Posts Tagged ‘Betsy’

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Watery Wednesday # 37

May 27, 2009
Betsy on a bridge over the Little Pigeon River. March 28, 2009.

Betsy on a bridge over the Little Pigeon River. March 28, 2009.

This is my post for Watery Wednesday, a weekly meme created and hosted by 2sweeetnsaxy of Eyes, Mind, Heart.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

The picture above is of my favorite hiking partner on a bridge over the Little Pigeon River in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  The picture was taken in March, while we were staying in a cabin at Serenity Falls.  We had gone to the area of Greenbrier Campground to drive and hike along the river.  There had been several days of rain prior to our visit, so the water was rushing over the rocks and boulders.  The sight and sound of that rushing river in the forest/mountain setting is an experience that everyone should have at least once.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 12 Comments »

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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Posted in Betsy | 22 Comments »

Betsy’s ‘Dream’ Cabin

March 22, 2009

cabin01

Shortly after Betsy and I got married we started talking about finding our retirement home.  At first we talked about finding a log cabin.  Betsy really liked the idea of a cabin on the top of a hill with lots of trees around it.

It didn’t take us long to discover that our ‘dream’ house was way beyond our wallet.  We finally found our house in the Glade.  It’s not a log cabin, but it does have wooden siding.  It’s on a hill, but not at the top.  But it does have lots of trees around it.  And we thoroughly love it.

But that doesn’t keep us from keeping an eye out for a cabin that would fit into our dreams.  Last summer we went to Virginia for a reunion of a branch of Betsy’s family.  While driving through the country side near Big Stone Gap, we spotted the cabin in the picture above.  All Betsy said was ‘Ohhhh….’.

It’s not on top of a hill, but hey, we can’t have everything.

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Posted in Travels | 13 Comments »

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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Posted in Betsy | 26 Comments »

Ozone Falls and What We’ve Missed

January 8, 2009
Ozone Falls, Ozone, Tennessee. January 7, 2008.

Ozone Falls, Ozone, Tennessee. January 7, 2008.

Betsy had a great idea yesterday.  The heavy rains had stopped and, although there were still sprinkles and an occasional snow flurry, she suggested that we go see Ozone Falls.

Ozone Falls is the nearest ‘major’ waterfall to our house.  We’ve been there several times  — a couple of times when there wasn’t much water going over the falls and once when there was a great deal of snow and ice around the falls.

Yesterday, as the picture above shows, there was a great deal of water going over the falls — much more than we’ve ever seen.  But the big surprise for me was something I hadn’t seen before.

A new (for me) small waterfall with Ozone Falls in the background.

A new (for me) small waterfall with Ozone Falls in the background.

I hiked down to the vantage point I’ve visited before, but this time there was enough water in the stream that I could see rapids below the falls.  Since there were no leaves on the trees I could see a way to get to the stream below the falls, and so I set off down the side of the cove.  I hiked down to the stream below the falls and found a second, smaller fall below the main one as shown in the picture on the right.  I had no idea it was there.

Since I was now most of the way down into the cove I decided to go a little more further downstream and found several additional small falls and cascades.

I reluctantly left the stream and started to climb back up out of the cove.  For some reason it was much harder climbing up than it was walking down, but I think my new discoveries were worth it.

A small fall downstream from Ozone Falls.

A small fall downstream from Ozone Falls.

As I said, Betsy had a great idea!

Betsy has more about our trip to Ozone Falls.  You can read her blog click HERE.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 33 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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Posted in Home | 25 Comments »

Watery Wednesday 15

December 23, 2008

fallcreekfalls020421There’s water going over the falls, so I hope this will qualify as an entry.  Betsy and I collect waterfalls and this is the one that started it all.

This picture of Fall Creek Falls in Tennessee was taken April 21, 2001.  A day trip to Fall Creek Falls State Park was our first big date.  Betsy and I had gone to dinner a couple of times, but that was it.

This date turned out to be a big one.  I hadn’t even held Betsy’s hand before then, but I did as we walked in the park.  I even got my first kiss before the day was over!

Fall Creek Falls is one of five major falls in the park.  It has a drop of 256 feet, which makes it one of the falls with the greatest vertical drop east of the Rocky Mountains.  As you can see, it drops into a huge sandstone amphitheater.

That date to Fall Creek Falls not only led to our marriage, but also to our waterfall collection.  We’ve now seen a total of 287 different waterfalls and are still finding more to visit!

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

waterywed2c

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Posted in Waterfalls | 22 Comments »

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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Posted in Betsy | 15 Comments »

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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Posted in Betsy | 8 Comments »

You Can’t Keep a Good Woman Down (or Off-line!)

November 23, 2008

extensioncords

Yesterday I got a demonstration of how creative my bride can be.

Friday night, about the time we were thinking about going to bed, we suddenly lost all power in our computer room.  At first we thought we had lost all power, but we then realized that electrical appliances in other rooms were working, so we knew that something else was wrong.  I went out to the garage and checked the electrical panel and discovered that the circuit breaker for the computer room was off.  I turned it back on and it promptly went off again.  Definitely not good!

We then unplugged everything and I tried the circuit breaker again — no luck, it kept tripping off.  We finally gave up and went to bed, although I wondered how we would get by with no computers in the morning.  (We haven’t yet joined the laptop – wireless crowd, but this may cause us to do so!)

Yesterday (Saturday) morning Betsy got up at her usual early hour to put out her bird feed.  Since I’m such a nice guy I asked her if she wanted some help, but she said ‘No’.  I dozed off and on for a while, wondering why Betsy didn’t come back to bed.  My curiosity finally got the better of me and I got up to be greeted by a surprise — my bride had gathered up just about every extension cord we owned and strung them across the house.  The living room looked a little strange, but the computers worked.

The electrician will be here Monday and hopefully find and fix the problem.  But in the meantime we’re online, thanks to my creative bride.

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Posted in Betsy | 2 Comments »

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