Bad Blogger! Bad Blogger Man!

I have been repeatedly chastised for not keeping up with this little old blog.  Not unfairly I have to admit.  I had a feeling that when I started this, that this might be a problem.  I should probably turn the reins over to Brian who is much better at managing his time!

So.....  it's catch up time!

We are back from Florida and things have been busy since then.  But before we left the land of sunshine and strong drinks, we did get a very good start on fixing up the guest room in the house.  Back to being a bad blogger, I did not get enough pictures taken of the room before we left so I will instead give you a teaser shot and then post an update with some better pictures next time we head back down there.

Once we were back in Wisconsin we had a lot to do.  Along with catching up at work, the CPA (Council For The Performing Arts) presentation of AMY GRANT was just around the corner.  I am not sure if everyone knows that Brian and I are on the board of directors for the CPA but we, along with all the other members of the board and our director Sandy were all looking forward to the concert.  We had worked long and hard getting it put together and I think it is safe to say that it went over better than any of us thought it would.  

Brian and I also hosted a little "meet and greet" party at our house before the concert.  Along with family and friends and those generous sponsors who helped us make the concert possible, we all enjoyed meeting Miss Grant prior to her very enjoyable concert.

I have not met very many "famous" people (okay, she was the first!) and really didn't know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised to find her a truly nice and gracious person.  She immediately put everyone at ease and mingled with our little group, shaking hands, posing for pictures, sharing stories.  I think everyone there wished we would have had more time to visit with her because she was such a likable person.  No stuffy, pretentious celebrity shenanigans at all.

The concert was great too.  I had expected to enjoy it, but did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did.  My impression of her was more....  formal I guess, but she has a bit of the red-neck rocker girl in her!  She sang all of her hits plus a couple of new ones and brought the crowd to it's feet before the evening was over.

Steve, Amy & Brian

Sandy, Amy and a Guest I should know the name of....  sorry!

Still mixing and mingling....

All in all, a very enjoyable and successful
evening for the CPA!

* Special Thank You to our niece, Jodi Guttman, for being our wine hostess and for jumping in

at the last moment and being our photographer for the evening!  You rock Jodi!

The Villages Car Show

We had a fun day today.  We went up to Spanish Village for our first visit to The Villages monthly Classic Car Show.  There were over 200 vintage cars on display around the town square, along with food vendors and live music.  It was a beautiful day and I really enjoyed myself.  I say "I" because this was one of those times that Brian was a good sport since "old cars" as he calls them, really don't interest him like they do me!

I took way too many pictures to post here but I will share a few of the cars I liked best at the show.  The first one to really catch my eye was this 1958 Chevy Bel Aire Convertible.  According to the small sign by the front tire, it was found in a junk yard, the body was removed from the frame and then both were completely restored along with the engine. A beautiful car no doubt.  I am not up on all the terms for "Classic Cars" but I divide them up in three groups; Classic - meaning as close to original as possible, Street Rods - customized for the track with much less emphasis on historical accuracy, and The Weird - customized to an almost cartoonish degree.  I much prefer the Classic category.

So, the car I liked best at the show?  A 1965 Ford Thunderbird Retractable Convertible.  Absolutely beautiful car in near mint condition.  You can tell that whoever owns (or owned it) took great care in either keeping it in, or restoring it to, near factory original condition.  I am no expert but it did not look like it had any major body work or repainting done, but I do think that the interior had been re-upholstered.  It was definitely my favorite car shown.

Almost all the cars were fun to look at and I'm sure this one wouldn't be everyone's favorite but I have always liked the Thunderbirds from the 60's - that whole "Rat Pack" vibe I guess.  Along with this T-Bird there were a lot of others that I would love to have in my garage; several 64 - 67 Mustangs, 62 - 68 Corvettes, a 63 Buick Electra Convertible, two gorgeous 48 Lincoln Continentals (would have loved to have seen a few Continentals from the 60's) and one other that made me feel old.....

This is a 1977 Pontiac Gran Prix.  According to the documentation, it was purchased by a couple who "never let it see inclement weather" and is claimed to be completely original (except for tires) with no restoration work and 26,000 miles on the odometer.  

So what is so special about this car?  In 1977 when this car was new, I was a senior in High School!  It is now considered a "classic" so I guess I am too!  Oh how I lusted after this car.  At the time, Pontiac was on a roll and the Gran Prix was a hot seller all through out the 70's.  It's large and in charge and I still like it even after all these years.

All in all an enjoyable day.  That is The Villages... always something to do!

The Friendly Skies.....

I was leaving on a jet plane, and now I'm back again!  After a 5 day stay in Wisconsin I am back in Florida with Brian and Max.  It was a bit of a strange trip.  As everyone knows, Trina is in the hospital to have a large kidney stone removed from her left kidney.  Among the reasons I flew back, one was to host the Blackman's at our place before Trina's surgery and also to visit Trina in the hospital.  Unfortunately, things did not go completely as planned but we all hope Trina will be back on her feet soon.  Good luck Trina!

Of course while I was in Wisconsin I caught up on the goings on at Jefferson Bus and did the mid-month payroll.  Then it was off to Monday Night Bingo before heading back over to the hospital in Madison to keep Shelba company while we wait for Trina to heal.

All in all, it was sort of a an odd trip.  There seemed to be so much going on and a hectic schedule to keep that in certain ways, it didn't feel like a trip "home".  This was also a bit of a test for Brian.  Even after all the time we have spent in Florida, this trip was the first time that Brian was left on his own in Florida and I'm glad to report that he did fine.  At least that is what he told me!  But I like to think that he missed me!  :-)

Droid!

Seems odd, but our email troubles at work got us new cell phones.  So we are now part of the "Droid" collective.  Sounds like something out of Star Trek, doesn't it?  We got the new phones on Friday and are still in learning mode with them, but I think after an adjustment period, we will like them.

It's a sad story that no one is probably interested in....  we had Blackberry phones and everything was working fine.  Then our server at work took a crap and the new one had a new version of Microsoft Exchange (email software).  This messed up the Blackberrys.  Then the email.  Then we needed more memory.....   To get the Blackberrys to work was going to cost a bunch, new phones seemed easier.....

Anyway......  DROID!

Manners

Tonight after we got home from work, Brian had the Golden Girls on the TV and I overheard Blanche telling a story about one of her many "first" dates being on the way home from the Annual Fine Manners Ball......

Doesn't that have a nice ring to it?  Fine Manners Ball.  I wish we still lived in a time when such a thing actually existed, rather than just being a punch line in a sitcom.  No one pays much attention to manners anymore.  We are all too wrapped up in our own little traumas to pay much attention to others or to take the time to treat each other well.  Or to care about things like what is appropriate attire or which fork to use, or even how to speak politely and respectfully to each other.  I'm not saying we need to go back to Victorian ideals, but we are loosing more and more of our civility every day.  It is becoming a very selfish society.

And I know.....  some other cranky old man probably said very similar things about me and my generation thirty years ago.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Surf's Up?!

Has been a while since I updated the old blog.....  but then, aside from work, not much has been going on around here since we got back from Florida.  School has started.  It's always a bit hectic, but also as always, it settles back down again pretty quickly.

Did catch an interesting picture on the way home from dinner tonight (yeah, the Pinecone).  It was really windy today.  I mean really windy!  Especially up on the hill where our house sits.  Blew the cover off the grill and tossed the trash cans around.  But that wind also created a very cool cloud formation.  It looks like there is a 'wave' rolling in, ready to smash against our house!  Or, that all that wind is 'rolling' up the clouds and sweeping them away!  Nature can be really cool sometimes.

So, that is about it for now.  Will try to be better about updating!

Welcome Home

After recovering a bit from the long ride home, Monday came and it was back to work.  Got through the piles of stuff on our desks, finished up payroll and then it was off to Bingo!

I think we both were having a little trouble working up any steam for it, but once we were there, it felt like old times again.  Several people welcomed us back and the crowd was definitely happy to see Brian!  They gave him quite a work out too....  $225.00 in 50/50 raffle tickets and I don't even know how many of the pull tabs he sold.  It was also Ron's birthday and Fran worked the crowd up and got them to sing "Happy Birthday" to him.  Not sure if he liked that or not....?!

Then, as is our typical Monday night routine, we headed up to the Pinecone for some supper.  Again, a welcome back from several of the employees.  (We spend too much time in restaurants!)  And so it goes.....