Happy Holidays

Just call us wanderers, vagabonds, nomads, homeless, with no address to use for Christmas cards.  Thanks to Becky, Scott, and Julia who let the Werners descend on them for a family Christmas.  We arrived last Saturday, Krista on Monday, and Dan on Friday.  On Christmas Eve we enjoyed going to church for the candlelight service where Becky was part of the music presentation. Christmas morning found that Santa had been very busy indeed, and Julia enjoyed  slowly opening her presents, playing with each one as she opened it.







2011 will prove to be a very eventful year for our family as we welcome our grandson in March and we plan a wedding. The night before Krista left to fly to Ohio Mike proposed, so she arrived in Ohio with a diamond on her finger but a lonely spot in her heart leaving her fiance of one day. We will be very pleased to welcome Mike officially to our family, hopefully sometime this summer.

It's beginning to look like our house in the woods

This is the latest view of our house.  It is beginning to look like the home in the woods that we have been planning all along.  Each day a little something is different, and at this point everything is noticeable.  Because we go up so often  we are getting very good at driving switchbacks.  The quickest road from our apartment to our house is called the W Road, and for good reason.  It's about a 3 mile climb up.  The road hugs the side of the mountain with some twists and turns, but it's that last 1/2 mile that  is quite interesting, particularly if you meet someone coming the other direction.  If you look at a Civil War era map you can notice that the road was a W even back then.   Once we get up on top the road flattens out because Signal Mountain is really more of a plateau than a peak.  We then have about a ten minute drive along the top, but driving up and down, no matter which road you take, is quite steep and twisty.

Last night we joined some friends at a bluegrass "concert" at the Mountain Opry.  It's on the mountain in a very old building which looks like it was a school back in the  40's.  Every Friday throughout the year, local bluegrass musicians gather just to play, and anyone can sit and watch, but this week was a little different. This was a fund raiser for scholarships to continue the Appalachian music tradition.  There were musicians of all ages there, but I was dumbfounded at the talent of some of the high school students.  There was an incredible 16 year old fiddler who played Orange Blossom Special, and  a young banjo player  starred in Salty Dog Blues (that was the song the Darlings played on Andy Griffith).   One young man was very accomplished on both the mandolin and the harmonica and another played a mountain dulcimer.  Of course, Rocky Top had some in the audience stomping in the aisles.  Banjo music does not mean Deliverance to me!

It's snowing here today, a nice soft quiet snow.  We are expecting a few inches to accumulate. SM gets about 5 inches of snow on average so this may be half of it now.   How I wish we were in our house sitting by the fire looking at the snow falling in the woods instead of in our apartment watching it fall in the parking lot. But, it's nice to know that we can enjoy it from indoors and we don't have to go out in the snow for anything other than an occasional doggy outing.

Congratulations to Elizabeth and Matt.
Best wishes to Pam and Bryan.
Welcome to the world Zoe Purkiss.

Enjoy with your audio turned on

This really brings out the true feeling of Christmas.  The vocalist is David Phelps.
Thanks, Karen, for passing this along.

Krista, what is Boomer doing in this YouTube video?

It's official

This morning we went with Becky to her 21 week ultrasound and we saw that our second grandchild is a boy.  How exciting!  The ultrasounds have become so much clearer since when they first came out 30 years ago.  We were able to see clearly all the little body parts - hands and fingers, feet and toes and, of course, the identifying boy parts. Unfortunately his head was turned in such a way that even when he moved around we weren't able to see his face. Our little grandson looked so comfortable, all cuddled up and warm, but we can't wait to greet him in March.

Really?

One of the reasons we liked the Chattanooga area is because it is SOUTH, about as south as you can get and still be in Tennessee.  And the elevation of the mountains is NOT SO HIGH.  That way we could avoid the heavier snowfall and colder temperatures in other areas we looked to retire.  So why, as we were laying out plans for our pantry shelves with our contractor, did it suddenly start to SLEET and SNOW?  In all fairness, everyone was astounded, telling us they had never seen snowfall this early in the season, but REALLY??

Our California trip

Cincinnati skyline from Dan's apartment

We just returned to Chattanooga after a wonderful trip to California, bookended by a few days in Beavercreek with Becky and family and   in Cincinnati with Dan.

  Even though we were in California for only ten days, we managed to fit in so much, and having Becky, Scott, and Julia visit at the same time allowed for California family fun.  I was sad that Dan wasn't able to join us on this trip, but hopefully another time it will work for the whole family to be together.


For those of you who want the short version, here are the main goals of this trip:
Celebrate Krista's birthday - we miss you, Krista
Visit dear friends - you all warmed my heart
Have my final appointment with Bob Havard - No more 6 month oncology checkups.  Can you see me jumping with joy???

For those of you who want the details of the trip, read on.

  Our first few days were with Krista in Concord.  She and Mike are in a new house and are enjoying the extra space that a three bedroom house affords compared to living in a one bedroom apartment. Thanks to Mike for spending much of the night babysitting the smoker so we could have such a wonderful barbecue where, in addition to the great food, we enjoyed getting together with family members, both close and extended..  Lyrica, we  missed you.
Tilden Park was great with the young kids. This is the same park where we saw the mountain lion last time I visited Krista, but this time we headed to a different location in the park.  We enjoyed the train, as well as the merry-go-round, but I think the highlight of the day was the attack of the mad turkey, right on LeAnne's head.  If only someone had captured a quick picture!

 Elizabeth and Matt joined the family in Santa Cruz.  We were all eager to introduce Julia to the beach so she could experience the ocean.  She wasn't impressed!  The Roaring Camp RR through the Redwood trees and feeding the pigeons with Matt were much bigger hits with her.

We spent the rest of the time in Visalia.  Jim and Penny Purkiss were kind enough to play host and hostess.  Thanks to you both for welcoming us so warmly and opening your home to us.You did such a good job of helping us fit everything we wanted into our week.And thanks for sharing Aries and Ryder.

With Linda working we had to schedule visits around school, meetings, and such, but I'm glad we got our shopping time in.  It felt like we picked up right where we left off seven months ago. I love the pink Rangers shirt and have worn it so much I've had to wash it twice already.

Lunch with Sandi and Mary at Watsons was very relaxing.  I love it back in their garden and the sun and friendship were equally warm.

We have already had our Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Dennis and LeAnne hosted Thanksgiving a month early so we could all join in the festivities.  Yummy turkey with all the trimmings and the closeness of friends and family in one October evening!

Every woman our age should have a Book Club.  It is so much more than the name designation.  Scrabble may be Scrabble, but Book Club will always be Book Club.

I loved going to our old house for tea.  I was a little afraid of how I would feel about someone else living at our old address, but it was very pleasant.  My memories are still with  me and I'm glad the house has become a home for another loving family.

Laura Court-ers will always be important to me. You were a part of so many of our life experiences and each of you is special to us in your own way.  There is a warm place where I keep the memories I made/make on Laura Court.

Dwight and Cathy, what a great evening of good food and playing catch-up. Of all the experiences golf has provided, letting us become friends is the best one of all.

Halloween found us in Beavercreek again.  Julia enjoyed trick or treating with her Uncle Dan.










We came home to find that quite a bit of work had been done on the house.  The dry wall is up so we have inside walls and the outside is coming along as well.  It still looks like a January move-in. Working with a great builder makes this whole process very fun, but I am looking forward to having a real home.

Just a few pictures to share

Things are doing well in SE Tennessee.  Today we joined a few friends on a two hour river trip.  Normally this small boat goes through the gorge of the Tennessee River, but today was a Civil War cruise which took us upriver instead.  On board was a Civil War expert from the National Park Service who guided us through the decisive battle at Chattanooga.  Living history is always more interesting, and from the river it was easy to picture the layout of the siege.These two pictures are of the city of Chattanooga from the river.

After the cruise we had lunch near the river and were able to watch the many teams who were participating in a crew event.  There were teams from all across the east, including Harvard, Princeton, Auburn, etc. and several blocks along the river were closed to traffic for the event.  It was a beautiful day to be on the river, both for us and for the athletes as well, I'm sure.

Here are a few pictures of our house.  It is all under roof and the plumbers, electricians, and HVAC people have been busy all week.  The siding and the wood for the tongue/groove sections of the ceiling are stacked in the garage, and the bathtub is in place.  Scott helped Gary wire the house for audio and Internet last weekend so the house is ready for drywall as well.  Thank you, Scott

the front of the house

the back of the house

the fireplace framed in

Julia got her pictures taken at daycare/school a few weeks ago so I thought I would share.  Those of you who knew Becky as a 2 1/2 year old will recognize a lot of her in Julia, but we see Scott as well..  

We are VERY tired of apartment living and I miss my stuff in storage!  Otherwise the world is good.

Judy

We have rooms and windows

September  greetings.

 Isn't this time of year refreshing?  The mornings are cool and on the mountain there is a wonderful smell of autumn leaves.  Another sign of fall is the sound of the official's whistle.  Gary has discovered how to find a seemingly infinite number of football games that he can watch by running the computer through the TV screen.  Meanwhile I have found a fun group of women from our new development.to hang out with.  It started by my joining the Thursday afternoon Scrabble get togethers and grew from that.

 And here is a wonderful story of a Little  Library that Could.  It was started by  couple when they retired to Signal Mountain twenty years ago.  They found space in an old elementary school and began their free lending library.  The wife passed away two years ago, so Bill, who is now 90 years old, continues the library  in memory of his wife. He keeps the book selection current by accepting donations, of course, but also by using the money from the sale of his iris plants which he divides each year. With the NY Times list in hand, he goes to Books a Million with his proceeds and buys as many of the bestsellers as he can.  The books in the library are not organized according to the Dewey Decimal System; Bill continues to organize the books the same way his wife did.  There is a card catalog where books are filed by both title and author, and each book has a check out card tucked into its pocket.  You don't need a library card to check out books, just an honest face and a telephone number. I have joined a few of the women who are starting to volunteer in the library and help Bill out on the two days a week the library is open.  There is such a peaceful atmosphere, and I swear I saw the ghosts of Barney Fife, Andy Griffith, and Gomer Pyle the other day.

Front 9/24

Our house is moving right along and a January move still seems possible.   The framing is completed and today the windows and outside doors were installed.  I have included a picture of the front and of the back.

  Becky, Scott, and Julia are coming down next weekend so Scott can help Gary string the speaker wire through the house before the drywall goes in.  I know that Julia will be expecting to see her rocking horse in the house on this visit, but it's still in storage.

Back - a lot of fill dirt needed yet

I saved the best news for last.  Becky and Scott are expecting another baby in late March.  I'm so excited to be Nana to another adorable baby.  It gives me another reason to bake cookies!

Looking forward to a California visit,
Judy

Labor Day Weekend

We've been here in the Chattanooga area long enough to be getting familiar with things and  have started visiting some of the tourist attractions.  Annual passes to the Tennessee Aquarium along the waterfront will give us a nice place to relax if we are in the city. Besides, I couldn't resist checking out a members-only Caroling with the Fish evening in December!


We finally went to Ruby Falls one afternoon.  These caverns have been a tourist attraction for about 75 years.  The features are now strictly protected, but in the early years the regulations weren't as strict, so some damage from humans has been done.  But the underground falls in the depth of the cave are incredible.  It seems strange that no one has been able to figure out the source of the water, but in a rainy season the falls are very full and in a dry season much less water makes its way to the cavern.

Another afternoon we went to Signal Point on Signal Mountain.  This is where the Union army based communications in the Civil War and it is the reason for the name Signal Mountain.  In this picture the second mountain behind the river is Lookout Mountain and Georgia is off in the distance. There are quite a few trails which begin from this point, but most of them start by descending a very steep wooden stairway and the thought of climbing back up those stairs in the summer heat made us choose to put off exploring until the weather is a little cooler in the fall.



Our house is coming along. It is about the same size as our home on Laura Ct, but since it is one level (except for the bonus room over the garage), the footprint is larger.


 In this picture the dogs are standing in our bedroom closet.





The next picture is taken from the kitchen and looks into the breakfast nook and the view to the back.












I came across this site the other day as I was searching  for restaurants, dentists and the location of a small lake.  Although we will be living on Signal Mountain our development is not actually in the town itself, so some of the entries don't apply to us as much as others, but most of these comments now make perfect sense to me. Don't forget to click on the photos, as a few of them will give you an idea of the area and the lifestyle.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49335924277

When we moved to CA so many years ago we had to adjust to the three hour time difference, and over the years we have gotten used to football according to a west coast schedule.  But now we have to wait until 10:00 pm to watch Fresno State play Cincinnati.  I wonder where Danny's loyalties will be during that game!

Love to you all,
Judy

Instead of doing lesson plans...

We are really getting into this grandparent thing.  Spending 10 days with Julia in Ohio was great fun.  She has all the cuteness of a two year old.  . It's unbelievable how much she reminds us of Becky at that age, both in looks and personality.  Becky and Scott are busy planning out Julia's big girl room, so we were able to add our comments to that design.  Julia wants purple, but I think they are going for less drama.

 It was also fun helping Dan organize himself from his Kroger apartment into his real apartment.  It's in the same building, just on Floor 24 instead of Floor 23, so it's not a huge move, but his view changed from river front to cityscape. He is well-placed,  within walking distance to work, the football and baseball stadiums, the pedestrian bridge to the Kentucky side of the river ,and the social life of both downtown and Mt Adams.   

Scott, Julia, Dan waiting for the start of a concert along the Ohio River

As for Krista, she isn't spending all of her time kissing dolphins.  She is nervously preparing for her new position as first and only counselor at a charter school in Oakland.  It should be an interesting year for her as she navigates her way through setting up a counseling department and working outside the definitions set by a traditional high school.  

We got back to Chattanooga to find that there has been quite a bit of work done on our lot.  It was going so slowly until we left, but the adage about the watched pot seems true here.  I don't remember spending this  much time and effort  planning when we built our house on Laura Ct.  Possibly we didn't pay as much attention or there are a lot more choices out there now, but this is a full time job for both of us.  We are either running around Chattanooga to look at ideas in person or we are online doing research, using  planning tools, or looking at pictures for inspiration.  Houzz and the gardenweb forum have become my go-to sites.  I must admit, we are both enjoying this process so it is a great way to spend a year of retirement.

Our apartment is at the base of Signal Mountain, actually still in Chattanooga and our new home is up the mountain, just past the crest.   Normally it is a 20 minute drive, but this week it has been taking us an hour to drive the distance on Highway 127.  Those of you HGTV watchers will recognize that as the route of the longest garage sale in the country, lasting a week and stretching from Alabama to Michigan.  The amount of traffic along that small rural road through the town of Signal Mountain this week has been crazy, and, of course, everyone is driving slowly trying to decide which sales look interesting.  Avoiding pedestrians crossing the street with their treasures is a challenge as well.  We stopped at a few places, but without a house and with our own junk still in storage it is a little hard to seriously look at someone else's castoffs.  But, if any of you are pickers, feel free to reserve our guest room  for next August. 

 Blue Cross Blue Shield, which is headquartered in Chattanooga, recently started a program called Silverlife and dedicated a building to its use.  This is the prototype of a program they want to expand to other locations.  Its goal is to support people over fifty in their quest for good health, which includes lifelong learning. At this point there is not much going on there, but I am taking a six-week class on writing memoirs which is run jointly through Silverlife and the public library.  There are 35 of us in the class, with wonderful stories to tell.  Compared to them I feel a bit like a writer for Seinfeld, trying to make something interesting out of non-events, but it does challenge a part of me that has been in hiding for awhile.

Love to you all

And we're off....

.  Our house plans got the okay from the committee on Monday, and Wednesday the guys showed up to begin clearing the lot.  It hurt me to see trees come down, but the tree specialists were very careful to clear only what was necessary for construction.  You can see what I mean by this picture of our car parked at our place, after the tree cutting was completed.  You can hardly see the cleared area.

Here is where we will call home soon.

And this is some of our firewood for the next few years.  We had to find a way to replace you, Matt, although feel free to come help us saw this into usable sizes.

It is really HOT here where we are living at the base of Signal Mountain.  It is usually 10 degrees cooler up on the mountain  though, and today there were sprinkles up there while it was just humid down here.  This weekend we are heading to Ohio for a few weeks.  Not only are we looking forward to seeing the kids and Julia, but we are catching the last day of  Dennis and Leanne's visit so we get to enjoy time with them as well.

Becky, Dan, and Krista - we are very proud of each of you.

We're Volunteers

Yesterday was our day to take care of necessary things like changing drivers license and car tags to the Tennessee version so we  headed to the DMV.  There was a line, but it was fun that around us people were speaking German and others were speaking  French.  I was in my glory and was reminded of the Wizard of Oz - Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore.  The multicultural aspect is due to the business and industry climate in Chattanooga which has some companies headquartered here and other companies with a large presence.  Volkswagen is opening its large US facility here next year so there is a great influx of things German coming in. 

We met with our builder yesterday and walked the front section of our lot, identifying trees to keep as specimen trees in the front and back yard.  The house is being staked out this week and the necessary underbrush and  weak trees should be removed next week.  We're looking at a January completion.

Have a happy July 4th,

Judy

Welcome to the world, Alya Rose Sozio and Ryder James Purkiss

Another Tattoo

 No, I haven't gotten the urge for permanent body decorations.  This is tattoo in  the military sense which is a celebration of the military - veterans, incoming recruits, and just a general party.  Wright Patterson Air Force Base puts on a great show each year featuring live bands, flybys, and spectacular fireworks.  Everyone brings lawn chairs and settles in for an enjoyable evening.  This year was a special tribute to the veterans of Korea. We have managed to be here for three of these tattoos which we so enjoy.

This is the F-22, one of the jets in the flyby at the Tattoo.

 You may not know that my childhood had a military influence.  My father was a commander in the navy and he continued to serve in the Naval Reserve.  That meant that every summer he served active duty in Norfolk, VA so we became a military family every summer as we joined him there.  (Not bad considering that we got to stay at Virginia Beach many times).  As children we were very much aware of everything Navy;  part of our sing-a-long repertoire on car trips were the songs of the various branches of the military!  In addition, my Aunt Eva was a Marine.  Then, of course, Gary is a veteran of Viet Nam.
So military tradition is  a part of life for me.  I guess that's the reason I find these tattoos so enjoyable; they fit comfortably with who I am.

So, what's a good way to celebrate a 38th anniversary?

Why, take a canopy tour on a zip line course!  It was great fun.

Bits and pieces of May

We are finally on our way to the construction of our new home.  We have closed on our property, have chosen a house plan and a builder, and, thus, have started the wheels in motion.  Our house plan is now in the hands of the Architectural Review Committee but the excavation should begin by the middle of this month. 

On our last visit we walked the whole 5 1/2 acres, back to the end where there is a ledge of rocks which will make a nice place to sit and relax with an adult beverage.  Most of the acreage will remain wooded although it would be nice to cut a few trails in to get to some berry patches.  Wouldn't it be great if we could celebrate Christmas in our house, tucked in the woods? But that might be a real push.

We had a wonderful visit with family and friends in Frostburg.  It is our youth that we have in common with all of you there and that makes every visit special, causing us to reflect on what what has shaped us as individuals and what is truly important in life.

Thanks to Lynn and Kenny for sharing three generations of your family with us.  We are glad we timed it to see all our your children together even though we did add confusion to what was already a hectic time.

Linda and Stan, the evenings at your cabin are always a treat for the soul.  Past, present, and future take on more meaning after one of our cabin/wine evenings.  It's too bad that we didn't think of taking a picture before the darkness set in, but everyone needs to know how fabulously beautiful (Linda,was that what you told me to write?) you looked..

Pat and Tom, thanks for allowing us to settle for a few days with you.  Macy and Max loved running through the grass and I'm sure they felt it was a great adventure to be able to see horses from their spot on the porch.  I loved going through the crate of pictures!  Julia certainly enjoyed her short visit with you on the way back from Washington.  Barb's slide was as big a hit as the plane ride for her.
This is the beautiful field of phlox and buttercups that we enjoyed from Pat and Tom's porch.

 It was great being able to reconnect with people we hadn't seen in awhile; the next time we are in town we will have to be sure to include more visits.

Here are my two favorite recent pictures of Julia.


Love to all of you who are reading this.  I think of you often.
Redwood, have a good end of the year!

A few big pieces of news

First of all, congratulations to Jacob and Calvin for completing this year of BTSA.  Jacob, you are on your own and I know you will do well.  Calvin, I'm sorry I won't be around to finish your second year, but I am sure you will have a support provider who can help you along.  

Now to our news - we have found our next place.  As of next Friday we will own 5 1/2 wooded acres of Tennessee property.  Although not as high up in the mountains as our intended North Carolina, we will be on Signal Mountain, just 20 minutes outside of Chattanooga.  Our property is in a development of large lots, some as large as 14 acres, but most are our size.  Most of the people living there are our age, or at least in our stage of life and we feel very much at home there.  So, we have been studying house plans seriously for a few weeks and have two contractors pricing one out for us.  It's a very fun way to spend retirement time.

The next big news is that the mother ship has called Danny home.  Kroger has its headquarters in downtown Cincinnati and Danny was there last Friday to receive a job offer.  It's a nice promotion for him, so although he has mixed feelings about leaving California, he is excited about the opportunity.  Instead of a buyer he will now be a category manager.  The fun part is that he will be only 45 minutes from Becky and an hour closer (about 5 hours) to Chattanooga.

Krista is once again paying the price of CA budget problems.  Three of the counselors at her school are being cut and, of course, she is one of them.  Last year there was money found and she was called back, but this year is looking pretty grim for that.  So, Krista is on the lookout for an opening for a school counselor.  Somehow she always seems to land on her feet so we are hoping for the best for her.

Love to you all.

A busy few weeks

Just after I returned from California Julia celebrated her second birthday.  The house was full, with relatives from both coasts visiting.  If you want to see more about Julia's birthday, click on the Burdick family link on the right. 


 Here are just a few recent random pictures chosen from the many we have taken.

Lovin' the wind in the hair!

Peeking over the deck to the neighbor's "jumpa jumpa"

My four favorite girls

Julia reconnects with her Auntie Titta

Here are a few pictures taken on Easter

We were happy to be here to celebrate Becky and Scott both turning 30

   

   Becky couldn't believe how much  smoke comes from blowing out 30 candles.

Gary, Scott, and Krista shared turns with the tickets for the Final Four in Indianapolis.  Of course, Krista was hoping that St Mary's would have made it that far, but all three said the games were exciting all the same.

 Krista, Gary, and I drove to Cleveland to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's right along Lake Erie and it was strange to think that I used to live about 100 miles east, right along the same lake.

Krista left for home today.  We will miss her so much and I know Julia will miss her auntie.

We're hoping for a visit from Dan soon.