Journey to Orange Beach - Oct 25-26

Wednesday, Oct 25

 Our annual fall journey to Orange Beach, Alabama (LA- Lower Alabama) began at 9 am on Oct 26 as we pulled out of the driveway. A trip of a thousand miles requires lots or pre-planning and we were ready.  This year we did not take the boat and will focus on the beach and surf-fishing.  That works much better for David's young family.  Our first stop is always Bojangles in Loudon for breakfast biscuits.  

It took us slightly more than 2 hours to reach the Alabama Welcome Center for a break.  Another 2 hours landed us in Pelham, south of Birmingham for lunch at Applebees.  After lunch we drove for just over an hour to the Bass Pro Shop at Prattville, near Montgomery, to get a fishing license.  I decided not to get one this year.  After another hour and a half we reached our final destination for the day, the Sleep Inn at Evergreen, our usual stop-over. After a little rest we went to the Piggly Wiggly next door for a micro-wavable supper.

Thursday, Oct 26

No need to rush this morning except that the breakfast service ended at 9 am.  It was a typical motel breakfast, but got us on our way.  We had less than 2 hours of driving to get to Joe Patti Seafood in Pensacola. We drove through the old city, a beautiful historic district, with wide boulevards reminiscent of Savannah or New Orleans. Pensacola was first settled by the Spanish in 1559, but abandoned 6 years later after a hurricane.  It was not re-established until 1698.  It is called "The City of Five Flags" because it has been under the domain of Spain, France, Great Britian, USA and Confederate States of American.

Joe Patti Seafood on Main St is the go-to market for seafood of all kinds.  I bought shrimp and flounder enough for several days, as well as shrimp and mullet for bait. Going to Joe Patti's is always an experience!

By now we were ready to eat so we continued to Perdido Key for lunch at Fisherman's Corner, under the bridge.  The Gumbo Salad looked irresistible and it was!  Fried Oysters, Shrimp and Crawfish on a bed of lettuce with a selection of sauces- cocktail sauce, remoulade sauce and plantation sauce (thousand island).  We saved the lettuce for supper.  We had time for grocery shopping before going on to Orange Beach

We checked in to Phoenix East 2, 2041 at 3:30 and had just enough time to get everything unloaded and put away.  I had just settled on the deck for a pre-chaos glass of wine when they rolled in!

They made it just before sunset, in time for a little beach fun.

I planned pizza for the kids and made Shrimp Alfredo for our dinner.  It is one of Trisha's favorites and easy to to with Bertolli Alfredo Sauce.  The shrimp was 2 pounds of Royal Reds, peeled & deveined to make it easy.  Left-over lettuce was the base of our salad and fresh french bread from Patti's topped off the meal.

Garden Morning

Gentle sun cool air

Birds twitter fawns play all peace

Garden morning

Catching up again - A photo journal - February 13-26

February 13

    I met with Judy N to discuss how we can help our friend Lynn H.  She is 85, no family around, only son in prison, diminished capacity due to age and probably depression.  Her finances are in disarray and I will be working to get her to legally assign a POA to her brother who lives in Louisiana.  This may be a long-term project.

February 14

From My Valentine

We got a package deal at Fresh Market to cook at home.  Lobster for me and crab cakes for Bill.

February 15  - Baking Day

New Cast Iron pans for baking 

Good looking - Good eating Sourdough Boule.
The news pans worked well.

February 16

Good Southern Meal with Air-Fryer Chicken

February 17

Friday night feast
Chicken & Sausage Gumbo with a few Shrimp thrown in.

February 18

Nice afternoon for a walk along the river.

February 20

    Met with Good Samaritan group to begin work on a grant to address housing insecurity in Loudon County among our low-income clients.  We envision establishing a new GSC program that would provide utility and/or rental deposits for clients who could pay rent but cannot accumulate enough to make the initial deposits.  Getting into or staying in stable housing is a serious concern for low-income people and has a significant stress-impact on all aspects of their life.  We are applying the the Trinity Health Foundation who got us started on our dental program with their grants. 

    Lynn H has agreed to the POA, both general and medical.  I will get the paperwork going with a local lawyer from our church who will do this pro-bono.

February 21

    Busy day started with a date with my dermatologist.  She removed by freezing a pre-cancerous keratosis in my scalp.  Next stop was for the first class of our Lent Study at Trinity, "The Walk" by Adam Hamilton.  This is Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday, also knows as Shrove Tuesday.  We had a pancake supper at church.  Yummy fun!

February 22

    I was back at church to meet with our new DAR friends who are interested in writing an historic preservation grant for Trinity to help alleviate water problems in the foundation.  Back to church for Ash Wednesday service, but this year Trinity UMC and Central UMC joined at Central to usher in the Lenten Season.  This year we met at Central, next year the plan is to meet at Trinity.  Time for a walk in-between.

Today was warm enough for a walk through the campground.
It's been a while.

February 23

We have a "chair yoga" group going at Trinity every Thursday morning.  Twenty or more women and men are exercising together and having a lot of fun.  After our session, of course a group of us goes to lunch.  Great fun with friends.

The afternoon was so lovely that Bill and I walked through the park again.

Hiding in the center of the photo is a Robin.  There was a large flock in the campground, but they were too quick for me to get pictures.  Robins are year-round residents here, but in the spring and fall we get extra visitors that are migrating through.

I had to record a clean desk.  It is a rare event!

February 26

We extended our afternoon walk for a little way up Grubb Road, enjoying the early bloomers.

Like a Chicken... February 6-12

 Like a chicken with its head cut off, running around erratically, that's a little bit like what last week felt like.  Actually, my days were not erratic, but rather methodical.  It's just that I was juggling multiple tasks, like in the days when I was a working woman. Not like the days of retirement. And especially not like the days of Covid confinement. I find joy in purposeful busyness, so it was also a joyful week.

Monday started with a UMW meeting.  Our task was decorating valentine cards/envelopes for River Oaks (assisted living) residents.  Terri, card maker extraordinaire, had made beautiful cards. We added a message and signature and decorated the envelopes.  Fourteen women gathered around tables sharing laughter.  We even ended with a little bit of serious discussion about our new direction and what near-term projects we want to tackle.  One will be to host the Wesley House "Grannies" for lunch and bingo.  Wesley House Community Center serves the low-income Lonsdale/Burlington/Mechanicsville neighborhoods in Knoxville.  Our monthly collection of Vienna Sausage goes to their programs.  The "grannies" all live on a very low fixed income, basic social security or SSI.  They enjoy a meal and bingo at the center every Friday and love to take road trips to area Methodist Churches for their Friday fun.  We have hosted them at Trinity in the past and have taken a meal and bingo prizes there to share with them.  Bingo prizes are valued household items, like paper goods, soap, detergent, toothpaste - things that SNAP doesn't cover. We also set a date for Friday at 10 am to deliver our cards at River Oaks.

Tuesday held a very exciting adventure.  Laura had tickets for Amanda and Claire to go the Hamilton (live musical, not movie) at the Tennessee Theater.  Claire could not make it home, so I volunteered to go with Amanda.  The Tennessee is described on its website like this: The magnificent Tennessee Theatre first opened its doors on October 1, 1928 and was hailed as “the South’s most beautiful theatre.”  A major renovation and restoration was completed in 2005 and the Tennessee is "world-class performing arts center, hosting a wide variety of events and performances, including Broadway musicals and plays.  We ate at Bistro at the Bijou just down the street before the 7:30 performance.  The theater was magnificent and the we enjoyed the performance.  It was a real adventure for me as I'm not accustomed to going out in Knoxville at night without Bill.

The stage is set and the orchestra is tuning up in the pit.

We had good seats in the balcony, near center. 
The odd theater lighting gave everything a red glow.

Wednesday started early with a 9 am Executive Committee meeting at GSC.  I am not on the Exec Com, but I was invited to present the results of the needs assessment that our committee did in the fall in preparation for updating the Strategic Plan. I left with a great sense of pride at being in the presence of and part of a dynamic group of women who know how to get things done.

Thursday after Yoga, the Energizer group (mostly the same people) had a pot-luck lunch and bingo.  Kathy and I enjoyed lunch but skipped the bingo.  I took a bowl of egg & olive salad and crackers. After we got home, I took Bill to pick up the X-terra.  The repair estimate was $4500, but does not have to be done immediately.  He is going to get a 2nd opinion.  That is a lot of money to spend repairing a 2008 vehicle with 178,000 miles, but to replace it would be $30,000+.

Friday I went to town again, this time to meet some of the UMW women to distribute cards at River Oaks.  We had 50 cards, one for each resident.  Five of us split in different directions and visited briefly with those who opened their door or called us in.  For the other, we left the card on the mailbox.  The brief visits were meaningful, but sometimes painful.  We get a taste of what might be ahead of us.  While I was gone, the man came to remove the downed and damaged trees on our west and front.  His crew was just finishing as I drove up.  

Bill wanted to take the X-terra to the Oak Ridge Nissan dealer for a diagnostic and estimate, but first he wanted to talk to the service manager in person.  We went to lunch first at El Cantarito, our new favorite Mexican restaurant in Oak Ridge, then to the dealership.  He was satisfied with the conversation and made an appointment to take the X-terra in next Wednesday.

Even with all that, we were home in time for me to make a start on the garden work while Bill did some other yard work.  I was able to work for about 30 minutes before my back started bothering me.  I need a weed-eater for the next jobs, but ours is broken.  Bill has ordered a part to fix it, but it hasn't come yet.

Since we had a big lunch, supper was Ukranian Borscht that I had frozen a few weeks ago, with fresh cornbread.

Sage had been pruned but not cleaned up.

Okra stalks have been removed

Broken limbs and dead trees removed

The area looks very barren. 
The stump will be removed on Saturday

Saturday I stayed home and didn't work too hard!  I prepped the Crunchy cole slaw that I'll take to church tomorrow.

Sunday was no sabbath day this week.  My SS lesson was on the very hard teachings found in Matthew 5, as the Sermon on the Mount continues.  You have heard it said....but I say... Jesus gives us an impossible standard to live by.  But again, he is changing the emphasis from action to intention.  It is not enough to just be good externally, we need to have a heart of love for others.

During worship, we dedicated Hygiene Kits that are going to Family Resource Center to distribute to teen students who are in transition and lack personal hygiene items.  They may be in foster care, or homeless or have lost their belongings in. After worship, we had our monthly Meet & Greet fellowship meal with a Valentine theme.  Fun and delicious as usual.  

Later in the afternoon, we went to the Brock's to celebrate Wayne's 78th birthday and later watch the Super Bowl.  Kathy had ham and a variety of cheeses for sandwiches and I took French Potato Salad.  Aiden ate supper with us, but skipped the game. The Matzeks - Laura, Mike and Amanda stayed for the first quarter of the game and Bill and I stayed through the half-time show.  Kathy and I managed a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne between us. 

Salt and Light - January 30 - February 5

Again, I'm starting Sunday morning, Feb 5, and working my way back through the week.

Early this Sunday morning, way too early, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep.  I hate it when that happens!  Finally 6:30 arrived and I got up for coffee.  The living room was cold.  The sky was beginning to lighten.  Even my little birds were not up yet.  I read my daily Discipline, Psalm 112, and a couple of blogs that I follow occasionally.  Each reading in its own way pointed toward a common path, interpreting all scripture, Old and New, from the Jesus perspective.  Today's SS lesson is a reflection on Matthew 5:21-37, a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount. This is the teaching on Salt and Light. I did a sermon based on this back in 2012.  Re-reading, I find it still relevant. Salt and Light. My readings often reference Fr. Richard Rohr, Particularly his book, "The Universal Christ." I ordered it this morning and the workbook that goes with it.  It's about time that I study it.

Biscuits are ready and it's time now to shower and move forward into this day.

Sunday afternoon I'm settled into my easy chair again, watching the little birds come and go. I always expect to see the regulars - chickadees, titmouse, house finch and goldfinch. The white-throated sparrows, doves and little pine warbler clean up the seeds spilled by the careless cardinals.  This afternoon a downy woodpecker stopped by for a snack, along with their bigger cousin, red-breasted woodpecker. I nuthatch came and flew away so quickly that I couldn't tell which one it was, brown-headed, white-breasted or red-breasted. Maybe it will come back later.

This has been a busy week with something on the calendar every day. Monday (Jan 30), Claire was home for an infusion treatment.  Of course, the Nana Uber took her.  Since her appointment was not until the afternoon, I planned to work on a batch of sourdough in the morning.  I got started early so that I had the loaves in the refrigerator for the final proofing in time to pick her up at 1. I had time to go to Whole Foods and Birds Unlimited during the wait time. Loaves were ready to start baking at 5 pm.  They turned out pretty good.  I have new cast iron small pans that I'm using, one for bottom and one for cover. With these smaller pans, I can cook two loaves at once, cutting down my oven time.

New cast iron small pans

Pretty and good, too!

Tuesday, Denise and I worked on our pre-school book cataloguing project at the elementary school for a couple of hours.  After that, I met with Evelyn, the pantry manager at Good Samaritan to collect some data and "success stories" for the United Way grant application. The remainder of this miserable rainy day I spent working on the grant - good rainy day work.  I almost finished my part, just lacking a little more data from Evelyn.  I had planned to go to the Loudon County Democratic Women's meeting where the program was on climate change.  However, I decided against making the long drive to Tellico Village on a dark and stormy night.

I called Wednesday "torture day." The torture started with my semi-annual visit to my dermatologist. She took one biopsy of a spot in my scalp that has been bothering me and froze a dozen benign keratoses that itch and irritate and are unsightly.  From there, I had a light lunch (alone) at Maple St. Biscuit Co. and then on to the dentist.  I got away with just a good cleaning, so not too bad. 

Thursday has become Yoga day at church.  A group of us had lunch at Casa Fiesta.  Each week the lunch group is a slightly different mix, but most of us are regulars now.  I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the UW Pantry grant.

Friday was almost a stay-at-home day.  Bill had arranged to drop off the Xterra at the repair shop he uses in West Knox for a diagnostic and possible repair related to the check-engine light.  He offered to take me out to eat - an offer I never refuse!  We finally settled on Bonefish Grill in Turkey Creek since we both wanted fish or seafood.  He had a grilled fish entree and I had a shrimp and scallop pasta dish. My serving was so huge that the leftovers were enough for Saturday supper for both of us, with the addition of a few more shrimp and a salad.  We don't often eat out together and we both enjoyed the early dinner.

Have I talked about ONE HEART-ONE COMMUNITY? This project was conceived by my Venezuelan friend, Raquel Leal-Alvarez, a very talented and accomplished woman about Laura's age.  I connected with her through GSC about six years ago when she, her husband and her daughter immigrated here.  When I heard about her dream project, I knew it was something that Trinity UMC would support, with my encouragement.  We have provided her space to set up a community closet with clothing for recent immigrants who often arrive with very little, if anything, warm to wear.  The closet is open to anyone in need, but the primary outreach will be to recent immigrants.  No cost, no questions.  It will be open on the 1st Saturday of the month or by appointment. We still have a long way to go in getting the word out about what we are offering.  Collecting clothing is no problem. When word gets out, clothing pours in.  The problem will be in controlling the flow and getting it out to those in need.

Anyway, I spent my morning, 10 am until 1 pm at the church with Raquel.  She had not advertised, so we only had one person come, but we had the opportunity to discuss how she might organize and advertise more effectively.

Saturday Sunset:

Later Sunday afternoon I spent some time in the garden, surveying the work to be done.  I will have to work up my stamina for garden chores.  I'm in winter-out-of-shape mode. A winter garden is a dreary place. There is so much work to do, and I did very little.

Asparagus fronds to be cleared

Remains of okra and merigolds

Okra stalks and remains of purple-hull peas

Dead iris leaves and stems in the pond to be cleared

A lot of work to make a pretty flower garden again

Sage to be pruned and tomato cages to remove

It should be a rose bush.  It will be.

Hard to believe that it will bloom again, but it will. 
That is the faith and hope of the gardener.
Seasons come and go, life and death and rebirth.