Risky to say, but my hopes are up

Watching the incredible inauguration was a lot of fun on Tuesday. I went over to my friend Vicki's house because she has a TV (ours is a big DVD player -- no cable) and we went over to her neighbors' Bob and Dorothy's because they have a really big TV. Dorothy had fixed a beautiful lunch spread and served champagne so it was quite celebratory.

It took my breath away to see all the people who were there.

I thought Obama's speech was not great, but certainly good.

I loved the performance of Simple Gifts by Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman -- the evocation of sacredness in the Quaker style.

I loved hearing Aretha Franklin give My Country Tis of Thee its due and could not help but think of how far outside the the established mainstream she was when I first knew of her -- and how much I love "Pink Cadillac".

I loved the tender, humble benediction at the end and the light touch of its closing -- ". . . in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around. . . when yellow will be mellow. . . when the red man can get ahead, man, and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen."

Amen.




Oh yeah, and I think Michelle just rocks.

Winter Days

This week I started a study at MUSC that is looking at how Weight Watchers offers food choices. Essentially, I will be doing Weight Watchers for 12 weeks -- counting points and going to their meetings once a week. And at the end of it, they pay me $150 for my trouble instead of the other way around. I am obviously in their "study group" because my meal plan involves not just point values for foods but also a color code that reflects nutritional value -- so a cup of couscous has 4 points and is color coded as Green- indicating it is will be satisfying and will stave off hunger longer than say -- Chinese fried rice, which is 10 points for a cup and is color coded in purple meaning it is something I should only eat in moderation if I want to lose weight. My daily point target is 29 -- but there are 49 points a week I can play with -- increase my daily intake to 36 or just go over the 29 once or twice -- splurge on dessert or red wine. . . or not. It seems pretty doable.

We are having our winter weather now. The last two nights' low temperature has been down below 20 degrees. I brought the plants in and we've left the faucets dripping at night. This will last a few more days and then the coldest temps will be in the 40s and 50s with not much sun. This gives people a chance to get out their wool and fleece winter gear. for the most part, Ugh boots just aren't necessary in Charleston. Our two story condo is too hot upstairs and way too cold downstairs. I am grateful that the wireless connection for the computer is working again and I can work upstairs. It is pretty bitter downstairs when you are just sitting still.

I have lost one of the plastic balls that floats around in the dryer. How many places could it be?

I took two test this week to qualify for employment with the Census Bureau in a room as cold as meat locker. Because they tested a group all at once, and they have their process they will not deviate from -- it took 2 hours to take a 30 minute test. Jeez.

I have successfully loaded music onto the MP3 player I got for Christmas and I have learned to tune into radio stations so I can pick up Jeopardy on TV while I walk on the treadmill at the gym.

Duncan and I are reading Wesley the Owl The Remarkable Story of an Owl and His Girl aloud to each other at night. It is a very sweet story about a woman who adopts an injured barn owlet when it is just a few days old -- so it imprints on her rather than on a bird. It is full of "who knew?" kind of information about all kinds of critters and a very nice contemplation of the ways humans interact with animals in general. Plus, there are great pictures. Is he cute, or what?

Reading Is Fun

Duncan is away tonight at a "sleep-over" with middle school students from church. He is a braver man than I. And the moon is full.

I thought I was done with origami boxes, but then I found easy directions to make this pretty star box This one is done with 12" square paper I bought at an art supply store and cut to size myself. I am going to use it as a bowl when we serve food after church tomorrow.

My year is underway with new books. I have one to read now called I Was Told There Would Be Cake -- you got to love that title. And The Last Campaign about RFKs presidential campaign is on reserve at the library. In excessive payment for origami boxes, Laurie Evans sent me a Barnes and Nobles gift card so I went over there tonight thinking I would indulge in a good biography. I ended up with something called The Big House which seems to be a family memoir told from the perspective of a summer home at Cape Cod "that watched over weddings, divorces, deaths, anniversaries, birthdays, breakdowns and love affairs for five generations. . ." I like that the author is male. I have been creating a list of books I've read for my Facebook profile and notice a preponderance of "women's books". I need to branch out. While at B&N, I found a hardback copy of Mary Pipher's Writing to Change the World on the sale table for less than $3! I have read it before, but am happy to own it. It is good examples of techniques for writing letters, op-eds, speeches -- even blogs!

Since I have always enjoyed reading so much, it seems natural to get involved in a reading program with 1st graders that I heard about at church. Everything I do these days has to be prefaced with "If I get a job, I won't be able to. . ." but until I get a job, I'm extremely flexible and ought to be of some use to someone else. And who knows. . . my next job might be right around the corner from the school and my boss might be very supportive of me continuing with this. I can't sit on my hands just so I won't have to quit something when I go to work.

This particular program appeals to me because it is1st graders -- very nonthreatening -- and it is quite structured. I will go twice a week and meet with the the same child for 45 minutes. We will read familiar things, make lists of words the child knows, write some sentences and finally read something new. There will be a reading specialist in the room if I have trouble. It seems to have more potential than waiting until children are in middle school and not reading. By then, not reading is only one problem. I went to one of two training sessions this week. I think I will actually meet the student I will be paired with right after the MLK holiday.

And when IS the inaguration, exactly?

End of One Year and the Beginning of Another

For our 4th annual Christmas walk on the beach we had our nicest day yet. We wore shorts, had a picnic, flew a kite and walked for miles.


The New Year has begun with warm days, foggy mornings, and an overnight visit from Kathy's nephew, Luke who fixed my computer so that the wireless connection is back and I can move the laptop around the house again. Yea!
Luke is a serious cyclist and before he left town, he wanted to ride the Ravenel Bridge. He got this great picture of the bridge in the fog.

My resolutions are fairly standard. They have to do with weight, exercise, and thrift. There's also get a good job, learn something brand new and no whining! Let the games begin!

Christmas is Upon Us

Well, Christmas is almost upon us and the weather prophets say it will be 70 degrees for our annual walk on the beach.

GreenPeace with Kathy and Lee

It was a great weekend in Black Mountain and Asheville with Kathy and Lee and their dogs at GreenPeace. We've known each other since 1974 and it's still a lot of fun to be together. We tracked down Rick and Joy Icenhower who they knew at State. Rick and Joy got married in school and went back to Rick's family farm in Leiscester and had a thriving greenhouse business until just recently. We were impressed by the pristine state of their home -- built by Rick's grandfather -- their big farm and cows and pastures and fish ponds -- they have to work hard to maintain all that. Their nursury business is greatly downsized now, due to drought, major storm damage to the greenhouses accompanied by the dramatic rise in the price of oil to heat the houses. But they are being resourceful and are selling water collection devices and active in addressing the regional crisis in water supply. You've got to admire them and wish them the best. It's never has been easy to be a farmer and it's not now.

We also had Kathy's nephew Luke over for dinner a couple of times. Kathy is an excellent, creative cook and Luke was a wonderful guy -- a serious bicycler and student at UNC-A. He will be in Charleston after the New Year. I invited him to stay with us and I think he's going to take me up on it . It will be nice to see him again. Here's a picture of Kathy and Luke and a good shot of Lee and Lucy.

Thanksgiving is my favorite

Before we leave Thanksgiving and dive headlong into Christmas, let me just say our Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. We visited lots of family in lots of places, and everyone was pretty much in a good place in their life. Everything was easy and relaxed and we had some wonderful meals, and did not wash dishes but once. We attended the famous Thanksgiving Breakfast at the Pilot, NC Fire Station -- and it was indeed, a great gathering. I enjoyed our somewhat circuitous route through Franklin County Thanksgiving morning. It is pretty and rural through there -- fields and woods going bare with the last remains of fall color -- covered in frost. It reminded me of Grandmother and Granddaddy's and I enjoyed seeing it.
Mom and I went shopping on Friday for my birthday and Christmas presents. For my birthday I got a beautiful, beautiful reversible jacket I can wear all year. She picked out one present for me to give to her for Christmas, as well. In the afternoon, we went to see Australia! -- a grand epic tale. On to Winston Salem -- very easy and relaxed time there. I had not been to W-S in I don't know how long and Duncan had never been to Debbie and Wilson's house. I got to see the rug from Grandmother Bowles' living room now in Debbie's living room after being in Uncle Bill's attic for 30+ years. And she has had grandmother's sewing machine cabinet refinished, too. We got to see Jeffrey and Adam, too. It was great. Now, if we can just manage for Christmas to be as warm and comfortable and nice.