Continuing with our activities from a week or so ago, here we are enjoying(?) a UT game on TV at our house with friends and neighbors. UT lost to a major competitor, so the jollity didn't last.

I realized that in the other photo you couldn't really tell it was me ... so here I am. Did I mention that tubing isn't really a sophisticated sport?

This is the rest of the group as we brought the boat back into Bill and Donna's boathouse. It was a wonderful, sunny, hot summer day with good friends.

Maybe being dragged around behind a speeding boat isn't exactly sophisticated way to spend time, but it certainly is good for a lot of laughs!

Believe it or not, but this is the second time this summer that I have subjected myself to this treatment. This time I was behind Bill's boat; the other time I was being towed by nephew David. At least Bill didn't tip me over on purpose ... of course, David swears he didn't do it on purpose either.

Karen S. and I had a hot competition going on Bill's pinball machine. I was winning at the end of the evening, but not by very much. Had it been up to the two of us, we would have continued to play all night. Our hosts and John vetoed that plan, tho.

Here are the pictures from the last week or so. Finally have had a chance to sit down by myself and get a little bit organized.

We played croquet for the first time in about 30 years with our friends Bill and Donna and Karen. The court was set up in Bill and Donna's back yard. The grass was thick and gnarly ... we had the first-time-ever experience of having the struck ball completely jump over both the opponent's ball AND the wicket!

Well, here we are down in Florida. Hmm, it seems wrong somehow to leave sunny, hot, summertime in Tennessee to come down to sunnier, hotter, summerier Florida. doesn't it? But that's OK. We hope to get in some beach time (sitting under an umbrella and reading while enjoying the beach sights, sounds and smells, not sunning.) Most of the time in Jan and Feb it is too chilly to do much of that. My plan is mostly to work on sorting, labeling and storing photos, and working on a couple of family calendars for 2006 and a power point presentation of the Smith Kith and Kin reunion. I've gotten a start, but we have already taken time out for dinner with Jim and Ann (brother-and-sister-in-law) twice and tomorrow friends from TN will come see our place, then we will go airboat riding in the 'Glades. So no photo work tomorrow. Life is grand!

Yes, I'm still here. I haven't been posting because I want to stick a few pictures in to show my activities recently. No time yet to download the pix from the camera (because I'm too busy DOING stuff!) (for a change). I will be away from the computer for a day or two, but will be back soon. Love to all my fans!

Well, the biggest news in my world was the phone call last night from Karin, telling me that we are now "Great-great-grandparents!" It was good to find out that the occasion for the call was the fact that my grandson's cat had kittens. Sunil's comment to me was: "When is your birthday? Next month? OK, we'll bring you a kitten for your birthday next month." Hmm, I had to tell him I would talk to his mommy. (I hated to just say NO, but that is definitely the answer.)

The close positioning of Jupiter and Venus in the evening sky last week was spectacular. I'm sorry I missed the opportunity to see them with the crescent moon nearby a couple of nights later. I'm putting this photo in here anyway even if it isn't exactly stellar. (Get the pun?!)

I spent the day Saturday on one of my favorite activities ... a "woman build" Habitat for Humanity house. Lots of sweat and lots of hammering the wood all around the nail heads, but very satisfying. I would far rather do "hands-on" stuff than just sending in a check. Especially when it's outdoors on a gorgeous blue sky day.

OK, you get three guesses. What are the University of Tennessee colors?

We went to Univ. of Michigan games for over 20 years, but the fans dressed in the "maize and blue" never had the visual impact of the UT fans in their Big Orange. Wow. The entire stadium looked just like this! ( except for one tiny section with the opposing team's fans in it. And they were sort of a washed out greenish-gray.) We think the UM colors were muted by several factors: some wore blue, some wore yellow, and some wore white with blue or yellow on it somewhere. Much less impact. Not to mention that for most of the season in Michigan the fans were wearing heavy jackets or coats over whatever it was they were wearing!

We took our own picture for the heck of it. Can you see the playing field in John's glasses?

We attended a UT football home game on Saturday. We have friends who have season tickets. They were great seats. We could see the action on the field ... and also on the TV screen in front of us. Well, yes, there was a certain amount of glare on the screen, but all in all it was great.

This Praying (Preying?) Mantis was just hanging out on our deck yesterday. I swear he turned his head to look over his shoulder when he heard a car drive down the street far below us.

This is the view from our dining room window now that construction has begun next door. Somehow, we liked it better when we could see trees and the field full of wild flowers!

This is a pic from last summer. We were hiking on Alum Bluff Cave Trail with friends. The mist turned to fog, which soon turned to rain. This happens a lot when we hike up into the clouds in the Smokies. Love the experience.

This particular parade participant was actually in Shizuoka, in the prefecture where Tracy lives now. I like the expression on the boy's face.

Seeing Tracy's wonderful photos of the festival in Susono reminded me of some of the festivals we enjoyed when we lived in Hiroshima.

Sadly, I don't remember the name of this particular occasion, but it was mainly equestrian, and this woman was sitting on horseback. She was on the island of Miyajima.

OK, I've decided to get my own space for my thoughts, photos, and other miscellaneous "stuff."Enjoy!