Another Clark/Walker/Anderson

It looks like we aren't going to be able to make it to Clarkmas this year. We will miss you all dearly and if plans change and we're able to make it we certainly will. With that being said, we won't be able to make our announcement in person, so I figured the Blark was as good a place as any. We found out we're expecting baby #2 in June. We're super excited! Clark of course doesn't really know what's going on, although we talk about the baby all the time. He loves babies and points them out every time we're in a store. He doesn't even have to see the actual baby, just the infant car seat is enough. He gets so excited and says, "baby, baby, mama, baby." Hopefully this is a good sign for when we bring home a baby of our own :)

Here's the only picture we have so far of our little one. It was taken three weeks ago at my first doctor's appointment. It kind of looks like a little cocoon, but in the last few weeks he/she now has arms, legs, and facial features. It was awesome to see there actually is a little baby and to hear he/her heartbeat so loud and clear.

At last I'm in!

I've been trying to figure out how to get onto the blog, and I've finally managed it. Life is difficult in this 21st century for a Luddite such as myself, but it's done and I can now chatter away at will.

Murry and I are heading off in a couple of weeks for south Alabama to spend Thanksgiving with the Bentleys. We always have a fine time, and I'm sure this will be no different. We'll be staying with Bud and Sharon in Pensacola, so there will be walking on the beach for us. Eat your hearts out the rest of you.

The kitchen remodel planning continues apace. In fact a contractor is supposed to come by this afternoon to discuss the project so he can give me a bid. Stay posted.

Bass Lofts

 See the gym floor - they put residences in the gym.  Apparently they have very tall ceilings.

Courtyard behind the bleachers.  They've created this cool little pedestrian street and people have their patio furniture out there.  It's very community oriented and cool.  I'm sure it's been the scene of countless high school transgressions over the years.

 "hey, who are you and why are you taking a picture of me outside my condo!"

 signage on the steps leading up the gym. 

"hey - you again; and how'd you get inside.  We will cross our arms and judge you.  Well, ok, you seem to be a good guy, take your pictures and stay with us.  We will go buy retro t-shirts and puma tennis shoes.  And wear our sunglasses when it's not very sunny outside." 
You can see the sloped ceiling under the bleachers above.  the ceilings at the tall end were about 18' and then more like 7' over at the short end.  Very cool place.

Hey folks - long time no post.  I took these pictures back in the spring/summer when I went to visit a friend in Atlanta who lives under the bleachers of the old Bass School, of which I believe several of you Blarkers are alumni.  Enjoy.

Clarkmas!

I know it is very early to begin talking about Clarkmas. However, the Clarks of Lilburn would like to volunteer to host Clarkmas this year.

We have been doing a great deal of home improvement and plan to have just about everything done just in time for the holidays. Larry has already said he would like to smoke turkeys for us.

We can discuss this more when we get closer to the time, but for now we will keep on with the improvements!

News from Chattanooga

Jenny is right - it's been slow in the Blarkosphere recently. I'll add the news from Chattanooga and perhaps some other cities will chime in too. What can I co here?

Our biggest news is that Tyler has officially left the country. We put him on the plane in Atlanta yesterday morning and I haven't heard from him since, so I'm only assuming he's safe and sound in scenic Osaka, Japan. He'll be there until next August - studying at Kwansei Gankuin University and becoming a very tall Japanese speaking guy. Our plan is to go over there next March when he has the longest break of the year - it will probably be about a 2-3 week trip. If all goes as planned, he'll graduate from UGA once he gets back. (He had a demi-graduation this past May - he finished the coursework for his majors in International Business and Economics, so he walked across the stage at the Terry Business School convocation. But really, he's finishing up his courses for his Japanese major whilst in Japan, so he won't really completely graduate from UGA until that's done.)

Neal is living here for a while, working at Adams Masonry, and has proven to be quite an asset to the company. He's now doing all the bookkeeping/office manager stuff and is doing a good job. And while football season is going on, he's got tickets to every UT home game, so he's in Knoxville on the weekends. And we never have to worry about Neal talking too much. Who would have thought that a child of mine would be the quiet type?

Nick and I are doing fine. Thanks to Weight Watchers, we're skinnier folks than we've been in years, and we're not doing too bad about keeping it off. We're not doing as much bike riding as we've done in past years - I've basically become the lazy slob in the family. I just don't seem to have any time for long bike rides.

I'm glad to hear about Michael's new job and that he loves it and they have a nice house to live in and Clark is growing into an ornery 2 year old. I'd say he's going to grow out of it, but he'll just grow into a temperamental 3 year old, then a feisty 4 year old then a ferocious 5 year old, and so on and so on... Fortunately, all children have their cute and sweet moments and mothers get to remember those more than the crazy screaming moments.

OK, I'm heading off to bed. Let's hear from the other branches of the Clark family.

Where is everyone?

Granted I've been MIA in the blogging world, but it's surprising that Mom's post on July 2nd is the most recent post. Here's a quick update from the Anderson clan. We're in Vicksburg, we've gotten settled and we're getting into a routine. Michael loves his new job, which is such a wonderful change. The students are great and Clark and I have been able to go to more activities and be more involved than I first thought we would. The youth love Clark and he, of course, loves being a part of everything.

We close on our house September 30th (assuming everything goes as planned). Because we had to move quickly and there was nothing to rent (literally NOTHING) we have a lease purchase contract where we're renting the house until we close. It's weird to already be living in the house even though we haven't technically bought it yet, but it's nice to be settled and not have to move twice.

Mom, Caroline and Alison came up last week for a girl's trip. They didn't stay long enough, but we had fun anyway. They got the grand tour of Vicksburg which has a cute downtown area and some historic homes, ate at Cock of the Walk in Jackson, went to Hobby Lobby, got the short tour of the Battlefield (since they'll get the long tour when Dad comes) and gots lots of baby time with Clark (which is the whole reason why they came). They also helped us paint after Clark went to bed and it looks great! THe color chance made a huge difference in the feel of the house. I'll post up some house pictures for anyone who didn't see them on Facebook.

Clark is stubborn and strong. I think he's hit his terrible two's early (or I'm hoping that what it is so that maybe it'll end early too). We've definitely hit a frustrating parenting stage because despite my best efforts to be consistent, reinforcing good behavior and discouraging bad, it seems to be having no effect on his behavior. Any pointers from those of you who have children for what to do with a strong-willed 18 month old would be appreciated. All the parenting advice I've read is conflicting so it hasn't been too helpful.

I hope everyone is well.

Here's the house. If you ever want to visit Vicksburg we have an extra bedroom.

A memorable season of life

These last two months are going to be quite memorable for the Walker family. In addition to the very great loss of David, Jef's mom's memorial service was the first of May, and then we had another dear friend who died last week. Caroline and I have had a trip to NYC (like Larry and Taylor!) But we also had a special week of Michael's graduation from Reformed Seminary and having his parents in town. I also had the fun of Brenda, my high school BFF bringing a friend and coming to spend the weekend with me.

Last week was Vacation Bible School (15 kindergarteners) and putting together the reception for my friend's funeral. That was a first for me, but I was quite excited about how well it went and ready to help with other receptions as needed. A good friend of mine pulled out all of her mom's pretty glass platters and we were able to make it look quite elegant.

We are leaving Sunday morning to go camping for a week with Joel's old Boy Scout troop at Oconee State Park in SC. This is actually luxury camping in our pop-up and we are just helping the 5 leaders with 9 boys (two of us wives are just coming along for the ride and relaxation). Joel is keeping the homefront and Caroline is leaving for high school camp at Covenant College on Thursday. Life is good.

Tour of the Subways!

This summer I have barely been at home. I told everyone I am touring some of the most impressive subway systems around. Last month I went to D.C. with my friends and just on Tuesday, My dad and I returned home from New York City!

I have never been to NYC for more than about an hour and I never got to look around like I wanted to. I must say, I thought I would love New York, that I would feel at home there. However, after spending a few days there, I had that feeling of, "Oh, alright, this is nice, we can go home now." Don't get me wrong, New York is a cool city, it has its own culture and I love that you can walk or take public transportation any where, as expected. I was just a little let down by my lack of excitement for the city. I will go back, and I want to spend more time there for sure, it just may not be my number one place to go.

I do want to say that the Fancy Food Show was REALLY impressive. Although after you try one vegan, dairy free, organically grown chocolate, you have tried them all.

My mom and I leave for England on Tuesday. We will begin our trip with a tour of London for five days, then go up to Leeds to stay near my friend who is getting married on the 25th of this month. We are both very excited and we will try and update everyone throughout the trip!

Where is everyone?

It's July 1, and there's been not a word from anyone since Jenny and Michael and went to Vicksburg. So what's up?

I'm in Chattanooga this week, and Cristy and I have spent the first part of the week painting her living room deep red. It looks spectacular, and we celebrated today by fiddling away the day in the assorted retail meccas around here.

Monday night we shared in Monday night dinner with Danna and Blythe and their friends Jenny and Clay. It was fabulous, and I've picked up an idea I think we should try at the next family gathering. Danna, what do you think about a Clark LT?

I know Larry and Taylor have returned from New York, but don't know what anyone else is up to. Do tell.

Job Interview

We're back from Vicksburg. Michael's interview went well, but we won't know anything for two weeks. I've posted more details on my blog lsuandersons.blogspot.com so I won't retype them here. I'll let you know when we find out if they're going to offer the job or not.

Tyler's Going to Japan

Tyler just got his official notification that he's accepted at Kwansei University in scenic Osaka, Japan for next year! Wahoo! They took their sweet time approving it, so there was a smidge of concern on my part, but it all worked out and life is a cabaret. I think the idea is that he'll be staying with a family there, taking classes all the time, and reigning as the Tallest Person in Japan. He'll leave in early September and not come home till next May. MY BABY! And then he'll come home and speak Japanese. This will just be too odd.

When are Jonathan and Alanna going to Japan and where will they be? How did all these Clark offspring end up in Japan? Is this some conspiracy?

We're going Viral!!!

Well there are Big changes coming soon to rncind.com! The first being this assembly video that took us weeks to get somewhere pretty close to right. Not perfect, but we think it will help!



I will be sure to update you on the other changes we will be seeing soon!

In other news, I will be traveling to Washington D.C. this week with my best friends! We are very excited to go because we have not seen Laura, who is attending law school in D.C., since January.

Keep you all posted!

Their hope in the Video world. YouTube later to come.

Tomorrow will have pic of the 2010 Kumquat Blooming.

It looks like the Kumquat blossom Festival will be Friday at 10:31 AM

The little rascals.

The yard is beating me. This is not news.

My friend Joe came over this morning to borrow a kayak, and then had some car trouble, so all said and done he was here for about an hour and a half.  I got him a few things and offered him tools and then figured it was a good time to do some gardening while he piddled with his car. 

I realized that I have an extensive rash on my arm, which I assume to be the beginnings of poison ivy.  I used to get poison ivy frequently and had to go to the doctor for a shot because it wouldn't go away naturally, but in the last couple of seasons I've gotten it and it's gone away on its own without too much discomfort.  So I've been telling people that I'm no longer as allergic as I used to be.  That's when the stuff gets you, apparently.

So I now have this rash which itches and covers almost the full extent of both of my forearms.  The only thing I can figure is that yesterday, right before I left my house I weeded my tomato plants.  I hadn't done this in weeks, so it was a lush groundcover of grass and weeds that I yanked away at in a flailing lackadasical manner.  (Picture Ernie and Bert going through the toy chest.)

S,o fast forward to today's rash. In the yard, I've got these little shoots all over the place, front, back, side, everywhere.  The leaves look like Oak leaves (not like Pin Oaks, but the more ovoid/oblong shaped leaves).  In some locations they're substantial.  So I've kinda thought that it was Poison Oak.  I know Poison Ivy, but I don't know Poison Oak.  (Someone told me once that Poision Oak was so named b/c it's leaves resemble Oak leaves.) 

So this morning as I was putzing around in the lawn and finding ever more of these little buggers (and thinking that my toy box of a tomato planter must've had some fledgling poison weeds in it), I decided to surf the net in the hopes of positively i.d'ing this plant. 

What I'm finding onine suggests that poison oak looks a lot like poison ivy, and the leaves that I'm finding online don't resemble the leaves of this specimen.  But it's hard to tell from a picture online.  So I'm wondering if they're actually oak shoots - but the oak tree is way in the back yard and the leaves aren't the same.  And if they were shoots from an acorn, these'd be some pretty prosperous acorns. I mean these things are everywhere.  And being oak shoots wouldn't explain this rash.  I'm almost positive that there was no poison ivy in the tomato bed, as I can see that stuff from a mile away.

And I thought who better to ask than my very smart family?  Can anyone identify this plant?  I will attach several photos in a subsequent post.

On another front, it's a beautiful morning, and I've already been for a walk and intend to walk into town for a baseball game later today.  As long as this rash don't act up.

Close Call on a Saturday Morning

It was touch and go around here for a good part of the morning. Thought I was going to have to say goodbye to my coffee maker which would have meant actually putting on clothes and going to purchase brewed coffee from somewhere.

Luckily, the good ole girl fired up after all and made a few cups for me, sparing me the need to leave the house.

Progress on the creativity front

I got a bit ahead of myself at the last quilt guild meeting and told them I would be teaching a workshop on something I didn't actually know how to do at the time. I had seen a video about this technique that had promise, but there were many technical challenges along the way. You'll be pleased to know that progress, though slow, is being made. So, for the record, these are things I now know how to do:
1. Print something directly on my printer onto freezer paper. (for you non-quilters out there, freezer paper is a wonderful thing which can be ironed right onto fabric and it sticks nicely until you peel it off).
2. I have found, ordered and used this cool little tool called a swivel finger cutter. It's like a tiny exacto knife that hooks over your index finger and you can cut curves and such just like you are pointing your finger.
3. I have indeed used said finger swivel cutter to cut stencils printed on said freezer paper, and will have time this weekend to use these stencils with my Shiva Paintstiks on fabric, and this will become a quilt and I will teach this concept to my quilt guild in a couple of weeks. I love it when a plan comes together!

On other fronts, Neal Adams is in the house and all his stuff came with him. The boy does not travel lightly. He's working with Nick, which is going well, so it's all good. Tyler has not yet heard from the Japanese university yet, which is making us a bit nervous. He should have heard already, yes or no, so we're just hanging out here. If he doesn't go to Japan, he has just one semester left at UGA then he'll be done. We'll have to see how that goes.

OK, time to get back to the quilting. I'll see if I'm smart enough to post photos when I get something done.

At last!

I saw a hummingbird at my feeder last night. This is the first time ever at a feeder and I'm hoping it means they'll be regulars, though I didn't see any out there today.

Checking in

I just read all the posts as I haven't been on in a while. I don't really have anything in particular to post, other than to just say hello. The past month and a half have been extremely busy (some planned, such as graduation, and others unplanned, such as a weekend trip to Atlanta for a funeral). The next month is just as crazy, but so far everything on the calendar is positive.

We had a grand weekend in Orlando for Michael's graduation. We celebrated Thursday night with a banquet, Friday with graduation and Saturday with an Open House reception. We even got to go resort hopping Saturday night which was one of our favorite things to do when we lived in Orlando. Michael's parents flew in from Denver, his grandmother came over from Tampa and his brother and nephews came up from Ft Myers. It was a wonderfully fun time of celebration and visiting with family and friends. I'll post a few pictures, although they're on facebook, so most of you have probably already seen them.

This past weekend we had friends in town for Memorial day and Michael preached at a little church he's preached at several times before. This coming weekend we're headed back to Orlando because I'm hosting a baby shower for a dear friend and then the following weekend we're supposed to be flying to Vicksburg, Mississippi for a job interview. Hopefully I'll have more to post on the job front in the near future.

I better go get some productive things done while the little guy is napping. Love to all!
Mom and Dad at the banquet Thursday night

The graduate and me at the banquet

The graduate with his parents right before graduation

Trying to get a family picture after graduation. As you can see, Clark was saying "No way, no how!"

I hope I am posting a couple more. Now that I have succeeded with that, thanks to help from Murry, let me explain that I have taken rather close-up shots to screen out all the piles of stuff waiting to be carried out, used, clean up, or planted. I believe I've given you the best of all possible views.

The long promised photos

Here they are. Comments to follow.

procrastination

I have about 40 things that need to be done before I go back to work on Tuesday morning, and it is raining right now. So it is really a perfect time for me to put a dent in these 40 things, but instead I have decided to do some blarking.

My neighbor friends and I have built a community garden. A little background: across the street from my house (photo attached) there are three houses in a row that have consistently been occupied by young couples.

The first young couple to move in was freakishly short - both under 5'2". Their families would come to visit and we found that, as you might expect, the apples didn't fall far from the trees, as the family members were equally short if not shorter than the couple who lived across the street. This couple became known to Jeff Cannon and myself as "The Shorts".

Two houses down from the shorts, another couple moved in. These two are incredibly tall - in fact they make the Adams boys seem average height. The husband is about 6'9" and the wife about 6'1". Naturally, they became known to us as "The Talls".

Lastly, a third couple moved into the house between the Shorts and the Talls. This young, attractive couple have no visible freakish characteristics. Therefore, they came to be known to Jeff Cannon and myself as "The Just Rights".

Today, the Shorts have move to the suburbs where, frankly, they belong. But the Talls and the Just Rights and myself have become friends.

It is a lovely little block and we do nice things for each other. If I go out of town and do not tell them before I leave, I can expect a scolding from either Mrs. Tall or Mrs. Just Right followed by "we were worried about you" when I get home.The Talls entertained some of Mr. Tall's work friends at their home last Saturday night. The next day, upon returning from my Sunday morning run with Mr. and Mrs. Just Right, I found that Mrs. Tall had created a small arrangement of flowers leftover from some she had bought for her prior night's party, and put it on my porch. The Just Rights, having recently discovered the joys and benefits of taking a fish oil supplement, presented me with my own bottle of fish oil capsules.

So, now we've decided to plant a community garden in an empty lot on my side of the block. The Mr's Tall and Just Right built some beds and we've all contributed to the veggies in the garden. We have tomato plants, an eggplant plant, squash, beans, herbs and I just bought some okra plants. We're stealing water from my next door neighbor who makes no other valuable contribution to the 'hood, so we feel justified.

It is too early to harvest anything, but I've included some photos of what promises to be a bountiful crop in a few weeks.

Today's goal

I want to take my camera out into my garden and take some pictures and my goal is to figure out how to post a couple of them here. Let's see how well I do, shall we? I talked to Jan yesterday and blabbed all about it to her.

I'm loving this action, though, in truth, I don't know how to do diddly squat. I haven't even figured out how to put a picture up. I'll take a look at Cristy's directions and see if that helps. In the meantime, I always assumed that Mom and Dad lived in Austin because that's where Bud and I were both born. Was it really San Antonio?

I'm going to be back down in Chattanooga from June 25 through the following weekend. Anyone up to try for another tubing trip while I'm there?

Wanna go?

Since I have finally figured out how to post on this thing, I have a suggestion for a future excursion. We too would be interested in any Clark or Johnson reunions, and we would also be up for a repeat of the tubing trip on the Chattahoochee in Helen, the Pensacola Beach trip, a cookout at Larry and Charlotta's or any other family get-together in addition to Christmas.

But Jef and I have talked for several years of taking a trip to San Antonio for a long weekend to visit the places where Mother and Daddy spend the first couple years of their marriage. We have never been to San Antonio and it's an easy, cheap flight to there for us. We understand it is a neat city all by itself and it is close to Austin and to Hondo, where Daddy was stationed. I don't know exactly where they were married, but there is supposed to be a museum at Hondo and we recently learned that it was the largest air base in the U.S. during the war, so it has a lot of history. Anyone want to join us?

We are probably going sometime in the next year, maybe as soon as the fall, as Texas can be hot. It would be neat to do it around their anniversary in April, but we will definitely go by the time of what would be their 70th anniversary in 2013. What do you think?

What about the Reunion.
Jane you said there was a Clark Reunion I know there is a Johnson any date and time .

Larry

A few pointers

OK, so now we're up and running on this Blark, and we'll just see what happens. Since I've been putzing around on this blog for a bit and just figured out some of the most basic things, I thought I'd share what I know. Now, if ya'll all know this stuff already, just smile politely and ignore me.

To write a totally new post, look up on the right hand corner of your screen, and right there by your email address is "New Post." Click on that and you come to this page that you can probably figure out from there. You can add photos (like this classic Julia and Ralph All Lovey-Dovey photo, video, spell check (useful for Larry) and all the usual stuff.

To comment on something someone else has posted, you can click on "Comment" right below their post and type away. That doesn't show up quite as handily on the Blark homepage, but it lists how many comments are there if you want to check them out.

You can also go to the Dashboard thing (up in the right hand corner sometimes - I'm not really sure what pages have what things showing up), and see all kinds of stuff: Your profile (post a photo of yourself, preferably one with you wearing a bikini when you are about 3 years old), you can sign up to follow the Blark and any other blogs you find, you can even figure out how to post something from your cell phone. Blythe, can total outsiders see our Blark? I don't know the answer to that one.

OK, that pretty much taps out all my blogging knowledge. Let's see some posts!

Home at last!

Hey everyone,

Murry and I just arrived home about an hour ago. There are a couple of things I'd like to say.

1. Blythe, you're the best there is. Thanks for setting this all up for us.

2. I've just been sitting in the dark in the garden with Murry talking about Dave. I dont' ever remember him - even as a little guy - being angry or unpleasant. For that matter, the same is true of Bud. Not so much of me.

3. I think I have the greatest family in the entire world.

The Blarkoduction

Blark away.  More later.