Monday, September 21, 2020
This day was our second great grandmonster's birthday. Nelson Thompson turned 3 whole years old. He spent some of his day with his grandmother, our firstborn, Nissa. She did a video call and Claude and I sang Happy Birthday to Nelson. He loved it. He is such a cute little boy. Nissa took him outside into her yard and got a couple of the cutest pictures of our little man. Enjoy!! Nelson is named after my father. Nelson is his middle name. Love this little guy. It was such fun watching Nissa be a grandmother. She loves this role in her life and she is very good at it.
Tuesday, September 22, 2020
I got my hair cut. This was a bittersweet haircut. Tyra has cut my hair the entire time we have lived in Sadieville. Her shop is in Sadieville and I can pop over and get a haircut and then drive home and style it like I want. For 16 years, Tyra has been there. This time I wanted a cut about a week before we get our pictures taken and so I made the appointment. When I entered the shop, the shelves were empty. Tyra entered right before me and I said, "Tyra, it looks like someone is moving. Are you moving?" Then my sweet friend shared that she is looking to be out of this location within the month. She is not sure where she is going. She may even work from her home or come to our homes while she is in transition. She may even semi-retire. Ugh!! This is all having to be done because of an awful series of events in her life over which she has precious little control. My heart aches for this spirited young woman as she navigates troubled waters. I asked her to cut me a little shorter than usual because of this situation. I hope she finds the right fit for her life at this time. I'm keeping a prayer in my heart for Tyra and her sister. Sometimes, I just don't understand people and why they choose to do hurtful things. It takes so little to be kind. So very little.
This day I also finished my last quilt out of my scraps. I cut the remaining fabric into squares and probably could make one more quilt top but I don't have the backing fabric. So, I will quit with the fabric all cut into squares and in a neat bag. Here are the three biggest of the quilts. Two are rag quilts and the one in the middle is a patchwork quilt.
Wednesday morning we did a Georgetown run. We started with getting a biscuit. Then we went to the nursing home to leave treats for Papa. I also wanted to fill his birdfeeder. When I rounded the corner of the nursing home, I stoppped short. On Papa's window sill and all over his birdfeeder were about 15 birds. I quietly tried to get my cell phone out of my pocket to take a picture for Papa of what it looks like from outside his window. Alas, one of the birds saw me and flew away which was the alarm for them all to fly away. I smiled and enjoyed the fact that so many birds frequent this place and Papa loves watching birds play. I do hope this brings him all the joy he experiences when he quietly watches animals in nature. We would do our walk and then get a salad from Panera for our big meal of the day before heading home.
I received a letter from the main office of Signature Health Care. They have nursing homes in 10 states so this was a general letter to families of residents in all of those states. They are working on plans to reopen for in-person visits in the future. No date was given as each state will have to follow guidance from their state and their particular area of the state. But it gives hope that they may allow us to have visits soon. I keep putting the thought out there that, when they do open, I would like to take Papa to sit by the creek and watch the geese. They very likely will not allow this but I am asking and telling everyone that speaks with me that this is my desire and hope for Papa. We'll see.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a monthly publication entitled the Ensign. I read this magazine cover-to-cover each month. I am always grateful for this opportunity. I always find a thought or quote that fits where I am and what I need that month. This day I read the first half of the Ensign. I found two great thoughts in there and was able to share them in my daily letter to Papa. I will give him the Ensign when I finish reading it. But I was ever so grateful for these thoughts to share with him in this day's letter. I believe the Lord knows our needs and will provide these tender mercies as we need them.
When Claude and I got home from Georgetown, we did something we never, ever do. We decided to find some movies we like and curl up in our bed and watch movies for the rest of the day!!! Yep. That is exactly what we did. It was really fun and only during a pandemic would that be possible. This is one of the things I have learned during this pandemic. It is okay to stop and take time to be together. We don't always need to fill our calendar full and think that is proof we are good. I love a day lived full and well but I really have loved having moments and times to just stop and enjoy the time together.
Thursday, Septemer 24, 2020
Today I would stay home all day long. My quilts were finished and I could persue other things. I did my ironing first and then took care of watering plants, cleaning ceiling fans and light fixtures and other little things like that.
I felt an impression that it was time to order pizza for our son. I sent Jake a text and asked him if it was time for a Cottage Inn pizza for dinner. He was very grateful for this little treat. We did some texting back and forth and Jake was actually having a little angst. The company for which he works had to lay a couple of people off. Sales are down and there is just not the income. The next step might be lowering everyone's salary so they can keep people employed. We texted back and forth about him figuring what was the minimum he could live on to stay afloat. He is happy with work right now as they are having him do more of the marketing promotion preparation. We'll keep a prayer he gets to stay on his job. I feel strongly that the long term effects of having all these cut backs in who can work will hit our economy more strongly during this winter. So ordering pizza for our son was a good thing this day. I even had them stick a cherry flavored Pepsi in his meal. He is a good son and we love him very much.
Claude had a video conference call in the afternoon so I took the opportunity to leave my laptop and go into our back yard to weed. It was apparent the weeds are not growing as much as they had been. Fall is in the air and that may be the last time I need to weed those beds this year. I still have some others I want to work on but this old body can only go so long before it gives out doing that kind of work. It was nice to get that done and give Claude all the bandwide on the WiFi for his call.
Bailey sent me this picture. I have loaned her my ukulele to learn how to play. This is her cat, Pip. Bailey simply said "I think she loves the ukulele but for the wrong reasons!!"
The civil unrest has to do with Breonna Taylor. She was shot in her apartment in Louisville. When Black Lives Matter raised its head, this shooting became a focal point for their effort. There was a grand jury hearing. There were three police officers that went to the apartment. They had a valid warrant having to do with drugs. It was a no-knock warrant but they knocked anyway. Breonna's boyfriend fired at the officers. They fired back. Breonna was killed. Shots actually went into the neighbors apartment. The grand jury found one officer guilty from those shots. He will face trial. The other two officers were not charged. No charges were given for the shooting of Breonna because her boyfriend shot first and that started the shooting between him and the officers. It is an ugly mess and the protests are really turning into riots. Hence the closing of the movie theater. I was surprised as this theater was not in the downtown area.
This building was named "The Talk of the Town" back in the day. It was a stripper type show. However, to the surprise of many who entered, the strippers were men in drag. 
At this intersection a man named Red Masterson killed two people. He was paid to do this by someone. It turns out the two people he killed were two of Capone's men and part of the Cleveland Syndicate. This put Red in a bad position. Red would eventually burn down, twice, the Beverly Hills and end up on top of this situation somehow. I am fuzzy on the details but Red would not be found guilty and would become a player in the area.
This establishment is called the Brass Ass. Ugh!! It too was a strip club and had names over the years of Silver Slipper, Starlight and eventually Star Dust. At this place they invented a game called Egyptian Dice or you may have heard of it as Razzle Dazzle. Don't even play this game, you will never win.
This next establishment was for Cowboys and Cowgirls. That is all I know. Nothing else but there is a BIG white horse inside. Claude stood by it for me to take the picture.
The Falcon Theater was a strip club with the associated ladies of the evening. The man who owns this has, and showed it to our guide, a collection of over 150 men's wedding bands. They were taken off and left in the establishment over the years. 
There are actually three buildings of note in this picture. The first is the tan building on the left. It was a strip club. The two brick buildings to the right of it were gambling establishments. Please note how close all of these enterprises were located. There were lots of tunnels in the underground to get from one to the other without notice or to escape the law. 
The parking lot behind our tour group was the location of a business named the Hippodrome. It's purpose was to view pornographic movies. Ugh, Ugh, Ugh!!
Across the street from where the Hippodrome was located is another parking lot next to a restaurant named the Pepper Pod. The parking lot had a strip club and the guests would order meals from the Pepper Pod and the Pepper Pod would deliver meals to the strip club. 
The Dixie Chili actually had several locations. It had ridiculous hours to match the needs and timing of the local adult and gaming businesses. You could always get a bowl of chili there. In fact, they used to sell it in cans and, up until a few years ago, you could buy Dixie Chili in cans in Las Vegas. Yep, there was a connection there as well. 
We walked down the street and around the corner and down a block and found the York Street. This was a speak easy. It still has the big letters W and B inside taken from the original Wiedemann Brewery when it had to close because of prohibition. They also took the bar out of Wiedemann Brewery and it is their bar. There is also a painting done by an artist of things that happened in this area. He actually made several of this area and the life lived in it. They sold for thousands of dollars each. The one remaining at York Street is of a mother and daugher who are prostitutes. Amazing!
Across the street for York Street is the National Band and Tag Company. They actually made sunglasses for chickens. Really. They would help the chickens lay eggs in a brightly lit chicken house. A pair of these sunglasses is still on display at York Street.
This building sits where the original Wiedemann Brewery was located. 
The place of note here is Apartment 5 located behind the tree trunk. It was supposed to be an antique shop. A man was sent there and shot down as a hit. The crime was never solved as to who did this. The family has asked our guide to help them locate the killer. While a lot of this stuff happened in the late 1800's to the early 1940's. This particular event took place in the 1970's. Not that far back. Our guide said something about this being in a movie but I didn't quite get that.
This particular building was The Yorkshire. It was a happening place. Lots of telephone lines were along the outside until the current owner bought and remodeled it. This was because it was a place to place bets all over. It was also a club and people like Sammy Davis Junior, Frank Sinatra, etc. frequented there. Remember this was the Vegas before there was a Vegas. 
In this tower would have been a huge bell. They have the bell. The tower was not built. It would have been too high to have the planes from the Cincinnati Airport fly over. I did take picture of this beautiful bell.
Once again, we had a great tour. We learned a little more history of Kentucky. I marvel that so much has happened on this earth and we often just live each day and are not really aware of all that happened in the spot on which we reside. Claude and I enjoyed both our tours with American Legacy Tours. We would recommend them to anyone interested in taking one.
That ends another week of home, family and gangsters!!
Claude made the best dinner this day. He made open-faced hot turkey sandwiches with peas. He cut up fresh strawberries and served them over pistachio and whipped cream blended together. It was such a good meal. I am so happy he enjoys cooking. I believe we are having clam chowder tonight. I have started calling the kitchen 'Claude's Cafe'. Yum!!
Friday, September 25, 2020
In the morning we did a Georgetown run. Time for Claude to gather materials and mulch the plants before winter. I rode in with him. We walked, took Papa a treat, had a biscuit and went to Lowe's. While at Lowe's, Claude commented, "That's something you don't see everyday. A green skeleton." Sure enough, fall decorations were out and there sat a green skeleton. In fairness, I believe it is flourescent and will shine white in the dark. But it is interesting to find a green skeleton.
We received in our mail a package from Alzheimer's. We like to do the walk to raise fund for Alzheimer's each year. This year we sent in our money but the walk you do on your own due to the virus. Usually you get a pinwheel flower in the color that represents where you are in the Alzheimer's sphere. I usually get purple since my mother passed away from Alzheimer's. This year there are no flower pinwheels because they are too hard to mail. So they sent us two bundles with five flags in each bundle. I put one bundle in our front yard. The other bundle I would take to the Marx family and give to Bailey for her to put in their flower beds. This is a great reminder that, while Covid-19 seems to be ruling our lives right now, there are lots of other things we need to pay attention to still.
In the afternoon we left for the Star Wars movie. We pulled into the parking lot and there was one other car. A family got out and went into the theater. There were parents and four little kids. A man pulled up beside us in his truck. He asked if you had to purchase tickets on line as he couldn't figure that out. I told him we purchased ours online but wasn't sure that is how you had to do it. He pulled up in front of the theater and went inside. He and his wife would also go into the theater. Michael and Hayden arrived and the four of us went into the theater. The rows in this theater are 6 feet apart. When you purchase your tickets, the computer automatically blocks two seats on either side of the seats you choose. We had 12 people in this big theater. Great big arm chairs that lean back. It was heaven to see this favored old movie on the big screen with amazing acoustics. It was a fun experience.
We decided to pick up dinner from Zaxby's for the family and meet back at the Marx home. While pulling into Zaxby's, we saw three hot air balloons. Only one shows up in the picture. Watching hot air balloons is great fun.
Had a good little visit with Andie and Bailey and we all enjoyed a meal together. Hayden showed us his band uniform.
Then Claude and I headed back across country for home. The Mini's start in-person school Monday. Andie is already doing in-person school with 11 first graders. We're all going to be watching to see what this does to the virus numbers. Hoping it all works just fine.
Saturday, September 26, 2020
I spent my day time watching the remainder of my Time Out for Women sessions. So uplifting. I was grateful for this quiet time to listen, remember and learn.
For Christmas 2019, I purchased the American Legacy Tours Newport Gangsters Walking Tour for Claude. We did the baseball walking tour with them in 2019 that was in Cincinnati and focused on the 1919 World Series fiasco which happened right in Cincinnati. We enjoyed it so much that we picked the Gangster one to do next. Then the pandemic hit and I wasn't sure they would even do them. Things are opening up and I called to secure a spot for this walking tour. We got Saturday at 5pm. I will try to give a brief pictoral telling of our walking tour. I can't guarantee all the facts are exactly accurate but they should be pretty spot on. I tried to take a few pictures with my camera and them make notes on an app I have on my phone.
The coolest things was our tour guide is the one who created this particular tour. He is actually a principal of a school in Erlanger, Kentucky. He has grown up in this area and knows it very well. When he was a teacher, he would take his students to central America for a service trip. To raise money, they came up with idea of a tour focusing on Newport, Kentucky history and particularly the gangster side of it. He was extremely well versed in the topic and provided us with a historic tour and how this has spilled over into his own life. Alas, I do not remember his name. Honestly, wearing a mask is not the best way to give a walking tour along busy streets.
We started the tour at The Syndicate in Newport. Part of this establishment in the Dueling Piano Bar. Love the Art Deco style of buildings. Felt like I was back in Miami.
In a nutshell, there was Wiedemann Brewery in Newport. It employed most of the people in the area. Prohibition came and people lost their income. The first to take advantage of this situation was the Cleveland Syndicate. I didn't even know there was a Cleveland Syndicate. But there was and it moved in with speak easy's and gambling. Newport was the first to have gambling in the open in the barber shops, store, etc. They put labels on the equipment so it looked like all was legal. It was not but it was making money where money was needed and no one complained. Las Vegas would come later and use these ideas from Newport. Who knew?? Not me! When they tried to get the gambling world under control adult entertainment came right in. All of this was before Vegas. And it was prolific in this area of Newport. The walking tour took us around maybe a four block area and we stopped in front of buildings and were told their stories.
The next few pictures are of the 633 Club and the Jockey Club. The dark building is the Jockey Club and the light building and parking area were the 633 Club. This was a casino. There was a bowling alley in it. When the current owner turned it into a craft beer establishment, they used the bowling alley flooring for their tables. One picture is the top of a table showing the markings from the bowling alley lane. I thought that was kinda cool.
One thing we learned is that a man wanted to build a big tower in Newport. The site for that tower was the parking lot across from the syndicate. Here is Claude by the Jeep with the Syndicate in the back ground. The second picture is the huge parking lot.
This morning before we did our Church service, I went on the front porch to water my mums. I took a few pictures of our front porch decorated for fall. Okay, the last picture makes me dizzy. That is because I stood over the top of the mums and took a picture from above them. But they are pretty with their buds bursting.
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