AllanThinks

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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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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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.