BEAVER/DUFFY WEDDING MINUS 4 DAYS AND COUNTING

 

 

Reverend Randy to the Rescue

On Tuesday, October 9, the BLOG learned that Reverend Randy, an ordained Presbyterian minister, will officiate the Beaver/Duffy nuptials.  The Rev. J. Randy Hall is the pastor of Fairmont Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Lexington, NC .

 The Duffy side of the family may not know that Reverend Randy is also the consort of Countess Jane, the mother of the bride. 

You may recall from the earlier BLOG, that the Beaver/Duffy Wedding had no celebrant due to a "dolce vita" fiasco, just days before the cermony.    Another celebrant had to found, and quick.   Reverend Randy stepped in to take the place of the dismissed “dolce vita” vacationing celebrant.  Obviously the dolce vicar thought little of how important this day is in the lives of Anna and Dan.  Better to have someone, as Reverend Randy who knows the bride and groom and wants this day to be perfect for them, besides he might do it "pro bono".   

The ceremony will be at Epworth by the Sea, a picturesque Methodist Conference Center just north of the village of St. Simons Island, on the Frederica River.   The Wedding Day weather forecast is for good to very good weather.  See the link below for more pictures of this special place where the couple will exchange their vows.  http://www.epworthbythesea.org/

Two More Confidential Informants

The BLOG has recruited two more informants to help bring you the best insider information.   “Hot Lips” is a well-connected person who is driven to find the truth and knows when her sources are holding back secrets.  Also “RON” will be sharing whatever he learns about the Beaver-Duffy nuptials.  Not to worry, Deep Cleavage, who broke the “dolce vita” story ,  is still a valued source.  In working confidential informants, the BLOG tries to confirm stories by having several informants work independently.  We are still looking for a few good men, or women.  Annonymous tips can also be sent to artesiano@yahoo.com
 

In and Around St. Simons Island

More of the wedding guests are starting to arrive on the island.  Those that can are relaxing a bit before the main event, but many have wedding responsibilities and are getting key tasks finalized. 

Colonel Gary, Vanna Lynn, Chris (Lynn’s son) his Lordship, and Phillip of the House of Rum and Coke played golf in nearby Jekyll Island.  No reports on what the Bride and Groom did today, but Mr. FOG followed Maid of the Mist and Tom the Often Wise to see where they were going.  They went to Harris Teeter to buy groceries and they shop the specials.  Maid often asks Often Wise to go get something for her while she tends the cart and she finds other things.  They seemed to be an effective grocery shopping tag team couple.  Often Wise discovered FOG and his cover was blown.  Maid of the Mist suggested that FOG should buy the Artisan pumpernickel bread which was on sale.

In the evening, we were back to Colonel Gary’s Officers Quarters for a pizza get together, which presented another picture taking opportunity. 


Perhaps blondes do have more fun???

Charley the PUG, the Bride's understudy,  eagerly tries on the bridal gownjust in case she is needed.
Shouldn't Dan be told, and does Dan have an understudy also???

Sandy give Vanna Lynn some golf pointers while
Charley the Pug approvingly looks on

 

 Our group gathering photo is getting bigger as more guests and family arrive:
 

 

 

 

 



 



BEAVER/DUFFY WEDDING MINUS 5 DAYS

Dan the Dragon Slayer and Duchess Anna of Beaver
(Bride is tired but fortunately she photgraphs well and
 a nice smile hides this from the camera.
  The groom looked rested and relaxed)

On Monday October 8 many of the principal protagonists in the Beaver and Duffy nuptials had arrived to St. Simons Island, Ga.  The leading man and lady, Dan and Anna, joined the Maid of the Mist and Tom the Often Wise, the groom’s parents, already based in St. Simons and who have been busy holding down the fort and getting things ready. 

Colonel Gary, the bride’s dad, was also on hand, making the trip from Greensboro and getting settled in his poolside officer’s quarters near Crab Daddys.  Jane, the mother of the bride will arrive soon, as will many more of the supporting actors including brothers, grandparents, friends and other relatives.

 

 

Wedding Coordinator and Celebrant Were Replaced Just Days Before the Wedding

The big breaking story is that the Beaver/Duffy wedding coordinator and ceremony celebrant had to be replaced just days before the wedding.  According to “Deep Cleavage”, a BLOG confidential informant, a careless Facebook posting disclosed that the coordinator and celebrant were living the “dolce vita” rather than doing their jobs.  Be careful what secrets you put on your Facebook page. 

Deep Cleavage will hopefully keep us informed on all the insider information on the Beaver/Duffy Wedding, much as Deep Throat unraveled the Watergate conspiracy.

The story seems to be that the coordinator and ceremony celebrant were vacationing in Europe, when they should have been at St. Simons Island during  the crucial days before the Beaver/Duffy nuptials.  This vacation faux pas was unacceptable and the coordinator and celebrant were dismissed.  According to sources, the Bride was upset that so much work had gone into the wedding and now at the last minute she had to find a substitute celebrant plus someone has to fill in for the duties of the wedding coordinator.   While people enjoy the rehearsal dinner, reception and other wedding activities; the wedding ceremony is the highlight of the event.  It has to be right and paid professionals need to take their job seriously.  The Groom, as usual was supportive of his Bride and took things in his usual relaxed stride. 

We will have more details on the substitute celebrant, if any?  Or perhaps will the couple simply exchange vows and have no celebrant?  Will this dolce vita holiday  "spoil"  the  wedding?  Who will assume the coordinator’s duties?  The test of course be on the wedding day, and hopefully this last minute hitch will be unseen by the many guests attending.  But the BLOG readers have the inside story and know the lowdown on this dolce vita secret.  The lesson is that first you earn the money then you do the dolce vita; not the other way around. 

 

Monday Night Get Together

Colonel Gary hosted a small gathering.  Pictures follow:

Maid of the Mist Shows Us How to Play the Swedish Spoon Game
(the Men were Disquslified for Using Hands)
 

 

Colonel Gary, Vanna Lynn, Mr. FOG, Tom the Often Wise, Charley the Dog, Dan the Dragon Slayer, Anna Duchess of Beaver, Maid of the Mist, His Lordship, and  Phillip of the House of Rum and Coke

 

Card Players Drink Heavily as Game wears On
(Duchess Anna of Beaver won the game, Mr. FOG and Dan the Dragon Slayer were tied for last place)

 

CANCER TREATMENTS IMPROVE HAIR

 

Mr. FOG made it St. Simons Island for the big Anna and Dan Wedding.  FOG has not seen his Lordship since the August Pig Pickin’ Fun in Greensboro and what a difference 8 weeks makes. 



His Lordship in October 2012

His Lordship had been off the chemotherapy since early July but has been receiving radiation in August and September.  During this time, his Lordship’s hair, nearly all lost during the chemotherapy, has come back, but it also has changed.  The facial hair looks thicker and perhaps darker.   New baby fuzz hair is appearing on the top of his head and it is blond as when he was a little boy.  His Lordship also reports having more body hair where he had little or none before, and mostly the facial hair is finer and silky to the touch.    This was not verified by FOG, but FOG can attest to a much fuller looking beard that what he had before the cancer treatments.

Below are some web links to medical literature.  The gist is that certain medications taken for one purpose, ie. heart or cancer medications, can alter hair growth, either causing it to fall out or grow.  In Mario’s case the cancer medications caused his hair to fall out, however when it returned the hair was different in color, texture, and growing more vigorously or places where there had not been much hair.  Did the hair have "genetic" change??



Nurse Sherry and his Lordship at his June 2012 Birthday

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/drug-induced-hair-loss http://www.hairdoc.com/book/Chapter_09_hair_loss_answers.pdf

Mr. FOG is follicle challenged.  He was told the chemotherapy drugs cause hair to fall out.   He was not told that when the drug was discontinued, vigorous hair growth would result.  Had he know this, he might have tried to get some these drugs while he had the chance.   Perhaps there is a business opportunity here.  Cancer drugs as restorative hair treatments???   The BLOG will continue to monitor the situation and perhaps do its own clinical trials . 

WEDDING NOTES:

Anna and Dan's wedding is too big to cover in three Blogs.  Mr. FOG is on-hand in St Simons and will have a daily wedding date update for the five days or so leading up to the big events.  Read the BLOG for a breaking story later today.  However he needs your help, since he can't be everywhere at once.  So please send stories, pictures, etc.  to artesiano@yahoo.com 

FOG FOR THOUGHT:  "Anna and Dan" or "Dan and Anna"  FOG has struggled in deciding the order of the names in writing the BLOG.  He has switched off, with each of pair alternating the top billing.  Generally the woman should go first, but in this age of sexual equality, this seems an outmoded premise.   The "A" before the "D" sounds about as good as the "D" before the "A".    Likely Anna  would want Dan to go first because she loves him and who goes first is not important.  Likewise   Dan would want Anna to go first if this is something that is important to her.  

FOG has concluded that the order of the names doesn't matter, since the "and", representing the union, is the most important word.  This conclusion is reinforced by other famous teams, such as peanut butter and jelly and mac and cheese.  It is the combination (union) of these other famous foods, not the order, that is important.  Alone they are good, but not famous.  Together they have become American favorites.

ON THE WAY TO THE WEDDING

Honda Element and Kayak Taking A Break

 

BLOGs on Mr. FOG's Midwest Road trip are on hold.  He is on the road again going to Anna and Dan's wedding.   But of course there were stops along the way.  It is both the journey and the destination.

DINNER CLUB AT LAKE OCONEE

   

Kate and Dick are usually the Fall dinner club hosts.  They have a beautiful family lakeside getaway home at Lake Oconee's Cuscowilla Golf Resort.  Decorated by Kate and planned by both, the house is truly a perfect family retreat  .  (Cuscowilla is the name of a Seminole Indian village in Alachua area of Florida.  It was a lake side home.  The Oconee River area used to be a Seminole home until they were driven away by other tribes and moved to Florida.). 

The Indians would like what has been to Oconee River which is now a lake in parts.  So too, does the dinner club look forward to visits to this lovely setting.  Our typical routine is a boat trip for cocktails and then our dinner.  And once again Captain Dick and First Mate Kate got the group safely to the Ritz Carlton Hotel dock at the nearby Reynolds Plantation Golf Resort.   It was a warm afternoon for October and hotel guests were still at the pool, board paddling, kayaking and frolicking in the lake.  Fishermen (or is it fisherpersons now a days) patiently were waiting for the big one and other boats waved to us as we rode the lake’s byways to the Ritz.  The trip over and back was almost as good as the drinks.

Captain Dick allowed First Mate Kate to take us back home.  As usual we back faster, with Kate taking the helm.  Although favorable currents and winds might have helped us, First Mate Kate throws caution to the wind and likes to go fast.   An artistic photo of the wind playing with Kate’s hair as she speeded back to the Cuscawilla homestead will have to wait due to technical difficulties.  But we do have a picture of the group at dockside.

Mr. FOG, Lois, Captain Dick, Suzanne, Dave, and First Mate Kate

 

After a nice boat ride to the Ritz Carlton for drinks, Dave wanted to show the group how much of the stubborn belly fat he had lost.  He does look better.  Dick of course had to also show that his six pack was showing at least two of the pack, and Mario who barely got in the picture, wanted to brag that his pecs had firmed up with yoga and the Early Bird exercise classes.  Lois, Kate and Suzanne, looking rich and famous, smiled and hardly paid any attention to the men's antics.  Instead,  the women calmly enjoyed the afternoon’s last sun rays while relaxing on the boat, saying they have seen this all  before.

Suzanne Expertly Kayaking

 

 

CANCER NEWS: On the cancer front, his Lordship just finished his radiation thereapy. It went off well with no apparent sideeffects. In the coming months the issue of the restoration of nerve and muscle function to the leg/foot becomes the important issue.

 

PAPARAZZI WANTED:  With the upcoming nuptials of Dan and Anna, the BLOG will be focusing on this happy event.  Consequently the BLOG desparatrely needs photographers, insiders, and others who will provide photographs and stories about the event, or the couple's courtship.   Sherry Lane of course will be sharing new stories, but this is a big event and she will need help. The BLOG will try to put out a daily edition for the three days leading to the wedding and of course our big wedding issue on Sunday.

Please send your news stories to artesiano@yahoo.com  and state if want your name the  photo/story credit or want you anonimity protected. 

 

 

FOG’S ROAD TRIP –THE BOURBON TRAIL

If you can do it for wine, why not for bourbon? 

Map of the Bourbon Trail

Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail is a pilgrimage of sorts to six of the state’s premier distilleries of ‘Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey”.    Kentucky distillers had legislation passed to define and protect their product. 

Once there were thousands of bourbon distilleries, and today there are many less and most of the more famous ones are located in Kentucky’s horse country area around Frankfort, Lexington and Louisville.  The area’s limestone filtered water has the crucial ingredient for making good bourbon, iron-free water. 

The Bourbon Trail entails traveling from one distiller to another, through beautiful horse farms, passing nice little towns and bucolic landscapes.  A tour of the facility and sampling of the product is offered at each distillery.  You may take any road you want, drive, walk, bike, etc; just as long as you make it to all six. 



The 2012 Bourbon Trail T Shirt

MR. FOG made it to three of the six distilleries on the Bourbon Trail.  When he visits all six and gets his passport stamped to prove it, he gets a T-shirt.

 It was a very nice experience, but the sampling was a little rushed at all the distilleries visited.  After spending so much time in the making the bourbon, one would think that the distellers would want you to spend a bit more time to savor the results of their labor and prove that their bourbon is the best. 

 



Scottish Type Distiller


 

Woodford Reserve is perhaps the cradle of Bourbon, made in small batches, from water that has seeped through limestone which removes the iron, and aged in barrels stored in stone or clay walled warehouses, dating back to the early 1800s.  This distillery is likely the oldest in the state.   Here the tour was perhaps the best, but the serving of the product did not do it justice.  It was the end of day and perhaps the staff was eager to go home.  We got one sample in a keepsake plastic shot glass without any explanation on which Woodford Reserve Bourbon we were sampling.   This distillery charged $7 for the tour.  The rest were free of charge.

  

 Woodford Reserve bourbon is pricey since it is made in small batches and FOG’s palate can’t appreciate the extras that go into this bourbon.  Perhaps yours can, and Woodford’s extra efforts are worth the price to you.  


 

At Four Roses, tight on time, FOG skipped the tour and went straight for the sampling.  Four Roses had a new bartender and she did a very heavy pour.  After three good shots, FOG felt the bourbon.  Four Roses makes three bourbons and the small batch 90 proof was FOG’s favorite.  Four Roses, was a bourbon he had not had before may take the place of Jim Beam in the FOG liquor cabinet. 

Four Roses Bourbon Aging Barrel Is Now a Swing

 

Wild Turkey is big mass production place, has many different types presumably to capture different market segments.  Also Wild Turkey is now a subsidiary of the Italian company that makes Cinzano. 

Here FOG did the tour, sampled three of the bourbons and rode the wild turkey.  Again the sampling was a bit rushed.  Just have your snort of bourbon and leave, they all seemed to say without actually saying it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. FOG Doing Some Wild Turkey Riding

Some bourbon facts:

Bourbon is named after a place in Kentucky.  I would have thought France.

Bourbon can be made anywhere, but can’t be called Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, unless it meets specific requirements. 

Kentucky  straight bourbon whiskey, can only have water, corn, barley, rye or wheat as a flavoring grain, and yeast.  Absolutely no other flavorings, i.e. additional sweeteners are permitted such as those used in Jack Daniels Tennessee sour mash whiskeys.

To be a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, it has to be aged at least 4 years and usually bourbons are aged longer, to 6 or 8 years .

In an aging warehouse, usually the barrels in the middle of the building having less temperature extremes,  produce the better bourbons. 

A variety of factors such as the mix of grains used, the alcohol content of the distilled fluid, strain of yeast used, the charring of the barrels, ect determine the taste of each individual distilleries’ bourbons. 

Bourbons from different casks are mixed in the bottling process or the bottling can be from single cask.   Woodford and Wild Turkey now are producing a bourbon that is double barreled.  Aged once in an charred barrel and aged again in another charred barrel for an even more “oak” taste.

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How About Some Rum??

Although tempted by the bourbons, Mr. FOG, perhaps given his Caribbean roots, still favors aged rums called Anejo for sipping.   As with bourbon there are many different types of aged rums.  Bacardi Anejo  is perhaps the most famous/popular, but the anejo made by Ron Abuelo ,  a Panamanian rum disteller, is a good compromise balancing flavor and cost.  As with bourbons, anejos are aged at least 4 to 6 years and beauty is the eye or palate, of the beholder.

FOG'S ROAD TRIP --WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN’ GOING ON

Civil War Cadets Assembling at Mt. Pleasant Shakertown

This stop on FOG's road trip was at the Shaker Village in Mount Pleasant, Kentucky. 

Unfortunately there is not a lot of "shaking" going on these days since the Kentucky Shakers are extinct.  The pictures are of a preserved Shaker village in Kentucky during a recent Civil war re-enactment with crafts demonstrations and people in period costumes.  The cadets are from West Virginia and spent the night in tents, much as troops may have done 150 years ago.

Due to rainy weather, Mr. FOG missed the Mt. Pleasant Shaker town Civil War re-enactments, but he went the following day and the Civil War people were still around and in costume. He is glad he waited, the better weather made for better pictures.

FOG visits his sister a couple of times a year and stays about a week or so.  Usually he is rushed getting there and back.This time it was about the journey and he made a road trip out of the visit, stopping at various locations along the way.It was a fun way to get to Chicago and back.  Adopting a  hobo/vagabond mindset, caused FOG’s blood pressure to go down throughout the road trip.

Early morning around the campfire

 

Home now, Mr. FOG was again remiss in keeping you informed about his road trip adventures as they happened.  So just pretend he is still on the road trip and writing this daily and dutifully every night.  Sorry Ellen and Jim that I did not call you while I was in Chicago.

 

 

An earlier Blog covered FOG’s visit to Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.  The next major point of interest, still in Kentucky, is Mt. Pleasant, a restored Shaker village, not far from Lexington. 

You may want to listen to Jerry Lee’s famous song, WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN’ GOING ON to make up for the lack of Shakers. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yRdDnrB5kM

Jerry Lee and the Shakers could not be further apart.  “Shaking” for Lee and others of that era, and perhaps you are one, was something like “don’t come a knockin if the van is rockin”.  The Shakers on the other hand were a celibate religious group and shaking was a religious experience when they felt the presence of the supreme being, and they shook.

Inside a Shaker Workshop

 

Unfortunately a religion based on celibacy may be like a house built on sand, and will not last.  Catholics do have some things right. 

If celibate, where do new baby Shakers come from?  Well it used to be the orphanages, but modern orphanages do not give children to the Shakers.    Also the Shaker  monastic lifestyle of hard work and celibacy does not compete well with today’s lifestyle. 

Girls in Period Costume

The Shakers once had many such villages as the one at Mt. Pleasant Kentucky, and now have only two or three surviving members in one last surviving settlement in Bethel, Maine.  Brothers lived together and Sisters lived together.  Even during church services they sat apart.  Perhaps celibacy did help the Shakers in their religious development and arts and crafts for which they are famous.  However, dependent on orphans for new members, the Shakers, absent a miracle, are extinct.  Thankfully, Mt. Pleasant and other Shaker villages still are preserved to help show us the Shaker way of life even after they are gone.

http://www.shakervillageky.org/

 

FOG’S ROAD TRIP

Painting of Daniel Boone Leading Settlers to New Lands

With only boring radiation cancer news, Mr. FOG decided to share his road trip on the BLOG.  Look for our big fall wedding issue as we cover Anna and Dan’s October nuptials.

 Mario is doing fine, going to radiation therapy every week day, for a total of 35 treatments.  He is about half-way through them.  It is a quick stop in on his way to work.  The radiologist radiates the leg and he is on his way.  This treatment in conjunction with the chemotherapy is being done to increase his odds that the cancer does not return.  While the chemo therapy worked very well , getting rid of every visible sign of the tumor, smaller microscopic cancer cells could still be, or perhaps more accurately, probably still are present.  The external radiation of the area where the tumor grew should kill these cells.  At first the side effects, where not noticeable, but irritation of the skin and a weakening of the leg are beginning to develop, as the radiation kills both good and bad cells in the area.

The big question is when or if, nerve function will return to the leg.  Mario walks with a pronounced limp, due to a loss of sensation on the sole of his foot, since the tibial nerve was severely damaged by the tumor.  Not until the cancer treatments stop, will we know if the body will be able to repair itself and function return to the leg.  Mr. FOG is both happy and grateful  for what God, science, the doctors, luck, and the strength of family and friends has given us.  He is hopeful that Mario will recover full function of the leg in the months to come

Cumberland Gap National Historic Park

Vista of the Cumberalnd Gap

Mr. FOG is taking the back roads of Tennessee and Kentucky to visit his sister in Chicago (Orland Park).  The first stop on the road trip was the Cumberland Gap, where the states of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee meet.  It was at this junction that the early settlers crossed to open the rich farming lands west of the Appalachians.   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_Gap

While others may disagree, this park is perhaps not the most memorable of our nation’s parks.  While certainly historically significant, it lacks the wonder of parks having a dramatic geological feature, e.g. the Grand Canyon and some historical sites are harder present (“interpret”) .   How does one show the hope,  fear, and other emotions of the early pioneers finally going through the gap to settle new lands? 

A remote mountain top settlement of the early 20^th Century was preserved and made for a nice little tour.  Below are some pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The School House