Celebrity Cruise

Reserved for the Celebrity cruise

Reserved for another post

Panama Canal Cruise

Reserved for the Panama Canal cruise

Reserved for a post

Mediterranean Trip

Reserved for Italy

Reserved for the cruise

Reserved for Greece

Reserved for Turkey

End of Mediterranean Trip

    Sorry, I got interrupted and now its a week later. Things are settling down around the house now. The office is all put together and I worked my way through the computer to-do list. Hurrah!

    My husband and I have been working on cleaning up our basement. We attempted to clean it up several years ago. We actually took a week vacation, filled up a dumpster and hauled two trailer loads to Goodwill. We made a dent in the clutter but did not get it really cleaned up. One of the after products was a stack of boxes filled with papers and what-not that I intended to sort through in my leisure time. Well they were all still sitting there and had been added to. We started with those. Most of it went into the trash or into what we are calling the "burn pile". We intend to take it out to a friend's farm and have a big bonfire this fall. After going through those boxes we cleaned out the clutter in our office/file area and that's as far as we got.

   We eventually want to fix up the area at the bottom of the stairs into a sitting/crafts/hobby/exercise area or, as my husband calls it, a man-cave. He already bought the TV for his man-cave and he's been looking at couches. We'll use tall shelving units to separate this area from the back part of the basement. Between those shelves and the shelves he built after we bought the house we should be able to organize and stash all of our stuff. I think the next step is to go into the back shelving and clean it out to make room for our newer stuff. We decided to set up the old computer in the basement so we can use it for printing and scanning photos.

    This fall we want to get on our outdoor projects and possibly replace all the old windows on the house with new energy-efficient windows. We also need to replace our shutters as several have slats falling out of them. There's a lot of landscaping projects that could be done too.

    However this coming week will be busy for us. We have to take my Mother-in-law's dog back to her, we are going to see Cobie Caillat in concert and we're going to the State Fair. We have company coming on Friday. We also have some doctor appointments and lunch dates.

    The new glass for the computer desk arrived today so we are finally ready to put the office back together. My husband is busy talking to his buddy on the phone so I thought I'd update my blog while I am waiting.
    I've been home for over a month now and am catching up on my to-do list.
   

    It's another Saturday morning and - finally - I am getting a chance to sit down at the computer and make a blog entry. Yes, it's been that bad! Well, no, not bad, I've been having fun for the most part but I've been very, very busy. Here's what's been going on:

• Since the end of February when I went on my family cruise I've spent 13 of the 22 available weekends (and surrounding days) either traveling with, visiting with or hosting my family.
• An additional three weeks was spent traveling to California with my husband.
• One of the weeks was Derby week with all its associated activities.
• Then there were the usual schedule of plays at Actor's Theatre, Louisville Orchestra concerts, movie outings, lunches and dinners with friends and various other entertainments around town.
• We bought a new computer to replace our email laptop and our corner desktop. It took me a number of days to get everything set up and moved over (and I'm still not done). Then I made the bad decision to clean under the glass we have on our corner computer table. While taking it off we broke it. Now we have to wait until next week to get the new glass cut. Now my office is all discombobulated which is most annoying.

    When you are only home in short snatches of time you have to catch up on your doctors, car maintenance and personal grooming appointments. In between those you have mail (both electronic and the old fashioned kind) to read, bills to pay, and a to-do list of things that have to taken care of. Not to mention keeping up with the household maintenance.

    It's a full time job really. It's only after all that I can find some time to go through all the pictures and souvenirs that I collected on my travels as well as planning for the next trip. I really have been a very busy girl!!!

    I just got back from a short (for me) trip to Wisconsin. My nephew Zachary (my bother's son) graduated high school on Sunday (with high honors). He is enrolled in the engineering program at the University of Minnesota this fall.

    The party was on Saturday. Just like his older sister's party (she graduated in 2010) it was held in the basement of their church. My sister-in-law and her daughter did all the cooking and there was plenty of food. My mother and her sisters were there as well as was my only remaining uncle.

    My aunt on my Dad's side of the family could not attend because her son was getting married that day. The wedding was low key, held in the backyard of the family home. We stopped by after the graduation party. Everything was winding down so we sat in the shade of a tree with my aunt and her daughter and visited for almost two hours. It was a really nice visit.

   The graduation ceremony was on Sunday. There were 272 students in his class. One of the speeches focused on the number 272 and gave lots of interesting and oddball facts about that number (none of which I can remember just now). I got a video of Zach receiving his diploma.

   I spent the next two days visiting friends and hanging out at my sister's house playing games. My Wisconsin sister announced her retirement as of July 1. It will be nice visiting when she and I can go out and about together. I expect her to be down here much more often as well.
   My brother's next child does not graduate for four years.  I also have another brother in Wisconsin who has a daughter who will graduate in two years. The Louisville kids will be graduating in a few years, too. Lots more graduations to do.

California Trip May 2011

     My husband and I flew out to California to visit some of his family and to do some sightseeing. We had to wait until after the Kentucky Derby was over (we made the mistake of being away last year for the Derby and really missed it; its so much fun being in Louisville at Derby time). 

California Trip - Palm Springs

   

    We decided to start our trip in Palm Springs because my husband had been there previously and wanted to take me there. We were interested in the mid-century modern architecture of the place. Palm Springs is in a valley surrounded by the San Jacinto Mountains (some up to 10,000 feet tall). The mountains protect the valley from rain and cold winds so it stays warm year round (and very hot and dry in the summer months). The weather and proximity to Los Angeles make it a popular get away for the rich and famous. Architects were drawn to the place because of the the ability to design homes with sweeping views and indoor/outdoor spaces for people who could afford to build them.

    Since we were interested in the mid-modern style I had to find a hotel that highlighted the architecture. We chose the Horizon hotel (http://www.thehorizonhotel.com/) and absolutely loved it! All the rooms are in bungalows that circle a central park with a salt water swimming pool. You can lay in the pool and look up at the tall palm trees with the mountains in the background. It was lovely, private and very relaxing.

    Our first day in Palm Springs we drove just north of town to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. You ride over 6000 feet up the mountain in a revolving car - that's right, the floor of the tram car revolves 360 degrees several times as you make the ascent. This tramway is one of only three in the world that revolves and it is the biggest of the three. You rise from the hot desert to the cool pine-treed forest at the top of the mountain. There is a mid-century modern lodge at the top including a restaurant and overlooks of the valley and the mountains. Several hiking trails start at the lodge.

    The next day we took the Palm Springs Modern Tour with Robert Imber. He talked about how the architecture evolved and showed us examples of the notable architects who worked in Palm Springs. He drove us by many of the star's homes including those built for Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore and Bob Hope. We also saw Elvis' home which is instantly recognizable (photo on right - he opted for the traditional Spanish architecture).  The tour was very interesting and informative. He gave us a much better appreciation of the mid-century modern design elements. Not all the buildings are big and grand; even gift shops, banks and gas stations were designed in the style. Later we drove back to several of the homes to take more pictures.  

 More Mid-Century Modern homes:


























    xxxx

This is where we ate dinner one night



California Trip - Los Angeles



TBD

California Trip - Santa Barbara

TBD

    I thought I was way behind on my posts before, this is really bad. So sorry. Between me going (mostly to Wisconsin) and having company here I have not had much time to work on the pictures from the New Orleans cruise (there were only a couple of thousand!). I have been through a lot of them though. As you can see I did put the placeholder posts into the blog. I just have to fill them in. Unfortunately I will be heading out later this week so we'll see how much I can get done before I leave again. I am supposed to be more home than away this summer but I will make every attempt to catch up.
    Otherwise things are going well here. I have been trying to lose some weight (mostly unsuccessfully). The terrible weather has bypassed Louisville for the most part. My heart goes out to those who have lost so much. Please keep an eye on the weather and take cover if tornadoes are in your area. The risk you will get hit may be very low but it is your life you are risking.
    We have started doing some of the small house projects that have been nagging to get done. We have some big ones to do, too. I hope we can get at least one big project done this summer.
    We just got back from a two-week trip to southern California so I have more pictures to sort through and blogs to write. Looks like I will be a busy girl.

New Orleans Cruise With My Family



Discussing the cruise at Hannah's party

    This trip started with my niece's graduation last year. At her party we were discussing our then upcoming cruise that we were taking her on as her present. My aunts (my Mother's two sisters, Arlene and Grace) chimed in that they wanted to go on a cruise with us. They said just tell them when and where and they would be there.
It was too late for that cruise but I kept it in my mind so when I had some time last fall I searched around and found several possible cruises. I started discussing them with my Mother, aunts and sisters and soon several of my cousins wanted to go as well. We finally settled upon a 7-day cruise on the Norwegian Spirit leaving from New Orleans at the end of February. As an added bonus that's Mardi Gras time!

Arriving at our New Orleans hotel via airport limo

     It took a little coordinating and a long distance conference call but we finally all had our bookings done (cruise, flights and shore excursions). Our group consisted of me and two of my sisters (all in one room), my Mother and her two sisters (all in one room) and six of my female cousins (two per room). Now all we had to do was wait.
   The last week in February came and we all made our way to New Orleans!

New Orleans Cruise - Seeing the City and Mardi Gras

    Our cruise did not leave until Sunday so most of us decided to travel to New Orleans on Friday in order to have a day to see the city. My sister Terre (who lives in Indiana) and I drove down together. It's an 11 hour drive so we left at 3am in order to get there in time for dinner. Most of the group flew out of Green Bay, Wisconsin but one came from Las Vegas. A couple of my cousins could not come until Saturday.

Outside the Palace Cafe

    We all met up at our hotel, a Hampton Inn just west of Canal Street which borders the French Quarter. (For the sake of the older generation we wanted to stay away from all the craziness.) After settling into our rooms we made our way out to find a place to eat. We ended up at the Palace Cafe on Canal St. for an enjoyable dinner in elegant surroundings. After dinner a few of us wanted to check out Bourbon street but a sewer backup had the street flooded and smelling strongly of raw sewage. Needless to say we turned back and caught up to the rest of the group heading back to the hotel. So much for a night of revelry!

Damaged homes in the Lower Ninth Ward

     The next morning some of us had booked a Grayline tour of New Orleans so we headed off to the waterfront to catch our tour by the dock of the Steamer Natchez. Our tour was by bus and included driving through some of the areas of the city hard hit by Katrina as well as several other neighborhoods including the Garden District. It was sobering to see the amount of devastation still present even five years after the storm. Especially in the area of the Lower Ninth Ward the recovery is taking an agonizingly long time. One of the neighborhoods we toured has ground so damp the houses have huge poles beneath them for support. Every 20 years or so the poles have to be replaced because they rot. The streets and sidewalks buckle frequently and are constantly being fixed. Imagine the expense for all that! You have to marvel at human resiliance in the face of unrelenting nature.
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St. Louis Cemetery

    One of our stops was St. Louis Cemetery. The graves in New Orleans are above ground. Our tour guide explained that the remains are placed in the upper level of a family crypt where they remain undisturbed for about a year. Due to the heat and humidity the body will have fully decomposed in that time. 

A family crypt

The crypt is then opened and the remains gathered into an urn or other container which is placed in the lower part of the crypt. That's why you see so many names on the graves. They even have crypts you can rent for that first year in case you don't have room in your own.

Mom after hitting the casino

     Our group disembarked the tour at Harrah's Casino in downtown for a rest break and something to drink. Now my Mother and her sisters are no strangers to casinos (in fact, my Aunt Grace works for one in Green Bay) and, of course, they had to check out the slots to see if they were any good. Okay I admit I had to try it out too. Nobody hit it big so we headed back up Canal street. We did some window shopping and hit a few souvenir stores before finding a place to eat some lunch. We knew that a Mardi Gras parade was scheduled to come down St. Charles Street to Canal so we chose a restaurant on St. Charles called the Pearl Oyster Bar. After eating lunch Mom chose to stay at the table where she could see the parade out the window. The rest of us including me, Terre, my sister Kathy and our Aunt Grace headed out to the street to stake out a place close to the rail. We were serious about getting some beads as they are tossed from the passing floats!

Photos from the Mardi Gras parade

   The last two of my cousins were due to be in before the parade but that day Chicago was experiencing heavy winds which was wreaking havoc on the flight schedules. They finally made it in about 8 hours late but in time to make our reservation at Emeril's Delmonico Steakhouse. What a lovely evening to cap off our whilrwind tour of New Orleans!