Ghoulish Fun on Friday Morning

It takes so little to make me happy. This morning

I was actually having fun playing around with a photo I made last January in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

This scene greeted us after we left a hotel, it was right beside the hotel ... the hotel we plan on staying in during Christmas this year. It has always been a fantasy of mine to spend Christmas in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Clint is excited about it, too. Last year we spent most of a day walking the streets and inquiring about rooms. We found a perfect room for us, in town and over a rushing stream. The sounds of a rushing stream were important, we are both Cancers. :-) I even have plans on having a Christmas tree in our room.

Back to today's reality. Lots to do around here. I did get the mural finished and need to work on a blog draft about it. We are very busy planning our BIG family party coming up next month. Sunday we are planning on attending church and in the afternoon attending an orientation class for prospective new members. 

Hope everyone else is having a ghoulishly fun Friday! 

Tangled Web, Belly Dancing, Thoughts

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

                             ~ Sir Walter Scott


I know, this screams Shakespeare but the line is from an epic poem of Sir Walter Scott:  Marmion

Earlier in the summer I noticed this web on one of our hedges in front of our house.  The dew covered web was glistening in the sun and was also adorned with its own mini rainbow!

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It has been so long since I posted anything, I am now faced with learning how to use this new fangled version of Blogger.  What fun! ;~/

We have been very busy.  I had a setback doing my dining room mural, the background color, the night sky, was too dark.  The black silhouette of the city seemed to disappear into the night sky, there was not enough contrast and that simply would not work.

Back to Lowe's I headed to inquire about having the quart of paint lightened with tint.  Tint is different than paint.  The guy told me to add white paint would require so much that it would never dry.  He also said to add "tint" would be expensive, he told me for the required 28 ounces it would cost over $40! Duh?  I chose another color and got a new quart for $10.  Love the name of this new color, it is called Cosmic Dust.  It is lighter and I tried a little and I think it is gonna work.

Wednesday Clint and I toured Knoxville on foot and by bus. We completed a wonderful program called "Gotta Know Knoxville".  We can't praise this program enough.  We loved it and had a fantastic time.

We have been attending church and have been pleased with the services.  We are visiting different Sunday school classes and so far have not been very enthused about any that we have visited. What is God trying to tell us?  Show us?  Teach us?  We are being patient about it and not making any hasty decisions since these are important ones.

My daughter and I had a "Daughter and Mom Night Out" last week.  She is taking belly dancing lessons and is really enjoying it.  We attended a show at the Relix Theatre in Knoxville.  The "star" was Karim Nagi, he is an Egyptian composer, folk dancer and belly dancing instructor. He was in Knoxville to teach at some workshops.  Most of the evening consisted of performances by belly dancers and did they ever dance!  The theatre was rather unique, it was quite informal in some ways and was a bar, too.  She and I had so much fun.  I know want to learn more about belly dancing and might even attempt attending a beginners' class.  I know I don't paint a pretty picture of an old woman belly dancing but what the heck, it would be such great exercise and fun.

It was difficult to make photos
without part of the audience in them.

I would title this one ...
"A Man Can Dream".  ;-)

(No, that is NOT Clint!)

Or me for that matter!
A woman can dream, too!

(It's bad when one is sitting
here laughing at one's own attempt at humor)

A grainy dark photo of us.

 Well, back to reality.  I am going to be so busy until the new year, we are having a big party this fall with out of town guests.  We are excited about this and of course, I will be sharing more on this blog.

Some very good news, in the morning we leave for a vacation!  We made reservations many months ago, took a leap of faith that we would make it.  We are taking our computers and cameras so we will be sharing some things from our trip.

Back to packing, we are so spoiled and feel we have to take too many things. 

A big thanks to anyone who took the time to read what I have written.  ♥


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My Old Stomping Ground

 My mother used to call this area her old stomping ground.  These photos were made near Norris, Tennessee, at and around the Norris Dam area.  My mother graduated from Norris High School.  I could say it is my old stomping grounds, too, since I have been to these beloved sights so often in my life.  They all hold a special place in my heart and it was so wonderful to visit them again recently after a long absence.

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Music City U.S.A.



Us in front of the infamous Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.  It was Clint's first
time to experience Tootsie's.
January 13, 2012





Clint planned a surprise weekend trip for me a few weeks ago.  We
were on our way to Nashville to see the Grand Ole Opry!



Window shopping ... ♫ how much is that torso in the window,
the one with the ...  ♫

The Nashville skyline as we arrived Friday afternoon
on January 13, 2012.

Clint in the lobby of the Marriott Courtyard on West End,
we were pleased with the hotel.  We're
waiting for the shuttle to take us to the Ryman.



Conversation overheard at this traffic light:  "Clint, get back into
this shuttle!  You have no business going into "Larry's place!"









Approaching Broadway on Friday evening, January 13, 2012



Clint trying to upstage Elvis!

One could hardly move in Tootsie's,
including Clint.

I made this photo inside the old original Ryman.  I was reminded once again
we were watching a live radio show.  It was interesting to see all the
activity behind the scenes.

I kept thinking Broadway has a Bourbon Street atmosphere to it.
The crowds were wonderful to see, when I lived in Nashville in
1974 I can remember this area being empty.

Who could give a warmer welcome than
Minnie Pearl and Hank Williams!

The Rolls Royce of country singers, Connie Smith.

Vince Gill

Ricky Skaggs

Enjoyed seeing the old photos and albums
in this old shop.



Clint had made reservations for dinner at the Stockyard.  In the early 2000s, we had
really enjoyed eating there and I especially enjoyed the singer in the lounge there.  Clint started
reading recent reviews and was shocked by what he read.  We canceled the reservations
and ate at Demo's instead.  We beat the crowd that extended around the corner.

Saturday as we headed back to the hotel, I thought this was the most
 beautiful scene from Broadway looking toward West End Avenue.

We had the most wonderful time.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

When I wrote my previous blog yesterday and clicked on "Publish Post", I was thinking it might just spiral down the cyberspace black hole without anyone reading it.  Thank you all for your visits and reading my posts! I am doing okay. I am reading all your blog posts, not yours Ginny because you don't have one ... yet. :~)  Before I started this blog post today, I was not going to do anymore "woe is me" posts right now.  As life would have it, something happened today that was unbelievable.  After I got back into the car with Clint this afternoon, I was a little shaky/sick and was telling Clint what I had just experienced. (Clint's first response was 'good blog material') It had not quite dawned on me  what had just happened until Clint reminded me and said:  You just saved a woman's life.

I did, this afternoon I saved a woman's life!  I will tell about this next time I write, I may leave this Nashville post up for a day or two. Take care and thanks again for your visits.

Gaither Christmas Homecoming

 

Clint shown shining his Gaither light.

Last Friday evening, December 2, 2011, we attended the Gaither Christmas Homecoming at the Knoxville Civic Coliseum.  As luck would have it, the Christmas Parade was held the same evening in downtown Knoxville. Whew!

The evening was magical and I heard my two favorite songs I had mentally requested before the event:  Beautiful Star of Bethlehem and Mary Did You Know.  I am a big fan of Mark Lowry, he wrote the lyrics to this well known song, Mary Did You Know.  Mark sang it beautifully with such emotion and feeling.

 

Elvis prepares for the parade.

Tis the season ♪♪♪

Still haven't figured out this float's theme

Many different reflections at the event

 

Stunning stage and lighting plus some
of the most beautiful voices in the world

We were "greeted" by the Gaither Vocal Band as we arrived

The Gaither lights are passed out at the concert,
imagine a gigantic arena full of twinkling star lights.

Where are you, Mark?  I have been waiting six years for this
moment!

 

 

Oh, there you are, Mark!


(My heart was thumping)


My night was complete.


☺

A Rainy Day

The Bearden area of Knoxville.

It could be said Clint and I have been singing in the rain after the draughts we experienced when we lived in the Dallas, Texas, area.  Today we were not exactly singing in the rain when we could barely see the road in front of us. We left for downtown Knoxville with clear skies above and 67 degrees.  It soon changed as can be seen in these photos. One stop we made was at the Fresh Market. I like this store and Clint found something he liked and will have it for dinner tonight.  Coconut shrimp and a cannoli for dessert.  I am not supposed to eat shrimp. sigh

Today I had my camera and made some pictures of rain and more rain.  It is hard to believe it is only around 1 PM in the photos, the sky became so dark.

I had not noticed the dark skies until I
got out of the car at the Fresh Market.

Kingston Pike in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Kingston Pike again ...

Not a good day for driving on the interstate,
very low visibility.

Closer to home ... our exit.

The railroad track we cross near our house ... the rain
resembles snow in this picture.

Whew ... we're almost home!  ☺