Not the best pictures, I was trying to stay still while Bear kept pulling so they're slightly blurry. It was much prettier than the pictures do justice and quite big as well. It flew off before I could settle Bear down and get a quality shot, even watching it fly was cool.
Walking Bear in the park with Mackenzie this morning we spotted an owl! I've heard them plenty of times but I don't think I've actually seen one in all my time here in Tennessee.
Now that I'm Ops Manager I get to attend all sorts of interesting things Jerry used to. Not a complaint, I'm enjoying it.
Installed a touchless lock on the front door, it works really well. I can't help but do the Vulcan hand sign when I use it.
Bear has really taken to the ramp Dad built, he uses it about 95% of the time now. Though he occasionally still jumps up or down. We're happy with the results. He's even taken to hanging out on the little landing.
Bear has reached the silver step level on Fi. Which is 3 million steps since we got him the collar in April. I'm not sure how accurate the step count is, and it doesn't really mean anything. But. It's still something.
A World War 2 ship that was at Normandy chugged its way up the Cumberland River in Hendersonville and stopped for a few days, sparking local interest. The USS LST-325 carried troops and tanks back and forth between England and France, making over 40 trips that day. It was later sold to the Greek navy which is why it has Greek letters above the ramp. We tried to go take the tour but shockingly the line was miles long! Who knew Hendersonville had it in them. So, this one shall pass in the night. Still, it was a fun anomaly.
I liked this rule as well. The show started and consisted of an opening comic who was really good, then a jazz band, then a dance troupe, and finally a drum off. After that Josh took the stage and did about an hour set which was, as expected, very funny. Before the show officially started they were pretty strict about people silencing their phones and putting them away, no pictures or videos of the show on pain of being kicked out. Which is understandable in this day and age. So - no pictures of any of that, but it was great!
There was a slide show being projected on the walls and the screen on the stage with various funny "rules", and in between you were encouraged to take a quiz to see what troop you belonged to at camp.
A lot has changed since we last visited, including a new way to enter, long lines and metal detectors. Downtown is crazy now, and not in a fun way. But such is modern life.
Tonight we're making a rare trek downtown to the mother church, the Ryman. Not for music this time, but to see Josh Johnson perform.
Our little daredevil sometimes likes to take wild, flying leaps off the bed. Likewise sometimes he misjudges his jumps and hits the side. So we dug out Tara's old doggy ramp that Dad made and are going to try to train Bear to use it. He's certainly not afraid of it, now he just has to remember to use it.
I really enjoy the Borderlands series but I still feel it peaked at the second one. This one was fine, the story was interesting, but it just didn't grab me like 2 did. Oh well, still worth the time.
If we're doing anything else Bear seems content, but the moment we sit at our computers he wants constant attention. We thought maybe if he could sit up closer and be more engaged it might help. So we pulled up a chair. Nope. He was still a little pill. But a cute one that we love.
Lots of work to do. Lonnie begins his 13 week contract. Elections loom. You can't wish your life away but a glimpse into the future would be nice.
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In honor of Dolly Parton's passing, the quilt guild Dad and Mari belong to wanted everyone to wear pink to their monthly meeting. Dad went the extra mile and went full country.
...and a shim shim there, plus a thick steel adjustable support jack, our floors should stay floor-like for years to come.
While having our yearly crawlspace maintenance (we had it encapsulated, a dehumidifier and a sump pump installed a while back) they notice two of our pillars had settled and were not supporting the floor at all anymore. So with a shim shim here...
I don't talk a lot about work, but this has consumed most of my month. One of the biggest projects in a long while, and we finally got it going this week. There's still work to be done, but it's a nice accomplishment.
As an update on the Hound Heelton, Bear seems to love it here. By mid-morning he's usually achieved his activity goal for the day. Good for him good for us, nice people, what's not to like? Thought I'd throw in a picture of the actual place.
Timberborn is a city builder with a fairly strange twist, all your citizens are anthropomorphic beavers. The twist for this particular game was interesting uses of water, and water cycles where it would either dry up or get contaminated. A solid game though once you got the gist it didn't have many surprises.
Today the quilt guild Dad belongs to honored him with a Quilt of Valor for which he was deeply touched, even got a little teary eyed. He may not have seen combat but he was treated poorly for being a soldier during Vietnam, and his work in the Air Force changed warfare and the world, ultimately saving many soldier's lives.
Way back in 2004 a game came out called Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines. Quite the mouthful. For it's time it was an amazing game and still remains on many a gamers top ten list. I'm one of them, I played it through several times. If this blog existed back then, surely it would have been raved about within it.
So after 22 years, they came out with a sequel. Only it's not anything like the original, except that it exists in the same universe. On it's own, without trying to cash in on the original's nostalgia, Bloodlines 2 was actually a solid game. Decent story, really good voice acting. But it can't escape the weight of the original and in comparison is a huge disappointment. They should have just called it something else and it would have left a better taste in everyone's mouth, myself included.
I enter this August in uncharted territory. I am confident but still nervous. My peer is gone and I'm in charge now. It'll be fine. No really.
Today marks the end of an era for me. Back in 2009 when I first started at JIS Jerry was there. He sent me my first work email. He showed me the ropes. He's been my mentor and peer though it all for nearly 17 years, and he retired today. He also doesn't like a fuss or having his picture taken so I admit I did this surreptitiously. I had to have at least one picture of him before he rode off into the sunset. JIS won't be the same without out him.
I did mention these two got along pretty well. Notice she's even got Bluey on for him. Of course I have no idea where being such a sucker for a silly dog comes from.
You know when Mackenzie is staying there's gonna be games. All kinds of games. But now that she's a little older we're evolving into some more complicated ones. Like Mouth Trap. I used to love Mouse Trap when I was a kid and didn't know they even still made it. Just as silly as ever.
Unfortunately, as is life, the times had to end. Casie and Lonnie went back home while Mackenzie is staying for the week. It goes way too fast with people we don't get to see nearly enough. Luckily these two get along pretty well, there's a lot of giggling with this pair.
The official picture from the General Jackson. Dad, me, Casie, Mackenzie, Mari, Lonnie and Payton.
Even without the river tour, we enjoyed ourselves. We'll be back when the paddles are working again!
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Finally the show kicked off, and as would be expected of Music City they were all top notch singers and musicians. Nice song selection too, overall a great show!
After dinner there was a pause before the show where the wait staff cleaned up. To fill the time for an easily bored kid, the other kid played some thumb war. Payton has always been a good big brother to Mackenzie.
Finally the doors to the main cabin opened and we were ushered into a (mercifully) air conditioned room where dinner was served and the family got more chances to talk and catch up with each other.
While waiting for the dinner and show to be ready they had a live band to keep us entertained. They were pretty good, the fiddle player in particular had skills. I also appreciated they didn't just play country, there was some classic rock in there too.
It'd be nice to follow the river, but this was the best we were gonna get from the bow of the ship.
Unfortunately we learned that the big boat had mechanical issues and we would not be chugging down the river. They did offer us a discount on each ticket, but we would have preferred the ride. Still, it was fun to finally see and board the classic paddleboat.
Despite living in Nashville since 1998, Mari and I had never gone on the historic General Jackson Riverboat. So for the big birthday bash, we finally did the thing!
