Ole Miss Bound...

And he was off...again...

The SMC (Southern Municipal Conference) was to be held in Oxford, Mississippi. That is the home of Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) is located. This conference is a where a network of state municipal leagues (in our case Kentucky League of Cities) meet to share information and develop solutions to challenges that affect Southern cities. Claude was invited by KLC to participate. 

Claude, being Claude, looked at the time it would take him to get to the airport, check in, wait and then take his flight, gather his luggage and drive to Oxford from the airport. He determined it was comparable to him just getting in his trusty Jeep and driving himself to Oxford, Mississippi. That is what he chose to do. This would have been a most lovely road trip but the weather ended up being rainy. Claude made it down and back just fine though.

Claude left Tuesday, April 24th and returned Friday, April 27th. These are two of the pictures I received from Claude showing me the diligent work they do at these affairs.

This picture came titled "Where's Claudo?" I am to find Claude's bright green Jeep in the parking lot. The important thing I take from this is that Claude has arrived safely and it is not raining at that time there. Can you find the Jeep?

This picture is just interesting. Claude went to the parking lot and happened upon this vehicle covered in carpet and designed to look like a dog. That's right folks, a dog. It is for a pet grooming business. This is very clever. A little weird, but very clever. 

So there you see why my hubby likes these jaunts. They amuse him!

I Swear...

Monday, April 23, 2018 our City Clerk, Sandy Whelan (Sandy 2) was out-of-town on her vacation. Claude asked me to take minutes in her absence. I packed up my laptop and headed to City Hall with him for the 6pm monthly City Commission meeting for Sadieville. I took the agenda and typed it into my lap top. Sandy left with all these prepared for the meeting and at each one's spot on the tables. This gave me a nice shell to fill in as the meeting progressed.

At the end of the meeting it was time for the Swearing In of our new City Attorney Bill Willis and our new Chief of Police Bobby Bruner. 

Now, the interesting thing about this is the actual Oath of Office for Kentucky. It is the same for everyone. 

I shall never forget the first time Claude was sworn in as a City Commissioner. No one informed us of the interesting wording at the end of the Oath. By the time they got to that part reading and Claude repeating everyone was grinning because they knew what it said. As they finished, Claude and I understood what was so amusing. 

I have copied the Oath of Office below for Kentucky from Section 228 of the Kentucky Constitution. Please note this text was ratified on August 3, 1891 and revised September 28, 1981. It has not been amended since that time. Read the Oath and see if you can find what might be considered humorous today. 

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm, as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth, and be faithful and true to the Commonwealth of Kentucky so long as I continue a citizen thereof, and that I will faithfully execute, to the best of my ability, the office of .... according to law; and I do further solemnly swear (or affirm) that since the adoption of the present Constitution, I, being a citizen of this State, have not fought a duel with deadly weapons within this State nor out of it, nor have I sent or accepted a challenge to fight a duel with deadly weapons, nor have I acted as second in carrying a challenge, nor aided or assisted any person thus offending, so help me God."

If you go to Bardstown, Kentucky you will find My Old Kentucky Home. This is the home Stephen Foster visited and was inspired to write the song based on it. The home was owned by a judge and leader in the community. He actually fought the last duel on that property and the other person died. After that, they put this wording to the Oath of Office and outlawed duels from that point forward. The Oath of Office has not changed and to this day we all swear we have not fought a duel or acted as a second in a duel. Now if that isn't interesting, I just don't know what you would find interesting.

Savoring Saturday...

Saturday, April 21st had three main items in it.

Item #1: Sadieville Clean-up Day

This is an annual event that is timed close to Earth Day. This year the City Commission decided to have a clean-up week. We asked the residents to clean up their own yards and homes beginning April 14th. They could collect items and on Friday, April 20th the City would provide a large dumpster for the citizens to place their lawn clippings and things that would normally be allowed in their outgoing trash pick-up. This dumpster would be picked up on Monday, April 23rd. On Saturday, April 21st we would gather to clean up the City of Sadieville's streets and week the flower beds. Our fair ''Ville" is tiny enough there is not a maintenance person or people to do these kinds of things. Bluegrass Greensource would provide T-Shirts for all who participated in Saturday's effort to clean the streets and weed the flower beds. 

Claude and I showed up at the Warring Pavilion only to find two young men waiting for us to help with the clean-up. They were eager and ready to help. Made my old heart happy. These boys set off to walk the streets and collect trash. Claude went to clean the base of the overpass for the train in Sadieville. Char and I started to weed. The dumpster was about 1/3 full but by Saturday after we cleaned up the dumpster was full. We pronounced that a good effort. Here are a few pictures of our cleaning efforts.

We made it home and had nice hot showers and took pain reliever so we would be ready for the rest of our day. I mean really. I sat in the flower bed for 3 1/2 hours. I am grateful for pain relievers. I am not one who loves taking medicine. But I have come to understand that at 67 years of age, an extra strength Tylenol can really help you get to the next day when it doesn't hurt so bad. Actually, I am also grateful I can still do this even with the pain.

Item #2: Jake Watson's Wedding Reception

That is right. We have hit the age when the kids I teach and have taught in Institute are getting married right and left. Jake was having his reception and we made a brief appearance at it. Fun to watch the young ones make this huge commitment.

Item #3: Beaumont Self-Reliance Mini-Devotional

The Beaumont Ward (congregation) wanted to start another Self-Reliance Group but this was after the big Devotional we had. These groups usually already know what they want to study. The group wanted to study the personal finance material. Claude likes to do a Mini-Devotional because the Devotional is set up like their weekly group meeting format. As the participants go through the Devotional, they understand what their weekly group meetings will be like. We met in the home of the husband and wife that will be the facilitators for the group. It was just a delightful meeting. There was such a good spirit about that group that one can only expect success for them.

A mango-pineapple smoothie on the way home was just what the doctor ordered for this aching old lady at the end of a long but very productive day.

Sometimes Life is Ordinary...

Friday, April 20, was a normal day...for us.

I started my day off by going to Main Street Retreat and having Tyra cut my hair. If you ever saw the movie Steel Magnolias and you listen to Daryl Hannah do a southern accent. Particularly the scene where she loses her contact lens and yells, "My contact! I lost my contact! Don't anybody move!", well, that sounds like Tyra. She has a strong accent and I love to hear her talk and tell the adventures in her life. So, getting a haircut is a fun outing and visit. 

Claude finished up a woodwork project. He had a large piece of wood he prepared for use when restoring my grandmothers old treadle sewing machine. He ended up not needing it. What to do with that nice board all sanded and stained? What to do? What to do? After careful thought he was impressed to make a coffee table with a trestle base. Once again, he did a beautiful job. When I saw it completed, it appeared to me it would be great to put a couple of little kid chairs at and make it into a kid's table. I shared that idea with Claude and he was quite taken with it. He has pondered it a bit and is now thinking about making another table and four little stools (two for each table). Then he could give one set to each of the great grandmonsters. We'll see what happens as he continues his woodworking fun.

This day I also finished the fourth row of Nissa's tablecloth. Yeah me!! As of today I actually have the fifth row completed and have started on the sixth row. There will be fourteen rows in the length when finished before the edge is crocheted on. I love this pattern. 

That is a pretty ordinary day around our home. Add a visit to Papa and a visit to City Hall, etc. and there you have it. I like these days when you get to the end and you feel good about what you have done in that day. This was a good day.

Spring Finally Came...

Came home on April 19th and finally saw real-for-sure Spring in our neighborhood. It felt so good I paused and walked around the yard to take a few pictures.

First, as I drove into our little subdivision, I saw the resident crane in the creek. Now, if I stop and open my car door and walk to the edge of the bridge to get a really good shot, the crane will definitely fly away. Trust me. Lived here almost 14 years and it has happened every time. So, this time I just pulled up to the side of the road, rolled my window down a bit and managed to get a picture. I just find cranes fascinating. He flew away and I tried to get a quick video but it really didn't turn out well. So I am happy to have a picture of our resident crane.

After pulling into the garage, I pulled out my cell phone and strolled a bit in our yard. Enjoy these pretty flowers. They give one hope!

It finally felt official. We have had some unseasonably cool nights but Spring did make its appearance. Yippee!!