Just a glimpse...

It seems all my blogger friends share glimpses of their lives --- their homes, inside and out, their children and grandchildren, etc. I'm trying to share glimpses of my life, too. May not be terribly interesting, but what the heck...

I'm getting into the swing of things by filling my home with autumn colors and the scent of autumn leaves (mind you, I cannot smell it but my husband can).

YAY! the weekend

I was exhausted when I got home tonight. I don't like when this job drains me like that. It's been busy which isn't such a bad thing, actually. The days fly by, I feel challenged, and there is a feeling of accomplishment at the end of most days. But, overall, I find it pretty boring. That does not bode well with me. To be bored after only 3 months! Not a good sign. We are, however, being trained on a totally new, global system. Lots of changes and another new learning experience. I pick up on that stuff quickly and love to find my way around a new system, so that's something to look forward to.

But, I've been yawning all night and I just don't have time for that! So much to do. I'm trying to get most of the laundry done. Tomorrow will be spent running around ... dry cleaners, lots of shopping (returning stuff here, buying stuff there, dragging hubby into Linens n Things and Bed, Bath, Beyond just for the hell of it - and maybe I'll throw in DSW shoes to push him over the edge LOL).

We're also supposed to go out to dinner for seafood with another couple tomorrow night. I don't hold my breath, though, because they've cancelled before. We had a blast with them the last time we got together, so I do hope we get to do this.

I also need to pull out my winter clothing and plan my attack for our trip to Maine (leaving Thursday - will you miss me??). I am so ready to get away!! We're going back to the cabin we stayed at last year. It's a little piece of heaven :o)

Well, maybe I better look through the mail that's been piling up....

Good night ;O)

One of the Best Jobs Around....

... has to be Ruth England's, host of HGTV's "World's Most Extreme Homes".

How do I get a job travelling around the world touring people's unique homes???

Home maintenance

My husband and I agree on many things, but it's looking like we disagree on an equal amount of things, as well. One being what we deem important home maintenance.

When we lived in Indiana, my husband would return from a business trip and say to me.... "when the grass is brown, it needs to be watered!!" No, I do not water lawns. It probably stems from growing up with well water. We couldn't waste the water on such a frivolous thing.

When we moved to Georgia, one of the things my husband wanted was a sprinkler system and to hire a lawn care service to fertilize during the spring/summer months when he's gone. I grudgingly agreed. I also agreed not to touch the sprinkler settings -- he knew I'd turn the system off!

Well, I'm "happy" (no, not really!) to show you the results of watering our lawn all summer long (following county water guidelines, of course). I'm so glad I've been paying an absorbitant monthly water bill for this:


That Georgia sun sure is a scorcher. It's obvious we need to water more than we do, but I can't imagine the water bill if we did that -- it would double!!

If it looks like this when watered, it can't possibly look that much worse not watered. Next year, I'm turning the system off. heh heh heh

I took the summer off from my volunteer "stint" at the radio station. I've begun reading again, but my segments have not started to air yet (were they no good??).

Eventually, I will be back on the air (I think). When that happens, would you like to listen in? E-mail me directly so that I can e-mail you the broadcast link and the day/time I expect to be on. I will not post that info on my blog in an attempt to remain anonymous to the general masses.

P.S. The broadcast can be accessed on the internet. The radio airs publications 24 hours a day --- popular magazines, daily newspaper, books, periodicals, etc. It is for the blind and visually impaired who can no longer read for themselves. It is extremely rewarding, to both giver and receiver :o)

Anniversary, Part Two

Okay, I got the go-ahead to continue :o)

Umm, let's see, where did I leave off? Oh yes, maybe a recap before I continue... Went in to Atlanta two weekends ago, with no idea what type of room we were getting, as 40,000 science fiction convention goers booked every hotel room in the city.

Well, it turns out that it sometimes pays for my husband to travel as much as he does. His "diamond" status guarantees him a room and, in this situation, for the "cost" in points of a regular room, we got the penthouse suite! The first floor consisted of a full bath, kitchenette, dining room and living room with flat screen t.v. The second floor (yes - second floor!) was the master suite -- sitting area, king-size bed, jaccuzzi and full bath. And complimentary hot h'ordeuvres (how the heck do you spell that word?!).

















(hubby supplied cut-up cheese & pepperoni and crackers!)



Even though it was by accident, he could have told me it was planned, but we'll get to laugh about it for years to come.


And.... one last shot of those gigantic, perfect red roses....

"Field of Flags"

The Kiwanis Club of Marietta placed one flag for each victim of 9/11. It was a totally awesome sight.

This isn't the best shot (out of my car window - again), but I love the shot with the mountain in the background.

Remembering 9/11

Close your eyes,
and picture a place
you're yearning to be.
A place that is beautiful
and comforting,
where everything
is hopeful and alive.
~Thomas Kincade

in memory of
Valerie Victoria Murray, 65, NY, NY

(to view more tributes, click here )

Before I continue with "Anniversary, Part Two" .... I want to make sure a certain party in particular saw the answers. I find, when I have multiple posts, most visitors don't scroll down to see there is more than one new post.

So, everybody, let me know you're satisfied and I can continue. :o)

Anniversary, Part One

Look at the size of these roses!!





Hubby made reservations for dinner at the Sundial Restaurant in downtown Atlanta. He tried to make reservations at a hotel so we could spend the night in Atlanta, but said to me, "Something is going on in Atlanta. All the hotels are booked."

When we got down there, I concluded that "something going on" was some type of convention .... as we got closer to the hotel, the crowds on the sidewalks were increasing .... and their attire was, shall I say, out-of-the-ordinary to say the least.

It was the DragonCon convention. Don't worry if you don't know what that is. I didn't either. I found out quickly, however. It is an association(?) that appreciates science fiction and fantasy films (read article here). People went all out with costumes. Lots of Star Wars costumes especially. I tried to take a couple pictures, but this is all I got:

Star Wars(?)






Pirates of
the Caribbean?

What movie is this character from? There were a bunch of guys walking around with a black or camouflage pleated skirt on.

So what happened to us? Did we get a hotel room? Were we attacked by aliens? Did we join in on the festivities and make new friends? Stay tuned....

Okay, I WAS going to post about what we did for our anniversary, but that will have to wait, as I received a request for the answers to my quiz.... which I hadn't forgotten about by the way :o)

I was going to withhold the answers until the particular blogger asking about the answers posts an entry, since it's been weeks, but I'm not spiteful. LOL

1) Sweet tea is the "house wine of the South." They put enough sugar in it to choke a horse. (A definite give-away that you're from the North -- among many -- is to ask for unsweetened iced tea.)

2) They will fry anything, I swear -- even pickles! And, no I did not try either of the fine treats offered here.



I'll have to try to come up with a tougher quiz next time...

The Cracked Pot

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house." The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?" "That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them." "For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. So, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

~author unknown; circulating via e-mail