To Washington and back in less than 24 Hours

I know all of us have done this…what I've done with my blog. Started something with the idea that you would keep up with it for a long time. Oh, well. I really have to forgive myself and let it go; otherwise I would just sit and feel badly. So, now that I've said that, let me share today’s blog…

This week there was a story on one of the local new programs about an Honor Flight going from Nashville to Washington DC. And it reminded me of the Honor Flight I was privileged to participate in. I escorted my mother from Decherd, TN to Washington DC a few yeas ago. All I can say, is if you know anyone who served in WWII, please get information for them about a local Honor Flight and consider escorting them, especially a relative.

Like the title says, we went to Washington DC and came back in less than 24 hours. We left Mom’s apartment in Decherd at about 3:30 a.m., drove to the local Wal-Mart and boarded a bus for the Huntsville airport. I don’t remember the date, but it was when Huntsville had no electricity. We drove all the way though Huntsville and to the airport in total darkness. The first lights we saw were the airport lights. Very interesting…

On the way down, T-shirts were handed out for everyone. One of the volunteers had made biscuits and bacon and ham. These were offered to everyone, because who wanted breakfast at 3:30 a.m. Once we arrived at the airport, we were taken by carts to the inspection area and then on to the gate. We left as it was getting daylight and flew to the Baltimore Washington International Airport.

This was one of the most emotional and uplifting experiences I've ever had. The only other thing that comes close was when I did Crusillo in Monteagle, TN. Even now as I tell this, tears stream down my face.

Before we landed, an announcement was made that because this was an Honor Flight there might be a special shower for us. As we got closer to the gate, we drove between two fire trucks that showered the plane with water, spraying it up in the air with it falling back down on the plane.  The other passengers stood and applauded. Some near the vets, shook their hands and thanked them. Remember, we all had on those beautiful blue shirts.

Once we left the plane, at the gate, a long line of service people in uniform waited for us and they applauded as we passed, some reaching out to shake hands and say "thank you." This is where my first tears began to surface. Things only got more intense…

(to be continued along with an explanation of the photo above)

www.honorflight.org/

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plgjw_0VHaA

...and My Birthday

Between November 18 and December 31, there are 6 birthdays in my family. Both aunts, Mother, husband, nephew and self. (There is a cousin's birthday on Dec. 31 as well, but she's never around for it.) So we try to have a birthday lunch during this time especially for birthday people. This year we went to J.D.'s Buffet in Winchester. They were so accommodating. They allowed us to bring in a cake, ice cream and drinks. And the food is good country food.

 

This is Google saying "Happy Birthday Carrie"

 

Today is my birthday. When I was a kid, my parents made sure I had a birthday. They didn't mix it up with Christmas, like a lot of people. But now it get's mixed in with Christmas. This year, I've had a text and 5 phone calls. It's been a good birthday so far. My sweet husband gave me a Kindle. I'd been thinking about one, but hadn't verbalized that. So it was a sweet surprise, and now I've had it in my hand almost all day. We'll go out for steak tonight. It's a good life.

Now for the juicy part. I've finally done it. You know how when women get older they buy "old lady shoes." Well, I've bought an old lady car. And I love it. It's a white Lincoln Town Car and it has heated seats, two sun visors each, and you can ride in it all day and not be worn out.

It's actually my second. I traded my convertible for the first one the 20th of November. Then, it got totaled on the 20th day of ownership. Mom and I were coming back from Murfreesboro in the rain and wind and a young woman pulled out from the right. She didn't see me. From her angle, I was behind a truck. But no one was hurt and now I have a younger Lincoln Town Car.

The first one had white leather interior, which was beautiful. But this one has a light gray and it's a little more practical, especially since our dog Rosie travels with us all the time.

Yesterday, John said I was too tall for this car. I can see over the steering wheel. Now you know why I think I've bought an "old lady car."

Merry Christmas!

This was mine.

Now this is mine.

 

Mom's Birthday

Today, my mother is 89 years old. She is now living in an assisted living community in town. Until October, she was living about 1/2 hour away. She lived alone, was still driving (even to my home), and volunteering at the local senior center two days a week.

But after a couple tumbles, which seemed to be getting more serious, my brother and sister and I decided something had to change. Since my sister is a consultant with the company that owns the local assisted living facility, we checked it out.

I took Mom over one Wednesday and we looked around and got some information. My brother went by her apartment and explained all the financials to her, and she decided to move in. But now, I'm wondering if that was such a good idea. Of course, since I live the closest I am the primary caregiver and with her the most, and I get the most feedback from her. So now she is wondering why we "stuck her in here."

Oh, how things appear differently to each of us. We use our own filters to interpret life. We thought we were giving her plenty of information and we thought she was being honest and sincere with us. Little did we know... Now, when friends ask her why she moved in "there," she tells them, "To keep family peace," "Because its what my kids wanted," and other similar comments.

My husband and I take her to lunch most every Sunday, and this being her birthday, we thought we'd continue the same. But Friday, she told me she didn't want to go to lunch today. I said that was fine, but I've been trying to figure it out. "She's tired of doing everything with me," "She's depressed and doesn't want to do anything," "She's angry about being 'stuck in there,'" and anything else that might explain it.

So this morning, I called and asked a friend of hers to take Mom to an activity we were going to tomorrow evening. I got emotional and explained I was worried about her. The friend just called back and told me, she had a great conversation with Mom. She left her laughing, and Mom refused her offer. Mom had responded, "Oh, no, Carrie will be so disappointed if she doesn't get to go. She loved that last program and she looks forward to this." Not...

But we'll go and it will be fine. And life goes on. I love my momma. Happy Birthday, Mom!

What filter am I using to interpret my life that I'm not aware of? Oh, well, or Whatever!!!

Can you say Oops!

Well, so much for the new picture taking job. After two days out and hard at it, I realized this is a lot more work than I'm getting paid for. So, I quit! Hated that. I really wanted to do that job, but it just seems like a joke telling someone to do all that work for such a small amount of money. I know there are people out there who will do it and be glad to do it. But not me. I'm way too old for that much work. And I do like a desk job.

We were in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg over the weekend. The East Tennessee Historical Preservation organization had a conference on the same. It was very interesting. It was held at Arrowmont, an arts and crafts school right in the middle of Gatlinburg. On Saturday, we had a field trip out to Elkmont in the Smoky Mountain National Park. It is an interesting area where well-to-do people in Knoxville had cottages where they spent the summer. A couple of the larger building have been preserved as close as possible to the original.

It appears the cottages were painted some bright colors, reminiscent of beach cottages. And trying to preserve them as they were, one of the buildings that has been restored is painted pink with blue shutters. On most of the buildings that haven't been restored it is possible to tell what color they were. If you're ever in the area, you should at least drive through the community. These restored buildings are available to rent for day events, such as reunions, weddings, parties, etc. You have to be out by 9 p.m.

Cabin in Elkmont

On Sunday morning when we were leaving, Johns car was making a horrible noise when he turned the steering wheel. OMG, what were we to do? We called a couple people we know who are auto savvy and got the advice to put in some power steering fluid. Who knew!!! It did it. Seems when it is a little low on fluid and it gets cold, air bubbles appear and I guess that's what happened. so now we have to make sure it not leaking.

But the trip home was beautiful. We thought most of the trees would be bare, but there were lots of beautiful leaves still showing. We drove through Townsend, which is a beautiful area. It was all beautiful, except the Pigeon Forge traffic. I've lived in Atlanta, Fort Worth, Tallahassee and this traffic was worse than anywhere I've ever been. And it wasn't at any particular time. All day Saturday was unbelievable.

And of course it was good to get home. And today it is winter...rainy and cold.

Coming down the mountain from Sewanee 1

Coming down the mountain from Sewanee 2

(taken through the windshield)

Retirement, hum...

I'm so embarrassed. I apologize to my followers. I really planned to write here regularly, but life gets in the way.

I finally realized this spring, that it was time to start doing the things that years ago I wanted to do when I retired. Of course I'm not retired full time. Couldn't do that. In fact I've started a new job.

All my life, I wanted to earn my living from a variety of things at the same time. And I've always done free lance graphic design. Last fall, I studied tax return preparation and did that during the tax season this year. So now I'm going to be doing some contract work with a local "inspection" agency. I'll be driving all over the county taking pictures of houses for mortgage and banking companies. Very interesting. Thought I'd be taking nice drives, but it fast and complicated. But fun. It's gotta be fun.

I'll be doing tax return preparation for Jackson-Hewitt in January. And to that end, I passed the federal Registered Tax Return Preparer test. So I'm not a certified RTRP. make sure yours is.

I also accumulated all the credits to earn Prevention Certification Level II, which means I can prevent things.

But back to the things I wanted to do when I retired. One of those things was doing a lot of gardening. Flowers, not vegetables. Been there, done that out of necessity. Don't have to now. So, one of the trees in our front yard has a ton of roots above the ground, which makes mowing difficult. I make it a shade garden: ferns, hostas, caladiums, and some flowers. I have always loved bleeding hearts. They flowers are beautiful and the plant is light and airy.

      (Stole this photo from Flower Library.)

So I planted one. They're expensive, well kinda. And I don't think it made it. Saw the last of it a couple weeks ago, the leaves were brown and hanging down. Next time I looked, it was gone. But I'll try again next year. Of course, this one might come back. We'll see.

Planted a bunch of caladiums under the dogwood tree next to the birdbath. My favorite scene of the birdbath is when the cat, Trucker, gets up there to drink. Very bird friendly. With all the heat this year, I had to water a bunch. Keeps you in touch with your plants. When it was wet, I missed that.

I also wanted to start quilting, so in the spring I made a quilt for a very dear friend of mine. I thought it was going to be a lap quilt, but she is kinda short, so she uses it as a bed quilt. I think it might be a little short. It's one big heart. You can see it on my facebook page. She uses it every day and even took it on vacation with her. She's a good friend.

Now, I've just finished a quilt for another friend. It's Halloween colors and fabrics and it's for his 14th birthday. He was born on Halloween, so I thought this would be an appropriate birthday present. I'm going to give it to him today or tomorrow so he can enjoy it for a while. Halloween's one of those holidays, that when it's over, it's over. Don't think he'll want it hanging around after that. May though.

Well, I've got a headachy sinus infection and I'm out of energy. I'll try to get back here before too long. Thanks for following my blog.

Yard Saleing

Is that a word?

Whose bright idea was "Yard Sale?" How 'bout many feet for sale? or Lawn Sale? And then frequently you'll see Garage Sale and even Porch Sale. I wouldn't mind buying a Garage.

When I was a kid, we had Rummage Sales. Many times the stuff was from big cardboard barrels that came from some "church up north." That's an anonymous place. And I understand there are places in the country where they have Tag Sales.

Which brings to mind "Flea Market." In Hawaii, they had "Swap Meets." That sounds a lot better than "Flea Market." Who wants anything related to fleas?

The Swap Meet on Oahu in the late 70s was held at a Drive-In Theater. People would bring their things in early in the morning (I'm assuming, 'cause I never got there till afternoon) and then got everything out before evening. Then it was open for movie goers. Oh, yeah, they could drive their car/truck right up to their spaces, which were usually separated by the speakers. I once bought two really neat wooden chairs for $2 each. I had them until about 10 years ago.

John and I have been trying to combine our households which has been challenging at best. We went from our separated living spaces to one. He lived in our house in Manchester that had about 1500 square feet. And I lived here in this house which has less than 1000 square feet. So you can imagine.

We had a yard sale last weekend: Thur, Fri, & Sat. Then we did a repeat Fri. and Sat. this weekend. It took him about six months to talk me into doing a yard sale. When we sold the Manchester house, we packed as much as we could in here and rented a storage unit for the stuff we weren't sure about letting go of. We promised ourselves that we would only keep it six months. And we did. We feel great about that.

We've had some nice conversations with people. Met some great neighbors. Renewed some old acquaintances. So, all in all, we've had a pretty good experience. We were rained out Sat. last week and we had to cover everything up today cause it started to rain. And we haven't made as much as we hoped we would. But there is actually some space in the house that isn't covered in stuff. And we're not bringing much back into the house.

Not much. Really! not much. A wing-back chair that needs reupholstered, a rattan chair that was his mothers and is very comfortable. But I got rid of a lot of fabric and yarn, which is a lot more expensive than I remembered.

But I guess the most important thing for me, is I have been thinking a lot before I purchase anything. I make sure I really need or really want it. And I've realized how much my stuff has owned me. I buy it, then I have to store and maintain it. I went to a workshop several years ago that left me with one very nice quote:

"They're called stores, because that's where you store stuff 

until you need it."

Dear God, help me leave things in the store till I need them and can properly care for them.

Another one bites the dust!

Across town, one of the oldest factories is being torn down. It's been there as long as I can remember. I'm not sure what it was originally built for, but it's main use was manufacturing shoes. Genesco Shoe Factory. My sister-in-law's parents worked there when she was a kid. I've known other people who had family who worked there.

It has been unused as a factory for a couple years, now and I frequently thought it would be a great place to convert into loft apartments.

One of the neatest things is, it has it's own water tower. Sticks way up above all the closest building and is old. Guess that is the neatest things about the whole building. It's old. I googled Genesco and found out it was built by the city and rented to the General Shoe Company for $1 per year. It was completed in 1934. Almost 80 years old. And now it's mostly gone. Right after the 1929 depressions, it was the "Savior" of the town.

I took a picture a couple years ago of a sycamore tree that was growing out of the roof. I'd include that photograph, but it's on the hard drive of my old computer that crashed Wednesday. Hopefully I'll be able to upload that data to my new laptop very soon.

I took several pictures of the Genesco ruins last week and it has some great lines. Here are a couple of them along with the water tower.

Loved that sky, too.

And here are a couple I took today.

I have to say, this is the cleanest destruction site I've ever seen. See the first photo.

And oh, the reason I am so fascinated by this deconstruction? I should have been an architect. But that's another blog.

Got my data back so here's the sycamore growing on the roof of the old Genesco building.

Enjoy!