Sunday, October 28, 2007

Tea and Squirrels

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Friday morning at ASG Jill and I decided to forego getting up at 0D:30 (oh-dark-thirty) to have a giant breakfast at the hotel restaurant (which, aparently, was completely unprepared for the cavalcade of stitchers seeking protein early in the morning) and walk to the French bakery we had discovered the day before. Sadly, they did not have any protein left, just fabulous looking things like "Sin Cookies" and an array of pastries. We got directions to another place from the security guard in the building and headed out, but found the "Metro Grill" on the way. Somehow we managed to have eggs with cheese, a biscuit, oatmeal with raisins, pecans and apples and a bottle of water for $2.65 each! Protein was necessary because the first event of ASG was the welcoming tea, and teensy sandwiches would not sustain our brains through our first class to dinner. After all, it was not a High Tea, but a Cream Tea (or Afternoon Tea).

Well-behaved bears and dollies were welcome to attend.
Unfortunately, some of their owners weren't quite as well behaved.... This is Teresa trying to convince CJ that she wants to trade her bunny for Teresa's bear...T has a thing for bunnies. After tea we headed off to class with Eileen Bennett. I'll refer you to Teresa's blog for great pictures of the class piece. I'm not sure how she got so much done over the weekend. I only got two motifs done in class. My theory is that she didn't sleep. Yeah, that's it. I also procured her Trinity Sampler (the pic looks black/white, but it's really soft blue-greens), which I've been lusting after since it was a class at CATS and conflicted with two other classes I was taking.

Dinner that night was held in the Rathskeller.
The walls of the entire room are covered with Rookwood pottery. There are pelicans on the walls...

Dinner was great. However, I made a terrible discovery during that time...
I can't Kinnear. Not even slightly. You can kind of see my intended subject, Teresa, in the background, but mostly you see water glasses.

I did manage to capture Teresa the next day...but then I realized that was kind of cheating. I mean, I had the camera sitting on the table, and I was looking straight at my relatively massive 3" screen or whatever. Surely there's more to this Kinnearing thing than that. I decided I needed to be shooting from the hip to really do it right.

Oh, yeah. That's much better. I think that was supposed to be Jean. Let's try again.

Fabulous. See how I have managed to perfectly capture her dewy complexion and her beautiful, translucent skin? Yeah, neither do I. That stinkin' water glass jumped in the way again. It really was the bane of my existence.

That, and the napkins.
There's Ann (or not).

And Angela.


*sigh* After dinner Eileen gave a great lecture/slideshow about Catherine of Aragon and other royals around that time period. I had to shudder when she got to Henry VIII. My old boss looks just like him, and had, I think, about the same opinion of women. The lecture was interesting; unfortunately, I retained very little of it. Don't ask me anything about Tudor England, for sure. Most amusing was when she claimed Henry had brought the Reformation to England. I'm not sure kicking the Catholic church out of the country because you want a divorce and setting yourself up as head of the church counts as "reforming"...but, you know, to-may-to, to-mah-to, right? (Where's that sarcasm tag when I need it?)

The next morning Jill and I scarfed down breakfast bars and headed to Starbuck's to meet Teresa for The Elixir of Life (or, "tea", as you might be used to calling it). We then rushed off to class with Rae Iverson. Usually we have Rae last thing in the afternoon on Saturday, when we are all brain-dead (or at least, I am). Although it was jarring to have a schedule change, it was nice to actually be able to comprehend what she was saying to me!! The class started out great...I'd heard there were squirrels to be found on her piece, but I was unprepared for the cuteness that was about to leap in front of me. I had turned around for some reason (more than likely to either run my mouth or suck down more of The Elixir of Life), and when I turned back around, Jill had placed one piece of the model directly in front of me:

Squeeeeee! Rae looked up and asked, "Who just squealed??" That would be me, the squirrel fanatic. Sooo cute!! I was in squirrel heaven the rest of the class. And just look how clever the finishing on the scissors sheath is (to the right). The third piece in the set is a thread bag. I was going to scan in some pictures and my progress (not much), but my scanner does not play with Vista (loserly technology!!) I'll definitely be stitching on this piece next year. I'd like to say I'll work on it this year, but I have gifts and a piece I've already dated 2007 to get finished (yes, I know I could rip and restitch the date, but I'm using it as motivation).

Later on, we made a surprise attack on our friend Carol, singing "Happy Birthday" to her while she was in Eileen's class (so as not to further terrorize Eileen, we did get permission from her first). Here we are waiting to harmonize in the hall.

Our afternoon class was taught by Barbara Rakosnik of Periwinkle Promises. I've been in love with her Sampler Accents forever, but I ended up coming home only with her Royal Thistle Celebration. The class piece is a tin topper for a cool jewelry tin with "perforated metal" sides, so you can actually work a couple giant queen stitches on them.

Dinner that night involved a costume contest, but I was fresh out of clever, incredibly portable costume ideas after last year's Picnic and Ant winner. (I draped a paper tablecloth replete with plastic cups and plates over myself, and wore a basket tied with a ribbon on my head. DH wore black and sported black pipe-cleaner antennae, and chased me around the room. We threw the whole thing in the trash afterward.) Fortunately, my dear friends The Stitch Queens had provided matching T-shirts which you can check out over on Teresa's blog, including more squirrelicious shots and the Most Accurate Rendering of a Brainless Scarecrow Ever. But mostly, there was chocolate.

And, for some inexplicable reason, giant chunks of butter (camera included for scale).

Sunday morning I attempted to use all the water in the hotel with world's longest shower. Still, Jill made it down to the breakfast buffet before me. After viewing a slide show of the weekend (captions somewhat lacking in comedic precision without our help in crafting them), we checked out of our room and hung out in Teresa and Jean's room until it was time to take the shuttle to the airport. Oh, yes, and we did grab lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (Louisville, rock 'n' roll mecca of the Midwest), and, surprisingly, the food didn't completely stink. DH made the drive to pick me up at the airport, and I spent the next few days in an exhausted, post-needlework-euphoria haze.

I can't wait to do it all again next year.

JiffNotes
ASG was, as usual, fabulous and way too short. And I can't Kinnear to save my life.

Friday, October 26, 2007

A Whirlwind of a Weekend (literally)

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This is what happens when you hand your camera to a random man in the Louisville airport. You get the best picture ever--everyone looks great, all eyes open, all smiles natural--but it's completely out of focus. This is Judy, Teresa, The Colonel, Jill, me and Jean. We met Judy there, but Teresa (who was coming from FL) blew me away by showing up at the Atlanta airport while Jean, Jill and I were eating lunch. I think I said something intelligent like, "Ahhhh..." whilst doing a fine imitation of a fly-catching frog. It was a nice start to a fun weekend. Even though I did resemble an amphibian.

From the airport, we proceeded to the Seelbach Hilton, a historic hotel, where "historic" translates into small, bizaarely shaped rooms and a confusing maze of hallways. If your room is 450, which way would you head given this sign:

Jill, my roomie, successfully headed to the left while I boggled about the overlapping intervals. After checking in, Jill and I set off to visit the EGA museum, because ASG won't be returning to Louisville next year, and this was our last chance. Also, because it's our last year, the weather decided to be glorious. You know, kind of like how your hair looks the day of a haircut. It's been bedraggled for the past week, but suddenly you're ready for the cover of Vogue. The past three years, it's been disgusting: 45F and rainy all weekend. This year it was about 70F and sunny. I had a crisis trying to pack; I couldn't really believe it'd be that nice. But it was.

Wait, why are we at the river? Well, we decided to walk down there after discovering the museum was closed for installation of a new exhibit until the day after we left.

Do you think they could have mentioned this on their web site? The bonus was that we scoped a French bakery to check out for breakfast the next day.

Thursday night after listening to Jean complain that her roomie Teresa wouldn't let her watch The Weather Channel (foreshadowing: your key to quality blogging), we hailed the hotel shuttle and headed off to Lynn's Paradise Cafe. Lynn's has a kite tree in the middle of the room.

It's got ugly lamps and legs on the wall.

It also has great food (Pan-Fried Pecan Chicken in Woodford Reserve Mustard Maple Cream Sauce, anyone?) and a fabulous quirky store in the front. This is what I brought home for Michael. The small bandanges are skulls, the large ones are pirate flags, and the "treasure" was the pirate duck. We love that the pirate duck 1) is black 2) has a pirate "logo" on its chest 3) has an eye patch on AND 4) has horns. It's like a design by committee where everyone's ideas got approved.

But maybe the best part is the amazing staff. They are so attentive and fun, and...hey, wait a minute. Why have we been standing at the hostess's station for, like, five minutes with nary an acknowledgment of our existence? Ann starts to tell me it's because she is invisible. Oh, wait, here comes the hostess. She's answering the phone. She's hanging up the phone and walking away. Hunh. Oh, good, here comes a waiter. He'll help us. What's that he's saying?? "...tornado warning and we need you to either leave the building or come down to our basement. We'd prefer you come to the basement." OH, so that's what those sirens we heard when we were getting out of the shuttle were for!

I must mention at this point that I had completely forgotten that we were practically in the Midwest. In downtown Atlanta, tornados don't seem like that big a deal. I know that one had hit our loft building about 12 years ago, but usually the big storms hit in the 'burbs, as our smog shield holds firm. I also vaguely remember tornado drills in elementary school in Mississippi, but in the Midwest, things are more serious. On the way home, I noticed there's even a tornado shelter in the airport by the women's bathroom. So, even though I thought we were all being just a little overcautious, I followed the waiter, along with the rest of the restaurant, down to their basement, where we checked out all the industrial-sized food...

...called everyone to let them know we were OK...

...and snarfed down some great food. The staff brought down all the orders that were "up" at the time we had to go down there, gave us all silverware, and said, "Share with your friends!" They also handed out Cokes and lemonade, and every body dug in. It was like a party, really, with a bunch of strangers. The staff kept apologizing, but we were amused at the whole thing. At least, I was. I think a few others may have been a bit more traumatized.... They had a radio down there for us, and every half hour or so, they would announce, "There's going to be a twenty minute period of clear weather, so if you can get somewhere in that time, you might want to try it." By the end of the storm, there were only three groups left. Finally, they came down and told us that we could go upstairs and order whatever we wanted, on the house, but they asked us to take care of our servers. We, of course, tipped them about the cost of our meals. Our waitress was fabulous, and the food was just outstanding. The only downside was that we couldn't stick around for dessert.

And that was just the day we arrived!! More to come....

JiffNotes
I'm always "blown away" by the food at Lynn's. And don't ask strange men in airports to take your picture if you want it to turn out well.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Pink sucks!

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OK, I really want the hand-held one, and DH even more so, and I don't need a vacuum cleaner (all hardwoods, baby). So if I win, contact me and I'll trade you the pretty pink one for a hand-held. =)

Pink Dyson Vaccuum Giveaway by the Domestic Diva

JiffNotes
It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, people!! And the only thing that sucks more than a Dyson is cancer!

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Off to ASG

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I'm off to ASG for the weekend, so still no update on my weekend away with my sisters to Helen two weekends ago, despite my middle sister's incessant begging for pictures. =) Hopefully when I get back Sunday night, I'll have the energy, but no promises.

I was reminded by my friend Teresa's blog of the round robin pieces I did with her and my other DFs Judy and Jill. They were inspired by ASG, so I thought it was appropriate to post the picture, even though they were done "long" ago. Plus, you readers have been starving for pictures lately.



If you want to learn more about them, see closeups and band-by-band blow-by-blow accounts of how we designed them, you can. Basically, we each did two sections on each other's RR: one inspired by Moss Creek Designs, the other designed by each of us. Teresa's came from photos she took on a trip to Israel; mine were blackwork designs inspired by ironwork I photographed in Paris (I got many a strange look from people on our tour bus: "What's she snapping now?? The Eiffel Tower is the other direction!!") They're each a special reflection of where we were in our lives at that time. And mine is definitely one of the first things I'd grab in case of evacuation for any reason! =) I hope you enjoy!

JiffNotes
Heather's left the state...again. Enjoy some reminiscences while she's gone.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Really?

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I had to take this test after seeing it on Erin's blog.

Hunh. I never would have guessed this result. Nikki, possibly. Hiro, maybe. I can't paint or draw to save my life!!

Your Score: Isaac Mendez


You scored 33 Idealism, 41 Nonconformity, 70 Nerdiness




I need painting supplies.
Congratulations, you're Isaac Mendez! You're a talented, creative, artistic soul with a few demons you've been working to overcome. You are really passionate person and you are not afraid to express yourself or your emotions. Your best quality: Creativity and artistic talent. Your worst quality: A possibly addictive or indulgent personality

Link: The Heroes Personality Test written by freedomdegrees on OkCupid, home of the The Dating Persona Test

JiffNotes
=( Rats, I wanted to end up as Hiro. {{{(>.<)}}}

Friday, October 12, 2007

Don't read this; it'll just make you mad...or confused

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After spending an hour on the phone with Earthlink last week to correct a "pending charge" of $149.95 (for "early termination"...hahahahaha), I got an invoice from them today that they had charged me the $149.95, anyway. I had a credit on my account of about $110 (from previous invalid charges), and then they charged the remaining $44 or so to my Amex. So, my account balance was zero, and they owed me $149.95. Simple, right? ... I had to pause there so that my insane laughter could taper off.

Here's how the chat went (and in the interest of full disclosure, I had some of the numbers wrong; this month's invoice charged me $149.95 + a valid $3.95 monthly fee, and I left that out of some of my calculations):

'Gordy B' says: Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat, how may I help you today?
lottloft@mindspring.com: Hello! My recent invoice, ###, shows a charge of $149.95. That should have been credited to me; the confirmation number I have for you is ###, from Carl.
Gordy B: I am sorry to hear that.
Gordy B: Please let me check our records and assist you.
Gordy B: I would like to inform you that you were charged $149.95 on invoice but not on your card. Right?
lottloft@mindspring.com: I previously had a credit balance of $110.84. So, $43.06 was charged to my card.
Gordy B: Yes, that is right, you were provided a credit of $99.95 as the Waver for the DSL service.
lottloft@mindspring.com: yes, this was the second time I was charged this invalid charge.
Gordy B: But were charged $50.00 as a partial charge for the equipment as you are still under the commitment with Phone service.
lottloft@mindspring.com: nope, I don't have phone service with you
lottloft@mindspring.com: Are you unable to find the credit with the confirmation number ###
Gordy B: One moment.
Gordy B: Thank you for being on hold.
Gordy B: Yes, I see that according to the case you were provided only a credit of $110.00 and not more than that.
lottloft@mindspring.com: That is incorrect. At the time, my account had a $110 credit on it already, and a "pending charge" of $149.95. The confirmation number I gave you was to revoke the $149.95 pending charge. It is an invalid charge, as I should not have been charged for early cancellation (I've been with you for about 10 years). I also should not have been charged the $50 moving fee, as the service was never moved. I have no desire to waste another hour of my day arguing on the phone as I did when I got that confirmation number, so please rectify this situation now, or pass me to a supervisor who can help me.
Gordy B: I am sorry to inform you that according to the confirmation number provided to you the information is as " tell eu that we already provide the credit for 110 dollars".
lottloft@mindspring.com: OK, well, pass me to someone that can credit this second incorrect charge.
lottloft@mindspring.com: The $149.95 is an invalid charge.
Gordy B: One moment.
Gordy B: Thank you for being on hold.
Gordy B: I see that the balance of $43.06 has been provided to you as credit.
Gordy B: On your account and it will be adjusted on your future invoices.
Gordy B: I am sorry for the confusion with the statement in the case number referred by you.
lottloft@mindspring.com: What is my current account balance?
Gordy B: It is that you have no balance due on your account.
Gordy B: From your end.
lottloft@mindspring.com: So, you should be issuing me a credit of $149.95 for the invalid charge: $110.84 of which was paid from the previous credit on my account, and $43.06 of which was charged to my American Express.
Gordy B: Yes, you are right.
lottloft@mindspring.com: ok
Gordy B: I appreciate your patience and understanding in this concern.
Gordy B: Is there anything else I can help you with?
lottloft@mindspring.com: When will that credit be issued?
Gordy B: It is already been issued and you will receive it within 7 - 10 days on your Amex card account.
lottloft@mindspring.com: What is my confirmation number for that?
Gordy B: One moment.
Gordy B: Thank you for being on hold.
Gordy B: The confirmation number is " ###".
Gordy B: Have I answered all your queries?
lottloft@mindspring.com: I just want to make sure I understand. In 7-10 days, a credit will appear on my American Express for $149.95. The confirmation number for this transaction is ###
Gordy B: The balance of $43.06 will appear out of $149.95 with the confirmation number provided.
lottloft@mindspring.com: So I should deny the charge of $43.06 to my American Express that has already occurred?
Gordy B: Yes, it will be refunded on your Amex Card back.
lottloft@mindspring.com: So, to confirm again. In 7-10 days, two credits will appear on my American Express. One for $43.06, and one for $106.89.
Gordy B: I did not get you by $106.89.
lottloft@mindspring.com: You owe me $149.95. I am trying to understand how that credit will be given to me.
Gordy B: I would like to inform you that you were already provided $110.00 and now I have provided you $43.06 as the refund and that makes the total of $153.06 that was deducted from your card.
lottloft@mindspring.com: That $110 was from a previous invalid charge.
lottloft@mindspring.com: It was applied to the $149.95 you incorrectly charged me AGAIN
Gordy B: You were charged only once for the invalid charges.
lottloft@mindspring.com: That is incorrect
Gordy B: I assure you that you were never charged twice for the incorrect amount.
lottloft@mindspring.com: I have been charged multiple times for invalid charges, and I am getting really, really tired of it.
Gordy B: But according to our records and invoices with our database I see that the balance is correct.
lottloft@mindspring.com: On 8/15, I was incorrectly charged for ADSL reactivation.
lottloft@mindspring.com: AND for Unlimited DIal up
lottloft@mindspring.com: These charges were in the amount of $116.19
lottloft@mindspring.com: The credit requests were approved on 8/21.
lottloft@mindspring.com: This resulted in my account having a credit balance of $116.19 (invoice ###)
lottloft@mindspring.com: Then, on 8/24, I was incorrectly charged for shipping on returned equipment.
lottloft@mindspring.com: This credit request was approved on 9/28.
lottloft@mindspring.com: This resulted in my account having a balance of $110.84
lottloft@mindspring.com: As it did, at the start of invoice ###
Gordy B: Yes, you are right.
Gordy B: But I need to also deduct the charges of $3.95 for 3 months on that amount. Right?
lottloft@mindspring.com: The $3.95 for 3 months is a valid charge. I am on the email-only plan.
Gordy B: Okay, if those charges are deducted from $149.95 then the balance can be provided to you.
lottloft@mindspring.com: No, those charges were all paid as well. We are disputing an invalid charge of $149.95. Since my account shows a zero balance, you owe me $149.95
Gordy B: Okay, as you wisht.
lottloft@mindspring.com: You need to credit me $149.95. That is the amount that I have paid you that I should not have.
lottloft@mindspring.com: OK, so you are going to credit my American Express $149.95. What is the confirmation number for that?
Gordy B: The confirmation number will be the same.

I have to say that the most distressing thing about this whole fiasco is the rep's use of a line from The Princess Bride to surrender.

JiffNotes
Earthlink still stinks. I'll be astonished if they get my account right next month.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Searching for answers...

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I have my blog registered with BlogPatrol, which gives me cool blog stats, such as how many people per day visit, where they're located (the country, not GPS coordinates...stop being so paranoid!), how much time they spend here (usually one page hit is enough to chase them off =) and how they came to be at my blog. Most people get here by bookmark or typing in the URL (thank you, loyal readers, all six of you). Some get here by bloglines or their own blogrolls (or by clicking on someone else's blogroll...I have no way of knowing which). The fun ones are the people that get here through searches (usually Google). I love seeing the random ways people show up here, but I feel sad when they're searching for answers and leave empty-handed. I wish there was some way I could track them down and say, "Hey, I'm sorry that blog post was a colossal waste of your time, but here's what you were really looking for!" Sadly, I cannot. Or, maybe I could, but I wouldn't want to scare them by coming off all Big Brother-ish.

Here are some of the last 10 searches I saw, and, just in the off-chance that they search, search again, some answers:

  • spanish word for corn, maíz, pronunciation

    Well, I think they found what they were looking for, actually.


  • kiefer sutherland can't pronounce nuclear

    No, he most certainly can't. This wasn't really a question, but maybe they feel better with some commiseration.

  • geek knit bracelet

    I'm not sure what they were looking for, but I'd love to know. Leave me a comment if you find it!!


  • when is bellsouth going to have 6.0 at my address

    You can check whether or not they have it at their website, but that won't tell you when you'll get it.


  • easy pattern for knitted cable bag

    Again, not sure which one you were looking for, but I love this one. You buy a small canvas bag to line it, and you just turn it inside out and baste it in place. Even I, sewing-challenged as I am, can handle it.
    I also love the one I made up, but it's not "easy".


  • how to cool aretha pancakes

    Well, I know how you got here, but that's not what you want to know. You want to know how to make those awesome pancakes. Well, first you're going to need a pancake ring. That's the real trick. I couldn't find them in the large size they used, but that's probably a good thing. =) Then, you just need to head over to Aretha's and order some pancake mix. Or experiment with your own.


  • retinologist or opthamologist

  • clear bumps on the cornea

    These both came from my mentioning my Thygeson's, I'm sure. There was also a past search on "how do I know if I have Thygeson's?" Well, I can answer that one easily. You know how when you get out of a swimming pool after swimming for a long, long time, you can see halos around lights? That's what having Thygeson's looks like all the time. It's most noticable at night, of course. During the day, you may just be experiencing some overall blurriness or "mistiness" (like you're looking at everything through a mist). You might also be a little sensitive to very bright light. Go see an opthamologist, not an optometrist. The optometrist will likely give you a stronger prescription or maybe some steroid drops, but that will only be a temporary fix. The stronger prescription isn't really fixing the problem, just messing with your perception of the symptoms. And it's not great for your eyes to stay on steroid drops for a long period of time. Sure, they may shrink the lesions that are impeding your vision, but you really need to be under the care of an eye professional that knows what he or she is dealing with.


  • eric nylund

    You got here because of my reading list to the right. What did you want to know? Well, he's a great sci-fi author from what I've read...the Halo books are excellent...head over to Amazon and get 'em!


  • geek insults

    Not sure if you were looking to insult a geek or just hear how geeks insult each other, but perhaps you were at least entertained if not informed.


That about wraps it up for now. If I get some interesting search hits in the future, I may post those. And, hey, I'm always open to comments that are questions!

JiffNotes
People search, they come to my blog, and I provide no helpful information!! Let's fix that.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Life-changing pancakes

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Seriously...

...have you ever seen pancakes like these??

This picture was taken last Sunday at Aretha Frankensteins in Chattanooga. Aparently, Rachel Ray visited there, so maybe you have, but I don't have cable, so I was unaware. I now realize that what I thought were pancakes all my life were actually some pathetically flat, sadly underdeveloped "pancrepes" or something. We asked the waiter what was good on the menu (always trust your server, people), and he said that he had pancakes somewhere else for the first time in a while last month, and when they came out he went, "Oh, no." His waitress was all concerned, like, "What's wrong, honey?" and he told her, "No, it's fine; you don't understand." With a pitch like that, we had to try them, but we were completely unprepared for the culinary awesomeness that subsequently descended on our table. Oh, and, um, the Italian sausage, ricotta, spinach and red pepper omelette was also great.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I picked DH up from his office after work on Friday, and when he asked, "So, are we going straight home?" I replied, "Nope." He was very excited. =)

Saturday we got up and walked down to the river, watched some kayakers (is that a word?) and headed for the Hunter Museum (not a museum about hunting, as I've been asked already), which was a really good museum (aside from the pretentious exhibit of local artists). In addition to lots of great fine arts and decorative arts, it has a very hypnotic wall mirror piece that is difficult to describe...like looking at yourself through a kaleidoscope. We had lunch, served by the least attentive waiter ever, but that was a good thing, since we weren't tempted to order dessert and instead went to Rembrandt's nearby. The highlight was the dark chocolate-covered amaretto macaroon. OHMIGOSH!!!

Leftovers in hand, we headed to the Aquarium. This pedestrian bridge, as you might be able to tell from the previous picture, connects the Bluff View Art District with the Aquarium. I was very excited to see their new penguin exhibit, and the entire new Ocean wing they had added. The new wing was cool, but a little strange. The first thing you encountered upon entry was a pair of Hyacinth Macaws. Okay.... I mean, I love Hyacinth Macaws, but what do they have to do with the ocean? Then, there was a touch pool with rays, bamboo sharks and guitar fish. That was cool; our guitarfish at the GA Aquarium are in the big tank and are about six feet long. Following the touch pool, there were...butterflies.




Pretty, but again, schwunh?? Not very ocean-ey. And I prefer the butterfly exhibit at Callaway Gardens, anyway.
But the penguin exhibit was awesome. They were really putting on a show, swimming so fast and leaping out of the water. I utterly failed to photograph one in mid-flight; the best I did was get a pair of webbed feet sticking out of the water upon reentry. DH had a slight problem with them at the beginning.

But they made up in the end.


The frogs commiserated with him, too.


I show you this next ugly guy just so you can understand how unnecessary I thought the sign in the picture following...

I mean, really, if you need this sign, your children may be in greater danger than from the 4 foot alligator.

We ended the day with sushi and an IMAX. Deep Sea coral reefs are teeming with awesome fish. But they're in DANGER!! Danger, I tell you! Kate Winslet and Johnny Depp wouldn't lie to me. The Foley editors had a blast with this one...we laughed ourselves silly as the scallops escaped from the nasty starfish.

The next day we went to First Pres, which is, amazingly, a PCA church. The message was given by an Anglican bishop from Uganda (I love it when I get to hear someone speak whose title is "The Right Reverend".) Also cool was the fact that an Anglican congregation came and worshipped with us.
After that, we headed out to See Rock City. If you don't understand why I capitalized "See", then you've never driven around in the South. The ubiquitous "See Rock City" signs are as plentiful as kudzu. We took some pictures that have been taken probably a million times...




But all cheesiness aside, it really is a very beautiful, restful place.


And speaking of cheesiness...I leave you with a squirrel. They had a store there that I am almost certain had to be run by an Alpha Gam, due to the immense amount of squirrel merchandise. But this piece took the cake...it's solar-powered!!

What's he saying here?? I think it's,
"Mah tummee...itz too brite!!!1!"

JiffNotes
C'mon, there are pictures in this one!! OK, we had a blast in Chattanooga and saw rocks, played with penguins, scorned art, hung with Anglicans and had The. Best. Pancakes. Ever.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Think Pink

Head over to Stitch Pink for the chance to win a lovely scissors fob! And while you're there, visit some of the linked resources. You owe it to yourself!

Old Geek-outs