And a very happy 2011 to all!

Merry Christmas to everybody all over the world!

Lots of love from Bob and Betty

Arctic weather

Not to worry, polar bears.  If it gets too warm for you at the North Pole, you can move to KY.

Weather forecast:



Trying something

I want to see if I can embed a little piece of music. This is a haunting melody done by Cafe Musique from San Luis Obispo, I think.

Ok, it worked, except that it downloaded the whole collection. The song I want you to listen to is "Hallelujah."

Voting Legacy

I was reading the Shelbyville Sentinel-News Friday which had printed the ballot for the various precincts in Shelby County. I was glad to see it because there are so many local races that we've never voted in before. But seeing the ballot reminded me of my parents, Arthur and Una Garrison, who set such a civic example for my brother and me.

Before every election, the two of them would sit down with the Sunday Tampa Tribune, which printed the ballot just before the election on Tuesday. Together, they would go through each race and talk about it. They didn't do it to synchronize their votes--although they usually voted the same way--but to share knowledge about the candidates and races.

They never made a big deal of it; thus, I never really thought much about it. Looking back, however, I realize what an impact this had on me. They modeled voting responsibility. There was never a question of voting or not voting; that was a given. They also modeled thoughtful voting and attention to local, state, and national issues. I can't say that their political views took root in my mind. But they taught me through their example to be politically aware and responsible, never to turn over that responsibility to others to decide for me.

So, thanks, Mom and Dad. I wish you were still here (although I know you wouldn't be voting my way).

Cyclones, oh my!

"A tornado reportedly touched down in Louisville, Ky., as the thunderstorms blew through around 11:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday."




Just a few minutes after that, we heard the sirens sounding the tornado warning. My first class was just ending, so I began ushering them into the small inside room adjacent to our classroom. Meanwhile, in the glass-enclosed (on two sides) lobby, others were clustered around the TV showing the radar, disregarding warnings to move to inside rooms.

While some were mostly curious, others were terrified. I found two young women huddled in the corner of one of the women's restrooms, who asked me fearfully when I came in: "Is it all-clear yet?"

The warning lasted about an hour. Needless to say, afternoon classes were not well-attended.

October in Kentucky

Beautiful Sunday afternoon in Kentucky. Although it looks like fall, it doesn't feel much like it. Incredibly, the high temperature yesterday was 80 degress F! We haven't even had a single frost yet.

This picture reminds me of last Sunday afternoon when Bob, Joan, and I went to Shaker Village nearby. Such a peaceful place and I love it especially in the fall. For the first time we took the riverboat trip, about an hour roundtrip between two of the locks. Because of the locks, the river in that stretch is more like a lake and very sparsely populated with people--animals, too, but all we saw were little schools of fish, some turtles sunning themselves on fallen logs, and one bold Great Blue heron who made a dramatic pass across the river right in front of us.

This railroad bridge spans the river just south (I think) of the riverboat landing. While we were loading people aboard, we were treated to several freight trains crossing the bridge as we watched.




















We went to Louisville late yesterday afternoon to do some errands in the big city. Since we were going, we decided to go out to eat and invited mel and Mark to go with us. We went to a restaurant in an older part of the city called Butchertown, just east of downtown, which got its name as you might expect. The restaurant is called The Blind Pig, "home of swine dining in Butchertown". Despite that, it was a classy, casual place, and we had some really good food.

I just put a beef stew in the oven to slow-cook. Now I'm going back to make a homemade pasta sauce with our own tomatoes, which are still producing at a regular rate. They've slowed down some because the days are getting shorter, but without a frost, they're still chugging along.

Somos contentos.

It's a new backyard!!

So, I guess I could have cleaned things up a little, but I know you guys wanted to see the new look. Now I guess we'll have to go buy furniture and stuff! A few more pics here.

It's Coming Together

OK, Betty's not getting this posted, so I'll do it. We bought new furniture for the living room and like it alot. In addition to this stuff, a matching loveseat was delivered today. Looks great! Comfy, too.


And in the dining room, Betty has been trying to figure out what to do with the wall between the two windows. She had a brilliant idea and here's the result. How cool is that?



And, just for fun, Betty's flower arranging. Beautiful, yes?

And one more thing

While I'm at it, you've all heard stories of the first car I ever actually bought. It was Spring semester, my Freshman year at KU. A 1960 Austin Healy Bug-Eye Sprite. Well, someone in town has decided that one very much like it would make a good planter for wildflowers. So, here you go. Please keep in mind that mine was much shinier, had hubcaps and nerf bars, and was a chick magnet.

What's new at 912?

I know I've been promising you guys pics of the "living fence" and my table, so here 'tis. Fence first. We had a landscape architect over to give us ideas about what to do with the backyard (think patio/deck.) Turns out he had some great ideas, many of which we can't afford, but we're thinking we'd like to implement. Meanwhile, we mention that we'd really like to raise the fence between us and the "crack house" and he asks if we've considered a living fence. We really like the idea and, having found 5 ft arbor vitae at Lowe's for $20, went ahead and put one in the front yard, along the drive between us and "them." Here's how it came out.




The next step will be to plant 10 footers all along the fenceline in back on that side and halfway across the back, to cover the house to the rear. We'll end up taking out some plantings and moving others, but the end result should be pretty amazing, both from a view perspective and privacy. So it's going to be fence first, then deck/patio later. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, we've need extra working space in the kitchen and have talked about taking the desk unit out and putting in an island/peninsula in it's place. So, the deck came out and it was put up or shut up time. After shopping various options and not finding anything that was ideal, it turned into an "I can make one" kind of deal. The last thing I actually made was the butcher block now residing in C&C's house, and that was mostly a piece of bowling alley. This one started as raw boards, plywood and moulding. I did buy the legs. And I have to admit I'm pretty proud of the way it came out. (Disclaimer: I haven't repainted the wall yet.) Take a look:





So, there you have it. All adoration gratefully accepted. Mom tells me that there's a full sized farmhouse style dining room table in my future.

Legacy of a Master Gardener

All Spring, Betty and I have been delighting in the work of Barbara Troyer, the former owner of 912 Main. Every few days, something else blooms in the yard. If I could only keep up with the weeds! Anyway, we wanted to share:







The vegetable garden layout, of course, is Barbara's, but everything except the strawberries (just finishing) and a couple of the herbs are our plantings. Mom's got wildflowers in two of the beds and we expect a lot of color. Already have a couple of peppers and there's two small green tomatoes on one of the plants and lots of blooms.






And the small flower bed by the driveway now has a new look. It will take a couple of years to fill in, but we think it's rather pretty.



What follows is the "Dragonfly Garden", formerly known as the Shade Garden. It was terribly overgrown (due to neglect until last week), so I kind of waded in and started pulling everything I thought was a weed. I fear I may have been overzealous, but we won't know until Barbara visits again and asks, "Where's the ...?" In any case, we're pretty pleased. LOW MAINTENANCE! We're just going to add a few more hostas.

Spring

Isn't that just the cutest little house you've ever seen? Actually, it's not as little as it looks. But we can thank the previous owner, Barbara Troyer, for the beautiful garden, as well as all the meticulous upkeep she and her husband Jerry did during the 14 years they owned this house. We are the beneficiary of all their hard work. But, oh, the pressure to keep up the standard. Barbara came over yesterday evening to view the garden in bloom and to see the new bathroom. We hadn't told her about the project because we wanted to surprise her. She guessed what it was just as she was opening the door. She liked it, said it was something she'd wanted to do, but just never got around to it. We're very pleased that she's pleased. While she was here, we walked around the garden so she could point some as yet (for us) unidentified plants. "That's a weed. Pull it up," she would say. Or, she would point to something we were thinking was a weed, only it would turn out to be something potentially gorgeous, like the big orange California poppies that will bloom next month. As we strolled around, I scribbled notes as fast asI could. While I'm not sure I can still go back and name them all, the names alone are like poetry: sweet woodruff, candytuft, baptisia, lady's mantle, snowdrops, dogtooth violet, trillium, may apple, viburnum, lambs' ears, artemesia



At the edge of the driveway is this little bed displaying creeping phlox, or "creepy" phlox as Bob keeps calling it. Within this bed are numerous bulbs; we don't even know which kinds except for the tulips that are almost ready to bloom and the narcissus and daffodils that already have.



This spectacular redbud tree is paired by a dogwood on the opposite side of the front sidewalk, both in full bloom at the same time. This redbud grows flowers that spring directly from the trunk and the main branches. I keep forgetting to ask Barbara f she trained it that way or whether it's a particular species. I do believe the tree predates their ownership.

Celiac Awareness Month is May

Gluten Free

Good Friday in Shelbyville

Living in Ajijic, we were so excited to have unexpected parades come down our street, right outside our front door. Well, Shelbyville is not much different. Late Friday afternoon, we noticed a group of people gathering on the street corner just to the west of us. Our street, Main Street, is a one-way street going east. Then we noticed people in costume begin to arrive, and the priests in their long black frocks. One of them was Father Bill Bowling, the young priest of the parish whom I know from the Centro Latino Board of Directors. There were several men dressed as Roman legionaires, some women dressed in robes as Jewish women of the time. A couple of men were in loin cloths; they apparently were the thieves; and Jesus wore a long white robe. Behind them stretched quite a crowd, mostly Hispanic but not all.

After they all gathered in place, they began the slow processional to the Catholic church, about 1/2 mile from here. Keeping to the left lane, a Shelbyville police car was in front and one at the rear. Father Bill and his assistant led the way, chanting prayers, first in Spanish and then in English. Jesus followed behind, dragging an enormous wooden cross. The Romans simulated beating him by slapping leather whips against the wood.(I was relieved by that.I was pretty sure Bill wouldn't hold with actually beating him as they do in many countries.) At each corner, they appeared to stop for special prayers and enactment before moving on. Traffic continued in the right lane but very slowly. People were slowing to watch and some appeared not to know what to do. Should they stop as if for a funeral?
We watched until we couldn't see them any more a couple of blocks away.

Another Hispanic tradition was featured in the local newspaper this week:

The “alfombra,” made of sawdust and sometimes other organic materials such as flower petals, rice or dried herbs, is a centuries-old tradition from Guatemala. This carpet that takes hours to construct was walked on only once: when John Perez, assistant pastor at Church of the Annunciation, made his way from the sanctuary to the chapel, Thursday night, carrying the Holy Eucharist.

The carpet will be on display until the second Sunday of Easter. Then, as Rev. William Bowling, says “It will be swept away.”

Bowling says the first alfombra in Shelbyville was made in 2002 and has since been an integral part of Easter Holy Week.
fombra.

Spring has sprung

What can I say? Thanks to Barbara, the previous homeowner, who designed this glorious garden, we get to reap the benefits. The daffodils are brilliant, tulips just beginning to bloom, creeping phlox across the low wall alongside the sidewalk, the redbud tree is about to explode. Rewards for enduring winter.

Another Snow Day!!

But that's ok. We're toasty and warm inside. Don't know what the latest total is--maybe 6-8 inches in the last 24 hours. It's just cold with almost continuous light snow--sort of like a snow globe. For dinner last night I made beouf...uh, bourguignon....or, as Bob calls it, beef stew with lots of wine. He likes it in any language.