thank you, geraldine for making these two hats for our nieces! they love `em!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Christmas & New Years
Ah! wait a dang-gone minute ya'll! does my calendar really say january 18th? whoa!
not too sure where the first eighteen days of 2010 have gone, but it has been a great start start to a new year already.
sunset over the okatee river
nw & i spent seven beautiful days down in south carolina with my family eating, drinking, and being extremely merry over the holidays! christmas day was extra special because all of us (in my huge family) were together except one -- cousin baker is serving our country in afghanistan and was greatly missed! but pop was there despite his very tough year, and uncle michael was there after battling cancer all year! and my wonderful, beautiful grandmother hon was there lighting up the room.
all my fabulous and fun cousins were there (again, except one) and it floors me that we are all growing up so fast. my nieces anna and carrie were there representing the next generation quite well.
anna & carrie
i remember just sitting back on christmas evening taking it all in and watching all of us together.
after leaving south carolina, we drove up to jackson, wyoming for a very quick trip to the tetons. we stayed up on saddle butte with a friend, john.
the old cabin on saddle butte
it was so great to be back in our stomping grounds, but it was kind of strange too. friends had moved on, the skiing @ the village wasn't good enough to warrant paying "an arm and a leg" to ski there. nw did get a day up on the pass with john while i took two nice walks on the dyke and up cache creek, but when friday came i was more than happy to leave wyoming behind for colorful colorado. it was a good thing we left on friday too, because saturday turned out to be a powder day at breckenridge. jolly!
happy 2010 everybody!
not too sure where the first eighteen days of 2010 have gone, but it has been a great start start to a new year already.
nw & i spent seven beautiful days down in south carolina with my family eating, drinking, and being extremely merry over the holidays! christmas day was extra special because all of us (in my huge family) were together except one -- cousin baker is serving our country in afghanistan and was greatly missed! but pop was there despite his very tough year, and uncle michael was there after battling cancer all year! and my wonderful, beautiful grandmother hon was there lighting up the room.
hon & pop
i remember just sitting back on christmas evening taking it all in and watching all of us together.
christmas dinner @ the reeves'
after leaving south carolina, we drove up to jackson, wyoming for a very quick trip to the tetons. we stayed up on saddle butte with a friend, john.
it was so great to be back in our stomping grounds, but it was kind of strange too. friends had moved on, the skiing @ the village wasn't good enough to warrant paying "an arm and a leg" to ski there. nw did get a day up on the pass with john while i took two nice walks on the dyke and up cache creek, but when friday came i was more than happy to leave wyoming behind for colorful colorado. it was a good thing we left on friday too, because saturday turned out to be a powder day at breckenridge. jolly!
happy 2010 everybody!
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Dr. John McCardell ~ The 16th Vice Chancellor of Sewanee
The University of the South annouces Dr. John McCardell as the 16th Vice Chancellor!
Here is information pulled from the Sewanee website detailing McCardell's life as a scholar.
McCardell, 60, a professor of history at Middlebury College, served as Middlebury’s president from 1992 until he stepped down in 2004. A Maryland native and 1971 graduate of Washington and Lee University, he pursued graduate study at The Johns Hopkins University and then at Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in history in 1976. He joined the History Department faculty of Middlebury the same year. In addition to teaching, McCardell served the college as dean for academic development and planning, dean of the faculty, provost, and vice president for academic affairs before being named president.
As Middlebury’s president, McCardell directed a comprehensive strategic planning effort and led a successful capital campaign, which exceeded its $200 million goal by almost $12 million. He presided over growth in both enrollment and faculty at the college, identified areas of excellence, and developed a plan for committing new resources to those strengths.
“I look forward to working with the entire Sewanee community to advance what I consider one of the true gems of American higher education,” said McCardell. “The prospect of serving a unique institution whose history and traditions are so inextricably tied to the American South and to the Episcopal Church, and where the academic attainment of its faculty, students, and alumni is so distinguished, was one to which I felt particularly drawn. I can’t think of a better fit, nor a better time to seize this moment of great institutional opportunity.”
A prolific writer specializing in 19th-century U.S. history, McCardell is the author of The Idea of a Southern Nation, developed from his Ph.D. dissertation, as well as many essays, chapters, articles, and book reviews.
McCardell served as chairman of the Division III Presidents’ Council of the NCAA in 2003-04 and led a successful, comprehensive reform effort. Three years ago McCardell founded Choose Responsibility, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage the public in informed and dispassionate debate about the effects of legislation mandating a legal drinking age of 21. In 2008 he co-sponsored the Amethyst Initiative, a statement signed by 135 college and university presidents that challenges the effectiveness of current drinking-age laws.
McCardell will remain as president of Choose Responsibility through June 30, and will be succeeded by Barrett Seaman, author of Binge: Campus Life in an Age of Disconnection and Excess and a founding board member of Choose Responsibility. Though he will be stepping down as president of Choose Responsibility, McCardell will remain active in the issue, he said, continuing to serve on the organization’s board and maintaining a leadership role in expanding the Amethyst Initiative in higher education.
McCardell is active in civic and community affairs and serves on numerous civic, professional, and corporate boards, including the National Bank of Middlebury, the American Civil War Center, Vermont Public Radio, and as co-chair of the Addison County United Way campaign. A lifelong Episcopalian, he has served on the vestry and as senior warden of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Middlebury.
He is married to Bonnie Greenwald McCardell, an advocate for quality childcare and education as well as eldercare and retirement communities. They have two grown sons, John and James.
“I extend my thanks and appreciation to the search committee and its chair, Joel A. Smith III, C’67, for their diligent service in bringing this search to a successful conclusion,” Bishop Alexander said.
Here is Dr. McCardell's address to trustees:
John McCardell Address to Trustees from University of the South on Vimeo.
Here is information pulled from the Sewanee website detailing McCardell's life as a scholar.
McCardell, 60, a professor of history at Middlebury College, served as Middlebury’s president from 1992 until he stepped down in 2004. A Maryland native and 1971 graduate of Washington and Lee University, he pursued graduate study at The Johns Hopkins University and then at Harvard University, where he received his Ph.D. in history in 1976. He joined the History Department faculty of Middlebury the same year. In addition to teaching, McCardell served the college as dean for academic development and planning, dean of the faculty, provost, and vice president for academic affairs before being named president.
As Middlebury’s president, McCardell directed a comprehensive strategic planning effort and led a successful capital campaign, which exceeded its $200 million goal by almost $12 million. He presided over growth in both enrollment and faculty at the college, identified areas of excellence, and developed a plan for committing new resources to those strengths.
“I look forward to working with the entire Sewanee community to advance what I consider one of the true gems of American higher education,” said McCardell. “The prospect of serving a unique institution whose history and traditions are so inextricably tied to the American South and to the Episcopal Church, and where the academic attainment of its faculty, students, and alumni is so distinguished, was one to which I felt particularly drawn. I can’t think of a better fit, nor a better time to seize this moment of great institutional opportunity.”
A prolific writer specializing in 19th-century U.S. history, McCardell is the author of The Idea of a Southern Nation, developed from his Ph.D. dissertation, as well as many essays, chapters, articles, and book reviews.
McCardell served as chairman of the Division III Presidents’ Council of the NCAA in 2003-04 and led a successful, comprehensive reform effort. Three years ago McCardell founded Choose Responsibility, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to engage the public in informed and dispassionate debate about the effects of legislation mandating a legal drinking age of 21. In 2008 he co-sponsored the Amethyst Initiative, a statement signed by 135 college and university presidents that challenges the effectiveness of current drinking-age laws.
McCardell will remain as president of Choose Responsibility through June 30, and will be succeeded by Barrett Seaman, author of Binge: Campus Life in an Age of Disconnection and Excess and a founding board member of Choose Responsibility. Though he will be stepping down as president of Choose Responsibility, McCardell will remain active in the issue, he said, continuing to serve on the organization’s board and maintaining a leadership role in expanding the Amethyst Initiative in higher education.
McCardell is active in civic and community affairs and serves on numerous civic, professional, and corporate boards, including the National Bank of Middlebury, the American Civil War Center, Vermont Public Radio, and as co-chair of the Addison County United Way campaign. A lifelong Episcopalian, he has served on the vestry and as senior warden of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Middlebury.
He is married to Bonnie Greenwald McCardell, an advocate for quality childcare and education as well as eldercare and retirement communities. They have two grown sons, John and James.
“I extend my thanks and appreciation to the search committee and its chair, Joel A. Smith III, C’67, for their diligent service in bringing this search to a successful conclusion,” Bishop Alexander said.
Here is Dr. McCardell's address to trustees:
John McCardell Address to Trustees from University of the South on Vimeo.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
`o christmas tree
we have a tree!
and porter helped decorate.... well, he put up with us decorating around him....
merry, merry...
and now we have two sleepy, happy puppers.... lets just hope they don't "pee" on the tree! ;-)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
thanksgiving weekend
.... i guess it's back to the real world.
one of my favorite holidays has come and gone and i'm `bout 5 lbs heavier. we drove up to silverthorne, co on wednesday and celebrated thanksgiving with our "colorado family" of friends. if i can't be with my family or nw's, then there is no place i'd rather be than with my "best good buddies."
throughout the weekend we had about 10 people & 7 dogs come and go from the house. there were skis and sleeping bags everywhere and under sunny skies, we all hit the slopes to get a jump start on the sore legs and enjoy some early season turns. the snow was definitely not the best, but we had fun regardless.
we lathered up (in a cup of butter) and cooked a 17 lb. bird, fixed mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn souffle, bread, pecan & pumpkin pie and drank copious amounts of red wine. it was quite an evening....
i am so thankful for my wonderful family -- for my husband -- for the dogs -- for colorado -- for jobs -- for health -- and for all the blessings of this life.
one of my favorite holidays has come and gone and i'm `bout 5 lbs heavier. we drove up to silverthorne, co on wednesday and celebrated thanksgiving with our "colorado family" of friends. if i can't be with my family or nw's, then there is no place i'd rather be than with my "best good buddies."
throughout the weekend we had about 10 people & 7 dogs come and go from the house. there were skis and sleeping bags everywhere and under sunny skies, we all hit the slopes to get a jump start on the sore legs and enjoy some early season turns. the snow was definitely not the best, but we had fun regardless.
nw & cory
dave & natalie drove up from telluride
me & collins
"aunt" kk w/ a herd of mutts
we lathered up (in a cup of butter) and cooked a 17 lb. bird, fixed mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn souffle, bread, pecan & pumpkin pie and drank copious amounts of red wine. it was quite an evening....
i am so thankful for my wonderful family -- for my husband -- for the dogs -- for colorado -- for jobs -- for health -- and for all the blessings of this life.
the turkey bird pre & post cooking
gravy
the beautiful table -- plastic cups & all
porter snagged some recycling
and yes, the turkey hat!
happy thanksgiving....
Monday, November 23, 2009
giving thanks
just finished a wonderful novel by kathryn stockett. it was thought-provoking, comical, powerful, heart-wrenching, and spoke to me on a deep level. The Help takes the reader to jackson, mississippi in the early 1960's where the jim crow south was still very much alive. it explores the unique, complex, and often disturbing dynamic between white families and their african-american help, even more specifically the book reveals the struggle between white women, black women, and the class system in the south.
resurrection fern
The Help is the type of novel that will have you laughing out loud one minute only to force you to tears pages later. everything from the relationships developed to the struggles each woman (black & white) face are so real, so vibrant.
"we are just two people. not that much separates us. not nearly as much as i thought"
- skeeter phelan, The Help, pg. 418
after the last page was turned, i sat awake in my bed with tears streaming down my cheeks. much to my husband's dismay, i could confess the cause of my reaction at eleven p.m. and yet, i could not ignore the surge of emotion that overwhelmed me as i lay there in the darkness. my mind was flooded with childhood memories: living in downtown savannah with her wise oaks, cobblestone streets, our old, creaky house, and of course, mattie.
palmetto & oak
mattie roberts -- there was never and will never be a woman of such high caliber, of such beauty inside and out. she was an enormous part of my life growing up, and for my mother, i believe, mattie was a connection to her family that was no longer living. mattie starting working for my grandfather (my mother's father) in the 1960's and remained with our family until 2004 when she died. never considered a stranger, nor a maid, in our house, but always family -- mattie would be there in the afternoons when i returned home from ryan hall montessori school and i would run to her grabbing her around the legs and hug her tightly. as childhood with my paper dolls gave way to cars and other teenage distractions, mattie was there -- a constant in a crazy world.
shell on gravestone
last night i was awash in memories, smells, sounds, and a childhood so punctuated by her presence: love, patience, kindness, and devotion. "did i tell her i loved her enough," i thought to myself. "i wish i had asked her more questions about her life or interest," i thought.
the regrets you have as adult, when you look back and realize you were not yet old enough (wise enough) to seek out more from the individuals that made life so special. i don't blame myself for not trying harder, or "nagging" mattie about everything in her life, i was a child for most of that time she was with us and then moved away to college. selfishly, i just wish she were still with us.
the last time i saw mattie was at my brother's wedding in december of 2002. i remember touching her soft, frail hands and looking deep into her eyes, those eyes that had watched me grow from an infant to the young woman i was. a kind and generous soul that i am most thankful, ever grateful for having known. and i hope that mattie felt that same way about us.... a family who considered her a mother, grandmother, confidant, and friend..... i believe she did.
lowcountry of south carolina
it may sounds trite to many folks, but i finishing this novel just before thanksgiving puts my mind and heart in such a perfect place to drink in all the blessings in this life. my amazing family -- my wonderful and handsome husband, best friends, new adventures, health, and just the chance to enjoy every day in its entirety --
so, if you want a good read -- kathryn stockett's The Help -- you won't be disappointed!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
a sunday in november
sunday is football day.... soon it will be football day & ski day-- we'll watch football after taking a few runs at our nearby ski mountain(s).
today we watched the redskins hand a victory over to the cowboys and then we watched the denver "bronckies" just flail against the SD chargers. so, not a great day to be a redskins/broncos fan.
we did take a time out to play in the park with the pups and blow of some steam.... take a look at our girl and her moves!
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