Mission Accomplished

January 3, 2009
Some of the vinyl records I've converted.

Some of the vinyl records I've converted.

During the 2005 Holiday Season I started to convert some of my vinyl  Christmas albums to digital format.  By that time we were listening mostly to CDs and I thought it would be nice to listen to that Christmas music in the car or on my iPod.  Besides, some of the records had had a hard life and were getting pretty scratched up.

Since I have a Mac, it was a simple manner to connect the turntable and amplifier to my computer.  I got a program, Sound Studio, to allow me to edit the sound files and I was in business.  In addition to creating the sound files, Sound Studio allows me edit the files and remove many of the skips and scratches.

When I started this project I didn’t realize how long it would take.  While I was still working I didn’t have a great deal  of time, but even after retiring I still had plenty of things to do in addition to my conversion project.  I worked on Christmas music when I had the time for about six months out of the year.

I must admit that there were times when I thought I would never get done, but Thursday evening I finished converting the last of my records.  I’ve converted a total of 55 records to CDs.

I feel like I’ve earned myself a rest, but we have many more records that need to converted.  What should I work on next — Henry Mancini, Glenn Miller or Arthur Fiedler?

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Posted in Technology | 19 Comments »

Skywatch Friday 25

January 1, 2009
Sunset from the 12th tee of Druid Hills Golf Course. January 1, 2009.

Sunset from the 12th tee of Druid Hills Golf Course. January 1, 2009.

Today was a cold but beautiful day here in the Glade.  Since the sky was so clear and blue I decided to walk to my favorite spot on the back nine of the golf course in order to view the setting sun.

My camera started to act up about the time I got there, but I did manage to get this picture of our first sunset of 2009.

To see more sky pictures from all over the world click HERE or on the logo below.
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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 24 Comments »

Happy Birthday, Kelly

January 1, 2009
Kelly enjoying her chocolate birthday cake. Montreat, NC, January 1, 1973.

Kelly enjoying her chocolate birthday cake. Montreat, NC, January 1, 1973.

The beautiful girl in the picture above is my daughter Kelly celebrating her first birthday.

My parents were always very efficient — they raised their own babysitters.  I was ten and my brother was eight when my sister was born.  So I clearly remember my parents talking about wanting two boys and two girls.  But it didn’t work out that way — my sister was followed by another boy.

Fast forward a few years — my parents were looking forward to having a granddaughter to spoil.  My brother got married before I did and had four boys.  My first child was a boy.

But then, on January 1, 1972, Kelly Elizabeth Adams arrived in the world.  She came as a surprise to just about everyone — her mother and I didn’t have any girl’s names picked out.  Kelly made quite an entrance into the world — she was the first baby of the new year in Wabash County, Indiana.  Kelly also showed that she has a mind of her own — she was supposed to be a 1971 tax deduction!

So in the midst of New Year celebrations, I would like to wish my favorite daughter a very happy birthday.  She started recycling birthdays a few years ago, so I can’t tell you how old she is.  But I can tell you that she still likes chocolate.  And by the way, she’s my parent’s only granddaughter.

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Posted in Family | 18 Comments »

Watery Wednesday 16

December 30, 2008
Upper Cove Creek Cascade, Wears Valley, Tennessee. December 30, 2008.

Upper Cove Creek Cascade, Wears Valley, Tennessee. December 30, 2008.

Tuesday was a beautiful day here in eastern Tennessee, so Betsy and I decided to drive over to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to check out some waterfalls.  We haven’t been over there since late October and we hoped that the rains of the past couple of weeks would have replenished some of the streams in the mountains.

We visited several falls that we had seen before and then later in the afternoon drove through Wears Valley.  We drove along Cove Creek for a short

Secret Falls, Wears Valley, Tennessee. December 30, 2008.

Secret Falls, Wears Valley, Tennessee. December 30, 2008.

distance, and, seeing a fair amount of water flowing, stopped to walk along the creek.  We enjoyed the cascade shown above and then noticed a small sign pointing to Secret Falls.  Secret Falls was unknown to us, so we just had to investigate.  A short walk led us to the pretty little waterfall shown on the right.

It was as close to a perfect day as we could possibly get — cool temperatures, a brilliant blue sky, and the sound of rushing water.  What more could a person ask for?

To see more of our trip to the Smokies check Betsy’s blog HERE.

To see more  pictures on the Watery Wednesday meme click here or on the logo below.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 23 Comments »

My World 11

December 29, 2008

To day I want to share a small, but very important part of my world — our home in the Glade.  It’s not a very big or fancy house, but we sure do like it.

We saw the house for the first time in August, 2002.  The picture below shows us what sold us that first time — the great room.  If you click to make the picture bigger you’ll see that there is a fireplace (which gets a lot of use in cool weather) and the doors opening out onto the wrap-around back deck.  There is a third patio door to the right of the pictures.  The three doors provide wonderful ventilation in the summer.
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The picture below shows the front of the house on the day we closed.  We were so excited — he had a retirement home!  We used the house as a weekend hideaway until July, 2003, when we moved up here full time.
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Since then, we’ve made some changes — mostly on the outside of the house.  This next picture was taken this year, and shows some of the changes we’ve made.  As you can see, we’ve added a flagpole, three circular flower beds (only two are visible) and the rose beds on either side of the driveway.
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This last picture is of the larger of the two rose beds.  I’ve included it because I like roses and because I am already thinking about Spring (don’t tell Betsy!).
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I hope you enjoyed the tour of my little corner of the world.  To see more of the world, click HERE or on the logo below.

mwtblack

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Posted in Home | 24 Comments »

Waterfalls Have Water!

December 29, 2008
Water tumbling down the escarpment near Grandview, Tennessee.

Water tumbling down the escarpment near Grandview, Tennessee.

Betsy and I traveled to Chattanooga yesterday to spend some time with son Jeff and grandchildren Landon and Avery.

To get to Chattanooga we took the back way down off the Plateau and on the way we saw something that we haven’t seen in a couple of years — water coming down the escarpment.

We’ve been in a severe drought in this part of Tennessee for the past two years and most of the waterfalls and cascades have been dry or nearly dry.  However, we’ve had quite a bit of rain over the past two weeks and our rainfall total is now close to normal for the year.  Lakes and streams are higher than they’ve been for quite some time.  It’s a good time for waterfall enthusiasts!

Betsy and I were so excited to see water cascading down the escarpment that we stopped on the way back home to get the picture above.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 17 Comments »

Bali Ha’i

December 27, 2008
Sunset on Bali, June, 1987.

Sunset on Bali, June, 1987.

I was a junior member on the faculty of Heidelberg College in 1987 when I was selected to be part of an exchange program with a Chinese university in Tianjin, People’s Republic of China.  A team from Heidelberg would go to Tianjin to teach English as a Second Language and a Chinese professor would come to Heidelberg for the academic year to teach Chinese.

Part of our arrangement with the Chinese included a tour of parts of China, but because of differing calendars the tour was to be held before our teaching session rather than afterward.  The Chinese also invited spouses to come along for this part of the trip.

Although we had two children getting close to college age, I really wanted Elizabeth (my late wife) to go.  So we counted our pennies and signed Elizabeth up for the trip.

It was at this point that two of the senior faculty members decided it would be nice to leave the States a week early so we could visit Bali.  That really stretched our finances since the Chinese weren’t covering that part of the trip, but we scrapped up the money for the extra week and went.

The picture above was taken on Bali at sunset on an evening late in June.  It was like living a scene from a movie.

To see more sunrise and sunset pictures from around the world click HERE or on the logo below.

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Posted in Travels | 20 Comments »

What Is She Trying to Tell Me?

December 27, 2008

todosanta01

As I’ve mentioned before, Betsy and I give each other Christmas ornaments at Christmas.  The ornaments usually commemorate a major event during the year or convey a special message.

This year Betsy gave me a very cute ‘Honey-Do List’ Santa.  As you can see in the picture above, Santa is carrying a ladder and holding a very long list of things that need to be done.

My first reaction when I opened the present was “Isn’t this a cute ornament”.  My second thought was “What is she trying to tell me?”.

On Christmas morning Betsy told me to stop being paranoid and enjoy the day.  After some hesitation I took her advice and we had a marvelous day.

Ah, but the day after Christmas arrived.  And what did I do?

1.  Replace the large wind chime torn apart by last week’s storms.
2.  Repair the three wind chimes less badly  damaged in those same storms.
3.  Replace a roof shingle we found in the back yard.
4.  Remove the leaves that Betsy raked from the front yard.
5.  Remove a blooming dandelion Betsy found while raking leaves.
6.  Replace the lanyard on the flag pole in front of the house.
7.  Repair and reinforce a small retaining wall that had fallen down.

Honey, can you please find me a sleeping Santa ornament for next year?

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Skywatch Friday 24

December 25, 2008

fairfieldsunset08122201

After several days of clouds and rain, it was nice to have a clear day and to be able to see the sun.

Late in the day I walked along the golf cart path on the back nine of the Druid Hills Golf Course here in the Glade to the twelfth tee, which is one of the higher points on the course with a view to the west.  I got there too late to see the setting sun, but I did find this beautifully painted sky.

To see more beautiful sky pictures from all over the world, click on Skywatch or on the logo below.

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Posted in Glade | 22 Comments »

For Unto Us a Son Is Given

December 24, 2008
The manger at Nashville's Opryland Hotel. December, 2001.

The manger at Nashville's Opryland Hotel. December, 2001.

I’m writing this a little early because Betsy and I will be busy later tonight.  We’re going to head down off the Plateau tonight to attend the Christmas Eve service at St. John (Episcopal) Cathedral in Knoxville.  We enjoy our little church up here on the Plateau, but the Christmas Eve carols and choral Eucharist are very special for us on Christmas Eve.

Since Knoxville is about 90 minutes from here, we get another benefit by going there tonight.  Our travel gives us plenty of time to hear the complete Messiah by Handel.  I’ve been listening to Messiah on Christmas Eve for about 40 years now, and never get tired of it.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:  and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not:  for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

May the meaning and joy of Christmas be with you and your family throughout the days ahead.  Merry Christmas.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 10 Comments »

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