Monthly??!! update…

In January I had plans to update smithposts… weekly but time has once again slipped by and, well, it’s a month later almost to the day.  Not sure whether that means life is so exciting that I don’t have time to update or life is boring and I don’t have much to write about.  I think it is a little boring but I will let you decide.

So, late January, around the time we had fully recovered from our Holy Land trip, the fact that I had not sent out Christmas cards got the best of me. I love receiving Christmas cards and letters but the dirty little secret among the dwindling number of us who still practice the tradition is that “to receive you have to write!”   This is a time consuming project in the middle of the busiest time of the year!!

I have held sacred the tradition of writing a Christmas letter and mailing cards since 1994, but in 2011, I broke the streak by sending only cards with a generic handwritten “Merry Christmas, Happy New Year’s” at the bottom.  Oh dear!  Then last year, nothing….

So over a couple of days I composed my letter, signed cards and addressed envelopes, Happy Valentine’s Day cards! I even got John into the act for his relatives. Two major trips with John’s cancer in the middle pretty much summed up our year.  We bicycled and hiked but had no nights under the stars to write about (a first for me in 16 years).  Not sure if we are getting old or lazy but we do hope to get out for some mini adventures this year!

 

While I will resume the Christmas card tradition this year, I enjoyed sending Valentine’s Day cards and letters.  I received several back from friends and family, which really brightened up my Valentine’s Day.



Meanwhile, we have had several light winter snows as seen below through the windows on our front door…



And a string of beautiful winter sunrises and sunsets.  The sunrise below was captured through our kitchen window a week or so ago.  The low clouds in the middle of the picture are hovering above the Tennessee River.



Then came Valentine’s Day.  John gave me the orchid I have been coveting at one of our local stores…



And this beautiful bouquet of tulips.  I hope I don’t kill the orchid before the tulips fade.  For some reason I, who has a relatively green thumb, am frightened to grow them.



We are out walking again and having a great time.  Saturday we walked several miles at Victor Ashe Park.  The loop is about .6-miles, we walked it 4 times.  The day was breezy and cold but the sunshine fooled us when we left the house and we were woefully underdressed. 



The sun came and went and the wind was unrelenting.  John had a hat and light jacket, me, not so much.  We were frozen by the time we got in the car!!



Sunday we headed to the riverfront greenway for an out and back walk.  I don’t think John could bear the idea of walking in circles for a second day in a row. This time we were dressed for the cold but the sun stayed out and warmed us.



We had several opportunities to inspect the mess called the Henley Street Bridge, a major link to the part of town we live in. Closed already for a year and a half, the project will go on another 8 months.  Don’t know if it is incompetence on TDOT’s part for selecting the repair company or total incompetence on the repair company’s part (or both probably) but it is an expensive disaster.   Well that’s a blog post all it’s own, I will spare you my rants. 



Thanks for reading!
-B

Weekend recap…

So glad we have another day before returning to our jobs.  We will have been away from work for 2 full weeks, exactly enough time to relax completely!  I am mostly recovered from the trip though I still find myself very sleepy by 9:00 PM and waking up at 5:00 AM.

Saturday we were up early (5:00 AM).  With mugs of hot coffee in hand, John hit the couch and read for hours while I worked on the Israel trip outline.   The process of notes, photos and Google searches has been time consuming.  My notes are not as good as I had hoped and my spelling of Israeli historical sights is incredibly bad.  Between Friday, Saturday and today, I have worked through the first 5 days of touring.  I hope to finish the last 2 tomorrow while everything is still fresh in my mind. I will still have to put the pictures and notes together.

We went for a neighborhood walk mid-morning.  Predictions of sunshine had not materialized, the temperature was still below freezing and the morning fog had not lifted.  Nice to be out and moving.  I have been such a slug since climbing on the plane Wednesday night.



Saturday afternoon and early evening was dedicated to a movie-dinner date.  We had quietly celebrated 3 years of marriage on the 16th (while traveling) and wanted to recognize the event with an evening out. Our movie choice was Hyde Park on the Hudson with Bill Murray.  We give the movie a C+, so-so.  On the other hand, dinner at Chuy’s was an winner.  We got there early enough for a 30 minute wait instead of the usual 1-1.5 hour. Yea for eating with the blue hairs….  oh, I guess we are blue hairs!!

Today has been another lazy day although John got out for his first bike ride in weeks.  The temperature warmed to 53 and most of the snow has melted.  Looking forward to one more day off…

-B

Let it snow…

After 8 days, 7 nights in Israel, 15.5 hours of flight and 7 hours of airport sitting, we are finally home. Our flight from Charlotte was marked by rough and tumble turbulence; feet on the ground is always a comfort!  It was snowing above the clouds but raining on the ground when we landed.  Luckily the snow did not appear until after we had dragged ourselves from the airport to the grocery store and home. 

We held up in the house all afternoon, watching the snow storm and trying to stay awake.  The snow fell fast, the flakes were large and within 4 hours, we had almost 3 inches on the ground.  Knoxville hasn’t had this level of snow for a few years.

Although we thought we felt okay, Thursday afternoon was a blur.  By 8:00 PM we were getting ready for bed and asleep by 8:30 PM.  We slept a full 12 hours, which is a record for us (at least for our adult years).  Today has been a little more active, dry cleaner, grocery again and back home. Ah, the life of a recovering traveler.   Happy to have a few more days off before the transition to work!


Above is the early part of the snow fall.  Everything is gray and it is hard to see the flakes.


The pansies seems okay with the wet, cold blanket.  They will bounce back as soon as the weather warms.


A snowy afternoon from the kitchen window.

-B

A moment in time…

I just found this picture on my camera memory card, I had forgotten it was there. One morning this past fall, John surprised me with a heart shaped leaf on my windshield. The leaf is still banging around in my car somewhere, probably in pieces by now but the memory is sweet and I love the picture.



I am cleaning off the card in preparation for our upcoming trip.  I don’t think I have sorted and filed pictures since our 2011 Christmas trip so the task is incredibly time consuming. As a result, I have added another New Year’s resolution to my list:

“Empty memory cards and file pictures on a regular basis!”

Happy 2013…

I worked yesterday, a full 8.5 hour day. We had plans to go to Will and Kim’s annual New Year’s Eve party but I was totally burned out. Instead we stayed home, ordered Papa Murphy’s pizza and went to bed around 11:30 PM. I was still watching TV at 12:00 AM and watched the ball drop at Time’s Square, John was asleep. It was a quiet, relaxing evening. Spending New Year’s Eve with just the two of us is the best!

Dreary, rainy start to the New Year.   I can’t believe I lounged in my PJ’s until noon.  John beat me and didn’t change until we went out for hot chocolate around 3:00 PM.  He woke up with a queasy stomach (could have been the Papa Murphy’s) and I with a scratchy throat and hoarse voice.  After hours of reading, sleeping and generally doing nothing, we are feeling a bit better. 

I have a few New Year’s resolutions on my note pad.  Among the usual items that appear yearly ( loose weight and increase physical fitness) is to learn to use our new SLR Cannon came and to blog more.  Blogging has fallen off my  priority list, it can take a huge amount of time.  Facebook has somewhat replaced it but I frequently get bored by facebook and it does not provide the same “through the years” experience.   One day at a time with blogging…    

A few rainy day pictures from our outing for hot chocolate:

I



Happy 2013 to all!

-B

Last weekend of the year…

We are spending a quiet weekend at home, the last of the year. Yes, Christmas 2012 is winding to a close.  We enjoyed several days of festivities with my family before John went to Alabama to celebrate with his.  He is home after a whirlwind trip.  His family’s celebration was a joyful one with four generations (17 people) around the dinner table to celebrate.

Our original weekend plans had us visiting friends tonight for a post Christmas dinner and a competitive game of Hearts (we always loose) but illness on their part has prompted a cancellation.  We are okay with it, so much illness (both respiratory and stomach) going around right now.  We are less that two weeks away from our departure date for Israel and concerned about catching something before we go.  We had a big pot of homemade chicken and rice soup on the stove to take with us tonight when the cancellation text came through so we will enjoy the soup with a loaf of fresh bread for dinner.

The end of the holidays signal crunch time for trip preparations. This trip marks our first foray into the Middle East and will be, by far the most expensive trip we have taken. This will also be our first experience traveling with an organized group. I have been the chief planner and “travel agent” for our previous trips, which up till now have been self or privately guided.   The lack of participation in the details has led to a certain detachment for me, a bit of “are we really traveling?”.  The reality is that we are leaving soon and we have a few things to do to ready ourselves!
    
We took a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon.  It was cold, misty, overcast and just plain dreary.  I loved it, winter is its own special season. Tonight we are having light flurries.  The windows of the cars are covered and there is a spotty dusting on the ground.  Tomorrow is forecasted for clearing and cold. 

(above): The boulevard in our neighborhood, photographed today, a cold, misty, wintery day.  In the early 1900’s a trolley ran from downtown through the neighborhood via tracks that once sat in the green space above.

Below are some very unprofessional photos from the soup preparation this afternoon.  I have have made it several times in the past and we absolutely love it!    The recipe is from Picky-Palate,  I do several things a little different. 



(left):  I use a little more onion than called for and a little less garlic.

(right):  The chicken is thin sliced piccata style (sliced too thick in this photo).  I pat olive oil, salt and pepper on both sides of the boneless, skinless breasts and then fry (with no extra oil in the pan).  This quick cooks the chicken and adds a lot of flavor. I use a package of three chicken breasts.

The chicken is pulled apart with a fork and knife into bit sized pieces.



All the ingredients are added to this old dutch oven (shower gift to my mother 67 years ago, from her mother) and simmered.  I use either brown, red or wild rice.  In this case I used a combination of brown, red and white. I also use 2-1/2 cups or more of rice instead of the 2 cups in the recipe.  The soup tastes best if allowed to sit overnight, although it was pretty darn good tonight! 

In closing, below is a view from our front door tonight...the white dots are snow flakes!

Hope you have a cozy, warm winter evening!
-B

A few of my favorite things, Christmas 2012…

Christmas 2012 has come and gone, too fast for my tastes.  No Christmas letter composed, no cards addressed or mailed, too little time spent shopping and too much time at work.  We had some memorable family gatherings accompanied by some wonderful food. “Food is love” my Uncle Tom always said, and he was right!

Here are some of my favorite pics from the holidays:


*(left) Quick flower arrangements for a family meal.  Amazing what one can do with a few things from the yard and a cheap grocery bouquet of flowers.

*(right)  The holiday cactus bloomed and bloomed until I relocated it in the hallway above the heat vent….



*(left) Pot of chicken and rice soup served with crusty bread and a salad before the Mannheim Steamroller concert.  John’s mother was in town for the festive evening.

*(right) King crab and snow crab from Shrimp Dock.  Served to my family the Sunday before Christmas.  A few days later the leftover crab was transformed into a delicious crab bisque.



*(left) Beef tenderloin served on Christmas Day.  John made the marinade, his sons Daniel and Lee cooked the meat to perfection!  Melt in your mouth good!!!

*(right)  Candle lantern from the 2011 Christmas markets in Munich, Germany!  John, Daniel, Lee and I talked about what a great time we had last year on this trip and vowed to do another Christmas trip in 2013.



*(left)  We channeled the Germany-Austria Christmas trip through the holiday decorations on our chandelier.  Lots of red balls, ribbons and snowflakes in the windows and handing from light fixtures!

*(right)  I love Santa.  These are a few of my favorites including "The Grinch Santa", who was a gift from my mother and sister some 20+ years ago.  I missed my mother a lot this Christmas, my 2nd Christmas without her.

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas, Best Wishes for a Happy, Happy New Year!!
-B

Fall in the Valley…

Fall has settled into the Tennessee Valley, this time for good I think.  I go to work in the early morning fog, which blankets low areas till the sun comes out and burns it off. The day sky is clear and a perfect shade of azure. Days are getting visible shorter, nights are crisp and any light breeze will send a flurry of leaves airborne.  I believe I love this time of year the most.  

Fall from my front porch

 

We remain busy as always though not necessarily doing the things we would like to do.  My swim lessons are over for a while and I consider them mostly successful.  I had a hard time with the flip turn and will probably go back late winter to work on my form.  John is working too hard and bicycling in his spare time.  We hope to get out on the road together this weekend.  I have been off my bicycle for several weeks with no good reason as to why. 

 

John’s sister and family had planned to visit this weekend (Go BAMA) and we were working fast and furious for a partial guest bathroom remodel but, they had some issues with their rental house and decided not to make the trip.  So we have decided to back off the remodel pace and will replace the floor along with the new vanity and paint “band-aid.” 

 

Meanwhile we look forward to Thanksgiving, Christmas and a trip to the Holy Lands in  Spring 2013.  We haven’t been traveling this year and I am getting antsy to get out and explore. We have some lofty goals with our athletic endeavors but we have been distracted with life so our efforts are not up to our expectations.  Working on that too!

 

Happy Fall everyone!  Hope it is as beautiful where you live as it is here in East Tennessee…

Swim Lesson 1…

Every once and a while, a person should do something that makes them uncomfortable.   For me, swimming falls into that category and today was my day to step out of my comfort zone.  

As a kid, I loved the pool, couldn’t wait to get in the water.  I took swimming lessons, I jumped off the high board and swam laps. I thought the glorious summer pool days would never end.  But as I dove head first into my teenage years, the carefree pool days did come to an end.  My thoughts turned to swimsuit styles, tanning, “perfect” hair and boys.  As I got older, I quit going to the pool.

So, it was with this in mind that I found myself in the car on the way to the YMCA for my 1st swim lesson in maybe 50 years!?  I timed my departure to leave early enough for a stop at the local tri shop and but with not enough time to dwell on my racing heart and shaky hands.  I had purchased a bathing suit on Zappos at the last minute.  It was a little large but I didn’t have time to swap it, as I said, it was very last minute.  Goggles and swim cap, well l had forgotten about those until this morning.   



Towel, really old flip flops, goggles (without stickers on the lenses of course) and swim cap….that’s all I need, right? Yep, I got this swim thing.  Now all I have to worry about  is  walking around in a bathing suit and being taught by a thin, athletic 20 year old who is wondering how she got stuck with an old lady student. 

As it turned out, that athletic 20 year old had a pretty average body and she was just as nervous about teaching me as I was about her.  I was her first adult lesson. The shared discomfort resulted in a bond and after assuring her that I would not drown in the deep (10’) end, we got in the water. She had me suit up with a floatation waist band, obviously not 100% that I could keep myself afloat.

Equipped with a kickboard, float band and goggles that took some getting use to, I started across the pool. “Legs straight, use your thighs, make some whitewater.”  First we went halfway across the 25 foot pool, then all the way.  Then we got rid of the float band, then the kick board.  Swimming takes a lot of stamina!! 



By the end of the half hour, I was swimming back and forth, breathing every other stroke for most of the lap (the last few feet had me breathing every stroke, it’s that stamina thing). Instructor Caroline was encouraging and generally trying to boost my ego. I was just happy to be in the water.  I wasn’t the thinnest person in the water nor was I the oldest but somewhere along the line I lost my self consciousness. 

As the lesson wrapped up and I had my swim assignment for next week, I went to the bleachers to sit for a few minutes to “air dry” before driving home (I don’t have this locker room thing worked out yet).  I spoke to a young mom sitting behind me.  She asked a few questions about my lesson.  We talked for a few minutes and she thanked me.  Said she wanted to take lessons so she could talk swimming with her daughter who is on the Y’s swim team.  She said she felt good about the idea after discussing our similar discomforts about the water.  Hope I made a difference for her, getting in the water has definitely made a difference for me!

A few new toys…

We’ve acquired some new toys this year and most of them have been for me! Finally replaced my circa 1992 Trek 1400 with this sleek Trek Madone  3.1 WSD. Wow, gears on the handlebars instead of on the down tube….



I’ve been carrying a Nikon Coolpix for several of years.  It easily fits in a pocket for quick access when running, hiking, biking and other outdoor activities and in a small purse when out and about. The camera was beginning to squeak and groan when in use, most likely due to moisture from sweat or rain.

This year for my birthday, I got a new Coolpix (thanks Daddy, you are the best!!).  This one is shockproof (with qualifications of course), waterproof (which I haven’t had enough nerve to try yet) and has a built-in GPS (still working on learning that).  It too takes great pic and HD video too.



Lastly, we just purchased a grown up camera, a first for both of us since film SLR cameras faded into the history books.  Lots of technology to catch up on, but we will have to wait.  John’s son is using it for  a photography this fall...

  

No thank you, I have had enough today and the rest of my weekend…

After our last bike ride on Old Walland Road, I told John that it was time to throw in a few more hills. I had successfully powered up a couple of short, marginally steep hills on our ride to Townsend and my confidence had taken an excessively big bump. He agreed, we talked about it a bit and dropped the topic. Last weekend came and went (we biked the VA Creeper Trail-no uphill there) and I kinda forgot about my gung ho attitude toward hills.  So it was with a certain amount of naivety that I agreed to ride the back roads of South Knoxville for a “change of scenery.” 

We started from Pinkston Library, a popular parking spot for bicyclists.  A couple of serious looking cyclists pulled in the spot beside us so John rushed me to get on the road and get a nice head start.  I don’t think his ego could handle them passing us and considering my sub-average average speed, they WOULD pass us.  

We cycled on Martin Mill Park for less than 1/2 mile before we turned off, traffic still makes me skittish. As we made the turn and looked up, I heard John in the “background” apologizing for the b-i-g hill in looming ahead so soon in the ride.  Whoops!  I gritted my teeth and pedaled on, I ran out of gears and pedaled on, then I swore and……pedaled on.  First hill over. 

The next 5-6 miles were a repeat, some hills smaller, some larger.  I cried on the way up and and squealed on the way down.  I even discovered some new muscles in my forearms (going faster than 29 mph downhill is currently not an option for me, especially on a very curvy 2-lane road). My seat hurt, my calf muscles screamed and I ready to be done. Another 12-14 miles later we were within striking distance of the car. John offered a “bonus” 4 mile repeat.  My response, “no thank you, I have had enough today and I headed back to the car.

Here are a few photos from our bicycle ride:




Does anyone know where we are?  Apparently John does and we have more hills to climb, just right around the corner.













Yesterday was full of fun stuff!  For starters, I slept in late, decadently late for me.  Considering that we usually wake up between 5:30-6:00 AM 6-7 days a week, 7:30 AM was, well, late.  Coffee in hand, I lounged around for a while before heading out for the iwin 5k.  The race is called iwin for two reasons:  1) I am the only participant and 2) I always win. 

The 5k course includes a little downhill, even more uphill and some flat.  I run the course once every couple of weeks to measure improvement and Saturday was a double thumbs up.  I won with my fastest time yet (still too slow post) and I was happy!  Bicycling is paying off. My legs are noticeably stronger, I am pushing harder and I felt great.  Cooler AM temperatures didn’t hurt either. 

After the run, I spent some quality time with the lawn mower and knocked down several weeks of grass (err, weed) growth in the front yard.  Then I took the weed eater for a spin.  One of our front gardens is harboring an active nest of yellow jackets and John is emergency room allergic so I got the job. Getting rid of the nest is on our “to do” list but the nest sits right next to the house, so the gasoline-fire bomb is out.  We are researching other options.  

With exercise and yard work out of the way, it was time to head to Blount County for a baby shower for my boss. Nice afternoon with work associates and my boss’s family.  Then home,  quick nap and dinner time.  I was starving, craving barbecue so we hit the early hour at Sweet Pea’s and mingled with the boaters coming off the river with big appetites.  We ended the evening downtown at the movie theater where we had some good laughs watching, “The Campaign” with Will Ferrell.  Funny stuff!

Hope you had a good  weekend too! 

17 Miles on the VA Creeper with Friends…

A few posts ago, I dropped a comment about work friends and a spring triathlon.  What I didn’t say is that the group, ages 19-59, is less than ideally fit and preparing for a sprint tri will be a huge challenge. To keep the motivation up and the bodies moving forward, we developed a bucket list of activities to get us through the fall and winter.  Wisely, much of the list is centered around bicycling and run/walking and the first activity, an easy bicycling excursion, was up for this past weekend.

The White Top Mountain to Damascus section of the Virginia Creeper Trail was a good 1st ride.  Seventeen miles of mostly downhill demanded nothing more of us than a few pedal strokes and a “bicycle hardened” bottom.  Lucky for me, I had been toughening mine up on a tiny bike seat.  My friends, not so much.

Friday night after work, John and I drove to Abingdon.  We went with the intent of rising early to bicycle from Abingdon to Damascus VA Creeper section to meet our group at the Blue Blaze Bike Shop in Damascus for the 9:30 AM shuttle to the top of the mountain. But as the saying goes “the best laid plans….”  Despite two alarm clocks and a 6:30 AM wake up call, we could not force ourselves out of bed.  By the time we finally woke up (about an hour later), we had missed our opportunity to bike to Damascus. 

Packing, breakfast and a 15 minute CAR ride got us to Damascus on time. We found Wendy and her daughter Keely, hanging around the parking lot but Shannon and Daniel were no where to be found.  A round of frantic texting and one phone call indicated that Shannon and Daniel were not only at the wrong rental company but in the wrong town-Abingdon, 15 minutes away. 

Decision time, do we hold up 36 people on the 9:30 AM shuttle to White Top or do we wait for Shannon and Daniel and take the 10:30 AM shuttle?  It really wasn’t much of a decision.  Wendy and Keely took the 9:30 AM shuttle while John, Daniel, Shannon and I took the last 4 seats on the 10:30 AM shuttle.

Daniel and Shannon sitting outside Blue Blaze waiting for the 10:30 AM shuttle

John on the backseat of the 15 passenger shuttle vehicle

Once we and our bikes were unloaded at the top of the mountain, there was nothing left to do but point our wheels down and begin a two hour “coast” back to Damascus.  With White Top at around 3576’ and Damascus at 1930’, we would be dropping about 97’ per mile.  Not much pedaling required!

Wendy and Keely relaying a crash story before their front wheels ever hit the trail

At the trail head.  Note the crazy recumbent bicycles behind us

Wendy took off first and her daughter followed closely behind. Lots of people trying to start at the same time, the most irritating was a group of 6-7 recumbent who were preoccupied with taking photos of each other and otherwise slowing down and/or stopping in the middle of the trail.  We put them behind us as quickly as possible.



The 17 mile ride went quick, 2.09 hours to be exact including this stop for ice cream and french fries.  Lots of traffic on the trail, which kept speed in check.



Just moments after I took this picture of Shannon and Daniel at the ice cream shop, an older lady (did I really say that) crashed on the trail.  We missed the actual fall but looked up from our goodies long enough to see an entire Boy Scout Troop rush to her side to administer 1st aid.  She was very patient as they cleaned her scuffed knee and applied band aides.

Wendy examining her french fries, while Keely watches

Unfortunately, no pictures were made during the ride, we just didn’t stop long enough to do so.  Too much risk of damage had I tried to photograph while riding.  It will have to suffice to say that the scenery was beautiful and the late summer flowers were colorful.

Back at Blue Blaze, we loaded our bikes and headed to Quincey’s Pizza for lunch.  Lots of Creeper rides inside!  We had to wait on our pizza but it was worthwhile.





The ride home was pleasantly uneventful.  We arrived in Knoxville by late afternoon and proceeded to do very little for the rest of the weekend!  Oh, and a cruise ship has nothing on our overnight at the Hampton Inn Abingdon, check out our towel bird!