Archive for the ‘Betsy’ Category

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Where It All Began

December 3, 2009

Betsy at Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee. April 21, 2001.

Monday was a cold, rainy day here on the Plateau on Monday, so I had a chance to work on some more of my archived photographs.  One of the folders I was able to work with contained pictures of the first time Betsy and I went to Fall Creek Falls.

Betsy and I had had a couple of dates (dinner, a morning in the park and lunch) before that Saturday morning when we drove to Fall Creek Falls State  Park.  Although Betsy had been to the park a time or two before we met, I had never been there before.

The scenery in the park is fantastic.  It is centered around the Cane Creek Gorge, a fifteen-mile long gash that contains views remeniscent of the Grand Canyon.  A road along the rim provides several overlooks with fantastic views.

Betsy and I were impressed with the five major waterfalls within the park.  We visited each and every one.  But the high point of the day (at least for me) was our first kiss.

We realized we were falling in love on that first date to Fall Creek Falls in April, 2001.  We’ve managed to get back there almost every year since to celebrate that anniversary.  Fall Creek Falls will always be special for us.

If you would like to see more of our first trip to Fall Creek Falls click HERE.

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Memories of Centennial Park

November 23, 2009

My very first picture of Betsy. Centennial Park, Nashville, Tennessee. April 7, 2001.

I’m really beginning to like rainy days.  On rainy days I can work on pictures at my computer without feeling guilty.

Betsy and I had our first date on March 29, 2001.  It was a dinner date to discuss the Bible classes that I missed when my work took me out of town.  (That topic never came up).

I thought the dinner date went well, but Betsy was ‘busy’ when I asked her out again.  In spite of that rejection I wanted to see her again, so I took a picture of the spring flowers in bloom in Centennial Park, Nashville, (I worked near the park) and e-mailed it to her with an invitation to go there with me on Saturday morning.  The tulips must have been irresistible because she said ‘yes’.

Centennial Park has beautiful gardens as well a unique feature — a full-sized replica of the Parthenon.  The exterior was being refurbished while we were there, but the main hall with the statue of Athena and an art gallery in the lower level were both open.  We enjoyed our visit to both levels of the Parthenon.

I didn’t have my camera on our first date, but I had it when we were at Centennial Park.  The picture above is the very first picture I took of Betsy (I’ve taken a few more since then).  If you would like to see more of our morning at Centennial Park click HERE.

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Memories of Atlanta

October 22, 2009
Betsy at Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, Georgia. June 2, 2001.

Betsy at Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, Georgia. June 2, 2001.

Since my bride is away for most of this week, I’ve been looking over some pictures of our life together.  (Can you tell that I miss her?)

Three weeks before we were married in June, 2001, Betsy and I were invited to the wedding of the son of Betsy’s friend, Susan.  Susan is one of the Get-Away Gang that is with Betsy in Maggie Valley this week, and she and Betsy have been friends since grade school.  The wedding was in Atlanta and we were invited to the rehearsal dinner Friday night as well as the wedding on Saturday.

Since we were free for most of the day on Saturday, Betsy and I took advantage of the opportunity to visit Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta, which is where the picture above was taken.  In addition to admiring the carving on the mountain and the covered bridge, we took the tram to the top of the mountain.  (That was before we got serious about hiking — I’m sure Betsy would insist on hiking to the top nowadays.)

If you would like to see more of our weekend in Atlanta click HERE.

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My Bride Left Me!

October 21, 2009

SadGeorge

If you read Betsy’s blog you know that she has left me to spend a few days in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, with her childhood girlfriends.  I’m optimistic that the separation will be temporary and that Betsy will soon be back home.

Betsy and the girls are in a beautiful cabin fairly high up in the mountains above Maggie Valley.  The road to the cabin is probably the worse I’ve driven on.  For the first time I had doubts as to whether our Prius would make it, but it did.  If Betsy had found a place higher in the mountains we would have had to have pack mules.

I don’t want to give you the impression that my beautiful bride heartlessly left me to a long and lonely week.  She wouldn’t do anything like that.  She’s made sure I’m not bored — the lawn will need to be mowed (hopefully for the last time) and then there are all those leaves that are coming down.  As if that’s not enough, we’re getting a delivery of firewood this week and that will need to be stacked.  Oh, yes, and I still have a few spring bulbs that need to be planted.

I’m beginning to think that Betsy timed her vacation perfectly.

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Betsy Has a New Toy

August 11, 2009
Betsy using her new MacBook. August 9, 2009.

Betsy using her new MacBook. August 9, 2009.

Betsy has a new toy!  It is somewhat of a belated birthday present — we picked it up after we got back home.  That was a couple of days after her birthday, but I don’t think she minds too much.

Our computer room is in the front of our house, but most of Betsy’s bird feeders are on the deck in the back.  So Betsy was always jumping up from her computer to see her birds (or to make sure squirrels weren’t eating everything in the feeders) or else she was reluctantly leaving her ‘throne’ — her side of our reclining sofa — to come into the computer room.  I won’t say Betsy did this a lot, but there is a well-worn path between her iMac and her throne (I’m kidding!!).

This past weekend was a tax-free weekend in Tennessee, so we got Betsy a new MacBook.  We saved almost enough on the tax to pay for the wireless router.  Since our iMacs have wireless capability we got rid of our old router and discovered that the wireless connection is faster than the old wired connection.  And more importantly Betsy can sit on her throne and watch her birds (and the TV) and work on her new computer at the same time.  And she says she can’t multi-task!

Right now our iMacs are still wired to printers and external hard drives, but we’ll probably go wireless with them in the future.  It will be nice to get rid of some of the cables under our desks.

Come to think of it, Betsy got the new toy, but I’ve enjoyed the benefits of going wireless.  Now if I could only get Betsy to let me play with her new toy!

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Scenic Sunday #56: Ormond Beach

August 9, 2009
Ormond Beach, Florida. August 5, 2009.

Ormond Beach, Florida. August 5, 2009.

This is my post for the Scenic Sunday meme, which shares beautiful scenes from around the world.  To see more Scenic Sunday posts, or to join and show your own pictures, click HERE.

We were in Ormond Beach, Florida, this past Wednesday to celebrate Betsy’s birthday.  We had an ocean view room on the fifth floor of the hotel and had a wonderful view of the beach and the ocean, as you can see from the picture above.

We woke up in time to see the sunrise over the Atlantic.  It was almost as good as seeing the sunrise from a ship at sea.

Sunrise at Ormond Beach, Florida. August 5, 2009.

Sunrise at Ormond Beach, Florida. August 5, 2009.

We were treated to a beautiful start of the day.  Later in the day we spent some time on the beach and even got wet in the ocean.  We had dinner with Betsy’s cousin Bonnie, who shares a birthday with Betsy.  Bonnie and her husband, Dave, met us at a seafood restaurant where we were able to enjoy the fresh seafood.

Moonrise at Ormond Beach, Florida. August 5, 2009.

Moonrise at Ormond Beach, Florida. August 5, 2009.

The day ended as beautifully as it began with a beautiful moonrise opposite the balcony of our room.  All in all, I hope Betsy had a nice birthday.

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I’d Never Dated a Feminist Before

April 9, 2009
Betsy at Centennial Park. April 7, 2001.

Betsy at Centennial Park. April 7, 2001.

Tuesday, April 7, was the eighth anniversary of my second date with Betsy.  We had our first date (a dinner date) on March 29, 2001.

I was working in Nashville at the time, in an office building near Centennial Park.  I often walked in Centennial during my lunch hours and knew that the tulips and other flowers in the park were absolutely beautiful.  So I invited Betsy to go there on a Saturday morning.  She accepted — Mother Nature cooperated — we had a beautiful day in which to enjoy the park.  The picture above is the very first picture I ever took of Betsy.

Centennial Park contains a replica of Athen’s Parthenon and we enjoyed viewing the statue of Athena in the main hall.  The lower level contains an art gallery and they had an exhibit of paintings the day we were there.  I suggested we view the exhibit and Betsy agreed, but she didn’t want me to pay for her admission — she said she could pay her own way.  I pointed out that it was my idea and that I would be glad to pay the small price of admission.  After more discussion and great reluctance on Betsy’s part, she finally let me pay.  We enjoyed the exhibit a great deal.

By the time we left the park it was lunch time.  There was a small restaurant near the park which was recommended to me and I suggested we get some lunch.  Betsy agreed, but ONLY IF I let her pay.  I told her that wasn’t necessary, but she INSISTED and Betsy can be very persuasive when she INSISTS!  Since I didn’t want the day to end, I agreed, and we had a very good and enjoyable lunch.

When the check came, Betsy pulled out her credit card only to be told that the restaurant didn’t take credit cards.  She pulled her check book, but was told they only take cash.  Guess who didn’t have much cash!

By this time I was having a hard time keeping a straight face, but I did a pretty good job of not grinning from ear to ear.  But I will admit that I soon asked her out again.

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I Was Tagged

January 17, 2009

betsy051

My beautiful bride tagged me Thursday,  I wasn’t able to do anything about it at the time, but now I can share with you what she inflicted upon me.

Upon being notified that I was tagged, I received the following instructions:  “Open a document or a picture folder. Then click on the fifth folder and then the fifth photo. Post the photo and describe it.”

My beautiful bride often doesn’t like to have her picture posted, so there is at least a certain amount of poetic justice involved in following her instructions.  The designated picture (shown above — it can be made larger) was taken in May, 2007, at Cherry Grove Point in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Cherry Grove Point is at the extreme northern end of North Myrtle Beach.  We went to the point one evening after dinner and since it was low tide we were able to walk around the point.  Once around the point, we could see the sun setting over the marsh west of the beach.  That’s when I took this picture — doesn’t she look beautiful in the sunlight?

The rest of the instructions say that I am to tag five additional people.  I’ll admit that I have a problem with that.  Many of the bloggers I visit have fantastic photographs, but I don’t want to impose on them.  I will, admit, however, that it is an interesting exercise.  If you would like to try it, consider yourself tagged and please post the results.

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Something to Cheer Up Betsy

December 15, 2008

Yesterday was not a good day for Betsy.  Her Titans lost their football game by one point!  And to make matters worse, it is the middle of December, there’s precipitation coming, and the temperatures are in the 50’s.  Betsy wants snow!  How can it snow with temperatures like this?  It’s depressing!!!

I really want to cheer Betsy up, but I’m not sure how to go about doing so.  I certainly can’t change the outcome of the football game, and I don’t have the talent necessary to make it snow on demand.

decksnow

About the best I can do is post this picture to give Betsy hope.  This picture was taken on the deck of our house in February, 2006, and it shows that we actually can get a nice snowfall here in the Glade.  So don’t give up hope, Betsy!

One more thing.  Although I don’t know how to make it snow outside, I do know how to make it snow on this blog.  So if the weatherman won’t cooperate, Betsy can watch it snow here!

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Why Betsy Feels Jinxed

December 6, 2008
Betsy pointing out some snow on the roof of our cabin on Mount Nebo.

Betsy pointing out some snow on the roof of our cabin on Mount Nebo.

First of all let me say that Betsy and I got back last night from our trip to Arkansas.  We had a wonderful time, but it’s good to be back home.

Now, why does Betsy feel jinxed?  You have to remember how much Betsy loves snow.  She looks forward to it every winter and never feels she sees enough.  It snowed all day Sunday at Mount Nebo State Park in Arkansas — we arrived Monday, a clear, sunny day.  It did snow back here in the Glade on Monday, but of course we were in Arkansas.

It gets worse.  We went to Mount Nebo in February of this year and it snowed in the Glade while we were gone.  We didn’t have any snow while we were at Mount Nebo, but while reading the comment book in the cabin we rented Betsy discovered that they had 12 inches of snow three days after we left!  I thought Betsy was going to cry.

We’ll stick fairly close to the Glade for the winter, but if we don’t get at least one decent snowstorm I may need to take Betsy to northern Michigan so she can get her ‘snow fix’ for the year!

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