Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Final Sailing Trip

Many of you have written to ask how my gentleman friend is doing after the boating accident. He has recovered amazingly well! 

Mr. Mickey will be seventy-nine years old in June. Three years ago, he had a stroke, which left him in ICU for almost a week. He is also a diabetic with very high blood pressure and other health problems starting to slow him down. After the stroke, we both embarked upon a healthier eating journey. (Thanks to the book "Eat to Live.") 

I am telling you all of this to share with you that it's never too late to change the eating habits that might contribute to your poor health

We have both lost about forty pounds since changing our choices of food a couple of years ago. Mickey has almost reversed his diabetes, and his blood pressure is at the perfect level, corrected with only a fourth of the medication once required. The other health problems have vanished.   

A few weeks ago, after the boating accident, he very nearly drowned; he is back to wanting to go somewhere special every night and laughing and telling stories non-stop. 

This past week he completed the last of his follow-up visits with his physicians here in the states. In only a few weeks, his broken ribs and kneecap, along with numerous lacerations and deep bruises, have healed. His physicians were totally amazed by his speedy and complete recovery at an age when most men would have had a much longer and more difficult time after such severe trauma. They all agreed that his food choices have contributed greatly to his rapid recovery.

If you missed the first post sharing the misadventure, here it is again...

My beloved gentleman friend, Mr. Mickey, has had the same group of friends for most of his life. For more than thirty years, they have gotten together for lunch a couple of times every week. They have enjoyed countless ski vacations, tennis trips, and Caribbean sailing trips aboard a chartered catamaran Captained by a member of this group of lifelong friends.



The group spends the week sailing from one harbor to another, creating great memories to share again and again.


Along the craggy shores of the British Virgin Islands, there are vacation homes and villas for those who prefer to enjoy the view from the land.



A smaller dingy boat is used to deliver the men ashore
where there is no dock in a shallow harbor.


The men occasionally stop for a sip of something cold late in the afternoon.




As the sun starts to descend into the horizon, it's time to make their way into a harbor for dining in one of the many nice restaurants dotting the shores along most of the larger islands.



Casual attire is perfectly acceptable for fine dining in the islands since the sailors often arrive cold and wet from their ride aboard a dingy from their sailboats and catamarans.



As the tides shift and in certain harbors, much larger waves suddenly start rolling in with little notice. A calm and peaceful shore can become a dangerous and even deadly place to be in a few seconds.

The evening quickly changed from sharing a wonderful meal and joking with friends to clinging to life.

The group boarded the dinghy to make their way back to their temporary home aboard the catamaran. Suddenly a much larger wave rose up from the darkness flipping the small boat end over end violently dumping all five men into the sea. Mickey and one other man remained trapped beneath the upturned dinghy. The other man was able to free himself and make his way to shore. One of Mickey's arms had become entangled in the towing line so he could make no such escape. The tides washed the small boat back and forth on the rocky beach dragging him trapped underneath. His strength was gone, and the pocket of air trapped beneath the boat was vanishing quickly. A final desperate gulp of air, seawater, and sand allowed him to yell for help one last time. The other men finally realized he was still trapped beneath the boat and were at last able to establish a footing in the raging surf to pull him to safety.

Trembling with shock from their injuries and the trauma of what had just happened, the group knew right away that Mickey needed immediate medical help.

After a day spent in an island hospital getting wounds bandaged and x-rays of broken ribs, it was time to make the long journey home alone for further medical attention from his own physicians and specialists here in the states.

Mickey's daughter and I picked him up at the airport at midnight on the following day. She told him through her tears, "You are grounded!"



The fellows will be telling this story for years to come, but I think perhaps Mickey will choose to stay home when they embark on their next adventure.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Storytelling

We visited Jonesborough in the year 1857 by way of a monologue in the Storytelling Hall last evening.




Historic Jonesborough is about seven miles from my home. It is the oldest town in Tennessee and home to the Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall. The International Storytelling Festival is held each year in October.



We still have snow on the surrounding mountains, so spring seems far away. I still wear layers to keep warm, so tonight, I wore a red long sleeve tee from Talbots under a red Geiger jacket with gray tweed pants from Ross. 

 

The boots are by Nine West via Belk. The necklace is from Chico's. The sterling silver ring and the black faux leather clutch are from T.J. Maxx. The earrings were purchased at a boutique during our travels. Even if the items I am wearing are a couple of years old, I share the source with you to get ideas for your next shopping trip



Thursday, March 28, 2013

The Blues

A mixture of blues with tan was my date night outfit for Wednesday.



The long sleeve navy blue tee and tan side zip pants are from Talbots. The teal blue topper jacket is by Geiger.
 



The shoes are by Guess via T.J. Maxx.





The clutch bag is from Stein Mart. I found the necklace in an artist's co-op gallery in Asheville, NC. The large oval stone ring and earrings were gifts from Mr. Mickey. When I wear a busy necklace such as this one, I choose earrings that are much smaller and more subdued. Large hoop earrings with this necklace would be too much going on in the same place.



Thanks for reading! 

I hope you have a great day.

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Arts

Last evening Mr. Mickey and I attended one of our favorite annual events. The Johnson City Arts Council 4x4 was held at the beautiful Carnegie Hotel.

We arrived early to do this photoshoot for you.


The Johnson City Arts Council is a nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to nurture the arts and inspire community arts involvement in our area. As a lifelong artist, this event and this organization are near and dear to my heart. Among the many programs and services they bring to our area is Arts Corps. This is a free after-school arts program for underserved youth in our community. These children might not otherwise have the opportunity to discover their abilities or learn to appreciate the joy that comes from creating something beautiful. Their alternative might easily be drugs, gangs, or teen pregnancy.
 

Each couple in attendance of the 4x4 event pulls a number out of the fishbowl when they arrive. That number corresponds to an original piece of art by a local well-known artist. Attendees willing to trade their artwork are given a tiny flashing light to add to their name tag. If you want to trade, you look for those flashing lights and talk to the person with another one to work out the trade. We were thrilled with our masterpiece by our dear friend Joy McGinnis. The event includes dinner and wine as well as live entertainment and a silent auction. It gives us the chance to visit with many friends as well as to meet new ones.
  
The hotel is one of the most elegant in our region. We always look forward to attending events here or having dinner at their wonderful restaurant, Wellington's. This photo was taken in front of their wine cellar on the lower level.



The Austin Springs SPA is located just to the right of the cellar. I am often a happy guest there!



I wore a silver and rhinestone necklace and a blue jacket from Coldwater Creek with black lined crepe evening pants from Chico's. The shoes and bag are from Stein Mart.


 
Thank goodness the downpours waited until after the event!



Thanks for reading! 

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Daffodils and Sunshine

On Saturday, we had a few hours of sunshine and temps above forty degrees for the first time in a long while.




Today I carried the faux alligator skin bag I told you about earlier. I really like it a lot! The size and shape are perfect for me. Sometimes you don't know how much you will like something until you take it for a "test drive." I will look for this size and shape when I invest in a higher quality bag in the future. The navy blazer is by Austin Reed, the red jeans are from Chico's, the boots are by Ralph Lauren via T.J. Maxx. The golf print scarf is from Ross.




Here you can see evidence of my one good day in the yard so far this year. I cut back all the monkey grass edging the front gardens, trimmed shrubs and irises back, and added mulch. In about another week, we should have nicer weather to go outside without shivering the whole time.



Working in my flower gardens has always given me serenity. I look forward to warmer weather when something new seems to pop up from the earth each day. So far, daffodils and few other early bulbs are the only things to bloom. The pink cherry trees should be in bloom next month. I'll be sure to share a picture of those with you.  


Below is one of my favorite little shade garden paths from last summer. 
 


Have a wonderful Sunday!
Thank you for visiting with me in my gardens.