From Kansas City, MO to Charlotte, NC

The sunrise - leaving Kansas City at 6:00 a.m.

Arriving in St. Louis - 10:00 a.m.

The mountains near Ashville, NC

A pretty bridge on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate

The Gatehouse at Biltmore Estates

Here we are in Charlotte, NC. It was a great trip although I got very few pictures. We left Kansas City at 6:00 a.m. and arrived in Knoxville, Tennessee about 8 p.m. which made for a long day. Beautiful scenery...I'd have taken more photos but our timeline was kind of short so we made very few stops.

We had a delicious dinner at an Italian eatery called Puleo's Grille. A locally owned establishment, apparently, with five locations in Tennessee - three in Knoxville, one in Murfreesboro and one in Cookeville. If you are ever in this neck of the woods and are hungry - try Puleo's. You will not be sorry...

Connie was our server and she just oozed Southern hospitality. She called us Sugar, Honey, Darlin', and Sweetie - and just fell over herself making sure we were happy. Just what we needed after a thirteen hour drive!! We went back to the hotel feeling relaxed and happy and I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow!

We stopped in Asheville the next morning because we were hoping to get some pictures of Biltmore Estate - the largest house in the country (according to the brochure). But we discovered that it would be $60. per person for a 2 - 4 hour tour. Well, we sure didn't have 2 - 4 hours to spare and opted not to spend $120 just to drive by for pictures *wink*...so we hopped back in the car and drove to Charlotte.

We're here until Monday morning...then we're off to Washington D.C.

Fall Foliage Photos

Just a few pictures of the fall foliage around our neighborhood. They really lose in the translation, however...not nearly as pretty as in person.

We're leaving in the morning for a trip to North Carolina and I'm so excited about the beautiful scenery that we'll see along the way...I'll definitely have my camera ready at all times.

Not sure how long we'll be away...one week for sure and probably two. We're going to a wedding in Charlotte and then might drive home through Pennsylvania where we lived for three years. I'd like to swing through Chicago, too...lived there for five years.

I'm planning to post to this blog while we're away unless it's an incredibly boring trip...ha!

So I reported for jury duty...

This is a great picture of our courthouse. I didn't take it - I "borrowed" it from a website. I forgot my camera the day I was there and I was going to go back this morning to take a photo before posting but it's raining cats and dogs...there's thunder, lightening and it's really, really dark outside. I am not going anywhere until this yukky weather has passed by.

I really will take my own picture and I'll replace this when I do but not today.

So here's the scoop on my big day as a juror:

I was at the courthouse promptly at 8:15 a.m. I had my picture I.D. and my Sudoku book and my latest Sara Paretsky novel (Hard Time - a great read) and I was all ready for a full day whatever it would bring.

We were advised to bring some reading material or something to keep us amused/busy in case we had a long wait. We didn't. We were ushered into a court room where we watched a video all about what to expect should we be chosen as jurors.

Then we all entered the actual courtroom where the trial was going to be held. The judge, a woman, was seated at the large desk in the front of the room. On one side was the court reporter and the court clerk sat on her other side.

The prosecuting attorney sat at one table and the defense attorney and defendent sat at the other. All the potential jurors filed in and sat in the gallery.

It was going to be a criminal case in which the defendent was accused of passing a stopped school bus with it's stop sign extended. The person accused did not hit anyone (thank goodness) so there were no injuries but apparently it is a criminal offense to pass a stopped school bus.

Which I totally understand. Not a good thing. If a child had crossed in front of the bus at that time it could have resulted in a real tragedy. So I'm not saying that the case had no merit. Not at all. However, it wasn't exactly going to be an "O.J. Simpson" sort of trial. Kinda boring? So here's what happened, in a nutshell:

The judge read twenty names and those people filed into the jurors seats. I wasn't one of them...I couldn't decide whether I was pleased or disappointed.

The potential jurors were questioned by the judge and then by the defense attorney and the prosecutor...8 of them were dismissed along with the rest of us. I have to say it was quite interesting and I wouldn't mind so much if I happen to be called in the future.

We were out of there by 10:30 a.m. I hopped in my car and went home. Our kitchen contractor was there to finish the trimwork so I was excited about that. He didn't finish but he's coming back on Saturday and that should be that! In the meantime, I think I can finish the tiling - yay! There is light at the end of the tunnel.

By the way, the season premier of NCIS was great!

An Anniversary Sunset

Sunset on Lake Mary

September 23, 2008

I took this photo last night. The sunset was spectacular.

And just as I was typing the caption I realized that yesterday was my parents' anniversary. They were married in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1943. A wee Irish girl named Lillian and a Yank named Keith. They had a wedding breakfast with bacon and eggs - a very rare treat during World War II.

So Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad. Lots of memories...

Jury Duty Calls

I think it was May or June when I received a letter from our county court system that I needed to be available for jury duty the months of July, August and September.

Not a word until last week when I received another notice that I am to report on Tuesday, September 23rd at 8:15 a.m.

That's this morning...

So long story short...depending on what the trial is and whether or not I'm actually chosen as a juror, it's possible that I'll be unable to post for a few days.

Now, I'm perfectly willing to do my civic duty but I'm just a bit peeved that it's today. My very favorite television show of all time has it's season premier tonight...it's NCIS and I'm a huge fan. And the last show of the season was a real cliff-hanger so I've been dying to see the first show of the season.

Surely I will be able to come home tonight...what on earth could be so critical in our little county that they'd sequester us? Nah....won't happen.

Stay tuned...

A Few Late September Photos

Not much to chat about, this morning...we're going into the Cities for the twin grandbabies' second birthday party...it's a beautiful day so it'll be fun to be outside to watch the little rascals running around with some of their cousins!

Just a couple of pictures to keep this post company *wink*. They're not fabulous but they do illustrate that fall is here and winter is just around the corner - *shiver*.The top photo I took at 6:05 a.m. a few mornings ago. It's the moon going down over the lake, believe it or not! The sun was coming up on the other side of the house...how funny is that?

If we see any great fall foliage on the trip to the Cities, I'll try to sweet talk Jack into stopping. I hate to miss a photo op!

National Geographic

I get a monthly newsletter from National Geographic and this month's pictures are so awesome I thought I'd post the link. There are many sets of photos you can look at...all just amazing. Some are so beautiful like the "Living Color" set and the set on Stonehenge (June 2008). Some are really sad. Some are mind boggling like "Wildfires" (Jul;y 2008). Here's the link:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/more/photography

I was just thinking, yesterday, on my way home from town that I'd like to start taking pictures of the fall colors...the leaves are starting to turn, now. Every year it seems like one day everything is green and then the next day everything is orange and yellow and brown. So this year, I'd like to capture some of that change.

These are pictures of our neighbor's oak tree...I swear that yesterday all the leaves were green. This morning the leaves on one of the branches are golden. Must have happened in the night. Really...

And even though my photos aren't National Geographic material, they're kind of a journal of my life and travels. Some day that might be nice to have.