Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Antiques and Sodas



A few months ago, we were in Bell Buckle for the Webb School Art and Craft Show. While there, we stopped in a number of antique stores, including this one that combines antiques and a soda fountain. This guy (my husband) is checking out the used books.

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Painting by Jasonwonderful


For Christmas, our son, Jason, fave us this painting that he did of us. He used acrylics on canvas, and he cut the stencils he used for the background. The photo from which he painted us is at left. We think he did a great job!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Friday, December 26, 2008

Holiday Lights II


Every year, Nashville holds a Holiday Lights contest and announces winners in five or six different regions.  I don't usually get to see them as I have no idea where most of them are, but the other night, we drove past one of the regional winners when we got off the freeway in an attempt to avoid a big traffic jam.  What luck!  I want to know how long it took them to put all these lights up!

By the way, the house I showed on Christmas Eve was another of the regional winners.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Happy Holidays

Christmas gift suggestions:
To your enemy, forgiveness.
To an opponent, tolerance.
To a friend, your heart.
To a customer, service.
To all, charity.
To every child, a good example.
To yourself, respect.
~ Oren Arnold

To each and everyone, may the blessings,
peace and joy of this holiday season,
be with you today and ever more.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Friday, December 19, 2008

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Peace On Earth

Is there anything more peaceful than a baby cow?

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Nativity


I saw this beautiful Nativity at St. Mary's Bookstore on West End Blvd. recently.

Monday, December 15, 2008

The Big 3-0



"Mommy."  Quite possibly the 
first word a little boy will say . . . 
the beginning of a lifelong conversation 
with his mother.  In between childhood and 
adulthood, many words will pass between 
a mother and a son, some in love, 
some in anger, some in sadness, 
and others in joy. . . It's in a mother's 
eyes that a son will remain 
forever young . . . and forever cherished.
                                         ~ Jill Morgan

Today is my son's 30th birthday.  I have no
 idea where the past 30 years have gone.   (I also can't figure out how I can be old enough to have a child who is 30-years old!)
It seems like only yesterday that we brought him home from The Ohio State University Hospital.   He was born five weeks late (It was not a counting mistake.), and even during delivery, we had a few problems and could have lost him.  Through the good care of my doctor (Donald K Bryan), Jason safely entered this world at 4:23 PM EST on 12/15/78.  He has always been a precious jewel to us (That's not something one normally says about a male!).  He has always been very smart and creative and fun and funny and sensitive and intuitive and responsible.  He is an artist.  He loves dogs.  He loves music and plays guitar.  He was a great kid and is an even greater man.

He thinks he is very different from us, but he doesn't realize how similar he is.  That's okay.  As he ages, he'll see the similarities.  I know that we always thought we were very different from our parents, but as we got older, we saw how much we are our parents.

Like every mother, I wish he were still a baby and that 
I could hold him in my arms for a few more minutes.  Like every mother, I wish he lived closer.  Like every mother, I could never put in words the depth of the love that I feel for my child.

So, Jason, HAPPY BIRTHDAY.  In our eyes, you will remain forever young and forever cherished.  We love you.

(Photos:  Top - Jason opened his birthday present when we were in Florida last week.  Top left - The day we brought him home from the hospital.  Top right - Jason at one month.  Bottom left - Jason and Dad on Christmas, 1979.  Bottom right - Jason and us after his induction in National Honor Society.)

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Snow is a 4-letter word


We had snow in the Middle Tennessee area Thursday evening/Friday morning, causing slowdowns in traffic, accidents and school districts to cancel Friday classes.

We live in a low area and usually get rain and snow around here when other areas don't. This snow was different, however, as we didn't see a drop of the white stuff in this neighborhood. I thought I would post a snow photo, however, in honor of the icky white stuff. I just took it months ago!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

ENCORE!

Encore, a 20-story condominium tower, sits behind the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in downtown Nashville. The building features one- and two-bedroom condos ranging in size from 584 to 1184 square feet. Like most urban condo towers, Encore offers a bunch of amenities, ranging from plasma TVs in common areas, game and media rooms, meeting rooms, grills, pools and more. Eventually, there will be retail establishments on the ground floor.

I'm still trying to figure out who's going to inhabit all of the condo towers in this city (and others for that matter).

Friday, December 12, 2008

State Capitol at Night


I took this shot of the Capitol Building from the north side of Bicentennial Mall earlier this year. The green lights in the foreground of the photo light the mall's walking path and grassy area.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

HOW MUCH?

I HAD to take a photo of this gas pump in St. John, Antigua when I saw that diesel costs $11.95 per gallon there. Of course, that's 11.95 EAST CARIBBEAN dollars, which translates to about $4.62 US dollars per gallon. That's still quite high considering the cost of diesel in the Nashville area is about $2.50-2.60 per gallon. Regular gas in the southern Caribbean is still running over $4 US per gallon . . . and going up instead of down.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Happy Birthday, Decker!


Today is Decker's 13th birthday. YIKES!

He's spending the day on my recliner. Sigh.

Happy Birthday to his sister, Steffi, too. She lives in Indianapolis.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Time for Another Cute Dog Photo


Sorry to be featuring an old photo of Kasey and Decker (left and right respectively), but we just got home after a 14-hour drive from Ft. Myers, and I'm under the weather after the trip.

When I owned the store, K&D used to help me with ordering. Since they are older dogs, they needed reading glasses since their eyes are getting worse. :-)

Monday, December 8, 2008

Nashville Visits St. Thomas USVI

Sigh. We are on our way back to Nashville after a week of blue skies, bluer seas, emerald islands and warm weather.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Friday, December 5, 2008

NDP Visits Barbados


NewsHound sends greetings from Barbados!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

NDP VIsits St. Lucia


NewsHound's wondering why our lens fogged up when St. Lucia is so warm. . . .

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

NDP Visits Antigua


NewsHound sends greetings from St. John, Antigua.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Monday, December 1, 2008

NDP Visits St. Thomas


NewsHound sends greetings from St. Thomas, USVI