Happy Halloween!

Don't have too much fun out there tonight! Have a spooky and safe weekend!

Happy Birthday Aljosha!

My friend Katerina's little boy, Aljosha, is one today! I can't believe how fast this year has flown by in all our lives. In an earlier post, I talked about how I was in the delivery room for Aljosha's birth. What a wonderful experience! Happy Birthday Aljosha! Below are some recent photos of Aljosha and his wonderful family.

Updates

I'm happy to report that my college friend Natasha and her family had some good news this week. After the first round of chemo, baby Austin (pictured above in the hospital with his big brother Hunter) is in remission and doesn't have any cancer cells in his body. The doctors determined this after a bone marrow biopsy. He'll still needs four more rounds of chemo, but the Allen family is very happy. They continue to need prayers and support since they'll probably be at Shands Hospital until March.



Another Gator is moving to Knoxville! University of Tennessee President John Petersen selected Dr. Jimmy Cheek, UF's Senior Vice President for Agricultural and Natural Resources, as UT-Knoxville's next chancellor. The UT Board of Trustees approved the recommendation Friday, and Cheek starts Feb. 1, 2009. I should probably warn him about all the orange and white he's going to encounter. Go Gators! Go Vols!

Saying Good-Bye to Uncle H.D.

A wonderful family friend who's been my dad's neighbor since my dad was born almost 70 years ago died over the weekend. H.D. (H.D. stood for Homer Deihl, but he always went by H.D.) Burnett, or as my brother and I affectionately called him, Uncle H.D., died outside his workshop some time Saturday afternoon. He grew up and lived a field away from the house my dad was born in and next to his son Tim, daughter-in-law Judith and two granddaughters, Sierra and Cheyenne.

It's still a shock to all of us who knew him. He was 76 but hadn't been ill and would spend hours each day working in his shop, restoring antique tractors and wood working. He served in the Korean War, worked for a Ford motor company in Alachua, Florida and then was a rural post office carrier before finally retiring and enjoying what he loved most, restoring those antiques and spending time with his family.

My dad would visit him almost every day, and they would talk about tractors, life, the weather, people they knew, etc. I know my dad is going to miss him a lot. I remember my mom telling me one time that my dad hadn't been over to visit in a few days because he was busy with other things, so one morning, Uncle H.D. called my parent's house and asked my mom, "Is Amos OK?" My mom replied, "Well, yes." Uncle H.D. then said, "Well I was just wondering since he hasn't been over here in a few days."

My first memory of Uncle H.D. was probably when I was about 4 or 5 years old. Uncle H.D. had restored my dad's father's old John Deere tractor, which we named Putt-Putt. My dad reminded me of this last night when he said they had a photo slide show at the funeral home during visitation, and there was a photo of me and Uncle H.D. in the slide show with Putt-Putt. Dad gave me a box of my old photos when I was in Florida this summer, and I found the same photo last night. (By the way, I still have those cowboy boots, which were my first pair.)



The restored Putt-Putt and me.


Uncle H.D. worked for years at Enneis Motor Company in Alachua, and he checked out my first car, a used 1988 Ford Escort, before we bought it. When my wonderful but problem-plagued Plymouth Neon had issue after issue, he look at it several times and diagnosed the multiple problems.

When we moved to Tennessee two years ago, I wanted to take the antique bedroom set that belonged to my dad's parents and had been in a barn for way too long. It wasn't in good shape since the termites had made it their dinner. He and his daughter-in-law restored it to its original condition, and it's beautiful. He refused to let me pay him.



A photo of the restored dresser is above.

His kindness and generosity extended well beyond family and close friends. He would often fix things at Brown's restaurant in Alachua, and the owners would reward him with a warm meal and friendly conversation. He had breakfast at Brown's the day he died with Judith and the girls. My dad told me the other day that he built a set-up on his property for a friend with his RV camper to come and stay with a water and sewage hook-up.




We held a 40th wedding anniversary party for my parents in June, and invited their wedding party. Uncle H.D. and my dad's sister, Aunt Naomi, are in the photo above probably sharing a funny story or joke with each other, something they are both known for. H.D. was my dad's best man at his wedding. My parent's anniversary dinner was the last time I saw Uncle H.D. It's hard to believe he's gone, and I know so many people will miss him. I guess God must have some tractors or antique furniture that needs restoring up there in heaven. We'll miss you Uncle H.D.

The 90-minute "Minute Clinic"

After having a nice lunch today with my friend Jessica, I decided to get my annual flu shot. I've been getting a flu shot since I was a freshman in college, and it's worked so far. A nurse told me that being in a college setting is a high risk area since I'm in constant contact with hundreds of students each day, touching the same door handles, computer keyboards, bathroom fixtures, etc., and as a whole college students don't take care of themselves.

I decided to go to the CVS Minute Clinic, but it took many minutes, almost 90 to be exact. Based on the television commercial, I thought the Minute Clinic only handled flu shots. I was wrong. It's an actual clinic where people who are sick go to be diagnosed, hence the long wait. When I arrived around 2:30 p.m., there were four people in front of me, and three of them weren't there to get a flu shot. They were sick, and the nurse practitioner spent about 25 minutes with each of them. I'm glad they were treated for their various illnesses because it gave me the chance to meet a very interesting woman.

A 69-year-old pawn shop owner walked in for her flu shot a few minutes after I did. We all had to use a touch-screen computer system to register for a flu shot or list another reason we were there. She immediately told me she didn't know how to use computers, so I helped her log on. It took a few minutes since she didn't always hit the correct key, but we finally got her registered. She then proceeded to rummage through her purse searching for a business card to give me. As I mentioned she owns a pawn shop and wrote on the back of the card that I can receive a 35 percent discount on any item not on sale, and I can use layaway. She also didn't include an expiration date.

She couldn't find her cell phone, so she drove back to her pawn shop to get it. When she returned 20 minutes later, we were all still waiting. She told myself and another young woman sitting next to me that she was going to do some shopping. A few minutes later she returned with a Brazilian bikini wax kit and asked if either of us had used one. We both told her no. She informed us of her trip next week to Miami with her 79-year-old husband and how she didn't have time to go to a beauty shop for a bikini wax. Then, she proceeded to open up the wax kit and read the entire instruction guide out loud for all to hear. If you've never read a bikini wax guide out loud, please don't start now. She also made several other comments I will not write here, but I'll leave to your imagination.

Fortunately, it was my turn next to have a flu shot, but I enjoyed meeting this very nice woman, and I appreciate the discount card. To be almost 70 and buying a bikini wax kit...I can only hope.

Fun Family Fall Visit

Last weekend, David's family visited us. His mom, Jean-Paul and Grandma made the long journey from hot and humid Winter Haven, Florida to the mountains of East Tennessee. It was unseasonably warm here though with highs in the upper 70s to low 80s.

On Saturday, we joined hundreds of other tourists at a popular driving site during the fall and all year round, Cades Cove.



It's probably the most popular spot in the Great Smoky Mountains. The leaves are starting to change to bright red, yellow and orange colors, but they definitely haven't hit their peak, which will probably be at the end of October.





Bumper to bumper traffic. If you're driving through any part of the the Smokies during the fall, be prepared to go slow and stop often.



Views from the sunroof!




We saw quite a few deer during the drive, and they were very close to the road. Most of the photos I took were blurry since we were moving, but I promise there's a deer in this one. I just can't find it!



We didn't see any bears, but it was a lot of fun though to ride through the one-way 11-mile loop, which I haven't done since I was a child. Just another reason we love living in this part of the country.

Remembering Roxann

Happy Birthday!

The Power of Prayer and Facebook

I've had a Facebook account almost since it started four years ago thanks to my brother who turned me onto it. During the past year, I've noticed how many of my high school and college friends have joined. It's been great catching up and reading where people's lives have taken them.

A few months ago, one of my college friends, Natasha, and I became friends again on Facebook. I already knew she was married and had one child because we had lunch before I left Gainesville several years ago. However, through Facebook, I quickly learned she was pregnant with her second child.

If you're not familiar with Facebook, people can post photos, information about their work, education, family, etc., and status updates for their friends to see and send messages to friends. Because of this interactivity, I learned Natasha delivered baby Austin on July 30, 2008, and within a few days, she quickly posted photos of the new arrival along with his daddy Patrick, big brother Hunter and other family members.

During the past couple of months, Natasha continued to provide status updates about how everyone was doing. Just more than a week ago, she posted how she had fun at the Gator game even though they lost. A few days later, she mentioned how she was home with her older son who was sick, but the baby was healthy.


So it came as quite a shock to me and all of Natasha's friends when last Thursday night at 10:27 p.m., she wrote the following status update: "Chemo starts tomorrow. The battle begins. No matter how rare-Austin is strong...and he will beat this Leukemia. Keep praying..."

I couldn't believe it. How could this adorable healthy-looking baby boy have such a horrible disease? It was a shock for Natasha and her family as well. The odds are one in three million.

Almost immediately, friends started sending their well wishes, thoughts and prayers via Facebook. Natasha and her family have been at Shands Hospital at UF since last Thursday, and Austin's chemo is going well. She keeps updating us on how things are progressing since she has Internet access there, and baby Austin sleeps a lot.

It's amazing how fast life can change in an instant, but at least there are ways to let your friends and loved ones know almost instantly the good and the bad news. It's going to be a long road for them, so please keep this special family in your thoughts and prayers. God bless you baby Austin!

The Walking Bread

Last week David and I had the honor of attending a special dinner at my dear friend Katerina's house. For those of you who aren't familiar with Kate, she joined the UT doctoral program last year and was seven months pregnant. Kate is from Macedonia, and along with her partner and two-year-old daughter, they journeyed to Knoxville in August 2007. Her partner, Iso, went back to Macedonia a month later for a short time since he was in charge of an online publication there and had to tie up some loose ends. Katerina's parents flew to Knoxville to help her with the new arrival.

Since her partner wasn't here for the birth, and her parents do not speak English, she asked me to share in one of the most miraculous moments of her life (not to mention mine)...the birth of her baby boy. I was in the delivery room when Aljosha (pronounced Alli-osh-a in English) was born, and I was the first one to hold him after the nurse wrapped him in what seemed like hundreds of blankets. This all happened October 29, 2007.





Since Aljosha is approaching one year, it's no surprise that he's been walking, so Katerina invited us over for a special event.


Katerina's mom is back in Knoxville and prepared a special bread along with a delicious meal. There is a Macedonian tradition that once a baby starts walking, a bread is made and placed on a stool covered by a towel. Then various items representing what the child could grow up to be are placed on top. Items ranging from a book, pen, money, bread, wrench, etc. were on Aljosha's bread with the idea being that he could become a scholar, someone who works in an office, a banker, chef, or someone who works with his hands a lot.






They set Aljosha down in front of the stool, and whatever item he walks to on the stool and picks up represents what profession he will pursue. He picked up a piece of bread and starting eating it instantly. It was so cute. We're not sure if he'll actually become a chef or if he was just hungry at that moment since he'd recently woken up from a nap.






The other part of the tradition is that guests take a piece of the bread and run around the house, so Aljosha will always be sturdy in his step. Since I was running, I didn't have a chance to take any photos!



It was a great evening, and one I'm so glad we could be a part of in his life. He's grown so much since I first held him almost one year ago and so has his big sister Sara.

Another Gator in Knoxville

In yesterday's post, I forget to mention that UF's Senior Vice President for Agricultural and Natural Resources Jimmy Cheek is one of five candidates for UT's chancellor position. He was on campus this past week being interviewed and meeting with faculty, staff and students. Cheek is the last of the five candidates to visit UT, and the next chancellor should hopefully be in place by spring 2009 or fall 2009 at the latest.

A Gator Near Knoxville

While there were many Gator fans in the Knoxville area this past weekend for the UF-UT football game, it's rare to find a member of the actual alligator family in these parts of East Tennessee. Well, one decided to come up for the game apparently.

Over the weekend an alligator-type animal was spotted in neighboring Sevier County near the Little Pigeon River. Tennessee wildlife officials finally captured the caiman Tuesday after a fisherman tried but failed. It has a new home with another caiman at Rainforest Adventures. Officials say the animal probably didn't venture all the way from Gainesville but was someone's pet that either escaped or was let go.

This caiman was only a few feet long but caused quite a stir. Being from Florida and growing up on a farm with three ponds (which are all dry at the moment), alligators were a very familiar site. They even walked into our backyard on occasion looking for water, and our dogs would bark at them, and they would usually leave.

I had to share with ironic story, especially since the Gators whipped the Volunteers 30-6 Saturday. It's great to be a Florida Gator!

Fall Weather and Football

It's been really warm in Knoxville during the past few weeks, but today is truly starting to feel like fall weather. It's been cloudy and windy, and I don't think the temperature has climbed much past 72 degrees. I'm looking forward to the seasonal changes. It's one of the main reasons I enjoy living in East Tennessee.

With fall, comes college football, and this Saturday will be an anticipated match up between my alma mater and my soon-to-be alma mater, UF and UT. My Gator friends can't seem to understand how I can live up here with all this orange and white, but when in Rome...so when in Knoxville, I'm a UT fan. We're not going to the game since it will be a crazed event, but we'll definitely be watching it at 3:30 Saturday afternoon. May the best team win! Go Gators! Go Vols!

By the way, for the first time in history, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) has five teams in the top 10. (For those of you in other conferences 5 is half of 10 or 50 percent, which is a really good statistic). No other conference has ever been able to boast about this accomplishment. Florida is #4, Georgia is #3, LSU is #6, Alabama is #9 and Auburn is #10. I hope Florida destroys Georgia this season and inches closer to the top spot!

Studious Sammie

As you've probably read, Sammie likes to lounge around, and when I'm working, she makes a great paper holder. She also likes to sit on my papers or just about anything.

However, last Christmas, this presented somewhat of a problem. My parents had sent us several gift cards as presents, and I was sorting through them with Sammie next to me. I was also doing other things around the house, and at some point, I realized some of the gift cards were missing. I thought I'd thrown them away since I'd been cleaning out files that morning. I went into a slight panic mode since we had just taken the trash out. David and I searched the house from top to bottom, went through the garbage and the couch cushions. We even lifted up the pillow Sammie was sleeping on in case they were there.

After more than an hour, we were both frustrated to say the least and quit looking. A few minutes later, Sammie, who had been sleeping the whole time and hadn't moved, decided to stand up and stretch, and there under her were the gift cards we'd been searching for! She sat right back down on them as if she was protecting her stash. That's our Sammie!

A new trip down memory lane with 90210 and New Kids on the Block

Even though the Republican National Convention is on television tonight, and I should be watching it since I teach media courses, I'm sitting here in anticipation of the new "90210" set to premier with a two-hour episode tonight on CW. I'm excited, but I have a feeling I won't like it as much as the original. I grew up watching "Beverly Hills 90210" and Brandon, Brenda, Kelly, Donna, Dylan, Steve, Andrea and David mature through West Beverly High School, California University and somewhat real lives. I still watch reruns that I've seen a million times on the SOAP network. (In fact, SOAP had a Labor Day marathon of the best episodes, and I admit to watching a few.)

I was happy to hear that Jeanne Garth and Shannen Doherty have reprised their roles as Kelly and Brenda, but I had hoped more old faces would return. I am glad that Joe E. Tata has also returned. He plays "Nat," the owner of the Peach Pit. I realize the new show will be different, but I'm willing to watch the first few episodes, however, I am prepared that I might still enjoy watching the reruns more than the new version. I'll keep you posted.



Speaking of nostalgia moments, I was and still am a huge New Kids on the Block fan, and they've reunited this summer and are starting a fall tour. The closest location to Knoxville is Atlanta, so I don't know if I'll get to the concert or not. I actually had tickets to their show when I was in high school and lived in Florida. I won them from a local radio station, but they performed more than two hours away in Tallahassee on a Saturday night, and my parents wouldn't let me go since I was being baptized on Sunday morning. I love my parents, but I've never completely forgiven them for not letting me go. My favorite "new kid" was Jon Knight (second from the left in the photo above; he's the sensitive shy type). Their new album came out today, and I plan to purchase it.

There's nothing like hanging onto my youth even though it was hard living through it and making sense of the world and my place in it. At least I'll always have 90210 and the New Kids.

Heidi Honda

We have a new member of the family, well sort of. We purchased a 2008 Honda Accord this week and picked her up yesterday from Rusty Wallace Honda in North Knoxville. (For non-NASCAR fans, Wallace is a driver and commentator). We had a great purchasing experience, and actually purchased our car from a woman who handles Internet sales. Most of the negotiations took place online, and while it took us several days to get the deal we wanted, we're quite content with our new purchase!



We like to name our vehicles, and this one is Heidi. We sold the 1998 Toyota Corolla named Veronica (David name her when he got her 10 years ago) to David's boss who has a 15-year-old son who will start driving soon.

Heidi has some great features, including a satellite radio, heated seats, sun/moon roof, CD changer and power windows and locks. I mention power windows and locks because Veronica didn't have these (bless her heart), but I greatly missed them.








The view from the sun roof!







Heidi joins her big sister Libby, who is now five years old.

The Bales Baby Shower

Last weekend, we had a baby shower for a fellow Ph.D. student, Steve, and his wonderful wife Mitzi. They're expecting their second little girl within a few weeks. It was a gender neutral shower, meaning women, men and children were welcome, and we all had a great time. Thanks to Jessica for hosting the shower at her house. Steve graduates in December, and his dissertation deals with Aristotle, so David and I suggested naming the new one Paristotle to reflect history and the present, but Mitzi wasn't thrilled with the suggestion :)




We had not one, but two cakes thanks to Karen bringing a delicious ice cream cake!



We sat outside on Jessica's porch while Isabella, a very vocal and bright kindergartener, kept us entertained.



Big sister Stella talking a walk outside with Dad. Don't you just love their similar hair styles!

Another Smokey

Last summer an outside cat kept visiting our porch to sneak a peak at Dolly and Sammie. He was gray and white, and I named him Smokey. I fed him on the porch but never let him come in contact with the girls. He hung around a few months but stopped coming around last fall. I think I still see him every now and then in the neighborhood, but he was truly at outside cat who could fend for himself.

Last weekend I was talking on the phone outside on our deck when I noticed a small cat sitting down below. She acted as if she wanted to come up on the porch, but couldn't jump that high. I walked around to the front door, and she came running and met me there. At first, we thought she was declawed, so we put her in the garage since she obviously belonged to someone. It turns out that she does have claws, but was rather small and loving. She wasn't a kitten but not a full grown cat either. I couldn't stand letting her on the streets again, so we made flyers Sunday and put them up at almost a dozen stop signs in our neighborhood.



On Sunday night, we received a call from woman who said the cat belongs to her neighbor and is sometimes an outside cat. She gave us the address, but it was dark and late, so we kept "Smokey" inside another night. I played with her during the day and probably got a little too attached, but on Monday afternoon, David walked to the house, and the owner confirmed it was his cat and she had "accidentally" escaped. A friend of his had been in the hospital, and he hadn't been home much. I had mixed feelings about returning her even though I knew we couldn't keep her. I just want people to be responsible and take of their animals and not let them roam around the neighborhood, especially if they aren't spayed or neutered. I realize they escape at times, but I still think it's strange the actual owner never called us about the cat. It was a neighbor who cared enough to tell us.