#252 Deep water

Swimming.

It’s one of those skills most folks take for granted. But my membership in that exclusive club of adults who don’t know how to swim was recently revoked.

That’s me poolside with my most patient instructor, Dani. We’re smiling because she’s kept intact her lifetime string of classes without a drowning.

No, the university swim team won’t soon be calling me. And other than the faint smell of chlorine under my fingernails, I didn’t come away with any tangible proof of my aquatic accomplishments.

But “learn to swim” now has a check mark on my to-do list. Now when I fall out of the boat, I’m more likely to live to blog the story.

For the first time in my life I can say, I’m a swimmer!

Yours in the deep end,
Kelly

#251 UVa beats Navy

What? You didn't hear about this on your local sports news?

Then, perhaps you should check out this blog for more up-to-date sports happenings. Because the UVa women's rugby team upset the U.S. Naval Academy, the #1 women's rugby team in the country, on a glorious Sunday afternoon in Charlottesville.

The scrum

The win

The fans

Yours in rugbyland,
Mary

#250 Fall is here

Despite a dry, dry year, we're having a little color here in Virginia. Just outside our window, we're enjoying the redness.

And out on our back deck, we're lucky enough to have a small patch of woods trying hard to give us a good show for our first Virginia fall.

There's something wrong with these trees in our side yard, though. I'm not sure they know it's fall. ;-)

Is it fall where you are?

Yours in enjoying all the colors - even the green,
Mary

#249 Indy Weekend Top 10

Congratulations to Julie and David!

To attend Julie and David's wedding celebration and to visit with as many friends as possible in one weekend - those were our lofty weekend goals. In order to mimic our Lockerbie years, we stayed in some ultra-comfy accommodations at the Nestle Inn B&B, steps away from everything.

And now we present, in the tradition of that beloved native Hoosier David Letterman... Our Indy Weekend Top 10!

10. walking the friendly and familiar streets of historic Lockerbie Square and Massachusetts Avenue

9. the Roman Art from the Louvre exhibit at the IMA.
Besides the 200 mosaics, sculptures, and marble statues loaned from the Louvre, the exhibit included a digital model of ancient Rome called Rome Reborn 1.0, developed by the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at UVa. Very cool!

8. our favorite foods at Scholar's Inn, Bazbeaux Pizza, and Cafe Patachou (No photos were taken to protect the hungry.)
7. Testing the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, still under construction.

6. an irreverent night at the Phoenix Theatre with the Bloomquai and the Altar Boyz. (No photos were taken because it's prohibited by copyright law.)
5. gliding on Segways on the downtown canal

4. catching up with the guardians of Indiana's environment. (No photos were taken to protect those with large monitors.)
3. running into friends EVERYWHERE we went - at the IMA, on Mass Ave, at the Scholar's Inn, at O'Malia's market, at Bazbeaux Pizza.

2. a sunny fall afternoon in the Rathskeller's biergarten

1. and a wonderfully happy couple starting their life together!

Next time, we want to do it all again PLUS see the updated O'Malia's, see the completed renovation of the downtown public library, walk the cultural trail for real, and top it off with frozen custard at the Ritter's in Buggs Temple. Please join us again then!

Yours in sending our happiest marital wishes to Julie and David and our thanks to them for providing the reason for the weekend,
Mary

#248 Alexander McCall Smith

I'm a fan of the Scottish author Alexander McCall Smith. He writes the best love stories.

Sure, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a pretty good love story. After all, Oprah picked it. As for me, I prefer the love story between Mma Precious Ramotswe and her husband Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series, set in Botswana.

And what about the Isabel Dalhousie novels starting with the Sunday Philosophy Club? There are some love stories in those 4 books too. Isabel, the lead character, is a philosopher who studies the ethical implications of every situation she finds herself in. The series is set in Edinburgh, Scotland - 3500 miles away from Charlottesville - and yet, every now and then Charlottesville appears in a story.

In The Right Attitude to Rain, Isabel is asked if she enjoys living in Edinburgh and she responds “I do like it. But I’d be happy living in other places, I suspect. New York. Charlottesville, Virginia. To name just two. I’m sure I’d be happy there.”

And in The Careful Use of Compliments, Isabel thinks “Jim Childress in Charlottesville would be a great catch” for her journal’s editorial board. Jim Childress is a professor of ethics at UVa.

So, despite Oprah's recommendation, if you’re looking for a good love story - whether or not you’re in Charlottesville – stop by your local library and pick up some Alexander McCall Smith.

Yours in appreciating AMS,
Mary

#247 Astonishing Worlds

By the year 2007, things were supposed to be different.

Admit it. You've watched The Jetsons and wondered why not.  So now two ideas for how to make things different in a Jetsons kind of way:

Idea 1. Live in a modern home built from a modern home kit.

Idea 2. Support companies and products that don't yet exist, but will someday.

Yours in enjoying the future now,
Kelly

#246 Burma Support

Mingalar bar! That’s how Kyi Kyi (our Burmese tour guide in the middle of the front row) taught us to say hello in Burma. Literally, it means “auspiciousness to you.”

A year ago, we were in Burma. Since then, the people of Burma have risen up in protest against the brutal military junta running their country.

If you want to help their cause, wear red this Saturday - a global day of action - to show your support with the saffron revolution. And visit the US Campaign for Burma.

Auspiciousness to you, Kyi Kyi, and to you, Burma!

Yours in red,
Kelly and Mary