Musings

I’m guessing this doesn’t make much sense, but it’s what I’ve been working on for the last few days, and need to tweak a bit more.

The short version is that time goes from left to right (right is most recent), and white means I have no (comparable) data. I’m trying to generate an index of demographic centralization using regional survey data, and this is how far I’ve gotten. The darkest colors had the most centralized populations (more people lived in large communities). Stand by for adjustments.

Posted at 9:43 PM | 3 Comments »

One evening this week, John and I had the pleasure of attending a reading and book signing by Richard Croker, who John worked with in TBS days, at the Georgia Center for the Book in Decatur. Richard’s gotten two novels published, both set during US Civil War battles: Antietam for the first, and Fredericksburg for the new one. Richard read several excerpts from No Greater Courage, all insightful and enticing.

Richard also revealed that when he doesn’t have the real names of his characters passed down through history, he often borrows them from people he knows—including family and friends. John’s and Richard’s buddy Tony Marshall is one such donor. Tony was in the audience, occasioning much laughter as Richard read that the Civil War-era Anthony directed the breaking of over 500 mules in a single day. Today’s Tony avoids “breaking” fancy broadcast cameras (sometimes for Braves games!) and the like, and the contrast still has me giggling!

Posted at 8:44 PM | Comments Off on Book signing

During our late afternoon walk, the sun began to fade and the breezes to pick up; rain’s predicted for tonight and we could feel the change coming. Still, we enjoyed our last look and sniff of blooms that will not survive rain-battering, and, with anticipation, checked out those still closed up in buds, like this dogwood.

Oh, and…sometime during the wee hours I dreamed that I cut my hair to just below the earlobes and above the shoulders, and dyed it deep, dark auburn, like my mom’s used to be….

Posted at 6:22 PM | Comments Off on Change coming

I’m kinda burned out after spending the day bouncing between Excel and FileMaker, so my brain’s idling and not very blahg-productive. Here’s the best I can do…

Spring is drifting on, so that the daffodils are beginning to fade and I can see the bud-hue on a few of the azalea bushes. More color to come!

Posted at 5:03 PM | Comments Off on Daffy-dill

I can’t remember a day I wanted to use these words, but today they both come to mind. Breezes over the last few days have brought down some of the blooms from the ornamental fruit trees, and tangoed them into windrows along the curb. Still, the air is redolent with their rich perfume….

On another note, here’s a definition of pure laziness I observed on today’s walk. Fella pulls into his driveway in his fancy but not overlarge SUV. The driveway is about two car-lengths long. He stops at the mailbox, strategically located next to the sidewalk on the lot side (not the street side) and stops to open it and check for mail, reach, stretch, slams it closed and hits the gas to ease on into the garage complete with remote and electric opener, of course.

Any guesses on how much he pays a month for his gym membership?

BTW, John caught the action on a Ponce street corner the other day. And, yes, the tutu was really that pink! His shoes would have Cojo cringing, I’m sure….

Posted at 6:21 PM | 4 Comments »

Well, I’m not trying to shock you with the unexpected, but I just have to mention Mrs. Stewart’s bluing. My friend Mary Jo told me a while back that it’s just the bee’s knees (not a direct quote!), and I finally got around to checking it out, and I’m very impressed.

By adding a teeny amount of Mrs. Stewart’s to the water of your laundry load, you will end up with brighter whites—and even colors—with no bleach, or further effort!

You can read plenty you’ve probably never learned about laundry strategies and techniques on the Mrs. Stewart’s web pages—click here! In short, it’s inexpensive, it’s easy to use, and, geeze, what’re you waiting for?

The bottle of Mrs. Stewart’s I bought had a neck hanger (which I mistakenly thought was a neckanger the first time I heard the term) with suggestions for other uses for the bluing, like making blue crystals! Now that sounds like fun!

In short, one way or another, you should swoop up a bottle of Mrs. Stewart’s and improve your quality of life!

Now, I just have to ask, do I get any points for not calling this stuff “the product” in this whole entry????

Posted at 8:32 PM | Comments Off on Mrs. Stewart’s

Perfect sports weather today, and here’s our favorite soccer player in action. Even scored a goal! Rah!

Posted at 4:24 PM | Comments Off on Soccer afternoon

Another spring highlight in these parts is the Bradford pear, a lovely tree native to eastern Asia that, unfortunately, is very susceptible to having its major limbs split from the main trunk, especially during ice storms. This time of the year, however, they are just plain stunning.

Question of the day: will I sign up for Mandarin Chinese for Beginners this spring at Emory?

Posted at 3:59 PM | Comments Off on Ornamental oriental

Especially for Anne Bananne…

She prayed to have a moment of clarity, and by God, she did. It was that she was mad as a hatter. That’s okay, she said, patting her own shoulder. All your better people were.

On the next page: “silky strings of touch”….

Anne Lamott and I come at life from different directions, but she’s worth reading for Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life (1995), on how to write, if nothing else. I gotta admit, though, I think I liked Stephen King’s book on how to write (titled cleverly enoughOn Writing) even better. Read them both, then act on their suggestions, and you’ll be well on your way!

So far (up to page 50), there’s been one tiny hint of the blue shoe, but I’m still waiting to find out its significance….

Posted at 7:08 PM | Comments Off on Forsythia

The fruits, or hips, of the Cherokee rose are huge!—an inch or so long! I found this one on the bower in the rose garden at the State Botanical Garden in Athens. (Thanks, Bill!) The rose garden is surrounded by a big fence, detracting somewhat from its beauty….

Sources on the web indicate that this rose is really native to China and southeastern Asia, and now is naturalized in southeastern North America. Unlike most roses, it’s fairly easy to grow.

Georgia’s state flower is the Cherokee rose, and the plant is linked to the Cherokee Trail of Tears, when Euroamericans drove the Cherokee west to resettle those who survived in Oklahoma. The petals symbolize tears of grief for the four to five thousand Cherokees who died en route.

Posted at 4:24 PM | Comments Off on Rosa laevigata