Fall Fun

The weather here in Tennessee has been beautiful the last few days.  Highs in the upper 70's and low 80's yet cool enough in the evenings for a light jacket.   The last couple of weeks have been a little crazy around our house.  We almost lost our baby (ankle biter) Chloe to pancreatitis week before last then last week my brother had to have emergency surgery and then about 1/2 dozen other disasters little things came up. Thankfully Chloe and my brother are both recovering nicely and the other stuff has settled down.  Mini and I took advantage of the weather and the calm and visited an annual fall event in Nashville.   

Yesterday we attended the Music and Molasses Festival at Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville.  If you are from this area or will be visiting the museum at Ellington is always a fun place to visit.  We got acquainted with Ellington Ag Center several years back when my father became a member of the Ag club and then BDJ went on to work there as a gardener all through high school and Mini has worked the festival in years past.

Music and Molasses offers a little something for everyone.  It is billed as a country celebration of the harvest season.  One of the most popular things to do is taking a ride in a mule wagon.  It seemed a little strange this year since my Grandfather usually brings his team and wagon and spends the weekend giving rides.  He is 89 now and this year finally sold his horses and mules and wasn't able to enjoy the festival.  There are many interesting demonstrations like blacksmithing and sheep shearing.

Blacksmith



Sorghum Mill

  There is also a working sorghum mill and molasses made on site.  Lots of great music and dancers including lots of bluegrass and clogging.  For the wee ones the Farmer for a Day gives kids a great opportunity to try their hand at farm activities.   One of my favorites for the kids is the Apple Snap.  Apples are suspended from a tree and using no hands you have to bite into them!  Kind of like bobbing for apples...kinda.

Apple Snap



Booths with a variety of crafts including jewelry, handmade baskets, jams and jellies and much, much more.

Beautiful Pottery

Handmade Baskets

Love the Wagon Basket!

  Then there is the food.  Mini is definitely Wonder Hubby's child because they believe if you attend any event you simply must eat.  After we made the rounds through most of the booths we met up with my father who has chaired the festival for the past couple of years and was working it this year.

Dad

 Mini and I ate while we chatted with Dad.  We decided on a smoked turkey leg.  It was huge and awesome!  Sorry for the lack of photos but it smelled so good we dove into it immediately.  By the time I thought of taking a photo it was already in this state!

What is left of our Turkey Leg!

Post Turkey Leg - We look much happier.

 What a blessing it was to enjoy this day and event with Mini!

Pant Rant

The other day I stopped into our local Fred’s store to pick up a few things.  While waiting in the checkout line, I noticed the young guy in line ahead of me.  Something about him didn’t look just right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  After a few minutes, I realized it was the clothing.

This poor young man was attempting to pull off the “sagging” look.  For those of you that don’t know what I am talking about, sagging is the art of wearing your pants low and showing the world your underoos.   I do believe that the more successful you are as a “sagger”, the lower your pants are.  In fact, I think if your waistband meets the bottom of your boxers  you clearly excel in sagging. I don’t want to come across as intolerant of teens expressing themselves through hair and clothing.  Goodness knows I don’t want to stifle their creativity and force them to figure out a more beneficial way of expressing themselves.

Ya’ll, I’m conservative, so when my then Jr. High aged son announced he wanted to dye his bangs RED, I swooned!  What in the world was he thinking?  Had he not met me?  Shockingly, it was my father (who, by the way, thought I should wear bobby socks until high school) that finally convinced me to pick my battles and give on this issue.  His logic was is it will grow out and/or can be cut off.  Again, where was this man when I was growing up?  So Wonder Hubby and I relented and BDJ ended up with some lovely ORANGE bangs (hahaha, talk about Karma!).  Of course he acted like they were great, but we knew they were a boo boo. But he just couldn’t admit that, right? 

Then last year, as BDJ was preparing for his senior year of college and his final football season, he announced that he was going to get a Mohawk and dye it each week the opposing team’s colors.   Here we go again.  Of course, now he is a grown man. What am I gonna do?  So he headed off to the hairdressers and returned with a flaming red Mohawk.  Two days later, one of his best friends was to be married and we attended together.  I was so embarrassed!  I am not the kind of mom that has kids that dress crazy and have colored Mohawks!  I spent the whole wedding and reception explaining this was just a gimmick (he said it was for building team morale) for football season and secretly praying that he really meant it was only for football.

I was glad the season opener was an away game.  I wasn’t surprised that the team loved it, but I was completely shocked how many parents loved it.    You should have seen my face and gapping mouth when The Memphis Commercial Appeal printed an article about BDJ and how he had gone green (that week’s opponent’s team color was green) and then the university President came to chat him up after the game and said he loved the article and the hair!  What, am I a dinosaur or what?   Finally I relaxed   decided not to be such a prude and began to look forward to seeing the new color each Saturday.  Although, I must say that the rainbow Mohawk was a fashion don’t!    Now I’m not trying to be a snob, but BDJ pulled off this look well.  When he traveled with the team, he dressed in coat and tie and looked neat and clean,  even when sporting a Smurf blue hairdo.

So, having said all that, here is my point.  I am not against expressing yourself with whatever trend you choose, but please, if you are going to do it, do it well.  As I stood in line at Fred’s with the sad example of sagging in front of me, I realized what looked off with him.  Bless his heart, he was wearing nasty classic jeans, not the loose fits needed for sagging. But the most pitiful part was his boxers.  He wasn’t sporting the cool “Tommy” undies, or even clean undies.  He was wearing the most wrung out, sad looking, dirty, knit boxers I had ever seen.  I felt pretty bad for the guy.  So to all you “Sagger”   want-to-b’s…please visit a metropolitan area and take a good look at some examples of successful sagging.  You may find that this look just isn’t in your budget and doesn’t fit the rural country boy genre you live in!  

A Mom’s Bittersweet Football Story - 2

I originally posted this last fall but since it is football season, I felt it might help some moms that are on the fence about their sons playing the game.  The rewards of the game aren't necessarily reflected only on the scoreboard.  Enjoy!

 

I used to hate football.  I mean really, really hate it.  I hated football so much I didn’t even like to hear it on the tv in my house.  That was 12 seasons ago, and today, as college football season gets underway, I am mourning the loss of my personal connection to football. 

Last season marked the last football season that my son Chase (aka Big Dumb Jock) played.  It was and remains bittersweet.  This August, for the first time in 12 years, I didn’t have to worry about heat stroke, heat cramps, torn acl’s,  or concussions in preseason practices.  I suddenly have all my Saturdays to take weekend trips and enjoy fall festivals.  For the first time in 4 years we don’t have to worry about Wonder Hubby getting time off to travel to games.   Sounds good, huh…..not!  Like all good things it all went way too fast. 

 I would have bet the bank  12 years ago when BDJ announced the middle school coach wanted him to play football that I would never like football, much less mourn it’s passing in our lives.  I mean, really, how smart can these guys be to spend hours bashing heads over a little ball?  Live and learn as they say. 

I also would have never dreamed that football would be such a valuable asset in our lives and a huge factor in shaping BDJ into the man he is today.    What happens on the field on any given Thursday night, Friday night, or Saturday afternoon is really a tiny piece of what the game of football really is.  I watched as my son learned lesson after lesson through football that has and will continue to serve him well in life.  The game is truly what you make it.  BDJ decided at 12 years old that he would play football all the way through college.  To make that dream a reality took an incredible amount of physical and mental work.  I watched as football helped him learn to make and meet goals, doing the extra hard work on and off the field.  I watched on vacations as we slept in and ate “vacation” food as he rose early to run on the beach and turned down soft drinks and junk food.   Football taught him a strong work ethic and fierce determination.  I watched as he learned accountability to himself, his coach, and his team.  Through football he learned what it is to be a part of something bigger than yourself.  Football helped him learn responsibility, how to work out your frustrations, to win and lose, and to truly give your all. 

Headed to the end zone - High School



Senior Year High School

We lovingly call him BDJ but he is anything but dumb.  We always stressed grades first, football after that.  That guidance served him well as he was able to have the advantage of both playing football and having great grades to open the door to a very elite private college.  Football allowed a door to open that may not have on grades alone.    The opening the door to the college he attended opened another door allowing him to have an advantage going into his dream career.    For our family, football has been a great asset.

As a family, (immediate, grandparents, aunts, uncles and at times great-grandparents) football gave us a great family time opportunity.  We attended games together, followed the newspapers for pictures or mentions of BDJ, and enjoyed many after game dinners and visits.   It even was a great exercise tool at times…..for me anyways, as I had a tendency  to run in the stands as my son carried the ball toward the end zone.  

As a mom I spent many hours in parking lots waiting for practices to end and many hours worrying about the bumps and bruises .  The emotional toll of the ups and downs is sometimes overwhelming.  The picture below shows our son after his last home game in high school.  The raw emotion of this photo still brings tears to my eyes.  The emotion on that night was unbelievable, my heart truly broke for him as this chapter of his life closed. 

After Last High School Home Game

Ringing the Bell After a Win - Rhodes College Tradition



Action College Senior Year 2010



Rocking A Mohawk - I can't believe I liked it!  ONLY for Football Season.

 The below picture is of my son after his final college game.  The emotions I felt that day were not as sad as they were as high school ball finished, but more of joy.   Joy for him as this picture captures the day that was the culmination of 11 years of work to reach his goal. 



11 Seasons of Work for This Moment

As this season gets underway, I find I am missing the anticipation of what big play BDJ might make, the pride in seeing him take another step toward his goal, the excitement of traveling to games, and the commradierie football brings.    I will never again feel the excitement of game day where I am too nervous to eat.    I will never again feel the excitement of watching him dive into the end zone and listen to the crowd cheer.  Not as a mother anyway….but there is always the possibility of grandchildren, right?  On the upside, I will never again have to smell that special after game smell that he insisted on sharing with me through hugs!   So to the mothers of little boys……..football is far more than bashing heads on a football field once a week, it just could be some of the happiest moments of your life.

White Roses and Southern Hospitality

Last week my dear grandmother passed away at the age of 93.  I was so blessed to have had her in my life for so long.  Thankfully she wasn't sick for an extended time   She had a lovely funeral service and plenty of friends and family visiting with us during visitation.  After her funeral service we attended a reception at her church and were treated to first class southern hospitality in the form of funeral food.  So many of her friends, family and church family put together a first class southern style meal.  My grandmother would have certainly approved of the fried chicken, fresh green beans, wide selection of casseroles and desserts and naturally a plate of sliced fresh tomatoes.   I was feeling pretty guilty since one of my dear friends lost her father a few hours before my grandmother passed and since I was traveling 2 hours each way back and forth to my grandmothers, I was unable to be there for her.  But, I was most guilty over the fact that a good southern girl knows to always have a casserole on standby for just such a situation and I had failed to do so.  Lesson learned.  I found great comfort in knowing so many people cared and even though I hadn't thought of eating it was welcome and appreciated.

My grandmother lost her mother when she was only 3 yrs old.  Since that time when she could she placed white roses on her mother's grave. When an arrangement of beautiful white roses arrived at the funeral home they were more than perfect.  I brought them home and placed them on my mantel.   It wasn't until a couple of days later that I realized these roses had been delivered on Thursday to the funeral home, moved to the church on Saturday, transported 2 hours to my home and had been here for two days and they were not just pretty they were perfect.  So much so that I wondered if I was crazy thinking I had smelled their scent when they were silk?  So I checked to be sure...sure enough they were fresh and flawless.  Not a blemish or dark edge to be seen even days later.  They just now have begun to duck their heads yet remain perfectly white.  I would like to think they were a message from my grandmother nodding her approval and her peace.

2 for 1 Makeover - Creating My Very Own Thinking Place

About 10 yrs ago I inherited a beautiful iron park bench from my father.  At the time it was in great shape but I did nothing to maintain it time passed and it ended up in very bad shape.  The picture below shows a bit of the bench a little over a year ago.

The ironwork was rusted and the wood was so bad I wouldn't allow Mini to even sit on it for prom pictures!  It has been on my to do list for about 3 yrs now and finally this summer Wonder Hubby finally made the time to repair it.  We wanted to make it a little more special than  it originally was so we dug out some pretty special wood.  The wood in the picture below was cedar logged and rough sawn by my Grandfather several years back and was left over after Wonder Hubby built me a beautiful deck table.  What a great way to use the leftovers!

First we disassembled the bench and using a wire brush removed the rust.  I then spray painted the ironwork black.  Then using the old pieces of wood as a templete we cut and planed the cedar into new boards.  What a mess!  Cedar is great to work with because the aroma is wonderful but the dust is so fine it gets everywhere.  Even wearing a mask we were blowing red for a day!  I then stained with natural stain and followed that with 3 coats of Polycrylic.  Now it is beautiful....and as an added bonus every time I look at it I think of my Grandad :)  

When I was ready to place it back in the yard I realized how lonely it looked.  So I added this driftwood piece my father gave me.  After seeing it with the bench I realized it was just too bleached out.  I drug it into the garage and went to work staining.  When I first applied the stain I panicked.  I used a red mahogany thinking it would better match the cedar than a brown...but when it hit the driftwood it was almost black...opps...

 

So like the pig at the bar-b-que I was now committed and had to finish.  It took a whole quart of stain to get an even coat.  I then followed up with 3 coats of Poly.  Once the Polycrylic was on I began to like it much more.

So I asked Wonder Hubby to try it in a dozen different places take it back out and place it by the bench.  It still needed something.  Ahhh...ha....remember my pot makeover?

 Now I have a perfect trio of makeover successes!  I just love how they look together and it is a perfect shady, breezy thinking spot.

One chick's junk is.....

So I was cleaning up staring blankly at my paint table considering my options for reorganization and I found a stack of these clay saucers.

  I was just lamenting about my lack of pots but I have no shortage of these saucers and I'm not even sure why.  Anywho...since I struggle experience physical pain when I throw away anything and since they were strewn among paints and brushes and I had a brain storm.

I remembered I had something I had purchased from Garden Ridge that would work with these perfectly.   I used to have the luxury of shopping at GR every couple of weeks and scoring the best goodies on clearance.  I was disappointed near breakdown the day I wheeled in to discover they were out of business at their Nashville location.  That was 4 or 5 yrs ago and I have pined for them ever since.  Last summer Wonder Hubby announced that he had spotted one in Memphis.  I was sure it was just the building with signage since I thought the whole chain had closed.  To my elation while traveling to our sons football game in Missouri I spotted a GR with a lot filled with cars.  Score....except this game was a 22 hour travel whirlwind and there was no time to stop.  So, with promises from Wonder Hubby that the next week when we traveled to Memphis for a game we would make time to shop, I calmed down.   After that, whether I was heading to Memphis to visit our son or to shop, GR began to be a relevant question :)  Having said all that, on one of those wonderful shopping excursions I picked up a couple of hurricane globes that had literally never been taken out of the packaging since I purchased them.  So...with the paint and brushes conveniently located and not a lot of effort required on my part I went to work.

First I washed and air dried each saucer.  Then I painted and sealed them, added pillar candles and the hurricanes and ta-da....

Sorry about the sideways shot....I can't seem to save it rotated

All lit up for dinner in the hut.

I chose colors that would work with our Fiesta.   The only problem I have now is....I have many more saucers and many more colors of Fiesta.....I feel like there will be more saucer/candleholder painting in my future.

Pot Makeover

This summer I have made a major discovery (for me), plants can be free!   One day while pondering in the hut and enjoying the sweet potato vine growing in my deck containers, it hit me. My grandmother used to grow these things all over the kitchen from a little planter on her wall that held a sweet potato.  Hmmm....can I do that?   I figured it was worth a try so I took cuttings of both coleus and sweet potato vine.  Half the cuttings I dipped in rooting hormone and planted in potting soil.  The other half I simple dropped into Mason jars filled with water.  Both methods proved very successful, so much so that I was running out of places to put the new plants.  I added sweet potato vine to the petunias in my tilted pot tree but I still needed more pots.  Which leads me to today's post.

First Cuttings

Tilted Pot Tree with Sweet Potato Vine and Petunias

 What good are free plants if you have to buy new pots?  So, given my budget  ($0)  I went shopping here at home and I scored a couple of coconut lined hanging baskets (filled immediately with a coleus and sweet potato vine combo) and this beauty..

 I have had this clay pot for years.  It literally has been a half dozen colors including white with Donna Dewberry inspired florals and navy and white checkerboard.  For whatever reason for the last couple of years it hasn't been in use and has vacationed under the deck.  It had aged beautifully in some areas and had even developed some moss but alas not enough to cover old designs or to be considered aged chic.  I gathered my supplies, elbow grease and a wire brush and went to work.  2 Hours later (I can't believe I spent that much time, but it became personal) I had scrubbed away the bulk of the old paint.  Then I dug out some moss green acrylic paint and faux paint glaze.  I mixed the paint and glaze 50/50 found on old sock from the rag bag and wiped it over the entire pot.  Some areas I wiped away the excess and some areas I let it sit for a bit to deepen the color.

I'm pretty happy with the results  I achieved...hopefully it looks aged chic!  It is perfect in the shady area in my backyard beside my park bench .  Fast, easy and best of all....it is filled with free plants!