75th Atlanta Dogwood Festival Media Kick-Off Party

This past week we had the 75th Atlanta Dogwood Festival Media Kick-off on Wednesday night. It was a different night in that I was in the spotlight and it was Doug playing the supportive role. He did just fine.

I was all over the room to meet different local celebrities and politicians.

Of course when I went to give my welcome speech the microphone would not work at the podium so I had to walk into the middle of the room to talk (without notes).

Here I am with Alex Wan, Mary Norwood, Jamie Ensley and maybe a guy from WellsFargo.

Lil'Bean

A lovely weekend in the mountains AND Aunt Tilley's World Travels

I actually completed something I have wanted to do for a long time. I, along with a very old friend, Amye Reese Shelton, put the finishing touches on a booth at the Butler Gallery II in Clayton Ga. I have tried to think of something to in Clayton that would give me ties to the community.
And, I would have never undertaken this on my own, but it is a lot of fun doing putting things together with someone else.

Amye and I have carted antiques from her house in the back of a pickup truck, we have experienced the Merchandise Mart for the gift show and now we have it all together and can start marketing and selling our wares.

Doug has been a great help and has not complained once about the boxes being delivered. He did have a breakdown when I brought in some antiques that needed work and piled them in his neat garage, but he got over it and actually cleaned up a chair, hung a few of the heavier things in the booth and has not asked me once how I am paying for this.

Mother of the Bride

I recently went through the fun and frantic time of assisting in the planning and execution of my oldest daughter's wedding. I was mainly the dress and flower person.

The week before the wedding I went to San Francisco to help by completing any thing left on either the list of the bride or the groom. That included picking up the dress and transporting 11 cases of wine to the little town of Mill Valley where the reception took place. I decided that what-ever my daughter had planned for this weekend, her sister and I would be there, sharing in the moment. This included hair, makeup, mani/pedi and an early morning yoga class for the wedding day.


The experience was certainly one of joy. My daughter has married a great guy that has a wonderful family and we plan to share many happy times together as a blended family.

I once read where Joann Newman (actress and wife of Paul) said that she grew a little jealous of her daughters as she grew older and they grew up. I on the other hand have always been thrilled with seeing my girls grow and mature and am relishing every milestone of their lives.

All that said, I believe that having the mind set that I would enjoy this event certainly helped me have the right attitude and to enjoy the day and everything that it came with it.

Another weekend with Dad

Since my Dad fell the first of March, I have spent many weekends visiting with him in a nursing home. The changes (for the better) were very slow coming at first, but now I see my old Dad is back.

It was hard at first, thinking that I might lose my last parent. Several times on my long drive to Savannah, I would be mentally planning what I would need to do should I get there to find him on death's door. One day I was actually called half way through my 4 hour drive and told he had been rushed to the emergency room, to meet him there.

Now it is several surgeries latter and things are looking good! I showed him the picture that I had taken of him the day I rushed to the emergency room. He had smiled weakly as I ran in and I snapped the picture with my phone.

"Who is that?" he asked.

"It's a picture of you taken two months ago."

"I look like I am layed out to die. Why did you keep telling me I looked great if I looked like that?"

Later on as Dad ate dinner in the dining hall, I had a conversation with a lovely gentleman. Well I guess it could be considered a conversation. He was so hard of hearing that he couldn't hear his own speach and certainly couldn't understand anything I was saying. But we spoke politely for several minutes, not sure of anything either one said or asked.

Here are several of the things I have thought of on my drives back and forth:
(1) Why don't we have a great transportation system like in Europe so that I could jump on a train, ride down to see him for a few hours and then back home? I could work on my computer, take calls, etc etc while I was traveling.
(2) Maybe I should buy a house in Coastal Georgia. I certainly miss the salty sea air.
(3) God, how did it get so hot down here. You can't even breath this air.
(4) What can I do for him while I am there this weekend that is interesting? Sitting in a nursing home day in and out can't be exciting. Especially since he is one of the few that is still aware of exactly where he is and what is going on.
(5) This is really hard on me here, I am not really a game player, although I try. I really don't care who wins at checkers, half way though I just want it all over with.
(6) How can I increase the odds of my not ending up in a nursing home myself? (I mean on the positive side - not committing sucide at the first sign of old age)
(7) I love this Willie Nelson CD
(8) Which one of my daughters will visit with me like I visit with him? Or will neither one of them come?