So here's the short of it,
The news from the tornado is just really awful.

And here's the long.

I haven't been out to see the damage, so my reports are limited to what I've seen on the news and the internet. Things all around us are really horrible. There is so much destruction, so many people died or are injured. Here's a link to the storm reports. And the loss of property is enormous. I feel so fortunate that we haven't really suffered any great damage. The tree - well it's like losing an old friend, but it's just a tree.

Today, in the Brainerd neighborhood there was a bit more progress toward getting things cleared away. The tree that had Brookfield blocked was cleared out of the road. But our big tree is still right across Conner! Alan was over checking on his Mom's house and found a fellow who was clearing out trees. He came over and so now we've got someone who will be able to get it taken out - but I think we are pretty far down on the list! We are finding out about the law, insurance, and trees!

There are only three houses on our circle that have power - we are really lucky that we are one of them.  Mom is one of only two or three houses down on her street that has power too!  We've only had one customer though - one of our neighbors got her laptop charged up so they can watch movies tonight.

I just heard tonight from a friend on Facebook that there are two young children who came in to Children's Emergency Room during the rescue efforts on Sand Mountain. They are unidentified. Please pray for these children, and for their families.

So here's the short of it, 
Remember those who have lost everything in the tornado.

 And here's the long.

No school today, so I had a day at home. Having the big oak down in the back has really changed the look of the place.  And now that I'm out and about, I'm seeing the damage all around the circle. Several neighbors have lost trees. It seems that no one has serious damage to their house as far as we know at this moment. Our neighbors across the circle lost their detached garage and carport to a large oak tree. Not as large as ours, but still a big old tree that's probably been around longer than me!  It had fallen all the way through the roof and smashed one of the walls. This afternoon, it finished crashing all the way through the garage.


The back is so different with the big tree gone. I'll bet we are going to be 10 or 15 degrees hotter in the summer with that big old tree gone! One of my friends said it's like losing an old friend - and she's right - it's been a good friend!

For now the tree is still right where it was.  The Electric Power board is responsible for removing enough of the tree to get the lines and poles back up. The city is responsible for removing the tree from the road. And the property owners are responsible for removing the tree from their own property! Because the tree had a double trunk and split when it fell, one of our neighbors is completely blocked in. the tree fell in a V right across the back of his driveway. Today he's borrowed a truck and is able to get out and about.

The transformer that fell is leaking something. The EPB came by and told the neighbor that the liquid is toxic and for us to keep children and pets away from it. It seems it may be a week or more before they are able to get electricity back on. We are pretty lucky that our electricity is on. Most of the circle is still in the dark. A couple of houses are running a generator to keep their refrigerators going, but the pizza delivery service is coming and going fairly frequently in the neighborhood. Mom's got electricity too, so her neighbors are borrowing her electricity for various things from making soup, to brushing teeth. 

Today the news from Ringgold and Apison continues to grow more and more sobering. We are so lucky here in Brainerd to have lost only trees and some minor property damage. Our neighboring communities have suffered such horrific losses. Here is a video taken by Trent Scott as the tornado moved through Ringgold.

For those of you who pray, remember the families who have lost everything including family members. 

So here's the short of it, 
I'm home 

And here's the long.

We only have property damage.  This is the worst of it - our old, very old oak tree. I knew it - Alan sent pictures, but seeing it in person - I can hardly believe it.  We are so lucky.  There is so much damage nearby. My heart and my prayers go out to the families.  

The tree fell across Connor!

The root. It left a huge hole in the yard!

The Shed up close.

The shed uprooted by the tree.

So here's the short of it,
Storms in Tennessee have really dampened my excitement for theco Terence.

And here's the long.

Tornadoes and high winds have wreaked havoc in Hamilton County and Brainerd was hit pretty hard. I've been focused on that most of the day. The conference was fine and we had a lovely evening with our very special Dallas friends, but I couldn't help but be thinking of home.

We lost the big Oak Tree in the back and the Chestnut tree on the circle. The oak tree pushed over our storage shed and there's a transformer down in the street on Conner Street. I'll post pics when i get home. I'm having trouble getting pics to upload while I don't have my computer with me.

We head home tomorrow. There's no school in Hamilton County. I'm guessing that with 28 schools out of power we may be out on Friday as well. I'm eager to get home. Mom is fine as well.

So here's the short of it, 
Great conference day today!

And here's the long.

I went to great sessions today. The first one was by the fellow who was our Keynote speaker last night, Alan November. His presentation was more detail about using technology in education. I can see how many of the things he talked about fit right into the HCDE Gifted Connections we are going to be working on this summer. It was really exciting. I wish we could bring him to Chattanooga for teachers!

Lots of other great sessions as well. I was especially taken with Rudy Bentz, a teacher in the Santa Fe Indian School. His presentation was on the Identity Construction of the Native Learner. I was fascinated and took lots of gems from it even though we have so few Native American students in our schools.

And of course we caught up with our Dallas buddies. It was great to talk education with them - and of course family talk too. They brought along 2 more colleagues - what a great connection, both personal and professional, this is for us. I'm looking forward to sharing another conference day with them.

So here's the short of it, 
Today was a great start to the conference
 
And here's the long.

Today Tara and I went into D.C. via Metro. Our hotel gave us a little incorrect information about where the metro station was and we walked about a mile out of the way - but that's OK. WE spent the morning doing the memorials. I had never seen the Korean Memorial and I was very amazed. The afternoon we went to the museum of American History. I really liked the Julia Child kitchen.

This evening we heard Alan November as our opening speaker. He spoke about technology and teaching. I'm going to a two hour session he's doing in the morning. I think I'll learn lots! We also connected with our Dallas friends by text. We'll hook up with them tomorrow. Looking real forward to that.

Right now it's time to try some shut eye. I didn't sleep very well last night. I need to get some good rest so I'm ready for tomorrow!

So here's the short of it, 
We arrived safe and sound in Washington.


And here's the long.

The flight from Chattanooga to D.C. is a short and easy one. We arrived just fine and our hotel is just a quick and free shuttle ride from the sirport. So that was really lovely. After we got settled in we took a walk down toward Crystal City - just a few blocks from the hotel. We found a place to eat and got seated on the patio, but no one seemed interested in waiting on us so we left and went to the Crystal City Diner. It was great!

It's 9:30 we are back in the room and ready to get an early start tomorrow. The conference opening convocation is at 5:00. We would have missed it if we had come up tomorrow. But that does give us the morning and early afternoon to sightsee. We haven't settled on what to do. Our friends from Dallas will be here sometime tomorrow. I look forward to sitting down to dinner and catching up with them.

So here's the short of it,

Tonight we had a lovely birthday celebration with dear friend Jim Henry

And here's the long.

Tonight was Jim's 70th birthday. We met them with some other friends at The Choo-Choo Station House restaurant. Good food, great entertainment and wonderful company! What a wonderful idea Moggie!!


I hadn't been to The Station House since - well, I guess since before Alan and I were married. I used to go from time to time - it was a fun place to take company.

Tomorrow I'm headed to a conference just outside Washington D.C. It is the Council for Exceptional Children - annual international conference. My colleague Tara is going as well. I always learn so much at this conference. The newest paradigm shift this year at NAGC was the focus on how much we are learning about the brain. I hope that focus continues - I'm eager to learn more about this new frontier.

Russ is still here with Mom. They're working on projects around the house. Mom's really enjoying having him here. I think they've got several more projects planned.

So here's the short of it, 

I got to see my big brother today!

And here's the long.

How lovely to have a Friday off!  And what an even more special surprise to get a call from Mom last night saying that Russ had decided to drive up for the weekend!

Of course, I had big plans to sleep forever today - but at 5:30 AM I was wide awake! I tossed and turned for the longest time - I was determined to stay in the bed! Finally at about 8:30 I got up. Maybe tomorrow I'll stay asleep.

I had a good visit with Russ and Mom this morning while he was working on the ramp she had installed in the back of the house. He retrofitted it with a center support. I am amazed and pretty disillusioned that a contractor would have completed that work without including a center support. I only stayed a couple of hours, but they worked on it all day it seems like. They got it done too!

This afternoon, Liga and I spent some time together - bit of shopping, a nice visit with Mommy Anne, and some girl chit chat. Tomorrow we've got several things going, so I'm heading to bed pretty soon.

So here's the short of it,
I'm so very glad that there is no work tomorrow!

And here's the long.

Today is the last of my stress filled work days for awhile. This is a three day weekend, and late on Sunday afternoon, one of my colleagues and I are off for a few days at a conference in National Harbor, MD, just outside Washington D.C. We'll get to learn lots of new stuff and also do an adult version of the spring field trip to D.C. for a few hours in the evenings. That should be a real work stress reliever. Maybe I'll have some kind of epiphany while I'm a little removed from the whole thing.

In the meantime, I don't have to go to work tomorrow!  I'm planning to sleep until I can't any longer!  Then I'll get up and see what I might want to do!

This morning before I left for work I went out back and took the plastic off the little greenhouse.  Maybe I'll work a bit out it the garden tomorrow. That's always calming to the troubled soul.

So here's the short of it,
What an early start I had this morning!

And here's the long.

This morning started at 7:15 thirty minutes from home. As I crawled out of bed I had the same question I always do when I have an early morning. How did I make it to work in a 7:15 start time school for all those years! I'm pretty glad that I don't have to go in every day that early. But I'm also very glad that from time to time I do have the opportunity to have an early start day. It keeps me in better touch with our wonderful teachers who go about doing that every single day. Anyway my morning went very well.  Then I got to spend a good chunk of time with a little fellow who is quite a puzzlement.  I have some observations, but I don't think I'm bringing any answers.  I do love opportunities to be with kids.

This is a four day  work week - so I have bunches to get done tomorrow so I can have Friday off with a good conscience.  I'm going to slave at it! Then on Friday I'm going to just relax!!

So here's the short of it, 
The upright grand piano that's been in my living room for almost 30 years has gone to another home.

And here's the long.

About 30 years ago, Uncle Bob and Aunt Frances brought me the piano that my Great Grandfather bought for his children to learn to play piano, in 1905, I believe. It came to my Walker Road house, and I took piano lessons!  Then it came here to Tuxedo Circle and if we remember correctly Dad, Alan, Russ, and Steve managed to move it into the house. First Shelley, then Valdis, and then Liga took piano lessons and used it for practice sessions - some more than others. It also had it's share of people playing when they would visit - especially Aunt Joyce and cousin Daniel.

But for the last few years it's been silent. And we have really been wanting it to go to someone who would use it and appreciate its family connection. Aunt Frances decided that her family might be the right repository for it right now.  So yesterday Uncle Bob made the trip down to Chattanooga with cousin Jonathan and took Dad's truck and the piano back to Lexington.

The trip back was not without incident, but in the end the piano ended up arriving safely in Lexington, and is now in Uncle Bob and Aunt Frances' house waiting for the next generation to begin to play!

So there's the piano all loaded up. Alan had a crew come from Two Men and a Truck and get it loaded onto the truck.   Unfortunately as Uncle Bob was getting on the Freeway it took a tilt!  I'm sure there are many versions of the story about what happened next, but a couple of men from Two Men and a Truck came back and helped Bob and Alan get it secured and it went on up the road in a less than upright position! 

The living room seems really empty now that it's gone.  I miss it, but it was the right thing to do to have it some place where someone may use it.

So here's the short of it,
Happy Passover

And here's the long.

So here's the short of it, 
Another weekend is drawing to an end. 

And here's the long.

It's been a restorative weekend - although I wouldn't really call it restful! I'm hoping that this week will be a bit better than last. There's much to be done as the year comes to a close! I think that the trip to Crabtree to get a few plants really lifted my spirits.  The tomatoes and eggplant are currently resting in the little greenhouse; I hope I can get them in the ground before next weekend.  I sure was excited to find the varieties I was looking for! And my little starts are coming along as well.

Marjoram

I did a little bit of work in the herb garden today and got all the herbs we got on Saturday in the ground. I'm going to have enough sage and lemon thyme from last year to share with Mom. If any readers would like a start, just let me know! I've been using the lemon thyme with chicken and everyone seems to like it.  My Rosemary bush just kept right on growing through the winter. I added a Marjoram that I picked up at Crabtree yesterday. I hope it does as well as the rosemary. I've not used Marjoram very much for cooking, but I hear that once you use it fresh, you'll never be without it. I'm eager to try it. I've got it anchoring the left side of the herb garden, and the rosemary anchoring the left. 
According to the Pantry Garden Herbs website ‘Marjoram’ means ‘joy of the mountain’ for it grows wild on the sides of the hills in Greece. Associated with marriage in ancient Greece, Marjoram was a symbol of happiness. So here's to a happy summer and lots of good cooking.

So here's the short of it,
Up early today!


And here's the long.

Today has been really busy! It's probably a good thing I'm almost ready for bed.

I'm the proud owner of a new coffee pot!

On Friday morning, when I got up there was a mess of coffee all over the place. The way it works in our house, is that I set up the coffee pot before I go to bed at night. Then in the morning when Alan gets up (always before me!) he turns it on and there's hot coffee ready by the time I crawl out of the bed. This was the 3rd time that something went wrong and the coffee ended up on the counter, in the drawers, and all over the floor.  So I determined that I was going to start looking for a pot. This morning, Belk was having its charity sale, and Mom had given me a PEO ticket, so off I went at about 7:00 AM on a Saturday morning!  There was just the pot.  So that was a good start to the morning.  And it will turn on automatically if we want it to. But I think Alan likes getting up and getting it started - so we'll see about that automatic thing.

Then this afternoon right after lunch we went to the Crabtree Farms plant sale.  It was quite chilly! But we rounded up a couple of blueberry plants to go with the two we got last year. We also found Cherokee Purple Tomatoes, Black Cherry tomatoes, and Green Zebra tomatoes, as well as some heirloom seeds.  I'm glad for the little greenhouse!

The large field at the bottom left of the pic is where the community gardens used to be. That's where Dad had the Master Gardener's Demonstration garden.  Today it looked like they had peas planted there - I thought the spot where Dad's little garden was looked like the peas were growing a little more densely that other spots in the new pea field. 

Tomorrow is going to be a sleep in day!

So here's the short of it, 

Friday!

And here's the long.

I'm really glad that it's Friday. Actually, it's almost Saturday!

This has been a most unpleasant week at work.  We are in such a budget crisis that no one will be left unscathed. Our teachers will have to do more and be spread much thinner --- as will we all.

I'm so glad it's Friday - yes I know I already wrote that, but I am really so glad!

I'm headed to bed really soon, and I'm hoping that I sleep well. I'm going to try to stay busy and not think much about work this whole weekend!

So here's the short of it, 
I'm so glad that tomorrow is Friday.

And here's the long.

I quite grateful that tomorrow is Friday. I'll be glad to have a weekend to sort through this work week and try to get my head in a good place again. 

Valdis came over this afternoon and got two tiers of the little garden plot tilled up for us!  The loufa, parsley, and a few of the tomatoes that I started are beginning to sprout. Saturday and Sunday is the plant sale at Crabtree farms. It's supposed to rain, so I'm not really sure when we are going but I'm eager to see if I can get some heirloom varieties. 

Saturday is also the Brainerd Farmers Market just up on the corner at Grace Episcopal. The last time we went there was lots of good stuff!  Mom also gave me a really good coupon for the big Belk sale that starts at 6:00 in the morning on Saturday.  It looks as though I'll have enough to do on Saturday to keep me busy for two days!  That should be a really good thing. On the other hand, I could just try sleeping in til noon!

So here's the short of it,
So one more day at the salt mines. 

And here's the long.

 Not a particularly enjoyable work day.  Doing more with less is what we are looking at. We live in a state and a community that does not want to support public education at the level that it needs to provide quality education for all it's citizens.  It reminds me of hearing Geoffrey Canada speak and hearing him say "We won't guarantee our children employment, but we are happy to guarantee them a prison cell".

The other day an e-mail blast came through regarding a superintendent search for a system in Ohio that has about the same number of students as our system here in Chattanooga, TN.  They have 3 times the budget as our system. I'm almost ready to ...  well, I guess I don't know what.

In the meantime, I've got another day at it tomorrow.  I'll be glad when this week is over. 

So here's the short of it, 
Today would have been Mom and Dad's 65th wedding anniversary.  

And here's the long.

After work today, Alan and I took Mom down to the cemetery. It would have been their 65th anniversary.  Dad would have brought her a dozen red roses. 

She had these really nice lilies for the cemetery. The cemetery is still in the time of year to allow artificial flowers to remain. The roses that we had taken at Valentine's Day were still there and had actually stood up to the weather pretty well.  Dad would have liked the flowers. I think he also would have liked the geese that we usually see while we're there.

Mom misses Dad so much.  We all do, but I know that losing your life partner has to be so difficult. 

So here's the short of it, 
Here's the Spirea that grows at the back fence.

And here's the long.

One of my favorites about spring is when our Spirea that's planted along the back fence blooms.  It's a kind of old fashioned bush and I really do love seeing it as I pull into the driveway at the end of the day. It's a good start to the day too.  By the time it blooms every year, it's daylight as I'm leaving home to head to work, and it always starts my day with lifted spirits to see those blossoms just covering the bushes. That's especially helpful this year when work is so grinding. Some years, Alan doesn't get them pruned in the fall, and in those years, they have these gorgeous weeping branches just covered with the beautiful blossoms.
 

 Welcome Spring!

So here's the short of it, 
I'm glad for a good weekend. 

And here's the long.

Summer is trying to edge spring out of the way here in Chattanooga!  Friday night, Alan's car showed 92 degrees outside.  Yesterday and today in the afternoon, it was pretty warm.  I really do want to have a spring! I don't want to go so quickly into the hot days of the Chattanooga summertime.

But this evening was absolutely delightful. We enjoyed the kids and Mom here for dinner tonight. Pasta - a meat version and a vegetarian version. It was pretty good!  But the company was just delightful. After our company left, Alan and I sat on the porch for awhile. It was just perfect front porch weather. While we sat on the porch, Sophie just lolled around in the front yard.  She and I went for our walk around the circle a bit later, but while we were sitting on the porch she was very content to just hang around close by.  I have to smile when I think about our previous two wonderful dogs.  Hank and Suni would have been gone, and I mean really gone, completely out of the circle, and maybe the neighborhood if they had been allowed to be out front off leash! 

Tomorrow it's back to the work grind. This is not a happy time at work, but there is still work to be done. 

So here's the short of it, 
I'm sure glad for the weekend!

And here's the long.

 I went out early this afternoon - Liga ended up joining me for a few errands over near the mall. I stopped by Earth Fare to buy my very expensive herbal supplement - Gugulipid. It's the only place I've found it. I have had pretty high cholesterol for a good many years. But when I started going to my new Doctor at the Center for Integrated Medicine, she got me started on it right away. It did the trick!  My cholesterol numbers are doing OK these days. And it's certainly a reason I have to go over there every once in a while.

This evening we went to dinner with friends - we decided to go up to Formosa in Hixson.  Alan and I both think it's one of the best Chinese restaurants in Chattanooga.  I ended up bringing home a big bunch of leftovers - Mu Shu Chicken.  It was really good.  Nice evening.  I'm thinking that if Formosa weren't so far away, then we'd go to dinner there more often!

So here's the short of it, 
Looking forward to a really nice weekend.

And here's the long.

I  am so glad that today is the last day of this work week. I know next week is not going to get any better, but I sure am glad to have a couple of days away from all this. 

Mom made dinner for us tonight - one of my favorites. Pinto Beans, mustard greens (she put in some dandelion greens and some of her arugula from the garden), and tomatoes stewed with bread - all accompanied by cornbread, some onion, and some of my pickled green tomatoes.  What a yummy supper. I'm home by myself this evening - and I've fallen down on the sofa and can't get up...... (ummm, probably better said - won't get up).

I've already fixed the alarm clock so that it will NOT go off in the morning. I'm looking forward to sleeping til I just want to get up.

And I'm going to try my best not to think too much about work until very early Monday morning.

So here's the short of it,
I have lots on my mind today - work, the funeral of Sgt. Chapin, and whether or not to cut my hair.

And here's the long.

Work is bringing me my fill of stress these days.  I've been a good soldier for lo these many years, but I'm at a place where my governor is about to shut down.  I know I need to pay attention to what I say, how I say it, and to whom I say it, but I'm finding myself more and more wanting to let loose of all that and just say some stuff. We'll see.  I have to get up and going really early tomorrow, and it's a Friday. If I can make it to the weekend and some rest, maybe I'll find my governor somewhere!

I didn't go to Sgt Chapin's funeral today, but I did have it streaming on the computer while I was at work. It was pretty amazing to see the outpouring of support from Chattanooga and the law enforcement officers from around the area. I hope that Sgt. Chapin's wife and children have some level of comfort from knowing that he was so well loved by so many in Chattanooga.

And finally, I've been thinking about cutting my hair. It's longer than it's been in years and I'm trying to think if I want to let it stay long.  I saw my hairdresser at a meeting tonight and she flipped her hands through my hair and said she didn't think I should cut it. So I guess I won't have it cut just yet. I think it will be more traumatic to cut it this time than it was when I shaved my head.  Jeannie reminded me that when she does cut it the curl will be gone.

So here's the short of it, 
So - some get the money, some don't.

And here's the long.

Kids and teachers are making that last push this week to get ready for testing next week.  In two years we'll be doing testing every quarter instead of just one time. I think all this high stakes testing has wrung the joy out of teaching and learning, even though I do understand the need for accountability. I suppose that in some ways I think the every quarter testing will be better for kids than the all at one whack at the end of the year - well, I suppose.

I'm still wishing for that perfect cape and tiara -- needing some help with my saving the world job these days.

At least we are supposed to get some warm weather tomorrow. I'll sure be glad to get warmed up - even though I do struggle when the weather is really hot - so I'm sure not in a hurry for summer stuff to get here. But I will say I loved that it was warm enough - but cool enough to sit out on the front porch with Alan this evening while Sophie rolled around in the yard. 

Kranz and Superintendent Scales

Work is making me crazy and depressed. Our Chief Financial Officer recently left the system to go to work for a private company. He did more to destroy morale and pit people against one another than any other person in our district in my opinion.  I think it will take a long time for us to recover. Well it turns out that he did not have to work the required 10 years to begin to earn big time vacation days (like all the rest of HCDE employees)  Thanks to board members who questioned this!  If you're interested, then here's the story. In the meantime, we are having to cut positions, and are looking at every way possible to cut expenses. And there was no way that the district could afford to give the teachers - the front line people who bring it to kids every single day - a $500 one time bonus this year. I think our superintendent made a mistake to broker such a deal with Mr. Kranz without involving our school board. I'm expecting some unpleasant consequences. Of course in the local politics of the day, Superintendent Scales in not very well liked, and some of the new board members are really itching to help him go somewhere else to work. We will certainly see what happens. In the meantime, in the meantime, work goes on. Tomorrow I have some opportunities to interact with students - that should let me have a better day.

So here's the short of it, 

Cancer and treatment

 And here's the long.

OK. This evening as I was out walking the Sophie dog, one of my Cancer sisters was out walking. She's in the middle of her chemo treatments, and we took a few turns around the circle talking.  She asked me what my chemo drugs were, and I couldn't remember!  I didn't think I would ever forget even the most minute details of my treatment!

Then Liga sent me a text and asked me when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and I couldn't remember!  I didn't think I'd ever forget.  I still remember the details of where I was, who I was with, and what the doctor said when she called, but I can't remember that exact date like I thought I would.

So, I've gotten to that place. Pennie told me it would happen - that there would come a time when the details would fade.  I suppose that it may continue to fade, and there may come a time when I have a whole day pass without thinking at least one time about that year and a half of my life!

So here's the short of it, 

Chattanooga mourns the loss of a well loved officer.

And here's the long.

This weekend Chattanooga Sgt. Tim Chapin was shot and killed as he responded to a burglary in progress. The Brainerd community is stunned by the loss.

The story is here.

Sgt. Chapin and another officer were here at Starbucks Saturday morning on break.  When the call came in, he sent the other officer on a routine follow up call and he took the burglary in progress call. 

Officer Chapin leaves behind his wife and two children - young teens.

I'm reminded of  Dad talking about how close the bond became with his combat buddies because of the danger they shared. I know the police officers, the dispatchers, and all the others who work in the department are in great grief.

Officer Chapin's funeral will be Thursday at 1:00.  If you can - use the moment to send prayers, positive thoughts, or just a moment of silence........

So here's the short of it,
Today was a nice family day...

And here's the long.

Today was a really nice family day. Steve and Pat spent the night with Mom.  They went to Nashville for Madison Claire's 2nd birthday party and then drove back last night in time to see Kentucky get beat!  This morning we all went to church with Mom, but just before we left, Sarah, Ryan and, Jacob stopped by her house for a break in their travels back to Atlanta. He's a growing little guy!

Dr. Carver did a great job on the sermon today - I really consider him a really great homilist! After church, we headed off to Provino's with Liga, Valdis, and Kalie too.  It was nice for them to come to church and then spend lunch with us. And this is the first time since Provino's has opened up for Sunday lunch that we've remembered it and gone to do that, I'm glad we got that on our radar.  I had eggplant parmesan. It's still the best!!!
 

So here's the short of it, 
GO C-A-T-S!!!

And here's the long.

Today was the first day of the Brainerd farmer's market, and we checked it out this morning. There was a great crowd and there was lots of stuff for this early in the season.  The lettuces looked wonderful, there was a vendor there with grass fed beef, and I got some nice looking eggs.  We took Sophie with us. She still hates getting in the car and Alan has to lift her in, but she rode pretty well once we got her in. And she was great in the crowd. I think we may take her again.


This afternoon, I attended a surprise birthday party for one of my colleagues. Her daughters (all grown up now) were my students some many years ago. They're both married with children and living out of town. They managed to keep the surprise from her and it was a great afternoon.

Now, in just a few minutes Kentucky and UConn are getting ready to play basketball. I don't follow basketball, or for that matter any sport unless someone I know is playing. But tonight I'm going to watch  the game. Dad would have kept me up with Kentucky's progress throughout the tournament. Of course, now that we have Facebook, I'm well aware because so many FB friends and relatives are big CATS fans.

So.  GO CATS.
I hope I can stay awake!

So here's the short of it, 
Today's sentiment... 

And here's the long.