Friday, October 31, 2008

FOURTH


OK. So JB tagged me to upload the FOURTH picture from my FOURTH album and tag FOUR more people to do the same. This is one of the many pigs on parade in Seattle when we visited there a year ago before going on an Alaskan cruise in celebration of the 10-year anniversary of Alan's heart surgery. That was our third celebration of Alan's good health following heart surgery at age 45. On the one year anniversary we went to Jamaica. Hawaii was the 5 year anniversary. For the FOURTH celebration, we think we'll go to Europe.

There were pigs everywhere on the street corners of Seattle. In fact--here's FOUR more:

There's just one problem with this game of tag. Everyone else on my bloglist has already been tagged, so I'm offering a different challenge. I want Kathy to publish and write about FOUR different photos from her FORTIES. Of course, that's assuming she can remember her FORTIES and what she was up to then. Afterall, she was born in the FORTIES. Surely Larry threw her a FORTIETH birthday party she can tell us about. I'm guessing, though, that digital cameras didn't exist when Kathy was in her FORTIES, so we'll have to give her time to scan her prints.

Noah Visits Papa D


Noah decided to pay a visit to Papa D at his office this Halloween. As you can see, he was more interested in eating the chicken sign than eating mor chikin!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Duncan Hilton

Over the years our home has become affectionaltely known as The Duncan Hilton. As the tiltle implies, this started because of all the people who have stayed with us over time. I think 103 Valley Club Circle was the first Duncan Hilton--or at least the first where we started calling our house that. Since we were the only relatives in Little Rock, everyone else in our family makes a reservation at the Hilton when coming to LR for football games, the doctor, to shop, or for a special event.

The newest Duncan Hilton

Five years ago, we built a new Hilton. We kept this use of our house in mind while designing our abode and made sure we had plently of room for out-of-towners. Upstairs is where they stay. We have a choice of the Buffett room (decorated in island style, complete with an autographed copy of A Pirate Looks at Forty), the Garden room (plenty of floral photos and greenery here), the formally Asian room (which our decorator was quickly told to change), and the TV room, with a daybed for overflow company. We didn't put as many amenities up there as in our downstairs living space. There are no slow-closing potty lids here, and the ceilings are only 8 feet instead of 9. Alan explained to the builder that we didn't want our guests to be too comfortable or they might stay too long.

Many people have stayed at the Duncan Hilton over the years. Family of course have been here numerous times. In fact, my sister Kathy complained recently about not getting her Hilton Honors Points for all her stays. Alan pointed out that Hilton gives no Honors points for free lodging. Others who have stayed here are friends passing through, business associates of Alan's, friends of our kids, and even some friends from Little Rock who were without power for a few days.

Noone, however, has spent more nights as a Hilton guest than my nephew Ben. Since his family lives in Birmingham, he lived with us one summer while working in Little Rock. And Ben is the reason the Duncan Hilton is completely booked for the weekend of Nov. 15. He's getting married that Saturday, and reservations started coming in a couple of months ago. We'll have Mema in the Garden Room, Brent and Katie in the Buffett room, their son Walker in the formally Asian room (where we now have a baby bed), and Hunter in the TV room. He said the Day Bed had to be more comfortable than Denver Peacock's couch. Actually, if anyone else is brave, we still have a queen-sized bed in the room with Walker and a second bed under the day bed Hunter will sleep on. (Lucky Hunter even gets to share a bathroom with Mema.)

So if you are coming to Little Rock, you might want to check out the Duncan Hilton. The Duncan Hilton even serves free breakfast and sometimes lunch and dinner, so it's a real bargain.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Blogging

I wanted to add a picture of Henny and Penny to the last post, but I haven't figured out yet how to add photos from the web. I also notice a capital "A" where a little "a" should have been. Ya'll bear with me. I'll get this blogging stuff down eventually.

Decorating Alan's Office

Trying to help a husband decorate an office is not an easy task. Mountaire recently moved into a new office which meant a new office space for Alan. While he said he wanted my help decorating, when I first went to help him, he'd already decided exactly where everything was to go. When I suggested that the calendar frame he had had in his old office was too small for the space he wanted it to go in, the troubles began. He really didn't want my advice. He just wanted me to hang everything and leave. So, naturally, I left without hanging anything.

He then wanted some pictures to put up. It seems everyone was using family pictures, so I made him a grouping of about 30 photos to choose from for me to print. He wanted all of them printed. I had bought several great frames at Target, but he didn't like them. As I was about to head to Florida, I threw up my hands, gave him the receipt and the frames and told him to go get what he wanted. His office still had no photos and nothing on the walls.

When I returned from Florida, Mandy and Mama Dot went with me to see Alan's new office. He now had pictures on top of a bookshelf (in the frames he had gotten with some of the 30 pictures I had printed in them). The first thing Mandy said was that the calendar frame was too small to go on the wall where he wanted it. She told him where to put his chicken prints and that he needed to do his calendar in a grouping. I suggested he frame his Mustang print we got in Hawaii to go with it and one other thing and offered to go with him to his office that weekend (this past weekend) to hang things. He said he'd see.

Well, last weekend came and went and he never decided to go decorate the office. On Wednesday afternoon he called and asked if we were ever going to decorate his office, or was his just going to stay bare. I thought I'd scream, but instead, being the good wife I am I said we'd go that night. We arrived at his office that night with the Mustang print (which I had picked out a frame for at Target after he said he didn't want to spend the money custom-framing it.) A couple of his certificates, picture hangers, nails, hammer, etc. I grouped his calendar with the Mustang on the floor and was going to put his certificate with it, when he pointed out the certificate was framed in brown while the other two things were black. We put a couple of certificates in a different spot, and I suggested perhaps a piece of ironwork to go with the Mustang and calendar. He didn't like that idea, but reluctatly agreed to go to Pier One to look.

Before we went to Pier One, I asked him to consider putting the chicken pictures on the left wall we entered the office and looking at a big screen print I had seen at Pier One for the wall you face as you enter the room. Since by that time he just wanted things on the walls, he agreed, and I hung the chicken prints while he played around on his computer looking at golf prints.

We went to Pier One, didn't find anything to group with the other things and looked at the screen print. He didn't want that. He wanted a picture. So we went home. He said if we didn't find anything by the next day we could just forget it. He'd have an undecorated office.

I spent yesterday looking for a picture for the entry spot and for something to go with the grouping. I found a black clock at Target that he liked, so one problem was solved, but no print.
When he got home he asked if we were going back to his office that night to hang things. Of course, I said yes. Then he surprised me. He said maybe we needed to go look at the Pier One screen print again. We did, he bought it, and we hung the rest! Hallelujah! Miracle do happen.

Of course, while I was hanging things, he was on his computer looking at golf pictures. He now has two prints on his Christmas list that he feels sure will look nice over his bookshelf. :-)

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Grandkids


Since I enjoy reading other people's blogs, and since I now have two grandchildren and am expecting my third, I thought I'd join the blog frenzy!
MarMar Moments seemed an appropriate title since that's what I call myself to Noah and Brady. Noah is Noah James Osborne, 6 months old going on sixteen, and Brady is Brady Hunt Duncan, 4 months old and trying to catch up.
They are the best-looking, sweetest grandkids ever, and Papa D and I are having a grand time with them!
Check back soon and I hope to get better at this blogging stuff.