Busy Fall Weekend

fall colors

This past weekend was pretty busy - in fact every weekend in October is packed for us this year. Saturday was the Second Annual Fall Festival at Imagery. It was rescheduled from the previous weekend due to Hurricane Ian, so some of the vendors were unable to attend. But it was a beautiful day, and I think the sellers who were able to come had a good day. About half the tables were artists from our community, and there are some very talented people here. I always think that I'll have a booth with my photographs of Mountain Island Lake, but then I don't get around to making it happen.

Sunday was the Second Annual Imagery Rides show. Last year we entered both Jim's car and motorcycle. This year they added the category of electric bikes, so in addition to the car and motorcycle I brought my Trek Townie e-bike along. That required some juggling of vehicles on our part, but we made it happen.

me & my minion

On Saturday evening the Mount Holly Community Development Foundation had their black tie fundraiser. As an added bonus for attendees, the Lantern Parade Chair asked if anyone would be willing to bring a lantern and do a short walk through the event venue. I took one of our minions from last year and joined a dozen or so other lantern makers in the parade. It was fun, and the guests seemed to enjoy it. We were also able to then promote the upcoming Mount Holly Lantern Parade, which takes place on October 22nd. 

Our community is again participating, and we are fairly close to having all of our lanterns completed. It was so much fun last year, and I am looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with for this year's parade. The theme is "Written in the Stars", and that is just broad enough that it stumped a lot of people. We are up-cycling our minions from last year, and they will be in spaceships, riding rockets, looking like astronauts and chasing stars. We even added a girl minion this year! We may not win our category again due to the reuse of the lanterns, but it seemed like a good way to get another year out of all of our efforts from last year. 

Memorial Day 2022

Taps for the fallen

Yesterday was Memorial Day, and it always fascinates me how many Americans do not understand the significance of the day. Known as the unofficial start of summer, it is typically celebrated with barbecues and family gatherings. In some families it has been called Decoration Day, as that is when they went to decorate the graves of deceased relatives. 

In fact, it is a day set aside to honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States military. It is not to be confused with Veteran's Day, which honors all those who served in the military.

Our community held its second annual Memorial Day golf cart parade yesterday. As you can imagine, the golf carts are all decked out in patriotic themes. Last year the parade was led by a group of bicyclists, but since then Phases 2 and 3 of the community have been built out. It is very hilly, and this year's route was nearly 6 miles long. The Lifestyle Director decided to invite the e-bike riders to lead the parade this year. Seven of us signed up, and most of us put at least a little decoration on our bikes. I believe there were 14 golf carts who participated in the decoration contest, plus 4 more that were on loan from Carolina Carts, one of our community sponsors.

Before the parade, we gave thanks to those who have kept our country free through their bravery. As we rode through the community, with patriotic music sounding from the golf courts, neighbors waited on their front lawns to wave and cheer us on. I'm proud to be an American, and happy to call Imagery home.

Memorial Day 2022

Marching Along

March Madness

The first week of March was an eventful one. My husband had his second cataract removed on the 1st. Both of his surgeries went well, and he is able to see without glasses for the first time since he was a boy. The next day was his birthday, so after taking him for his follow up appointment with the eye doctor, we went to one of our favorite local restaurants for dinner. We saw another couple from our community there, so we joined them at their table and had great food and conversation.

Friday night we went out to eat with our next door neighbors as one of them was having a birthday on Saturday. We celebrated the two birthdays with a nice meal, followed by dessert at our house. I was told one of my neighbor's favorite desserts was Bumbleberry Pie. Needless to say, I was intrigued. What in the world is a bumbleberry? As it turn out, there is no such thing and it's just a fun name Canadians put on a mixed fruit pie. I decided to make one, and it is a lovely pie. Not too sweet, but not too tart either. I served it with vanilla ice cream, and we all enjoyed it.

Bumbleberry Pie

Saturday afternoon I played in my fist Queen City Pickleball League game. My husband and I are both on the team, though neither of us was scheduled to play yesterday. One of the women needed a sub, so I said I could come. Each team had 6 players, consisting of three men and three women. I played a game with each of the women on our team as well as one with each of the men, for a total of 5 games. It was outside, and the wind was definitely a factor. It was a lot of fun, and our team ended up winning 8 of the 15 games. Not too bad for our first time playing together. Jim and I both play next Saturday against a different team.

Today we were supposed to go kayaking with a group of people in our neighborhood. But the wind gusts are up to 25 mph, so I think we are going to pass despite the nice temperature. I think I will take my electric bike out for a ride instead. I've been trying to ride 6-7 miles each day, and I have been pretty successful in doing that. Ride on...

One Butt, Two Bikes

Now that sounds like a fine start to a country song - "One butt, two bikes, so much more to add to my wife's dislikes..." Anyway, my husband is down in Memphis picking up his new motorcycle. Yeah, you'd think in a city the size of St. Louis, especially in light of the economy, he could find one here. But, noooo, let's add a nice long drive to the mix. I'm sure he was thinking of the great ride he would have on the way back home.

He already has a Victory motorcycle which he bought new in 2005. I'll admit that motorcycles scare me, and I told him right away not to put a seat on the back because I'll never get on it. I was the one who encouraged him to get a hobby. Owning three businesses was really taking its toll on him. All work and no play made Jim a really stressed boy. But I was thinking along the lines of woodworking or fly fishing. He told me that he didn't want a hobby that created more projects to complete since he deals with that every day. So I bought him a really nice digital SLR, before they became so popular that everyone carries one in their pocket. He had fun with that for awhile, but he spent more time surfing than shooting. On the web, that is. And so began the search for a motorcycle. The path to the devil's door is paved with html, don't you know.

He has embraced this new hobby with both gloved hands, and it has made such a difference in his disposition! The back roads are truly his escape from the businesses. So while I worry about him each and every time he goes from four wheels to two, I know this is something that he needs to do to clear his head. Which brings me full circle to one head, one butt, what's up with two bikes? The Victory bike is great for day rides, so I'm told. It just is not designed for long road trips, like the one he is taking this spring with three of his biker buddies. They are trucking their bikes out to California, and then riding back via Route 66. All of a sudden this has become a very expensive vacation. But I have a feeling the worse is yet to come. Where is he going to park the new bike?