Staying "Cool" in Louisville

Sunday it was 94 degrees here. I'm trying not to complain. My garden is loving the heat. At least it's not raining, but don't you think 94 in May is a bad sign of what's to come? To stay cool, we decided to check out the Da Vinci the genius exhibition at the Frazier History Museum. This was our first visit to this museum and what a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I had no idea that Da Vinci was so much more than a painter. He really must have been thought of as an odd ball during his day. Some of his inventions especially his "war machines" are down right scary. I'm still a fan of his portraits, and the Mona Lisa exhibit was my favorite. I really did learn a lot, plus the museum was totally "cool".

Sally

CELEBRATE!!!

Last night we celebrated.

After what felt like "years" of holding our breath, David was accepted to medical school.

We couldn't be more proud of him. He has worked like a dog to get to this point and he's actually looking forward to the next 4 years.

He will be staying in VA at Eastern Virginia Medical School which means that he gets to keep his apartment with the beautiful view.

Thanks to all of you that have kept your fingers crossed, said some prayers or put in a good word. Now that that stress is lifted off of us, we just don't know what to worry about. It feels wonderful.

Sally

The Cutest Thing Ever

When we visited Madison Indiana a couple of weeks ago, the "ladies" went into the cutest little quilt/gift shop. I only had a $20.00 bill, so I had to use some discretion. It was difficult for me to decide from all of the "cute" things which ones were going to go home with me. My most favorite find was only $4.00 and I seriously don't know how I ever lived without it. See that little iron candle holder? It fits down into a large canning jar and looks perfect on my picnic table. It keeps the wind from blowing out the flame. I wish I had bought a few more. What perfect little hostess gifts. Now I'm on the hunt for more large jars. The old blue ones are my favorite, but I guess clear ones would work too. Do they come in any other colors? I might just have to check on eBay.

Sally

All My Peeps

It's going to be a wild and crazy month around this place. All of my people are home and that is making me one happy camper. We are going to just try and enjoy each other and eat dinner on the deck as often as we can. I'm not sure how much blogging time I'll be able to get in. Everyone needs the computer and everyone needs clean clothes. I went to the grocery store today and spent way, way, way more money on food than I ever have before. Have the prices gone up that much, or have I just forgotten how much it costs to feed four people a dog and a cat. I might have to go back to my coupon cutting days, or maybe we will just have to eat a lot of beans.
Sally

More Pictures From Graduation and A Funny Story

This picture was posted on the EVMS flickr sight. It was taken right before the graduation ceremony. I'm glad that someone got a picture of them in caps and gowns, because I didn't. David turned his stuff in IMMEDIATELY after the ceremony, because those were the directions, and he did not want to end up having to pay the $500 late fee. That's my David.

The next two pictures were taken form David's apartment balcony. I know I've shown you the view before, but it's just so beautiful. It really makes me miss being close to the water. He's on the 19th floor, so he can see just about everything. The sun was shining. A breeze was blowing and the air smelled of salt water and honey suckle. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

Now for the funny story: So, there is a "small" underground parking lot at the coliseum where the graduation ceremony was held. David was under the impression that it was going to fill up fast and that there would be no spots left by the time that Alan and I got there. All of the students had to be there by 8:30, but since it didn't start until 10:00 we were planning on arriving around 9:15. He suggested that we try the parking ramp across the street. We pulled into the ramp about 9:00 and payed the attendant our $5.oo for event parking. As we drove in we realized that it was practically empty. Since we are always early we didn't think to much about it and tried to find a spot that would make getting out faster. As it turns out we had nothing to worry about. That's our car. Sitting all alone. At least it was easy to find.

Sally

Graduation Day

Well, David did it. He now not only has a BS, but an MS to boot. He's still waiting to hear about medical school admission, but he's feeling hopeful. As soon as we know for sure I'll let you all know. Keep on keeping your fingers crossed for him. Thanks.

The graduation ceremony was lovely. Long, but lovely. The day was perfect, warm and sunny. Just the way I like it. It was so nice to finally meet David's friends. We went out for lunch with some of them and their families and then it was back in the car for the long drive home.

David came with us, so we have a full house again. You just don't know how happy that makes me. My Dad will arrive for the Memorial Day weekend and then we will really be full. Small house lots of people. Where will everyone sit? More importantly, What will everyone eat? I had better get on that.

Happy Monday!

Sally

Water Heater Woes

I'm a little grumpy today. I hate to admit it, but sometimes you just have to be honest. The weather has been miserable here since last Saturday it's been in the 50's and rainy, cold and damp and to top it all off we have no heat. Not sure what happened, but Tuesday night we tried to turn the heater on and no heat came out, then Wednesday morning Alan got up and had to take a cold shower. No hot water. Lovely... We called the plumber and he showed up about 6 hours later. The best part of this story is that our plumber, Robert, is the nephew of the man that built our house. He was so excited to see inside the house again. He told me that he had been to many good Derby parties here. Interesting stories. Anyway he fixed the water heater (or he thought he did). He thought it was just a pilot light thing and he didn't even charge me for the visit. To good to be true? Yep. When we got home from work last night we realized that we still didn't have any hot water. I think that's when I really started getting grumpy. Alan checked and the pilot light was out again. We called the plumbing company and they said they would send someone out within 2 hours. It was about 8:00 when we called and by 10:30 we hadn't seen hide nor hair of a plumber. We called the main number again and told them that we had to go to bed so we would just wait until the morning. Well, it's almost 11:30 and no plumber. I guess there must be a lot of people out there with water heater problems. Hopefully next time you hear from be I will have hot water, the rain will have stopped and the sun will be shining.

Sally

Garden Party Sunday

Despite the miserable rainy, cold weather, Alan and I took a road trip with some friends yesterday to a quaint little town in Indiana. Visiting Madison Indiana is like going back in time. The town sits on the Ohio river and every year in May several of the local homeowners open their back gates for garden tours. As it happens, our friends Gordon and Cathy are good friends with one of these homeowners, Jinny and Larry Hunt. Their beautiful home, the Marshall-Hunt House was built in 1845 and it's just amazing. The Hunt's opened their house to us so we got to tour the house and the garden. Jinny served a delicious lunch and kept us all warm with cups of hot tea. She even sent us all home with bouquets of peonies which are making my house smell like spring. It was a great way to spend a soggy Sunday. These pictures are actually not of Hunt House. This is the Linear Mansion and it's gardens.

The fountain sits in the middle of town, but they haven't turned it on yet.

I guess we will just have to go back when it warms up a bit so I can get some more pictures for you.

Sally

Sally

Getting Going

Sorry you haven't heard from me in a while. We are now members of the Milestone Fitness Center and all of this exercising is cutting into by blogging time. Hopefully I will get into a routine soon and be able to find time for everything. That's always the trick isn't it? When you add something new it seem like something else always has to go. Unless of course you are willing to get up earlier or go to bed later, or maybe just not sleep at all. Well, this girl needs her sleep, so that's staying. Don't worry, I'll figure it out and pretty soon my new schedule will be my new normal. Keeping with our fitness theme, Alan ran a 5K this morning through the zoo. He tried to get Grace and I to do it with him, but we opted out. That's a nice way to say that it was supposed to rain (and it did a little) and we didn't want to get up so early. Poor excuses I know, but it's the truth. When Alan got home we all trotted off to the first Farmers Market of the season. We spent our allotted $20.00 on asparagus, strawberries, honey and a cucumber plant for the garden. Our weekend is off to a great start. hope yours is too.

Sally

The Case of Less is REALLY More

I don't know what you got for Mother's Day, but I think I got the best gift ever. Probably because of all of my complaining about how hard it is to get books from our library. Probably because I started reading World Without End by Ken Follett (thanks to Jorge's recommendation) and the book weighs about 5 lb because it's 1012 pages long. Who reads these giant books? Who writes books that long? Anyway, Alan talked me into getting a Kindle. I have to admit that I didn't take that much convincing. We had done some research and decided that the Kindle was the device for me. I haven't figured out all of it's bells and whistles yet, but this tiny little thing can hold thousands of books, maybe not all as big as World Without End, but still lots and lots of books.

Sally

Happy Day After Mother's Day

Hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing day yesterday. We were in recovery from Derby mode. It was very nice. It was also nice that the weather which was suppose to be cool, drizzily and yuck all day was actually beautiful. I love it when that happens. We concluded the the day watching the finally of the Amazing Race. I was a little disappointed that the team I've been routing for didn't make it to the final 3, but I enjoy the show so much that it doesn't really matter who wins.

We were lucky to finally find some of the "limited addition" Amazing Race Snapple, so we drank our tea and finished up the Derby Pie. Not a bad Mother's Day at all.

Sally

And They're Off - And It's Over

Derby Day!


It's finally here. It seems like we have been getting ready for it for months. To make a long story short, none of our horses won. The winner came from behind and no one saw him coming. The horses name was Animal Kingdom and really that's about all I know about him. The local TV coverage started at 5:30 this morning and is still going on. We got up early, not 5:30 early and went to the zoo for our walk. On the way we saw the GoodYear Blimp, but we did not see Martha Stewart's plane landing, which was a bummer. Once home we pretty much spent the rest of the day watching races and getting ready for the BIG ONE. We celebrated with special Derby Day snacks and of course Mint Juleps(which we thaught were awful so we dumped them out and made mojitos. Please don't tell on us). For dinner we enjoyed another derby tradition - Kentucky Fried Chicken. Doesn't get much better than that. Hope you had a special Derby Day too.

Sally

1 Day to Go Continued...

I told you that I'd be back. After watching the races all day, we continued with tradition and had Kentucky Hot Brown for dinner. Click on I love the taste of... at the top of this page for pictures and a recipe. I also share my secret for Derby Pie, I'm sure you don't want to miss it.

After dinner we drove over to our local Kroger, because that is where they are making the rose blanket garland that tomorrows winning horse will wear.

We got to see the actual work being done and they even gave us some of the "real" rose petals. Talk about feeling like a part of the process.

The lady jockey that I talked about yesterday, came in second place today during the Oaks Race. I think I will put all of my money on her horse for tomorrow-Pants On Fire.

Bad News- Uncle Mo has been scratched. He seemed to be making a come back earlier in the week, but his trainer says that he's not 100% so he's not running.

Sally

Count Down to Derby

1 more day to go!

Today is Oaks Day and for most locals, it is THE DAY. Since "real" folks can't afford to actually go to the Derby, the day before is the race day for them. It's just like a holiday. The kids get out of school, many businesses are closed and people are getting their party on in a big way. the local TV channel has been broadcasting live from Churchill Downs since 10:00 AM. I wish I understood the whole "favorites" thing and exactly how you choose a horse. Pink is the color for the Oaks. The Stargazer Lilly is the event flower and the race supports breast cancer awareness and various cancer related charities.

I just watched the second race of the day and I think I'm kind of getting into it. The race was too close to call so I'm sitting here waiting for the results of the photo finish. This is exciting stuff I tell you. I was going to try and get a few things done today, but I can see now that I will most likely spend the day at the track. (the track on my TV that is). It was just announced that the number 10 horse named Chalice was the winner. Oh my, the third race is about to begin, so I'm going to sign off for now. I might be back with another update before the day is over.

Sally

Count Down to Derby

2 Days to Go! Also, happy Cinco De Mayo!

Today is the Pegasus Parade. I guess it's a pretty big deal, not your little rinky-dink small town affair. The parade route actually goes right past Alan's building. He says he probably won't watch it, but I bet he will take a peek.

Exciting Derby News: There is going to be a female jockey riding this year. Her name is Rosie Napravnik and the horse she will be riding is named Pants on Fire which I think is kind of cute. Only 5 woman have ever ridden in the derby and none have ever made it into the top 10. The last lady rider in the Derby was back in 2003. So if you haven't placed your bets yet, and you don't care about "favorites", you might want to consider Rosie.

Other Exciting News: Grace is home! She has successfully completed her first year of college and we are so proud of her. She is ready for a break from all of the studying. Her summer plans include looking for and hopefully finding a job. She's gonna need some cash for Spain. I plan on just enjoying her company.

Sally

Count Down to Derby

4 Days to Go!

Today's main event is the Run for the Rose'. A bunch of waiters from local restaurants compete in relay races carrying silver trays filled with full wine glasses. this event takes place on the waterfront rain or shine and today it's going to be lots and lots of rain. Very diluted Rose'.



I think that I might have to miss this event. But don't worry, I'm sure that they will broadcast the whole thing live on the Kentucky Derby channel. Alan and I watched the bed races last night and I have to admit that it was pretty funny. Since that one is inside I think we might have to go to it next year.

Have a great day!

Sally

Count Down to Derby

5 Days to Go!

The big event happening today/tonight is the Great Derby Bed Race. That's right, bed race. Click here to see pictures from last year. It is getting ready to take place right now at the new Yum Center, which is a good thing because it continues to rain and rain and rain some more here in Louisville. What I understand is that groups of people, mainly businesses get together, decorate beds on wheels and then they push the beds around a designated course. I know there are prizes for different categories and I'm hoping there is some kind of found raising involved. Other than that I think this might be one of the silliest Derby events I've heard of so far. Oh, I forgot to tell you that starting at 11:30 today people were allowed to tailgate for the bed races. Seriously.

Totally changing the subject... I feel I should just mention the Osama Bin Laden situation.

When did you hear the news? We went to bed early last night, so we didn't find out until this morning. Grace sent me a text message at 11:30 Pm telling me to turn on the news. Too bad that my phone was downstairs. I would have liked to have watched the coverage as the story was unfolding, but then I probably would have been awake all night. It's still hard to believe that he's actually dead and that no more Americans were killed getting the job done. I know there are a lot of people feeling that justice has been done. I hope that this is a closer step to peace and that we can all feel a little bit more safe.

Derby Detour

Sorry for the Derby detour, but the sun came out yesterday and we just had to take advantage of it.
We got up early, packed a breakfast and headed over to Bowman Field to watch the Great Balloon Race. this race is part of the Derby Festival and a sight to see. 31 balloons were supposed to take off a 7:00 AM and race to a designated spot somewhere over the river in Indiana. it wasn't until we arrived at the airport that I realized that I'd forgotten my camera. Silly me. These pictures are "borrowed" from the local newspaper.










After watching until all of the balloons were just distant specks in the sky, we headed over to the zoo for our early Saturday morning walk. The NEW bear exhibit opened last week, but the bears were not out to greet us. Hopefully we will get to see them next time and I'll be sure to have my camera with me.


Once home, we got to work on the garden.
The raised bed came with the house. We added some dirt a few weeks ago and then yesterday put in all of the veggies. There is not as much sun at that end of the yard as I'd like, but it is what it is and we are keeping our fingers crossed. I do enjoy visiting the farmers market, but tomatoes and peppers right off the vine can't be beat.

When all of the work was finally done, we relaxed on the deck with a mojito and some grilled burgers. We are due to get more rain starting Sunday.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend too.

Sally