Friday, October 24, 2008

The Birthday Guy

DH has his 59th birthday today - sorry DH for spilling the beans - and it reminds me of when I first met him. We met on a singles bowling league 30 years ago. It was his birthday and a card was circulating for him. Since I was new to the league and we hadn't yet bowled his team, I had someone point him out. Interesting. I've always been attracted to dark-haired men, and his was very dark and he had a really nice groomed beard and mustache. Yummy. Then I was told he was dating someone. Rats.

A month later, we met again at a Michigan-Ohio State game party. He came a little later and was sitting in the chair I had vacated earlier. He let me sit on his lap. So unlike him, I later found out. Love at first sit? Don't know, but yet another month went by, and we were attending a production of Annie at the Fisher Theater in Detroit. I was able to purchase discounted tickets for it, and DH had asked for two. By the time the date had rolled around, he and the woman he was dating had broken up, but he still brought her. I found out yet another month later that they had broken up just before we went to the theater. So it was in January 1979, we started bowling together. We were goaded into an incentive program for bowling. If you got a spare, one kiss; if a strike, two kisses. What a great way to find out if your partner is a good kisser! Thus, began our relationship.

Later on, I found out friends of both of us were horrified by the combination of the two of us. Yes, I am outspoken, and I was a bit wild back then. DH was always on the quiet side. Whatever, we just meshed, and I have had the honor of spending every birthday since with him. We became more than just husband and wife in 1979. He is my very best friend.

Many more, DH! I love you more and more each day!

The Elections

Last night we had the pleasure of attending a Republican/Democratic debate put on by the Tennessee Tech Debate club, college Democrats, College Republicans, and sponsored by the American Association of University Professors. It was moderated by our own Mayor Sam Sallee (SuhLEE). Most of the attendees were university students who were collecting extra credit for attending. The auditorium was mostly full. Our Older College Student Daughter was one of the participants in the Q & A portion and while a little nervous at first, soon was fielding questions on the democrat side.

We figure this is the first presidential election for most of these kids. It is great to see them out there asking questions, thinking for themselves.

The final speaker was a professor of history that Sara had last semester. He spoke of elections that were pivotal, as this one is. He did give one statistic that did not surprise me. Fifty percent of people in this country who are eligible to vote, do not. I'm not sure what the percentage is in Cookeville and Putnam county, but since our population in the county is about 63,000 and about 26,000 voted in the last presidential election, I would say we're about at the same level as every where else. While 26,000 is more than one-third of the county population, I don't know how many children there are in the county.

Tennessee is an early voting state, and we took advantage of it during the primaries and cast our votes yesterday. With high voter registration, we still waited in line for a while. But worth it.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Classic Tennessee Autumn

I awoke this morning to a crisp, clear 44 degree Tennessee October day. There are no words to describe how much I love this weather. My favorite weather has always been light sweater weather. After our months of 90+ degrees, this is sure welcome.

The grass is a beautiful shade of green, sprinkled with the browns, reds, and yellows of fallen leaves. At 3:30 in the afternoon, the sun is casting long shadows on the ground. It is absolutely glorious out there.

DH and I have been busy catching up on chores around the house, and we love that the weather is cooperating for a few days. It's hard to believe that Halloween is just next week and Thanksgiving is around the corner.

Enjoying it while I can!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Time Travelin' Done!

Ah, back home again. There are no words to describe how great it is to be back in our ow home again. While we had a great time visiting with family and friends last week, there is no place like home!

The mother and father of the bride seemed to take everything in stride. The F.O.B. showed everyone how a proper wall dance should be done. Tis easy if you make it look like you just tripped out!

Generally, kids at weddings are a pain. However, the 7 year old male/female twins of the F.O.B.'s brother & sister-in-law, were so well behaved and so entertaining. It looks like F.O.B. gave young male twin dance lessons.

The day after the wedding after lunch with our younger daughter, we had a nice visit, dinner & left over wedding cake at the bride's parents' home. Great visit with some of my sibs and nephews, niece in law and nephew's girlfriend.