's pretty much brushed off except mine; I'd gotten it especially thoroughly. That was okay, I rationalized, since a dog had already peed on those pants that day.
For dinner, we decided we needed to get shacktacular again on our last night in town. Fun was had by all, even when Madison flipped over and fell out of an airchair the restaurant had out on the deck... whew! Walking back to the van, Madison noticed I had something on the back of my pants that wasn't creosote. It was globs and spatter of what appeared to be more bird poop! As I was trying to wipe it all off, I discovered pickle relish in the mix and figured out that it was tartar sauce. But where did it come from? No one had any with their food, and we were pretty much in and out. Who knows. But those jeans had had it!
We left Carter and Courtney to go back to the hotel to pack for our early morning departure. I got my stuff together and then went back to Carter's. After Carter and his neighbor, Jimmy, unloaded Carter's Goodwill treasures, Carter, Courtney, and I set out for the Charleston Pour House to see New Monsoon.
Once we made it in, New Monsoon rocked my socks off! I was DD that night, so it was solely the music that made me boogie like that. It was also extremely cool to see a show with my brother again, now that he can't leave SC and I live in Memphis. I hope to catch those guys again soon!
So, after running around Charleston all day since 7am, I finally crawled into bed after the show at 3am. Our wake-up call was a 6am, and I had us packed up and on the road by 7am. I took an hour nap on the way to Asheville, that resulted in some directional confusion - no biggie. Then once we were on 75N toward Ky, I napped for almost an hour before Mom woke me up and told me she thought she had missed our exit (she had). I checked the map, and the upcoming exit would work also, so we got off there. This turned out to be a curvy 2 lane road along the ridgetop in the Daniel Boone National Forest. It also ran right by Cumberland Falls State Park. I saw it on the map but figured it would require a hike or some major detour to check them out. But, it turns out, they we just off the road, so we pulled in to walk around and take pictures. It was an exceedingly pleasant little diversion.
From Cumberland Falls, it wasn't too much further until Hodgenville. We didn't roll in until 6pm, though - 11 hours on the road. At mom's, I cleaned out her van and repacked my stuff in my car. By 7pm, I was back on the road with Madison, headed down to highway to Memphis. It took 6 hours to get home that night, for some reason, but we made it. We had spent 17 of the last 24 hours in a car!
It was a whirlwind extravaganza, but that's how we do. Charleston was awesome! It was great to visit with family! New Monsoon is my new favorite band!
...And now we begin planning for the family vacation in June, to Gulf Shores, with our pals, the Beckham family!
On Sunday, I picked up Madison from her dad's in J-town and then dropped her off at her Uncle John and Aunt Mandy's in New Haven. Then I went to kick it with my buddy Rich in Munfordville.
On Monday and Tuesday, I chilled at my mom's and enjoyed the splendid weather. I picked up Madison in New Haven on Tuesday afternoon, then we went over to our friends, the Howletts, in Hodgenville to visit for a spell. From there, we stopped by Great's (my grandma) over in White City.
Wednesday morning, Mom, Madison, and I set out for Randleman, NC to spend the night with Aunt Debbie and Uncle Sean. On the way, we stopped in at the McDonald's at the Biltmore Estate exit in Asheville, NC. It was resplendent with a player baby grand piano, a stone fireplace, and tapestries. Pretty cool.
Once we arrived at my aunt's and uncle's, I had a lovely time exploring the small creek behind their house. I found a couple of kinds of mosses, an animal burrow, a centipede, two types of frogs, saw some bats, and listened to a frog duet up close and personal amongst some cattails. Sweet.
After dinner, we all had a nifty time enjoying my aunt and uncle's spectroscope. This contraption dates from the early 1800's and contains off-set lenses that create a 3D effect when viewing a photographic image-card. They had like 50 cards, each one a glimpse of a time gone by. Even Madison was reasonably impressed, until she was ready to take advantage the cable opportunity.
Thursday morning, we set off for Charleston... right after I clumsily managed to inadvertently smash an ornamental ceramic box of my aunt's. She graciously claimed that she didn't like it anyway. On our way out Randleman, we couldn't resist the temptation of taking pictures of Richard Petty's house and gates from the road....yes, THE Richard Petty. We didn't make it to see the town's statue or to Richard Petty Museum on this trip, but maybe some other time.
Once underway, our route to Charleston took us through rural NC and SC, which was quite scenic, and we still were making pretty good time. Our time record was ruined when we decided to get adventurous for lunch, and we stopped into the JR's Grocery and Grill for a quick bite. We got lunch, but it wasn't quick. That was okay, because we weren't in a hurry and could appreciate the much slower pace of country life.
We arrived in Charleston at the time to check into our hotel. We got off the exit but couldn't find it, so I called. It turned out that they had bumped our Priceline reservation to another hotel that was a couple of miles closer to downtown, which worked out really well. We checked in and then headed into downtown.
We decided to roll by Carter's address to see if his area was as bad as he had billed it. It was. But surprisingly, it was immediately adjacent to many blocks of cool areas. We followed the crowded streets of nifty shops and galleries away from there, down to the tip of Charleston's peninsula, the Battery, and drove around and gawked at the amazing houses.
We figured out how to get onto and drive across the new Ravenel Bridge across the Ashley River to Mt. Pleasant. We got off at the Patriot's Point Park and took pictures of the aircraft carrier they had hanging out there. There was a great view of the bridge with a bit of marshy area nearby. It wasn't long before Carter called and asked us to pick him up at his apartment.
Going into Carter's apartment was considerably cooler than seeing the outside. He's done a good job fixing it up with posters and kick-down furniture. Mom was still sketched, so we headed out pretty quickly.
Carter directed us to James Island and down to the Folly Beach washout. This is now a preserve area that used to have houses and stores through there, until the hurricanes made it untenable. Several building foundations remain to lend a somewhat desolate feel to the place. But the dunes and beach are lovely. Also, there's an abandoned lighthouse just off the coast in the channel. It is separated from the beach and just stands in the water, no island around it. It used to be connected to the coast, but the channel eroded out the connection. It could topple anytime and is another relic, lending to the sense of an era past.
We spent some time enjoying the beach and collecting shells, but the sun was setting fast, so we headed back to the van. For dinner, we ate at Carter's former place of employment, the East Bay Crab Shack. It was indeed shacktacular, as advertised. After dinner, we dropped Carter off at his apartment, since he had to rise at 6am to work until 12. We ladies went back to the hotel and hit the hay shortly after that.
We awoke Fri. morning to a big rainstorm and the prediction of persistent precipitation throughout the day. We brainstormed on inside activities, which was tough because we hadn't really planned any. While we got ready to go, though, the skies cleared out, and so we headed downtown.
We started out at the Visitor Center, which was in a neat old building with several cool exhibits. From there, we went to find Marion Square. When we were driving around the day before, we noticed that there were folks setting up tents and booths at Marion Square for the next day. We decided to check out what that was about. It turned out to be exhibitions of students from the Charleston College of Building Arts, the only institute of its kind. It was cool, with guys doing ironwork, plastering, framing, painting, etc. Marion Square was nice as well, with trees and benches, statues and memorials. I also found it amusing that the former Citadel building on the square, looking much like a formidable pink stucco fortress, is now an Embassy Suites.
Carter called and said he would meet us there, so we had a seat on a bench to wait for him. That was when the bird pooped on me. Once Carter joined us, we went back to the van so Mom could clean me up; the poo was on my back.
Once tidied up, we set out to find the French Huguenot church, because I really wanted to see the architecture up close. We found it, and it was impressively old and architectural. It also had a small, lovely cemetery on the grounds. Carter advised that we make it to the Market, which was nearby.
The Market is a row of open-sided buildings that vendors set up in, a la flea market style. Much of it was flea market fare, but there were some more interesting items as well. Carter had misinformed us that this building was the same thing as the Slave Mart (it's not). But not being able to find any mention of this (incorrect) fact anywhere on the premises, I wandered upstairs to the Museum for the Daughters of the Revolution to ask about the building's historical significance. They said that, while it wasn't the Slave Mart (that was a block over), many slaves did work in the building, which was dedicated to the selling of produce and livestock.
Some where along the way, Mom asked a local guy about the the crazy birds overhead. He said they were grackles, which are bit smaller than crowes and a dark-brown in color. They have rounded tails and a distinctive song!
Carter had stayed behind to nap in the van while we checked out the Market. Once we'd seen it all, we returned to the van to regroup. Carter suggested we go to the Waterfront Park, and so we did. It was lovely, with a pier-like area over the water with benches and swings. Adjacent to that was a park with a huge pineapple fountain. When we went out on the pier, it became obvious that the rain was on its way back in a hurry. Before we headed back, Carter noticed that a group of seagulls were diving at the water, and the water boiled in the spot they were diving at. I said it was a school of fish, which I guess it was, because a couple of porpoises were moving through there as well. This gave us all a thrill, and we stood watching them for longer than we should have, since we wound up getting quite soaked before making it back to the van.
Mom and I came to Charleston with the idea that we might be able to make some meager contribution to Carter's household arrangements, so while we were rained out, we went to the Store for the Habitat for Humanity that Carter had heard about. That was a new one on me, and it was pretty cool, but we didn't have much luck there... only a mirror and wooden trivet shaped like fish.
For dinner, we went back to our hotel to eat fried chicken and kick it for a bit. Then I took Carter home while Mom and Madison stayed behind to watch Ocean's 11 (...hmm). At any rate, we had a great time kicking it and playing with Pootie. I hung out with another tenant in Carter's building for a while, and he also strongly felt that, after 2 years there, the situation looked worse than it actually was, and things were improving overall. That was encouraging. I also briefly met Carter's girlfriend, Courtney, before heading back to the hotel.
Carter and Courtney were going out on Friday night, so on Saturday morning, Mom, Maddie, and I went to do the sort of touristy stuff Carter was less enthusiastic about. We parked downtown and started out on foot at the Rainbow Row. We found a little greenspace, Washington Park, with some nice statuary. We walked the length of Charleston's longest cobblestoned street on our way to the real Slave Mart. It will soon be open as a museum, but I wanted to see the building anyway. It turns out that the slaves we actually sold on the steps of the Old Exchange Building, which we also found just a few blocks away.
We came upon a large Irish gathering on the steps of the Hibernian Hall, complete with a band and fully decked-out bagpipers. After hanging out in that scene for a bit, we disentangled ourselves to head back to the van by way of gawking at the houses on our way down the street.
Back at the van, Mom popped into the shop in front of which our van had been parked. She had scoped a cool piece of architectural salvage earlier and went back for it. Meanwhile, Madison and I stood out in front of the shop with the pleasant and docile shop dog, Buster Brown. Buster musta smelled Pootie Pop on my jeans, because while I was turned the other way gawking at another house, Mr. Brown marked my leg. I only realized when I heard Madison laughing into her hand and saw she was pointing at my now-moistened pant leg. She saw the whole thing and let it happen while I was looking away...argh! Funny, funny. But did anyone want to go back to the hotel so I could change? Of course not... and I'm supposed to be some kind of hippie, right?, so I let it ride. This turned out to be for the best.
Around then, Carter called to say he was up and getting ready. Mom didn't want to go wait around his place while he got ready, so we hopped in the van and drove around. We quickly happened upon this park we hadn't seen yet. It had a semicircular set of steps with 4 old, ornate columns, attached to nothing. Mom asked a lady walking her dog what the story was on the steps and columns. They were the front of the old Charleston Museum, all that remained after it burned. This made for a cool backdrop for a game of frisbee with the Madison souvenir frisbee that was her plate at the Crab Shack. Unfortunately, the backside of the steps was grown up with some shrub with giant thorns. I found this out after the frisbee kept being drawn into it like the Bermuda Triangle. Finally we had to give up on frisbee because the third romp among the 2 inch thorn-spikes was really quite enough for me. By then, it was time to rendezvous with Carter and Courtney anyway, so we headed back to the hood.
On the radio the previous evening, I had heard that Folly Beach was having a craft fair and music for St. Patrick's Day. We went back to James Island, and first went to the Folly Beach Goodwill. There we found a dresser thing that was perfect for Carter. He also found a microwave and got some bath towels and a couple of pillowcases. We loaded our booty in the van then went to the craft fair.
The setup was small, but there were some lovely items from the local artisans. I found a cool ceramic spoonrest for Andrew there. Madison got a nifty cat picture with her allowance she'd been saving for the trip. The park was next to a pier over a marsh and out over the water. We strolled down that way, but we all decided we wanted to go back to the washout.
We spent the rest of the afternoon playing at the beach. Carter had brought Pootie, who was absolutely hysterical in the sand. She and Madison had lots of fun playing in the sand together. Carter and Madison tried to play a game of psuedo-lacrosse (scoop without a stick and light-duty), but the wind made it extremely difficult. We adults had been sitting on a retaining wall made from railroad ties, so when we got up, we had creosote all over the backs of our pants. Everyone else's pretty much brushed off except mine; I'd gotten it especially thoroughly. That was okay, I rationalized, since a dog had already peed on those pants that day.
For dinner, we decided we needed to get shacktacular again on our last night in town. Fun was had by all, even when Madison flipped over and fell out of an airchair the restaurant had out on the deck... whew! Walking back to the van, Madison noticed I had something on the back of my pants that wasn't creosote. It was globs and spatter of what appeared to be more bird poop! As I was trying to wipe it all off, I discovered pickle relish in the mix and figured out that it was tartar sauce. But where did it come from? No one had any with their food, and we were pretty much in and out. Who knows. But those jeans had had it!
We left Carter and Courtney to go back to the hotel to pack for our early morning departure. I got my stuff together and then went back to Carter's. After Carter and his neighbor, Jimmy, unloaded Carter's Goodwill treasures, Carter, Courtney, and I set out for the Charleston Pour House to see New Monsoon.
Once we made it in, New Monsoon rocked my socks off! I was DD that night, so it was solely the music that made me boogie like that. It was also extremely cool to see a show with my brother again, now that he can't leave SC and I live in Memphis. I hope to catch those guys again soon!
So, after running around Charleston all day since 7am, I finally crawled into bed after the show at 3am. Our wake-up call was a 6am, and I had us packed up and on the road by 7am. I took an hour nap on the way to Asheville, that resulted in some directional confusion - no biggie. Then once we were on 75N toward Ky, I napped for almost an hour before Mom woke me up and told me she thought she had missed our exit (she had). I checked the map, and the upcoming exit would work also, so we got off there. This turned out to be a curvy 2 lane road along the ridgetop in the Daniel Boone National Forest. It also ran right by Cumberland Falls State Park. I saw it on the map but figured it would require a hike or some major detour to check them out. But, it turns out, they we just off the road, so we pulled in to walk around and take pictures. It was an exceedingly pleasant little diversion.
From Cumberland Falls, it wasn't too much further until Hodgenville. We didn't roll in until 6pm, though - 11 hours on the road. At mom's, I cleaned out her van and repacked my stuff in my car. By 7pm, I was back on the road with Madison, headed down to highway to Memphis. It took 6 hours to get home that night, for some reason, but we made it. We had spent 17 of the last 24 hours in a car!
It was a whirlwind extravaganza, but that's how we do. Charleston was awesome! It was great to visit with family! New Monsoon is my new favorite band!
...And now we begin planning for the family vacation in June, to Gulf Shores, with our pals, the Beckham family!
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/25/07.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Dreaming of David Byrne
While I was in Charleston, I had an incredibly vivid dream about my family being close friends with David Byrne (of The Talking Heads) and his family. In the dream, Andrew, Madison, and I would hang out with David, his wife, and three kids. We went to each other's houses for dinner, and, a couple of times, the Byrnes took us on short vacations with them. It was splendid for about 6 months, until they told us they were moving back to Scotland...and then I woke up. Oh well! It was fun while it lasted.
More on spring break fun to follow soon...
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/19/07.
More on spring break fun to follow soon...
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/19/07.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Fun and exciting times
Madison broke her first bone last Saturday, her toe next to the pinky toe on her right foot. But I made her hobble around on it for 5 days before succumbing to the idea that it might really be broken...oops. But c'mon! It only was only bruised and sore for the first 3 days. But then it started to swell a bit, and I reconsidered. Surprisingly, nowadays, they don't even buddy-tape broken toes! They just gave her a hard-soled aircast-type thing and told her to elevate the foot when she sleeps. I asked how long she should follow those instructions, and the doctor said until she feels better, maybe a couple of weeks. Pretty vague. We're following up with her pediatrician next week, who I'm sure can provide better info.
Last week, I managed to lock the family out of the house when Madison, Cuba, and I went on a walk while Andrew was visiting his grandmother. We all arrived home at the same time to find that the front door wouldn't open, even though the key was disengaging the deadbolt. The back door deadbolt could be unlocked, but the door was chained. Turns out that there's a funny little button on the doorknob plate that isn't supposed to be pushed. While chatting on the phone to a friend earlier in the day, I had been idly playing around with doorknob and apparently pressed the button. But, at this point, we didn't know about the button. It was dinner time and getting dark. Andrew called the handiest handy guy in the universe, Doug Ault, to come to our aid, who fortunately lives around the corner. Meanwhile, I was trying to invent a way to unlock the chain on the back door. Finally, I got the idea to tie a stick to my finger with my shoelace (my most MacGyver moment ever, thank you) and was able to unslide the chain. We still didn't know what was wrong with the front door, but at least, we were in the house. Once the front door was open, Doug saw the improperly-depressed button and set us straight as to its function. We all learned many important lessons that day!
Now, I'm at my mom's in Kentucky. Madison is on spring break this week, and she and I are making the most of it by visiting family. Andrew had to stay in Memphis and work. On Saturday and Sunday, she was with Jerry, Meghan, and Connor. Now she's visiting Jerry's brother's, John's, family until Tuesday. Wednesday morning, Mom, Madison, and I are headed to Greensboro, NC to visit Aunt Debbie and Uncle Sean and spend the night at their new house. The next day, we're headed down to see Carter in Charleston, SC for 4 fabulous day and 3 incredible nights. We were planning on staying at Carter's apartment, which was incredibly brave of our mom. But her courage wore thin when she heard that someone was shot on Carter's street a couple of nights ago. Despite my assurances that these are generally targeted shootings that wouldn't affect us, she demanded that I get on Priceline. We lucked into a studio suite at this extended stay place that has a kitchen (!!! for bargain travellers) a bit outside of downtown Charleston. We plan on doing a walking tour of the historic district and Rainbow Row, spending some time at the beach, and going to a nature preserve with acres and acres of marshes...and probably some alligators! I promise ahead of time not to poke them with a stick or try to wrestle a baby one if I find it, despite my urges to do so. And Saturday night, Carter and I are going to see New Monsoon at the Pour House. All in all, an action-packed spring break!
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/13/07.
Last week, I managed to lock the family out of the house when Madison, Cuba, and I went on a walk while Andrew was visiting his grandmother. We all arrived home at the same time to find that the front door wouldn't open, even though the key was disengaging the deadbolt. The back door deadbolt could be unlocked, but the door was chained. Turns out that there's a funny little button on the doorknob plate that isn't supposed to be pushed. While chatting on the phone to a friend earlier in the day, I had been idly playing around with doorknob and apparently pressed the button. But, at this point, we didn't know about the button. It was dinner time and getting dark. Andrew called the handiest handy guy in the universe, Doug Ault, to come to our aid, who fortunately lives around the corner. Meanwhile, I was trying to invent a way to unlock the chain on the back door. Finally, I got the idea to tie a stick to my finger with my shoelace (my most MacGyver moment ever, thank you) and was able to unslide the chain. We still didn't know what was wrong with the front door, but at least, we were in the house. Once the front door was open, Doug saw the improperly-depressed button and set us straight as to its function. We all learned many important lessons that day!
Now, I'm at my mom's in Kentucky. Madison is on spring break this week, and she and I are making the most of it by visiting family. Andrew had to stay in Memphis and work. On Saturday and Sunday, she was with Jerry, Meghan, and Connor. Now she's visiting Jerry's brother's, John's, family until Tuesday. Wednesday morning, Mom, Madison, and I are headed to Greensboro, NC to visit Aunt Debbie and Uncle Sean and spend the night at their new house. The next day, we're headed down to see Carter in Charleston, SC for 4 fabulous day and 3 incredible nights. We were planning on staying at Carter's apartment, which was incredibly brave of our mom. But her courage wore thin when she heard that someone was shot on Carter's street a couple of nights ago. Despite my assurances that these are generally targeted shootings that wouldn't affect us, she demanded that I get on Priceline. We lucked into a studio suite at this extended stay place that has a kitchen (!!! for bargain travellers) a bit outside of downtown Charleston. We plan on doing a walking tour of the historic district and Rainbow Row, spending some time at the beach, and going to a nature preserve with acres and acres of marshes...and probably some alligators! I promise ahead of time not to poke them with a stick or try to wrestle a baby one if I find it, despite my urges to do so. And Saturday night, Carter and I are going to see New Monsoon at the Pour House. All in all, an action-packed spring break!
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/13/07.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
And moe. too...
In addition to having a great solo time at the Medeski, Martin, and Wood show Saturday night, Andrew, Madison, and I went down to Spin Street Monday evening to behold the free in-store moe. show. It was very groovy. At first, we couldn't see the band at all, but then we found a spot where we could see and hear the performance. Although we had to leave early to get Maddie in bed, fun was had by all! That sort of thing doesn't happen much in Hodgenville.
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/07/07.
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/07/07.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
The MMW show...
was so ridiculously awesome and just exactly what I needed. I missed the Wood Brothers opener but boogied enough during MMW to make up for it. This was the perfect introduction to the Daisy! I ran into some cool folks I knew and met several others. I ventured downtown solo and survived...imagine! I can't wait to experience more music in Memphis!
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/04/07.
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/04/07.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Molecules with silly or unusual names
Just what it says, with lots of pictures, quite entertaining:
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/sillymols.htm
A couple of good examples:
Uranate
"The various uranium oxide anions (UO22-, UO32-, UO42-, etc) go by the glorious name of 'uranates'. I wonder if unwanted reactions of these ions with certain compounds is called 'involuntary uranation'...? "
Diabolic Acid
"Diabolic acids are actually a class of compounds where the m and n chains can have different lengths and can contain unsaturation. They were named after the Greek diabollo, meaning to mislead, since they were particularly difficult to isolate using standard gas chromatography techniques. One of the inventors, Prof Klein, also thought that they had 'horns like the devil'."
Dinile
"Why did the two cyanide groups go to see a psychiatrist? Because they were both 'in dinile'... In fact, dinile is another name for butanedinitrile or succinonitrile, and is a waxy solid that if ingested forms cyanides in the body."
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/03/07.
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/sillymolecules/sillymols.htm
A couple of good examples:
Uranate
Diabolic Acid
Dinile
Originally posted at www.myspace.com/wannabedutch on 03/03/07.
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