southern journey of 2015

I couldn't let Julia (our Swedish foreign exchange student) leave without having her see the southern half of the US, so I plotted a course through 3 states, Ohio, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

Day 1 - We drove to Cincinnati, OH which is roughly 4 hours from here and stayed overnight at a brand new Homewood Suites, which was slightly hidden. The room and service was awesome and the breakfast was probably the best we had all trip. We walked down to Fountain Square and walked the bridge towards Kentucky.

The Great American Ball Park where the Cincinnati Reds play.

Day 2 - we set off to Nashville. Once we arrived and settled into our hotel at the Gaylord Inn, which was an adequate hotel. I only booked us there because everything else was sold out during spring break. We walked the street of Broadway and had dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. There was a nice waiter who told us some of the sites to see around town.

Julia and Holly sitting outside the Johnny Cash Museum. We did not go through the museum as it was about to close for the night.

Walking down Broadway.

Not sure who this woman is but she was a cut out located in the Grand Ole Opry gift shop downtown Nashville.

This kid standing at a corner outside playing his guitar and singing. He was really good. He played the whole time we were there - several hours.

Day 3 - we went to Radnor Lake State Park and walked the trail around the lake. These are some of the sites.

A giant turkey just gobbling away.

Beavers chewing away on this tree.

I took this one with my Tiffen Filter. It didn't turn out very well but it's still a learning process for me.

There were turtles sunning themselves on fallen trees or rocks in the lake.

Holly, Me, and Julia standing on a bridge at the park.

Burke and Holly.

Thought this old tree stump was cool.

Later that night we had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry classic show hosted by Larry Gatlin at Ryman Auditorium. The show was great - not only was their great singing, but there was comedy and lots of audience participation. The place itself was great with church pews for seating. The Opry shows are still being broadcasting on the radio.

Both Julia and Holly was feeling ill that night, so only Burke and I went to see the show. I think they were dehydrated from our hike in the morning as they felt better the next day.

Day 4 - we set out for Lexington, Kentucky and stopped by Mammoth Caves on the way. It was spectacular and definitely worth the stop. 

All the tours were sold out - so we purchased a self discovery tour for $5. Holly on the path to the caves.

Holly, Burke, and Julia right outside the caves.

Inside the caves. I have to say, I was immediately stricken with a feeling of claustrophobia, but it soon passed as we entered the center part of the caves. The ceiling depth was enormous in the center were tourists and rangers were.

Burke's mom and dad stayed at Mammoth Caves for their honeymoon some 50+ years ago - timeless. After the revolutionary war, the caves were minded for gunpowder and also used it as an experiment for curing tuberculosis. The experiment obviously was not successful.

We climbed a mountain outside the caves.

The sun was beautiful that day going up the side of the mountain.

Day 5 - We got up early to be a part of the first tour at Mary Todd Lincolns house in downtown Lexington. The tour and house was amazing and if you get a chance - you should see it. We saw things that belonged to the first lady and even seen the room where her and the President stayed on their visits to see the family.

We passed by Keeneland Horse Track on our way into Lexington and after the Mary Todd Lincoln house tour, so we decided to hit the races. We got there right when the gates opened and it was backed up - but not bad. We followed the masses in and got a parking spot. We noticed lots of tailgating going up.

We also didn't get the memo about the dress. Most girls were in their summer dresses and hats and the men wore their suits. We bet on three races - we won the first one, lost it all the second, and won some of it back the third. Time to quit. 

On our way out, I believe we saw the whole State of Kentucky coming into the races. The mass people trying to get it was unbelievable - it impacted our ability to leave. Everyone was coming in as we were leaving. It was a wall of people that had been tailgating - so the atmosphere was very jubilant. Definitely something to experience.

We left after the third race to get ready for a dinner hosted by a long time friend - Vicki. She made the most delicious dinner of chicken and dumplings, sweet potatoes, and a sweet cake for desert. Then we set out to see members of the family I haven't seen in nearly 35 years. We reconnected with Vicki, Tina and Loma and met their families. My grandfather had married their mother and we hadn't seen each other since the passing of my grandfather. It was very memorable and I hope to see them again.

Day 6 - Headed back to Michigan. Exhausted from the trip, but glad to make the new memories.

mother

Born Patricia Ruth Kelley on September 29, 1946 in Dayton, OH.  She married my dad in June, 1962 and together they had me and 2 other children, Trudy and Patricia. She went on to marry 3 more times and had 6 children in total adding Kelly, Samuel and Tiffany. 

When she came up for a visit, I grabbed her for a quick photo shoot.

Her mother was Betty Lee Perrine who married Samuel Kelley and they had 2 children, Paula and mom. Mom was a twin, but sadly her twin died just several days after birth. Betty went on to marry again and produced 3 more children Loretta, Mike, and Kathy.

Aunt Dottie was Betty's sister and was very close to the whole family spending a lot of quality time with them all.

the 50th extravaganza - 2013

All my life the milestone birthdays left a path of devastation with me. Depression, upheaval, and so on. When 50 was staring me in the eyes, I felt the pains of the past. And then it occurred to me. Why not take a different route? Instead of dread and despair - it would be the year of new beginnings - of trying new things. I dubbed it "the 50th Extravaganza".

This was not only a milestone in my life, but my dad and daughter too. We are all 20 years apart, so my dad turned 70 and my daughter Jenny turned 30.

Turned out .... 50 was the best year of my life. A change in attitude was all it took. Here's some of the highlights. I thought I would remember it forever but I had to go back through photos to remind me how awesome the year really was.

The year started with my awesome husband who booked a day at the spa for me and my daughters on the day of my birth. I had never been to the spa before.We all took the day off, went to the spa and had lunch.

In January, I received the Certificate of Appreciation from the US Army for successfully deploying custom software which helps the army manage their equipment. It was a team effort. I traveled to Alabama to take on this challenge.

March 13th was Jennifer's 30th birthday. We had everyone over for a real grown up dinner party. My daughter the meat eater - we had prime rib, potatoes and all of her favorites.

Her money purse. I made the purse and filled it with money. She's a sucker for the leopard style.

April 2 was my grandson's 13th birthday so I painted these for his room. I just started painting this year. We bought stuff to do a room makeover. We went over and cleaned his area and made it real nice for him. He loved it!

For spring break, Burke, Holly and I took a southwestern trip. We flew to Las Vegas. One of the days, we took a bus tour over of the Grand Canyon.

We also toured Hoover Damn. Afterwards, we rented a car and drove through the Mojave desert to San Diego.

The drive through the desert was incredible. We stopped off at a rest area where Native Americans were selling jewelry. I bought a necklace. We drove until we saw the ocean.

We rented a suite right on the Pacific ocean. It was so beautiful. The sunsets were amazing and the sea lions added delight to our day.

We took a dinner cruise along the San Diego bay. There was dinner and dancing. When our server asked us what the occasion for the trip was - I happily said "it's the 50th extravaganza!". She looked at me weird and walked away. Some people have no sense of humor.

Holly and I suited up for a kayaking tour where we kayaked for 4 hours with a group on the Pacific Ocean. We also went through caves and snorkeled. Getting back into the kayak was a major challenge and one we still laugh about. On our way back into the beach, we didn't quite hit the break right and overturned our kayak. It was so freaking cold.

We spent a day at Disneyland. It was so much like Disney World in Florida. That was a great trip. Our flight left at 1AM and we were so tired, so all fell asleep as soon as we got on the plane.

I attended a meeting of the Saline Music Parents later in April that I thought was an informational meeting for the parents of kids in music. Turns out it was a Booster meeting. All 3 of us that attended volunteered for an office. I took President. One of my first duties was a community event called Drive 4UR school in which we earned $6,000. We also had a bake sale and raffle. I made the sign and bag.

June was Dad's birthday, the entire family gathered for a dinner. He met us here in Michigan and we (Me, Trudy, Holly, and Dad) drove down to Kentucky to see Donna, the youngest. I made that cake from scratch - it was pretty good. We had handmade pizza and cake.

We made a trip to Draffin, KY the place where my grandparents had a house. My sister Trudy and I lived with them for a couple of years. The house had flooded and the burnt to the ground. There was nothing left. The people that now live on the land was so nice - they knew our grandparents. The swinging car bridge had been replaced with a nice solid bridge.

This is the only thing left of that house. The foot stones.

My sister Donna got herself a stone from Draffin and we lugged it back to her house. My sister Trudy and I met Donna for the first time on our trip to Kentucky.

This was the church at the top of the hill in Draffin, KY. I couldn't believe it was still there! Trudy and I went to church there every week and summers. Lots of good memories of singing and plays there.

This was the creek that ran by the house. Trudy and I played there everyday catching tadpoles, crawdeads, and dragon flies.

The well outside the house. There was no running water so we used the outhouse and pulled water from this well. I remember getting spanked because I threw some dirt down it.

We visited the cemetery in Pikeville which held the tombstones of the McCoys. We found out later that we were directly related. Caledonia McCoy married into our family back in the 1800's.

Because of the trip to Donna's, I journeyed back into quilt making. This is the design I came up with. I created the design and loved making all the embroidered flowers.

This was one of my favorite paintings. I actually put this in a white elephant at work for Christmas. The winner sold it to someone who really wanted it.

September - I helped the superintendent of the Saline schools to do an event for Marching Band alumni. It was a fun event.

September was the Saline Music Boosters annual car wash. What a day that was! It was a big event where we raised nearly $7,000 and used ALOT of volunteers.

Then in October, we did a Zombie Bash at the Middle. It was a great success! We had a DJ, a photo booth, zombie snacks (which I made myself). We sold out everything! And the kids had a blast.

In October, I bought silk screening equipment to do my own sweatshirts and tshirts because I didn't want to spend extra to have someone else do it. It was really difficult to get those right. The Boosters sold a boat load of these things.

We attended all the school concerts and sold nearly $1,000 of spirit wear. It was neat to see the kids all wearing my designs.

There's no picture of this but .... I spoke at most of the concerts and tried my hand at comedy. Some people really liked it as they told me so - but I'm sure must as many didn't. :) I just figured I would spice up a boring talk.

The Saline Music Boosters reached their 501c3 status year end making them incorporated and a nonprofit. The process of doing that was very educational.

November my great nephew turned one and he was really into blocks - so I made this 3D block quilt for him. It was super hard to make but I only had to start over once. I wasted a lot of fabric getting this right - but in the end, I think it turned out fabulous!

The year ended on a fabulous note on New Years hanging out with the family. I really couldn't have asked for a better year. I am just getting started in life - and checked off many things on my bucket list.

how to start a garden

Aunt Dottie loved to garden and ended up with a farm outside of Cincinnati where she had a huge garden that she worked just her and her husband.

Every year I start a very small garden inside near the first week of March. I usually get the seeds from Park Seed. I set up my 8 foot table next to a southern facing window.

I start out with a heat mat for each of the trays. I used Hydrofarm MT10006 9-by-19-1/2-Inch Seedling Heat Mat. This helps to keep the seeds nice and toasty during the cold.

And a nice big glow light. I bought Hydrofarm JSV4 4-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System several years ago for about $75. It works great and I haven't had any issues.

I add a glass full of apple cidar vinegar with some plastic wrap to catch the gnats will be be attracted to the dirt and the moisture. Poke some holes in the top to allow the gnats to go in. This does help to keep them down.

Plants the seeds using organic dirt and put a hood on top to keep the moisture in. Do this until they sprout - then take the lids off.

I add a timer to the grow light to make sure I'm consistent with the amount of light they get. I start them out at 12 hours of daylight.

Planting season is mothers day here in Michigan. Enjoy!