Hotties off the Press

The 2009 Men of Grand Rivers Calendars are now at the printers, and will be available for sale at the Chamber Holiday Open House. The Open House is Sunday, December 14, at the Senior Community Center from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. EVERYONE is invited. The price of the Calendar is $15 and all proceeds go to the Chamber City Beautification Fund. A big thank you goes to all of our models for donating their time and talent to our beautification fundraiser. One look through the calendar and you will agree that these cuties definitely add to the beauty of Grand Rivers. Make sure you attend the Chamber Holiday Open House and purchase your calendar. The Chamber printed 50 copies and once they are gone they are gone!

Blame it on Momma

If you have noticed my lack of posts over the last week, you can blame my mother. She came to visit and so I have been busy enjoying home cooked meals, shopping excursions, and family time. Although she is not officially a local character, she is a character so if you are reading this you will meet her anyway.
My mom has the best laugh in the whole world. It is a cross between a deep belly chuckle and a giggle. And that eye twinkling thing that Santa does; well he learned that from my mom. He did not however learn the suit covered with ashes and soot thing from her because she is always impeccably dressed.
My mom is a good listener but never judges so you can tell her anything. She wants my life to be stress free and will offer to do all my worrying for me.
She is a master in the kitchen where her repartee features southern comfort food (my fav) and lots of it.
She is also a shopper extraordinaire. She can help you find things on sale that you never even knew you needed.
If she wasn’t my mom, she would still be my friend because she is so much fun to hang out with.
She thinks I am smart, beautiful, funny, and a good person. She wants me to be happy. She wants me to be the best I can be. She thinks that with just a little lipstick (“to add a little color”) that I would be perfect.

Christmas in Grand Rivers

The Christmas lights are amazing. Even a little rain did not put a damper on the weekend in Grand Rivers. My pictures were not the best. Thankfully, Danielle with Green Turtle Bay did get some good pictures. Here is one she shared with me.

Joi with Genuine Kentucky was also in town this weekend. You can read her review of Variety! Christmas Spectacular here -

http://www.genuinekentucky.com/

Grand Rivers Festival of Lights

Patti's turns on the lights tonight! The gospel group Eternal Vision plays at the gazebo behind Patti's at 5:30 and the lights come on around 6:00. This is one of my favorite nights of the year in Grand Rivers. My mom and my son are in town and both will be joining us tonight. The gang is meeting at about 5:00 in front of Anna's Coffee Shop. I can't wait.

Cooler than a Puppy

Not to be outdone by last week’s news of the pending Obama puppy, I will be surprising my friends and family with an American Bison for Christmas. Yep, if you wake up with one of these adorable creatures under your tree or peeking out of your stocking, you will have me to thank for it.

You should get bison for your friends for Christmas too. A bison is way cooler than a puppy. A bison is a patriotic gift. They are an icon of American history and have appeared on flags and coins. They are also the largest land animal in North America and big gifts make you look like a big spender.

Ok. So I do realize that bison are dangerous and unpredictable wild animals. Poetic license aside, what my friends and family will actually receive on Christmas morning, is a cute plush stuffed animal representing an adopted bison through the Friends of LBL Association.

The Friends of LBL is a non-profit organization that assists with the education, improvement, and conservation of the USDA Forest Service’s Land Between the Lakes. The friends are offering a new program where you can adopt a symbolic bison or elk. The cost is $30, plus a shipping charge if the package is mailed, for each animal adopted. With the adoption you receive a cute plush elk or bison tagged for the year you adopted it, an adoption certificate; and an information piece about elk or bison, depending on which you adopted. You also receive a collage picture of elk or bison, an Elk-Bison prairie brochure and a token for a free admission to the prairie.

The proceeds from the adoption go to Friends of LBL and support environmental education, conservation activities, and programs in the Elk-bison prairie of Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. A unique gift and a good cause! It is the “Tickle me Elmo” for outdoor enthusiasts.

The adopt a bison or elk program is brand new. They will be in Friends of LBL gift shops before Thanksgiving or you can order them through the Friends Administrative offices. For more information or to order, contact jrufli@friendsoflbl.org . For more information on Friends of LBL, visit their website at http://www.friendsoflbl.org/

Fond Farewell

On Saturday night the gang met up at our house to say farewell to (and Happy Birthday to) more boater friends; Frank and Cindy. Frank and Cindy arrived in Grand Rivers in the spring sporting glowing tans and long blonde hair. We called them the Vikings. The marina assigned them a slip on pier 6 and “Mayor” Pat took them under her wing. Frank and Cindy live every day to the fullest. They are a welcome addition to Green Turtle Bay and Grand Rivers. They volunteered on Marina Day, cooked for Tuesday night clubs, participated in cruising club and CYC events, and added to the fun of summer with all their enthusiasm. We laughed. We cried. We now call them friends and will miss them over the winter. Frank and Cindy shared with me this letter to express what these few short summer months meant to them.

“In October 2006 we arrived at Green Turtle Bay; one of the “must stops” when doing the Great Loop. We were traveling with another boat and we planned to stay one night and then move on. Well, all of us had such a great time that we stayed four days. Since then, we have always talked about our great experience at Green Turtle Bay.

Due to Hurricane insurance, we have to be north of the 35 parallel by the first of June. We started thinking of all of the nice places we visited when doing the loop. Well, Green Turtle Bay popped into our minds and we thought it would be a great place to spend a few summer months. What a great choice it turned out to be.

We arrived in April on a windy rain filled day. As we were tying up at our designated slip on Pier 6, we were welcomed by the “Mayor” of Pier 6; Pat Terry and her faithful companion Luke. As the days went on the mayor introduced us to everyone on Pier 6 and to others from piers 12, 5 and 4. We were overwhelmed by the kindness of everyone. We joined the Commonwealth Yacht Club and participated in many of the events throughout the summer. There is so much to do at Green Turtle Bay there was never a dull moment.

To try and find all of the right words to express our memories and new experiences of the past several months would be a challenge, but here are a few; awesome, overwhelming, fun, learning, relaxing, and enjoyable. By far this was the best stop in our three years of boat travel. We have so many special thank yous to give to all. To try and list everyone by name would take another six pages so to everyone a big THANK YOU.

Over the summer our pet of 7 years, Diamond passed away. Our hearts were empty. The kindness and compassion of our new friends helped us get through this difficult time and we will never forget any of you.

Winter is moving in and it is time to go south. We would like to thank the entire Green Turtle Bay staff for all of your friendly smiles, and help with whatever we needed. The Gary’s for having the foresight to build such a beautiful resort for boaters. And once again to everyone we have met, Thank you so much. All your warm hearted and thoughtfulness is what makes Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, KY one of the finest boating area’s around. See you in the spring. Have a safe and happy new year. “

Frank and Cindy Staffe
Peacekeeper

Boater Friends

About this time of year in Grand Rivers we start seeing many of our boater friends migrate south. Last night we met our friends Jay and Owe at the Commonwealth Yacht Club for their seasonal farewell. Also present were Pat, Jerry, Diane, Marcia, Stu, Diane, Cindy and Frank (did I mention that I am the new recording secretary for CYC).

As another boating season draws to a close, I reflect back to the memories of this season and past seasons that bonded us as friends. Tuesday night dinner clubs at the Green Turtle Bay Pavilion, get-togethers on the pier, parties at the Yacht Club; all are more fun when Jay and Owe are in town. I have never once seen Jay in a bad mood. She has a genuine concern for others and always asks me how my son or mom is doing. Whenever you invite her somewhere the response is, “What can I bring!” She is always ready to help and she has one of the best laughs I have ever heard. What I like most about Owe is his quick wit and one liners. I am privileged to call them friends. To Jay and Owe, thank you for your friendship, travel safe, have a warm winter, and we will see you back in Grand Rivers in the spring.

And in Other Election News...

Congratulations to Mark Sunderman and all of the new 2009 Green Turtle Bay Commonwealth Yacht Club board members and officers (and by "all", I mostly mean me and my best friend Pat :). Click on the article to read the full story.

You Go Girls!

O.K. So I didn’t get the chance to vote for Hillary yesterday, but I did get the chance to vote for three AMAZING women in Grand Rivers. In our local election, nine candidates ran for six City Council seats. And the 2009 – 2010 Grand Rivers City Council Members are (ladies first of course)……

Brenda Lady
Dianne Bingham
Pat Gorbett
Bud Hunt
Frank Buchanon
Bill Huffman

Weekend in Review

On the weekends, I become a tourist in my own town. This weekend the weather was gorgeous and the events were all about friends and celebration here in Grand Rivers.
Friday night we celebrated Halloween with friends at the Commonwealth Yacht Club Halloween Party. Saturday morning was spent downtown working on Christmas decorations with Chamber volunteers (thank you to Pat, Jack, Martha, Lauren, Clinton, and TJ for all your hard work on Saturday). Saturday night was the 25th Anniversary of the Friends of LBL Dinner. Sunday was our last breakfast of the season at Docker’s Restaurant (they will reopen in the spring), and the maiden voyage of the Frog’s Pajamas (our new old boat). Thank you to our friends Pat, Jerry, Cindy, and Frank. Without you all, I don’t think we would have made it out of the dock.
I think I will let the pictures tell the details as I need to get to work...