eight up

I'm still a bit of a tired sick mess. My voice has still not recovered and as my Grandma Leona would say, I've got nose full.

I'm in Nashville, TN visiting my friends Scott, Otis and Amy -- who are all living together, until at least tomorrow. Otis and Amy are closing on their new house at 2:00 (cross your fingers).

So far it has been the move from Hell for them. They were supposed to close on their Nashville house on Friday, but a bank glitch kept that from happening. They packed their Indianapolis house up on Saturday and drove towards Nashville. Amy's car broke down, so they had to get it towed and rent a trailer to attach it to the moving truck. To add insult to injury they grabbed the wrong set of keys and could not get in to Scott's house. Otis had to sleep with the truck and the car in a parking lot. Amy and her brother had to find a cheap motel and sneak the dog in.

As horrible as that is for them, I've enjoyed hanging out with them today (between naps). I feel like I'm getting my own private good-bye weekend.

So, in the spirit of keeping up on my October post-a-day here are eight thing on my mantle.





from left:



The Queen Bee caricature that runs with my column in the Broad Ripple Gazette. The very talented Josh Johnson is the artist. I have to admit that when I heard that a caricature was being made I panicked. I had a vision of five chins and a huge nose, but it think it is very cute.


"Forgive Us" wood cut print by my Renaissance friend Kipp Normand. I always joke that I should marry Kipp so I can be Nora Normand. You might also know him as "band practice boy".




Tonic Gallery plate. The Tonic Gallery is the sister event to the Tonic Ball, which benefits Second Helpings. This plate was made by a fourth grader and looks an awful lot like me. Several people at the event thought the young artist used me as a model. Of course, I had to own it.

Beautiful flowers from my friends that own Posh Petals. Meredith and Erika sent them to me to welcome me to home ownership. They are amazing -- the flowers and the Posh girls. I love feeling like I have my own florist. How grown up is that?

Two pieces from my amazing friend Amy McAdams. I just love them. Amy is coordinating the Tonic Gallery this year -- taking over in Maura's absence.

Great-Uncle Herman's ball of twine. This is one of the things I'd grab in case of a fire. I love thinking about Herman saving the twine and who knows -- maybe it predates him. It came from his work bench on the farm where his wife Mamie grew up. Nora and Mamie were sisters.

Grandma Nora's glasses. Nora died when Dad was fourteen. Most of her things were divvied up among the married children. Most of all I'm thrilled to have her name, but it's fun to have something that was so personal to her.