Saturday, February 14, 2009

Having fun on the Tennessee Farm...

My sister in law, Teresa Fowler Stancil, drove up from the Atlanta, Georgia area to the Nashville, Tennessee farm of my daughter and son in law, Steve and Nikki Brown, to spend the weekend with us.  We've had such fun playing "farmers,"and feeding the various animals who call this home.  We went to WalMart (everyone goes to town on Saturday here) and we bought fresh carrots for the horses, made big milk bottles for the baby calves, and bought cream cheese and olives for the people.

Coming home, we hurried to the barn to feed the calves before dark.  As Teresa was feeding Rusty, the largest of the five horses, he decided he liked her finger as well as the crunchy carrot she was holding for him.  The baby calves, born December 23, were Christmas gifts to Steve, Nikki, Steven and Brendan and have been the source of much fun and learning for the entire family. Nikki often calls Texas to tell PaPa Ted that she thinks of him warmly every morning at 5:30 AM when she marches out to the barn in the cold to bottle feed the babies.  They are growing quickly now and Truffles, Steven's calf, is the largest by far.  Oreo and Beau are keeping up and they can empty the giant bottles in only seconds now.  They have also adapted well to the sweet feed provided for them and are now eating some hay to supplement the milk diet.

We've played Scrabble, bowled on the Wii game, cooked and eaten great food, made music with the boys, and in general, enjoyed ourselves immensely.  Steven and Teresa both play guitar and Steven also plays drums, so it has been an eventful, fun-filled weekend we will long remember. We also got in a bit of shopping and discussed all of the recent books we have read as well as escorting Steven and his little friend, Callie, and Ryan and Nikki, on a double date to Hendersonville for a Valentine movie.  Teresa and I chose to see Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino.

There's nothing like enjoying the simple things of life and being around those you love. DeAnna and Melissa, you've missed a hoot of a time!  Had you been able to see Teresa when the horse chomped on her finger while the calves were butting her, you would have convulsed in laughter.

PaPa Ted was so right in suggesting the calves as Christmas gifts.  They've been great hits!

Until the next page turns,
Brenda

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Another spectacular event -Valentine Gathering for BolivarBLUE


Property owners and residents of the Bolivar Peninsula were treated to a wonderful afternoon event at Coconuts, a really good restaurant now open, on Saturday, February 7.  BolivarBLUE, a Yahoo Internet Group I founded shortly after Hurricane Ike ravaged our shores, hosted the celebration for some very hard working and tired folks.  Everyone had a ball and many got to reconnect with old and dear friends while many others made new friends and met neighbors on the Peninsula.

A lifelong friend of mine in the Atlanta area, Pam Hicks Gresham, could not see how our women folks were making it after having lost their jewelry to the storm so she organized a collection to replace some of it among her family and friends and church members.  Pam's idea soon spread and we had jewelry coming from many places.  Each piece was bagged and sealed and the women were invited to come and choose. What fun they had opening their bags and seeing new and interesting sparkling things to be treasured.

Another friend on the site and a tireless worker on the Peninsula, wanted to share her very large collection of cook books with ladies who had lost theirs.  Edith Watson with the help of Dianne Ledet, founder of the Bolivar Peninsula Yahoo Group, brought over 1,000 volumes and shared with our guests.  Another donation came from Meredith Hamilton who gave 100 copies of the Winnie Rice Festival cook books, which were big hits, too.

We also were joined by more than two dozen vendors and service providers offering help to the residents.  All in all, it was a wonderful day on the beach for all concerned.

If you are interested in keeping up with happenings on the Bolivar Peninsula, you are welcome to go to Yahoo Groups and type in BolivarBLUE (spelled in this fashion) and we'll gladly welcome you.  The "BLUE" is an acronym for Beach Lovers United Effectively and we're having such fun with this crew.  Ted is a tireless advocate for recruiting new members and tells everyone he meets about the site.

Our thanks to Rusty and Becky Cluck who took charge of our decorations and did a masterful job, to Randy and Terri Ward who always work, to Edith Watson and Dianne Ledet, and to many others who contributed.  

Evening with Author Mitch Albom - Fantastic


Many hours of hard work came to a culmination last Thursday evening, February 5, in Beaumont, Texas at the beautiful Julie Rogers Theatre when best selling author Mitch Albom came to speak. His appearance in Southeast Texas was hosted by the Todd Christopher Legacy of Love Cancer Foundation, of which I was honored to have been named publicist. It was an astonishing evening for everyone concerned.

More than 1,300 people filled the seats of the Julie Rogers and Albom did not disappoint a single one of them when he spoke about his old college professor Morrie. You may remember that he hit the best seller lists with his sensational book, "Tuesdays with Morrie," followed by "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," and his latest, "For One More Day." Albom is also an acclaimed ESPN sportscaster and appears weekly on the Sports Reporters Show on ESPN. He is also an accomplished musician and songwriter, among his many other talents.

I had the privilege of being his private host for the evening's event and was so pleased to see that Mitch is pretty much a "regular guy" when he first arrived in the green room before speaking to the waiting audience. We talked about the local area, people likely to be in the audience and his new book on faith coming out in September.  From the minute he took the podium, he had the audience in his grip.  I watched and listened from the shadows of the stage curtains.  When he finished his speech, something very interesting happened.  The audience stood to is collective feet and did not move nor make a sound.

Ted was in the audience and he was very impressed.  He said he'd never seen anything quite like it.  No one wanted to move or leave.  They simply stood in a reverent attendance.  Finally, as one, they begin to clap and clap and clap.  Mitch had agreed to sign copies of his latest book and I had the joy of again being with him during this lengthy process.  He literally met hundreds of folks, spoke with them and graciously signed their books.

It is so nice to be able to report when a well known guest makes an appearance where folks have worked hard to prepare for them that they are far more than was expected.  In this case, Mitch Albom went above and beyond  what folks thought he might be.  He is one of  the better speakers I've ever heard and Ted agrees.  He makes his audience seriously think about what he has said.  The topic was "For One More Day," and making our lives count.

WOW! 

If you ever get the opportunity to hear him, go, whatever it takes.  And, buy his books, too!