AllanThinks

Grounded

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We got home last night after spending 9 days in the Charente Maritime. The trip back was exhausting. It involved three plane trips for a total of around 14 hours in the air. Plus the rushing through airports/customs/passport control/security. Multiple times.

And then I only slept for about 4 hours.

I need a vacation.

They're Here!

We finally received our wedding photos, and we are very pleased with the results.

Alison is posting a few at a time in a set on her Flickr photostream.

I almost forgot.

	Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant Massacree
	Found at skreemr.com

Happy Thankgiving from our family to yours.

In Rememberance

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Taken the other day at the Cathdrale Notre Dame de Paris. That's Alison's hand.

Ciné

As always, click on the photo to go to its Flickr page, where you can view a larger version.

Goodbye Old Friend

From Gothamist:

Rent, the rock-musical that did more to force LES hipster culture into that mainstream than anybody would care to admit, will take its final bows this weekend on Broadway. The once acclaimed show, which has been on the stage since 1996, will leave as the 7th longest Broadway run ever, and has built up a devoted following of longtime fans. And, just in case you were dying to get one last fix, but missed out on tickets to this final show, it will be captured on film and brought to theatres nationwide at the end of the month. That said, the show is closing after a down couple of years, and it's pretty clear that its time, and its brand of hipster stereotype, has finally passed on.

I say 'old friend' despite the fact I have seen Rent only once on the stage. But that one time I saw it, on Broadway, had a profound effect on me. It was the best show I have ever seen produced in a theatre. 

And getting to see it with my sister, Jo Ann, made it even more special. She loved that show. She had seen it five or six times. At least twice on Broadway, and the rest when touring companies came to Lexington, Louisville, or Cincinnati. She also owned the movie version on DVD, which I now own, and covet.

I've been thinking of her a lot lately. It's been just over a year since she died. I still miss her terribly.

I hope that Rent continues to tour the country. I will go see it any time it comes close to Lexington.

Oh, yeah.

I guess y'all have heard that Alison and I got married the first of August? No? Well we did.

It was an amazing, wonderful, and fun-filled evening. The entire weekend was, really. It was great to have our families, and so many of our friends in attendance. I think they all had a blast, too.

Alison has links to some photos of the festivities here.

Foggy Country Road

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This was the view outside Ali's brother's place the same night as that amber moon. This was taken just as the sun was setting, and the fog was setting in.

I've taken several photos of this road over the past year or two. You can probably find them by searching my Fickr stream with the keyword 'road' or 'country road'.

This might be the most beautiful I have ever seen this stretch of road.

It's really good

It's really good to have my family home.

Oh, well.

I can't remember the last time it rained all day on the 4th of July. But it looks like it is going to rain all day here. It might clear out by evening, but the radar and the forecast don't offer much hope.

I feel sure many of the planned festivities will go on, but I won't be downtown documenting the day with my camera.

It's just as well, I guess. It gives me a chance to shop for a birthday gift for Alison (yes, her birthday is Sunday, so don't forget to wish her a happy one), and for some other stuff we need before Ali and the kids get home tomorrow afternoon.

I hope your holiday is a dry, safe, and fun one.

Cherry, Cherry

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This is a photo of cherries on the little tree in our front yard.

As I mentioned in the previous post about it, Mike told me that he wasn't sure it would bloom its first season, but it did. And it is now covered in fruit. Not enough fruit to make a pie, which is what these tart cherries would be good for.

But as fast as the tree is growing (It's grown over a foot since we planted it in August), perhaps we will be able to bake a pie next summer.

I think Jo Ann would be pleased.

This One's For Mike

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This is a blossom on the little cherry tree in our front yard. Our friend Agnes bought it the day after Jo Ann died, for us to plant in her memory.

Despite the drought hardened soil, we managed to dig a hole large enough to plant it, and I watered the tree every day the local water rationing rules allowed.

It obviously survived the winter. I guess it was the fertilizer spikes I pounded in the ground at the drip line in October.

Mike told me that he didn't know if it would bloom the first year, but that if it did, I better take pictures so he could see.

So here you go, bro. I love you. Have a great trip.

Chomp!

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One of the things we did while the kids were here was visit the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh to see their recently renovated dinosaur exhibit, Dinosaurs In Their Time.

That was the culmination of a whirlwind trip to Pennsylvania. Visits to Erie, Titusville, and Pittsburgh over the course of four days. That last day, besides visiting the museum, we ate dinner with Ali's dad and his wife, then hit the road to drive back to Lexington. We got home in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Then we had to ready the house for a visit from Ali's brother and his family on Sunday. They returned to Erie on New Years Day.

The holidays were busy. Pretty much a blur. But we had a blast.

And I think it did me good to stay so busy. It made what could have been a depressing couple of weeks a delight.

I wish you all the best in 2008.

Home, Sweet Home

Alison, her kids, and I made it home late yesterday afternoon after an exhausting journey involving more airports than I ever wish to see in the course of a day again.

After a simple dinner of sandwiches, I sorted through the accumulated mail, and Ali and the kids watched a movie. We were all in bed, asleep, by ten. Of course, that means we were up earlier than we would have liked. Ali and I were awake and making a pot of coffee at 5. The kids stayed in bed a bit longer.

But, at least, we got a good night's sleep, and a head start on getting over the jet lag. And we will be able to get out and about to do some last minute shopping before the crowds hit the local retail areas.

After we are done with the shopping, I'm thinking it might be a good day to build a fire in the fireplace and watch movies.

I hope your Saturday will be filled with family, fun, and love.

Got Jetlag?

Alison and I made it to France, and have settled into the house we are renting for the week.

We realized that we had gone for more than 24 hours without sleep. It was impossible to sleep on the flight over. The plane was packed, and we were surrounded by some of the most annoying fellow passengers you could ever imagine.

Ugh.

I wish I could afford for us to fly first class on international flights.

In any case, as I said, we are settled in. The kids are spending the weekend with us. Ali cooked a wonderful meal last night, and afterward, we sat down to watch Shrek the Third. Well, Ali and the kids watched it. I fell asleep on the sofa and missed the entire thing. I went into our bedroom to check the internet (yeah, we have tenuous internet access, thanks to a neighbor with an open router), and crashed on the bed.

I awoke sometime during the night in a dark room, fully clothed, and covered with a quilt. I went right back to sleep, and woke again at about 6 a.m. local time. I had slept for 10 hours.

Ali had slept in the kids room, and had awoken a little bit before me.

I guess that puts us back on a relatively normal schedule.

It is very cold here, but the skies are clear, and it promises to be a beautiful day. I don't know what we will end up doing, but I don't think we will spend it inside.

Time to put some kilometers on this unlimited mileage car we rented.

Happy Thanksgiving

Ali and I are staying home for Thanksgiving this year. It's our first time to do that. Last year we drove to Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving Day, and returned to Lexington the next day. In 2005, Ali came over from France for a week, and we celebrated the day at Jo Ann's house.

We decided it would be nice to start a new tradition this year.

We will be joined by Mike, his daughter Justine, and a couple of good friends. We will be dining on roast duck, dressing, green beans, country ham on yeast rolls, and more.

I want to thank everyone who reads and comments on my blog, and I wish you a very happy Thanksgiving.

Here is my gift to you this day.

	Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant Massacree
	Found at skreemr.com

Peace.

Fob

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Exposure:  0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/22
Focal Length: 105 mm
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Light Source: Flash

Sorry for the lack of posts. We've been very busy preparing for a gathering of friends here next weekend. There is still much to do.

I try to take a photo or two every day. You can always see the latest on my Flickr photostream. 

For those of you who use RSS Feed readers, my latest photo uploads are fed here.

Mike is in town for the UK-LSU game, so I will be attending the game with him. It's perfect football weather, and despite the fact LSU (the #1 team in the country) is likely to win the game, I plan to enjoy the day.

I hope your weather is just as good, and that you have a great weekend.

Social Climbers

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Exposure:  1 sec (1)
Aperture: f/22
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Exposure Bias: 0/6 EV

These guys were  personal bequest from Jo Ann.

Jo Ann

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My sister died this morning.

She was one of my best friends and I love her and miss her.

I'm thankful that her pain is over.

Hidden Treasure

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While Ali is in France, I have been trying to finish up some chores around the house. One of them is to move an old Globe-Wernicke office desk from C's room upstairs down to the new rec room in the basement.

It is just taking up space up there, and we feel sure she would rather fix the room up to her liking. And, putting the desk in the basement, both Ali and I will have a workspace. She to do her writing, editing, translating, and proofreading, and me to pay household bills, taxes, and things like that.

I bought the old desk over 20 years ago. I paid $25 for it. With the exception of the top surface, the desk is painted black. There are quite a few chips in the paint, and we will probably give it a new paint job in the future.

For a few recent years, the desktop was home to my amateur radio gear. The drawers are filled with all sorts of stuff. Yesterday, I began the task of cleaning the desk out. I spent most of the afternoon, going through a single drawer, the file drawer. It contained old tax returns, professional documents, owner's manuals and warranty information, and bits and pieces of assorted junk. I discarded perhaps 90% of what was in there, and I imagine I will do the same with the remaining drawers today.

As I dug into the back of the drawer to remove the last few remaining items, I discovered this old glass doorknob. I remember finding it in the same drawer when I dismantled the desk to get it into the house. I just left it in there. I have no idea why.

But it was cool to discover it once again. And of course, I just had to take a photo of it. It won't be placed back into that drawer this time. It has earned a place on the mantle or the bookshelf here in our living room.

Something's Missing

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Alison and I spent a wonderful day at the High Hope Steeplechase yesterday. We were accompanied by my sister Jo Ann and my nephew and his wife.

We both got a bit sun burned, but nothing serious. We sat in a shady spot most of the day, coming out into the sun just to snap the occasional photo.

I didn't notice this riderless horse jumping the log jump until after I downloaded the photos from the camera to the computer and sorted through them last night.

The rider was okay, and made it back to the finish line eventually.

myPod

Click image for a much better view. Really. Click it. You won't be disappointed.

One more week.

I ♥ The Internets

Click image for a much better view. Really. Click it. You won't be disappointed.

It makes it feel like she is not so far away from home.

This house is so quiet...

Click image for a much better view. Really. Click it. You won't be disappointed.

...a faucet drip sounds like an explosion.

I miss her so.

Office Space

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It was a beautiful, sunny day here in Kentucky. A one day respite from the clouds. The forecast calls for snow this weekend, so we were determined to get out and enjoy the day.

My sister had called last night to invite us to meet her for lunch today, and to ask for our help in finalizing the configuration of her new computer.

So after lunch we headed to her house (just a few blocks from the café where we dined). There wasn't much left to do. The new laptop came loaded with a three month trial of Microsoft Office, a suite of programs which she uses for her business. She could not find the registration key to activate it.

After a bit of searching, it was found and the trial activated. Since she can't do without it, we went ahead and upgraded it to the full Standard Edition.

Once it was all set up, I then exported her contacts from an old computer and imported them into the new setup. I also configured her email so Outlook would poll her mail server.

Before we left, I took this photo. Her workspace is a lot less cluttered than it was before she bought this new computer. Before, she had a monitor, keyboard, mouse and mousepad, and way too many cables connecting everything together. Those cables also snaked down below the desk to the huge tower case that held the CPU and all the drives.

She had been considering an expensive remodeling of the office to make it more efficient, but know she is reconsidering, since the area is much roomier and comfortable to use.

After we left her place, we stopped by home for a bit, then grabbed our cameras and headed out into the surrounding countryside for some sightseeing. I took Alison to see parts of Central Kentucky she had yet to see. We drove down to Boone Creek (named after Daniel Boone who established Fort Boonesborough near it).

I wish we could have gotten some photos while down there, but Grimes Mill Road, across which we drove was very narrow and winding, and there were no places to pull off that weren't private property.

We'll head back out there again soon, and see if there is a different approach we can take to that part of the creek where we can stop for photos.

Time to close. I'm hungry, and we have some Greek food for dinner this evening.

Originally posted on my Flickr Daily Photo Diary.

Whew!

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I needed to park myself on the sofa in front of a roaring fire tonight.

I spent the better part of the day helping my sister select, purchase, and then setup and configure a new computer. She has been wanting to replace a 5+ year old desktop in a huge, heavy tower case for some time. This morning when she brought up the bookkeeping program for the company she owns, all of her data was gone. So today was the time to do it.

She was able to restore the data from backup disks. She does back it up every day. To floppy disks.

Ali and I went to her house around noon. I ran her virus scanner, Ad-Aware, a registry cleaner and scandisk on the drive, but those didn't turn anything up. But, as I said, she wanted to get rid of the behemoth of a computer and replace it with a fast new laptop.

So, after a nice lunch at T.G.I. Friday's, we headed to Best Buy where she bought a spiffy new Toshiba Core-Due Pentium M computer with lots of RAM and a big hard drive. She also bought an external hard drive to make the backing up of her precious data faster, easier, and more automatic.

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting everything set up. We installed Firefox, AVG, Quick Books, and the printer driver. Her company data was restored and the program was set to automatically backup the data to the new external drive whenever the program is closed.

The only hard part of the process was removing AOL, McAfee Anti-Virus, and some other crap that was preloaded on the laptop. She didn't need them, and didn't want them. Those companies don't make it easy to remove their programs once they are installed. But I finally got rid of it all.

I'm not a member of The Geek Squad, but I play one on TV when called upon to help those close to me.

We're home. But not for long.

We had a great time in New York City. It was wonderful to share that city I love so much with Alison, and to spend the holiday there with her and my family.

The trip up was uneventful. I wish I could say the same for the return trip. You can read about that at Alison's blog.

I really can't begin to tell you about everything we did while there. I'm worn out and have much to do before we head to Pennsylvania early in the morning for another Christmas gathering with Ali's family.

The full recap will have to wait until we get back this weekend.

I hope your holiday was as great as ours.

Loudoun Hill

Click image for a much better view.

 

“I grew up in Europe, where the history comes from.”  -  Eddie Izzard

This is a photograph of Loudoun Hill in East Ayrshire, Scotland. We can see it from where we are staying. We had an even better view of it (as shown in the photograph) the past two days while we stayed at a holiday lodge we rented for the weekend. Click the Loudoun Hill link to see the significance of the above quote.

We rented the Drumboy Lodge for the weekend to give Amber and Len a bit of a break. Not only were they playing host to the four of us, but also a friend of theirs from Belgium and three more children. So we had a total of 5 adults and 9 children hanging out here.

The lodge was a huge place, and a very good deal for the money. It was like we rented an entire Motel 6 for just £90 per night. The place could sleep at least 8 adults comfortably. Alison and I took the 4 oldest kids there the first night, and 5 last night.

It was a great adventure for the kids. I think they are a bit sad that they won't get to stay there again. We are back at Amber and Len's now that the guests from Belgium have returned home.

Today, Ali, C, and I drove to New Lanark to visit this historic mill town. We had a great time and took quite a few photos. I've only managed to get a few of them processed and uploaded to Flickr. You can view the set here.

Tomorrow, we will be visiting Loch Lomond and Mike's old stomping ground.

I'll post more as soon as possible. Stay tuned.

OK

By now you have all read Alison's latest post, and know that tomorrow we are heading to Scotland by way of Paris.

We will be staying with Amber and Len, who have moved back to Scotland from Belgium, where we visited them last December. We will have a rental car and plan to do some exploring while there. We plan to visit at least one of Alison's ancestral homes.

Ali and her kids have never been to Scotland, but I traveled there as a teen to visit my brother Mike, who was stationed there with the U.S. Navy.I hope we will be able to visit where he lived and worked, too.

We will have our cameras and our computers with us, and will try to post updates and pictures while there.

Stay tuned.

Friendship

The phone rang Wednesday. It was noon and Ali and I were just lounging around. She grabbed the phone, looked at the caller ID, and handed it to me. The name and number on the display didn't immediately ring a bell, but I had a feeling I should answer the call.

When I heard the voice on the other end, I realized why the name had made me want to answer the call. The caller was Rob, one of my oldest and dearest friends. The name on the display was his wife's first and maiden names.

Rob and I met in 1978 when I moved back home from Nashville and enrolled at the University of Kentucky. I had just pledged a fraternity that Rob was a member of. We became fast friends from the day we met. We were so close, he became an honorary member of the Courtney family.

Rob stayed in Lexington after graduation, and worked in a number of different jobs. He never did find work in his major field, though, and he eventually moved home to New York after the death of his father.

We kept in touch over the years, usually talking on the phone a couple of times a year or so. He got married and settled down and has changed careers a couple of times.

It had been a while since we had last talked. Almost a year. I would think about him from time to time, but never called him as I wasn't sure of his work schedule.

On Wednesday, he was scheduled to work the second shift, going in at 3 in the afternoon. In his mail that day he had received a complementary copy of the UK Alumni Association magazine and it made him think of me and that we hadn't talked in a while. So he took a chance I would be home and called.

It was great to chat with him again. We filled each other in on what was going on in our respective lives. He knew I had been traveling a lot the past couple of years and asked if I had any plans. I told him about our plans to go to France and Scotland next month and to go to New York City in December.

He was thrilled to hear of the New York trip and said that he thought it would be possible for him and his wife to drive down from their upstate home to spend a couple of days with us. I sure hope we can meet up as we have not seen each other since he left Lexington.

It was great to hear from him again. We used to email each other all the time, but he no longer has Internet access. He lives in a small rural community with no prospects of broadband, and Internet access is not a part of his present career either.

I'm going to make it a point to give him a call more often in the future.