Some time with Elizabeth

We hadn't seen Elizabeth in nearly 2 years so when her mother offered to meet us in Todd, we were overjoyed.

The hot July weekend was a perfect one for messing around in the creek in front of the farmhouse.  Elizabeth spent a lot of time checking out the river rock and selecting just the right ones for felting and for her personal collection.

Reading and games filled up the quiet times.  Mary and I can't get over how beautiful Elizabeth has become. She is tall and slim with just a hint of devilishness, smart as a whip and ready to jump into new adventures at a moments notice.

We can't let it be so long until we visit this precious child again! 

A Golf Milestone!

Strokin' it!

One of my retirement goals was to break out of my perpetual bad golfing posture and break 100. 

I got close last month with a 104 on our 6023 yard Kahiti course here in the village.  Then I got in a rut posting 4 116 scores in a row. 

My play has been improving for several months with a lot of practice but one day the long game is good, the next  time the short is great then putting is good.  Finally, all 3 were acceptable and while I am certainly not ready for the tour, my 5th round of the week was a winner.

Today at Kahiti, playing with Mary and Bill and Phyllis Adams, I finally not only hit my sub 100 goal, I shattered it with an unprecedented 92!  This included a par on the monster 586 yard 9th hole.  I have killed my handicap but it is worth it.

Colorado visit



Richard & Trish

 While in Aurora, CO for Zack's graduation, we got to enjoy some quality time with the Rocky Mountain crew.  It is always great seeing how much the children have grown and catching up on all their lives.  (Not to mention giving and receiving lots of hugs.)

When we last visited, it was as a part of Road Trip 2 last October and all we did was drop off a trailer full of goods and hit the road to get our of their way.  Now they have had 6 months to get their lives back together after the move and the whole crew seems to be thriving in the thin Colorado air.

Tristan

Tristan is looking more grown up every time we see him - smart, sensitive, handsome - we're not prejudiced at all.

Tia

Tia is still in love with everything Ferret and judging from the constant stream of neighborhood girls, she has still never met a stranger.

Hanging in the kitchen

Will is happy in his job teaching screen writing in the university film school and is planning to teach summer school as well.

Really Senior Citizens Now!



Zackary


You know you're getting old when your firstborn grandchild graduates from  High School.  Zackary took the walk May 27, 2011and with those steps, placed us firmly in the senior citizen group.

We flew out to Aurora, CO for the festivities and spent the weekend with Trish and her family as we all celebrated this milestone.  Congratulations Zack!


Proud Mama Trish, Daddy Will and siblings Tristan and Tia were also on hand for the festivities as were Grandmas Mary and Kimi.

A typical week in paradise.

Hwy 321 bridge

We decided to stick closer to home this year as our 16 weeks on the road last year was really taxing and we had little time to enjoy East Tennessee.  After all, we did move here to retire and enjoy life.

While many people consider "Retirement" to be sitting on the porch in a rocking chair and watching the world go bye, we have found it to be something very different for us.  I did sit in the red rocker on the porch for a few minutes but that was to recover from laying concrete blocks in our newly tamed area to the left of the driveway.  

 

Mary picking wildflowers

If you leave out the medical appointments (a more regular part of out lives since we retired), this past week is a fairly typical one.

The week began with our special Sunday breakfast of blueberry pancakes and watching Sunday Morning on CBS.  We have been fans for many years as we enjoy the upbeat news presented more than the depressing day-to-day world presented by the regular news media.

Then off to Bailey links for a round of golf in the afternoon - Mary has hooked up with a couple of new women friends and they are beginning to play regularly.  I get to play by myself on these excursions.  I don't mind as it gives me a chance to work on my game without the distractions of playing with a group.

Dinner at Key Largo

Then off to Key Largo Grill so Mary can sample the shrimp & grits and try to steal my flounder sandwich.

Monday found us on the spillway from Tellico Lake and Mary picked wildflowers while we walked along the shore.  Then in the afternoon, I played golf on out Toqua course with our neighbor Karl.

Tuesday through Thursday morning, we stayed close to home and worked on the yard, cleaned house, played the banjo, watched movies and did the laundry then Thursday night more golf for Mary & friends and more practice for me.  Friday found us grocery shopping and then taking a trip to Madisonvile just to check things out.  We bought a Keyboard for Mary (she has been hinting for some time) driving by the Kahiti course where we will be playing this coming Monday and just exploring.

Satur morning - golf, what else?  Then lunch at the Tanasi clubhouse, home to watch a bit of golf and then off to the yacht club for a late afternoon sail.

Life is good!  Now, if only we had more time......

The storm passes, the trouble stays South.

Thursday morning the storm had passed and the winds abated, an absolutely beautiful day arrived in East Tennessee. Wednesday’s storms had, thankfully, passed overhead leaving lots of rain, wind, a bit of hail and shredded leaves but not much damage here in Tellico Village.




On our morning walk around the neighborhood, Mary carried a trash bag and we began picking up bits of debris along the golf course – pieces of tarpaper, a shingle or two, some broken slats and some disturbing pieces of checks and newspapers with Alabama and Georgia addresses on them. Tuscaloosa and Birmingham were most common but we are over 200 miles from Birmingham and nearly 300 from Tuscaloosa. Our storm Wednesday night had dropped tornado debris about 6 hours after having sucked it up 300 miles away.



Imagine the power and the pain and the suffering of those who were hit by the full force of such a storm.



Send your thoughts, prayers and help, please.

Bluegrass in the park.

The Cox Family

What else does an aspiring banjo picker do on a Saturday but load up the car and head for the nearest music festival.  Today, it was the 3rd Annual Tri County Jamboree Family Fun Day Music and Craft Festival in Old Washington, Tennessee.

If you are looking for Old Washington on a map, it probably isn't there!  Just a few folks along highway 30 between Decatur and Dayton where the highway crosses the Tennessee River.

Roane Ramblers

 We listened to two very different bluegrass bands, the Cox Family from Dayton a group of 5 family members including a 12 year old boy on the banjo and an 11 year old on the mandolin.  (I am shamed in my ineptitude)  The second group was the Roane Ramblers from Roane State college, they are studying bluegrass music there and had a more formal style than the Cox's.  Both were fun and we couldn't decide which we preferred.

Looking for turtles

We strolled around the park and visited the crafts sale and travelled to distant (7 miles) Dayton for and excellent lunch at the Riverside Restaurant.  Overall, an excellent day.  Please excuse the quality of the video of the Ramblers - cell phone,windy, too far away and shaky cameraman but you'll get the idea.

Red Rocker

Mary has been looking for a wood rocking chair to compliment our red front door and the Japanese Maple tree on our porch.

After several unsuccessful trips to flea markets, furniture stores, junk shops and yard sales, we finally found one at an antique store next door to Sweetwater Flea Market.

Our new chair had obviously been neglected and left out in the weather but the wood was sound and the price was right so we chucked it in the back of the truck and brought it home.  Mary sanded the old peeling varnish and cleaned the dust off before we broke out the Fire Engine Red paint for the coup-de-gras!  Three coats of paint and the rocker was ready to assume its rightful place on the front porch along with the Red Door, Japanese Maple Tree and our Welcoming Loon. Ya'll come on in!


Welcome!



Voter confusion, ballot overcrowding, and frivolous candidacies?

In a decision frought with circular logic, the North Carolina Supreme Court has rendered a decision insuring that political minorities will continue to be discriminated against in North Carolina elections.

"Here, the avoidance of 'voter confusion, ballot overcrowding,' and 'frivolous candidacies' is an important regulatory interest," (Justice) Timmons-Goodson wrote in the first constitutional challenge to the ballot-access law the high court has considered.

Isn't it interesting that we live in a country where our governmental bodies supposedly applaud democratic elections in other countries that have dozens of parties and hundreds of candidates but here at home our courts make statements like the one in red above?

In North Carolina, nearly half of the congressional races have only one candidate because a "Major" party has chosen not to run in the race and write-in candidates are not counted without first having been vetted by the local boards of elections. 

That sure reduces "Voter confusion" - give them but a single choice and they will not be confused at all!  Oh, a ballot with only a single choice is certainly not overcrowded,  and, lest we forget, those evil "Frivolous candidates" that might actually bring a fresh idea or a new perspective to the process.

I say shame on the North Carolina Supreme Court and State Legislature for actively working to disenfranchise a very large percentage of voters.  Most of all, I say shame on the citizens of North Carolina who do not demand that their elected officials correct this wrong.

Jim Crow is alive and well in North Carolina, it just wears a better disguise than in years past.

Pirates, gold and mystery.

A Single Deadly Truth by John Urban

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I have a weak spot for independent authors because I have often found their works to be fresh and compelling. John Urban's debut novel was another pleasant discovery recommended by another Indy I like, Mike Jastrzebski. This tale has action, mystery, treasure, betrayal and all the gritty stuff that makes good story. Give this one a read, it is worth your time.



View all my reviews

Delta Queen in Chattanooga

Our cruising club scheduled a two night trip to Chattanooga in January and Mary & I decided to celebrate our 22nd anniversary a week early on the trip.

The Delta Queen is a real stern wheeler built in the 1920's for service on the Sacramento River between Sacramento and Oakland, California.  It was built in Scotland and then disassembled and shipped to Stockton, California where it was reassembled and placed in service.

The Queen served in WWII as a support vessel in San Francisco and eventually was refitted as a cruise ship carrying passengers to most ports on the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee Rivers through 2008 when her exemption from some safety regulations was not renewed .

The Delta Queen appeared headed to the scrapping yard when she was rescued and transported to Chattanooga, Tennessee to be used as a floating hotel.  The view from our main deck room was spectacular with Downtown Chattanooga directly across the river, sunsets to our right under the Market Street Bridge and sunrises to the left behind the pedestrian bridge.

If you find yourself planning a trip to Chattanooga, you might want to consider staying on the Delta Queen Hotel: it is a unique experience.  If you like Trains more than ships, try the Chattanooga Choo Choo at the southern end of the free trolley line - stay in a real sleeping car from the heydays of rail travel.  You'll have fun, we certainly did.

Touring the Delta Queen

Tennessee Snow



 

Snow on the roof

Significant snow is somewhat uncommon in our part of East Tennessee.  We are in the Little Tennessee River Valley at about 800 feet of elevation with a large lake to moderate the temperature.   A bit of sleet and a dusting of the white stuff is about normal for winter precipitation in Tellico Village so we were suprised this past weekend when the local weather folks quit hedging their bets and started talking in certainties and inches. 

By noon on Monday, we had over 6 inches on the ground with light snow still falling - a real blizzard by local standards and an opportunity to see our home from a different perspective.

Our driveway retaining wall displays  a beautiful pattern of triangles reaching into the distance as the snow hides the imperfections and every day patterns to present us with a new perspective.


The birdbath takes on the look of a well frosted cake.  All around me are sites and items presented in a beautiful new way and I am pleased to pause a few moments to reflect on my good fortune.

North to Rhode Island.

The mayhem begins!

With all the shuffling of our family this past year, we decided to head to Rhode Island to visit the northern contingent of our clan.  Looking at the weather, a clear week was forecast and long term predictions looked good!  (Remember the boat parade?)

Well, we arrived on the 23rd a beautiful day and spent Kas' birthday (the 24th) with him and Christmas day with the grandkids - fantastic.   I bemoaned the fact that Knoxville (our new home) and Winston-Salem (our old home place) were both having a white Christmas while we were in New England and hadn't seen a flake. 

Sunday morning arrived with a dusting of snow and a Blizzard Warning from the weather folk.  Monday morning brought a foot of new snow and a lesson to be careful what you wish for.

We're safe and warm but now looking for a weather window to head South in.   We may have to hug the coast and cross North Carolina to get home. 

Boat Parade December 2010

Winning Boat

Last year (2009) we practically froze in out first outing with our decorated boat - 25 degrees and high winds put wind chills in the teens as we plodded outr course.

This year, I was overly cautious as decorating day came - forcasts were for cold weather and possible snow on parade day so I decided to pass on this year's parade. 

As you might expect, parade day was warm and sunny with almost no wind!  We ended up watching from the Clear Creek launch ramp as beautifully decorated boars cruised past without us.  Oh well. maybe next year we'll get it right.

Sunday at the Zoo

Ever since we moved to East Tennessee last fall, Mary has been wanting to visit the Knoxville Zoo so we planned to do so on Thanksgiving day.

A call from our Tellico Village friends Kathy and Keith inviting us to feast with them precipated a change of plans so we decided to make our zoo trip on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

We bought our tickets on-line and on a blustery November morning, we drove to Northeast Knoxville to the zoo.  Now understand that our North Carolina Zoo was huge and the habitats often requires binoculars to study the animals.  The Knoxville Zoo occupies roughly 1/4 of the area of the NC zoo but much to our suprise, the habitats were fairly large and had little of the "Caged animal" look of the zoos of our youth.  We really enjoyed our stroll through the various areas and noticed a significant amount of work on new habitat areas for a number of  animals needing more space to roam.  The turtle bog was a favorite of Mary's as she never met a turtle she didn't like. 

It was chilly and a number of animals were not on exhibit due to the weather but all-in-all, a great day and we'll be back.

Family Reunion - Marion 2010

Scott, Greg, Doug, Paul and Ivolene

After a pass through Marion in July, my Great Aunt Ivolene McCree decided to call for a family get together in Marion on October 16th and 17th.

About 20 of us gathered to renew old ties and explore some new ones.

Ivolene played the regal hostess (That is her and her 4 sons on the left.) and entertained us all with family tales, skeletons and adventures for  several hours and I got a bit of revenge on Mary by forcing her to try to remember the names of MY cousins.



Kurby, Ivolene and Trevor

 We traded old photos, family information and stories.  Ivolene told us of a Great Uncle Otis who died in France in WWI; another who perished in a coal mine and lots of information on extended family members.

We ate too much, talked until we were hoarse and enjoyed a spectacular Fall afternoon in Southern Illinois.  Aunt Ivolene thinks we ought to do it every year. I agree.

Click for more pictures.

First Tellico Lake paddle.

We managed to get our kayaks home from Todd without incident and on Thursday, we took them to the Clear Creek ramp a couple of miles from home for their "Home Waters Christening".

Tellico village is a beautiful place but many of its most appealing features must be viewed from the water.  Going low and slow in our kayaks was the perfect way to look around and see the sights.

From the Clear Creek ramp, we went West and under the Tellico Parkway bridge to explore the coves away from the main body of the lake.  Mary & I really enjoyed the paddling on still water: very different from our river experience a couple of weeks ago. 

We were able to launch and board without getting wet and found that the paddling was easy but we had to stroke for all the distance instead of letting the river push us along.  A gentle breeze pushed us along for part of the journey but had to be overcome on the way back to the ramp.

Cousins, cousins, everywhere cousins



Siblings, cousins and all the rest!

 Saturday the third of October was the annual McGuire homecoming in Todd, North Carolina .

Every year on the first Saturday in October, the clan gathers at the old homeplace for fun and food.  We had 49 people this year and enough food for 100. 

Betsy and John were our hosts and a geat time was had by all.

Haskell, Johnny,Mary, Tom, Estelle and Carolyn

Four of the six children of Raymond and Ruth McGuire are still living and attended the reunion (Estelle Smith, Tom McGuire, Haskell McGuire and Mary Norman).  They are pictured here with first cousins Johnny Williams and Carolyn Holbrook.  Start adding in all the children, grand children and spouses and the numbers climb rapidly.

If you were there, thanks for being a part of this celebration.  If not, please try to make it next year - the first Saturday in October at the homeplace.

Mary meets her mama & other folks.



Mrs. McGuire

 "Hello, I'm Mrs. McGuire and my husband runs this garage." 

Imagine Mary's suprise in meeting her 20 year old mother in a scene from a 1926 Todd reenactment called Timbertown.  There were historic Todd folks dressed in period costume and appearing at most of the historic locations in town.  Annie & Walter Cook, Ruth McGuire, Eleanor Moretz and Leona Worley were just some of the roles played by future elementary school teachers from ASU.  At each station - Depot, garage, post office, bank, general store, bakery and more; a student actor played the part of a local figure and presented a bit of the rich history of Todd as it was in 1926.



Actors and tour guides



Paddlin' on the New



Quiet trip down river.

 Todd wouldn't be Todd without the South fork of the New River.  It kisses the edge of town at its junction with Elk Creek before heading East to Fleetwood and beyond.

On Friday, Mary & I picked up our newly acquired kayaks from the River Girl Fishing Company and headed upriver about 3 miles for our inaugural voyage.  No fishing tackle this trip just a laid back trip on a very low river.  The normally 2 hour trip took almost 3 due to slow current and multiple "Walking" places without enough water to move a kayak along.  Funny how it floated fine when either of us got out - must be a cosmic thing.


Mary enjoying the trip.


Floating slowly downstream reminded us how important it is to just slow down and enjoy the journey.  All too often we get caught in the rush to get to a destination rather than taking time to enjoy the sites along the way.  We saw a heron, numerous other birds and lots of fish.  We were bombed by falling buckeyes and pushed along by gentle breezes.  It was easy to believe, if only for a few hours, that we were travelling far from civilization in a long ago time.