Number 49 See Both Solar and Lunar Eclipses

 

December 21, 2010 Part 1 - Lunar Eclipse 


Curled up on the sofa with
the camera ready to go!



 This was a pretty cool lunar eclipse to watch. It occurred on the Winter Solstice. That hasn't happened since 1632. Plus, there was a nice clear night for moonwatching.  Since it was starting at 1:33 a.m., I took a nice long nap so I could stay up and watch the whole thing. Didn't quite make it - I eventually had to rely on my alarm to keep waking me up. It was freezing outside so I snuggled up on a sofa near the door and ran out every half hour to snap a photo. 

So, here are the highlights:



At the beginning





A bigger bite gone



...'bout halfway there and turning "bloody"



Very faint image of the Blood Moon.



The starts to be visible again on the other side.



...and here is me- "eclipsed"
come morning.







Number 97 Spend the Night in a Haunted House

Halloween Weekend, 2010

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a big ol' chicken!! That's right; yellow to the core, no spine, scaredy-cat extraordinaire. Many a night has the light been burning in my bedroom overnight while I cowered under the covers after watching a scary movie and we won't even discuss why I needed a change of clothes while visiting Fright Night at Universal Studios! Still, I do love a good scare so I put this item on my list to feed the beast within and what better night to undertake this mission than Halloween!

So here's the plan: I'm headed to New Orleans this weekend to stay in the mansion at Creole Gardens (left). It's a bed and breakfast that is reportedly haunted. I know, I know, I live in one of the most haunted cities in America and there are probably dozens of haunted places here in Savannah but I want to have some fun too. I believe New Orleans is known for promoting gaiety, isn't it? A little research...

A website on haunted houses had this to say about the Creole Gardens:

Ghosts don't like change, and when this building was restored as an inn, 400-pound doors slammed for no apparent reason, and bathroom tiles that had been neatly stacked were found scattered about the floor. One guest reported a clear image of a former slave standing in the corner of the room with arms folded, apparently awaiting orders. Another guest reported a man visiting at night, speaking softly. Housekeepers report dark, flitting blurs, and a feeling of someone watching them.

I also wrote to the owner of Creole Gardens and she gave me some of the history:

Our inn was built as a private house in the 1840's and was the residence of Rev. Benjamin Palmer during the Civil War and thereafter...you can google him and find him on Wikipedia. He was very instrumental in having Louisiana secede from the Union and spent many hours in our drawing rooms planning political decisions with local and national leaders,including Jefferson Davis.

On this trip, I am again accompanied by my friend, Rob, who is a scientist, and does not believe in ghosts. He will be in charge of p'shawing anything I suspect might be supernatural. I gotta tell you, I'm feeling a little nervous about this one, folks. Too many viewings of Legend of Hell House and House on Haunted Hill, I suppose. Packing extra underwear.

November 2, 2010

We left home about 10:15 in the morning and arrived in New Orleans about a quarter to nine. I really, really didn't want to arrive in the dark but it couldn't be helped. The Creole  Gardens was really a charming place. The mansion is painted a cheery bright yellow. There is a pretty courtyard with banana trees, surrounded by rooms that had been slave quarters, which are painted purple, pink and turquoise.

Our room also was very nice. We stayed in Mansion Room number three. We entered through french doors from a private porch into a foyer with a wet bar and refrigerator and then into a stunning room with eighteen foot ceilings, a chaise lounge and a white metal canopy bed. Rob and I are just friends* but there was NO WAY IN HELL I was sleeping alone while we were in a haunted house so there was only one bed in the room. The bathroom had an old-timey clawfoot bathtub and a pedestal sink. Just beautiful!

It was still early and we were hungry so we decided to go out and poke around a little and get a bite to eat. I was getting dressed in front of the mirror of the  open armoire door when...creeeeeeeeek...the door of the armoire closed by itself!!! Rob was standing over by the bed and the windows were closed so there was no wind and the air conditioner was off. Rob suggested that the unstable floor was the cause and that him having walked by a few seconds before it happened caused the incident. Indeed, the floor did wiggle the armoire door a little when you walked by it but no matter how many times I tried to replicate the the event, the  heavy door only wiggled a little.My explanation: Ghost. His explanation: odd floor. What do you think? Here's a video

I just know this:  Had my most skeptical pal not been with me at this point, I would have put everything back in my bag, gotten in the car and made the ten hour drive back home.



This is not a dark, scary ghost,
It is only Rob's jacket that he'd
hung from the bedpost.
 It looked different in the dark

We continued to argue about "the event" while we hit the Saint Charles Tavern for Po' Boys and atmosphere and then I got ready for bed. Rob went to get something from the car and I suddenly realized I was alone in the room. Eeek! I got my mom on the phone and made her talk to me until he came back. She had quite a giggle at this but, since she went to college in New Orleans, she understood and obliged me.



Part of my bedtime preparations

 I did NOT want to go to bed but it was late and I was tired. While Rob was in the bathroom, I took a picture from each corner of the room and them examined the photos carefully for ghostly orbs. All clear. So I hopped into bed. I didn't want to close my eyes but I didn't want to SEE anything either. I kept my eye on the armoire but eventually fell asleep.

I woke up to a BEAUTIFUL Fall day, feeling pretty good about finishing another item on my list and we headed out to enjoy the Big Easy on Halloween weekend. Here are a few pictures of our fun:

On our Halloween night, we were putting on our costumes (Round 2) and heading out to enjoy our last night on the town when I was "haunted" by something I had eaten earlier in the day. It came back from the dead to visit me and I was not feeling so pretty good. I was goin' nowhere! I tried to encourage Rob to go out without me but he stayed in with his sick friend so she wouldn't have to be alone with a ghost. What a pal! I told him that, if I don't have a gentleman friend at the time, he was welcome to be my companion when I stay in the best suite of a 5-star hotel for Number 30 on my list.

     Although we had no major disturbances during our  long weekend  at the Creole Gardens, others did and were passing around pictures of ghosts they had taken during the night in the breakfast room the morning we left. This was a fun challenge but I never want to do it again!



* Saying JUST friends is not to diminish the friend relationship, it was for identification purposes only.



Number 63 Make the Front page of the Newspaper

February 6, 2010
I have to say that this was the easiest item on my list because it fell right into my lap! A colleague and I organized a fundraiser for the earthquake victims in Haiti and the newspapers and TV stations came to cover the closing ceremony. Here's the story and pictures:

Teachers slimed, 'snaked' for Haiti relief

On-post schools raise $4,000 for charity

Third Infantry Division Rear Detachment Commander, Col. Stuart McRae slimes Diamond Principal Lynda Kidd on Friday as part of the school’s fundraiser to help disaster victims in Haiti. 3rd ID mascot Rocky was on hand to assist.
Photo by Denise Etheridge

By Denise Etheridge
Staff writer

Third-grade teacher Edith Allison allows herself to be “wrapped” with a non-poisonous snake during a
school assembly.

Updated: Feb. 8, 2010 11:49 a.m.
Diamond Elementary School students learned Friday that every penny has precious value when many pennies for a good cause are added together.
The Fort Stewart school’s 700 students raised $4,064, which was donated to the American Red Cross for earthquake relief in Haiti. The goal set was $2,000.
“We are just astounded!” said Edith Allison, a Diamond Elementary third-grade teacher. “We doubled our goal. The children brought in pennies and nickels each day. We encouraged them to do chores at home to earn money to donate.”
Children also donated their allowances, she said.
Allison and fellow third-grade teacher Candace Riley went to school administrators with the idea to get the children involved in raising funds for Haiti the day after the earthquake. The teachers coordinated the school’s fundraising campaign.
Allison said each class set a fundraising goal of $50-$100. Most classes raised more than $50, and some raised more than $200.
Teachers promised their students they would do “something outrageous” if the classes surpassed their fundraising goals, Allison said.
Since her students collected more than their $50 goal, Allison allowed herself to be “wrapped” with a live snake. It was a non-poisonous pet boa.
One teacher, an avid Yankee’s fan, was “made over” into a Red Sox fan. Another teacher who is a die-hard Georgia Bulldogs fan allowed her students to paint a Florida Gator on her face.
Other teachers allowed themselves to be hit with water balloons, sprayed with silly string or get taped to the wall. Some classes received awards, such as ice cream or chocolate pizza parties. And other students won a week free of spelling quizzes.
When the final tally was announced Friday, the entire school gathered in the gym for an assembly.
Diamond Elementary School Principal Lynda Kidd allowed herself to be “slimed” with green goo in front of the entire school.
“They’ve been waiting all week to slime me,” Kidd, dressed in worn sweats, said with a smile.
Kidd’s guest “slimers” were the Marne mascot, Rocky, and Col. Stuart McRae, 3rd ID rear detachment commander.
“What you all have done will help those kids in Haiti who have lost everything in the earthquake,” McRae told students. “You can be proud of your accomplishment when you go to bed tonight.”
McRae presented a commander’s coin bitten by Rocky to Kidd after sliming the principal. The colonel said Kidd deserved the coin because she “was a good sport,” and for general excellence.
Kidd said the fundraising campaign incorporated the school’s character building program, Gator Traits.
“I am so proud of these children,” Kidd said. “Our main purpose (for the campaign) was to help people in the world that need it.”

Number 16 Get into the World Book of Records

Date: September 4, 2010

I had a childhood friend, Pia Andersson, who got into the Guinness Book of World Records . She and a pal set the record for the longest time swinging on a swing set in one sitting. She was raising money for cancer research in the name of a classmate of ours who had died from cancer. I was pretty impressed with this feat and the motivation behind the act is especially poignant now.

Here are Pia and Matt on the swings they used to break the record.

I never thought I could beat any kind of record but I've done MANY things I never thought I'd do as of late so, why not?. I may just have the chance in a few weeks.

Okay, remember last year when I did Number 20 where I went to the science fiction convention in costume? Well, I had so much fun that I'm going back this year!! This not only provides me with a good time but it also allows me to work on Number 16 on my list. It seems that there will be two attempts at world record this year at Dragon Con in Atlanta. The first is to attempt to assemble the most superheroes in one place at one time and the second is to do the same for Star Trek characters. I'm busy at my sewing machine right now getting ready for this. Here are the numbers to beat

Current Superhero record is 1246

Current Star Trek record is 508

Stay tuned for updates on this!

September 4th, 2009: Oh, yeeeeeahhhh! Did it! Did it!! Did it!!!

I had two chances on this day to make a record. at 1:30, I went to the Westin Hotel in Atlanta for the official count. Here I am (left) lining up for a photo op with the rest of the (thirty or so) Wonder Women.
There was pretty much every superhero you could imagine there. Here are a few that I saw:

We even had a special guest to pump us up during the count. Lou Ferrigno, who played the Incredible Hulk, spoke to the group and took questions from the audience. He looked really incredible! He invited all the children super heroes up on the stage with him.

Sadly, we did not make the required number to beat the world record but it was still great fun!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That night at 8:30, there was another chance. So, with my friend, Rob, it was off to the the ballroom of The Sheraton in Atlanta in our best Star Trek garb.
Um...wow! I had never seen so many Trekkers!! We had to stand in line before the count and we saw costumes from all the versions of the Television show and the movies and even Christopher Pike (google it). Look at this crowd! After the time limit allowed, the doors were locked and we had to remain in place for ten minutes. It seemed like the longest ten minutes in my life that didn't involve a dentist drill. As you can imagine by the picture, we received some good news at the end of that ten minutes. We had 571 Trekkers ion the room and had set a new world record!!! Whoo Hooooooooo!!!!! Look for this in the next edition of the world record book.

Number 14 Sing in Public

May 20, 2010


This one wasn't so tough. I sing in public all the time with my choir so I don't have stage fright or anything BUT since I have been with them since, like, 1987 and I made the rule requiring all the things on my list being completed after the date of the initial letter, I had to make a special effort to get this done.


The answer presented itself in the form of the Teacher Talent Show at the school where I teach. I chose Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am" for my song, tuned up the ol' guitar and had at it:
If you are chilly
Here take my sweater
Your head is aching
I'll make it better 'cuz
IIIIIIIIIIII
Looooooove
The way you call me baby
And yoooooooooooou take me
The way I am.
I didn't really have an adventure companion for this one but here is a (rather blurry) picture of me with all the other teachers who participated in the Talent Show. It was a pretty good time!

Number 74 Learn to Fly a Plane

March 31, 2010

Okay, first of all, I'm terrified of heights. I'm also prone to motion sickness. Plus, I'm told, due to health reasons, I can never get a pilot's license. Was I gonna let that stop me? No way!! Meet Mr. Leo Joshua (right), who has been flying since he was thirteen years old. He was my mentor/adventure companion for this adventure; he was Mr. 74!

I'd flown a simulator before but this was the real deal- up-in-the-sky-far-to-fall-certain-death! I don't mind admitting I was a little nervous but there was also part of me that just couldn't wait!! Since I was probably only going to do this once, I brought along my pal, Rob to document this event and provide proof that I did it because I could hardly believe it myself. I also thought he might dig the ride. Here we are in front of the plane that I was to fly(left).


Mr. Joshua showed me the different parts of the plane and explained a little something about lift and drag and thrust. Then he went over the safety checklist and we inspected all the different parts of the plane for loose bits and rotting and leaking and such. Here he is (right) clearing out the cockpit while I wring my hands in anticipation of death. We got ready to do the cockpit check but first we had to stuff Rob in the back of the plane with his knees up by his ears to fit. Okay, I'm exaggerating but it was a tight fit.

Next, I got to shout out a tiny window "Prop clear!" which means "Back off, I'm starting up the propeller" in pilot talk. Then this toggle was switched this way and that one that way and I learned how to use the throttle and to read the instruments (there aren't as many as you would think!) The we donned our cool-looking headsets- hard NOT to look cool wearing these - and I got to taxi the plane out onto the runway. You drive it with your feet-"Look, Ma, no hands!" Right foot turns it right, left foot turns left. Easy, huh? NOT!!! I was all over the place!

Mr. Joshua got us off the ground and then said the most terrifying words I've ever heard "You've got the plane." Arghhhhhhh!!!!! I gripped that yoke so tight that I think I embedded my fingerprints in it permanently(right). Mr. Joshua sat next to me and gave iinstruction, encouragement and directions.(left).

I brought the plane up to 3,500 feet and then leveled it out. I turned left and right and did a 360 degree turn. I kept my little cartoon wings on the instrument panel as level as I could and looked around for other aircraft and followed the bearings I was given. I was going more than 100 miles per hour!! We flew over our post and I could see my school. We flew over town and I could see my neighborhood. I had no idea so many of my neighbors had pools! Then we headed out to the coast and came back through a beautiful sunset (below)

As we got closer to the airfield, I used a GPS to fly. It works just like the ones in a car.Naturally, Mr. Joshua did the landing;at the airfield I only had to learn to fly the plane, not land it. He did a fabulous job. I had a new appreciation for pilots after this experience!Here I am after the flight a little nauseous but safe and sound on the ground. I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the night