Naomi's New Baby Owl

One day after Christmas, Naomi and I went to Goodwill to find a walrus. We found three little walruses to add to her stuffed animal collection (now there are four!), but the most special surprise was finding Starfoot Owl!! We named him Fluffball and you can surely see why! Isn't he fluffy and "like a ball"? And you can see Naomi is very happy to have Fluffball as her pet. You never know what treasure you might find at Goodwill!

Tappin' to the Music

We just completed a 3-day gig tapping for the Lion's Club Fundraiser. It was just like being in Lawrence Welk with singing and dancing. My mom and dad would have been in heaven watching it--oh, I guess they are! Anyway, tapping can be a lot of fun. How do you like our new blue costumes? Can you find me? The Tellico Tappers also have a website and I guess you could call me the Tellico Tappers Webmaster. If you like, you can visit it at: tellicotappers.com. I'm pretty proud of being able to put this little website together! The part that was most magical to me was getting search engines to pick our site up. But it happened!

Sewing Time

I lost a button on a pair of pants several months ago and about a week ago Roland asked me to sew a button back on his shirt. Last night I finally sat down to do it.

I don't sew much. In fact, for a while I didn't have any needles. I thought about buying some, but when I looked at the packages they had so many needles in them! I figure I'm 53 and will maybe need five more needles to last me the rest of life (if I live to be 80 or so)! But when my mother died in May and I was going through her things, I took a small tin and filled it with a few of her sewing items--a few needles, a pin cushion, a seam ripper, thread (I wish I would have seen a small pair of sewing scissors)--and brought it home with me. I used that small sewing kit for the first time last night to sew those two buttons on. It was nice to hold the needle and thread my mother used to complete this small task. As I worked, my mind wandered back to sewing memories with my mom.

One time she visited, my teenage son, David, had lost a button on the cuff of his Sunday shirt, and had sat down in my mother's presence to sew it on. He got the needle threaded and without taking off his shirt, began sewing it onto the cuff. My mom sat and watched in quiet amusement at the awkwardness of this sewing. And after he had almost completed the job, my mom asked, "Wouldn't it be easier if you took your shirt off? Now, I wonder why he hadn't? Was it a modesty issue? Or had it he felt it just wasn't worth the effort?

When my mother came to visit, we always went out shopping. She didn't get out much on her own to shop and there's no better companion than your mom (or daughter) for shopping. We're both bargain shoppers, I remember so many times when we would purchase new slacks for her and they would need hemmed. She no longer enjoyed sewing, so I would do it for her. It was always a restful activity to sit down together while I hemmed her slacks. I think I could even call it a loving service. We both enjoyed that time together, and while it was no professional job, it was a good job--and my mom was very appreciative and always complimented me on my fine, small stitches. I remember one time in particular when I labored so long to get the needle threaded and just couldn't line the thread up with the hole in the needle. My eyes aren't the best. My mom said, "Let me try." I handed it to her, and first try she had the needle threaded. At 70-something her eyes worked better than mine. (She always could see every little spot and if she couldn't get to it to see what it was, she'd ask what it was!)

I now have two small sewing kits--a tin from my mom and a basket I bought in Indonesia. I guess I could keep one upstairs and one downstairs. But I don't want to combine them into one. They're both special. And that's kind of odd for someone who doesn't like to sew.

Ain't Misbehavin'

Thursday evening Roland and went to a performance at the Clarence Brown Theater on UT campus. We were entertained by the 1930s composer, Fats Waller's music. He wrote popular songs like Ain't Misbehavin', Your Feet's Too Big, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter--and many more. I was surprised by how many of his songs I was familiar with. These were songs I learned as a child, but had no idea where they came from! The songs were all performed by five vocalists--what a stupendous show! If you ever get the opportunity to see this musical, I highly recommend it. To see Fats perform some of his own music, go to You Tube. You'll be glad you did!

For the Love of the Game Boy

At last, I remembered to give Michael his t-shirt lovingly created for him by his older brother, Brian. (Brian had given it to me while I was visiting in Utah to pass along to his "buddy".) As you can see it fits just swell and Michael feels very loved in it. He is also confident that his friends will think he's the coolest dude at UT.

I'm gonna miss . . . .

I'm gonna miss the syndicated column by Jeff Opdyke entitled "Love and Money" that's been published in the Knoxville News Sentinel for the past six years. They shared "with millions of readers every week the good, the bad and sometimes ugly sides of (their) financial life. (They) opened (their) pocketbook to inspection in the hopes that (their) experiences with money, and the problems (they) faced and the solutions (they) arrived at, might help others confronting similar circumstances." And who doesn't face similar circumstances?? And all too often we feel that financial matters are too personal to talk about. (Sometimes even with our spouse!) As Roland says, "Needs are so different for each individual." Well, if you've never had the chance to read this informative and entertaining column, here's a link to one: http://online.wsj.com/article/love_and_money.html (You'll have to copy and paste it.)

I see that Jeff Opdyke has a book out "Love and Money". It'd be a great book to have, but I kinda liked it in the small dose of a weekly article.

Naomi visits Knoxville

Naomi and her parents came to stay in Knoxville with us for a short time this summer. While they were here, I got to enjoy doing the fun things a nanna loves to do with her grand daughter. This was the day we went to the library together, Naomi discovered catepillars and took one for a walk, and she posed for pictures with the statues at the Farragut Park. She's my delight!

Summer Vacation

This summer Roland and I vacationed to Arches National Park, Mesa Verde National Park and Denver. We had such a wonderful time. Here you can see Cathy standing in front of Delicate Arch. I really didn't realize how massive it was until I saw this picture of me standing there in front of it!! The hike to up the this arch was fantastic. We got up early so it wouldn't be unbearably hot. One of the most intriguing things to me about Arches is the quietness of the place. I didn't know that stillness could be so very pleasant.

Happy Birthday!

It was great having Whitney home this summer and we always enjoy Emily's visits. They're not as frequent as when she lived here in Knoxville, but since Manchester is 2-3 hours away, we cant complain. They both were home to share a birthday cake. Wouldn't it be nice if it could happen every year?? (You got have a dream!) In August Emily turned 27 and Whitney turned 24. We ate the traditional chocolate cookie sheet cake that's been a favorite of our family--the very one that my mom made regularly when I was growing up.

Utah-tah . . . new home of Whitney, Brian and Norma

I rode out to Provo, Utah with Whitney in late August. She's back at BYU. We had two 15-hour days of driving before arriving at Norma and Brian's new home. Brian is just a 12 minute walk from his office on campus! We had a weenie roast in their side yard. (no backyard, but they're grateful--less mowing and upkeep!); went on a hike up in Provo Canyon, ate lots of good Latino food, visited with Cousin Alisa and met her partner and new baby; and I got to go to IKEA for the first time--and much, much more! In this picture you see Brian, Norma and Whitney at IKEA. I thank each of them for showing their mamma such a splendid time!

Mango Season!

Upon arriving home from Utah, Roland had purchased six big and beautiful mangoes for our eating pleasure. They were ripe and ready. That was Wednesday. Now, on Saturday, they're gone. Roland went out once more in the great wilderness of Kroger and selected more. We are very happy and wish you were here to enjoy them with us. He bought quite a few and we'll have to eat them fast--too bad. (Not really!)