{Not} Living Vicariously

Nashville Adventure Science Center

Yesterday weather interferred with our original plans on how to spend the day so we finally did the GPS Adventures Maze at the Nashville Adventure Science Center. What a great place to spend some time, especially with young kids. Not having kids ourselves, we did not get to take full advantage of all that was offered however we did thoroughly enjoy the introduction they offered to one of our favorite hobbies: geocaching. While we didn't meet any of the other cachers while there, it was definitely a popular exhibit and I hope it will bring more people into the hobby. We also found the cache out on the grounds started in celebration of the exhibit: Not Your Home. Now if I'd only remembered to take some pictures . . .

Conversion Van RVs

My parents got a new toy last Thanksgiving - a Sportsmobile RV. They took the standard size Ford 16 passenger van and, after Sportsmobile was done, it had the following:

• two front seats (driver and navigator or pilot and co-pilot)
• couch that turns into a double bed
• fridge, microwave, sink
• plenty of closets and cabinet space
• even a Porta Potti

While my parents were visiting last month, they borrowed our Honda and left the RV with us for a long weekend. Aaron and I (plus two dogs - our dog Lindy, their dog Shiloh) headed East. We did have a plan, yet were willing to be open to options. Which turned out to be a good thing as our plan was not a viable one (we forgot dogs aren't allowed to hike trails inside National Parks so there went our plan to hike part of the AT by Clingman's Dome). Instead, we camped the first night in Townsend and had so much fun cooking out and meeting other campers at the KOA we headed off to Asheville, NC the next day and camped at a KOA there. Again, people were very friendly and we had a great time.

Unfortunately I realized we did not take any good pictures of the inside of the RV which is one reason I linked to the website above. If you are curious you can take a look at some of the options they offer. Some pictures we do have of the dogs are below.

 
Two dogs eagerly waiting Aaron's return to the campsite. Is it dinner time yet?

 
 Lindy terrified and hiding under the car. Campfires scare her - no s'mores for you!

 
I can't even remember what Lindy is hiding from this time, possibly the campfire again. However, she wedged herself under the steering wheel and stayed there for quite a while.

 
Shiloh enjoyed hanging out on the bed while we were traveling, while the couch was not quite large enough for her. So we left it as a bed pretty much the entire trip. She is quite content with herself here.

The best part about this RV is that future conversions can still be done. We discussed some options such as the tankless water heater so we can have hot water as well. Also under discussion was changing out the roof of the van to allow for a second bed and/or more storage. Having now taken a trip in it, I understand why my parents are excited about their toy. We look forward to borrowing it again.

 

 

The Martins are Coming!

We love purple martins. They are a beautiful bird and are very useful in high insect areas. Shortly after moving in to our house last year, we bought a purple martin house for the backyard. However, it was too late in the season to attract any to live at our place and we just had to enjoy the visitors whenever a lawn was mowed nearby.

While on our road trip a few weeks back, we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in the Purple Martin Capitol of the Nation - Griggsville, IL.

 
We were immediately charmed and stopped to take several photos. My favorite was the tower of purple martin apartments, makes our house look lonely.

 
Yet I was thrilled this morning to see two purple martins swooping around our backyard and realize the Martins are coming! I do hope they move in. We would love some new tenants.

Geoscarab - HMS Fearless

Finally! We put my Christmas present of a traveling geoscarab on the car so "HMS Fearless" can travel the world (or at least Middle Tennessee) and get spotted.

 

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, if you are interested in learning more about the sport of Geocaching, visit their website. We have a lot of fun with this, traveling to places we wouldn't see otherwise and meeting people who also enjoy the activity.

Am I allergic to CA?

We have spent the last week in CA, having a belated Christmas with my side of the family. And, once again, after being there for a couple of days . . . I start feeling all snuffly and sneezy, then the "cough" arrives. I don't run a fever and I don't ache so I know I'm not catching a cold, but it sure isn't fun and I don't get to enjoy as much. So I wonder, am I allergic to California?

On the flip side, this past week was lots of fun! We spent some time at Disneyland with my parents and aunt and uncle. Six adults, no kids, and short lines with fantastic weather. There are worse things to do, definitely! In addition to that, we did some geocaching and lots of cooking (before I started to feel bad!) and stocked my parents freezer with homecooked meals. That was their type of present. Dad gets to eat homecooked food and Mom doesn't have to cook it.

I love to visit "home" and then love to come "home" because I do miss the four legged fur babies. Now if I can just kick this cough . . .

and just how did you spend your Christmas morning?

We spent it looking for a lost wedding ring . . . now to back up. We headed up to KY for the week of Christmas and enjoyed a White Christmas for the first time in many years. On Christmas morning, the kids headed out to feed the chickens and I went along with the camera to take pictures of them, the dogs, and the chickens having fun in the snow.

 
Lindy went off on her own to explore the snow - she wasn't too sure about cousin Willy!

Not only did the chickens get the scraps, they also received an actual Christmas present which they thoroughly enjoyed . . .

 
Sorry for the blurriness, this was inside the chicken coop. Now for a closeup of their tasty treats, you can tell what we've been eating . . .

 
On my way back to the house I noticed a group of men standing around peering at the ground . . .

 
Some melting of the snow and a metal detector later . . .

 
the ring was found and my husband was doing a happy dance. Next on our agenda? Getting it resized to actually fit his finger. It is already too big and with the cold weather his finger shrunk even more which meant when he slipped and fell in the snow it flew off.

Happy Christmas indeed!

Odds and Ends

Somehow I seem to have taken a mini-vacation from the blogs. It was not intentional and I'm not quite sure how it happened. Anyway, here are some odds and ends from our life:

1. My brother got a new job and will be moving to Illinois. He will only be seven hours from us now. I really hope to see him more often.

2. My friend B. and her husband closed on a new house. They have five acres now. While I don't envy that commute, the five acres sound fabulous. Of course, we're having problems deciding what all to do with our one acre so I think I'm good with our place.

3. Speaking of our one acre, we have these little pink flags all over the place. We ordered a bunch of trees already from Arbor Day and with the help of our friends J & D, we have picked out their locations.

 

4. We are getting ready for Thanksgiving. Once again we have opened our home to friends and are looking forward to lots of fun. I'm even trying out a few new recipes, but keeping the favorites from last year(s) as well.

5. It is a beautiful day today and we need to head out to walk a dog . . .

Tuesday Tours - Office/Craft Room/Library/Misc.

On to the last room in our tour . . . because Aaron is not ready for me to show off our garage . . . and the laundry room is not worthy of an independent entry. Because this is a three bedroom house, we do have one bedroom we are using as ours, one as a guest, and one as an office/craft room/library/misc. It works hard at being all those things and I'm not sure how successful it is at any of them right now. As an office, it lacks some file storage. As a craft room, I don't even have the sewing machine unpacked yet. As a library, it is sadly lacking in bookshelves. And as misc., well the cat and the dog have both claimed favorite spots to snooze while one of us is on the computer. So I am stating up front, this one is still a work in progress! However, let me show a before picture before I show the after.

 
Yes, that would be bubble gum pink on the walls with a princess border around the top. It gets better. Remember this post? The one where you got to see the dark red carpet against the pink walls? Well, when we pulled down the border we found that they had not painted completely over the previous mustard yellow scheme. I always thought I was brave when it came to color. After all, a can of paint is the cheapest way to change the look of a room. But this house made me feel like I've taken zero risks in my life.

And, when you see the afters, you might agree with me. I once again used my favorite Behr brand Scotland Road hoping it would not look too much like Christmas with the green and red. I have some rugs from the old living room that are on the floor, trying to disguise most of the stains on the carpet which pull the two colors together actually. And the Lindy pillow bed adopted by Stoli also uses the same colors so I don't have to shield my eyes every time I walk in.

 

I do have some wall space for some pictures, since I can't figure out how to add any more bookshelves. You saw the ones against the front wall here and the only thing I can do is maybe add another shelf up if I can convince Aaron our foundation can handle the weight. And that about sums it up. A boring room right now, but at least I no longer have boxes all over the floor.

Halloween Costumes 2010

So I know I'm supposed to be doing a Tuesday Tour post this evening, however the cold I was fighting won and I have not been productive at all. So instead I'm doing a simple post I meant to do Sunday evening. At work this year we went with a "genre" theme for our department costumes and I was able to resurrect an old favorite from my days in Los Angeles. With a little updating, I was the genre of folktales in the guise of Little Red Riding Hood. With some creativity, Aaron joined in the fun for the Halloween parties on Saturday night as the Woodsman who saves Little Red and her Grandmother from Big Bad.

 
The top and skirt were made from the same basic pattern Debbie and I used for quite a few costumes, a dress pattern of her mother's from the 60s or so. It was a great pattern that could be used for any variety of styles and kept in one piece or split into two. I made the cape from a pattern I bought at the time and am most proud of the edging as I made that by hand from a swatch of small gingham print. Those came out of storage to be used. The basket is the one we use to keep kitchen towels and I added some leggings, a belt, and new mary jane shoes to complete my outfit. All in all, quite affordable.

Aaron went even more affordable. His overalls are at least 13 years old, the shirt is also one he has had for a long time, even the vest has been in the closet for ages. He wore his everyday outdoor shoes so the only new things are his hat and the axe. He insisted on a real axe as he says he needs one for our property. I insisted he keep the safety on . . . just in case.

I think he made my outfit pop that much more! And I look forward to seeing what we come up with for next year . . .

Tuesday Tours - Dining "area"

Okay y'all . . . this barely counts as a room. I thought about including it last week, but thought maybe I could get some of the stuff up on the walls that is planned. That would be a no. Didn't happen. So this would be "not a before" and "not an after" post. Expect an update after some people turn in their homework . . . that will make sense later, I promise.

Since it is such a small area, it only needs one photo.

 
Y'all have already seen my plate storage and my serving storage under the headings of "creative storage" in previous posts. So there is not much more to talk about other than the dining table and chairs. They are pretty nifty pieces of furniture. The chairs actually are folding chairs that no one realizes until I prove it. And the table comes with two leaves which makes it much larger, however it also folds up to half the size it is now which was great when I was single and wanted to have a smaller footprint. While we do have our eyes out for a new (to us) dining set, I have a feeling this one will stick around as it will come in useful down the road either in my dreamed of screened in porch or just to set up more table space at gathering times.

I will brag that the weather is actually nice enough right now we have those windows open as well. I'm surprised the cat isn't sitting in one of the sills . . .

Note: while technically this does not conclude the tour, we have one more room in the house to show, I'm not sure I'm prepared to tackle that room next week . . . it is the office/craft/catchall room and not fit for internet eyes yet!