Saturday, September 1, 2012

First Day - August 30th


August 30, 2012


We arrived late last night.  Katie picked us up at the airport; Dan, Sam and Lucy were already in bed.  Dan had made a quick trip on the 29th to the Republican Convention in Tampa to review their arrangements and security measures.  Sam has been volunteering at the Convention headquarters this summer, and is now going directly there after school and staying until 9 p.m. or later.  He has assumed more responsibility over these past weeks and received high praise from the staff for his work -- it's been a great experience for him.  Lucy has also worked over the summer as a volunteer, but she's now caught up in school and a middle school retreat planned for these two days.

Here's a link to an article written by Sam and Lucy about exploring Charlotte's "No Da" arts neighborhood:  charlottein2012.com/blog/noda_neighborhood

There is also a post by Sam on the South End, and another by Sam and Lucy on Trade and Tryon on the same blog:  charlottein2012.com/blog/




The dining room table and the sideboard are covered with Katie's Convention flow sheets and the credentials for the various events.  The sideboard has the transportation information with passes to get Lucy to school, envelopes for car keys as we switch around cars, and locations of parking places downtown and at friends' houses.  It's very sad to see the table full of paper rather than one of Dan's splendid meals displayed in their beautiful collection of North Carolina pottery!







Wow -- a beautiful new light fixture in the living room, made by a North Carolina glass blower who is obviously inspired by Tacoma's Dale Chihuly.






Katie with her flow chart for all the family.  She's worked hard to make everything work for herself, Dan and Sam and Lucy, for us and for the various parts of Dan's family who are headed to Charlotte.  Everyone will need credentials for each event, transportation arrangements to and fro, and parking plans for the drivers.  Dan will have a van and driver at his disposal!







The colors are rather faded in this picture--but she is proud to have it color-coded.  Oops, on the hand-written date at the top.  Tuesday will be September 4th.  Tuesday will be the most complicated day with lots of different events.  Thursday will be long with lots of security and standing in line to get into the arena where Obama will make his acceptance speech.




Some  of the credentials for the various events.  These "tickets" have been worrisome for Dan over these last days--who gets them, who wants them, who appreciates having them, who expects they SHOULD have them.  People are the same all over and rather predictable with events like this.








Our tickets for a forum sponsored by NDI, a foundation led by Madeline Albright.  We are excited about the chance to hear about International Affairs and see and hear leaders who are thinking in this important arena.







Back to the basics--Jack is hanging the shades the painter neglected to rehang after repainting the living room as Katie and Dan freshened the house and completed projects with the Convention as a deadline.







Jack's had a lot of experience over the years with all our moves and different houses.







Looking good and almost done!






We are assigned to the living room on Friday to pass out these credentials to friends who drop by the house.  Great job--we enjoyed seeing some folks we know.  We had a great visit with Amy Jacks Dean, Katie's childhood friend from our Clinton (SC) days.







A close-up of the credentials for the Music Factory.  We'll be a fish out of water for this big event, but Sam and Lucy will be with us, so maybe we'll learn something new!  Katie and Dan will be in a VIP area.  Katie has fishnet hose she is wearing for the event.  I have black slacks----



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