Sudden Hail Storm 4/27/10

The weather today was cooler (50s) and overcast when all of a sudden the wind picked up and thunder began and you could hear the rain (?) hitting the windows. Only it was not rain but hail the size of popcorn kernels. We watched it hit the cars and hoped for the best.

Unfortunately we don't have a garage for protection.

Side of the house just outside of the large family room.

Back yard: it looks like snow on the ground.

Front of the House: Again it looks like snow, it had fallen so thick onto the ground. Hopefully it won't hurt the plants like the red azaleas blooming in the background.

Visit to Huntsville Botanical Gardens with Tami & Kendra

Tami, Kendra, Connor, Rory and I had a great morning last Friday going through the Huntsville Botanical Gardens--definitely a must see, especially the special display of Tree Houses.

At the very beginning of the path through the gardens, there was this giant tree house shaped like a flower pot.

Another interesting tree house.

Of course, Connor got to ride in his wagon and Rory in her stroller while we walked.

Connor and Rory liked the huge Bird's Nest. Imagine the size of hatchlings that might come from a nest this size. Probably about the size of these two.

On a little further we came to a large pool with Koi and surrounded by tulips.

Rory realized we weren't in Kansas anymore and "whoa, who is this?"

The entrance to the children's garden was guarded by a flower-loving dragon. Rory could tell he (or she) was friendly.

Suddenly we found ourselves in the land of Lilliput and we were the Liliputians.

Rory thought it was funny to try to yank my sunglasses off.

It was a great outing and a great day!

Kendra and Rory's Visit 4/17-18/10

Kendra and Rory came for the weekend so Tami, Tony, Connor and Adam gathered here with us on Saturday. We treated ourselves to lunch at the Loveless Cafe, a great place to eat in Nashville, even if you have to wait over an hour to get in.

Sunday was also beautiful. We went to church and then Adam joined us for lunch at the house. Afterward we spent some time outside enjoying the weather

Rory was fascinated by the "whirlybirds" which were coming down in abundance--you know those flying seeds from the Maple trees. The only problem was Rory wanted to eat them.

Uncle Adam, stop her before she gets them in her mouth!

The other thing that caught her eye was Uncle Adam's motorcycle.

She wanted a test ride but shh... don't tell Dad she's practicing for the future.

Good thing Adam had the keys in his pocket.

There was a branch on one of the trees in the backyard that was crying for a swing to be hung on it so Uncle Adam obliged by hanging a rope from it. Bill and Adam then attached the child's swing we had brought from Kansas while Xena looked on.

The swing hung perfectly so now it waits patiently for Rory and Connor to use it. Rory did try it out and giggled and kicked her legs so I think she liked it. Unfortunately I didn't get a snapshot of that.

Easter 2010

I know last Sunday was Easter but I'm just getting these pictures up. Tami, Tony, Connor and Adam were all here for Easter. The meal was followed by an Easter Egg Hunt for Connor. Tami and Tony hid 29! plastic eggs in the front yard for Connor to find. He was much more interested in opening the first one and playing with the contents than looking for more. But... with a lot of coaxing we finally got him to "find" them all.

Connor finding Easter eggs in the monkey grass.

Tami, Tony and Connor on the front steps.

Good ole Uncle Adam helped find eggs too.

"Papa" helping Connor open one of the big eggs that was stuck.

Visit to Cheekwood

Tami, Tony and Connor took Bill and I to breakfast at Franklin Mercantile in downtown Franklin and then followed it with a trip to Cheekwood. There we went through the Cheekwood Mansion which has been converted to an art museum and spent some time walking through the beautiful botanical gardens surrounding it. Connor enjoyed running through the grass, climbing the rocks around the ponds and playing in the fountain.

A picture perfect setting!

Mom, Dad and "Papa" watching Connor climb

I was betting on Connor falling in but amazingly he didn't. He did remind us he can swim now--was he trying to warn us just in case?

And in the midst of it all, Bill and I were framed!

Never too old to learn

I know it doesn't look like much but I finally got up the courage to tackle grouting these steps into my kitchen.  It has taken since last September to get to this point.  Adam tiled my family room floor, a room about 20 x 20 before the furniture arrived, but I waited to finish the steps just in case they might get damaged by the movers.  Well, one thing and another and more than 6 months has past so I decided today was the day.  I googled how to and went to work.  It looks pretty good if I do say so, that is, unless all the grout falls out over the next few days.  

New Dining Room Cabinets

Here are our new cabinets. Actually they were finished in March but it has taken me this long to put posts on this site by myself. The cabinets are not up to the quality of the ones I had made like this in Georgia but it's better than nothing. After promising to have them done in 2 weeks, they were finally put in 10 weeks later. For that and several other reasons, I will not be recommending the cabinetmaker to anyone. However, I have now been able to unpack all my dishes and extra kitchen accessories and put them in place. Plus, my cookbooks are now much handier too.