Born on the 4th of July

Happy Birthday to my Granddaddy! Not a chance he will see this, as one of the perks of being 80 is that no one expects you to be online. I will just have to tell him in person.

Summer Internship Program nearly complete

After 4 weeks of intensive training, Xandi is taking everything she learned back to the great state of Tennessee.

I have no doubt she will be entertaining, cooking, and serving bubba-ganoush before long. I was unsuccessful in trying to convince her to make the bed, fold the laundry, or enjoy curry. I have some things to work on for future interns.

I have loved having her here with me, and will miss having someone to play board games with on Sunday afternoons. I hope she had a good time while she was here in Vicksburg, I know I did!

Too Busy to Blog?

Seems incomprehensible, but somehow true. Good times abound here in Vicksburg. The weekend was a lot of fun, as we recovered from GEMS camp and prepared for the party of the summer (this could be read as a challenge). John and Blair were married in the Big Apple back in early May (see previous posts), and we finally got around to TOASTING THE TIRPAKS this past weekend. They were expecting a low-key party at my place, and we surprised them with a New York themed party in the Big Apple Suite at the Ware House! We had food "on the street" and Little Italy next to Chinatown. Signature drinks included cosmos and apple-tinis. We ran 2 slide shows of wedding photos and sprinkled in some NYC photos from those of us who played tourist before and after the actual wedding. I can say it was one of the best parties I have been to since moving to Vicksburg, and I actually managed NOT to ruin the surprise for a change, although I almost did with a text message flub-up about the Sports Bar vs. the Lounge. Thanks so much to all of the Ware House staff for planning & coordination to make this a surprise for our friends!

Lessons to a Teenager by Mary Schmich

Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

The adventures continue

From the Starkville to Seminary and onto New Orleans, we enjoyed our "week off" and have a few pictures to show off...more will follow as needed.

Thought Jenny would like this black German Shephard who was the mascot of our Vampire Tour. He looks tough, but he was very friendly.

What about these great slipper chairs we sized up at Pottery Barn! They were comfy, bold, and on sale. Sigh...

Xandi tries on raw oysters at the strong urging of me, the master shucker Hollywood, and the unnamed intern shucker at Acme Oyster House on Iberville Street. She was a sport, though they were not her favorite. We also sampled chargrilled and fried oysters. Very tasty, very fresh.

Big Time in the Big Easy

Bummer, I left the camera cord at home, so I cannot upload any pictures until tomorrow evening. But I can tell you about it. 24 hrs and we are having a blast down in New Orleans. After watching Interview with the Vampire before coming, we went on a Vampire Tour starting at St Louis Cathedral and walking all through the French Quarter. This morning we went to the Aquarium of the Americas along with a million school kids, and checked out one of the better aquaria in the country (imho). We also saw a very powerful film about Hurricane Katrina and the loss of wetlands. Then we hopped on a streetcar and went up into the Garden District for a fancy cup of coffee and snack. For dinner, we met up with my friend William, who las lived here for about a year, and it happened to be his birthday. We went to the Port of Call for some local color and HUGE burgers. Thanks to William for sharing his birthday with him and for the driving tour of the city.

7 am jackhammering?

City of Vicksburg, what are you doing? I thought you wanted people to live downtown, and if you did, why would you do this to us? Normally I would be up and at 'em at that hour, but I was on vacation and looking forward to sleeping in.