a new leaf?

i am such a poor blogger. i mean really, who can call themselves a blogger if they allow six months to pass between blog posts. i'll admit, i suck at blogging. but today, being easter sunday and all, and new life has sprung, maybe it's an opportunity for me to get back into some blog habits.

in my defense, i have been more consistent on twitter updates, facebook updates, etc. and, i do read other people's blogs quite regularly. i guess it's because they have more fun, lead interesting lives, have more talent and can show it, etc. poor excuses i know but mostly true.

one thing is for sure, there is no possible way or necessary reason to even attempt to catch you up on the past six months. so, if we're turning over a new leaf, being today, then focusing on today seems the only real and honest thing to do.

easter sunday typically begins with a 6:20am wake-up knock on the door from my mom asking "do you want to go to sunrise service?" today was one of those "i don't think so, mom." i just wasn't feeling it today - not that it was chilly out, or that i had a slight sore throat. i think moreover it was the lack of motivation to join the methodist-baptist combined service & breakfast event. since i've joined my own church in boone, it's less appealing to me to be a "visitor" at my home-church. i know i shouldn't really feel this way, but, heck i even snatched one of the visitors parking spaces at the church in order to rush in just before the 11:00 service and chancel choir's procession down the isle! plus, my mom told me that the hometown baptist church has had one of those membership splits and that apparently it's been pretty ugly. fortunately my parents don't go to that church, they're still at the methodist church, in the same pew, connecting with the same church families that we have known my entire life. that's not a bad thing, just a routine and i guess that is okay for them. which, in the end, makes me happy. i did enjoy the service, however, and it was nice seeing some old friends. and, they didn't tow my car from the visitors parking space so i suppose i am welcome there nonetheless.

after church we started what i feel like has been a marathon of nourishment since the noon hour. our "family" easter meal wasn't scheduled until suppertime, so mom, dad, and i hit up the local chili's for lunch. it was actually a decent meal - but of course no where near the quality of my mother's full course easter dinner extravaganza. she is simply too much when it comes to the holiday meals. heck, make that any meal at 3018 oak street. if i want to gain a few pounds in a few days, i know when i make it to oak street i'm pretty much toast. some would tell me i need it, but dang i feel like "full as a tick"...as my mammaw clay used to say...gosh i miss her.

the afternoon was spent watching the master's - or i should say i was napping, dad was watching, and mom was cooking. the rest of the crew showed up at 5:00 on the dot for dinner. this made my mother very proud of my brothers as she is a stickler for being on time and being somewhere when you say you're going to be. too bad i didn't get the former of those two traits but i know i got a lot of her goodness ;) our easter dinner was just good fun. my twin nieces kept me in stitches with their chatter, non-stop chatter i'll add. and their use of the word "touche" which i desperately tried to figure out why they were so inclined to drop it in conversation every couple of minutes! oh the minds and mouths of middle-schoolers!

the house finally settled and the quietness returned after the last of "the locals" left for home around 9:00. see, two of my brothers live locally near our parents, while me and the fourth are "out of towners" so i guess we're basically the visitors. come to think of it, i am parked in "visitors" parking spot in the driveway and they haven't towed me yet. i guess i have an un-timed parking meter on 3018 oak street...this makes me happy.

among my many talented friends & colleagues...

blueridgeblog.blogs.com


i feel lucky to work around really, really creative people. these are folks that aren't pretentious or airy about their talents. they are just common people who love to share their creative juices in ways that many of us simply clamor to hope we could have such talents. i'm proud to say that one such friend, miss marie, is one of those talented people i speak of today. in fact, check out this cool coverage she is getting from the W-S Journal today!

Treasures to Keep

fall in boonetown

 









i feel pretty lucky to live in such a beautiful location of our world...especially on days like today. fall in boone is simply something to see and feel. we get really lucky when the temperatures are still relatively warm during the day and cool at night and the leaves start popping amazing colors which might only last a couple of days in certain spots on campus and in town. we've had crisp blue skies to go along with the yellow, red, organge leaves that seem to dot the mountain peaks like an oil canvas.

bayou bound!

so i am getting a bit giddy and somewhat nervous about the next couple of days. i leave for nashville tomorrow morning to catch up with boo and then we're flying out for new orleans on friday morning. just about a year ago i was landing in south bend to see boo in his new world of ND then we were off to ann arbor. wow what a year it has been since that awesome day in the 'big house'. *note the fine photo above* first the stunner of a 34-32 victory by the apps then an excited season that ended with a 3rd national championship...man it's great to be a mountaineer! you know, no matter what happens down in death valley or the rest of this season, this has been one heck of a ride as of late and i am so happy to have been smack dab in the middle of this campus to love it all!

see you after the trip.

geaux apps and give 'em hell!!

international tomato

 

i am so proud of my tomato plants that are really thriving out in front of my house these days. the photo next door actually doesn't do the green vines much justice as i would image today the plant is about 2-3 inches taller than when this pic was taken last week! my buddy phillip sent me four tomato seeds in a letter from france back in early spring and i took an opportunity to plant the seeds with hopes of successful germination. and, much to my suprise, wa-lah, two of the seeds survived my quasi-green thumb and have been growing and growing quite nicely over the past month. i just hope i get one or two tomatoes to harvest so mr. zucchino is proud of me! i'll keep you posted on my harvest.

OLCB desk crusher

 
 
 
 

crusher

greeting me early on friday morning as i made my way to the office at OLCB (old library classroom building) was a mound of old classroom desks being crushed into the back of a university dump truck. it was really a sight to behold. there were about 20 physical plant guys tossing the yellow desks up into the dump truck and then a backhoe was crushing the desks to make room for more and more desks. i had to stand to the side and watch for a few minutes - primarily for my safety - but also to watch pieces of the past being "recycled" and making room for the new and improved. i'm beginning to see that more and more on campus (in more ways than one i'll add) and for the most part it's a good thing. those old desks are a thing of the past. now we're seeing the horseshoe table approach with smart boards and projector systems that allow for the advanced technologies to aid in delivery of course material. i guess with time all things must change.