HUH? What was that you said?

The music was so loud last night that it took me a while to get my hearing back.: 0

The reason for this temporary hearing loss was that my girlfriend and I followed the rest of the "Middle Aged Groupies" to the American Idol On Tour concert playing in Bham last night!!!

What can I say? We love that show and the talent it produces! (OK...plus Dave won us two tickets in a radio call-in contest!) : )

Anyway, the concert was held in our coliseum and was surprisingly only about half-filled. I guess that we are just so spoiled here in Birmingham in that the past tours have always had Birmingham people (two winners-Ruben and Taylor...and runner up-Bo Bice) to go scream for...but no top people this year. : (

And, talking about screaming...between the way-to-loud sound system and the screaming 13 year olds it was quite a night.

The coliseum is not known for its great sound system...as last night proved once again. But, we still enjoyed the show. Ellen, my partner in crime, and I had pretty good lower level seats...and, of course there were several big screens to get a better view.

In my opinion the best entertainers there were Jordin (of course), Lakisha, Blake, Melinda and Phil. I was surprised at how incredible Phil sounded...he was outstanding and won the crowd's hearts when he leaned over from the stage and let a fan rub his bald head...(!)Lakisha belted out her song and left me with chill bumps...and Blake was definitely the crowd favorite with his incredible beatboxing. Jordin ended the show with three excellent sounding songs (still can't believe the pipes on that 17 year old girl!!) and I captured the last one for you on the following video:

..and then there's Sanjaya.....what else can I say???

A Standing O....!

"Super Sleuth" Succeeds!

It looks as if Dave's crime fighting skills have proven to be helpful after all...

As I expressed in my previous post, after his house was broken into, Dave started to do his own detective work. He began calling local coin shops to see if anyone had tried to sell his stolen coins. This was made easier by the fact that Dave had documented each coin that he had in his prized collection.

After several attempts he met with success!

A 20 year old kid had just sold "Dave's coins" in the local shop. The proprietor immediately stopped the check payment and was able to produce the name and address of the thief, This information was now handed over to the police for further investigation.

So, the bottom line is that Dave's coins will be returned to him and this young man will be slapped with a misdemeanor charge From what we have now learned, this kid has been in trouble with the law before.

This still doesn't return some of the other other valuable items that were taken, but there is some relief in knowing that the offender has been identified and charged.

Lesson learned for me....start documenting all of the valuables in my home!

I can hear my very organized, "list-keeping" Dave saying "I told you so...!" all the way over here!

OK, you are right this time honey....but, don't let it go to your head! : )

: (

When it rains, it pours....and I'm not talking about the weather.

Dave has been so enmeshed with what is going on with his sister lately... and understandably so. This has just drained him as he tries to make sense of a situation that just doesn't make any sense at all...and probably never will. Plain and simple....Cancer sucks.

As though that wasn't enough, he went home from work last night to find that his home had been broken into. His kitchen window had been forced open as a point of entry for the robber/robbers.

Strangely, with all of his computers, stereo, tv's, and even credit cards that are around his house...it seemed that the person who broke in simply left with his digital camera and its supplies and left the other, more valuable items, alone.

That is, until this morning when Dave found that they had taken his little box of coins and other memorabilia that were worth their weight in gold to him. This little metal "safe" of sorts held years and years of memories for Dave and it broke my heart to know that someone out there had taken this. You can't put a price on these precious gifts from family members that he has collected through the years...especially the ones from people who are no longer around.

Just the idea of knowing that some strange person/persons were in his home when he wasn't....it gives one such a feeling of being violated. His drawers were left open and in disarray and there were other obvious signs of someone rushing around looking for what they wanted. Money for drugs? Just a thrill? Why?!

Dave did report this to the police and gave them all of the necessary information. Ironically, he gets very absorbed in the crime shows on television...you know, the real ones...the court stories of real situations and real people. So, today he is using some of that knowledge to try and figure out exactly what happened to his home and who might have done it. He told me that he is going to call the local coin shops to find out if any of his coins have been brought in to be sold. Dave is very diligent and always makes lists of things for future reference. I have teased him about this list keeping before....but, not anymore. He knows exactly what was taken from that little tin "safe".

I know this type of thing happens to people every day all over the world, but when it happens to someone you are close to, it really "hits home"...in more ways than one.

I'm so sorry, Dave.

Today was one of those fun days.

You know, annual check-up, blood work, mammogram, and bone density test. *groan*

The first order of business was discussing my hot flashes with my internist. She's young, she listened, she smiled, and she sympathetically gave me some samples of some "estrogel" which is basically a foam (!) that I am to rub on my arms once a day. The fun continues...

Bone density was next. This is where you lie still while a machine hovers over your spine and hips checking out the thickness of your bones. As I lie there on my back I thought how nice it would be if they would put something clever on the ceiling that we could read during this test. The technician didn't seem amused with my idea.

From there it was on to the ever joyful mammogram. What can a woman say about this lovely test where your bosoms are basically flattened between two pieces of heavy duty laminate?

First they send you to this little room to remove your upper clothing and to put on this humongous robe of sorts that, of course, opens in the front. They also leave you with instructions to use the available "wipees" to remove all traces of your deodorant. One has to wonder how that will be running errands after the testing is done????

One picture isn't enough, of course....they need to take four different shots. The funniest part to me is how I feel that I must make small talk with the nurse who is doing this delightful thing to my upper body."So, how are you doing?" I ask. "Have you smashed a lot of breasts today?" and other idle chit chat just to make the time go by quickly.

Well, with all of this behind me, I will await the results in the next few days. In the meantime, I have some foam to spread all over my arms...

What could be more fun than this?? : 0

Solution to the water shortage....?!?!

...my pottery bowl says it all!

(Owen likes my sense of humor)

count down....

Eighteen more days until I get to see you again, Owen!!!! : ) xoxo Grammie

The scene of the "crime"...

A "word" to the wise....

Dave and I played Scrabble last night. He consistently ends up the victor in these little "friendly" competitions.

But, last night was different...

I was gloating as I easily filled the board with my double letter, double and triple word points. There was no stopping me!

Dave was not happy...he takes his game playing very seriously and he was behind me in points most the evening. I was pretty much blowing him away.

Little did I know that he had a "Z" and a "Q" in his hand as we neared the end of the game and had no place to put them...

In my naivete' I didn't imagine that he would resort to a desperation attempt in the final minutes!

Suddenly, he was using his high point letters and racking up points. It looked like he was about to have a real come-from-behind victory...and I was quite impressed.

When all was said and done, I still came out the victor....but he had closed a 70+ point deficit to come within 3 points of beating me.

Basking in my glory, I decided to take my camera out and document this win. Looking over the board, I suddenly spotted some discrepancies in some of the words.

"What is this word?" I asked.

Had I not noticed this before????

When questioned, he finally came clean as he laughed hysterically. He had been "borrowing" letters from the board to help him make some of those last few words! Hoping that I wouldn't notice, he surreptitiously snuck a few of the letters away allowing him to use his "Z" and his "Q" and rack up the points.

I couldn't believe that this sweet man would resort to such tactics!

Trust me, I will now be installing surveillance cameras around the game table for the next time....So, watch out, Dave, the jig is up!

raindrops....

YAY! It is raining outside.

Not just a passing shower....but an all day kind of rhythmic rain. It is music to my ears....I just hope that it keeps up....heaven knows we need it!

The only one a bit unhappy about it all was Dave as it messed up his morning golf game... : (...but, I know that deep down he is thrilled for our lawns, shrubs and plants! )

Last night I cut a fresh salmon filet into sections and Dave and I each did our thing with them. We had decided to wrap them in filo dough for a change of pace. We spritzed it all with fresh lemon and then he did his with a dry rub...I have no idea what he put in it...but it was very good! I did one with Dijon mustard and a little garlic and the other one with soy sauce, ginger, toasted sesame seeds, garlic and sweet and sour sauce. Once seasoned, they were wrapped individually in layers of buttered filo dough and baked until crispy and brown. I must say that my favorite was probably the mustard one...but they were all quite flavorful and delicious. I'm looking forward to eating the leftovers for tonight...!

We opened a bottle of pinot grigio and had a lovely meal together before settling in for tv, a baseball game, and a relaxing, "do nothing" evening...

...more with Sheryl : )

Well, now that Sheryl's pottery pieces have been created, it was time to paint them with the underglazes.

In this picture taken yesterday, she is using the "famous" standing-one-hand-painting approach...very rarely seen in beginners! : )

The angel is painted and ready to go into the kiln! Pretty impressive for a first-timer !

Sheryl has headed back to Atlanta so I will be firing everything for her...and then coating the pieces with a clear overglaze. I know that she will be pleased with the final results...she did an awesome job....and, more importantly, had a great time doing it.

In my opinion she is a much more talented lady than she gives herself credit for!

I loved it...let's do it again soon, Sheryl!

A clay artist is born!

Here is Sheryl experimenting with some of my texture and lettering tools. I just wanted her to experiment and get a feel for the clay...but, she ended up making a great plaque that we are going to actually fire!

I thought that it might be fun for her to try out the wheel. I barely, if ever, use it as I prefer handbuilding....but, I dusted it off and let her have a go of it.

She looks pretty professional here...but as she increased the wheel speed her lump of clay went flying off of the center and was sliding all over!

We were in hysterics at this point. : )

 

Sheryl's clay covered hands after her wheel experiment. We considered putting the clay on our faces for a mud facial...but, later decided against it!

She really liked my clay angels so decided that would be her "real" project. I was amazed at the final result...isn't it adorable? She did a great job and even though she based it on my angel, she definitely put her "Sheryl" touches in it to make it uniquely hers.

She will be back today to paint her pieces...and add her final touches.

I better watch out, she may head back to Atlanta and open up a little pottery store of her own! : )