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Month: July 2014

Blogging Hiatus

Posted on July 24, 2014July 24, 2014 By Tom 1 Comment on Blogging Hiatus
Uncategorized

With my mother’s illness and passing I haven’t had much time to get out and explore, paddle, or take photos.  That means there haven’t been many posts on RandomConnections.  Those posts are about to get even further between for awhile.  I’m going to take 2-3 weeks off from posting.  Don’t worry.  I’m not abandoning the … Read More “Blogging Hiatus” »

Funeral for My Mother

Posted on July 20, 2014July 20, 2014 By Tom 1 Comment on Funeral for My Mother
Family
Casket
Joclair Ellenberg Taylor – 1928-2014

Yesterday we held the funeral for my mother. It was a time of grieving, but also of celebration. Now, with both parents gone, our large family feels somewhat adrift. However, we’ve always been very close, and I’m sure we will come to rely on each other even more as the days pass.

I want to express my sincerest thanks for all of the warm greetings and condolences from my friends, family and colleagues. Even if I haven’t had a chance to respond personally, know that I appreciate each one that has reached out to us during this time.

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Goodbye, Mom

Posted on July 16, 2014July 16, 2014 By Tom 9 Comments on Goodbye, Mom
Family

At 2:10 this morning my mother, Joclair Ellenberg Taylor, lost her battle with cancer. She passed quietly in the early morning, surrounded by four of her seven children at her home in Prosperity, SC. I was not able to be with her at the end, but had been there earlier in the evening. Mom was … Read More “Goodbye, Mom” »

Solo Oolenoy in a Problematic Boat

Posted on July 8, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Solo Oolenoy in a Problematic Boat
Paddling
Lake Oolenoy Red Emphasis
Red Pungo 140 on Lake Oolenoy

In the fleet of kayaks I have in my yard is one red Wilderness Systems Pungo 140. It’s got a problem, or, several of them, really. First is a question of ownership.  Chip purchased this boat from Confluence five years ago at the Friends and Family sale. Over the course of the years, he traded it to a colleague for another boat. However, the colleague never collected the boat from my yard, and eventually moved to another town. There it has sat for five years. While I often enumerate it with my fleet, I still consider it Chip’s boat.

More importantly, though, is the condition of the boat.  Some of the kayaks at the Confluence sale were factory seconds.  For example, the Pungo 120 I got at the same sale had the webbing for the seat straps sliced.  No biggy, but I had to replace them. 

To all outward appearances the Pungo 140 looks like a great kayak…

Lake Oolenoy-11

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Fourth of July 2014

Posted on July 5, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Fourth of July 2014
Family, Music, Recipes
Canada Day Fireworks
OK, It’s not Fourth of July, but Canada Day Fireworks photo by Ben_Senior

At some point I’m going to stop beginning my posts with “It’s been a crazy week.” It starts sounding like Garrison Keillor’s standard “It’s been a quiet week in Lake Wobegon.” But…it has been a crazy week, topped off by a holiday weekend.

Chorale Concert

This week marks the tenth anniversary of the collaboration between the Furman Lakeside Concert Band and the Greenville Chorale. It’s of our most popular concerts, certainly the best attended. We had rehearsals Monday night, then Tuesday with the band. The concert was Thursday.

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Garlic Shrimp a la Lazy Goat

Posted on July 3, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Garlic Shrimp a la Lazy Goat
Recipes
Garlic Shrimp a la Lazy Goat
Garlic Shrimp a la Lazy Goat

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, and we’re still not done. I had big plans to post a 1 year review of retirement. That didn’t happen. I had several photo treks I wanted to take that didn’t get taken. It’s been a week of unforeseen circumstances – the death and funeral of an elderly uncle out of town, and now some serious health issues in our family. This is also a concert week for us – the Chorale is performing a Patriotic concert on July 3 by the Furman Lake, so we’ve had evening rehearsals for that, too.

Sometime in the midst of all this craziness we managed to make it to one of our favorite restaurants, The Lazy Goat. We have several favorite dishes, one of which is the garlic shrimp with tomatoes and arugula. we liked it so much that Laura wanted to see if she could reverse engineer the dish and cook it at home. Here’s our first attempt.

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