Miner Updates Blog

Snow Day in South Carolina

2011-01-10T14:12:00.000-05:00

Monday was a good day to stay home.

Plantilus.com: A Place for Plants

2010-11-15T16:41:00.001-05:00

Lisa is working on a new website: http://www.Plantilus.com.

Halloween Party at the Grille

2010-11-01T08:30:00.001-04:00

Cleo's Pumpkin

2010-11-01T08:23:00.001-04:00

At the Masters

2010-04-09T14:07:00.003-04:00

Lisa and Steve went to the Masters practice round on Tuesday.

More Pictures

Snow

2010-02-13T14:48:00.002-05:00

We posted some pictures on our main web site.

Savannah River Site tour

2010-02-09T17:11:00.002-05:00

Lisa and I took a tour of the Savannah River Site near Aiken, SC. The facility was started in 1950 to produce nuclear materials for weapons during the Cold War. The SRS complex covers 310 square miles. Six small towns, with 6000 people, were taken over to built the site.

See Steve's blog for a longer report.

Christmas Newsletter 2009

2009-12-15T08:59:00.003-05:00

We wish you all a Merry Christmas. Our major event for 2009 was moving into the new house at Mount Vintage in June. It was a lot of work, but we're very happy with the results. Once the few remaining punch list items are completed, we hope to start entertaining again.

Lisa enjoyed the pool during the summer, floating, reading and swimming. We had chosen to do all the landscaping ourselves so she worked on the garden in her free time. On the weekends, Steve dug holes as instructed and carried heavy items. If you'd like to see pictures of the house and garden, please visit "Construction Central" on the web.

Summertime in the pool allowed Lisa to finish all her book clubs' books for the next year and she continued to be involved with several local organizations including the Suburban Woman's Club of Augusta, the Cherokee Rose Garden Club and the Pawprints Foundation.

Cleo immediately loved the new house because she is able to run free on the empty lots all around us. She enjoys chasing deer and any other wildlife she can find. We don't enjoy chasing after her through dense woods, but Lisa doesn't like to let her out of her sight so she plunges along behind. Heidi enjoys a couple of short walks a day, also relishing her freedom. Her arthritis seems to be under control and she's a very happy old dog, still enjoying the occasional tug of war with Cleo, who sometimes lets her win.

Steve is writing software from home four days a week, and petro-commuting on Mondays. He finds that working at home on his trusty Mac is not much different from being in the office, except the commute is noticeably shorter and the dress code is somewhat relaxed.

Steve is now attending church at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Edgefield, about ten miles north of our house. The granite church was constructed by Irish stone masons around 1860. It's a small parish of about 150 friendly people. We share our priest and a deacon with another parish in a neighboring county. Edgefield is a quaint old town, the home of ten governors and a turkey museum.

In October, Steve attended his 25-year reunion at Stanford. He had a great time reconnecting with old friends. While he was in town, he also saw schoolmates from Bellarmine and St. Christopher's. His parents are doing well in San Jose. His sister and her family live nearby. His brother came down to visit from Davis. It was a wonderful trip.

We're looking forward to settling into the new house in the coming year and becoming a part of the community.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

Steve and Lisa

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T13:47:00.000-05:00

We had Thanksgiving lunch at the Grille, early, so Steve could get 9 holes of golf in afterwards. It wasn't busy - a bit too cold to be busy - so I walked around with him. He played the Vintage Nine so I was able to take pictures and see parts of Mt Vintage from the golf course rather than the road. It was a good afternoon and hopefully we have started a new tradition.

Brain Fruit Tree

2009-11-08T13:43:00.000-05:00

Steve and I took Cleo for a walk in the woods - on one of the trails at the third roundabout in Mt Vintage. We (Cleo with us in tow) chased deer and waded through 4' high weeds and finally had to make a path through the woods to get back to a road - fortunately it was a road in Mt Vintage. We found some fruit that looked like brains so we Googled it and found Maclura pomifera.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T23:07:00.003-04:00

We're out in the boonies so we didn't expect any trick-or-treaters. We went to a Halloween party at the Mount Vintage Grille. The picture is one of our jack-o'-lanterns.

Stanford Reunion

2009-10-27T15:25:00.005-04:00

I attended my 25-year reunion at Stanford and had a great time. It was fun to reconnect with my old college friends, including Bill and Dianne (pictured here, I'm almost in the picture on left).

If you're interested, I posted my Stanford classbook page for the Class of '84 reunion. Todd got me a ticket for the game so I was able to sit with him in the new stadium -- this was my first time back since it was built a couple of years ago. Stanford played a fantastic game and beat Arizona State. Toby Gerhart definitely deserves Heisman consideration.

While I was in town, I also got to see other friends and family. I had lunch at Bellarmine with an old teacher, Tom Alessandri, who knew Mike well. I also got together with a few Bellarmine friends and got caught up a bit with what's happening with my St. Chris buddies.

I got to see my niece, Ashley, playing field hockey. Presentation has one of the top teams this year. My nephew, Michael, is in eighth grade at St. Chris and is planning to attend Bellarmine next year. It was nice to see them again in person. Mom and Dad are looking good. It's hard to believe their son is getting so old.

And I should mention that the weather was perfect. I wore shorts to a night game in October. Really, a great trip.

Spent the Summer floating

2009-09-30T13:32:00.001-04:00

This is the good life. Working on the garden in the mornings and floating in the pool for the afternoon. What could be better? I've read some good books and done lots of thinking while swimming and floating. Cleo watches from the side. She fell in once - and jumped right out again. Looks like my last swim of the year will have been September 27th.

Labor Day weekend project

2009-09-09T11:18:00.002-04:00

Who knew that Steve could turn out to be a master carpenter. Progress was slow but we got it done. Lisa handled the mitre saw with skill!

Cleo takes over Bertie's sofa

2009-09-09T11:15:00.002-04:00

The picture says it all.

St. Mary's in Edgefield

2009-08-23T15:06:00.002-04:00

After moving into the new house, I began attending Mass at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Edgefield, about ten miles north of our home. It's a small parish, with a congregation of about 150 people. Nothing like the large Catholic churches that I had been used to, but it's actually a refreshing change. The old church is a beautiful granite building, completed around 1860. The parishioners are friendly, and I've met several people who live in our development. The long-time pastor recently died (before I joined). We're fortunate to have a newly assigned priest and a married deacon as our ministers. I look forward to getting to know people here and becoming part of the community.

[Update: St. Mary's now has a web site.]

Front looking almost finished

2009-08-12T13:27:00.001-04:00

The front plants are in, the garage doors are on and we are looking like an inhabited house - at least from the front. The back still needs work but we are getting there.

Lisa's other blogs

2009-07-12T14:53:00.000-04:00

I've started a new blog to record all my garden work - Carolina Gardener - and I'm also starting to add to my Garden Guru blog which I would like to use for garden-related matters such as book reviews and plant sales and good places to visit.

July 4th - first guests

2009-07-05T13:25:00.000-04:00

It seems quite appropriate that our first guests should come on July 4th - and both be English. Ken and Ruth joined us for lunch at the Town Center and then drinks and nibbles in the pool. We also watched the parade and the fly bys.

Pool gets water

2009-06-11T13:15:00.000-04:00

Just two days after moving in and the pool is getting water. It's also our 15th Wedding Anniversay - thanks Steve - the best present ever.

Move in day

2009-06-09T18:19:00.000-04:00

After many months of hard work it is finally moving day. The plants came first - we rented a truck and moved the plants and the small stuff on Thursday, June 4th but the truck with our bed came today and we will spend the night here tonight for the first time.

Painting

2009-04-30T13:53:00.000-04:00

I decided that I was capable of painting some of the rooms in the house so Haynes said "Go ahead, start with the conservatory." I now believe this was meant to deter me. The conservatory interior is finished with grooved plywood - it is very rough - and very hard to paint. In four hours I covered maybe 8 square feet. But it looks good - yellow. The top of the gable is also very high so Steve has to be there to hold me on the ladder. After several days I got it done - two coats of yellow to just above the windows, then white above the trim strip. Looks very good. After that I figured anything else would be easy. So I took on the Mud Room, Pantry, Kitchen Closet, Hall Closets, Master Toilet, Steve's Closet, My Closet, Steve's Office and its Closet. Plus the garage but that is for much later. Sam, the painter, is letting me cheat by doing all the edges for me - so all I have to do is roll.

At the Masters

2009-04-12T13:09:00.001-04:00

Lisa finally got to see Augusta National for the third day of practice, Wednesday. It was a cool but beautiful day. We got there early, just in time to see Tiger going out. We followed him for a few holes and then caught up with him again to have a photo taken "with" him. We also saw Gary Player, Lee Westwood and countless others - a great day out.

Exterior Progress

2009-03-08T16:43:00.001-04:00

We now have steps up to the front door and siding on the garage - and don't forget the soffits, frieze and fascia boards. The photo is a little distorted - see if you can see the join.

New Conservatory

2009-03-08T16:41:00.002-04:00

The conservatory was finally added to the side of the house - it is going to be a great place for the cold sensitive plants - and for cold-sensitive Lisa to sit and read a book in the depths of winter.

Granite Selection

2009-02-28T16:59:00.001-05:00

We went to Elberton, GA to meet with Sid Gailey of Star Granite Interiors. He took us to SlabCo, a granite warehouse in Elberton, to look at slabs. Here's what we selected:
Kitchen - Norwegian Spirit of Pearl
Butler's Pantry - Galactica Blue
Bar - Mahogany Blue Eyes

Steve Joins In With Construction

2009-02-10T16:37:00.001-05:00

Steve and Haynes putting in a window on a sunny Sunday afternoon in February - they had to put it in place to prevent it from being stolen again!

Holly or Not?

2009-01-27T16:54:00.000-05:00

Today Lisa gave a talk to her Garden Group from Augusta Newcomers on the subject of Holly or Not? In preparation the new Distinctive English Gardens webpages have been launched - the beginnings of a plant database that Lisa has been contemplating for years!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T19:40:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas to one and all.

The Miner family is happy and healthy here in Georgia. Our big news for the year is that we've started building a new house in Mount Vintage Plantation, a golf community located on the South Carolina side of the Savannah river, but still part of the region surrounding Augusta known as the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA).

Lisa's main occupation for the last year has been designing the new house. She produced the plans herself on her iMac and is maintaining a "Construction Central" section on her website to document the building process. As we go to press, the framing is mostly done and the gunite is in for the pool. We expect to move in sometime next spring. Our lot at Mount Vintage looks over the green of the 19th hole, which traditionally has been Steve's best. The "new nine" officially opened on March 14 to go along with the original 18 holes of the golf course.

Besides working on the house, Lisa has also been active with ladies' clubs and gardening groups. She runs the web site for the Augusta Area Newcomers Club, and once again organized their annual English Garden Tea with her friend, Ruth. She also volunteered to help with the local Alzheimer's Memory Walk as a way to remember her mother. The Suburban Woman's Club of Augusta recently invited Lisa to join and she was also happy to accept membership in the Cherokee Rose Garden Club, which complements her volunteer work with the local Master Gardeners. She and Ruth went on a bus trip to Callaway Gardens together and she has dragged Steve to numerous nurseries in her quest to find interesting and unusual plants for the Mount Vintage garden.

The dogs are doing well. Heidi (the Belgian Malinois) enjoys her short walks around the neighborhood. Cleo (the Great Dane) is full grown at about 115 pounds and needs long walks every day. She has a new best friend next door. Jenny (a boxer mix) moved in when her family bought the house earlier this year. Cleo was a bit shy at first but now they have a great time running and jumping on each other. Heidi can't take the rough housing so she stays home while the young kids play.

We made several trips to North Carolina to take care of the old house (still for sale) and vacation at the beach. Steve visited California to see his family just for a weekend back in January. Our only real vacation (that means one without the dogs) was a trip to Athens, GA, home of the Georgia University Bulldogs. Downtown reminded us a bit of Palo Alto. After a lengthy walk around the campus, we finally discovered the trial gardens and were excited to meet Professor Allan Armitage (a famous horticulturist) there. He graciously gave us a tour of the gardens and greenhouse and gave Lisa a test plant from the greenhouse.

Steve's company has gone through a few changes with some friends leaving and new management coming on board, but his work is pretty much the same. He shipped a release of his communications equipment simulation software to good reviews from the customer. Steve was very fortunate to attend the Monday practice round at the Masters golf tournament this past April. In September, he got an iPod touch and loves it. He plans to write some software for the iPhone and Touch. Steve started playing volleyball again in a league in Augusta. He's the oldest guy in the gym (many of the players are half his age) but they've been very nice to him. One night, he wore a colorful tank top (a gift from Lisa because it was too big for her) and the guys on his team thought it was so cool that they named the team after it: "Jazzercise!". Nothing like having fun with the old man.

No miracle wins this year for Stanford football. They had their chances to get a bowl game (especially against Notre Dame and UCLA), but they couldn't quite make it. Harbaugh has done a pretty good job, and they're expecting an excellent recruiting class next year, including a kid from Bellarmine (Central Coast Section champions). Plus, it will be Steve's 25th reunion so we're hoping for a good year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Steve and Lisa (and Heidi and Cleo)

steveminer@gmail.com
lisa@lisaminer.com

http://www.LisaMiner.com

Dining in our new house

2008-12-09T09:35:00.001-05:00

Putting up walls

2008-11-11T15:31:00.003-05:00

We visited our new house today, just in time to see the 1st floor walls going up.

Shooting the Gunnite

2008-11-04T22:22:00.001-05:00

I watched the guys build my pool today - noisy, dirty and lots of fun. Here are some highlights.

Brick laying

2008-11-04T17:05:00.001-05:00

I got to lay a brick today, while they were pouring the pool.

Halloween

2008-10-31T16:38:00.000-04:00

A slight departure from the usual this year with the pumpkin carving:

Basement walls

2008-10-28T17:02:00.001-04:00

The basement walls are mostly up - now working on the ceiling which requires a big beam - and is therefore taking some time!

Slab, block and plumbing

2008-10-16T16:57:00.002-04:00

They poured the slab, started on the block walls, and put in the basement plumbing.

Street sign

2008-10-04T16:55:00.001-04:00

We have a street sign - our new address will be 83 Beaver Pond Court.

Update: Here's a map.

Foundation

2008-10-04T16:53:00.001-04:00

The foundation for the block walls has been poured.

Concrete wall poured

2008-09-25T16:48:00.000-04:00

The front concrete wall has been poured - of course I missed the action.

Construction Begins

2008-09-12T16:40:00.001-04:00

After months of revisions of the plans, we have finally begun construction - although at this point it is more like destruction. There were no trees to take down, but a lot of dirt to dig out for the basement.

A "Construction Central" section has been set up on LisaMiner.com to show progress over the next few months.

Another tropical garden

2008-08-23T16:24:00.001-04:00

We visited the garden of Mary Alice Woodrum - a mix of tropicals, conifers and so much more.

Pictures.

July 2008

2008-07-18T16:28:00.002-04:00

We spend the 4th at Mount Vintage - it is becoming a tradition. Then the following week we went to North Carolina for a few days and visited Brookgreen Gardens again.

Athens, GA

2008-06-02T16:10:00.000-04:00

Steve and I took a trip to Athens, GA this weekend. We stopped for lunch at a quaint hotel in Washington, and also visited (briefly) Goodness Grows, a great nursery, in Lexington. Once in Athens, we took a long walk around the campus, searching for the perennial trial gardens. When we finally found them, surrounding by construction and cranes, we also met Allan Armitage, toured the (empty) greenhouse and received a Rudbeckia fulgida from Mr. Armitage. On the way back to the hotel - nurturing the new plant - we stopped for Ben and Jerry's. For dinner we opted for our favourite tapas and had an enjoyable meal at Casa Mia. On Sunday we drove home, stopping at Piccadilly Farms for more plants and at Maison Bleu in Watkinsville for another good meal.

Pictures.

Kishan and Anita's wedding

2008-05-27T10:19:00.004-04:00

My young friend from work got married this past weekend. Kishan and Anita grew up in the Augusta area. Both families are Indian so the wedding and reception were interesting cultural experiences for us. For those of you (including my wife) who think Catholic weddings are long, you should try a traditional Hindu wedding. I couldn't follow everything, as my Sanskrit is a bit rusty, but I'd have to say my favorite part of the four hour ceremony was the rite of the Kashi Yatra in which the groom leaves the building (as if on a pilgrimage to become an aesthete) and the prospective father-in-law retrieves him and convinces him to become a family man instead. It's a choice we all have to make at one point in our lives. Congratulations to Kishan and Anita.

(Thanks to Ben for the pictures)

Garden Trip

2008-05-20T15:58:00.003-04:00

I organized a trip to the gardens of Susan Wood in Aiken. She has several acres of woodland which are being converted to gardens. We met with her landscape designer and toured the gardens.

English Garden Tea

2008-05-13T15:54:00.000-04:00

We held our annual English Garden Tea on April 22nd. It was at Gail's house. A "spiffing" good time was had by all.

The Tragic Cost of Sunday Drivers

2008-04-12T13:05:00.002-04:00

Steve wrote a letter to the editor about Georgia's prohibition of alcohol sales on Sundays: The Tragic Cost of Sunday Drivers.

Monday at the Masters

2008-04-08T13:09:00.003-04:00

As our regular readers know, we live near Augusta, which is famous for being "the home of the Masters". Life here revolves about the golf tournament. Schools are closed, and many residents leave town so that they can rent their houses to corporate bigshots who come to watch "the tradition unlike any other". The tournament is a huge boost to the local economy, especially for hotels, restaurants and golf courses.

The boss at work generously shared a ticket to the Monday practice round with a few of us employees. I got the afternoon slot from 3 to 6 pm. Lisa was kind enough to drive me so that I didn't have to worry about parking.

It was my first time ever at Augusta National so I was really looking forward to it. The weather had been a bit cold in the morning, but it was nice, even unexpectedly sunny, later in the afternoon. My first impression was: Wow, there are a lot of people here! But after not too long I realized that the event was very well organized. The grounds and golf course were absolutely beautiful. I guess that's what everyone says, but it's true.

The Augusta National people want to put on the best golf tournament in the world. They're not worried about maximizing revenue so you don't see a lot of advertising and corporate sponsorships. Prices are reasonable: a beer is only $2. The face value of the practice round ticket is $36. Of course, you have to win a lottery to get a chance to buy practice round tickets. They might be worth ten times that on the street. The actual tournament has been sold out for many years so there's no way to get a ticket unless you know somebody with connections.

Walk-ins enter from Gate 3-A on Washington Road. Players and members have their own entrance so they don't have to queue with the plebs. I arrived fairly late in the day so I imagine that most of the people had seen enough of the players and were looking for souvenirs. The "Patrons Corridor" near the entrance was packed with people overflowing from the Golf Shop. I made my way slowly through the crowds and headed out to the Amen Corner (holes 11 through 13), which are known as some of the most dramatic in golf. I then wandered around the course just to get a feel for the place. Every once I stopped to watch a few golfers play through.

Tiger Woods had played early so I didn't get to see my personal favorite. As many of you know, Tiger and I both went to Stanford. I wore my Tiger hat (courtesy of Buick). That's pretty much where the similarity ends.

I did get to see a few notables such as Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Mike Weir and Geoff Ogilvy. During the practice rounds, the players often hit an extra ball or two just to try things out. They spend a lot of time around the green getting a feel for breaks. It's amazing watching them attempt some of those long puts that follow a horse-shoe path right to the cup.

The 16th hole "Redbud" is a par three across a pond. During the practice rounds the players entertain the crowds by skipping the ball across the pond and onto the green. I saw Woody Austin take about five skips and end up within fifteen feet of the hole. (Maybe I should practice that instead of hitting them high and into the water.)

Towards the end of the day, I camped out at the 18th green ("Holly") as Ernie Els and Retief Goosen were teeing off. I remember thinking to myself that I was standing right next to the green -- I certainly wouldn't risk that if I were playing. A few minutes later, Goosen hit his approach shot into the crowd about ten feet away from me. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Goosen checked that the guy was OK and told him to keep the ball as a souvenir.

I also walked around the club house and practice range. Some areas were roped off to the crowds, but it was fun to see everything even if I couldn't enjoy a cocktail with the members.

It was a great afternoon. I'm very happy I had a chance to go.

Callaway trip

2008-04-03T15:43:00.001-04:00

I just got back from an overnight trip to Callaway Gardens - it is the best time to see the azaleas. I went with Ruth on an organized tour. We stayed at Callaway and visited the gardens, but also went to Hills and Dales Estate (very pretty) and Warm Springs - the location of "the Little White House" which was the country retreat of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

See my photos.

Remembering William F. Buckley Jr.

2008-03-06T19:33:00.004-05:00

National Review has a memorial page for William F. Buckley Jr., the founder of the magazine and leader of the Conservative movement. WFB died at his writing desk in his home on Wednesday, February 27. He was one of my personal heroes: a great and good man. Rest in peace.

Christmas Newsletter 2007

2007-12-24T15:41:00.001-05:00

We wish all our family and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'll keep this newsletter short because it's mostly a recap of events that are already covered in our blog.

Our dogs are doing well. Heidi is nine years old. She has arthritis but has responded well to medication. She seems happy and pain-free, although she misses the long walks we used to take as a family. Cleo, at 19 months, is just about full grown: weighing over 100 pounds (actually light for a Great Dane) and standing about 32 inches at the shoulder (or nearly six feet tall on her hind legs). She's tall and slender (like her adoptive mother), and strong as an ox. Mostly, she's a good girl even though there are many temptations when the kitchen counter is below eye-level. Lots of pictures are posted on our web site.

Lisa has enjoyed living in the Augusta area. She runs the web site for the Augusta Newcomers club. She's involved with the garden group, the book group and various lunch groups. She's made lots of friends through these activities, and has been introduced to many of the restaurants and coffee shops in the area. Some of her friends encouraged her to play golf so she took some lessons at our local course. Her golf pro quickly determined that she really was left-handed and needed the appropriate clubs. Many years ago, her father had tried to teach her to play right-handed and it hadn't worked out so well. We've been to the driving range together a few times, and we're looking forward to playing together. Keep an eye on our blog if you're interested in progress reports.

Steve has now been working at Janus Research Group for over a year. He describes his project as "a video game for soldiers, but without the fun stuff". Management might call it a simulation system for collaborative training on Army communications equipment. (If you were the government, which one would you pay more for?) In other news, Steve was happy to see Stanford win a couple of football games, especially the amazing wins over USC and Cal. A few more wins and we would have had a bowl game. As it turned out, we feel confident saying that Stanford was the best 8-loss team in the country. Wait 'til next year. Steve was actually in town for the Oregon game. However, he had a tight schedule so he enjoyed the tailgate party but skipped the game. It was good to see the family and friends after being gone for a couple of years.

This fall, we joined a local dining club. We've enjoyed happy hour at the Pinnacle Club whenever Steve can get away from work on Fridays. The club held their annual President's Ball, a fun black-tie event, in October. Definitely, the event of the season.

Steve's family out in California are all doing well. Our niece, Ashley, is now a teenager, and will be going to high school next autumn. Her brother, Michael, is 11 and doing well at St. Christopher's school. On the other side of the pond, Lisa's father spent some time in hospital, but is recovering and has finally managed to get back on the golf course.

It didn't take long for us to discover that life in Augusta revolves around Masters Week (in early April). We didn't win the lottery for 2008 practice tickets, but we hope to find another way to attend the tournament. Steve is trying to organize a Stanford Alumni cocktail party during Masters Week for next year. He has sent email to Tiger Woods but hasn't heard back yet.

Heidi and Cleo as Elves

2007-12-24T14:28:00.000-05:00

Heidi and Cleo showing a little Christmas spirit, courtesy of ElfYourself.com.

trip to North Carolina

2007-12-22T14:52:00.000-05:00

We just got back from a spending a few days at our "beach house" in North Carolina. While we were there, we were fortunate enough to attend a couple of Christmas parties with our old friends and neighbors. It was great to see everyone again. We also had time to play a little golf. Steve hadn't played for over a year, since we moved to Augusta for the new job. He managed four pars and four bogies, and took enough mulligans to keep his unofficial score under a hundred. The next afternoon, we got in nine holes. Lisa drove the cart and made a few putts, but her rib injury (thanks, Cleo) kept her from taking a full swing. She should be better soon.

Cleo's Chaise

2007-12-03T14:30:00.000-05:00

Cleo used to sleep in her crate. So if we went out for dinner she would be crated, then we would come home and she would have some crazy time and then be crated again. I felt bad for her and decided she was old enough to sleep on her own bed. Since she likes furniture so much, particularly our bed, there was no point in trying to get her to sleep on the floor. She's too big for the average dog bed, a twin size would have been great but would not fit in our bedroom, so I settled on a large chaise longue. Steve was convinced that she would never get off our bed to use it. The first night we let her snooze with us as always and then went through the same routine of putting her to bed, but on the chaise instead of in the crate. She got up and came over to me and cried. She kept that up for an hour, with me putting her back in bed and her getting up again. Then she slept on the chaise for a few hours. Then cried... She kept this up for three nights, and on the fourth, miraculously, she slept on the chaise. Success. Until the weather turned cold. Then she would come and cry to get in bed with me again. Eventually she would sleep in a tight ball on the floor at my side. I figured the chaise was too cold so I got her a sheepskin and velvet blanket. It worked.

Steve is still amazed that he was wrong. Of course Cleo and I knew it would work because we understand each other. More photos.

Stanford Beats Cal

2007-12-02T17:43:00.000-05:00

On Saturday night, Stanford beat Cal, 20-13, at Stanford Stadium. The Stanford Axe is back home where it belongs.

By the way, as Tradition demands, the score on the Axe trophy for the 1982 Big Game will be corrected to 20-19 in favor of Stanford. Twenty-five years ago, I was there at Cal's Memorial Stadium as the The Play, which will forever live in infamy, stunned Stanford. Just to set the record straight: his knee was down and that was a forward lateral.

Cleo and Heidi in 2007

2007-11-20T09:00:00.001-05:00

I have set up web pages for the dogs' photos this year:

Heidi and Cleo

Cleo's love of furniture

Cleo sleeping

Cleo and Sparky

Genevieve

2007-11-19T19:07:00.001-05:00

The Guarino family has a new member: Genevieve is a six-year-old Cockapoo, affectionately known as Gene. Cousins Cleo and Heidi send their regards.

Alzheimers Walk

2007-11-03T17:01:00.000-04:00

I walked three miles around Lake Olmstead today as part of the 2007 Memory Walk with the Alzheimers Association. I did it in memory of my mum.

President's Ball

2007-10-28T13:56:00.000-04:00

We went to the President's Ball at the Pinnacle Club and particularly enjoyed the White Chocolate Martini Bar. Steve is missing from the first picture because he was off to get me another martini.

Stanford Stuns USC

2007-10-07T07:53:00.000-04:00

It was an unbelievable finish to a huge upset victory over the Trojans in the Coliseum last night. Final score: 24-23. I thought Stanford had a good shot at winning three games this year, but this wasn't one of them. The TV announcers were so shocked that they got the teams mixed up and didn't know what the score was.

Here's the full story: Stanford Stuns USC.

Steve's California Trip

2007-09-25T08:51:00.000-04:00

Steve went to California to visit family and friends. Lisa stayed home to look after Heidi and Cleo. Photos

Polo

2007-09-15T08:53:00.000-04:00

We went to Aiken to see our first polo match. The photos don't do it justice. It was a lot of fun to watch, very fast and furious. Lisa's new favourite sport.

Yorkshire Airlines - It Caps Owt

2007-09-08T11:58:00.000-04:00

Our friends, Ken and Ruth, just told us about this new airline which should make it much more convenient for Lisa to pop over the pond to visit her Dad who is a real Yorkshireman, and proud of it.
Check out their promotional video.

Idea Houses

2007-09-02T15:43:00.000-04:00

We went to Reynolds Plantation to see the Southern Living and Golf Digest Idea Houses. There are many photos to illustrate good ideas from our trip.

Rock'n'Roll Bash at the Pinnacle Club

2007-08-31T11:23:00.000-04:00

We joined the Pinnacle Club just in time to attend the Rock'n'Roll bash. Great entertainment from 2 Elvis impersonators. Unfortunately we won neither the slow dance nor the twist - surprise, surprise! Lisa made herself a "Great Dane" skirt, rather than a poodle skirt. Photos

Save the Delta Queen

2007-08-25T14:20:00.001-04:00

The Delta Queen is a traditional steamboat that's been operating for years under a special exemption to federal regulations. Now congress is refusing to renew its exemption and it looks like the old steamboat will have to retire. There's a web site that's trying to Save the Delta Queen.

Here's more info from an article in the Cincinnati Enquirer:

In June, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed its bill to renew the Coast Guard bill, but without the Delta Queen exemption - meaning that the boat must cease operating when its current exemption expires in November 2008.

The committee's chairman, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., opposes the exemption because, he says, the boat's advanced age and wood construction present an unacceptable safety risk, according to spokeswoman Mary Kerr.

"The exemption for the Delta Queen is from fire protection standards that apply to all other passenger vessels operating in the United States. I can't imagine the number of lives that could be lost if a fire started on the Delta Queen when everyone is asleep," Oberstar said in a statement.

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, also opposes the exemption, mainly because the boat is not unionized.

He told Majestic that he would not support the exemption unless the Seafarers International Union gets behind it. Majestic spokeswoman Ann Marie Ricard said the company reached out to the union but didn't get an indication that it would be supportive of the exemption.

Many years ago, we enjoyed a steamboat ride on her sister ship, the American Queen, cruising out of New Orleans. We hope the old steamboat can be saved.

Chaos in Davis

2007-08-25T14:13:00.000-04:00

John sent us this picture of his new kitty, called Chaos. She was adopted from the Humane Society and is now happily living in Davis, CA.

Remembering Yvonne Maddock

2007-08-12T21:02:00.000-04:00

To commemorate the anniversary of the birth of Lisa's Mum, we went out for Indian food at The Taj of India. Yvonne died in 2003 of the effects of Alzheimer's disease. We're not sure Indian would have been Yvonne's first pick, but she did like onion bhajii. Indian food is the common ethnic food in England, sort of the way Mexican food is for Californians.

In her younger days, Yvonne had trained as a ballerina. I will always remember her dancing with Ken at a New Year's Eve party, probably a decade ago. Even though Alzheimer's had made daily life difficult for her, she was still able to waltz gracefully with her husband. I imagine that they must have looked splendid when they had their first dance as young adults in the late '40s.

My favorite family story is about our parents having dinner together. Ken and Yvonne had come over to visit from England and we were hosting a dinner party at our house in Sunnyvale with my parents as guests. I'm not sure the two sets of parents completely understood each other. As George Bernard Shaw wrote: England and America are two countries divided by a common language. My father was telling Yvonne about the Miner family's timber land in Oregon and how many board-feet they had cut a few years ago, and Yvonne was just going along with the flow as if she was completely fascinated by the tale of some great adventurer. I still laugh any time I hear the term "board-feet".

In closing, "I'd like something nice, but not common."

In memory of Mike

2007-08-06T22:32:00.000-04:00

We went out to dinner at Locos Grill and Pub and had a couple of beers in memory of my brother, Mike, who was born on August 6, 1963. He died of leukemia in 1990 at the age of 27. Mike had a lively spirit and quick wit. He taught English at Bellarmine, and coached basketball. His life was too short, but he touched a lot of people.

No Mo' Mode

2007-07-31T15:45:00.000-04:00

Lisa and I stayed at Savannah Lakes Resort over the weekend. It's just across the border into South Carolina, near the small town of McCormick. The resort is built along the banks of Lake Strom Thurmond, which is known as by its historic name, Clarks Hill Lake, in Georgia. We had dinner at the resort's bar and grill on the outdoor patio with an up-close view of the lake. The food was fine, but we had a slight communication problem when ordering dessert. I chose their special pecan pie and asked if I could "have it a la mode?". The waitress responded that "the kitchen had no mo' mode" in her local Southern accent. I quickly decided to let the matter drop rather than go through an embarrassing explanation of my unfortunate phrasing, which would undoubtedly expose my non-existent knowledge of French, when she pleasantly inquired "Would you like ice cream with that?". So it all worked out well in the end. I enjoyed my dessert and Lisa had a giggle.

Still waiting for my free iPhone

2007-07-05T10:48:00.000-04:00

I'm on the list to get a free iPhone from Rush. In the meantime, I'm learning more about the capabilities of the iPhone from this helpful video.

Independence Day

2007-07-04T18:05:00.000-04:00

We joined the Independence Day celebration at Mount Vintage. Pictured to the right is our favorite "Patriotic Pony" from the parade. We enjoyed a traditional Fourth of July picnic lunch at the Town Center. As a special surprise, several vintage small planes did a fly-over during lunch. Photos

Anniversary

2007-06-13T13:26:00.000-04:00

Last night, we celebrated our anniversary by going out to dinner at Calvert's Restaurant in Augusta. We're calling it the beginning of our fourteenth year of marriage (see Triskaidekaphobia). The posting date is just a coincidence.

AVP in Atlanta

2007-06-10T11:54:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of photos (courtesy of AVP.com) from our trip to Atlanta to see the pro beach volleyball tournament. They actually built a beach in the parking lot of a big shopping center called Atlantic Station. We had a great time, despite a thunderstorm or two. The first shot is Mike Lambert (former Stanford star) spiking. The second picture is Kerri Walsh (former Stanford star and Gold Medalist) at the net. I played high school football many years ago with Kerri's uncle.

Cleo and Heidi in tug 'o war

2007-05-30T08:52:00.001-04:00

When Cleo was still a little puppy...

Video

Cleo, our Great Dane puppy

2007-05-30T08:34:00.001-04:00

Cleo was a cute little monster.

Video

Heidi, who's your daddy?

2007-05-28T11:57:00.000-04:00

A short video, starring Heidi...

Bertie in Low Places

2007-05-17T17:46:00.000-04:00

It's a year today since Bertie died. We miss him, but we're happy that we can still enjoy him on video. Lisa put together this short version of Bertie in Low Places for YouTube.

Cinco de Mayo

2007-05-05T13:33:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Cinco de Mayo a day early by having dinner at our favorite local Mexican place, Poblanos.

Deer playground

2007-04-27T14:28:00.000-04:00

We have often seen deer in the woods behind our house. When I came home from lunch one of them was right by our fence. He stood there while I went outside and took his picture.

English Garden Tea

2007-04-26T14:24:00.000-04:00

I joined the Augusta Area Newcomers Club in March, and in April I was organizing the English Garden Tea and Plant Swap, an annual event hosted by the AANC Garden Group. It was a very refined affair. Since I am also now the Webmaster for AANC, you can see more pictures of the event at the AANC website.

Masters Week Visitors

2007-04-09T14:20:00.000-04:00

We enjoyed our first Masters Week, although we did not get tickets. Steve was glued to the TV for the final rounds. We also had our first human visitors, our neighbours from North Carolina, Eric and Carol, and their Jack Russell terrier, Sparky. Of course Sparky was our very first visitor when he came to stay for Thanksgiving last year.

Brookgreen Gardens in Spring

2007-03-27T14:09:00.000-04:00

We drove back to North Carolina for the weekend and visited Brookgreen gardens. As usual Steve had to take pictures of the turtles. Photos

The Aiken Trials

2007-03-17T14:12:00.000-04:00

Now we are living close to "Horse Country" we decided to take advantage and go to the Aiken Trials. This thoroughbred race is the first event in the Triple Crown. We signed up for the VIP tent and dressed up accordingly. It was a very cold day but with the open bar we soon had a warm glow. The carriage parade was fun, followed by the races. Photos

Newcomers Club

2007-03-02T21:29:00.000-05:00

Lisa joined the Augusta Area Newcomers Club. She went to a nice lunch at the Pinnacle Club with the local ladies.

Tornado Warning

2007-03-02T21:21:00.000-05:00

The worst of the storms missed us last night, but a tornado apparently destroyed a house in a nearby county. Unlike a hurricane, the "super cell" was relatively concentrated and moved very fast (60 mph). The local TV station was giving us warnings with various town scheduled right to the minute. In less than an hour, the intense part of the storm had passed by. We just got a lot of rain, something like 5 inches over night.

Oscars

2007-02-28T21:48:00.000-05:00

The Oscar show was too boring to watch, but we were happy to see Lisa's aunt Helen win for best actress.

Planning our next home

2007-02-24T16:44:00.000-05:00

Real people who live in a Hobbit House. I thought we might get some good ideas from looking at their plans. Lisa says No.

Let Virgin America Fly

2007-01-18T19:25:00.000-05:00

Our friend Richard Branson is trying to start up a new airline in the US. At the moment, the Department of Transportation has denied Virgin America's application to operate in America. We hope our government will reconsider. Visit www.letVAfly.com for more information.

Columbia and Charlotte

2007-01-14T13:47:00.000-05:00

We had a brief but fun vacation for one night, visiting Columbia on our way to Charlotte. In Columbia we wanted around the State Capitol campus and had lunch and ice cream. We drove on to Charlotte and spent the night downtown. Dinner was our favorite Tapas at Arpa, but we also managed the famous "Krispy Kreme" Bread Pudding at Savannah Red which was one of the restaurants in our hotel, the Marriott.

New Look

2007-01-07T19:37:00.000-05:00

We've converted our blog to the new Blogger. It has a new look and a new URL: http://minerupdates.lisaminer.com. You can find all our pictures at http://www.lisaminer.com/minerupdates. (There's also a link over to the right.)

Happy New Year!

Hopeland Gardens and the Curiosity Shop

2006-12-23T19:53:00.000-05:00

This afternoon we drove to Aiken, about 30 minutes from here. First Lisa bought some English food essentials, such as custard and ginger biscuits at the Curiosity Shop. Then we went for a walk around Hopeland Gardens. We intended to visit the Thoroughbred Hall of Fame on our return, but by then it was closed. I suppose that gives us an excuse for another visit in the spring.

Georgia Home

2006-12-14T16:50:00.000-05:00

We are finally getting settled. Our website now includes pictures of our new home.

Baby Alexander

2006-12-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

Celesta and John sent us some nice pictures of their new baby, Alexander. I especially liked this family shot, shortly after the birth. Congratulations to the whole family. Good People!

Lunch at the Pinnacle Club

2006-12-05T17:23:00.000-05:00

Today I had lunch with the Willow Lake ladies at the Pinnacle Club, a private dining club in Augusta. There were magnificent views of the Savannah river and Augusta from the 17th floor.

Georgia Master Gardeners

2006-12-04T17:15:00.000-05:00

One of our neighbors is a Master Gardener so I went to a lecture on Orchids and lunch with her today. It was held at the Savannah Rapids Pavillion in a room with incredible views. I am considering becoming a Georgia Master Gardener.

Patriots Park

2006-11-26T17:28:00.000-05:00

Today we walked in Patriots Park, which seems like a good facility with gym and lots of outdoor sports including Frisbee Golf. Unfortunately no adult volleyball.

First visitor

2006-11-26T17:09:00.000-05:00

We had our first visitor in the new house - Sparky - Cleo's best friend from Blakley Court. Sparky stayed with us for Thanksgiving and all three dogs had a great time.

New driver's licenses

2006-11-21T14:12:00.000-05:00

Another milestone in our move, we got our new driver's licenses. Not too painful, although interestingly, we had to provide evidence of our citizenship. We celebrated with lunch at a Mexican restaurant; pretty good, but no Abuelos!

Savannah Rapids

2006-11-19T17:26:00.000-05:00

We took the dogs for a walk down by the Savannah canal today, starting at the Savannah Rapids. You can walk all the way along the towpath from Evans to Locks Rd (near where we live) to downtown Augusta. We only made it as far as the old quarry - but we had a good walk.