Gads! Has it really been that long since I posted anything? I guess the figures don't lie.



We have been pretty busy this last month or so. We recently got back from a trip over to the mountains in east Tennessee. We visited the UT gardens on the way and they were beautiful as we remembered. We were looking for the "Armstrong House and Gardens". The clerk at the motel was quite helpful in giving us directions. It seems though that she sent us way out of the way but that was okay too as it took us through the old part of Knoxville and we saw some absolutely gorgeous homes. As it turned out the Armstrong House was right across the street from the UT gardens! Oh well.



The Armstrong House was closed on that day so we just toured the gardens. They are quite formal and located on the steep bluff of the river. They were very pretty with water features if that is your thing.



We moved on to the UT gardens and took several pictures. From there we went on to Townsend which is about 15 miles outside of Gatlinburg. We stay in Townsend now since it is quiet and has little to no traffic. Of course we slowly rode over the many roads that we are familiar with from past trips and enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenes. A sense of great peace envelopes us always when we tour this marvelous creation of God.



We took one day and drove over to Ashville, NC to tour the Biltmore House and gardens. They have opened up some rooms on the top floor and we saw them. They were the servants quarters and actually pretty nice for the time. We have stayed in motel rooms that were smaller! You cannot take any pictures inside the house! They used to confiscate your camera but they didn't do that this time - much to my relief. As the visit to the Armstrong House gardens was a disappointment so were the gardens at Biltmore. Nothing was in bloom! In fact, the formal rose garden wasn't even planted! The greenhouses provided many good pictures and saved the day.



Another day we went out to Dollywood like all the other tourists. We took in several shows all of which were good and entertaining. They have a bald eagle sanctuary that has several eagles captive. Over the years they have released 84 birds back into the wild after a rehabilitation stay there. It seems that a few years ago there were only 400 pairs of eagles in the lower 48 states. Now, through efforts like this sanctuary there are 4,000 pairs! What a comeback. Note: we think that there are at least this many in Alaska alone!



We had planned on taking in the gardens and a couple of museums in Birmingham on the way home. Well, we drove down to Birmingham and ran into a huge traffic tie-up. We were able to exit the expressway before getting into the mess. We found ourselves headed north on a highway that ended up in Decatur AL. We were in an industrial area and there were no motels in sight. We had no idea where to go from to locate them. Anne Marie said that we could go to Huntsville from Decatur or we could go home. We chose the latter!



Thus ended the trip. When we got home, we declared ourselves still on vacation and continued to go out to eat and just relax. We even took in the Zoo one day!



Other than our trip we have been involved in becoming coordinators for the Saturday evening Mass. This implies seeing to it that all the books are in the right order and right place as well as all the alter vessels. Also, it involves coordinating the various ministers and seeing to it that they know where they are supposed to serve and in what capacity. We determine the number of hosts needed as check other items such as the oil in the candles, etc. Prior to their originating these positions the mass resembled a 'Chinese fire drill'. Now, there is some degree of order.



We finished up our Scripture Study of the Gospel of Matthew. It was a success and most of the attendees have promised to come back in September for our study of Acts. This should be interesting and we are looking forward to doing it. This will be our 5th year.



I'll see if I can remember how to attach a picture to this blog but if you wish to see the rest of what we saw in the mountains go to:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/iampbotto/album?.dir=/f4c1re2&.src=ph&.tok=phEpb0GBvBuatFEW