Not my favorite picture of myself, but you can see how long my hair is getting! (someone told me I look like a little girl--not exactly what I was going for...)

I helped with the New UU class yesterday morning, which starts with a breakfast. It was fun getting to know a few people better, working together. I also got to hear the stories of how we all came to be UU's (or think about being UU's). "My Mom was Catholic and my Dad was Southern Baptist." "I grew up in a Jewish atheist household" (that from Frank Boardman; I think he is UU the way some people are gay--resisting, but he has no choice). A woman who grew up in Louisiana speaking French until she started school, learning her catechism in French...

Spent some time at home eating lunch and straightening up a little more. Ray vacuumed the whole house, and I mean the ceiling fans and everything. It really needed it, but the good news is it didn't seem to trigger his allergies. As he said, now he has no excuse... Mom L.'s flight was a little delayed. We got there in plenty of time, in fact, we had a frosty shake from Wendy's. We got what they are now calling "day passes" so we could meet her at the gate. When the flight arrived and people started filing off, we didn't see her. We asked the stewardess if that was everyone and she said yes. Of course, she is not allowed to check the list and tell us if she was on the flight or not, but eventually someone came with a wheelchair to bring her off. I don't know why she decided she wanted one after all, but it is a big airport. She was fine, her flight went well.

We drove to a restaurant I had picked as being reasonably priced, convenient, and having a menu we would like, Ted's Montana Grill. They said it was a 45 minute wait, but we weren't really in a hurry. We were studying the menu and thinking about ordering drinks, when our buzzer went off. It was really noisy and crowded, and our table was not in the best spot. But everything was delicious. They even have a $15 special--appetizer, dinner, cookie. Ray and Mom got the meatloaf (with mashed potatoes and squash casserole). Ray had a salad too. I had prime rib, with asparagus and baked sweet potato. It was very good. Mom treated us! I fell asleep on the way home, but she is settled in her room and hopefully slept well.

The birds are starting to sing and it is supposed to be 78 today! And...I don't think we'll go anywhere all day. It's Ray's birthday and I may do some cooking for the week, although with him on vacation, he can probably do the cooking.

Yesterday was pretty much all work - 5 packets in 7 1/2 hours - although we did manage to fit in one early game of racquetball. It's great playing on Friday, especially early, because there are no classes, so the building and locker room are really quiet. Ray beat me--of course. He tries to keep the score really close, but if I get ahead, he starts playing more agressively. He can pretty much always make me lose a point by hitting the ball really hard, or low or high, or right at me. It bothers me more when I miss an easy shot, which only happens about half the time.

The board meeting next Tuesday and all the preparations for it are starting to make me really nervous. We have to figure out how to raise more money ($30,000) or tell some of our employees they don't have jobs--or have to work fewer hours. And that's only one of the challenging issues on the agenda.

Friday's here

This purpley hat is one of my favorites; the photo doesn't really do it justice.

Well, the good news is I passed the qualifying test to score this time--in fact I got 90% in Ideas. Mark, the obnoxious team leader, actually told me I did very well. That was so gratifying. The practice test I took right before I only got 50% in Ideas, so I was very concerned (60 is passing). Maybe they made the test easy...or maybe I am finally learning what they look for. Then I scored 3 packets in 5 hours--a little slow, about $10/hr., but not surprising since we are just starting back up. I have so much trouble focusing. First I start falling asleep. Then I drink some Coke (or tea) and begin to get fidgety and distracted. I need some little thing to do with my hands or something (bite my nails?) to help me concentrate on what I'm doing. As usual, I keep learning things about myself...

Eve Carson was murdered a year ago. It was in the newspaper again and I finally read the details, which I had been avoiding. I just get so upset about our lack of gun laws. My Dad was argumentative when I said this would not have happened in Europe, saying that murders happen everywhere, telling me about one in Atlanta where a woman was beaten to death with a poker...Ray and I went to a candlelight vigil last night. We saw some people we haven't seen for a while. Once your children are not going to school any more, you lose touch with a lot of people. We saw Marianna Happek and Jay Aronson and Maxine Easom and Anne Brightwell and Jim Jones and Dan Coenen. I think Mary Matheny. Michael Aronson is at Georgia Tech studying chemical engineering (?). We saw Greg Anderson (he's so tall), but didn't speak to him. They released some blue and white balloons, which I am sure Eve would not have approved of, but I suppose it was important to someone.

We are looking forward to Ray's mother arriving tomorrow evening, but have a lot to do before then!

Much love,

Stress Rears Its Ugly Head

I had a mildly unpleasant Exec. Committee meeting at the Fellowship. We are having to make some difficult decisions about the budget. But the thing that bothers me the most is the way the interim minister refuses to cut down on making copies. I asked him to email information to the board members or just bring one copy that we can share and he insists on bringing paper copies for everyone, which they won't read. When I asked him not to, he said he would buy a ream of paper. "It's not the money," I said. Perhaps when I am not president, I will create an environmental concerns committee.

And I have to be at the test scoring building at 8 am, to finish training and qualifying by noon. I was having a little trouble yesterday, first falling asleep and then (after drinking some Coke) being fidgety and restless, making it hard to concentrate on the training. I was eating some candies and was scolded for making too much noise and distracting people. I was mortified. I was also biting my fingernails, but apparently that's okay.

I also don't know when I am going to make tonight's supper...I didn't end up doing as much planning and cooking as I meant to during my time off.

In the morning, we played two games of racquetball, after dropping Mommy at the Y. I brought ALT a surge protector that I had found during my tidying up. They had a computer plugged directly into an outlet...and very grateful. Ate the sandwich I had brought and talked to Heather and Nancy some. Went to the bank and got to the test scoring building right at 1. I went directly to the Fellowship for my meeting and Ray cooked and brought the ziti for potluck. He also brought me a plate during the meeting. Only a couple more months and my term is up...

Yesterday, as the sun did its work.

We woke up to power--yay! We didn't get going until the temperature was above freezing, so the roads would be okay. Vanessa seems fine. She elected not to go to yoga this morning, and not to go to the doctor either. She may not want to go out in public for a while, with her bruised face. We only had time for one game before Ray needed to go to class. I stopped by Athens Land Trust. Heather still didn't have power, so her little dog was with her. She thought he would be too cold at home--41 degrees at her house. I made some copies and then went to get some fie folder supports for her. While I was next door, I went ahead and got some groceries. Then I went back to ALT and read over a grant application for Nancy and made some suggestions. I told them goodbye until April.

I went home and had a late lunch. I have been doing a little tidying upstairs in preparation for Gramma Lynde's visit (she arrives Saturday). I straightened up Molli's bookcases and organized them (I hope she likes it). In the process, I found some interesting things, including The Bookseller of Kabul. Captain had been talking about how we need to get out of Afghanistan, so I thought he might like it. He is reading it and talks about it a lot. He is now more convinced than ever that American troops cannot make a difference there. The dirt and the treatment of women are the things he has mentioned most. If it snowed for a year, we would still have plenty to read!

I logged onto the virtual classroom, but no one else was there. I thought I must have done something wrong, but reading my email, I found class had been cancelled. Too many people are still dealing with the after-effects of the storm. Some are still without power. Apparently Madison County had 10 inches and they are saying power will be back Thursday!

So, what did I do with my time off? Eating, drinking, watching a little John Stewart...but mostly falling asleep very early.

Snow Days

Well, that was pretty amazing--mostly fun, except for the not having power for 36 hours! Unheard of for us, all our lines are buried in our neighborhood, but there were so many lines brought down by the snow, that the power didn't get to us for a long time. Now to eat up everything that was in the freezer... We cooked on the wood stove, and the Coleman camping stove. We played cards and read by candlelight and flashlight.

Let me back up a little. Sunday morning it was raining. Ray and I drove to the Fellowship, where the choir sang its awesome difficult piece pretty well. Attendance seemed a little down, maybe because people were worried about the weather. I really hadn't even heard anything. As we were leaving, the rain began to freeze, or maybe change to sleet, and then we were driving in snow! In Athens! It was fun, but we did not expect it to last. I was happy that it was still snowing when we got home, so I could take some pictures. The Captain put pots over the little plants he had recently set out--cabbages, lettuce, onions. So as it snowed, they looked very interesting. I sure hope they are okay!

The Captain, dressed for success

I was supposed to be at the Classic Center at 3 to help backstage with Dancing with the Stars. I was really looking forward to it, and I hated for Project Safe to lose money because of the weather. But it looked like I shouldn't drive. Of course, I didn't have cell phone numbers for Joan or Pat. I tried all the numbers I could find, and finally reached someone at the Classic Center, who said the show would go on...but that people should call an hour before coming.

Ray set out to drive me in the Captain & Vanessa's car, because it has snow tires. Of course, they are quite worn from driving in the South for two years, but we thought there might be an advantage. Drove out to Three Oaks Drive--no problems, turned on Tallassee, pretty slippery, someone off the road with someone else trying to pull them out. I said "let's go back." I think Ray would have kept on, but of course the snow was still coming down, and we would have had to drive home much later. I couldn't imagine they would still have the show, and it didn't seem worth the stress and risk. So we turned around at John Collier and came back by the stuck car. There were other cars on the road and they all seemed likely to slide off any minute. It was a little nerve-wracking, although we weren't going fast enough to get hurt, and we could always walk home if the car had gotten stuck.

(doesn't look like Three Oaks Drive, does it?)

People were out playing in Kenney Ridge. We even got hit with a snowball. At home, we battened down the hatches. We kept looking out and saying, "it's still snowing." Then the power went out about 4:30. Ray had been working on the computer, but then we couldn't do much useful, so we decided we should play cards. Oh, Hell, of course. We had to break out all the candles before it was over, thinking all the while that the power would be back on soon. It never stays out long here. The wires at KR are all underground. But, of course, it was still snowing!! And driving around today, I can see that of course there were probably hundreds of trees and wires down all over the area. We have lost some big branches off the big pine in the circle, and I am sure there are others in the woods, but we are very fortunate.

Then we began to think about eating without electricity (and drinking too). We had not been opening the fridge or freezer to maximize the cold, but we still didn't think it would be long before the power came back on. We got out the camp stove from the garage (very grateful for my attached garage in this situation), but we decided to try cooking on the woodstove first. It boiled a kettle of water very nicely and Captain had some beef bouillon. We had some ziti left and we wrapped it in tin foil and let it heat up on the woodstove. Ray added a little water. It tasted fine. Mom had rescued some cookies from the freezer, so we were okay in that department. We all went to bed early, sure that the power would come on during the night. Ray and I ran down the battery on my laptop watching a DVD in bed, but I fell asleep.

Yesterday morning, still no power! It was incredibly quiet and beautiful, watching the day break over the snowy trees. No background hum of refrigerator or ceiling fan. We cooked oatmeal on the camp stove, and made coffee. The milk was sour, so we had to use heavy cream. The suffering! The hot water was still warm enough for washing dishes. In fact, Ray and I took showers later in the day that were not really cold. Sadly, our solar water heater is off line when there is a chance of freezing, but I guess the water heater keeps its heat well.

Captain got Matilda going and plowed our drive and a good part of Three Oaks Drive, as well as giving rides to Miles and Katie. He was a big hit. Ray rode with him, mostly for ballast.

Vanessa and I walked a ways, and the sights were amazingly beautiful! There were four cars at the entrance to KR--I don't know if they were residents who got that far (at least one was) and then walked home, or refugees who thought that was a safe place to pull off and leave the car. People with four-wheel drive were driving out to get diapers and things, but we were fine. Captain lobbied for us to go out and eat somewhere, but calmer heads prevailed.

Cold sandwiches for lunch, transferred some things from the refrigerator to a cooler, sneaking an ice pack (and some ice cubes) from the freezer, as well as a half-carton of ice cream we thought we should eat up for dessert.



Then I cooked a frittata on the woodstove. Really. It takes a little longer, but we weren't doing much. It was warm and bright during the day in the house. Ray was grading tests still. Then we commenced card-playing again, by candlelight when it became necessary.

After we ate our frittata and bread and butter and ice cream, some of us went to bed. Ray kept grading. Vanessa and I were reading a little by the candle and flash light. Unfortunately, as she went to answer the phone, she tripped over a chair she didn't see (even though she had a flash light, it's not the same) and fell face first on the tile floor. We felt terrible. We got her some ice and a cold cloth and she took her pain meds, but she looked terrible. I was awfully worried, but she didn't hurt her back or legs, just landed on her face. She is a little stiff today, but basically fine. It is scabbing up and she looks a fright. I even asked if I could take a picture.

This morning, we did have electricity! Thank goodness! The schools are still closed, but Ray has to go to work. UGA is open.

See more photos on FB.

Hi, y'all,

I woke up to rain again, at 4. Went to sleep a little after 10. Lying awake, I remembered I needed to be alert tonight for Dancing with the Athens Stars at the Classic Center. I am not actually cuing the music, I am the person telling the union guy to cue the music. So I have been dreaming and dozing for an hour or so about how awful that could be...

Yesterday, Ray slept late. He didn't feel very good when he got up, said he hadn't slept well. At that point, I had eaten breakfast (cereal, milk, juice, banana) and started making bread, as well as beef stew (which I eventually finished and put in the freezer). But everyone agreed we needed an excursion. I had scoped out a restaurant in Washington, Georgia, but when we called, they weren't serving lunch. So we decided to drive to Madison instead. We know there are plenty of choices there, and it's not very far. It was almost noon by the time Ray was dressed and ready to go. Captain was working on his column while he waited, but he was getting kind of cross. I said, "there's nothing I can do." We jumped in the car and drove to Madison. (I stuck the bread in the fridge)

Some of you know Madison is a small town with lots of gorgeous antebellum houses. The story goes that Sherman had a college friend from Madison, so did not burn the town in his march to the sea during the Civil War. Many little shops selling gifts and antiques, around an old town square. We drove to town and out the other side without seeing the Icehouse, a restaurant Captain had picked from the internet. He got out and asked at a gas station and we found it. Unfortunately, they weren't serving lunch. Then he asked a woman in a shop for a recommendation. We walked across the street.

The James Madison Inn appears to be recently refurbished. It looks like a nice place to stay. There is a conference center next door and a restaurant there called Town 220 Bistro (or something like that). It was beautiful, an open room with a gas fireplace in the middle (I wonder if it's there in summer too). The martinis were very good, I'm told.

Peggy Galis was there with a man not her husband. I said "I'm sorry if you were here incognito, we've blown your cover!" She introduced me to her cousin, Marlon, from Atlanta. She wanted to know if we were there for the antique show. I said no. She always introduces me as the brilliant person who keeps her computer working.

I had Chinese chicken salad. It was pretty good, but had too much dressing. Ray had caesar salad and a burger with fries. Vanessa had a club sandwich and mushroom soup for first course. Captain had the vegetable beef soup and a grouper BLT. Everyone was quite pleased. Vanessa and I had desserts, of course, creme brulee (excellent) for me and a trio of sorbets for her.

I did look at the antiques, some nice things and the prices were not bad.

Then of course we didn't feel much like walking around, even though it wasn't really raining any more. It was wet and still overcast. We did drive around and look at the houses some before heading back. On the way, we saw where the tornado touched down a week or so ago, the tops of lots of pine trees snapped off, south of Farmington (south of Watkinsville and Bishop).

Then I worked some on Molli's bookcases and it is all done. We also got a good start on the taxes, but as usual, we don't seem to have the info. we need from Jim Bowers. And we can't find last year's files. They are on the computer, so we have the end result, but not how we got there. But it looks we'll get a good refund, although not as much as last year.

Vanessa and Captain had some soup for supper. I just had a little melon, I wasn't really hungry, but I did manage some ice cream at bedtime. Of course, I had forgotten about the bread, and Ray had to bake it for me. It smelled great...