Guilty Pleasure

Here's my new guilty pleasure. Who knows how long my fascination will last? Although, it kind of inspires me to try a "talky blog." If you watch Leno, maybe some of you have seen him. We watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert instead of Leno or Letterman. Actually, I have never watched Leno for more than 5 minutes. I much prefer Letterman if I watch one of them. blah blah blah. Ross, the intern, is from Mt. Vernon. You make think it's tedious.

Name the Babe

We are taking suggestions for the baby name. We are trying to stay away from names that start with an "R" and that are to long (1 to 2 syllables). Any good family names???

Fargo Excitement

Well, Bob and I (mostly Bob) spent an exciting Saturday afternoon car shopping with Theone (can you all just imagine). Bob earned more gold for his halo being patient as everything with Theone, and helping her to pick out new (to her) wheels.
We tried to get her to go for the Porche Caymen but she just didn't want to outdo Bill.

Memorial Day - Canton, GA

Canton commemorates the local soldiers who have died in battle.

Baby Blog Continues

Jill at 15 weeks - Sunday, May 20, 2007.

Put The In-Laws To Work

Last Saturday, Jill and Tim stopped in for a night on their way to Puerto Rico. It was great to see the parents to be. We did put Tim to work putting together a new weber grill.

Word Of The Day

Germane

Word Of The Day

SMOKE

It looked like fog. It smelled like a campfire. In Canton! A couple hundred miles from the fire. Scary.

Word Of The Day

Drought

The Dust Bowl Revisited

Latest Seasonal Assessment - The Outlook calls for some improvement for the severe drought covering much of the Southeast, although drought should persist well into summer. The areas with the best odds for improvement include the Gulf Coast, the southern and central Florida Peninsula, and the Carolinas. Despite scattered showers forecast for the region, no significant improvement is expected during the last half of May, and some areas, including the scene of the serious wildfire outbreaks in southern Georgia and northern Florida, may see deterioration. In contrast, normal rainfall should benefit southern Florida over at least the first 2 weeks of the forecast period. Despite the forecast for at least some improvement in most of the Southeastern drought areas by the end of August, complete eradication is unlikely as deficits accumulated since the first of the year exceed one foot in many locations. Tropical weather systems can potentially break droughts quickly, but future tracks of such storms are not known beyond a few days, adding to the uncertainty of seasonal forecasts. Elsewhere, the drought area that extends from California into the Great Basin is going into the dry season, so little lasting relief is expected in this region. The summer thunderstorm season running from July into September should bring some relief to Arizona. Farther north, forecasts for unseasonable warmth and dryness this summer result in a potential expansion of drought in Oregon and Idaho. Drought is expected to persist in Montana, Wyoming, the western Dakotas and western Nebraska, but improve in the Upper Midwest. Dryness may transition to drought in Hawaii, mainly in the leeward areas. Although drought is not forecast in Alaska, large areas have been unseasonably dry, and any future warm, dry weather could contribute to a serious wildfire season over the interior.

Word Of The Day

ABUNDANCE



The Goddess of Abundance

There is more than enough.

Jim's New Mower Movie!

Here's a video of Jim using his new electric mower for the first time! Another exciting day in Canton, Georgia! Jill and Tim are visiting tonight on their way to Puerto Rico. Should be fun!

My Exciting Life!

We bought a neuton electric lawnmower to try and do our part for the environment. Gasoline powered mowers etc emit a tremendous amount of pollution. Blah. Blah. Blah. Anyway, here is the new mower. I'll tell you how it works after I use it. The battery is charging right now.

It Takes A Village

I was honored to be invited to Elena's birthday party (Bill was in Boston). She is the daughter of Henio (sp) and Nancy Horta. They own El Caporal Mexican Restaurant. If you have visited us you probably have gone to dinner there and enjoyed and then suffered the effects of the Margaritas. Some, in Canton, fondly refer to it as the Canton Crack House for the strength of the Margaritas. Also, according to Nancy the "sweet tea will put in Coma shock." And, the food is outstanding.

Anyway, it was so nice to be invited to a private celebration like this. The Hispanic community is somewhat closed to outsiders. With good reason. The people are used for cheap labor and at the chicken processing plant. Then, the papers are filled with how awful it is that they are here. From my history classes I remember, "Irish Need Not Apply" The more things change, the more they stay the same. Anyway, I was very touched to be included. And, come to find out, a birthday party for a 12 year old is pretty much the same anywhere. The only difference was that she got Happy Birthday sung to her twice. Once in English. Once in Spanish.

Here are a couple pictures. Looks kinda American!

Magnolia

The magnolia trees are flowering. Some of the flowers are almost a foot across. We have several trees that are blooming. They are amazing. The flowers don't last long, but are pretty while they last.


The bud.


The flower

Coming this fall...

Baby Randall! Expected arrival November 11th.

Mother's Day at the Randalls

We had brunch at Jill & Tim's. Waffles, scrambled eggs, chicken sausage & fresh fruit. One of my gifts was a rain barrel. I can hardly wait for it to fill up so I can water my pots. Brandon gave me a garden tool set from Snap-On Tools. My best "gift" was a card from Jill with an ultrasound photo of my grandchild. Scheduled to arrive November 11. Definately a wonderful surprise. She hinted that we may want to sign up for Grandparenting classes. ??? A wonderful morning spent with my children.

Adventure Day!

Yesterday was a beautiful day in SLO County. We took a ride up the coast with the dogs and stopped at a trail in south Monterey County. We hiked up a little ways and found a beautiful waterfall. Sandy jumped right in! Rick found a stick for him and they played fetch while Charlie ran around on the rocks like a mountain goat (he doesn't swim). On our way home we stopped about 30 miles north of our house to see the Elephant Seals. There is a large colony of them that are there most of the year. The "Friends of the Elephant Seals" have created viewing platforms and provide docents on a regular basis. We ate dinner at a great hole in the wall Italian place in Los Osos and played some Scrabble. Rick won one game and I won the other. All in all, it was really great Saturday. Today we are grocery shopping, doing laundry and working on the house. I'm going to pop into the nursery and get some flowers for the window box. Happy Sunday everyone!

Rolls and Pie Crust

For Mother's Day Theone is teaching Bob to make her famous cinnamon rolls and Tonya to make pie crust. Anyone want to stop by for fresh rolls and coffee? We'd love to have you.

Too bad we couldn't bring our dessert to add to Bill's Sunday Supper...what is on the menu today?

Elephant Seals

Letter to the Editor

My letter to the editor was published May 10. The zoning issue continues to expose the corruption in the city government. Throw the bums out!

Cherokee TV and Zoning Story

Story from Cherokee County internet tv channel. Look for 05/03 story.

No Adequate Words - Too Funny

Blog Withdrawal

Ok, it's been days since I posted. Bill and I were in Las Vegas over the weekend for a wedding. Matt, from work, and Bill's 2nd cousin, Millie, were married Saturday. It was a great trip but too short. We got back yesterday were swamped at work today and then went to the planning and zoning hearing about the rezoning. We are talking major major mess. The other side filed a lawsuit today. So, the city has our suit and another suit against the zoning ordinance. No one spoke in favor of the zoning change. The Atlanta ABC affiliate filmed the story. We're sure there will be, "film at 11"

So, more later when I can collect my thoughts. But, here is my favorite picture (at least of me) from the weekend. If you need a flower girl stand in, give me a holler.

roʊdəˈdɛndrən

rhododendron

noun: any evergreen or deciduous shrub or tree belonging to the genus Rhododendron, of the heath family, having rounded clusters of showy, pink, purple, or white flowers and oval or oblong leaves...and here's one from our front yard!

Happy May Day

From our garden.
Photo by Bill.

May Birthday's & Anniversaries

Thought I'd list May Birthdays:

Birthday's
May 1 Jean Christian
Beau Christian
May 12 David Christian
May 18 Bruce Arrington
May 31 Jeri Christian Nelson

Anniversaries

May 30 Bruce and Terri Arrington