Back and Forth to Tennessee

It's been a week of travels to and from Winchester for us. I returned back for my last (hallelujah!) school board meeting last week and then drove back down with my parents. This week took Paul back to Winchester for design meetings in Tullahoma, so we've worn out the road thru Mississippi! It was great to visit friends back home and then we had a blast showing the grandparents around Mandeville. They can now visualize where the kids go to school, where they play soccer and the neighborhood that we are calling home for awhile. They even had an afternoon trip to eat oysters in New Orleans (southshore) in between eating shrimp, gumbo, beignets, and red beans and rice on the northshore. They loved the grocery and seafood stands where we now shop, and they met neighbors that I've yet to meet. They saw alligators in the marsh near the Tchefuncte Lighthouse (little ones) and heard the endless song of frogs and critters in the evenings. The kids were SO excited to share their new discoveries with them and we sent them home 5 pounds heavier but smiling. We're ready for the next guests!

August in Lousiana is extremely hot (duh!) and I walked into my hair salon on Thursday requesting a 'butch cut'. I was all done with the relentless humidity which has driven me to use hairspray again. I haven't used hairspray since my wedding day! As a bonus, I have ankles covered in fire ant bites from yardwork (really attractive!) and I now have an 'itch eraser' in my purse which really doesn't work but I feel better having it. My hairdresser (Kim) calmed me down, assured me that by October I would miss my hair, and so I didn't get it shaved after all. I think she gets a kick out of all of us and our reactions to the local flavor. As with any good hairdresser, Kim can fill me in on the 'who's who and what's what' in town, and Paul will be forever grateful that I still have 'longish' hair.

Seems that fire ants aren't the only source for misery these days. New school board members who are not even sworn in are building empires and swarming for trouble. If you're a blog reader in Franklin County who cares about education, please take a stand before the anthill takes victims. Enough said about that.

Zeke and Jacob are both doing alot of practice on their conversational French these days and they're teaching Ellie Grace a bit as well. This will come in handy trying to navigate, order food, and pronounce friends' surnames in this town. They are both really enjoying having a foreign language in school. So far, they are ace-ing all that comes their way. Thank you to all the teachers back home who prepared them so well.

I taught 5 classes at the gym this week and I'm finding new ways each time to build relationships and meet interesting folks. I've discovered that if I tell people that I'm from a town near Lynchburg, home of Jack Daniels, I always get a smile. Seems many folks here have a Memphis connection. Odd. We don't hear much about Memphis in Winchester, do we? Maybe it's the Mississippi River or maybe it's the music, but it seems that so many have family living in Memphis. I'm on the lookout for Elvis down here. I'm thinking he might've escaped to the Quarter and he's disguised as a drag queen, whatdayathink?

Doin' It With Passion...and Style

The first day of school met all of us with new challenges from figuring out the bus schedule to making new friends to finding our way around unfamiliar hallways. These schools aren't as nice as our old schools, but after all they've been thru a hurricane and have experienced a huge influx of students. We have been spoiled! The cafeteria food isn't as good either, but hey, we're eating plenty well other places! Seeing just one familiar face in Ellie's class of a new friend we had met at a swimming pool made me so happy that I cried. It was tough on all of us facing unknown territory but it seems that the kids are probably doing better than mom. Jacob's 5-Finger Shoes got him busted by the dress code police. They technically met the code, but they are a bit different and I don't think the vice-principal understood the spirit of the shoes. So much for Jake's fashion statement. I didn't argue the point as I have finally learned to pick my battles. I just took him tennis shoes and was thankful that there was no school board connection and no local radio to sensationalize the silly story. Wonder what else we can get away with down here where nobody knows us?

Ellie Grace is continuing to kick the heck out of a soccer ball and has just been selected for a 'Developmental' Team which apparently is a real honor. Boys tryouts are this week. Kids are preparing for an Optimist sailboat race on Saturday in Gulfport and our sailing efforts on the Beneteau last Sunday resulted in a no-wind, dropped anchor, swim in the brackish water surrounded by mullet and an occasional sighting of a manatee but no gators.

We have enjoyed watching the Olympics this week and thinking about our own goals. Kids are loving life and are really making a splash here in Mandeville. Ryan, owner of runner's store near lakeshore, hosted a run on Saturday morning with an Olympic theme. Lots of costumes, including one couple in red dresses (both male and female) who were also doing the Red Dress Run in the French Quarter later. Kids took home medals, stood on podiums, and for just a moment maybe felt like they were in Beijing. Zeke hung out with his new cross country team friends and avoided his parents like any red-blooded teenager would do. However, the style, fun, food and colorful nature of the surroundings was typical 'all out' awesome. Whatever it is, the folks here make the most of it. They do a great job of drawing the line between work and play, and they do each one with equal gusto. Franco's, my new fitness venue, requires all of us who work there to memorize and demonstrate their credo at all times while in the club. The credo: 'Change lives, Build relationships, Love what you do, Show you care, Have Fun, Excel in Everthing, Do it all with Passion.' I like it! Fits me just fine! So, to my Uncle Newt who chided me once for being a 'Pollyanna' living in 'Utopia', I guess I now must agree that I am just that. Utopia is what you make of your world wherever you are.

Alligators and White Linen

Last week was off to a bizarre start around here with the story of a nearby 11 ft. alligator named 'Big Joe' and his attack of a 11 yr. old boy who tried to share his swimmin' hole. The boy has miraculously survived but his arm, recovered from the belly of Big Joe, was unable to be re-attached. The story was wild and provided a reminder that's why it's called 'wildlife' and we should be respectfully aware of our surroundings. Seems that nature keeps everyone a bit on their toes down here. As August is the anniversary month of Katrina, it seems that the weather is never far from anyone's thoughts. Somehow you just feel that the whole community is watching and waiting for the next storm as if it's the 'boogeyman in the closet'. Storms move thru fast and furious here, and as sailors again yesterday we were watching the skies closely. Kids sailed their boats before the afternoon storm and then we all sailed the big boat until sunset after the storm moved thru. Zeke's sailing skills and his 'Macgyver' innovativeness are translating well to sailing the Beneteau. Paul actually claimed yesterday that he wasn't sure he could sail this boat on this lake without Zeke. No, I don't think he would say the same about me.

Saturday night's entertainment came from a trip to New Orleans for 'White Linen Night'. This event showcases art galleries and gives everyone a chance to dress up in white linen and endure the heat. With fans in hand, we enjoyed the people watching as much as the art. No, Dorothy, we're not in Kansas anymore, nor are we in Winchester. The people watching stretches from the beautiful to the bizarre and everything in-between. I think I had too much fun. Yep. No doubt, I did.

Kids are are registered in school. 3 different busses come thru the neighborhood to take them to 3 different schools. Zeke has 7 classes (no block schedule here) and 4 of them are Honors courses, so he'll have his work cut out for him. School lunch prices are under $1 here, but I don't see how they do it. We'll see if the food is as good as it was in Franklin County schools. Red beans and rice every Monday and Gumbo most every Wednesday. Here at home, we have crawfish stuffed chicken to throw in the oven for dinner tonight. Will be a nice way to pig out after I appear on-stage teaching Combat down here for the first time. Teaming with other instructors, we expect 70+ participants to kick and punch with. Should be lots of fun!