happy anniversary to me

I just realized that it’s my Ten Year OD Anniversary- or, just past it. I made my first entry on October 19, 2001. Yikes! It sure doesn’t seem like ten years ago. I knew it was coming up, but didn’t remember exactly when it was. Other than some time after 9/11. I found OD right before 9/11 and remember reading tons of diary entries about the aftermath. I feel ancient. I was here during the Free OD Vs. Paid OD Wars! That actually DOES seem like 10 years ago. That seems like another lifetime. I guess it kind of was. 

Anyhow, as usual I am being a laggard with my OD entries. And reading and noting and blah blah blah. What’s been going on?

WELL, the biggie was having a visit from President Obama on Monday! It was very hush-hush. They’d announced that he’d be making a stop in Asheville, and also that he was speaking at a high school in Miller’s Creek, a county east of here. Then last weekend our county schools said they were releasing students at noon on Monday — no, no, there’s no reason at all, we’re just calling it a day early!– and all students and staff had to clear completely out of the high school. So of course speculation began that he’d be making a stop here. But no routes or times were made public. So at lunch I decided I’d drive down the main drag and see if anything looked like it was going on. When I saw that parking lots on both sides of the main road were full of policemen and people in fluorescent green vests, I decided I’d go up to the Harris Teeter parkinglot, which sits on a hill overlooking the highway and would have a great view of any motorcades that happened along. I’d just sit there and read my Kindle, and if he didn’t turn up before I had to go back to work, oh, well — at least I’d get to see a little of the pre-possible-motorcade preparations. 

Of course, by the time my lunch break was over, and I needed to head back to work, the roads had been completely blocked off. Oooops! I ended up having a two hour lunch, and got to see the motorcade drive by below me –

There’s his bus! Yes, behind that tree. 

 
Here’s a much better picture, that I didn’t take – 

Naturally, if I’d stayed in my office, he’d have driven RIGHT BY MY WINDOW. Yes, they took an extremely odd route and went right past my office! However, since nobody in my office even realized he’d driven by, it’s possible I might have missed it. Probably not, though, since I’ve got those ginormous floor-to-ceiling windows. 

He even stopped in at Mast Store!!

Guess where I’d thought about going on my lunch break, because I wanted to see if they had any little bags I can carry my netbook and Kindle in for the Delaware Trip next weekend, because my dad is having back issues and I’m going to have to lug all our stuff and my usual messenger bag is bigger than it needs to be for the few things I want to put in it??? YEAH. I just about walked over to Mast. RATS! Oh, well, it was quite exciting just getting to see the motorcade from atop Harris Teeter’s parkinglot hill. I didn’t expect to see it at all. 

I do hope he enjoyed Unseasonable Santa waving at him as he passed by –

I noticed that McDonalds fixed their "dinnig rm open 24 hrs" sign before he arrived. So yay, we could have looked like even worse hillbillies. 

Anyhow, that’s the biggest thing that’s happened around here in awhile. Of course mostly people were whining about traffic being stopped for ages due to the motorcade. Obama won NC when he was elected – kind of shockingly, for the most part it’s a very Republican state — but he’s fallen way out of favor due to the economy, which of course is ALL his fault and nothing to do with 8 years of Bush and three years of the most uncooperative congress ever. But I won’t go off on a political rant. You’re welcome.

I had other things to ramble on about, but now it’s much too late in the evening. What a surprise! I got to see Cutest Twins Ever last weekend, so here’s a couple of pictures of them –

This look is exactly like her mom at that age. EXACTLY. They both have that same LOOK. It’s hilarious!

They were very interested in my camera bag —

That resulted in some drama —

That’s their aunt – she was babysitting. She looks a little tired. That’s actually not a good picture of her, oddly- generally she’s extremely photogenic. But it’s so cute of the Twin Trouble that I had to include it. I also have to confess that I do not know which one is Eleanor and which one is Rileigh. How awful is that?!?!? I THINK the one in the pink shirt is Rileigh. She has a birthmark on the top of her head, and I used to use that to tell which one is which, but now she’s got hair and the birthmark is hidden. 

And here’s one of MY baby — Stella in my jeans drawer. Yes, Stella is a little bit, shall we say, pudgy. I’m kind of surprised she was able to get up in there. It made her very very happy, though.