Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Potpourri for a rainy Wednesday

A little of this, a little of that, a mixture of unrelated subjects...

I was sitting in a waiting room at a doctor’s office the other day -- I had taken my friend who had the shoulder surgery there for his first post-op checkup -- and I picked up a magazine called FitAtlanta. In it was a fascinating article about the various benefits of goat’s milk and cow’s milk. If you think I'm going to mention any of them, you have another think coming. One of my readers, Jeannelle of Iowa (not to be confused with Eleanor of Aquitaine, the mother of Richard the Lion-hearted), lives on a dairy cattle farm. Another reader, Mary in Ohio, lives on a goat farm. Call me a wimp, but I don’t want to upset either of them!



In three weeks I am scheduled to be the pianist at another wedding. My duties this time will include accompanying a flutist who just happens to be the flute teacher of the bride. I must take some time between now and then to limber up the old fingers on the keyboard.


My time as a voluntary chauffeur continues. I will be taking my friend’s son, who has been here for a week, to the Atlanta airport tomorrow to fly back to California. Sometime this weekend I will go back to the airport again to pick up my friend’s other son, who also lives in California, who is coming here for a few days also. Son number two couldn’t make the trip earlier because he had gone to Kuwait and Iraq to operate the sound equipment for a musical group that was entertaining American troops. For me, the song of the not-so-open road has not yet ended either.



My oldest son’s family drove to Alabama this past weekend to spend some time with my daughter’s family. For several years they have seen each other only at family get-togethers during major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. From what I hear, a good time was had by all, visitors and visitees alike. My daughter did spend some time in her kitchen, but the group also managed to hit a couple of Birmingham-area favorites: Jim and Nick’s in Gardendale for Southern-style barbecue and Nabeel’s in Homewood for Greek and Mediterranean food.

We saw the first jonquils of spring yesterday, scattered in profusion along the side of a country road. One year I saw forsythia bushes in bloom during the first week of January, but not this year. January around here was bitterly cold including a few days that never made it above freezing. The only snow we had this winter was a few flurries a couple of weeks ago. Midwesterners, please do not laugh.














I'm ready for spring.

8 comments:

  1. Love the addition of more photos to your post, RWP! Nicely selected to illustrate your points, too! :)

    The jonquil/daffodils in your area bloomed earlier than the ones I have here in my yard, although my daughter's garden is full of bright yellow blooms. Mine are "King Alfred"s, a different variety.

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  2. Superb collection of potpourri here. I may steal the cow photo to use as my background for awhile. (Like I need to see another cow.)

    That's kind of you to run a shuttle to and from the airport. Lots of traffic, I'm sure. Isn't Atlanta's airport one of the busiest in the country?

    Your son's job overseas sounds very interesting.

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  3. Hi, Pat, thank you for the kind words. I did go through a little spell there without photographs, didn't I?

    And hi, Jeannelle, as well. I didn't know whether the potpourri idea would work, but apparently it did.

    It's not my son who has the job overseas, it's my friend's son who had the job overseas. Sorry I didn't make that a bit clearer.

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  4. i have a friend's son overseas too

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  5. It's so kind of you to drive people around. I don't really enjoy driving (since I am directionally challenged, lol!) so I'm always happy for a chauffeur. Love the flowers!

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  6. I can't help it Bob, You had a few days that didn't make it above freezing? Up here, that's a January heat wave.

    I envy you your jonquils. Two more months for us.

    Good luck with all your driving.

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  7. Jeannelle (part B), yes, Atlanta has at times been the busiest airport in the U.S., exceeding Kennedy and O'Hare and LAX in the "number of passengers yearly" and "number of takeoffs and landings" categories.

    Putz, we're practically Siamese. But wait until you see my next post!

    Rosezilla (Tracie), I once traveled on business with a fellow who was directionally challenged. It was, to say the least, a trip! But he sure knew the way to the hotel's bar for his Drambooie and water. (I hope you know I'm not implying anything at all about
    you...)

    Ruth, I just knew you Midwesterners would be amused! I did spend three winters living in Omaha (30 below) and three more living in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and one winter commuting back and forth to Chicago, and those experiences were enough to last me for a while.

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  8. Well, I could care less about where the bar is, but I am the only person I know who bates her GPS. "Ha, I'm going to turn the OTHER way, now what do you have to say?" "Bet I'll get there quicker if I take this route instead." It's kind of pathetic, really. But lots of fun.

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