Wasn't that moon gorgeous last night?

After several reminders from the newscasters last night, I decided to haul myself back down the stairs (I had to feed the cat anyhow) and take my new toy out for a "run" and see what it could do on the nighttime setting. My Canon never was able to get a decent shot of the moon and I was hoping that since it (the moon) was going to be closer than usual, it would make things a bit easier. I wish we lived somewhere where we could see the moonrise without all the businesses messing up the view (now a nice church or a single house or something, that would have been cool). I wish I had gotten out earlier, maybe it would have been larger. Meh. These days it's rather painful to get around so I have to weigh whether the results of any trip (whether outside the home or within the confines of the townhouse) are really going to be rewarding enough to make the aches and pains that will result during and after said trip even worth it. However, this event doesn't happen everyday.....

This first picture is shot with very minimal optical zoom. Boy, was that moon ever bright last night! I'm beginning to wish I'd shot a set of these from the upstairs office window too. The new toy/baby (a Nikon Coolpix L110) handled this task very well. So I decided to see what a full digital zoom would get me. I figured that if the first couple shots turned out poorly, that I could give it a second go around with the tri-pod we bought (the more zoom there is, the harder it is to get a good shot when your hands shake a bit so it's a good investment).

And here it is at full zoom and no tri-pod. The only assistance I had was the shed to help brace my arm a bit.

I used a Nikon..... and I LIKED it!

Can't wait until my company comes back in April to re-do his vacation. We're headed to DC for a few days. Museums, zoo, monuments.... it'll be a great test for the new camera.

YAY!!! WE.GOT.SNOW!!!!!

Holy cow, we got another decent snowstorm. If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was back in New York again. The area averages 8" of snowfall in a winter season. As of December's snowfall, we'd already TRIPLED that. We got another 15-18 inches here (some people got more like 20,25, 30 and 35 inches in this storm). Another like this and we might catch up to my NYBro (who told me the other day that they've had a mere 70" this year). I've got the pix in my Flickr account for those that really want to see more, but I'm going to stick a few in the entry that haven't been posted to that account (nor Facebook) yet.

Yes, the snowbunny is very very happy. I spent a good amount of time mid-week til Friday hoping for a good dumping and doing a virtual snowdance in Facebook (by the way, I think I've finally convinced the 1000+ acquaintences over there that I'm sufficiently certifiable). One of my nearest and dearest (who actually lives in state and is in an easy driving distance.... well easy drive sans snow.. from me) has threatened to cut my limbs off. I think she's tired of the snow already.

Anyhow, hubby and I went out to start bailing the truck out so it can be used around midweek (not that we really NEED to shop but a few essentials will need picking up around Wedndesday or so). Everyone in the cul de sac was out shoveling the sidewalks and generally pitching in to get the vehicular transports dug out. It was a very nice feeling....until I noticed some that live at the halfway mark of the cul de sac not shoveling the snow into the yards but dumping it in the middle of the parkinglot! Great, those that live closest to the street ~might~ manage to get out in the next day or so, but thanks to these idiots (who I must guess are assuming the plow will be back to do our lot by Monday *inserts eyeroll*) I doubt anyone living in the dead end part of our area (like us and the cabbies who live 2 doors down and the guy across the sidewalk who owns his own business) will get out much before mid-week. I guess it could be worse. The dude parked 2 spots to our left (in the last spot of the lot) won't be getting out much before July because the plowed snow ends up piled right in front of that particular spot (any farther would put all the snow right on the sidewalk and that pile...well it's a good 6 foot tall...no one's gonna wanna shovel that... plus I'm sure the home association frowns on it, not to mention it's dangerous for the people living in the area). Thanks to the plow I doubt we're going to have any mail pick up until much before July either....

Katy.... sitting near the patio door. Doesn't look like alot of snow, but trust me...she's in the shallow end of the yard! Man, she's really gotta lose weight... but that's fodder for another post.

The snow was so bad that it's wrecked the treeline in the back. There's damage like that all the way the length of the fence. Every time I looked out, another 2-3 trees were down. That one in the center? I HEARD that one go down. There was a loud pop and then next thing we knew *crash*. If it had been another 2-3 feet taller or so, it would have landed on our fence. Not that really would bother me as it's the landlord's responsibility to fix stuff like that. But still, I'd rather they didn't have to do too many repairs while we're here.

Thank goodness I did the laundry before the storm rolled in. That's the door to the shed where the dryer is. I think I'll have to get that bailed out tomorrow, just in case.

PS.... the banner? Yeah that's me...starting to make a snowangel ~smiles~

PSS... not to say that I'm an awesome snowdancer but they're saying we are going to get a bit more snow on Tuesday and possibly Wednesday as well! Iggy, you might wanna bundle up...

thinkin of a friend, buckle up, shoppin, and somethin else

I'm trying to get myself back into the habit of writing every day or at least every other day. I'm gonna tell you, it's rough when you're not used to bloggin quite so often. However, I find that I'm finding enough mish mosh with the pictures I click from week. If that doesn't work, I'm sure there's plenty in all the different files to come up with ~something~ to post more than once a week.
This last week we were out to the allergist's office. According to any online directions sites (Mapquest, Google Maps, etc), it's supposed to be a 35 minute drive at best but we've found it usually takes 45-50 minutes due to the flippin traffic. We always arrive early though because hubby insists on leaving 2 hours early...just to be sure. Anyhow, while we were on our way to the allergist's, I saw the above sign and immediately thought of our dear friend Tori. Now if they could just create ones that say "Idiots Crossing" or "Idiots at Play", then I'd be all set. The only problem is that I suspect that such sign will need to be posted on every damn corner around here considering some of these neighbors.
When we pulled into the parking lot and headed inside the building, we came across the above bumper sticker. It was the funniest one of the 7-10 stickers on the car. Considering the number of OCHA and OSBAs around here, I think this is a very good warning to have! There's some really great alien type stickers on Zazzle's website. Several versions of the above sticker and many many others like this one (nf/d warning). Oh look, it says you can create your own. Anyone willing to bet that iggy will be on that site to make a professional version of this sticker? Maybe I better see if I still have a copy of that one and redo it for the next election. Whatcha think?

On our way home Friday, the truck decided to overheat. When hubby popped the hood, even this vehicularly stupid gal could see that there was plenty of fluid in the thingy where the coolant is supposed to go. *UGH* it means the thermometer ~finally~ gave out on us. So we let the truck cool as we were off shopping and then drove straight home. Mind you, it's less than 2 miles where we were to home. In that short time, the truck overheated again. *shakes head* Hubby decided to let it cool overnight and then bring it in to the repair shop. I don't wanna hear it, really. I DID tell him to take it right in and that way it could cool overnight and they'd be able to get to it right away. Did we do that? NO. *sigh* He woke up about 7am and took it in as soon as he knew they were open. Thankfully they are just around the corner so the truck didn't have time to even get luke-warm.

Around noon-ish, we decided to walk on over to the Buffet place for lunch. After lunch, he decided to walk over to the repair shop to check on the truck and told me he'd meet me in McKays afterwards. On my way over to McKay's I saw this awesome cloud formation.

While hubby was headed to check on the truck, I decided to pop into the Payless next door to see if there were any specials. My sneakers are looking rather beat and since I have to wear them every day to ride my bike, they don't exactly have a decent amount of time to air out. I was hoping for a nice cheap pair to wear on the alternate days. I ended up spending a bit over $20 for a nice comfy pair. They were originally $24.99 and they were on sale for $19.99 which is a decent deal. Seems the feet shrank by about half a size. The last pair I bought I needed a size 9 to get a pair that was wide enough for my feet. This pair is only an 8.5. I really hate my wide feet. Mom always called them Fred Flintstone feet because they were short, wide but they got me to where I needed to be. The suckers are only a 7.5 when you measure toe to heel, but wide enough to need the next full size up in a wide to get the width where it needs to be for comfort.
Well the truck wasn't done yet, unfortunately they had alot of appointments that afternoon and of course those take priority. *grumbles* Hubby and I met up in McKays and went home shortly after.

When 2-3pm showed up, with no call, hubby got antsy and went over to see if they were done. Why he didn't call, I don't know. Near's I can figure he just needed to get out of the house. Not that I blame him any. He called me before leaving to come home, it wasn't done yet but they were just bringing it in to have a look see. Oh dear. I saw it coming. He was told that they'd call before quittin time (5pm) to let him know if they had it done or not. By 430pm, hubby needed to get out again and decided that we'll both walk over and check. Anyone who's thinking that it wasn't done give yaselves a nice gold star. Now before anyone spouts off on the hubby (which it would be deserved for delaying) OR on the mechanics, you need to know that the truck is an '88. It's old and has served us very well. Plus the part needing repair is an ORIGINAL part. That said... it wasn't finished because a bolt was giving them a hassle. It's one of those things you need to take it easy removing because too much pressure will break the bolt and THEN you're really screwed (literally and KY aint provided). So they were gonna need to soak it down with something and let it set for a few hours to see if it can be removed easier. Yeah. Quitting time on a SATURDAY and the truck's not done. They're not open on Sundays and hubby needs to get to be able to get to work on Sunday. *sigh* Ya know what though. The head mechanic really surprised us. He handed over the keys to the company vehicle and is allowing us to use it until the truck gets fixed. With any luck it'll be done Monday afternoon or evening sometime because I really hate riding in a rolling billboard.



Below is a shot of the 2 new colors. I did, indeed, buy an Adam Lambert blue...which is the next color I plan on wearing. I really love the shade I have on right now though!

there will be a second post much later tonight....sometime between 11pm and midnight.

timing, Avon calling, ACK and a Partridge Family sighting

About a month ago or so, I'd bought myself a new purse. The one I had was simply a skoosh too small for my needs and falling apart at the strap. I bought a great one on clearance for less than $10. It's a gorgeous black and animal print totally me type bag. The bag's a bit bigger than I really absolutely need , but I love it nonetheless. Unfortunately, with extra space means I tend to say "oh I got room for this too!" and the bag gets heavier which isn't good for your back or shoulders. It isn't so good for the strap on the purse either. Last week that stud there, holding the strap together, decided to pop and my purse fell. Thank GOODNESS my camera wasn't in there. The strap chose to break just after I'd removed the camera to get shots of the clouds. I was really pissed because I'd had it just long enough that I'd thrown away the receipt for it. Hubby suggested using superglue to fix it. I told him that if superglue was involved, then maybe he should fix the purse for me for, you see, superglue and I have this love/hate thingy going. It hates to stick anywhere I want it, but it LOVES to stick on me. Anyhow... hubby fixed the one strap and reinforced the other just in case. Now if I could get him to find my leopard print sunglasses that I wanted him to repair.
Is it me, or are other people beginning to feel like they're at the DMV or deli when they're at the dr's offices or labs these days? The old clinic had the "Now serving" sign for their lab too but it wasn't until we got to the new clinic that I began to feel like I was at a McDonald's. Maybe it's their choice of a doorbell to signal that the numbers have changed that make me feel like that? I sure know it's the reason why everytime I hear it I say "Avon calling". Anyhow, who are they kidding? This sign just doesn't make sense at a lab for they certainly aren't serving us anything. If anything they're TAKING something so shouldn't the sign reflect this fact? I'm just sayin. Please excuse the above photo. The lighting simply was NOT cooperating at all. It was kinda like trying to take a picture of a screen shot with your digital camera. The picture rolls somewhat and of course it doesn't turn out half as good as you'd hope.
So a couple weeks back or so, hubby comes in and wants to use one of the cameras and I ask him what was up. He said we had a possum in the backyard so I sent him off with the Samsung to get some shots. When he was done grabbing the shots (the above is one of several), he came up and handed me the camera. He told me that the possum looked sleepy at first until he moved closer at which point it looked up at him but didn't make a move. So I flicked on the camera and the above shot is one of many that he'd just clicked. I absolutely freaked and told him to haul his ass down the stairs , grab a shovel and give it a happy dispatch and Like.Right.Fkn.NOW! That ~thing~ has NO damned business in my yard...period. I kept fussing until he went down and flipped the critter over the fence. He came back upstairs and asked why he just did that and I told him...it's a RAT hunny...we don't need something like that out there. The ciggie butt in the picture was set down to give an idea of the scale. The butt's about a half inch long. Yeah. That's what I said too because I don't believe nutria wander quite this far north!


These last 2 pix are actually off two different vehicles. When I saw the stickers on the windows in each...all I could think is "God help 'em". Oh don't tell me that you wouldn't have had the same reaction! The last one was the best of the two though. Not only did they have the requisite stickperson family stretching across the back window (and most of them were people and not pets), but they'd painted their 15 passanger van ala Partridge Family style! Great to know they don't mind pokin fun at themselves... and to be hangin at a Chuck E Cheese to boot.

pt5: Acknowledging the town in general

The Sunday we were in hub's hometown was a special day. It was gramma's birthday so there was going to be another visit to her place later. The day started like every other day there....another breakfast at Hardee's. Is it any wonder I refuse to eat at that restaurant at any other time? I'd mentioned to hubby a couple times on the trip up that I'd like to take a walk through the town and grab some shots. There were a couple really beautiful stone houses in town that I wanted a better look at and we simply could NOT do that from a vehicle. Top things all off I wanted a shot of the one particular church (it has BEAUTIFUL stonework). So when he and I were done eating, we didn't wait on the parents to finish up. He stood up and announced that he and I were going for a walk (I needed the alone time at this point) and we'd meet them back at the house. It was only a half mile walk and since it wasn't overly hot yet, it seemed like a great idea. The only problem with the walk is that it has 2 rather steep inclines. Ah well. At this point, I'd been off my bike for 3 days and really needed to stretch the legs out some. The first incline was about 10 yards or so. Not bad, but considering that I'm about 100 pounds too heavy still...well I was puffin a bit getting to the top. At the top is the main corner in town. In this first picture on the left, we're looking down Old Knoxville Rd. The stone building on the right is the church and the brown 3 story building to the back and left is the Claiborne County Medical Center. No, this isn't the same building that is shown in some of the other pictures I've taken. We visit this particular building every other trip or so because a couple of the relatives of neighbors he grew up with are living there now. This last trip we didn't visit so I can be sure he'll be making time to stop over the next time. The last time he visited, he went with his dad instead of taking me. I was fine with that because if I say that visits to gramma's are rough...these are much worse.
This picture to the right is looking down Main Street. The Post Office is the brick building on the left and the one on the right just past the speed limit sign is the Claiborne Progress, the local newspaper. The church mentioned in the former paragraph is across the street from the newspaper office and off frame in this shot. Across the street from the P.O. and next to the newspaper office is a memorial area. I'll be talking about it a bit later in the entry. Congratulations, with the last two pictures you've pretty much seen Hubby's Hometown USA. You think I'm kidding? This is a blink and miss it town. There are only few more blocks in either direction that count as the town proper.
Here's a shot of the church that I was talking about. It's located on the corner of Old Knoxville Rd and Main. I love the stone work, it's so beautiful. There are 2 other houses that are made in the same type of stonework, as is the rectory next door to the church. I think the next trip in, I'll see about getting a few more of the exterior shots. I'd really like to see if I can get a few without all the ummm technological advances around it. Pulling up the full sized shot I can see there's some stained glass windows so you know for sure we'll be seeing some shots of that as well as maybe the doorway. I've told hubby that's the goal and with any luck he'll remember. He should, he usually remembers stuff that I don't (like how I really adored this set of porcelain dollies on a swing when we were in a certain shop in Texas and what would come home to me for my birthday but that very set).
This next shot was taken a bit farther in the walk, however since I made two stops at the memorial I'm just going to pair the shots taken there together. This shot is of the marker stone for the James Weir House. A shame that the lot is nothing but weeds at this point. I gather that since it's a location of historical interest, they can't do anything with the plot at this point? It still would be nice if some up keep was done (mowing) at least. Supposedly the house has been restored to its former glory. I'll have to see about making sure it's on the itinerary the next time around. Or at least a drive-by for some exterior shots.

This next set of pictures were taken at the Claiborne County Roll Call of Honor area. There is the requisite listing of military residents that were lost and which war they were lost in. The base of the monument says "May the haunting sound of the bugler's taps echo forever in honor of these. Our heroic dead." Looking at the bigger shots in the Flickr account, I see a name that more than likely is family. I'll have to try and remember to ask about it.

Off to the right side of the memorial area is an armored personnel carrier with a plaque bolted to it that gives the stats of the vehicle. In front of the monument there are 4 cement benches (2 on either side of the walkway leading up to it) that were donated by the local banks. The brick walkway leading to the monument has 3 stone markers that were donated by the various veteran groups in Claiborne County (one being the American Legion). To the left of the monument, in its own little space, is a smaller monument commemorating the residents that were lost in the line of duty on the home-front. Right now the only names on the marble monument are ones from the department of safety (sheriffs, a state trooper and a police lieutenant). Facing the smaller memorial is a matching marble bench. For the life of me, I couldn't get a decent shot of it (aka...a shot without me reflected in it and I tried at TWO different times of the day hoping the difference in lighting would help!). Engraved upon this bench is "To all those who serve and protect us each and every day". I've got a closer shot of the soldier boot, helmet and gun over in the photostream.
The last real stop in our walk was at the marker for the Tazewell Presbyterian Church. Other than the information on the marker, I can't seem to find more than someone else's blog entry about some dealings they had with this location. Anyhow, in the picture you see a strange cement post to the right of the marker. That is all that remains of the church.... an old hitching post. You can see that unlike the plot over near the James Wier House location, this one has been well cared for. Why, you may ask? Well because in the distance there, just before you get to the trees is a landing pad for the Lifestar helicoptor which is used to airlift victims from accidents to the nearby hospitals.

Wrapping up this entry is a view of the house we normally don't see when on foot. A view looking up the hill at the house, from the other side of The Tree. I have a note on the picture in the link to show you were we were approximately. It's a beautiful location, but to be honest...I really miss the internet while I'm there. *winkz*

The trip out

We had a beautiful day when we started out that Friday morning. The sun was bright and the skies were a gorgeous shade of blue. It was probably the best day we'd had in weeks. The good thing about it was that the roads were nice and clear and visibility was awesome. The bad thing was, as you could see in a previous post was I managed to get sunburned and sun poisoning on my arms from riding so long. The arms are itchy again, but it's a good itch because it means the scabs are ready to come off.

One our way out to the truck, I saw that those pretty purple flowers were in bloom again and since I wanted to play with my macro setting (I'd never used one even on the old camera), I took a few shots. There are more in the photostream if you care to go visit my Flickr account. I think it turned out right nice and vowed to myself I was going to take some time this trip to practice with that setting some more.


One of the things that I notice often, seemingly during trips to anywhere, are the triple crosses on the hills. You see them so often that you actually expect to see them. You don't, however, expect to see them on a truck as shown to the right.

We only saw a couple watertowers on the way. This one was definitely the prettiest of the two. I wish there was a spot along the way were we could have stopped and gotten a decent shot of it. My picture really does it no justice. However, considering we were traveling about 75 mph at the time, I guess this is the best I can hope for.

Talk about your unusual sights! We came up behind this lovely
somewhere in south Virginia. At first glance, we thought they'd simply hacked up an old VW Beetle to use as a carrier for their bike. Kudos on the recycling , dude! Then, as we were passing, we realized.....it WAS the bike. Awesome.

A couple shots of what we saw while coming into Tennessee. It's B*E*A*Utiful
countryside to say the least. Part of me would move there in a heartbeat so long as there was a 2-3 hour (at least) buffer between me and the folks. Although, that close means weekend visits. *ugh* Maybe more like 4-5 hours buffer is necessary! However, the other side of me would totally rebel because I just know that the internet connection out that way would totally suck.