Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...

A sight you would, thankfully, never see in my neck of the woods.

It's snowing here in Middle Tennessee. Well, a little. Supposedly, more is on the way. Let even an inch, heck half an inch, cover the ground and you'd see someone in this house do the happy dance. Come to think of it, you'd see three people do it - my hubby is just waaayyy too mature to groove.

In the south all it takes is a little and people are phoning the schools wanting to know about early dismissal procedures and backing up the lines in the grocery stores. I tell ya, it is a beautiful feeling. Who would believe a grown woman could cry tears of joy over empty milk and bread shelves at the Piggly Wiggly!

So Long, Summer.

So, here we are on the cusp of another summer's end. It's always a little sad to see any season come and go. Okay, some of you may break into song and dance when winter finally calls it quits, but you get my drift. Now that school has started, though, I do feel ready to move on into fall. I love the fall and I'm hoping it will bring me out of this funk I've been in lately. The aforementioned funk is the reason I've been keeping a low blog presence. I don't think anyone would appreciate too many angry rants or mournful sentiments.

Anywhoo...to bid farewell to August my family spent a wonderful evening in Nashville this past Saturday eating and dancing and I thought I'd let you in on it.. Well, my daughter and niece did most of the dancing. The rest of us just sat and watched.

First up, dinner at The Farmhouse @ Fontanel. Because you're just dying to know, I had the pan seared troutt with capers, string beans, and mashed potatoes. It was quite yummy.

On weekends they have live music after 6ish. Unfortunately, these guys took a little long to set up and we weren't able to stick around to listen.

My parents - who HATE to have their picture taken. I know my mom was probably thinking I wish you'd get that camera out of my face.


Ren and Megan, my niece. The LOVE getting their picture taken. They were probably thinking Do you need an extra SD card?.

Then it was on to Centennial Park in downtown Nashville. Each Saturday during the summer a Big Band is featured at one of the pavilions. They play a lot of the standards from the mid-1900s. Below is Ren with some guy who was dancing with all the ladies. She asked him, though...and didn't tell him until the song had started that she didn't really know how to dance. But, you couldn't tell it.

John-Heath even got in on some of the action. Of course, he enjoyed getting in on the action of an orange snow cone even more.

We actually had a lot more fun than it appears in this picture. Maybe what I need is to hire a professional photog to follow us around and capture some great shots. Wouldn't that be funny!

Ren enjoying the music. John-Heath enjoying that orange snow cone I told you about.

So long picnics, big bands, and swimming pools. See you next year.

Farming Friends

Last night's phone call to a friend in search of some information about high school chemistry yielded unexpected results. It just so happened my call caught my friend in her garden, and by the end of our conversation she was making plans to drop off some tomatoes by my house. My own tomato plants are not producing very well again this season. Well, she brought the tomatoes and then some.

The makings for some great side dishes. Believe it or not, I am somewhat excited about cooking. Yikes! Did I just say that? Someone slap me.

A jar of pear honey left from last season. Yummy! We love all kinds of jellies, jams, and spreads at our house.

My favorite from the whole lot...fresh green beans. Nothing beats them.

I'd say that was one productive phone call. I got the answer to my question and the fixings for a delicious supper. Well, I'm off to begin shelling some peas.

P.S. I'm sure I'll have questions about anatomy, algebra II, and U.S. History to ask in the near future, so if you raise a garden let me know and I'll be sure to call you, too. ;)

My Missed 15 Minutes of Fame and a Whole Lotta Rain

We are in what seems like our very own 40 days and nights of rain here in Middle Tennessee. My yard is a mess, my drive is a mess, and my hair is one big ol' frizzy mess. Speaking of Noah, it's a good thing God promised never to destroy the world by water again because there are some species that just wouldn't make the cut if this gal was in charge of rounding them up 2x2.

As I was saying, we've had several days and nights of rain, thunderstorms, and tornado warnings. These sleepless/restless nights of looking out windows and watching the weather on and off all through the night are wearing thin. My parents, as well as a friend, told me they were awakened three times the other night by their weather radios reporting warnings in the area. I have to say I'm glad my parents have one. As they are older, it really gives me peace of mind, especially now that it seems the south has become the new tornado alley.

Of course, more storms seem to be on the way tonight. So, hunker down, my friends.

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John is enjoying the 15 minutes of fame he is receiving from having been selected a TOY. Today, he was interviewed on air by a radio station from a neighboring county. I have to say, despite the lackluster questioning by the host, he (John) did a good job. I would say he did a great job except for the fact that he failed to make any mention of a very important bit of information...me. Can you believe that? Ren and John-Heath were left in the dust, as well.

I am plotting my evil revenge as we speak - okay, as I type.

Spring Break Cometh and Goeth

Hello, again. My spring break is now officially over. Actually, it was officially over yesterday but between after-school tutoring, continued work staining our pool deck and watching a rented movie (which we’ve had since Saturday) there was little time left over for writing.

Even though the weather started out a little dreary we had a nice time off from work. Not a great time, but a nice time. Great would be the word to describe the spring break had by a bunch of our co-workers who took a cruise to celebrate their week off. We had the chance to go as it was a school trip, but two things stood in our way...

1.) We’re still paying off the pool and deck. Who knew a round tank and a little lumber would amount to such a chunk of change! We John refuses to do anything else until that bill is no more. Luckily, we’re almost at that point.

2.) John-Heath. There is NO WAY on GGE that I would climb aboard a ship with him at this stage in his life. Yes, I know people take five-year-olds on cruises all the time. And yes, I know they have sitter services available. But sorry. No can do. You may not know this about me but I can be a little overly protective concerning my children. True, some have also called it being paranoid. But to them I say, “Better paranoid than sorry.”

When Ren was little, so fearful was I that she would walk off and get kidnapped or something, I kept her on a pretty tight leash. And when I say leash I am speaking in the most literal sense of the word - not to be confused with those cute little velcro-strapped bungee cords or stuffed animal harnesses. When I couldn’t find "cute" in time for a trip to Niagra Falls a dog leash from K-Mart did the trick just fine. I will admit, though, the time I took her to see Beauty and the Beast on Ice and kept her near and dear with a chain found in one of our barns may have been a bit overkill. But, again...better paranoid than sorry.

Ren with her Aunt Sissy and Uncle T just outside Niagara on the Lake
1998

Anyway, back to John-Heath being the number two reason I wasn’t shopping in the basket district last week. As cautious as I was with Ren (who was actually a very good child and rarely gave us problems) there is just no way I would be able to take my adventurous, constantly climbing, knows no stranger son on a cruise and be able to enjoy my own self while there. In short, I would have been a nervous wreck the whole trip.

Of course, the upshot to this is that after my group of friends had already set sail, certain family members mentioned they would have gladly kept him for us so we could have gone. Volunteering to watch him for 3 hours for the hubby and me to have dinner and a show is a stretch but a whole week was doable. Yeah. Not really buying into that one.

But even though we weren’t sailing the high seas with endless buffets at hand, we did have an enjoyable time off together. We took care of some things around the house and spent some quality time with our kids. I have to say, John and I are so fortunate to have jobs within the same school system our children attend.

Now, the countdown to the end of this school year begins and, as always, the next couple months will be very busy ones indeed.

Have a great first week of spring!

Another Snow Walk, Perhaps?

Happy 1/11/11, ya'll! Isn't that a neat date? You know what will be an even more fun date to type? Yep. You guessed it! 11/11/11. But until then, I wish you a fabulous January 11.

We're all at home for another snow day today (insert tiny giggle here) and are loving it! Well, three of us are loving it. A certain teen feels as if these days off are causing major problems in her social life and has retreated to her room in protest. I'm hoping to lure her out a little later with some hot chocolate and a card game or two.

If you stopped by yesterday you noticed we all (again, minus the protesting teen) took a walk through some of the woods on our farm. John-Heath is ready to go again. He literally just asked if we could go on another "snow walk". We may just have to do that.

I had a good time yesterday with my family. It's not every day I'm able to enjoy the beauty of the woods, as my walks in them are limited by seasons (meaning I don't walk in the woods when snakes could be walking crawling in the woods), but my out-of-shape legs are paying the price. The balancing act I was attempting to do over some uneven terrain trying to keep myself upright and my camera out of the creek has left me a little sore this morning. Of course, it didn't help that I had gone out in my hot pink LL Bean house booties. I mean, who does that kind of thing? "Tyla, would you like to take a mile long hike through some snowy woods and over a hay field or two?" "Sure. Let me just slip on my HOUSE SHOES."

We're still under a winter weather advisory here so there's a chance we'll be getting a little more snow. It reminds me of times in bed when one blanket feels good, but two feel great. I think the ground could use another white blanket.

Stay warm, my friends. Oh, and if you go out to play in the snow...wear real shoes ;)

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy winds and downy flakes

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,

Almost home

And miles to go before I sleep.
- Robert Frost



It's been a wonderful snow day! I'm so looking forward to another one tomorrow. Goodnight, friends.

Lines and Traffic and Stores, Oh My!

The entrance to a neat little store in our town called Creative Decor.

Well, folks, we have one more weekend to tie up those loose ends in our Christmas shopping for this year. And if you're like me that means you still lack about half of it. I do have most of the kids' gifts bought, butI need to wrap it up, so to speak, for everyone else.

I really need to do a little shopping tonight but I'm on kid patrol while John lends Santa a hand and gets started building a playtable to accommodate a new Thomas the Tank Engine playboard for John-Heath. He's getting a little too tall for the table that is sold by the Thomas company (and they are waaayyy pricey), so we thought we would just make him one a little taller. I'll be painting it, hopefully, at some point this weekend. All I can say is I am glad my school has a large workshop in which this can be done.

I don't know about you but the phrase as slow as Christmas doesn't really seem appropriate anymore. Christmas seems to come and go more quickly with each passing year. Let's enjoy it while it lasts.

Have a great weekend, ya'll.

P.S. As of yesterday both sets of dishes I recently won have now arrived. I am so excited and can't wait to get them out of those boxes and display them for all to see. I might even take up recreational cooking. Well, that's kinda doubtful, but I can pretend.

It's Fall, Ya'll!!!

Well, it is officially fall. Yes, I know technically it became fall last week but today was Parent-Teacher conferences in our school system and this signals fall for me. We conferred today are now ready to begin fall break for a week. And I couldn’t be happier. For as long as I can remember this has been my favorite season. Certainly, there are things about the other seasons that I enjoy but there are also things about them for which I don’t particularly care.

I love snow in the winter, but there are times when it’s just too cold. Plus, my husband gets all grumpy each month when the electric bill arrives. Summers are nice in that we have a lot of vacation time and can swim and travel, but there are times when it’s just too hot. Plus, my husband gets all grumpy, again, when those bills start to arrive. Spring is lovely with all the new plant growth and those first days of warm breezes, but it can also rain a lot in the spring, and when this happens our gravel drive washes out (our house is on a hill) and my husband gets grumpy when we have to buy more.

But fall? There is NOTHING about FALL I don’t love. And I’ll be sharing those with you over the next few days.

Rainy Days and Fridays?

I really love it when it does this...

But NOT when I want to do this.

Because this...

is miserable!

Here's to staying dry under those Friday night lights.

Images via

So Long, Summer!

We'll catch you on the flip side.

How lonely some things will seem for a while.

Like my front porch rockers...

or a small white rowboat.


No need for long rows of beach chairs

or rides at a fair.

Happy Labor Day, ya'll!