A Few Random Thoughts

Merry Christmas from Sammie Claus and Cash Kringle! (Our family's annual Christmas letter)

2011-12-23T17:19:00.001-05:00

Hello, everyone. Since my mom hasn't updated her blog in several months, I decided to write and post our annual Christmas letter that I wrote this year. This version contains photos of our 2011. Hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas!

Internationally-known feline writer Sammie "Claus"

Hello! It’s Sammie Ann Beutke DeVito, the friendly feline daughter of David and Allyson, writing again this year with our sixth annual holiday letter. I personally don’t think I have lots of exciting news to share about our lives (I think my feline brother Cash is on his 8^th one as much as he gets into trouble), but since so many of you think this letter is the greatest thing since the McRib sandwich at McDonald’s, I feel obligated to tell you about our 2011!

Cash gets into everything...literally. He is so curious and loves to help decorate for the holidays!

We’re still living in the Bluegrass region of Lexington, Kentucky. We figured out it’s called the Bluegrass because bluegrass is a type of grass that grows in many of the pastures in the commonwealth. Yes, that’s right… we don’t live in a state anymore. We live in a commonwealth. I wish someone would share some of this common wealth with us.

My dad finished teaching his chemistry classes at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) in May. A week later, he started a summer job at a company called Lexel (how original) in Lexington. He made radar tubes for military aircraft and realized why he is going to school to become a dentist.

Here is our dad on his first day of dental school. He purchased an actual fishing tackle box to put all of his dental instruments and supplies in for his classes. He added the UK stickers. :)

He started dental school at the University of Kentucky in late July and finished the fall semester on December 15. He is 1/8 of a dentist now, which means he is officially qualified to work on plastic teeth. His spring semester starts January 3 and goes until late June. He starts his second of four years in late July. He is the oldest, I mean wisest, person in his class, and some of his classmates were born in the 1990s, a few years before he graduated from high school.

We like to help Dad study, especially when the subject is dental anatomy. It's our favorite!

He took the equivalent of 28 credit hours, including biochemistry, dental anatomy, public health, and histology, which is not the history of teeth but the study of tissues, and not the Kleenex kind. He also had to learn more than 30 dental instruments, and some of them have strange names such as Dr. Felt’s #6, the amalgam hoe, and the football burnisher. You should ask for one of those the next time you visit the dentist.

Look at all the dental instruments my dad has to know how to use. Our favorite is the football burnisher!

He also learned that while all 32 adult teeth (fewer for some Kentucky residents) look similar, they are very different in terms of shape and size and each one has a name such as the right permanent mandibular second molar. (Imagine if you were a baby tooth and had to learn how to spell your long name!)

I helped Dad inspect his dental school supplies. Cash climbed into the boxes they came in and tried to eat the plastic wrap. Crazy Cash!

During the spring, he’ll take gross anatomy, where they will dissect a cadaver. Won’t that be fun! I don’t know why they need to examine an entire body when they should only care about the mouth.

Our dad had a special ceremony in August, and he received his official white coat with his name on it—it's a way to welcome first-year students into the profession. When he got home, he insisted on a photo with us. You can tell how thrilled we are!

During October, he traveled to the rural area of Ashland, Kentucky, near the West Virginia border, with some of his classmates. They cleaned kids’ teeth (or tooth for some of them. They really do love Mountain Dew up here, no joke!) and put sealants on them. They even made the front page of the one-page newspaper the next day. My dad also received an award from his classmates. During November, the men in his class participated in “No Shave November” to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

In addition to not shaving for a month, our dad also didn't get a haircut, so he was extra hairy!

They didn’t shave their facial hair for a month, and if you know my dad and his Viking ancestry, you know he came out of the womb with facial hair. He received the “Manliest Beard” award, and we have the certificate on our refrigerator. He still has a goatee, and plans to have a Magnum P.I./Tom Selleck-type mustache for Christmas. Oh happy happy, joy joy!

My mom taught at EKU in the spring and again this fall. She taught two classes there—mass media and society and broadcast news writing and reporting.

EKU has a gorgeous new EKU Center for the Arts, and my mom and her students were able to watch a live news broadcast and performance on the opening night.

EKU’s mascot is a colonel like Colonel Sanders who started Kentucky Friend Chicken, but the mascot is an angrier version of him. Maybe the EKU colonel is upset that he doesn’t know KFC’s secret blend of 11 herbs and spices.

She also had the opportunity to teach two classes at the University of Kentucky this fall. It’s a new course that combines writing and public speaking. She already knew a lot of students do not write well, and she learned some of them cannot speak well either. She will teach three classes at EKU and two at UK during the spring, which keeps her busy.

This is a view of the University of Kentucky's campus from one of the top floors of the library.

My parents left us when they visited Florida for an oblication (the combination of a vacation and obligation) during June. My mom thought we needed a cat sitter, but I tried to convince her that we would be fine on our own. She said if we could learn to use the toilet and flush, we wouldn’t need a sitter. Cash couldn’t master that after many failed attempts, so this really nice lady named Miss Maria came over and made sure we had plenty of food and water and cleaned our litter box. She is a retired police detective. Cash wanted to borrow her handcuffs, but they were too big for his paws, so he used them as a stylish collar.

Sometimes Cash sits on the stairs and pretends to be in jail.

My parents said it was great seeing their Florida family and friends, but they definitely don’t miss simmering in the sizzling summer heat.

Florida was hot and humid as usual, but the sunsets are breathtaking.

They spent several days hanging out with my human cousin, Judson, who is so cute and now 15 months old.

My mom and Grandma Sharon put one of my mom's dresses from when she was a little girl on Judson during their Florida visit. They got into trouble with Judson's dad, Uncle Jason, but they both said it was well worth it. At least he'd make a cute little girl too! My mom did the same thing with Uncle Jason when he was little. She also told him he was adopted like I tell Cash all the time.

My parents also gave Judson a little Wildcat towel that he uses at bath time.

Isn't our human cousin Judson just the cutest little wildcat!!!

They also got to meet some young cousins on my dad’s side of the family. If you ever want to visit us, just get on I-75 and head north. You’ll know you’re in Kentucky when you start to notice all the bad drivers from neighboring Ohio.

Speaking of Ohio and the crazy buckeye nuts that live there, I am happy Urban Meyer is headed back. He’s from Ohio and coached at Ohio State before, so once a nut, always a nut in my book. The Gator Nation is much better off without him around, but I’m not too sure about this Coach Muschamp either. Hopefully, they will have a better season next year. I have been watching the Denver Broncos play since my boy Tim Tebow is their quarterback. Cash has been working on his Tebowing pose, but it’s hard to do since he doesn’t have an elbow.

If we’ve learned one thing about living in Kentucky, it’s that basketball is the most important thing ever. People wait in long lines outside in the cold for days just to get on a list to get tickets to a practice game that starts at midnight. We also have the largest basketball arena in the U.S. At least the basketball team is doing well since the football team isn’t very good. Also, the stadium up here is so cute. It’s like a miniature version of a real stadium. I think it could fit inside the Swamp at UF.

We’ve only had two sets of visitors this year. Grandma Betty, Grandpa Jean-Paul, Aunt Allison, Uncle Matt and their canine son, Toby, visited us for New Year’s. We got Toby, a daschund, some small snow boots to wear, but he didn’t like them, and there wasn’t any snow, so it worked out well. We learned that Toby can run up the stairs in our house, but he can’t go down. Gravity plays a mean joke on him and he kind of tumbles down. It was fun to watch. He also went into the litter box and ate one of Cash’s turds. I guess he needed some protein.

Our canine cousin Toby made himself right at home and immediately started eating our food.

In October, Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Amos came for a visit. It was their first time in Lexington, and my parents drove them around and showed them all the sights.

I watched "The Amazing Race" on TV with my grandparents, but the competition was too intense, and I couldn't take it, so I had to turn and face the back of the couch.

We fed them well, and they enjoyed their first Kentucky Hot Brown, an open-faced sandwich with turkey, ham and bacon, covered in a creamy Monray cheese sauce, topped with sliced tomato and broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown. Yummy!

Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Amos shared this Hot Brown at the legendary Ramsey's Diner in Lexington during their fall visit. They loved every bite of it!

We’d love for you to visit us! There are lots of exciting things to do. People love horses up here. I haven’t ridden one yet, but Cash and I might go to the Kentucky Derby in May. It’s actually in Louisville, not Lexington. Don’t you think I’d look so cute in one of those big hats the ladies wear at the Derby?

Our parents visited Churchill Downs in Louisville where the Kentucky Derby race is run each May. It was raining on the day they went in July, so they'll explore the track next time.

My mom is disappointed is hasn’t snowed yet this winter. We had a White Christmas last year, and it was so nice since she had been singing that was dreaming of one for weeks before Christmas.

We had a White Christmas last year, and it was so beautiful!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Remember to have your pets spayed or neutered! (By the way, my parents were watching The Price is Right while I typed this, and they noticed the models are now allowed to talk and have their own microphones. Look how far women have come in the work place!)

Love,

Sammie Claus, Cash Kringle, David and Allyson DeVito

Even though we have our own cat bed, our favorite place to sleep is at the foot of our parent's bed while they are in it.

P.S. My parents got new smart phones (I wonder what a dumb phone is?) in February. Whoever had my mom’s number previously was a meth drug dealer in Hazard, Kentucky because strange sounding people would text and call at all times of the day and night asking for a delivery. As my dad says, these could be his future patients since their teeth (or tooth) will be rotten! Have a great 2012! ☺ Go Wildcats! Go Colonels! Go Gators!

Need help with chemistry? Check out chemistrydoctor.blogspot.com!

2011-07-30T12:53:00.004-04:00

Chemistry—a subject many of us probably didn't like in school, but it's required. However, I'm sharing some good news that might help some of you who need help balancing equations and calculating reactions. My husband, David DeVito, has taught chemistry at the college level for several years now, and he has a new blog devoted to helping students with chemistry. He started it a few months ago when he finished teaching chemistry at Eastern Kentucky University as a way for his students to keep in contact and continue asking chemistry-related questions. Check it out at http://chemistrydoctor.blogspot.com.

David has a PhD in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida and this week, he started as a full-time dental student at the University of Kentucky. Like me, he loves teaching and interacting with students, so this blog is hopefully a way for him to continue this interaction and instruction.

In his second post, he links to this website about wisdom from a Chemistry Cat: http://www.uproxx.com/webculture/2011/07/meme-watch-chemistry-cats-word-is-his-bond/#page/1.
Unfortunately, our cats, Sammie and Cash, don't share in their dad's love and knowledge of chemistry. :)

Living it up in Louisville

2011-07-25T11:40:00.003-04:00

Kentucky is the smallest state we've lived in, but we still haven't explored much beyond Lexington, so we recently traveled to Louisville. The drive was only an hour from our house to the hotel in downtown Louisville.

We arrived in time for lunch and walked to an area called 4th Street Live, where there are many restaurants, clubs and shops. Part of the street is blocked off to vehicle traffic, so it's easy to walk around.

Our view at lunch of the 4th Street Live area.

We ate at the Red Star Tavern for lunch, and it was very good. We were among the only two or three groups of people dining, but they told us it gets very crowded at night. We returned to the area that night but soon realized the place turns into a very loud, crowded and smoky area for adults over 21. Ten years ago that might have been fun but probably not. :)

The world's largest bat outside the entrance to the Louisville Slugger Museum.

Of course we went on one of the hottest and most humid days of the summer, but we found refuge in the Louisville Slugger Museum. I am not a baseball fan, so I didn't know a lot of the players whose statues and photos are there, but it was interesting to see how they make baseball bats all the way from a tree to the finished bat. Admission is only $10 for adults, $5 for children and free for kids 5 and under. At the end of the 30-minute tour, everyone receives a small Louisville Slugger bat.

I don't think Cash will break any batting averages any time soon. He tried to bite the souvenir bat and then went back to sleep.

On Sunday, we drove over one of the bridges that crosses the Ohio River, and on the other side is Indiana.

On the Kentucky side, there is a riverfront park with 7 miles of walking trails, and several playgrounds. There is an amphitheater and an area where vendors can set up booths for events and festivals.

Our hotel room at the SpringHill Suites in downtown was very nice. We noticed our room had the Holy Bible and the Book of Mormon.

We paid less than $100 for our room, but on the back of the door, the hotel lists the maximum amount it can charge for a room. Any guesses? Remember, Louisville is home to the annual Kentucky Derby that brings in thousands of rich visitors the first weekend in May.

Speaking of the derby, we drove by Churchill Downs but decided to wait until our next trip to do the outside walking tour because it was too hot.

We have a rule while traveling that we will only eat at local restaurants and no chains, but we broke that rule to eat at Macaroni Grill on the way home since we don't have one in Lexington, and it's one of our favorite places. It was delicious.

Also on the way home, we stopped halfway in Frankfort, Lexington's capitol. We've never lived this close (30 miles) to the capitol in any state. We drove around the capitol building and Governor Steve Beshear's mansion.

A clock made out of flowers is across the street from the capitol building.

Here is a scenic view of the capitol we drove by in Frankfort.

We had a great trip, and it was nice to get away for a short excursion since David starts dental school today. I'm sure we'll make more visits to Louisville during our fours years here, and we also want to travel to other parts of the state and visit Cincinnati.

What can you make with two pounds of okra? Gumbo time!

2011-07-23T12:02:00.001-04:00

My parents in Florida have a wonderful garden, and I miss the numerous fresh vegetables during the summer—tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, potatoes, squash and okra. During our recent trip, my dad gave us a lot of okra. Okra is a unique vegetable, and most people eat it stewed with tomatoes or fried. It has a slimy texture when sliced, and I actually had trouble giving it away since many people don't like it or don't know how to cook with it.

I found several recipes online for gumbo with okra, so we made a pot on a Sunday afternoon and had plenty of leftovers throughout the week. I sauteed the okra in olive oil first for about 30 minutes to remove most of the slimy texture. Then, I added tomatoes, onions, garlic, celery and red and green peppers and let the mixture saute for a while longer. Next, we added chicken broth and water and brought it to a boil.

We decided to add sausage and shrimp.

I seasoned the shrimp with salt, pepper and some Old Bay Seasoning.

We added the meat last and then let the gumbo simmer for several hours on low heat. It smelled great, and we ate it over rice. With the leftovers, I made some orzo and served it over that. I also ate it over a package of instant cheese grits. It was a great dish with lots of fresh vegetables, and okra was the not-so-slimy star.

Summertime sunsets, storms and sunflowers

2011-07-19T10:52:00.000-04:00

Our recent trip to Florida was full of heat and humidity as we had expected, but we also saw some gorgeous sunsets. I took photos of the sun setting on a lake in Winter Haven on a muggy Saturday evening.

I wasn't the only creature close to the water that evening. A small alligator waded near the shore...a site we don't see in Kentucky.

I also wasn't the only one taking photos of the beautiful sunset.

It rained during our trip, and I shot this video outside my parent's house one evening. I love the dark purple color of the clouds.

Back in Kentucky, it also rained. One evening, it poured for more than an hour, and our gauge outside showed three inches of rain. You can see how quickly the water filled up the area behind the back of our house.

Below is a similar view that I took last fall when we moved into the house.

We put up two bird feeders full of bird seed that hang on the back deck, and now there are sunflowers growing there, my favorite flower!

A LivingSocial meal deal at Hall's on the River

2011-07-13T14:52:00.000-04:00

I use coupons on a regular basis, but I'm definitely not into extreme couponing, a practice some people use that you might have seen on some recent television shows. I don't spend hours clipping and cutting coupons, but I do like a good deal, so I've started visiting LivingSocial.com and Groupon.com—online sites to find deals in your area. There is a daily deal for many cities around the country, and businesses such as restaurants, salons, car washes, and even dentists are using the site to offer a percentage (usually 50 percent or more) off of their products and services. For example, you spend $10 on the deal and receive a $20 coupon.

These sites are easy ways to find possible deals in your area and try new places. You can sign up to receive a daily email that lists the deal for specific cities. I receive notices about deals in Lexington, Knoxville, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Gainesville. While I've only purchased deals for Lexington and Knoxville, I want to know about the deals in other cities in case I want to take advantage of them and possibly share or buy them for family and friends. I also think they would be great if you're planning a trip to a specific city.

So far, I've purchased deals from several restaurants, including some we haven't tried before, a magazine subscription to The Bourbon Review, and deals to purchase University of Kentucky merchandise at Fan Outfitters. (Since David will be a dental student here for four years, we can't exactly wear orange and blue all the time contrary to what some of our family and friends might think!) The deals have expiration dates, but the ones I've seen are for at least four or five months up to a year after the purchase date. Other rules include using the entire coupon in one visit and not receiving any money back if you don't spend as much as the coupon is worth, but most of the time, those rules shouldn't be a problem.

I actually purchased a few deals for restaurants when we lived in Knoxville. Lexington wasn't a city on LivingSocial last year this time, but the sites add cities on a regular basis, and Lexington was picked up a few months ago. Our latest LivingSocial deal was to Hall's on the River in Winchester, Kentucky. I paid $15 and received a $30 coupon to spend on food and drinks.

The restaurant is about 25 minutes from our house, and we can take several scenic routes through rolling hills and horse farms to get there. The food is a combination of seafood, steaks and southern speciality dishes, such as Kentucky's famous hot brown and lamb fries (lamb testicles). Two appetizers that we've seen on many menus in Kentucky are beer cheese dip and fried banana peppers. I'm still getting used to the beer cheese dip as a cold dip since I've had beer cheese at other restaurants, and it's served warm. There is a long history of beer cheese in Kentucky, and there is even a beer cheese festival each year in Winchester.

We ordered the beer cheese dip as an appetizer, and it is very good. In addition to the beer and cheese, there are other spices in it such as garlic and probably cayenne since there is a kick to it. It is served with crackers, carrots and celery.

I reviewed the menu online before we went, but there are some dishes on the menu at the restaurant that aren't listed online, including the one I ordered. For our entrees, I ordered the stuffed sole with crab meat, and my sides were a tossed salad and beer cheese grits. Some of the salad dressings are homemade, including ranch and blue cheese. I tried the blue cheese first, but it had too much mayo and very little blue cheese, so I asked for ranch, and it was much better. The fish and grits were very good.

David ordered another house speciality, the fried catfish, and he also got the tangy slaw and smashed potatoes. I am not a fan of cole slaw, but the tangy slaw was excellent, some of the best I've ever had. Our server said it is vinegar-based and based on a German recipe. His catfish and potatoes were also good. Each entree was $15 or more, and while the two sides were good portions, the actual amount of fish we each received wasn't overly generous.

The service was excellent, and we let our server know it was our first visit, and he was very helpful in explaining their popular dishes and making suggestions. There is a large outdoor eating area with covered tables, and even though it's the middle of July, we could have dined outside comfortably on this Saturday afternoon because of low humidity.

I noticed some photos when we walked in that were taken last year when the restaurant flooded. Read this online story at http://www.lex18.com/news/halls-on-the-river-re-opens-after-flood/ to see photos and video of how fast water can rise on the Kentucky River.

We enjoyed dining at Hall's on the River, and it's a place we might not have tried without the LivingSocial deal, so it was a win, win, win!

1800 miles in 2 weeks across 4 states...our summer oblication

2011-07-12T11:57:00.001-04:00

We spent almost two weeks in June visiting our families in Florida. I nicknamed it an "oblication" since it was combination vacation and obligation trip to see everyone. David starts four years of dental school at the University of Kentucky August 1, so we drove down before he's in school for 11 months of the year with limited breaks.

For our family members who have only visited during the winter, this is what Kentucky and Tennessee look like during the spring and summer—plenty of beautiful green mountains!

We left on a Sunday and drove part of the way, stopping in Macon, Georgia overnight. On Monday morning, I watched one of my former University of Tennessee students, Samantha Smith, on air as a weather forecaster for Channel 41 in Macon. She is working on her degree in meteorology and will have a great career!

It took about 10 and a half hours total to reach my parent's house in Alachua, so not a bad drive. We spent the next 10 days visiting our families and friends and sharing many great conversations and meals. Here are some photo highlights from our trip.

I was very excited to see my nephew Judson again since he is almost 10 months old. He is crawling and laughing and a very loveable child. (About 90 percent of the photos I took on the trip are of Judson and his cuteness!)

He loves to play on the computer while sitting on Grandpa's lap.


Grandma steals some sugar.

We made Judson into a little Kentucky Wildcat.

We also visited David's family in Winter Haven and Lake Alfred and saw his extended family and even met some new little cousins.

David's aunts, uncles and cousins on his mom's side came over for BBQ night.

David's mom has redesigned her kitchen, and it looks great!


Yummy pizza from the Pizza Connection in Auburndale, Florida, courtesy of David's dad.

David's aunt made a delicious pineapple upside down cake.

There is always time to play Angry Birds. David and his sister, Allison, are addicted to this game on their phones!

We saw some beautiful sunsets in Florida. I'll write another post about them and share more photos.

While in Polk County, we traveled to Dinosaur World in Plant City, Florida to meet up with some friends from college. They brought some delicious Publix subs, and we had a picnic while their kids enjoyed the dinosaurs. The outing represented my love/hate relationship with Florida—love seeing family and friends and eating Publix subs but hate the heat and humidity! (Ironically, while we were in Florida, Publix announced it will open stores in Knoxville. I'm hoping they move on up to Lexington, too!)

We had a great trip, but we're happy to be home again in Kentucky. Sammie and Cash had a wonderful lady named Miss Maria who came over and checked in on them while we were gone. I talked to her several times during our trip, and she said they were doing fine but missed us. We missed them too!

Cash spends hours sunning himself on the floor.

Sammie spent a lot of time sleeping on Dad's chair upstairs. It was coated in a thick layer of hair when we returned.

72 years and counting...Happy Birthday Dad! (Updated with new photo of Dad modeling!)

2011-07-07T15:48:00.001-04:00

My dad, Amos, is celebrating 72 years today, July 7. Happy Birthday, Dad!

My mom snapped this photo of Dad opening one of his gifts. A man can never have too many shirts.

Mom also took this photo of Dad modeling the new shirt we gave him. What style he has! :)

In honor of his birthday, I looked up some facts about the year 1939. Visit http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1939.html to learn more, but below are some interesting items.

Average cost of new house: $3,800
Average wages per year: $1,730
Cost of a gallon of gas: 10 cents
A loaf of bread: 8 cents
A pound of hamburger meat: 14 cents
Average price for new car: $700

I'm sorry we can't be there to help him celebrate, but we saw him during June when we visited our Florida families for almost two weeks. It was a great visit, and I'll share more photos in a future blog post.

Three generations: My dad, brother and nephew on Father's Day in June 2011.

We love you Dad! Happy 72nd birthday!

(Updated) Happy 43rd Wedding Anniversary to my parents!

2011-06-01T08:19:00.003-04:00

Today is my parent's 43rd wedding anniversary, quite an accomplishment! They were married on June 1, 1968 in a small Baptist church in Brooker, Florida. The ceremony didn't start until 8 p.m., and it was a hot and humid Saturday evening with candle wax dripping because of the heat. Their reception menu included a wedding cake, nuts, mints and punch, and that is all. Maybe the secret to a long and happy marriage is a simple reception.

For my parent's 43rd wedding anniversary dinner, they dined at Sonny's Real Pit BBQ in Alachua, the same restaurant they eat at every Wednesday night. Their favorite waitress, Carolyn, had a surprise cake waiting for them. Topped with blueberries, strawberries and kiwi with slivered almonds and a strawberry filling, they said it was delicious.

Yummy! Thanks Miss Carolyn! You're the best!

I took the photo below three years ago when we surprised them with a 40th wedding anniversary dinner with members of their wedding party. It's one of my favorite photos of the two of them.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! We love you and hope you have many, many more!

Happy Decoration/Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T19:46:00.002-04:00

In many parts of the South, Memorial Day used to be known as Decoration Day, a day when communities gather to clean and decorate their local cemeteries. Listen to this National Public Radio story about it at http://www.npr.org/2011/05/28/136742729/decoration-day-the-southern-way-to-honor-the-dead?ft=1&f=1003

It's also a great day to honor and recognize the millions of men and women who have served our country in the military for their bravery and commitment to the United States of America! Hope you've had a great Memorial Day!

Follow the red brick road

2011-05-28T12:10:00.001-04:00

This is another simple pleasures post. We've added a few more landscaping features to make the front of our rental house look a little nicer. Apprarently, a previous tenant had a rock garden in front, so it's been difficult to plant any shrubs. We bought five red bricks and some pebble stones for less than $10 and set them up.

The bricks don't form a road but a small path in front of our house. In the fall, it will lead to our scarecrow decorations. I think Dorothy would be proud! :)

I'm the proud owner of a ceiling fan

2011-05-24T09:42:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's the small pleasures in life that make us happy, and a ceiling fan is one of those this week. As we've moved farther north, we've realized ceiling fans aren't as common as they are in Florida. I remember my parents installing ceiling fans in our bedrooms, family room and play room during the 1980s, and all the apartments we lived in during college in Florida had ceiling fans in each room. When we moved to Tennessee, there was a ceiling fan in the master bedroom and one in the living room, but in Kentucky, there is only one ceiling fan in our living room.

When we moved last fall, the weather was already turning cooler, but now that it's warming up again, we miss having a ceiling fan in the master bedroom, so we bought one, and electricians installed it Monday afternoon. It's a great addition, and we're hoping to save money on our electric bill by using it this summer.

I know my parents and many people throughout the South grew up without ceiling fans and air conditioners, but I am very thankful for these inventions. Ironically, we have some friends who just moved to upstate New York, and their house doesn't have an air conditioner, just a heater. As I've said before, I think Kentucky is as far "north" as we want to live.

This weather is for the birds

2011-05-19T08:49:00.000-04:00

A family of geese seem to be the only ones walking in the rain, but I'm enjoying the cooler temps.

It has been a wet and rainy spring in Kentucky, and this week, it has felt more like winter. Lexington had a high of 49 degrees Tuesday, which was the lowest high temperature for that date ever recorded, breaking the previous "low" high of 58. It's only been in the 40s and 50s for highs this week, and it's been cloudy and raining every day. I love it! :) It will warm up into the 60s and 70s by the weekend.

We waited until after my birthday to plant flowers outside since there were frost and freeze warnings during the first week in May. We potted a plant in my sunflower pot that broke during the storm (David glued it back together), and also put a planter on our back deck railing.

We tried to plant two small shrubs in the front, but there are tons of small rocks when we dig down. I don't know what happened, but someone must have created a rock garden at some point.

I finally figured out a way to keep my small flag from flying away by putting a binder clip on the end of it. Several flags have flown off, but I've been able to recover all of them except an adorable Easter flag I had.

Here is a short video of the planter we have on the back deck and our bird feeders.

I hope some of the rain makes its way south to Florida, where I know they really need it. Also, I am not complaining about the cool and rainy weather. I prefer it over humidity and temperatures in the upper 90s, the weather we'll probably experience when we visit Florida again!

Family celebrations

2011-05-18T15:16:00.002-04:00

There are several days to celebrate in May for our family. There is Mother's Day, and then my birthday (May 9), which is always close to Mother's Day. Even though I wasn't with my family for these occasions, we still celebrate by sending cards and flowers!

Due to a mix-up at a local florist, I received two birthday arrangements. The first one was beautiful, but it wasn't the birthday-themed arrangement with sunflowers (my favorite) my parents had picked out, so the florist arranged to pick up this first arrangement and exchange it for the birthday one. They both are beautiful! Thanks Mom and Dad!

The birthday flowers have sunflowers, yellow roses and lilies and smaller green and yellow flowers. The only down side is that Cash, our cat, loves to eat any type of flower, and since he is a jumper, he has no problem launching on to the mantle above the fireplace to indulge. At night, the flowers "go to bed" in the spare bedroom, so they won't be a midnight snack for him.

The birthday flowers lasted for almost two weeks. Here is a photo of them more than a week after I received them.

David bought some balloons for my birthday, and Cash enjoyed trying to eat the ribbons. I told him that I can't have anything nice for my birthday because he tries to eat my gifts! :) Here is a short video I shot of him playing with the balloons, Sammie trying to take a nap, and the flowers on the mantle.

Below are the flowers we sent to our mothers for Mother's Day. These are the ones I sent to my mom, a variety of colors and flowers in a reusable green and white bag.

My brother and his wife also celebrated their third wedding anniversary May 17. Happy anniversary Jason and Kristen! Here is a photo of them and my nephew taken on Easter. What a happy family! :)

Happy Easter! Happy Spring! (A letter from Sammie the cat)

2011-04-23T17:11:00.000-04:00

April 2011—Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

This tree bloomed outside the front of our house. When we moved here in September, it had green leaves and then lost the leaves during the winter, so it was a surprise to see the dark pink and lavender leaves.

It’s Sammie Ann Beutke DeVito writing. I know how much you all love and adore me, and my clever writing skills, so I thought I’d give you a quick update about how we’re doing in the Bluegrass.

I went to the vet's office for my annual check-up, and this picture was in our exam room. Too cute! It reminds us of Dolly. I think she would have liked Kentucky.

Easter is so late this year, but it’s finally starting to feel like spring up here in Kentucky. We even had a dusting of snow at the beginning of April.

We had a little snow just as the trees were starting to bloom. It has snowed here each month since November, so six months out of the year!

It has rained and rained and rained this month. One night, the winds were so bad that the chairs on the back deck blew across the deck and smashed into my mom’s flowerpot, and it broke into several pieces. The wind also destroyed the umbrella on the porch table.

After the storm, my parents surveyed the damage. In addition to the broken pot and umbrella, the grill cover blew off and flew into the neighbor's yard.

My dad used super glue to fix the flower pot.

Cash and I slept through the whole storm. We were dreaming about the two bird feeders outside that attract many types of birds. We could sit for hours watching them and thinking about how tasty they would be for Easter dinner.

My parents both finish teaching for the spring semester at Eastern Kentucky University on April 29, the day of the Royal Wedding in England. (By the way, I was invited to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate, but I really dislike those long flights across the Atlantic. I hear airplane food is horrible, and now they charge you for a blanket and a pillow, and you don’t even get to keep it!)

My mom hopes to teach at EKU again in the fall. EKU’s mascot is a colonel like Colonel Sanders who started Kentucky Friend Chicken, but the mascot is an angrier version of him. Maybe this colonel is upset that he doesn’t know KFC’s secret blend of 11 herbs and spices.

My dad starts dental school at the University of Kentucky (Go Cats!) on August 1, and he is quite excited. Before he starts this crazy, I mean awesome, adventure, my parents are planning to leave us here all alone so they can visit Florida this summer. My mom thinks we need a cat sitter, but I’m trying to convince her that we’ll be fine on our own. She said if we could learn to use the toilet and flush, we wouldn’t need a sitter. I don’t know how easy it will be to learn that, especially for Cash.

We’d love for you to visit us if you haven’t already. There are lots of exciting things to do. People love horses up here. I haven’t ridden one yet, but Cash and I might go to the Kentucky Derby in May. It’s actually in Louisville, not Lexington. Don’t you think I’d look so cute in one of those big hats the ladies wear at the Derby?

We hope you have a wonderful Easter! I really hope the Easter Bunny brings us a baby bunny and chick, but I don’t think that will happen. My parents look forward to seeing some Florida folks in June. They can’t wait to simmer in the heat and humidity! :)

Love,

Sammie, Cash, David and Allyson DeVito

Say Cheese!

2011-04-05T13:14:00.005-04:00

I grew up around cameras. My dad purchases a new camera every few years, and I remember several film cameras that he used when I was younger. My Aunt Vada also takes tons of photos of everything, and at one point, she told me she kept all the negatives (I wonder if my students know the meaning of this word in this context) in one box in her house, so if there was a fire, she'd grabbed that box and not the dozens (probably closer to a hundred) photos albums. My grandpa had a Polaroid camera that we loved to take photos with and wait a few minutes for our images to appear. (One time, Papa took some Polaroid shots of the TV set, while the music group, The New Kids on the Block, appeared on the American Music Awards on TV, so I could see them. He was afraid I wasn't watching the live show at my house. Little did he know that I was recording it on a thing called a VCR!)

I also have memories of my dad setting up a giant projector and screen in our family room, so we could watch "silent" films of me as a baby in the late 1970s. When my younger brother was born in 1985, my dad bought our first video camera. It was the bulky kind that required an assistant, usually me, to hold part of it in a camera bag while he filmed. We lugged it to Disney, Dollywood, beach trips and family gatherings. Part of the camera was actually the VCR, and it never failed that we couldn't find a blank tape to record something on when we needed it. I'm fairly certain the final episode of "Dallas" on TV erased one of my birthday parties.

I even found a camera in a cow pasture once. It was a bright yellow underwater camera in a bright yellow bag, and I discovered it one day while helping my day feed the cows in the field in back of our house. There was a roll of film in the bag that we developed, but it was hard to tell who had taken the photos since they were mainly of buildings in a large city. I'm not sure if it fell out of a plane or someone walking through our property dropped it. It's still a mystery, but I used the camera to take many underwater photos at the beach and in my grandparent's pool.

I remember dropping off rolls of film and waiting for several days or even a week before we could pick up our prints, and we would always get two sets of prints. Then, a radical new way of processing prints within an hour happened. Now, I cannot remember the last time I actually had printed photos made. I guess it was for our wedding and honeymoon in 2004.

During college, I was a telecommunication major (fancy way of saying broadcast journalism), and we used very heavy and expensive cameras and tripods for reporting the news. One of my friends accidentally backed over a tripod while driving, and it cost several thousand dollars to replace it. Recently, I purchased a Kodak Zi8 pocket video camera for $120 from Amazon.com. It has a built-in USB arm that plugs into a computer, so it's easy to download good quality video and edit it in a matter of minutes.

Everything is much less expensive and easier to use now, and I am very fortunate that my family is camera and computer literate because my parents are keeping my nephew each week, and they send photos and video of him to me via email. My dad has a digital camera now that also records video, and it fits into his pocket. I guess he doesn't need an assistant anymore.

I am so thankful for these advancements since I am able to see the little guy smiling, laughing and growing into an adorable little man. I also can see how much my parents are enjoying their first grandchild. I can't imagine waiting weeks at a time for my parents to take photos, have them developed, and then mail them to me.

Here are a few of my recent favorites. I know I am biased, but I think he's probably the most adorable baby ever! :)

Here are a couple of videos.

My brother and his boy....

A heat wave in Kentucky...highs in the 50s this week

2011-02-13T16:15:00.001-05:00

The last time I didn't wear socks in the house was mid-November. Since Thanksgiving, we've had cold temperatures and snow on the ground each week. For more than two months, highs have generally been in the 30s and lows in the 20s or even colder. We've even had lows in the single digits near zero and wind chills below zero. It's 50 degrees outside as I write this post, a temperature we haven't felt in a while.

According to Lexington's LEX 18 chief meteorologist Bill Meck (read his weather blog at http://www.lex18.com/bills-weather-blog), Lexington has had 27.4 inches of snow, which is the 9th highest on record. This is almost three times as much snow as an average winter. The average high since December 1 has been 35 degrees, and there have been 53 days when the temperature did not rise about 40 degrees. We've had 32 days when we didn't get above freezing.

I started taking photos of the ice and snow in early December.

This amount of snow on our back deck was enough to get me excited. Little did I realize what winter had in store.

This first dusting happened while I was decorating for Christmas, which was nice. Within a few days, here is what the back deck looked like.

Remember the sunflower...how about snow flower.

We had a white Christmas. It started snowing Christmas Eve and continued through the morning.

Cash went outside in some of the first snow.

During a period of melting, giant icicles hung from the roof.

I really like to see the snow fall at night. It makes everything so bright.

Spring is technically more than 30 days away, but we're having a warming trend for now. David and I agree this is as far north as we'd like to move at this point. Last Wednesday wasn't a fun driving day, but I still think I prefer this much cold and snow for a couple of months compared to many many months of Florida's heat and humidity.

There is a small amount of snow on the back porch now, but it will all be melted by tomorrow. Happy Valentine's Day!

Exploring Kentucky

2011-01-29T15:58:00.000-05:00

The nice thing about family visiting is we also get a chance to explore more of Kentucky. It's been a month since David's family visited us for the New Year, so I've been a bit lax in posting some of things we enjoyed during their visit.

One day, we visited the Acres of Land Winery in Richmond and ate lunch. It was delicious, and they have a nice selection of wines and scrumptious entrees on the menu.

We traveled to Berea that afternoon to do some shopping at the many arts and crafts stores. Allison found a rather large chair to sit in, and the owner of the furniture store will make one for your house for $5000.

Kentucky is known for its Bourbon--an American whiskey. There are six historic distilleries in our area, but most were closed on New Year's Eve. However, Wild Turkey was open, so we ventured to Lawrenceburg, Kentucky and took a tour. It was interesting to learn how Bourbon is made.

We had a great tour guide who explained the entire process and answered questions.

Wild Turkey has built a new distillery, but we toured the old one since tours aren't happening yet in the new one.

The Bourbon is stored in barrels until it's ready.

Sometimes, the barrels leak.

Our tour guide let us taste some from the leaking barrel. It was rather strong.

When we returned to the visitor's center, we had a more formal tasting of the different kinds of Wild Turkey Bourbon. It's definitely an acquired taste.

In addition to seeing the distillery, it was a nice drive through the country parts of Central Kentucky.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-01-06T11:28:00.000-05:00

Today is my mom's birthday! I can't be in Florida to help her celebrate, but here is a great photo of her and my adorable nephew with some birthday flowers. Happy Birthday, Mom! We love you!

An Italian Christmas

2010-12-28T12:43:00.002-05:00

We've started several Christmas traditions, and one of them is having an Italian meal on Christmas Day. We enjoy the ham, turkey, stuffing and other side items at Thanksgiving, but we like to do something different for Christmas.

This year we made seafood lasagna rolls-ups stuffed with asparagus and topped with a creamy vodka tomato sauce. Besides looking like Christmas colors of red, green and white, they were delicious. We prepare everything on Christmas Eve, so all we need to do on Christmas Day is bake everything.

Our Christmas Eve meal carries over from my parent's tradition of having ham sandwiches, sausage balls and chips and dip. We bought Boar's Head deli meat from Kroger, and they have some great selections. We decided on the Salsalito turkey and rosemary and sundried tomato ham with Havarti dill and Asiago cheese slices. We eat the sandwiches on onion rolls, and this year, we tried a new brand we found at Meijer stores, Aunt Millie's. They were better than ones we've had in the past.

This meal would not be complete without David's favorite chip ever, Cool Ranch Doritos.

We also make sausage balls each year, and David is holding the giant sausage ball before I rolled about 50 individual ones. This year, I used the sage pork sausage and Bisquick and added some Gruyere cheese along with extra sharp cheddar, garlic salt and red pepper flakes.

OK, back to the seafood lasagna meal. We used crab, lobster and bay scallops for the filling. David sauteed the crab in a dab of olive oil, and then cooked the lobster in Sherry cream.

He then mixed in some minced garlic while he cooked the scallops in garlic butter.

Next, he combined all the seafood and garlic with ricotta cheese and two eggs.

Here is what the filling looks like before it's rolled into the cooked lasagna noodles.

We steamed the asparagus and set it aside.

It's time to put everything together.

Start with a lasagna noodle.

Add some seafood and ricotta cheese mixture.

Cut the asparagus into smaller pieces and add it.

Almost ready to roll it up!

Let's roll!

The first one in the pan.

They keep multiplying.

Finally finished rolling.

For the sauce, we used a jar of Vodka sauce, a jar of light Alfredo sauce, a can of Italian style diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and some garlic cloves.

We poured the sauce on top and covered the dish for baking on Christmas Day.

A Christmas meal wouldn't be complete without Herman rolls.

We also had an Italian side salad with mixed greens, tomatoes, black olives, carrots, green peppers, banana peppers, green onions and grated Parmesan cheese.

Here is the main course hot out of the oven and topped with Pecorino Romano cheese.

It was a delicious meal!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Finally Updated: Twelve Days of Christmas Top TV Specials

2010-12-25T21:44:00.028-05:00

I apologize for not posting a daily update with a different Christmas TV special, but the holidays happened, and I got a little busy. So, I'm listing the remaining top ones on my personal list here. I already mentioned The Brady Bunch, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

Next on the list is a favorite of so many generations—Charlie Brown Christmas. It first aired in 1965.

I have seen this one many times, and I have it on VHS and DVD, but there is still something magical about watching it live each year when it airs on ABC. It used to only air once per season, but now ABC airs it twice during the holidays.

Switching to Christmas movies, I have a couple of favorites. I still enjoy watching the original Home Alone made in 1990.

I can't believe it's 20 years old this year. I remember seeing it in the theater with my mom and brother after Christmas and on the Sunday before school started again Monday.

Another favorite movie that I love watching every year on TV is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation made in 1989.

I have many favorite scenes in the movie, but my favorite is the singing of the National Anthem near the end.

A new favorite from this year is Glee's Christmas episode on TV. Only in its second season, this show has soared in the ratings.

I am a huge fan of The Golden Girls, and I've probably seen every episode multiple times. There were a couple of Christmas shows, and I like "Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas," in which Rose is working at a counseling center, and a man dressed as Santa Claus comes in on Christmas Eve and holds Rose, Blanche and Dorothy hostage since he wants to spend Christmas with others and not alone. The girls are trying to make it the airport in time for their flights to visit family members, and in classic Sophia fashion, she walks into the counseling center after waiting in the car for a while and takes the gun out of the man's hands since it was a toy gun.

Thinking the day is saved, the women rush to the airport just in time to make their flights, but due to a storm, all the flights out of Miami are canceled, so they end up at a diner, eating their favorite dessert, cheesecake. To make it a great Christmas episode, it starts snowing in Miami during the last scene of the episode.

I've also seen every episode of the original Beverly Hills 90210, and in this Christmas episode, Brenda brings home a Santa Claus who she thinks is homeless to spend Christmas Eve with the gang.

Thanks for reading until the end. My all-time favorite Christmas TV special/movie is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever based on a book. It's a great story of the unruly Herdman children who show up to a church service in early December because they think there are free snacks, and end up taking over most of the parts in the annual Christmas pageant. The TV special was made in 1986, and I have a copy on VHS that I watch every Christmas. It's still the best!

Hope you enjoyed reading this list and watching all of these Christmas specials and others on television. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T14:15:00.001-05:00

We have a white Christmas in Lexington this year. It started snowing around 10 p.m. Christmas Eve and continued through the early morning hours.

We woke up to several inches of the white fluffy stuff on the ground, and it's a gorgeous sight on Christmas Day. According to the weather folks, this is only the 12th white Christmas in Lexington since 1872.

In honor of the holiday, Sammie and Cash put on their Christmas hats.

Sammie was less than thrilled and told Cash he had to wear all of them.

Cash the elf

Cash Kringle

Santa Cash

How do you like my beard?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Sammie Claus and Cash Kringle!

2010-12-24T13:46:00.009-05:00

Hello, everyone! It’s Sammie Ann Beutke DeVito, the feline daughter of David and Allyson, writing again this year. We hope you’re doing well, staying warm and enjoying the holiday season. I have lots of exciting news to share about our lives in 2010 and in 2011!

I prefer the warmth and comfort of my winter blanket than playing outside in the snow.

First, we’re now living in the Bluegrass—Lexington, Kentucky. I don’t know why they call it the blue grass since the grass isn’t blue, but I digress. My super smart dad accepted a full-time chemistry lecturer position at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) in Richmond, Kentucky, about 20 miles south of Lexington. Ironically, his luck started to change in August when he received a phone call from the chemistry department head on Friday the 13^th, and a little more than a week later, he started teaching three chemistry lecture courses and two labs.

The view from my dad's office at Eastern Kentucky University.

My mom already signed up to teach at UT-Knoxville, so the fall was a bit of transition, but luckily they found a house for us in Lexington and we moved on the weekends during September.

The front of our rental house in Lexington with some fall decorations.

For the first few weeks, my dad had to live in an apartment until our rental house was ready. The apartment smelled like a combination of cigarette smoke, animal urine and mold, but it had gorgeous hard wood floors. Lucky him!

The smelly apartment my dad lived in, but look at those gorgeous wood floors!

We really like our new house in Lexington since Cash and I now have stairs to run up and down. My mom says it's funny how folks ask about us and want to make sure we like the new place. They seem more concerned about us than my parents. That’s so sweet of you.

This is a view from the top of the stairs. Note the ledge that goes across. Cash loves to run up the stairs and then jump onto the ledge and walk from end to end. It makes my mom a nervous wreck!

A lot of the streets up here are named after famous racehorses, such as Man O’ War Boulevard, Star Shoot Parkway and Sir Barton Way, since Lexington is the horse capital of the world. I think Sammie Sleeps A Lot would be a good name for a horse.

My dad is teaching five classes again in the spring, and he really likes the campus and all the people, including most of his students. Several of them nominated him to attend a faculty appreciation dinner this fall.

Dad wore a tie to his appreciation dinner, and Cash insisted on trying it on for size.

Anyway, he’s still getting crazy excuses from students about why they can’t attend class because someone in the their family had a bizarre accident and/or near-death experience each week of the semester. While some of them sound outrageous, one of his students did have to go home because her grandmother was arrested for driving under the influence and smoking marijuana, and she had to bail her out of jail. True story!

My mom taught her final class at UT and will teach at EKU in the spring. During October and November, she commuted from Lexington back to Knoxville one or two days a week to teach. It was a beautiful two and half hour drive each way with the fall leaves changing. She said the worst part was the other drivers who try to pass in the left lane but still drive the same speed as the cars and trucks in the right line. As part of a completely unscientific study, she observed that the drivers who most often commit this offense and don’t know how to drive at all have Ohio license plates. Coming in second, Michigan drivers!

While this photo doesn't contain any Ohio drivers, my mom saw a lot of them trying to drive.

My parents made a short trip to Florida in September to meet my new human cousin, Judson Beutke, who was born to Kristen and Jason on September 14.

Judson with his dad, Jason, and a Gator outfit my parents got him. He's only a couple days old here.

I’ve seen photos, and he’s a cutie pie with chubby cheeks, and some of his facial expressions remind me of Grandpa Amos.

Everyone loves this photo of three generations, Grandpa Amos, Uncle Jason and Cousin Judson.

Grandpa Amos took this photo of Judson, and it's one of my mom's favorites. Wonder what he's thinking about?

What a happy family! Judson is wearing the Santa Pooh Bear/Baby's 1st Christmas outfit my parents bought for him.

He already weighs more than Cash and I combined! I found a t-shirt online (WARNING: This link has some offensive t-shirts on it!) I thought about ordering for him. On the front, it says: “I’ve accomplished more than Obama!”

In other exciting baby news, my parents are finally ready to share their big baby news—we now have three new fish and are hoping for babies soon! Cash is still a great help with feeding them each night.

They are hard to see in this photo since they are rather small, but our new fish seem to love their new home.

The first visitor to our house, besides the plumber and the gas man, was Grandpa Sam. He drove up again this year for Thanksgiving. We set him down in front of the gas fireplace since he was cold in Knoxville last year. I also sat on his lap while he watched The History Channel over and over and over again.

Notice the remote control in his hand and the blanket and me on his lap.

For New Year’s, we’re expecting a visit from Grandma Betty, Grandpa Jean-Paul, Aunt Allison and Uncle Matt, and our canine cousin, Toby! Maybe I can convince Toby that he needs a brother, and they’ll take Cash home with them. A girl can dream, can’t she!

I got this photo from Aunt Allison's Facebook page. Toby was a hot dog for Halloween. Isn't he cute!!!

We’re hoping Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Amos visit us soon. I’ve got some word jumbles I can’t solve, and she’s so good at them. Some of you might have heard that Grandma Sharon was diagnosed with the earliest form of breast cancer in September. She underwent surgery and then seven weeks of radiation and is doing great. She appreciates all your thoughts and prayers and reminds you to have a yearly mammogram since early detection is so important. Save the Ta-Tas!

Doesn't Grandma Sharon look great! I wonder why she isn't working on a word jumble in this photo.

Oh, I completely forgot to share the biggest and most life-changing event that will happen in August 2011 for our family. After much praying and planning, I know a lot of you have been waiting for the special official announcement: My dad has been accepted to the University of Kentucky’s College of Dentistry. That’s right…he’s going to be a dentist. The man loves school more than Sarah Palin loves Alaska! I can’t imagine sticking my paws in someone else’s mouth, but he’s quite excited about it. I did make him promise that he’ll never try to clean my teeth though. Did you know Kentucky has the most number of people with few or no teeth? They really love to drink Mountain Dew up here. We’re very happy for him since it just confirms what Cash and I have known all along—cats, especially wildcats, make the best college mascots!

The dental program at UK in Lexington is four years long, so we’ll live here for a while. My mom will always be a Gator and a Volunteer, but she and I are quite excited to eliminate orange from her wardrobe. She says the color orange is for the fruit, not the person. Kentucky’s colors are blue and white, which match my gorgeous blue eyes and snow white underbelly perfectly. Coincidence? I think not. In case you haven’t figured out my parent’s pattern, they just move from SEC to SEC to SEC school. I’m hoping this is the last stop, and we don’t move farther north, especially to a place like Ohio. I mean their mascot is a nut, the buckeye. I’m sure they chose it because they’re nutty drivers. (If you don’t get this joke, please refer to paragraph nine of this letter.)

My mom made my dad a blue and white Kentucky Christmas tree once he found out about his acceptance to UK's College of Dentistry.

We’ve already had more snow in Lexington than we did all last winter in Knoxville. It snowed 4 to 6 inches the first and second weekends in December.

Look at the poor dog who has to go outside and use the bathroom in this weather. I'm so thankful for our indoor litter box!

Highs barely make it out of the 20s and lows have been in the single digits with wind chills below zero.

We had a wintry mix of ice and snow Dec. 16, and a 1/4 inch of ice covered the several inches of snow already on the ground. There is still ice on our back porch more than a week later on Christmas Eve.

The weather folks said Lexington usually gets about 16 inches of snow each winter, but we’ve already had half of that, so I’m just hoping the groundhog doesn’t see his shadow on February 2, and winter will be over. Do you ever wonder how a groundhog can predict the weather? Couldn’t a cat have the same magical powers? Maybe I’ll stick Cash in a hole in the ground that day, and we’ll see if he comes out and sees his shadow or not.

My mom took Cash outside in the snow to play, but there was so much that he just sank down in it and couldn't really walk.

We hope that when you think of all the Christmas cards you get each year, you remember mine, I mean ours, as your favorite. I had writer’s block for a while this holiday season. It takes a lot to be this creative and still find time to nap 20 hours a day. I wonder how members of Congress maintain the same schedule.

We love naps!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Please come visit us! Have your pets spayed or neutered!

Love,

Sammie, Cash, David, and Allyson DeVito (dmdevito@gmail.com or allydevito@gmail.com)

***My parents no longer have a home phone…something Grandpa Amos, who worked for the telephone company for almost 40 years, still can’t comprehend!

P.S. I know the Gator Nation had a rough football season, and Urban Meyer has said he’s stepping down again. At least the new coach has a winning name. Coach Muschamp must be a champ! Get it! Have a wonderful 2011 and Go Wildcats! Go Gators! Go Volunteers!

UPDATED: Twelve Days of Top TV Christmas Specials—Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

2010-12-15T21:23:00.009-05:00

Update: It's hard to believe this song is more than 30 years old. The video above is the original music video for the song. The song spawned an animated cartoon movie that was released in 2000. It has aired on the Cartoon Network and The CW network.

Watch this ABC news package about it that aired last December at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euX_YpU-tR8&feature=related

Also, this song inspired another holiday classic you might remember—New Kids Got Run Over By a Reindeer about popular 80s and 90s boy band, The New Kids on the Block.

Twelve Day of Christmas Top TV Specials—How the Grinch Stole Chrstimas

2010-12-14T21:40:00.002-05:00

I don't mean to be a Grinch, but another great Christmas special is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which first aired in 1966. The story was first a book by the legendary Dr. Seuss and became an animated special with narration by Boris Karloff. I wouldn't touch the Grinch with a thirty nine and a half foot pole either, however, I think it might be a great time of year to live in Whoville and celebrate Christmas!

Twelve Day of Christmas Top TV specials—Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

2010-12-14T11:26:00.000-05:00

According to CBS, Rudolph is the longest-running Christmas program on television and first aired in 1964. It is a classic with the island of misfit toys and the Abominable Snowmonster. Personally, I think Santa is a little too skinny in it. I'm all for a healthy life style, but I think he needs a few more cookies from Mrs. Claus to fill out his suit. (I forgot to post this yesterday, so expect another top special later today!)

Twelve Day of Christmas Top TV specials—Frosty the Snowman

2010-12-12T19:25:00.000-05:00

I'm listing my top 12 Christmas TV specials, and today's pick is Frosty the Snowman, an animated cartoon that first aired on Dec. 7, 1969. It aired on CBS last night and will air again on December 17 at 8:30 p.m., Eastern Standard time. There is also Frosty Returns, but I still like the original version best.

We're getting some snow in Lexington, so maybe we can build a Frosty.

Twelve Days of Christmas Top TV Christmas Moments

2010-12-11T23:06:00.004-05:00

I love Christmas TV specials, and from now until Christmas, I'm sharing some of my favorite television Christmas moments and episodes. For tonight, let's watch the amazing Florence Henderson from The Brady Bunch sing O Come All Ye Faithful in 1969. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8LdJz_HxTM

Cane syrup...the best breakfast condiment ever

2010-12-05T15:23:00.000-05:00

My family has a long tradition of making cane syrup, a most delicious substance that is far better than any other type of syrup, especially maple.

My brother, father and some family friends continued the tradition over Thanksgiving weekend. My dad sent the photos below, and I've simplified each step greatly, but the general idea is to: 1. Grow sugar cane 2. Cut it down. 3. Grind it 4. Cook it. 5. Bottle it. 6. Eat it on homemade biscuits, waffles, pancakes and more. 7. Repeat step 6 often.

One of my favorite meals was eating cane syrup with my Papa's homemade biscuits and pork sausage. It was divine.

Another important job is supervising, a task my mom excels at, in addition to delivering pizzas and brownies to the workers.

They made 7 gallons of cane syrup, and I hope they saved a bottle for me.

Here's a great shot of my dad, brother and the newest little syrup maker, my nephew Judson. He's already looking up to his Grandpa. :)

Update from Sammie and Cash

2010-11-20T16:17:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone,

I'm using my mom's computer since she and dad are at my club (Sam's Club) shopping for Thanksgiving. Cash and I have settled into living in Lexington. My mom says it's funny how a lot of folks ask about us and want to make sure we like the new place. They seem more concerned about us than my parents. That's very thoughtful of you, so I thought I'd share some photos my parents have taken this fall and let you know we're doing well in the Bluegrass. I'm also working on writing my annual holiday letter, so you can expect to see that on here next month.

Before we left Knoxville, I decided to jump on top of the fridge one last time. Mom couldn't find me any place in the house and was concerned until she looked up and realized where I was hiding.

The paint was so cheap in our Knoxville house that when Cash and I ran behind the bed, we actually made our mark on the wall. My dad says that all you had to do was look at the wall, and it would leave a mark. We don't miss the cheap paint.

On the afternoon we left Knoxville, Cash and I decided to explore the back of the Jeep Liberty as Dad loaded it. We had no idea that we were about to ride in a car for almost three hours to arrive at our new home. I wailed a lot, and Cash whimpered, but once we arrived and had special canned food for dinner, we got over it.

One of the first things we found in our new house are the stairs. Cash runs up and down them more than I do. I prefer to sit on them and look at everything below.

We spend more time sleeping on the couch next to each other up here, and I'm not sure why. I think Cash is still a little scared when my parents are gone, and he wants to stay close to me. My parents often come home after being gone all day and find us sleeping the day away.

My dad must be a great chemistry teacher because his students nominated him to attend a faculty appreciation dinner on campus last week. He wore a tie to work that day, and Cash decided to try it on when Dad got home.

My parents say the nicest feature about our new house is the gas fireplace. It took several weeks to get it working since water had gotten into the gas line outside, and a plumber had to flush it out before the gas company could install the tank. However, it was worth the wait. Cash enjoys lounging on the floor in front of the fireplace.

We're looking forward to a visit from Grandpa Sam for Thanksgiving. It's going to be very cold next week with highs around 40 and lows in the 20s. Hopefully he won't wear his jacket in the house like he did in Knoxville last Thanksgiving. We're going to stick him in front of the fireplace and give him a cup of hot coffee. Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Sammie and Cash

Dinner in a pumpkin

2010-11-13T11:19:00.001-05:00

I had never heard of making dinner in a pumpkin until I saw a recipe for it online last month. I thought it was a unique idea and decided to try it. After searching for recipe variations, I developed my own list of ingredients. The hardest part was finding a smaller sugar or pie pumpkin in the grocery store.

Ingredients

1 pound ground pork sausage (I used the sage-seasoned package)
1 medium onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken stock
2 teaspoons of soy sauce
1 1/2 cups long grain and wild rice mix
1 sugar or pie pumpkin
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of celery soup
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
2 (4 ounce) cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can French cut green beans

Directions

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown sausage and chopped onion. Cook and stir until evenly browned. Mix in salt and pepper, pumpkin pie spice, and brown sugar.
Drain meat, and mix in chicken stock and rice. Cover, and cook 25 to 30 minutes, until rice is tender.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove and reserve top of pumpkin. Scoop out seeds and stringy pulp.
Mix soy sauce, cream of celery soup, cream of mushroom soup, mushroom stems and pieces, and green beans into the sausage and rice mixture. Spoon mixture into the pumpkin, and replace pumpkin top.
Place pumpkin on a large baking sheet, and bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until pumpkin is tender. Scoop out portions of filling and parts of the cooked pulp to serve.

The sausage and rice mixture was great, but we couldn't taste much of the pumpkin even after we baked it. I'm glad I added the pumpkin pie spice since it helped bring out a pumpkin flavor. While it's fun to bake it in the pumpkin, the sausage and rice mixture would be a great meal on its own.

The past 2 months in 10 photos

2010-10-24T20:52:00.002-04:00

It's been a whirlwind two months...we've moved to Lexington, Kentucky! David has started a new job as a chemistry lecturer at Eastern Kentucky University, and we traveled to Florida to meet my new nephew, Judson. I'm still commuting to Knoxville a couple days a week to teach, but the drive is beautiful, and the fall leaves are changing colors.

I know I haven't posted a lot, but I'm trying to catch up. Here are 10 photos that represent what's been happening in our lives since August 13, the day David received a phone call about teaching. I'll write more soon about each experience, but this is a good recap.

If you're a Gator fan, you know football season hasn't been a great experience. Oh well. At least my adorable nephew Judson has a cute outfit to wear for basketball season. I found it online at the Disney Store.

Cash and Sammie love the stairs in our new house. Although, Cash is more daring than I'd like. He tries to step outside the railing and walk down.

On our final day in Knoxville, David was packing up the car. Sammie didn't want to leave, so she hid in the green chair AFTER he folded it up. That's classic Sammie.

Her curiosity got the best of her, and she jumped up into the Jeep Liberty once David had packed it in the garage. Little did she know that she'd be riding inside a Honda a few hours later and wailing at the top of her lungs. I guess she prefers Limousines.

David lived in a temporary apartment for about a week that smelled like a combination of cigarette smoke, animal urine and mold, but look at those gorgeous hard wood floors. Lucky him!

During a moving trip to Kentucky, I managed to give Heidi Honda a flat tire when I tried to parallel park at the temporary apartment and hit the curb too hard. Where's the candidate for public office who wants to eliminate parallel parking? Let's focus on real issues!

David really likes his job teaching chemistry lecture and lab courses at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky, about 20 miles south of Lexington. It's a beautiful campus, and this is the view from his office.

In case he forgets where he is, there is a sign outside his door.

Speaking of chemistry, we also gave Judson his first Pooh Bear, but I think he was upset more about his own pooh in this photo. :)

My mom finally has her first grandson, but she's had an "adopted" granddaughter for a while who she adores. I think the feeling is mutual. :)

I'm officially an aunt

2010-09-15T09:06:00.000-04:00

My first nephew, Judson, was born Sept. 14 at 6:18 p.m. He weighs 8 pounds, 6 ounces and measures 21 inches long. I'm posting a few photos of the cute little guy.

I think he looks a lot like my dad. Congratulations to Jason and Kristen and all the new grandparents. I think he's a keeper! :)

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Crazy life changes have been getting in the way recently. I'll post an update soon.

Shrimp Boil

2010-08-13T19:37:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of summer and shrimp, we recently cooked a shrimp boil feast with Old Bay Seasoning. It was quite good, and we had plenty of leftovers. The recipe below says to use uncooked and unpeeled shrimp, which we did, but I hate peeling shrimp, so for the leftover version, David peeled all the cooked shrimp (bless him), and I added a few more unpeeled ones we bought. Both versions were quite delicious.

Recipe from Old Bay's web site

Ingredients
4 quarts water (16 cups)
1 can (12 ounces) beer (optional)
1/2 cup OLD BAY® Seasoning
2 tablespoons salt
8 medium red potatoes, quartered
2 large onions, cut into wedges
2 pounds lean smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces
8 ears fresh corn, shucked and halved crosswise
4 pounds unpeeled jumbo shrimp (21 to 25 count)

Directions

Bring water, beer, OLD BAY Seasoning and salt to boil in 12-quart stockpot on high heat. Add potatoes and onions. Cook 8 minutes. Add smoked sausage. Cook 5 minutes. Add corn. Cook 7 minutes.

Stir in shrimp. Cook 4 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink.

Drain cooking liquid. Pour contents of pot into large serving bowl or platter. Or, mound on paper-covered table. Sprinkle with additional OLD BAY Seasoning, if desired.

Enjoy!

A visit to Daniel Boone's Tavern

2010-08-09T15:56:00.002-04:00

During a recent trip to Kentucky to explore possible job opportunities, we stopped at the historic Daniel Boone Tavern Hotel in Berea, Kentucky for lunch. According to its web site, the hotel was built in 1909 for $20,000 and is named for Appalachian Revolutionary War hero Daniel Boone. The "tavern" part of the name is from the historic definition that refers to a public inn for travelers rather than the modern definition related to the sale of alcohol.

The hotel is beautiful on the inside and out. It has a modern historical look and feel. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily, and the food was delicious.

The tavern is also is part of Berea College, which is rather unique. It is a liberal arts school, and students who are accepted do not pay tuition but are required to work on campus as part of the college's Labor Program.

Many of the tavern's servers are also students at Berea, and our server is a recent graduate. My sandwich was served on Amish pretzel bread, which was very good. There is an Amish store and deli in Berea, but we didn't stop there this time. I have a feeling we'll be back.

A trip to Kingston

2010-07-24T13:45:00.001-04:00

We recently decided to explore a part of East Tennessee we hadn't been to, the town of Kingston. It's not very far from Knoxville, but it was a nice drive through the country. Kingston Pike is one of the major highways in our area, and if you keep heading west on it, you'll end up in Kingston. It starts as Cumberland Avenue near downtown and UT's campus, also known as U.S. Route 70. Before Interstate 40 was constructed in the 1960s, it was the main road from Knoxville to the western edge of Knox County.

An afternoon thunderstorm rolls in as boaters enjoy Watts Bar Lake.

It was about a 30 minute drive, and we ate at Red Bones on the River, one of the few restaurants in Kingston. Red Bones serves a variety of dishes, but we focused on their seafood and sandwich options and ordered alligator tail as an appetizer. I had a shrimp poor-boy, and David ordered a sirloin steak sandwich. Our window view overlooked the lake.

Red Bones on the River is right off the main road with outdoor and indoor seating.

It was a nice afternoon outing, even though we stayed on land. Maybe some day, we'll own a boat, or at least have some friends who do. :)

Another view of Watts Bar Lake

A year with Cash

2010-07-23T12:17:00.001-04:00

It's been a year since Cash joined our family, so we celebrated his first "birthday" with us last weekend. Since we don't know the date our rescue cats were born, their birthday becomes the day we brought them home with us. Cash's birthday is July 18, and Sammie's is November 1.

We celebrated by giving Cash and Sammie "special" canned cat food for dinner, which they absolutely love and could eat every day.

Ironically, our neighbors next door brought over two birthday cupcakes since their little girl had a birthday party. Cash and Sammie thought the icing was too sweet, so David and I enjoyed the treat.

Happy Birthday Cash!

Homemade Herman pizza

2010-07-19T20:13:00.000-04:00

We made homemade pizza Friday night using Herman bread as the pizza dough. So delicious! It was a thick pan-style pizza with turkey pepperoni, black olives, roasted garlic and sauteed mushrooms as the toppings. We baked the crust for about 15 minutes first, and then added the tomato sauce and toppings and cooked another 15 minutes. Finally, we added mozzarella cheese and baked it another 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

I realize that while I've mentioned Herman bread before on this blog, I haven't explained what it is or how I make it. My mom started making Herman when I was in middle school. Herman is the sourdough-based starter that people have used for years, primarily in the South and similar to Amish Friendship Bread, from what I've read. The bread doesn't taste like traditional sour dough, but it's very good. It's not too sweet or too sour.

Once you receive a cup of starter, you take Herman out of the fridge and feed him every three to seven days with a mixture of sugar, water and dried potato flakes (the kind you would use to make instant mashed potatoes). You can either use a cup of the starter after it has sat out for several hours to make Herman, through the cup away or give the cup to friends to start their own Herman offspring, which my mom and I have done many times.

After moving to Knoxville, I asked my mom to bring a cup of starter when they visited a few years ago, and I started making Herman. It's not hard, but you have to remember to feed him and be patient when first mixing him up with all the ingredients, especially the bread flour. Herman can be fickle. Some days he likes to rise in a perfect mound shape, and other days, he doesn't. Bread loaves and rolls (Dolly once ate a entire Herman roll off my plate!) can be made, and I've taken both to parties and given a lot of baked Herman away, just like my mom. Everyone strongly adores Herman for the most part, and if you don't, there might be something wrong with you! :)

Last year, I started adding Italian seasoning and garlic salt to the dough to spice it up a bit, and we really enjoy it. I also use olive oil at times instead of corn or canola oil. I've never made the cinnamon rolls using Herman, but my mom has, and they are delicious.

My friends used to give me strange looks when I told them I had to feed Herman or that I had brought some Herman to share at a party. Now, they just smile and realize they are about to enjoy a special homemade treat.

Fun on the river

2010-07-14T11:21:00.001-04:00

We had a great dinner at Calhoun's on the River Saturday night with some great friends who are moving to North Carolina soon. I've written about them before, and I can't believe how grown up Sara and Aljosha are now. Katerina and Iso should be very proud of them.

Sara told us that they're moving to the other side of the mountain, which is true since they are crossing over the Great Smoky Mountains into western North Carolina. She also said her brother is big, but he thinks he is bigger than he really is. :)

After dinner, we fed the ducks and geese with the extra bread from the restaurant.

A visit to this part of Knoxville isn't complete on a summer evening without jumping into the fountains and water falls.

They were both soaking wet but loved every second of it.

Have a great time in North Carolina. We'll miss you!

Summer sunflowers

2010-07-06T13:23:00.000-04:00

Sunflowers are my favorite flower, and while I wish these were growing in front of our house, they belong to our neighbors. I can't believe how tall they've grown, but they could use some rain. (It was the second hottest June on record in Knoxville with little rain.)

I do have a sunflower to look at thanks to a birthday gift from my parents in May. It's a solar-powered sunflower that stays outside during the day and then lights up at night. I keep it on our back porch and can see it lit up at night.

During a storm one night last week, the wind was very strong and knocked it over, so we brought it inside.

Here's a better shot of how it lights up. Cash is in the photo too. Can you find him? Thanks for my sunflower Mom and Dad! :)

Sleeping the summer away

2010-07-04T11:38:00.000-04:00

Here are a few recent shots of Sammie and Cash sleeping the summer away. They like to be close at times, but they also need their space. Cash is definitely more active than Sammie, who could sleep all day and night. However, after his spazzing episodes, he crashes and doesn't wake up for anything unless the doorbell rings, and then he gets scared and hides under the bed. He's a great watch kitty! :)

Since we can't trust Cash on our back porch, he likes to spend hours in the garage on top of the car. I know it's hot out there too, but he loves it. In honor of the Fourth of July, I thought about dressing Cash up as George Washington and Sammie as Betsy Ross, but they weren't feeling it.

On a bittersweet note, Dolly gained a kitty friend in heaven this week. Our good Florida friends, Brad, Mandy, Ryan and feline sister Kelsey, had to say good-bye to their beloved cat Cali, who had kidney disease like Dolly. We know how hard it has been on them, and they continue to be in our thoughts and prayers. It's a comforting thought that Dolly was there to welcome Cali, and they are now chasing birds, squirrels, and lizards together. (Sammie hates fireworks and wants to make sure there aren't any in heaven since Dolly didn't like them either. I assured her there are only soothing trumpets.)

Speaking of fireworks, Happy Fourth of July! We're having BBQ chicken, Bobby Flay's grilled sweet potato salad, grilled veggies and ambrosia for dessert. Sammie and Cash get a canned salmon and shrimp feast! :)

Picking a peck of peppers

2010-07-03T14:30:00.000-04:00

We've cooked a variety of pepper dishes recently, thanks in part to our Sam's Club that sells a combo pack of six (two yellow, two red and two orange) for around $7, a great deal! They are pretty to look at, and I like the flavor a bit more than green peppers.

After making fajitas a couple of times, we decided to make some stuffed peppers. I remember my mom making delicious stuffed peppers filled with rice, tomatoes and hamburger meat. I added a new twist by adding corn, black beans, and tomatoes to the dish below. Another idea came from the back of a jambalaya box. I made the jambalaya with sausage meat and rice like I usually do, and then I stuffed the peppers with the jambalaya. Yummy!

The last recipe I made was Paula Dean's brunch stuffed peppers on Father's Day. I substituted turkey sausage for the bacon and used green peppers. Using green and red would make a nice Christmas brunch dish, and yellow and orange would be nice for Easter.

The peppers are easy to make, and there are plenty of leftovers that heat up nicely for a second meal. How many pecks of peppers can you pick?

In the blink of an eye...

2010-06-16T16:15:00.000-04:00

Even though he looks so sweet and innocent above, we had a scare this morning with Cash. Sammie and Cash love being out on the back porch, and since it's been so hot recently, I only let them out in the early mornings. Sammie likes to clean herself while sitting on one of the chairs, and Cash enjoys watching the birds.

I check on them every few minutes or so just to make sure Sammie isn't walking on the railing and Cash is keeping his front paws inside. After making Herman bread, I looked out and couldn't see Cash. He likes to "hide" on the other side of an old orange desk that faces the bird feeders. I went and looked out our bedroom window and could see him more than halfway out. I called David, but it was too late.

Cash jumped down onto the ground. David immediately ran outside, and I was trying to coax Cash not to run down the hill or around the house. He sat on the ground happily eating grass, but got a little scared when David came around the corner and started to run under the porch. Luckily, David was able to grab him and lift him up so I could take him. David and Cash had clay all over their feet/paws.

Our neighbor cat Darwin had been under the porch since he has a bell around his neck that David heard, and Cash decided to jump down and defend his territory. Darwin ran to the front of the house and crossed the road, and I'm so thankful Cash didn't follow him. I've now realized that Cash is willing and able to jump down, so his time outside will be extremely limited. He doesn't have front claws, so it would be impossible for him to climb back up. I hate even thinking about what could have happened if I had waited a few more minutes to check on them.

This scare comes a day after he went into the garage while the garage door was up. We had returned home from grocery shopping and were unloading when he opened the cracked door to the garage and went out. David yelled at him, and he ran under the car. We were able to get him back in quickly, but after this morning's incident, I think it's time to take cat naps inside the house. My Crazy Cash!

Where did May (and the first week in June) go?

2010-06-09T17:49:00.001-04:00

I know I haven't blogged in more than a month, and I'm sorry if the five or so of you who actually read my blog have missed my random ramblings. I haven't been motivated or inspired to write about anything.

So here's a brief update. I finished teaching at the beginning of May, and while I usually teach during the summer, I'm not this year. The additional salary would be very nice, but teaching every day for an hour and a half is time consuming, and I have a dissertation to write.

My brother Jason and sister-in-law Kristen visited us at the end of May. It was great to see them. They had been to Nashville and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg on their last child-free vacation for a while and stopped at our house on the way home. Kristen is due in mid-September with their first child, a boy they plan to name Judson. It's a name Kristen found when reading about Adoniram Judson, Jr., a missionary from the United States who was the first Protestant sent to preach in Burma in the 1800s. His work led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America. For some reason, they decided to go with his last name and not his first. :) I doubt he'd ever find Adoniram on a key chain.

We made an overnight trip to Asheville, North Carolina for the wedding of my graduate school colleague Angela. It was intimate and beautiful. I didn't take a lot of photos, but here's one of the yummy cake. The bride was beautiful. Congrats Angela and Greg!

We also had a great drive through the mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. On the way back, we stopped and ate lunch at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg. It was the Sunday before Memorial Day, so it was very crowded, but we managed to find a parking spot and enjoy the delicious Dutch Diplomat and French Royale sandwiches.

It's been hotter than usual in East Tennessee, and we've already experienced some highs in the 90s. I'm hoping for a cool down very soon. Sammie and Cash still want to go outside on the back porch even in the heat. Sammie enjoys a cool drink of water when she comes in, and my latest trick is putting ice cubes in the water container. They like to "chase" them with their paws and seem confused when they melt so quickly.

Cash is still a bit on the crazy side, but we love him. He loves to lay on his back, with all four paws in the air and demand to be petted and loved. He'll stay in this position for a while until one of his humans comes along and caters to him.

It's hard to believe it's been a year since Dolly left us. We miss her and think about her often, but we know she's in a better place, and Sammie and Cash do a great job of loving us.

Survival of the fittest

2010-04-28T20:12:00.000-04:00

We have a new cat who likes to call our back porch home. Darwin doesn't belong to us, but that doesn't stop him from jumping up and sleeping in the sun or taking shelter from the rain.

He wears a collar around his neck with his name and phone number on it. When he first showed up a few weeks ago, I called the number, and a young man, who lives several houses down our street, came and picked him up. He told me that Darwin sometimes gets out, and he was about to go look for him. Well, "sometimes" must mean every day. If Darwin isn't on our back porch, he is often sitting on the grassy hill down below. He's a very loving cat, and yes, he looks somewhat like Dolly.

I don't mind his visits except Sammie and Cash like to go outside and sun themselves. I don't want all of them out there together since Darwin has front claws, and I don't know his medical history. Cats can catch diseases from other cats, and I also don't want them to start a hissing contest.

It's as if Darwin knows how much I love cats and have a soft spot for them. I'm glad he enjoys the outdoors, but I worry when I don't see him for a few days.

In other cat news, my "brother" cat who belong to my parents has a new look since his hair was so matted and tangled.

My dad took Tiger to his annual check-up this week, and they recommended that he go hairless for a while. The vet tech called it the "lion look," and while he doesn't look like Tiger, it will hopefully allow the hair to grow back into a nice, shiny, clean coat.

I think my mom is still in shock about how her "son" looks. He's still a cutie though—just look at that bushy tail!

Salad time

2010-04-26T11:30:00.000-04:00

During the spring and summer months, I enjoy making salads even more than usual. One of my favorite salads is a layered salad that my mom also makes. Not only is it pretty to look at, but delicious to eat.

I sent the recipe to David's cousin who has been working on a family cook book. I had forgotten what recipe I sent to her last year, but as soon as I saw it in the book, I knew the layered salad would be on last week's dinner menu. Yummy!

Here's the recipe if you'd like to make it.

Layered Salad
In a clear trifle bowl layer the following ingredients starting at the bottom:
1/2 bowl of lettuce (about a whole lead of lettuce should work)
Purple cabbage (a small head will work)
1/2 cup green peppers
1/2 cup onion
Small can of peas (drained)

Combine a pint of mayo (regular or low fat) and dry original Ranch mix. Spread this mixture on top of the layer of peas.

Sprinkle on graded sharp cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese and bacon bits.

Let sit overnight in fridge. While it's pretty to look at, you'll need to mix it before serving in order to distribute all the ingredients. This salad is best eaten within one day since the dressing can make it soggy. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Sara!

2010-04-25T17:57:00.001-04:00

This post is about a week late since Sara celebrated her fifth birthday April 17, and we had the honor of attending her party at a kids inflated play zone area in Knoxville called Pump it Up.

If you don't remember who Sara and her wonderful family are, I was in the room when her younger brother Aljosha was delivered more than two years ago, and I was a witness at her parent's wedding last year.

Sara (in the blurred photo above due to her constant motion) speaks perfect English and loves being a five-year-old. The kids loved every minute of climbing, sliding, jumping and running. After about an hour and a half of playing, they went into another room to eat cake and open presents. Aljosha has grown into a little man who is determined to keep up with his big sister.

It's so cute to watch kids and their innocence at that age. As each child left with a goodie bag from Sara, they all hugged her. Sara had hugged each of them after opening their presents. One little girl told Sarah, "I love you Sara. You're the best friend a girl could ask for in the whole world." I agree.

Sara gave me a goodie bag as well, and Cash enjoyed trying on his new sunglasses for the summer season.

Elvis Lives!

2010-04-14T10:36:00.001-04:00

After listening to the "American Idol" contestants sing Elvis songs last night, I decided to write about the Elvis living in our house, our snail. He might not look that impressive in the photo above, but he is HUGE. We purchased him the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when David's dad was visiting and decided to name him Elvis since he has a blue shell, and I'd heard Elvis singing "Blue Christmas" on the radio that week.

We've lost quite a few fish since then, and there are only about five left in the tank, but Elvis is going strong. He is the largest snail we've ever had in the tank.

Cash loves the fish, but he LOVES their food more. Every night when David feeds his "brothers," Cash is right there waiting on his appetizer. What's interesting is that Sammie didn't pay any attention to the fish until Cash arrived and started looking at them and swatting the outside of the tank. Now, it's her morning ritual to spend about 20 minutes gazing at them and trying to figure out a way to catch her breakfast. We're trying to teach them it's not a good idea to eat their siblings as a snack.

Did you get the joke?

2010-04-07T09:34:00.001-04:00

I realize I'm late in posting a follow-up to my former post about the left-handed whopper at Burger King. I think most of you realized it was an April Fool's joke...a joke, however, from 1998. Burger King actually sent a press release to media outlets around the country and took out a full page ad in USA Today, announcing the new left-handed whopper.

I was working at WUFT-FM in Gainesville as the local host for the "Morning Edition" show. I checked the fax machine around 4 a.m. and saw this press release. I admit I was intrigued by the headline and lead sentence claiming Burger King had introduced a left-handed Whopper since I am left-handed. For a minute, I believed it, but then I realized it was April 1, and it had to be a joke.

Many people fell for the joke, and even went to Burger Kings around the country and asked for the left-handed whopper. Some who had seen the announcement ordered a "right-handed" or "normal" whopper.

I decided to reuse the press release 12 years later and see if an old joke can create new laughs. I recreated the press release and had both sections of my classes turn it into a news story. About halfway through each class, someone finally asked, "Is this real?" After some discussion, I told them about the original press release. I also mentioned how in 1996, Taco Bell announced it had purchased the Liberty Bell in Pennsylvania and had plans to remain it the Taco Liberty Bell.

About half an hour after one of my classes, I received an e-mail from one of my students who wrote, "Okay, I had to admit and thought you would find humor in this, but I just stopped by BK and bought a Whopper," and he's not even left-handed! :)

It's a great day for left-handers!

2010-04-01T11:23:00.001-04:00

I just found out that Burger King has introduced the left-handed Whopper! I'm more of a Whopper Jr. fan, but it's still great that Burger King has embraced all of us south paws with this invention.

According to a press release from Burger King....

"America's most preferred premium hamburger will feature the trademark build of lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup and 4-ounce flame broiled hamburger patty, but the newly designed sandwich has been re-engineered to fit more comfortably in the left hand, thereby reducing condiment 'spills' for left-handed hamburger lovers. It is estimated that more than 1.4 million left-handed customers visit U.S. Burger King® restaurants each day.

The new left-handed sandwich will have all condiments rotated 180 degrees, thereby redistributing the weight of the sandwich so that the bulk of the condiments will skew to the left, thereby reducing the amount of lettuce and other toppings from spilling out the right side of the burger.

'We have always been proud of the fact that we offered 1,024 ways to order our flagship WHOPPER® sandwich. Now we are offering 1,025 ways. It's the ultimate 'HAVE IT YOUR WAY'® for our left-handed customers,' said Jim Watkins, senior vice president for marketing for Burger King Corporation.

It is estimated that approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population (or 42.5 million people) is left-handed, making this consumer group one of the largest--and one of the most over-looked--minority segments in the country."

Wow, I can't wait to try one. I think I know what's for dinner tonight!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T20:37:00.000-04:00

Hope the luck of the Irish has been with you today, and may you find a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The above photo is Sammie with her St. Pat's hat a few years ago. I think she and Cash are glad we didn't pull them out again this year.

Sadly, I didn't see any leprechauns today. However, I can remember a time when I was absolutely positive one had visited my kindergarten classroom. When we returned from recess, there was a piece of candy on the floor under each of our desk chairs. Our teacher, Mrs. Zedalis, told us a leprechaun put it there since she was in a meeting down the hall. And besides, if she had done it, the candy would be on our desks, and not on the floor, where the leprechaun would have left it because of his small size.

I can remember feeling so excited and wanting to see and meet a leprechaun so desperately, just like I always have wanted to meet Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Hmmm. I wonder if they have e-mail address and Facebook and Twitter accounts. A (little) girl can dream, can't she?

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Take a listen to the 1982 World's Fair music

2010-03-16T12:22:00.001-04:00

The 1982 Wold's Fair was in Knoxville, and after living here for four years, I can tell just how proud this city is to have hosted the event, and it should be. I remember my grandparents traveled from Florida to attend the fair, and they brought me a World's Fair teddy bear that I still have.

The fair went from May through October, and more than 11 million people came to Knoxville for the "Energy Turns the World" themed event.

A friend recently posted a link to the official songs of the fair. They are great to listen to since they were written and recorded in the early 1980s. You just have to listen: http://www.expomuseum.com/1982/audio/index.htm and make sure you click on the youtube video clip above for a World's Fair commercial. It's definitely a piece of nostalgia for those who grew up in Knoxville or attended the fair. Enjoy!

Sunny Spring Break...for now

2010-03-09T16:29:00.001-05:00

It's been great weather in East Tennessee recently, with highs in the 60s and sunshine! Sammie and Cash are thrilled about the weather, and they love sunning themselves on our back porch.

The sunshine is short-lived since clouds have already formed again, and rain is expected tonight and into the weekend. At least I won't feel bad about staying indoors to work on my dissertation and grading. Spring Break doesn't exist for graduate students.

Gimme that Filet-O-Fish

2010-03-06T12:09:00.001-05:00

Have you noticed that during Lent a lot of restaurants promote their fish entrees? McDonald's has the Filet-O-Fish on its menu year round, but the company advertises it extensively during Lent since the special is two fish sandwiches for $3 (and the special ends April 4, which is Easter). Last year's commercial with the singing fish on the wall was a hit, and it's back again this year in another form.

We had Filet-O-Fish sandwiches yesterday for lunch, and even though we could easily make them at home, there's something about getting one from McDonald's. The advertising works on us during Lent.

I've noticed that Arby's and Wendy's also have fish sandwiches right now for a limited time, but they are more expensive. Even if the fish is a better cut and larger, I think we'll stick with the Filet-O-Fish for tradition's sake.

Gunshots fired

2010-03-03T20:09:00.006-05:00

It's been a week since a rather disturbing incident happened in our neighborhood, and it's one I won't soon forget.

I was sitting at our kitchen table working on my dissertation, where I could see the road down below that is the entrance to our subdivision. I heard a noise that sounded like a car backfiring, but I didn't think much about it. A few minutes later, and I'm not sure how many minutes exactly, I noticed two Knox County Sheriff's deputies pull into our neighborhood with their sirens blaring. They pulled over at the end of the first intersection and were clearly in a hurry to get out of their cars.

I called David into the kitchen and we watched as more deputies drove in, and we could tell something wasn't right. We used our binoculars to see better since we live a ways up the hill. We could see deputies running, and getting larger guns out of their trunks, but we still couldn't see what or who they were going after. Then we heard a series of gunshots...not just a few but at least 10 or more. I can remember asking David during the gunshots, what in the world could be happening? We could only see the deputies running, but we never saw who or what they were shooting at during this period.

By this point, more sheriff's deputies were driving into the neighborhood, and next came an ambulance and firetruck. We didn't know what was happening, but it was obvious someone had been shot. After a few minutes, knoxnews.com posted a very brief story online about deputies firing shots at a West Knoxville man who was threatening to commit suicide.

During the next few hours, more official cars arrived along with satellite trucks from the three local TV stations in Knoxville. There were around 15 deputy cars and other SUVs with flashing lights. It was surreal to see this happening, and the photo above doesn't quite capture all the traffic and uncertainty about the events. Initial reports said a man was trying to break into a house and then threatened suicide and a call to 911 was placed.

I was surprised that a couple of the local TV stations didn't add this information to their web sites as quickly as they should since they could easily confirm the information with the sheriff's office. It took one station more than two hours to post any story about the shooting. As a journalism educator, I'm constantly telling my students that the web is driving news. People go online to get their news first, and if it's not there, they go to another site, which is what I did.

You can read more about what happened at www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/feb/25/three-deputies-involved-in-fatal-shooting and a follow-up story at
www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/mar/01/3-knox-deputies-fatal-shooting-back-work/. To summarize, a woman called 911 to say her husband was suicidal, and she was afraid for her life. She stayed on the phone with 911 until deputies arrived. Deputies met the man outside, and he started firing, so they fired back. He later died at UT Medical Center.

While I didn't know this family personally, we see their company trucks coming in and out of the neighborhood on a daily basis. When we go on walks, we've seen them washing those trucks, so it's hard and sad to believe that a life was lost.

I realize this is a personal family matter, and I don't need to know why this man acted the way he did. His wife is a widow now, and his family is without him. It's just another example that shows how quickly life can change in a matter of seconds.

Brother and Sister Secrets

2010-02-20T11:32:00.001-05:00

Even though Sammie and Cash still run around and chase each other at times (and it's usually Cash chasing Sammie!), they do enjoy each other's company.

I took these photos a few days ago while they sat together.

In this one, it looks as if Sammie is telling Cash a secret. In reality, she's just sniffing the side of his face and ear, but it's still fun to pretend they are actually sharing secrets.

Cash is returning a secret whisper in this one.

Speaking of secrets between a brother and sister, I have one. I'm going to be an aunt in September! My brother and his wife have let their special secret out about having a baby. Congratulations Jason and Kristen! Sammie and Cash are excited about their first human cousin, and we can't wait to meet Baby Beutke! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T14:53:00.001-05:00

I know it's the day after Valentine's Day, so I hope everyone had a love-filled Sunday. Thanks to our family and friends who sent us cards. It was also our sixth wedding anniversary. I love you David!

We decided to cook at home to save money and time since I'm sure the restaurants were crowded all weekend. We dined on seared scallops in a lump crab sauce with asparagus, baked garlic cheese grits and smoky portobello mushroom soup. I also have started adding spices to the Herman bread I make, including garlic salt, Italian seasoning and cheese. Everything was delicious!

It's President's Day, but UT doesn't close. I don't teach on Mondays, so it didn't make much of a difference to me. It snowed overnight and into this morning, but it's already started to melt.

Our Christmas poinsettia has held up well since we purchased it in November. The leaves are falling off rapidly now, but I still like the red color around Valentine's Day.

Six more weeks of winter

2010-02-02T11:50:00.021-05:00

Punxsutawney Phil emerged earlier this morning on Groundhog Day and saw his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter weather. Whether you believe in this tradition or not, Tennessee experienced a lot of winter weather this past weekend, and we were in the middle of it. (Most of the photos I took were from inside the car for obvious reasons.)

We traveled to Memphis Thursday for reasons I'll explain in a future post, and we knew the weather might not cooperate. We thought we'd be there until Saturday morning, but the reason for our trip ended early on Friday, so we decided to leave around noon and make it as far back to Knoxville as possible.

I can now say I have seen snow and ice from one end of Tennessee to the other, and it's not an experience I need to repeat. David is a great driver, and Heidi is a great car, but most of the other drivers weren't sure how to handle driving on the icy slushy mess we encountered.

It took us almost six hours to drive 172 miles to Dickson, Tenn. We stopped around mile marker 100 to eat lunch, and most places were closed, but Chilis was still open. They were waiting on a call from the corporate office about when they could close. We tried to make it to the Nashville area, which was around exit 200, but as it grew dark, conditions worsened, so we stopped and spent the night.

The restaurants in the area closed early, so we ate sandwiches from a gas station...not the greatest, but that was all part of the adventure. During our trip, we saw numerous cars in ditches, a firetruck that was turned completely over and several semi trucks that had overturned. There were a few close calls when Heidi lost traction, but we made it!

On Saturday, we started the 200-mile trip home, and the roads still weren't that clear near the Nashville area. David spent almost 30 minutes trying to get the ice off the car, but cloth gloves aren't best for that. We used the car's heater to dry them.

As we made our way to East Tennessee, the interstate was a million times better. It still took us about four and half hours to get home, and we were nervous about driving up the icy hill we live on, but it was clear.

There is still snow on the ground, but the "blizzard of 2010" could have been much worse for us. They had initially said Knoxville could see up to 15 inches of snow, but it was more like five inches or less. It's just good to be home and have ourselves and our car in one piece.

News Quiz

2010-01-19T21:27:00.000-05:00

The start of the semester means the start of weekly news quizzes I give to my journalism students. I tell them on the first day that I give these quizzes, not to torture them as some may think, but to prepare them to enter the world of media. Yes, they should know what's going on in the world as future media professionals, however, there is a much more practical reason.

Often times when they are applying for jobs, potential employers will give them a news quiz. I've had colleagues who have moved to the middle of nowhere and took a news quiz about local government, politics, the educational system, etc. as part of the application process. Also, when I toured CNN in Atlanta last year with my students, they told us that people applying for internships and entry-level positions must take and perform well on a news quiz. AND, they keep giving those quizzes in order for folks to move up the promotion ladder at CNN.

Here's the first quiz I gave today. I think it's fairly easy, and most quizzes will probably be a bit harder than this one throughout the semester. What would your score be? No cheating! :)

1. What’s the status of the rescue efforts in Haiti?
2. Who is UT’s new football coach?
3. The U.S. celebrated the birthday of who yesterday?
4. What’s the latest on Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien on NBC?
5. According to an article on tnjn.com, is there a feral cat problem in Knoxville?
6. What's the capital of Tennessee?
7. Name one thing you want to learn this semester in this class. Be as specific as possible since this helps me plan your assignments and activities.

Where in the world is Cash?

2010-01-13T10:54:00.001-05:00

Can you spot Cash in the photo below? He blends in with the pile of laundry on our bed. I hadn't seen him in a few hours and started wondering where he was since he's usually in the same room as me. It took a few minutes of looking to realize he was sleeping comfortably among the clothes.

Maybe you can see him better in this photo since his yellow eyes stand out a bit more.

Sammie opted to sleep the afternoon away in her bed.

Thawing out

2010-01-13T08:03:00.000-05:00

We had more than a week of freezing temperatures, and now we're warming up again. It snowed Thursday afternoon and into Friday, but the big problem was the ice. The roads in our neighborhood iced quickly since the ground was already so cold.

The snow started early Thursday afternoon, but by the time David drove home around 5 p.m., our hill was an icy sheet, and hardly any cars could drive up, so he parked in a lot next to the neighborhood pool and walked up.

Here are some of the frozen photos I've taken during the past week.

Our frozen driveway.

Cash still loves going outside when it snows. I think he would stay out there if I let him.

Snow shining through our lights on the back porch.

We also put up all our Christmas decorations last week. It's always more fun to decorate than to un-decorate.

We drove to Pellissippi State Community College to see the frozen fountain and pond.

My mom also celebrated her birthday last week, and we sent her some flowers. Thanks to my dad for taking this photo of them. Happy Birthday Mom!

Wrapping up 2009!

2009-12-31T18:54:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas in Knoxville. For Christmas Dinner, we had a delicious seafood pasta and an antipasto salad along with Herman bread rolls, however, I spiced them up a bit!

Here's Herman the dough before rolling him out and baking him.

However, I'm getting ahead of myself. On Christmas Eve, we had my mom's traditional meal of ham and cheese sandwiches, but really good ham and cheese. My mom has always bought onion rolls, but they are nearly impossible to find in Knoxville. We finally found them after visiting three grocery stores. It was a Christmas miracle!

We also made homemade sausage balls, and below is the world's largest sausage ball, before I rolled it up into a many tiny sausage balls.

Here are some of the beginning photos of the yummy seafood sauce David made with mushrooms, fresh crab meat and scallops, shrimp, garlic, basil, more spices, etc. So delicious!

So good! Hope all you had a very Merry Christmas and 2010 will be a wonderful year! Happy New Year!

Snow in the Smokies

2009-12-31T12:12:00.001-05:00

My computer was at the Apple Store for the past week since it needed a repair, so it's been more than a week since I could post.

We traveled to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains last Monday (before Christmas) to see some of the snow that had fallen. The road from Gatlinburg to Cherokee was closed due to snow and ice, but we were able to see quite a bit of snow on other roads from the mountains to Townsend. There were "Watch for Ice" signs along the road.

A lot of the limbs had snow on them, but it was starting melt, so we heard a constant water drip sound. Enjoy these winter scenes!

Before we drove up into the mountains, we ate lunch at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg and looked around.

Look at that green Christmas sweater and matching red skirt!

As we drove home, we stopped and captured a shot of Gatlinburg from high above the city.

We haven't gotten any snow in Knoxville since the first snow of the season in early December, so it was nice to see the snow in the Smokies and really get into the Christmas spirit.

Merry Christmas! (Sammie's holiday letter!)

2009-12-22T17:30:00.001-05:00

We hope everyone is having a happy holiday season! Here's our Christmas card to everyone. It's a letter from our cat Sammie. If you still haven't received yours in the mail and want to read the printed version, then stop reading now! However, make sure you visit us again since there are some great photos on here that aren't in the printed version.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2010!

December 2009

Hello, everyone! It’s Sammie Ann Beutke DeVito writing this year.

You might not know me very well since Dolly has always written this letter, but I know she’s mentioned how wonderful I am on multiple occasions (or at least that’s what she told me!). I don’t want to dampen your holiday spirits, but the reason I’m writing this year’s letter is because my very brave, older sister Dolly Bouffard Beutke DeVito is now an angel in heaven.

She left us in May after fighting a courageous battle with kidney disease. We all miss her very much, but it’s nice to know she’s watching down on us. (Although, I don’t think she was watching down on Tim Tebow and the Gators when they played those fat Alabama elephants a few weeks ago!)

In an effort to make sure I didn’t feel too lonely without Dolly, my parents decided to bring another feline into the house after a couple of months. I think they did it more for them than for me. My mom found a black male neutered cat on Craig’s List (craigslist.com) on the Internet in July. I don’t know who the heck this Craig person is, or why he’d have a list of cats available, but thanks to him and his wonderful list, I now have my younger brother, Cash. Can you sense my sarcasm…I mean thankfulness here?

Anyway, Cash’s previous family loved him very much, but they had to move in with other family members who didn’t care for pets (how rude!). He had another name before he joined our family, but my parents realized they had never named their own cats before (except when they were kids and named their dogs, but dogs don’t count!), so they decided to name him Cash after legendary musician and the man in black, Johnny Cash, who is from Tennessee.

Did you know it’s actually a requirement if you live in Tennessee and have at least two children or pets that one of them must be named Peyton after UT football star Peyton Manning? My parents were able to get around this since Cash is an acceptable alternative. Thanks goodness!

Cash is very loving, and even though his previous family said he wasn’t a lap kitty, he now loves to sit on my mom’s lap (while she is grading papers) and brush up against Dad’s legs. He has been very helpful with taking care of his younger brothers…the fish. He loves to watch Dad feed them, and just after Cash arrived in our house, he managed to roll the container of fish food from the living room to underneath the bed in the spare bedroom, open it and eat it. Cash has tried to eat Styrofoam, wood, plants, plastic holly berry decorations and who knows what else.

He also likes to talk to himself, and he has these episodes when he runs around the house and acts crazy followed by periods of sleep. My parents have said this is typical behavior of Ph.D. students, and I guess they should know.

We love being in Knoxville for the holidays. We already experienced our first snow in early December, and we’re expecting more this weekend.

I hate being outside in it, but Cash loves it. He tried to eat as much snow as possible on the back porch and got upset once it melted. Crazy Cash!

My mom is in her final year of the Ph.D. program in communication at the University of Tennessee. She is working on this really long paper called a dissertation and will graduate in May. Dad is teaching chemistry at Pellissippi State Community College, and his students love him, although some of the excuses they come up with for not being in class crack him up. How many “family emergencies” can one student have in 15 weeks? You’d be surprised!

My mom had a funny experience earlier this fall on UT’s campus. It was raining one evening as she was leaving, and she happened to see UT football coach Lane Kiffin walking in the rain without an umbrella. She suddenly realized the only umbrella she had in her car was a Gator umbrella! She thought about stopping to lend it to him, especially since it was the week before Tennessee played the Gators in football, but she didn’t. That’s my mom!

My parents made three trips to Florida this year. The first one was for Aunt Allison and Uncle Matt’s beautiful wedding in March. It was great to see everyone in the family!

Then in July, they secretly traveled to Florida for Grandpa Amos’ 70th birthday surprise party that Uncle Jason and Aunt Kristen had planned along with my parents. He thought he was going to someone else’s surprise birthday party, so he had no clue all those folks had gathered for him.

While my parents were there, they met my first cousins, Mattie and Mia (Jason and Kristen’s puppies!)

In September, my parents flew to Orlando for Grandma Bouffard’s 80th surprise birthday party. She thought she was going out to dinner with just a few family members, so imagine her surprise when all of her six children and sixteen grandchildren showed up to help her celebrate! It was actually the first time in a while that EVERYONE was together!

We’ve also had all the grandparents visit us this fall. Grandma Sharon and Grandpa Amos came up in October, and it was really cold for their visit. Cash gets a little nervous around new people, and it takes him a day or so to warm up to new folks, but a few minutes after they arrived, I was already sitting on Grandma’s lap while she worked on her word jumble from the newspaper. That woman can’t get enough of those jumbles.

We had a historical Thanksgiving since it was the first time we hosted someone for any holiday in our home. Grandpa Sam visited us on his vacation. He drove from Florida and stopped in Georgia to visit family before heading our way. It was chilly again, and Grandpa Sam was so cold that he wore his jacket in our house. I sat on his lap to keep him warm.

Just last weekend, Grandma Betty, Grandpa Jean-Paul, Grandma Bouffard and Aunt Allison drove up to visit us. Cash and I loved seeing all of them since they brought us toys, which Cash has managed to eat, hide or destroy by this point.

Grandma Betty and Aunt Allison in my kitchen. Wish they had bothered to feed me! :)

Dad grilling with Grandpa JP. They didn't give us any! :)

Cash and I are on Facebook like our mom. We have Catbook profiles, so please check us out at facebook.com/allydevito. Also, my mom loves to blog about us and everything else happening in our lives, and she is going to post more photos of us along with this letter on her blog at allydevito.blogspot.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/allydevito. Our dad doesn’t believe in socialism…I mean social networking, so you won’t find him on these sites.

During this holiday season, we hope your spirits are high and that you weren’t friends with Bernie Madoff. Remember, if you have pets, have them spayed or neutered. (My parents volunteer at the Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville and get to see the over-populated pet problem first hand.) I never watch “The Price is Right” like Dolly did, but Mom and I are still upset that “Guiding Light” went off the air in September. It was the longest running show on television and even older than Grandpa Amos!

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year!

Love,

Sammie, Cash, David, and Allyson DeVito (allydevito@gmail.com or dmdevito@gmail.com)

P.S. I do not share the same love for Florida football quarterback Tim Tebow as Dolly did. I’m a Riley Cooper kitty. I’ve also watched some UT football games this season, and I heard some folks call the coach Lame Kitten instead of Lane Kiffin. That’s an insult to cats everywhere! Go Gators! Go Vols!

Christmas cards are in the mail...

2009-12-19T19:04:00.001-05:00

I am the latest I've ever been in mailing out our Christmas cards and holiday letter, but they are on their way! We mailed most of them today, and the rest will go out Monday. I'll post the letter and more photos of Sammie and Cash on my blog in a few days.

Here is proof that I was working on them this week. Notice Cash in the lower right corner. He enjoyed sitting next to me while I addressed all 100 of them! I think we're going to cut down on the number we send since so many people are online now, and we can save paper by sending a web version.

Cash was ready to leave after "helping" me for several hours. He is long enough to reach the door knob, but he hasn't figured out how to open the door...yet.

Cash also likes to sit under our Christmas tree. It reminds me of when Dolly and Sammie sat under our tree a few years ago, Sammie's first Christmas with us. We haven't had a real tree since 2006, and I'm glad we bought one this year.

Part of the delay in sending out the cards has been writing the letter. It was a lot harder this year without Dolly's input. I hope you enjoy what Sammie wrote. Check back in a few days to see her letter and more photos posted. Merry Christmas!

Fun family visit

2009-12-16T16:43:00.004-05:00

David's mom, step-dad, grandma and sister made a quick visit last weekend. It was a lot of fun, but we wish they could have stayed longer!

After serving as an usher at UT's Graduate Hooding Ceremony on Friday afternoon, I arrived home to find David had taken his family to Kroger's Marketplace, the only possible grocery store that I can compare to Publix. We cooked dinner at home Friday night, which included cheese and bread, a yummy salad, grilled pork tenderloin and potatoes, and Herman bread. It was cold outside, but David and JP braved the winter weather for the sake of grilled goodness.

I'm good at taking photos of the table before we put the food on it! (Remember my Thanksgiving post!)

Like mother, like daughter! It's a great photo of Mom and Allison.

After dinner, there was a friendly competition between a brother and sister on the Wii while everyone else watched.

Saturday was full of shopping and more eating of course. We ate lunch at Lakeside Tavern next to Concord Marina.

Thanks for visiting us and for the wonderful birthday and Christmas gifts. They even brought Sammie and Cash some toys. We miss you already! Merry Christmas!

Best addressed Christmas card (Thanks Lourdes!)

2009-12-10T18:48:00.000-05:00

We're starting to receive more and more Christmas cards, and I have to share one we received today because of how it's addressed to us.

Our friends in Texas, Lourdes, Jamie and Sienna, sent us a card and jokingly wrote, "Mr. and Mrs. David DeVito" on the front with an arrow to turn it over.

I tore into the envelope (since I knew it contained a photo card of their adorable little girl!), so if you can't read what Lourdes wrote, it says, "Just kidding, just referencing that blog post. :)) Here's the blog post Lourdes is referring to that I posted last year around this time—Mr. and Mrs. David and Allyson DeVito. Thanks for the super cute card!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

2009-12-09T11:37:00.003-05:00

We bought our Christmas tree last Friday from Mayo Garden Center in Knoxville. They actually have a tree lot set up in Farragut in front of the Fresh Market shopping center. They told us these trees are from Virginia and cut last Wednesday, so our tree is a really fresh one and still drinking plenty of water.

It looks great in the corner of our living room. David had a great idea of putting the lights on the tree while it was in the garage, so we made less of a mess once it was inside.

I purchased a wreath from the Boys Scouts during Thanksgiving weekend that hangs on our front door.

Hallmark stores are selling Linus from "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and I had to get one. It was the last one in the store a few weeks ago! He recites a verse from Luke in the Bible and then says, "That's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown."

There is one decoration that Cash has decided he likes to eat. I bought some plastic holly berries and mixed them in with pine cones in a red bowl. Cash likes to eat the berries, so this decoration goes into the spare bedroom at night and can only be out when we're home.

We also have some lights up outside and more decorations inside that I haven't taken photos of yet, so stay tuned!

Sammie is still working on her holiday letter, and it should be in the mail by next week since I know some of you are anxiously awaiting to receive it. Happy Holidays!

First snow of the season

2009-12-05T19:29:00.001-05:00

We had a dusting of one to two inches of snow overnight and into this morning around East Tennessee. When I woke up, flakes were flying, so I grabbed the camera.

Cash was extremely curious about the snow and didn't want to come inside from our back porch. He loved eating it even though it was falling on his nose, and he kept shaking it off.

Cash asked to go outside again later in the day, and I think he could have stayed out there a long time even though temps were in the 30s.

The snow built up quickly, but started to melt this afternoon once the sun came out. It was a nice dusting, especially since it's Christmas time!

Here's our deflated snowman who became a snowman overnight.

The Christmas flag

I think our fall mum plant and hay bale have seen their day.

No birds in this photo at the feeders, but we saw several cardinals perching throughout the day.

Libby and a lot of other cars didn't move much this morning since it was a Saturday.

The only proof Sammie was outside...her paw prints as she ran back inside.

She preferred the comfort and warmth of her new bed.

A thankful Thanksgiving visit

2009-12-04T12:04:00.001-05:00

We had a historical Thanksgiving since it was the first time we hosted someone for any holiday in our home. When we lived in Florida, we were always guests in a family member's home, and since we moved to Knoxville, we've celebrated with just the two of us and our two cats.

David's dad made the visit from Florida to Tennessee, stopping in Georgia to visit family members on his mom's side. He arrived in Knoxville Wednesday afternoon in time for lunch at a Knoxville favorite, Sam and Andy's. We made homemade pizza and salad for dinner.

Sammie welcomed Grandpa Sam just as she welcomed my parents. She loves a good lap!

On Thursday, we prepared a relish tray with cheeses, pickles, olives and marinated mushrooms for lunch. It was chilly (or bone-chilling cold according to Grandpa Sam), but we took a walk around All Saints Catholic Church.

I took a photo of our table before we had eaten, but I forgot to take photos of the actual food.

For Thanksgiving dinner, we had ham, turkey, green bean and corn casserole, yams, macaroni and cheese, sausage dressing and homemade rolls. There was also pecan pie, but we were too full to consume any that night, so it became Friday night's dessert.

Friday was a busy day since we wanted to show him some places around the area. We ate lunch at The Tomato Head in downtown Knoxville's Market Square and also visited Mast General Store, where I purchased a homemade wreath from the Boy Scouts who were selling them out front.

Then we stopped by the Alex Haley statue near downtown for a quick photo. I still can't believe how large this statue is compared to all of us!

We were rushing to make it in time to Governor John Sevier's home since the web site stated it closed at 4 p.m. We arrived shortly before 4 p.m. and the folks there told us they'd be there until 5 p.m. He enjoyed seeing the history come alive.

Dad treated us to dinner Friday night at Connors Steak and Seafood in Turkey Creek for David's upcoming birthday. It was a great visit, and we were sad to see him leave early Saturday morning. He had a safe trip home and beat the Sunday traffic. Thanks for visiting!

We're looking forward to seeing David's mom, grandma, sister and step-dad next weekend! Happy Holidays!

A Few Random Thoughts

Merry Christmas from Sammie Claus and Cash Kringle! (Our family's annual Christmas letter)

Need help with chemistry? Check out chemistrydoctor.blogspot.com!

Living it up in Louisville

What can you make with two pounds of okra? Gumbo time!

Summertime sunsets, storms and sunflowers

A LivingSocial meal deal at Hall's on the River

1800 miles in 2 weeks across 4 states...our summer oblication

72 years and counting...Happy Birthday Dad! (Updated with new photo of Dad modeling!)

(Updated) Happy 43rd Wedding Anniversary to my parents!

Happy Decoration/Memorial Day!

Follow the red brick road

I'm the proud owner of a ceiling fan

This weather is for the birds

Family celebrations

Happy Easter! Happy Spring! (A letter from Sammie the cat)

Say Cheese!

A heat wave in Kentucky...highs in the 50s this week

Exploring Kentucky

Happy Birthday Mom!

An Italian Christmas

Finally Updated: Twelve Days of Christmas Top TV Specials

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Sammie Claus and Cash Kringle!

More posts soon...

UPDATED: Twelve Days of Top TV Christmas Specials—Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

Twelve Day of Christmas Top TV Specials—How the Grinch Stole Chrstimas

Twelve Day of Christmas Top TV specials—Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Twelve Day of Christmas Top TV specials—Frosty the Snowman

Twelve Days of Christmas Top TV Christmas Moments

Cane syrup...the best breakfast condiment ever

Update from Sammie and Cash

Dinner in a pumpkin

The past 2 months in 10 photos

I'm officially an aunt

Shrimp Boil

A visit to Daniel Boone's Tavern

A trip to Kingston

A year with Cash

Homemade Herman pizza

Fun on the river

Summer sunflowers

Sleeping the summer away

Picking a peck of peppers

In the blink of an eye...

Where did May (and the first week in June) go?

Survival of the fittest

Salad time

Happy Birthday Sara!

Elvis Lives!

Did you get the joke?

It's a great day for left-handers!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Take a listen to the 1982 World's Fair music

Sunny Spring Break...for now

Gimme that Filet-O-Fish

Gunshots fired

Brother and Sister Secrets

Happy Valentine's Day!

Six more weeks of winter

News Quiz

Where in the world is Cash?

Thawing out

Wrapping up 2009!

Snow in the Smokies

Merry Christmas! (Sammie's holiday letter!)

Christmas cards are in the mail...

Fun family visit

Best addressed Christmas card (Thanks Lourdes!)

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

First snow of the season

A thankful Thanksgiving visit