Grandparent Pride

Will and Kristen had a stellar weekend! Will won the Montgomery County Country Club Invitational Golf Tournament and Kristen won the Principal Pianist position for the Etowah Youth Orchestra!

Congratulations, Will and Kristen ! You have both worked so hard to accomplish those things which you enjoy and I love seeing it happen for you.

"Say it Ain't So, Joe"

One of my all-time favorite movie actors is Morgan Freeman. And MSN reported today that he is dating his step-granddaughter!

Words to Live By . . .

I was reading comments from journalists after the death of their colleague Walter Cronkite and one of them was especially meaningful to me. It was from Andy Rooney of CBS's "60 Minutes".

Andy said:

"I've been proud over the years to see Walter become not just one of the best-known people on television but one of the best-known people in the whole world of people. He was proud of me, too, and there's no better feeling in life than that. I wouldn't trade Walter Cronkite liking me for just about anything I've ever had."

I would love to live so that people could say they wouldn't trade me liking them for just about anything they have ever had. I don't think one has to be famous to aspire to that kind of legacy.

The Word UP

The word UP is one of the most often used words in the English language. Here are a few examples:

We look UP toward the sky and wake UP in the morning.
At a meeting, a topic comes UP, we speak UP, our officers are UP for election and it is UP to the secretary to write UP a report.

We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP our jewelry, warm UP our leftovers, clean UP the kitchen, lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.

People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appitate and think UP an excuse.

We dress UP for a special occasion, and open UP a drain when it is stopped UP.

We open UP the store in the morning and close it UP at night.

If you are UP to it, think UP some ways, if it doesn't use UP too much of your time, that we use UP. Don't give UP, you may end UP with a lot more than I have.

Smart Cars - USA Style

When we were in Italy, we saw hundreds of Smart Cars. They are fuel efficient, are good for the environment, and certainly don't require much parking space. I have seen a handful in the United States but I'm guessing we will see more and more of them but given our desire to have everything bigger and better, I imagine we will see some Smart Cars that are "doctored up"!

Can You Guess Who These People Are ???

These are people you should know. Can you guess who they are??? There is a free beer for anyone who guesses correctly.

Bonnaroo

A friend of mine at work left this morning for Bonnaroo Music Festival. Among the many artists who will be performing there are Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Buffett.

It looks like a cool place to be!

"Bear Country"

The Alabama Shakespeare Festival has announced that it will take its play, Bear Country, on the road beginning August 6-20 in Birmingham. In case you haven't heard, this is a play about the legendary Bear Bryant of Alabama football fame. Needless to say, knowing how Alabama fans revere the Bear, tickets have sold out in every venue announced so far!

I have a couple of very close relatives who are Bama fans whom I imagine would be first in line to buy tickets!

Wedding Cakes

An Italian Bellini

The Bellini is a drink that was created in the 1930's or 40's at Harry's Bar in Venice, Italy, by bartender Giuseppe Cipriani and was named after a favorite painter, Giovanni Bellini. The Bellini has sparkling Italian wine as the base in Italy but it is often made with Champagne elsewhere. Amy and I had one on our last night in Rome and it was delicious!

Autos in Italy

Thanks to my husband and son-in-law and their interest in cars, they managed to photograph some Italian vehicles while we were there. If the cars get any smaller over there I think they will start putting some Bondo on roller skates and call it a vehicle!

American Idol Pool Winner

About two weeks ago, I relinquished the reins of the American Idol Pool to my daughter Susan and then left town for 12 days. When I left town, I was leading the pool in points and when I returned, Susan had soared ahead of me and won the pot! I'm not saying she is unreliable at keeping up with the scoring, I'm just saying . . . . . .

That is TWICE she has picked someone out of the blue who won - she must have an inside track to some information that we don't have!

ITALY --- Here We Come!

For almost two years, we have been planning our 25th anniversary trip and now we are packed and ready to go!

Some places we will be visiting are: Rome, Venice, Florence, Assissi, Tuscany, the Isle of Capri, Naples, and Pompeii. Eric and Amy are going with us and we are all very excited!!!

We will take lots of pictures and try to share them when we return.

Set for Failure

Relinquishing the Reins of Idol Pool

As of today, I am giving my daughter, Susan Hawkins, the envelope containing the money, and the list of Idol pool entrants and their selections. I have trained her to be forthright and honest and hopefully, she will conduct the pool in a manner indicative of her upbringing. Since I have a $20 stake in this adventure, I certainly hope I can trust her to do it right! :)

As of last night's elimination of Allison (John, Sara, and Kirk had Allison #4 and earned an additional 50 points) I believe I have a good chance of winning the pot so I have an extreme interest in Susan getting the scores right!

In case there is anyone in this world who may not already know why I am relinquishing my responsibilities to Susan, it is because on the day the winner is announced, I will be leaving Venice and traveling past the Palladian villas along the Brenta Canal and heading into the forested Apennine Mountains to Tuscany! Sorry I am missing American Idol - NOT!!!

American Idol Pool Update

After the 2 round of eliminations which have the same point values, here are the scores at this time:

Sara - 120 points
Amy - 85 points
Kirk- 50 points
Benji- 50 points
Kristen- 0 points
Claire - 25 points
Jamie - 50 points
John - 120 points
Terry W. - 110 points
April - 85 points
Susan - 85 points
Terry H. - 85 points

KUDOS to Will and Kristen

By the time I was Will and Kristen's age, all my grandparents were either dead or in such ill health that they could not enjoy the things that were going on in my life so I feel particularly blessed to be able to witness and be a part of the phenomenal achievements of my grandchildren!

Last Saturday, Kristen won a Superior Award in a piano competition which enables her to perform at the State Piano Competition. Then on Sunday, she won 1st Place in another piano competition which means she is the #1 student at the Chadek Conservatory of Music at University of Chattanooga, and she is only a junior in high school! With this award comes $1000 to apply toward her music education.

Tuesday night, Will was given the Fireman's Award on Auburn University's Golf Team. This award is given to the team member who is the torch bearer for the rest of the team. He is the team member who sets the example for everyone else. He is the one who goes the extra mile in everything he does. He doesn't miss a practice or a workout and is the one who encourages the rest of the team members when they are feeling down and out. He inspires everyone ,by his own example, to be dedicated and committed to school and team efforts.

I really do not know how two young people could do more than Will and Kristen do to maintain high standards for behavior and achievement! You are both a true blessing and an inspiration to us all!

One Word Riddle

There is a word in the English language that has 9 letters. If you remove one letter at a time until you get down to 1 letter, each remaining word is also a word in the English language. The word is "startling". See if you can come up with all the words - removing only one letter at a time.

Remembering Morris

Yesterday, my first cousin Morris, died after attending Easter services at his church. He was almost like a brother to me in my growing up years because we always lived on the same block and our backyards joined each other by way of my grandmother's back yard. We were all like one big family. Morris was three years older than me but we spent many hours during our childhood hiding Easter eggs, playing croquet, riding bikes, playing marbles and counting stars on warm summer nights.

As we grew older, we went our separate ways but always remained close. I could always count on Morris to be there when I needed him.

Morris graduated from law school and served in the Alabama legislature. He maintained a large law practice while owning and operating three banks. He was very active in civic affairs and loved geneology. He was the cousin who always attended all the family gatherings, weddings, baptisms, funerals, and school performances. He was the one cousin from my family who drove to Austin, Texas, to attend the wedding of my daughter and son-in-law.

When I retired from my education job and started my real estate career 19 years ago, Morris was the first person to list property with me and he encouraged me every step of the way. Then when I decided to branch out on my own and start my own company, Morris was the one who stepped up to the plate, stuck his neck out and loaned me $30,000 to get started.

Morris has not been in very good health in recent years so it was not a huge surprise that his heart finally gave up but even though his physical heart is no longer working, the heart of his soul will live on in his family forever.

He was the "kissin' cousin" - he kissed me every time he saw me and always called me "Sally". I love you, buddy, and will miss you terribly!

Poll Results to Date

After the first round of three eliminations which count 25 points each, here are the results:

Sara - 50 points
Amy - 50 points
Kirk - 50 points
Benji - 50 points
Kristen - 0 points
Claire - 25 points
Jamie - 50 points
John - 50 points
Terry W. - 75 points
April - 50 points
Susan - 50 points
Terry H.- 50 points