Election News

Yesterday was the big election. I did not stay up to watch the results. In fact I have been fasting from all news programs for about three week. Just could not take the ups and downs of the circus. Just like football games. I do not watch them when they get close. (I did carry on a thread or two on Facebook.)

Last night I texted Mary and asked her to leave me a text telling me who won the election so that I could check when I got up this morning. So I checked my texts this morning around 6 a.m. and there was the good news! Obama the clear winner. Thank you Lord. :)

Some people are taking the results pretty hard. I know how they feel. I felt that way exactly (only with good reason, of course) when Bush won his second term. I could hardly believe it.

Here's hoping for something more than gridlock!

Lonesome Dove

So a friend in my book group told me that Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry was her all time favorite book. I find this friend rather intriguing because she is outspoken like myself about books and usually has thoughtful, intelligent things to say. Also I heard there was a tv or movie series based on the book that was really good. So I thought I should read the book, then maybe watch the series. I looked the book up on Amazon and the reviews were pretty much off the charts. One reviewer said that he/she envied anyone who hadn't read it because they had it to look forward to.

So . . . . maybe I was expecting too much. The opening line was, "When Augustus came out on the porch the blue pigs were eating a rattlesnake--not a very big one." I read that sentence twice, then three times, trying to feel the depth of meaning or some momentous sense of expectation. It just didn't grab me.

The characters were interesting and some of them well developed, not stock characters--which was nice. Clara is a person I could relate to in some ways, and I rather suppose my friend must have felt some kinship with her as well. It was a cowboy story where things don't work out well. The story did keep me reading--I didn't get bored even though there was not a strong plot line, other than driving a herd to Montana. So all in all it was a good book. Maybe I just don't much appreciate fiction.

I was thinking more about why I wasn't so impressed with this book. Maybe because I found the characters static. Cal retained his aloof, duty-driven personality--could never accept or even address the idea that he had not done his duty in regards to his son and the mother; Augustus remained a womanizer and a rolling stone--an interesting one granted--even noble in many ways; Lorena remained detached and withdrawn; Dish remained heartsick for a love that would never be; Ellie remained restless; July remained dull and unaware; Deets was always helpful and gifted in the cowboy arts, never resented his position or lack of because of his race; Newt grew some but that hardly counts as it is difficult for a teen age boy to not grow up a bit, and he never let go of his hurt. Clara always understood what was in a man.

Of course we like  characters to grow and deepen, to come to realizations, to face fears, to give and embrace love--but maybe that is just fiction. Maybe that is the "greatness" of the book. People retain their same personalities which are revealed by the ordinary events of life making them predictable or by dramatic events which make them tragic or noble.

The France trip, September 2012

The France trip

8/31/12–9/8/12

What it costs

Airfare

Airfare from Knoxville to Paris was about $1,200. It took only 8 hours to get from Atlanta to Paris, and when we arrived in was the morning of the next day (6 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time).

                                                     

Taxi

It cost about 55 euros (exchange was $1.30 per euro when we traveled) to take a taxi from the Charles de Gaulle Airport to our Paris hotel—it cost our friends more like 65 euros--who knows why. Taking a taxi is fairly pricey—much better to use the metro. If you take a taxi at night, the price goes up by 50%--not sure at what time the price changes. I think it also goes up if you take a taxi before 8 a.m. If you have four people in the taxi add another 3 or 4 euros; if you have a lot of luggage add a few more.  Drivers don’t really expect a tip.

The Metro

The metro costs 1.70 euros per trip. The Paris metro works basically like all metros: make sure you know which line you want, and make sure you know the end stop on that line—that way you end up traveling in the right direction instead of the wrong direction on the correct line.

Museums

Most museums cost 9 or 10 euros each, but are free on the first Sunday of every month—which, unbelievably, was the very day we headed to the museums!

Laundry

If you get your laundry done by your hotel it will cost you about 6 euros for one shirt; that’s 7 or 8 bucks. It’s a dollar or two less if you can find a laundry service. My advice, take enough clothes so you don’t need to launder anything.

Luggage

Take only one wheeled suitcase per person—either checked bag or carry-on; take a backpack for your other carry-on, and a purse. That way if you find yourself needing to take the Metro with suitcases in tow, you won’t be completely obnoxious and awkward--or if you find yourself with time to kill before your flight, but have already checked out of your hotel. Our friends took only wheeled carry-ons and seemed to do okay. I was glad I’d checked a larger (not much larger) bag so that I had enough clothing to make it through the week.

Hotels

I think our hotel cost about $110 per night, which was a pretty good deal. It was recommended by a colleague of Russel’s who speaks French and has been to France many times. This hotel was near the Latin Quarter—which we discovered quite by happy accident—and also by the ruins of a Roman arena, hence the name of the hotel: Des Arenes. Now, kids play soccer in the arena and old men use it to play a version of bocce ball.

On a boat trip down the River Seine—I think about 12 euros (the price was bundled into our bike tour—so I’m not positive), some other Americans were telling us how they got their hotel on Priceline.com. They put into Priceline that they wanted a $100-a-night, three-star hotel near the Eiffel Tower. Well they got a 4-star hotel for a terrific deal right near the Tower. I can’t remember the exact price they paid, but it was a great deal. Typically hotel rooms are very small—just enough room for small beds—not queen-size; bathrooms are tiled from top to bottom including the floor of course—same in Spain. All the toilets have a different variety of flusher, although the most common is some form of a push circle in the top of the tank lid. Strangely enough, many toilets do not have seats on the bowls. Frequently you have to pay about .50 euros to use a bathroom, and once when I paid 1.50 euros there still wasn’t a toilet seat on the bowl! Strange indeed. We did ask our Parisian guide at one point what was up with the lack of seats and she opined it was cleaner that way. Hmm. The toilets in the hotel rooms did have seats. (I suppose one could bring one’s own, but it would be rather awkward to carry around.)  Even the wash basins were challenging. If you can’t figure out how to turn on the water, look for a button on the floor, or a little rod under the bowl

Bottled water

Bottled water at a restaurant, or a soft drink for that matter, costs around $5.

Sitting down at a sidewalk café

If you are tired and want to sit down at a quaint sidewalk café, make sure you order off the sit-down menu. If you order standing up at the “take away” line, they won’t let you sit—the menu to sit is several euros more expensive per item.  Well ok, if you order standing up, you may be able to go sit for a few seconds before they come blustering out to upbraid you and demand that you a) pay the sit-down price for the food you’ve just bought from them, b) stuff that food into your purse and now order some real sit-down food, or c) slink away in shame and never again darken their doorway.

Train ride to Nancy

$130 each round trip, non refundable, non changeable. Very comfortable ride and very fast.

Fashion

All the fashion windows were filled with black & white and neutral-colored clothes with red accents. Occasionally there was a different accent color—orange, maybe green—but red is definitively the accent color du jour. I predict red polka dots will be hot hot hot. (Yves St Laurent had a window on the Champs-Élysées featuring an old wrinkly Asian woman dressed in a red dress with white polka dots—obviously that will be big!)

What to wear in Paris:

So before we left for Paris, someone told us the French wear mostly neutrals—a lot of black and gray, etc.—so if we didn’t want to stand out we might want to take that into our wardrobe considerations. Since Russel and I would have a hard time not standing out in any scenario, we decided to take the advice to heart: I took two pair of black pants and two pair of neutral brown/tan. Then every time I saw an obviously U.S. couple or family wearing black, I knew they had “gotten the memo.” But it is basically true; Parisians are not into the Hawaiian shirt look. So keep that in mind if you are planning any trips to France and don’t want to look like a clueless U.S. tourist.

The French Language

If you don’t already know some French, do NOT bother downloading beginning French lessons onto your iPod to listen to on the plane trip over. Believe me, it will do you no good. French pronunciation is a totally mind-blowing enterprise. By the time I got to beginning lesson three on my iPod, my mind had turned to ribbons; I could hardly remember how to say bon jour, merci, and oui! I think I did manage to say “Je ma pell Rebecca” one time when we were in Paris! Once when we were riding the metro I looked at the names of the metro stops on the charts inside the train and then listened closely to the announcer say the name of the stop as the train arrived at that station; that was how I came to understand the secrets of French pronunciation.  Basically, the French take a running leap at the first letter of a word, detour slightly, and then choke off the remaining letters with a few moans and guttural sounds. On a bright note, those who actually can speak French sound incredibly sexy, cosmopolitan, and smart. No wonder the French don’t want to bother with English.

French Food

Well I can’t say I was much impressed with the food. This is probably because I had no idea what I was ordering and ended up with strange stuff, like sort-of-raw ham and bacon salad; Russel ended up with raw salmon, and our friend ended up with nearly raw steak even though he asked for medium-well and sent it back twice—wince. At the conference buffet, it was still hard to find something yummy—a variety of very strange paté stuff. Yuck. But--as in BUT--the pastry and bread were to die for. So my advice is to forget the restaurants and just hop around to the pastry and sandwich shops. We did however have some truly delicious quiche—we were, after all, in the province of Lorraine.

Water: Make sure you order a caraf of water (carafe d’ eau) because otherwise you will pay $5 or $6 for a small bottle of water.

We broke all the rules one day and ate in a perfectly touristy restaurant when we were too tired to find an off-the-beaten-track eatery. We ate in a little café right by the metro station that comes out on the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées. Well we did pay $5 for the water, but we split a thin-crust pizza that was fabulous. My advice, hit more touristy restaurants. Maybe they know what Americans like!

Day Tripping to the Alsace region
So while Russel was busy going to his academic conference sessions, I went with other spouses on an all-day trip to the Alsace region of France—up by the Eastern border with Germany. Turns out this region has changed hands between Germany and France four times in the last 75 years, and before that is was it was part of the Roman Empire ‘till about the 17^th Century and then part of Germany—hence the little villages of Kaysersberg, where Albert Schweitzer was born, and Riquewihr (rich village) looked Swiss or German, rather than French. So here we are up in this small German-looking town having lunch at a very German-looking-and-feeling restaurant, the scent of sauerkraut is wafting through the air. None of the servers or the hostess speak any English, the menu is in French and German, and we feel like we have really entered foreign territory. As we munched on our foreign-looking food, wafting over the radio, (along with the heavy scent of sauerkraut) came “Hey, I just met you, And this is crazy, But here's my number, So call me, maybe?” (It is true that these villages are preserved tourist towns, but still, you basically feel like you are in a German village from a couple centuries ago, so Call me maybe was a bit jarring.)

Everyone told us that servers don’t really expect a tip; one person told us they find it offensive, another told us to “round up.” So round up we did.

Sights to see

Well in Paris every street is a picture postcard, really. Palaces, armories, academies, gilded gates and statues, rivers, bridges, golden lamps, intricate ironwork—everything you see is pretty much beautiful. So take an extra battery for your camera along with your charger. (You do need an adapter. Although at our first hotel, when the outlet in our room wasn’t working, we took it downstairs to the desk clerk who plugged it directly into a three-prong European outlet (three in a row—not the third round grounding slot like in a U.S. outlet) using the two holes on the left, and it charged fine. But mostly we used our adapter.

Flea Market

I was interested in going to the Paris Flea Market (Las Puces) because the one in Madrid is so much fun. Well the Paris one isn’t quite so much fun. Most of the time I thought they were selling cheap junk  for 10 euros that you couldn’t sell at a Knoxville garage sale for 25¢. The booths ranged from many clothing dealers, antiques, pictures and books, super junk, and high-end art.  It was either fleas or fleecing, with little in between.  Russel managed to make friends with the dog of an art dealer who had spent time in San Francisco working with design people there. I mean the art dealer had worked with the design people. Russel also made friends with the art dealer, whom I thought was quite handsome really.  He (Olivier, the art dealer) wore a purple shirt and spoke pretty good English. An amazing find, because as you have no doubt heard, the French are not all that interested in speaking English—unlike in Madrid where everyone wants to try out their English on you.  Anyway, I would skip the flea market.

The Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower, the icon of Paris, not much loved by the Parisians—at least for a hundred years—was not on our “to see” list.  I had seen it 30 years ago, and Russ and the couple we went with didn’t have that much interest, but it turned out that the bike tour we took departed from the south leg of the tower. So we did see it. Not only that, but on our bike tour, the guides told us a number of very interesting stories about it. Like the one about the guy who forked over suitcases and suitcases full of cash to a scam artist because he thought he was buying the tower. Or the fact that after Gustave Eiffel’s design was chosen for the 1889 World’s Fair, he found out that he himself had to pay for most of the building of it. He quickly redesigned the tower to include stairs and a lift and recouped his money in very short order, charging people to go up the tower. After 20 years the tower was supposed to come down—but never did, obviously. And on our night bike tour, as we came back at midnight, the tower began to sparkle! Yes, apparently at night every hour on the hour the tower lights up with twinkle lights. So it was pretty cool coming along at midnight and seeing the lights twinkle on the tower. Plus there was a full moon showing just to the side of the tower when we took our night ride on the river Seine. I’m not kidding.

Touring Paris by Bike

Riding bikes through Paris was super cool. It put me into a very happy mood. In truth, I don’t have much of a travel bug, and I had felt reluctant to go with Russ on this trip. But after biking in Paris, I started looking into other cities that offer bike tours. The bike tour company is called Fat Tire Bike Tours and they have offices in London, Barcelona, Berlin, and Paris. Both our guides were from England.  After Russel and I had spent just a few hours in France, we were already feeling frustrated at not being able to communicate with anyone and not knowing what we were doing.  It was very refreshing to make contact with the tour guides who not only spoke English, but were more than happy to explain things, tell you how things worked in Paris, and give recommendations! Each tour was limited to 20 bikers plus the tour guide. We rode as a group in the bus lane or taxi lanes through the streets of Paris. Throughout the ride we would stop in front of this or that monument or statue and our guides told us all sorts or interesting stories about Napoleón and the monuments and Paris. For example, did you know that Napoleon the 3^rd visited London in the middle of the 19^th century and found that it was cleaner, and more modern, prettier, and easier to get around in than Paris, so he commissioned Baron Haussmann to level 90% of Paris? Then he had it rebuilt in the lovely neo-classical style you see today. (These guides were from England, so who knows how much truth there is in the London visit. That Paris was mostly leveled and that it is of a pretty much uniform neoclassical style is quite true.) Also, did you know that Napoleon entered the military academy at age 15 and graduated a four-year program in two years? And by age 21 was in charge of the army?

Anyway we enjoyed our four-hour bike tour so much that the next day we signed up for the four-hour night tour (you get a discount). We went to the Cathedral of Notre Dame, over to a famous ice cream store (Berthillon) and got to-die-for ice cream (pear and deep chocolate flavors), saw where Johnny Dep lives, and then biked across the Seine right through the gates, just before they clanged heavily shut at 10 p.m.  We pedaled around in back of the Louvre, then coasted through the archway while a guy with a cello played, tooled around the Louvre pyramid, and then off we went to the boat docks and a river cruise on the Seine.

Before coming to France we’d thought about buying a two-day bus tour pass that you can hop on and hop off as it goes around the famous sights of Paris. I’m glad we did not end up doing that. One, it was pretty expensive, $170; and 2) some of the museum entrance fees were included in the price—but as I said, we got in free anyway; and 3), seeing Paris by bus? Not cool.

Locking Hearts on the Bridge over the Seine

So there is this tradition (no doubt made up for tourists) of attaching a lock--that you buy on the bridge--onto the iron railings along the bridge over the Seine. You put your initials or names on the lock and then throw away the key. Sealing your love forever. The locks do look pretty, and there are thousands and thousands of them.

Museums

The art collections in Paris are so amazing that it would really be a sin not to go to at least one museum. We planned on going to the Museum of Orsay, which has many of the impressionists—Manet, Degas, Renoir, Monet, Gauguin, Cezanne, Van Gogh, etc. etc. etc. The night before our planned visit, we heard the rumor that all the museums are free on the first Sunday of the month. I thought that could never be true, since that was the exact day we had planned to visit the Orsay. Well it turned out to be true. So we saved about 9 euros each for admission to the Orsay and about 10 euros each on the Louvre. We saw all sorts of amazing and famous bronze statues and beautiful paintings. We both especially loved Van Gogh—oh electric blue eyes and swirling universe—though really there were so many great and famous paintings that you couldn’t take it all in and we kept finding more and more “favorites.” We only stayed a few hours and then headed to the Louvre, where we decided to take one of the two secret staircases our bike tour guides had told us about that lead to the mall under the Louvre area—yes, there are secret stairways and there is a mall with an Apple store and two Starbucks and many other stores, and an entrance to the Lourve. (We hear that the second Starbucks, after you go through security but before you go into the museum, has free Wi-Fi). So while throngs of people were hanging around waiting to get in the main entrance to the Louvre up by the glass Pyramid, we whisked through security and got in (free) in no time.  The secret stairs are located on either side of the Mini Arch d’ Triumph. We made the pilgrimage to see the Mona Lisa, following the signs and pictures of Mona with directional arrows (no other painting nor artist has this kind of helpful signage) up and around past a gazillion amazing pieces of art work and a dozen no-picture-taking-allowed signs, until we found ourselves in the room with Mona. Here we found at least 60 people crowded all around her taking pictures with their iPhones, laptops, iPads, and super cameras. Totally amazing.  (Mona was flanked by two guards and a large piece of glass hung over the picture area.) I got out my camera and took some shots of Mona and all the people taking pictures. Then we spent time looking at the other lovely paintings in the room that were all thinking to themselves, “And what are we? Chopped liver?” We bought several Mona Lisa magnets as souvenirs—along with several key-chain Eiffel towers in various bright colors—must buys—you have seen the movie Sabrina with Harrison Ford?

Cicadas & Rascals & Steve Jobs

The cicadas are singing loudly in the trees, the grass is green, and the weather is lovely. Mary and Jonathan are off to Nashville visiting the sights and going to a Rascal Flats concert.

I'm a little more than half way through the Steve Jobs bio. I disliked dear Steve heartily for the first third of the book. I am able to appreciate his genius a little more now in the middle part. He is still an arrogant, emotional, unappreciative sob, but he has some good moments. And anyway, I guess he had a narcissistic personality disorder, and who knows what else. His passion for excellence and purity is attractive. An interesting tale and very well-written. The author of the bio certainly does not pull any punches. And people were not shy about telling how Jobs abused them, took credit for their ideas,  made mistakes, etc. etc.  Making mistakes. That's an interesting part of the story. Jobs made so many, but his passion compelled him forward and apparently his personality was not ruffled by them--no doubt he employed his reality distortion field. I think when we more mediocre folk make mistakes we become paralyzed or embarrassed about them instead of focused and energized from the lesson.

Here are a few quotes:

Steve was famous for his "reality distortion field"--he seemed to believe that the force of his personality and vision could change reality, but it did not always work: "The reality distortion field can serve as a spur, but then reality itself hits."

"He was so weirdly charismatic that you almost had to get deprogrammed after you talked to him."

"He lies not because it's in his interest, he lies because it's in his nature."

And when Jobs was headed back to Apple after being ousted years earlier, he wasn't taking a salary or any stock; he was just passionate about the industry and wanted to have a chance to move it forward. But his friend Larry Ellison, who was going back with him, worried about not making any money. So Steve says to him, "Larry, this is why it's really important that I'm your friend. You don't need any more money." Lines like that cover a multitude of sins.

Jonathan Arrives

Well after weeks and months of preparation, Jonathan arrived Saturday evening. Apparently all our efforts were worthwhile because there has been no sign of his allergies to cats. And dear Soccer the cat is relegated to the back hallway, the garage, and outside--much to his dismay. We had a cookout party with some of Mary's adults friends--teacher & Bluesman, Sharon and Doug, William and daughter Ruth, Stephen and Joyanna, Eliz & Aaron. Everything was lovely and the patio looked mucho great. The most amazing thing, perhaps, has been the weather. Instead of the dreaded dog days of Knoxville we have had low 80's and low humidity and plenty rain to keep things green. We have never had an August like this!

Jonathan and Mary went to the Sunsphere today, and tonight they are having the sibling get together. :) We have been having a wonderful time--Jonathan is the perfect mix of friendliness and fun--knows how to express appreciation and basically is a very great guy. He loves "his" room that we redid for him. :)

It's a relief not to be cleaning! My hands look rather bedraggled. Will post some pics here later.
I have been such a delinquent blogger.

Dam Race 2012 prep 1

The date for the 2012 Dam Race is July 21. Let’s be ready, team Mantua!

  “ Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. ”
    ― Thomas A. Edison

DDR (Dear Dam Racers),

I have let you all languish in repose long enough! It is time to begin your Dam Race preparations.

Perhaps some few of you have kept up your training, and you are to be commended. However, even you noble ones need some instruction to be fully prepared for the intense competition that will soon be at your doorstep.

Chi: life energy, life force, or energy flow

We begin with the first of the four Chi-skills written about by my good (unilateral) friend Danny Dreyer who wrote Chi Running. And that skill is:

Focusing Your Mind

Your mind instructs your muscles to start working or relaxing. Your mind orchestrates the perfect run, the perfect form, starting out slowly, finding the perfect tempo, and taking in the beauty and chi of your surroundings so that you finish relaxed, empowered, and full of energy for the day ahead.

When your mind is focused and your body is responsive, you have y’chi (ee-chee), a full mind/body focus. It’s the unbreakable focus of a cat when it stalks a bird, or a tennis player awaiting a serve.

Like a meditation practice, the training of the mind and body in ChiRunning is more relaxing than letting the mind wander. Studies have shown that watching TV is not as relaxing as sitting quietly. A focused mind is more relaxed than a mind that wanders aimlessly through the details and minutiae of the day. When you are focused on teaching yourself something new, the benefits to your body and mind will far outweigh the effort it takes to focus. Eventually as the ChiRunning form becomes second nature, your mind and body become as one.

PRACTICE EXERCISE: Focus on your posture, whether sitting, walking, or running. When in a standing position, pay attention to your upper body alignment, your lower body alignment, and pelvic tilt. Imagine a line running downward through the middle of your head, right down through the middle of your ankles to the floor. Keep head and chin straight. Now focus on your feet. Your feet should be parallel and hip width apart. Make sure the feet are parallel and not turned out. Imagine a yard stick lying flat and straight out in front of you on the ground (or put one there), then align the inside of one foot along the straight edge. Do not let the ball of the foot rotate outward. FOCUS!

When you begin your daily run, keep your mind gently focused on your posture.

Coming soon, the next Chi skill: Body Sensing.


Off and running,


Coach Rebrah

Florida Track Meet & Hunger Games

SO, we drove nine hours to Jacksonville, Florida to see Mary in the UNF invitational track meet. She did not jump her best, but did pretty good, and we had a wonderful time visiting, despite the rain and rain delays. We stayed in the same hotel as the track team. (The serving woman in the breakfast room of the hotel said that the Harvard team was very nice and very polite, unlike other teams that were very rude and very not nice!) I read the entire second book of The Hunger Games to Russel as he drove; certainly made the time go fast and kept us awake. (We did not stay in the Seahorse hotel, but it reminded Russel of California hotels, so we took a pic!) And that is Mary with her coach, Coach Tolbert.

Pinks!

Pinks are so beautiful! And so pink! And the really cool thing is, they smell like cloves, and I love cloves! We have had a beautiful spring. Right now, in addition to the Pinks (dianthus) my white azaleas are blooming. Sun and rain sun and rain; it's a good combination.

Forgiveness

I was thinking about forgiveness the other day, I guess because I was privy to a particular incident, and several others I have known about over the years. This kind of information is not often known, because people don't usually talk about it. I came to the conclusion that people don't forgive, they get even. Perhaps not in the Hatfield and McCoy way, but even nonetheless. Except for kids; people do forgive their kids. Maybe that's why God can forgive us, we are children. If we were on par with Him, maybe he wouldn't be so forgiving! ;) No doubt that is why that multiple gods thing didn't work out so well.

Spiritual Matters 19C

Last weekend we went to Asheville for the Spiritual Matters/Matters of Spirit, NCSA (Nineteenth Century Studies Association) conference. Russel was presenting a paper entitled "Spiritualism on Trial: The Arguments of Austin Phelps." Quite an interesting paper, maybe I'll post a link to it later. The conference isn't always on spiritualism, of course. Turns out there were a lot of crazy things going on in the nineteenth century. My favorite session was "The Religion of William James in Mind and Body. There were four papers in that session, and even though they were way over my head, I was thinking I would take up reading James in my spare time. Along with all my other books. Apparently William James, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Jonathan Edwards all knew and conversed. Though I better check those dates--that may have been a different session. There is a current book called Varieties of Religion Today: William James revisited, by Taylor that sounded quite interesting. Anyway, all in all it was one of those experiences where you realize there is so much to know, and that you don't know much. :)

The drive to Asheville was spectacular. The freeway banks were strewn with red bud trees--which should be called lavender trees--in full bloom, mixed with some white dogwoods, and new, spring green trees, and dark cedar--well maybe it was cedar.

Tomorrow we're off to Jacksonville, Florida, to see Mary in a track meet. My azaleas and dogwoods are blooming.

Garage Sale: $500 +

So. We had another garage sale. This is the second big one we've had (another one in between was mostly other people's items), so you may be wondering where we get all this stuff to sell. Well, it isn't easy dragging it all in from clearance sales, garage sales, estate sales, and the occasional flea market. But I have managed--can I help it if I have an eye for "the diamond in the rough"? Add to that, twenty years in the same house and three kids.  We had been collecting stuff from our house and attic for this garage sale for about a year, putting it all in unused rooms as we cleaned through other rooms. I'd say we had about two rooms full of stuff. I got rid of over half the clothes in my closet; some things I'd had since I was in college--no, wait--I kept that! ;) The closet is still full, but at least it is not stuffed. There are actually open spaces.

Anyway we made $450 off the garage sale itself. We sold a large armoire on Craigslist the week before for $125.00 (we had bought it several years ago on Craigslist for $200, and it was just too big for our space) and some antique chairs in poor condition from our earlier life for $25. We got about $60 cash from our hundreds of books sent to McKays Used Bookstore and another $50 or so in McKays cash. The books McKays doesn't buy get returned to you or dumped in the free bin outside the store. On my last trip to McKays I managed to bring back a partial box of books I decided I couldn't part with after all, along with another 6 or 7 from the free bin.

When our garage sale was all over and we were looking with dismay at the pretty much unadulterated junk still left, I remembered seeing offers on Craigslist to buy leftover garage sale stuff, so I posted what wasn't bought for $75.00. It sold immediately. I probably could have got twice that much. But we were thrilled we didn't have to load it all up in multiple trips and take it to Goodwill. The people who bought it seemed pretty thrilled as well. It took two full truck loads for them to cart it off to a town about an hour north of here. So that makes a total take of over $700.00.

The pictures you see are at the end of the garage sale, we were so busy hauling things out of the garage onto the driveway and dealing with a steady stream of customers, that I forgot to take a picture. But at the beginning there was so much stuff on the driveway, you could hardly maneuver. The tables in the garage were so loaded with boxes and things you couldn't even see it all until midway into the morning. I didn't expect to make much money because we didn't really have any big ticket items, just mostly junk: kitchen stuff, decorative items, rugs, pictures, games, puzzles, clothes, blankets, pillows, vases, Barbies (Barbies are not wanted much by the way, nor are Beanie Babies; we were lucky to sell a box of 10 Barbies and clothes for $8; our Beanie Babies are still in the attic ;)--the grandchildren will no doubt be thrilled with them?) etc, so I was thinking if we made $100 it would be worthwhile. We were so sick of seeing that junk in our house, we were considering just hauling it off to Goodwill without a sale.

What also helped is that we happened on a beautiful warm day in February, the 18th, and all the garage sale folks were pretty much in withdrawal and were needing a good West Knox garage sale fix.  There are very few garage sales in winter. I only advertised ours on Craigslist the night before at 10 p.m. and put a sign on the main street outside our subdivision. We had a steady stream of people starting at 7:30 a.m. One guy upon seeing all our hoard said he was going to call his wife to come over. (Several people told me that I took first prize for helpful directing signs to the sale.)

Who comes to garage sales? Well I'd say the first 10 people were men looking for tools, electronics and sporting things, or they were picking up stuff for their own second-hand shops I suppose; one guy came in and swooped up the "paint ball gun stuff" we had mentioned on the Craigslist ad for $20--no doubt a steal. But like I said, I just wanted it all GONE.  Then there were the older couples who garage sale for their Saturday entertainment; sometimes one or the other collects watches or vinyl records or dishes-- they don't buy much, just enjoy rummaging through junk and chatting. I can't take Russel with me to a garage sale because he always suggests that I get whatever I want (except please NOT large furniture items--which I am prone to want because they would fix up so cool!)--he doesn't understand that a mild hoarding tendency like mine can never be filled.

Jewelry is a big draw--people come looking for gold among the junk, and no doubt they find it from time to time. I'm pretty sure they found none at my sale, though I had several bags of jewelry. (Joyanna and Elizabeth had already gone through my jewelry and taken what interested them. They had a great time doing it, so I was happy. Joyanna loved some of the wild earrings I had bought for Mary; they were definitely not Mary's style, but very much Joyanna. Apparently I had been channeling Joyanna all those years I kept trying to convince Mary to wear the huge sparkly earrings I bought and loved.) Then there are the kids and their families that come to garage sales, a lot of Hispanic families. My neighbor with a hoarding problem came over and bought some clothes and dishes and wanted to buy the 30-year-old ratty rattan bookshelves, but her husband came over very kindly and told us that he was buying metal shelving for the new storage shed they just built; the rattan shelves just wouldn't hold up. A number of our friends in the neighborhood dropped by to say hi and buy an item or two. The last person to come was a slender blonde in 6 inch heels and a black dress. Russel and I were a bit dazed by her beauty as we stood there amidst our leftover junk looking like middle-aged homeless folk. She was a lawyer who lives in our neighborhood with her soon to be husband; she picked up a few wedding items.

So all and all we had a pretty good time. The truth is we could still probably have another small garage sale with more things from the attic and things hidden here and there. I read an article about hoarding that said it was hereditary and sometimes the tendencies don't show until middle or old age. I suppose there is some truth to that, but I'm not overly persuaded. On the other hand, sometimes I think everything about our personalities is inherited.

Book list part V

Book List part V

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougal. This is such an interesting book! Who knew there were really 100 mile runs! I didn’t! Now I would love to go to Leadville Colorado and see the race. Don’t think that’s because I’m interested in doing anything so crazy. No, if I can continue to make the 5 mile in Mantua, that will be a feat.  This is a definite must read if just to hear the sordid tale of Nike or was it Adida? As well as the evidence for barefoot running.

Since I got the book on Kindle I can’t flip back through and remind myself of the interesting facts. I don’t like electronic books, but when you have tons of books already living at your house, you begin to see the beauty in at least the idea of the Kindle. (We recently packed up about 200 more books to take in to McKays used book store.)

Anyway, since I don’t have the hard copy to peruse, here is a quote from Amazon:

An epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt?

Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured runner Christopher McDougall sets out to discover their secrets. In the process, he takes his readers from science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultra-runners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to a climactic race in the Copper Canyons that pits America’s best ultra-runners against the tribe. McDougall’s incredible story will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that you, indeed all of us, were born to run. 

A must read.

Letters: a compilation of letters from Leon Leishman Hall while serving in the military from 1942-1944, compiled by Stephanie Winzler. This was certainly an eye-opening, humorous, and revealing compilation. The quote:

So Dad, I guess you have the house started on by now, no doubt? Or is it the same old story? Oh just wait till we get this or that and we can’t do this just yet because of that . . . why the hell don’t you start so you could have something to work for, why worry about the financial part of building, it’s the principle of the thing that really counts. Or what other excuse have you now, or you haven’t by chance actually started construction have you? I didn’t think so. Beats Me?

So many stories we don’t know; so many stories people don’t tell--perhaps all for the better, perhaps not. I remember talking with Grandma Hall one day when I was at Aunt Verda’s house, Grandma told me how unhappy she had been being married to grandpa all those years and that she would have left him except for the children. It was a revelation to me, and one I could tell that Aunt Verda didn’t appreciate much. And while I’m sure everyone knew but me, it wasn’t until grandpa was dying and in the hospital that I found out he smoked (and drank coffee).

It was nice to read about Dad’s physical prowess in so many areas, which I knew, but I enjoyed reading his stats as did Mary--also nice that his abilities have continued down the generations.

Book list part IV

Book list part IV

Chi Running: A Revolutionary approach to effortless, injury-free running by Danny Dreyer. Okay, so I read this book thinking I would smoke all the runners in that dam race. Didn’t quite work out that way, but it was helpful in teaching me correct form. I didn’t find the inspirational chapters at the beginning that helpful, but I thought the chapters on form to be very good. And Chapter 3 with the four chi-skills was pretty good too. Basically if you don’t know what you’re supposed to look like when you run, this is a good book for you. And I certainly didn’t. Just fyi you should lean forward from the ankles but maintain straight posture.

“This changes your foot strike to the midfoot and allows your legs to extend as your feet leave the ground, radically reducing the amount of impact on your knees.”

Another invaluable piece of advice is about picking up your feet.

“Pushing off with your toes creates too much up-and-down motion and overworks your lower legs, a main cause of shin splints. Picking up your feet allows your body to run smoothly without bouncing. This will ensure that you’re moving horizontally forward toward your goal, instead of bouncing along like you’re on a pogo stick, fighting gravity with each step.

When you pick up your feet, you’ll avoid many common injuries, including shin splints, plantar fasciitis, and knee injuries.”

"Every movement in T’ai Chi is balanced by a movement in the opposite direction. The same holds true for ChiRunning. The principle of Balance says that if a part of your body is moving forward another part of your body must move to the read to balance it. Since your upper body is tilting forward, your lower body is responsible for the necessary counterbalance. Let your stride open up behind you, not in front of you."

Well I didn’t intend to quote all this, but as I looked over the book, I realized I needed to revisit my form. And I just got some ideas for my Dam Race inspirational missives!

Love Wins: A book about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived by Rob Bell. This is a very controversial book in some circles. The first week it came out on Amazon there were over 300 reviews, now there are over 600. I pre ordered the book because I was so excited to get it. I wasn’t disappointed. It’s kind of like reading poetry, and like reading thoughts or ideas you had or questions you asked about life when you were much younger and didn’t know everything. But Bell revisits the questions and makes it all make sense, in a way. Obviously the things of God can never be made sense of in a clinical way. And so, as Bell would say, the long quote:

“I believe the discussion itself is divine. Abraham does his best to bargain with God, most of the book of Job consists of arguments by Job and his friends about the deepest questions of human suffering, God is practically on trial in the poems of Lamentations, and Jesus responds to almost every question he’s asked with . . . a question.

“What do you think? How do you read it?” he asks, again and again and again.

The ancient sages said the words of the sacred text were black letters on a white page—there’s all that white space, waiting to be filled with our responses and discussions and debates and opinions and longings and desires and wisdom and insights. We read the words, and then enter into the discussion that has been going on for thousands of years across cultures and continents.

My hope is that this frees you. There is no question that Jesus cannot handle, no discussion too volatile, no issue too dangerous. At the same time, some issues aren’t as big as people have made them. Much blood has been spilled in church splits, heresy trials, and raging debates over issues that are, in the end, not that essential. Sometimes what we are witnessing is simply a massive exercise in missing the point. Jesus frees us to call things what they are.

 . . .

If this book, then, does nothing more than introduce you to the ancient, ongoing discussion surrounding the resurrected Jesus in all its vibrant, diverse, messy multivoiced complexity—well, I’d be thrilled.”

So, anyway, this is a wonderful book. A book that sees with fresh eyes.

Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church  by N. T. Wright. This is another fascinating book. But unlike Bell’s book--that you can just pick up and dive right in, this book takes a bit more struggling. Wright has written too many books and thought too many thoughts, which is great, but it does leave you thinking you will never really understand, and definitely never catch up. But that’s okay, and I definitely recommend this book. (N. T. Wright is one of the world’s top biblical scholars, a prolific author and the Bishop of Durham for the Church of England.) And so the quotes:

“First, what is the ultimate Christian hope? Second what hope is there for change, rescue, transformation, new possibilities within the world in the present? And the main answer can be put like this. As long as we see Christian hope in terms of “going to heaven,” of salvation that is essentially away from this world, the two questions are bound to appear as unrelated.”

“From Plato to Hegel and beyond, some of the greatest philosophers declared that what you think about death, and life beyond it, is the key to thinking seriously about everything else.”

In the early chapters Wright does a review of hymns and poems to reveal that Christians don’t really know what they believe about life after death. Mostly they believe that heaven is “essentially away from this world.” In chapter three Wright covers 7 modifications of early Jewish belief made by the early Christians; these modifications give evidence of the literal resurrection since these changes in thought would not have occurred without some very real and startling occurrence. (Some scholars believe Christ’s divinity was made up hundreds of years later. Not so, says Wright, and he gives the 7 interesting variations to common Jewish thought of the era.) I don’t have time to cover these, except maybe the 7^th: “Nobody in Judaism had expected the Messiah to die, and therefore naturally nobody had imagined the Messiah rising from the dead.” Well, it’s hard to explain this, you’ll just have to read it.

However, I do want to move on to one point in Chapter 4 that I quite enjoyed. Wright points out “four strange features shared by the accounts in the four canonical gospels. These features, [Wright] suggests, compel us to take them seriously as very early accounts, not as often suggested, later inventions.”  These features are all interesting, but I will mention only the second:

“the presence of the women as the principal witnesses. Whether we like it or not, women were not regarded as credible witnesses in the ancient world. When the tradition had time to sort itself out and acquire the fixed form we already find in Paul’s quotation of it in I Corinthians 15, the women were quietly dropped; they were apologetically embarrassing. But there they are in all four gospel stories, front and center, the first witnesses, the first apostles. Nobody would have made them up.”

Ah Paul!  Anyway all four of the strange features are interesting. But you’ll have to read them for yourself! The whole book is excellent.


pics: Christmas dinner 2011; appetizers are put in shot glasses that have been partially filled with ranch dressing! Very cool. Mary taught us this from her gala events at Harvard.