These and that of daily life

Back home from our road trip for a month now and not much to report. 

Yes, it is rare that we have a breakfast like that, but we were given eggs from William and Ben's hens and had brought them home. That is always special. But nobody really to play "the silly game" with. We did sent William photos of it though.

Helping Sarah out ... and Owen. He had a huge bag fill of coins from his birthday. Banks don't have coin counting machines any more. Could we ...? The bank gave us those paper rolls. What else do grandparents have to do?

Oh yes. We believe in immunizations. October 28. Flu and covid shot!

Sarah used to do Papa's hair but the poor girl is so busy with her family and working full time. She is always willing but we hate to ask. Got our own tools and #4. I actually had fun doing it. Made my husband happy.

November 4 was election day and there was not school. We helped out with the kids (picking the twins up from a baseball camp) and when we brought them to there house Stella was happy to see Papa. It is such a cute photo.

This year we had a really lovely autumn. Blue skies and sunshine and beautiful colorful leaves. Our camellias were blooming too for an incredibly long time. 

Our community has a nice selection of trees in all different autumn colors. You can see a bit when I took a photo of the little Jesus figure we found on the parking lot when we took our turn for the Meals-on-wheels delivery. 

And other things keep us busy. Our church has a once a month wine club outing. November we went to the New Kent Winery.

I was leading the church ladies (ECW) in a craft day to make items for a bazaar we had signed up for. It was quite successful. And fun!

And of course there are doctors appointments. Another routine visit for James to the dermatologist but yeah (!) he got another "clear" report. But I loved seeing this at the reception. The sign said "Enhanced Patient Care" (with a large bowl of halloween candy in front of it). I didn't read the fine print!

And the season has started! Shopping!

Chocolate Elf on the Shelf!

What kind of Advent calendar is this? 12 days?

Hot Sauce

Oh yes. And here is more. I do not like shopping ... except for food because it is easy for me to make decisions for that. 

But we had to shop for a dishwasher. We heard noice which was not supposed to be there. And we figured that it was the original from when the house was built in 2006. Do we bother to get it repaired? Do we get a new one? We got a new one. 

We were lucky that our plumber had time to install it. He is good. And we were told by the salesperson in the shop not to trust the delivery men with this job. I had to take this photo of Mike the Plumber. 

This generally sounds all ok but unfortunately I also have to report that my dear husband was in terrible pain, probably coming from his spine and running down his left leg all the way to his foot. He had seen Ortho doctors and had PT sessions for quite a while but they didn't seem to help and may be even make it worse. Hard to tell. We were supposed to travel starting November 17 on a wonderful trip we had so looked forward to. We decided to cancel it and concentrate on finding a doctor to figure this out. 

We are over the initial feeling sorry for ourselves and having to do all the cancellations and dealing with reembursements etc. It was the right decision and as my mother always used to say: "Wer weiß wofũr es gut ist?" (You never know what it is good for). 

Of course there are the little things you see the greatness of our God in. 

Here some photos from our garden ... taken today! Pictures taken of the 2 autumn/winter camellias earlier in this blog. They actually started in the beginning of October and are still going strong. Our 3 winter/spring camellias are loaded with fat buds. Something to look forward to.

Still some roses blooming.

And my Christmas cactus who starts to bloom whenever in the year I remember to water it.

Oh, the next Adventure

A lot to tell. OMG!

Tuesday October 15 - The drive from Paducah KY to Nashville TN was easy. The sun was shining and it's only about 2 hours. This week was William's fall break from school which of course was great. 

Ha-ha, we had to talk about the "apple tree". You heard about it in previous blogs = grown from a seed found sprouting in an apple core. It seems to be doing very well. Fun!

The days went by fast. We did what parents like to do: help. One day William had an appointment at the dentist to have baby (?) teeth pulled. We helped Helen sort out things from the "old place" whenever possible. Another day we had time to take William for driving practice. There church parking lot was the perfect place to start that. He has his official learner's permit.

 

William also had the great idea that our visit should not only be work but also fun. He suggested to go to the zoo. He loves that place and so once again we bought a membership. We could not believe how everywhere Christmas decorations where also being put up.

Highlight at the zoo at the moment was the birth of a baby aardwolf pups and I found the Komodo dragon interesting having been on Komodo Island and saw them in the wild. Dangerous creatures. A bite means certain death because there is no antidote.

This statue is about the right size of them.

Helen and William also decided to celebrate Papa's birthday. Helen had baked a nice cake loaf which served well for breakfast too. That was so nice.

On Saturday we tried another garage sale. Helen is always happy if something else is "needed" by somebody else. She has a class to teach in the morning but then she can join us.

At about 11 am we got a visitor. Sophie, a quilter we both know, was driving through Nashville and stopped to meet with us. We both had learned at lot from her when we both had started out sewing quilts. Sophie is travelling all around the US in her camper and showed us her latest quilt she had just finished. So gorgeous. 

This is a quilt which Helen had made years ago with the monthly Blog Lotto blocks. She had done such a great job. Sophie loved it too.

And yes, we also plaid cards. William is very good.

Saturday James and I invited everybody for dinner at a restaurant which seems to be one of William's favorites. This is the second time we went to the Thai Samurai Mount Juliet and Ben joint us too. It is a really nice place. It might become a tradition. James and my curry were very delicious.

Measuring William's hight. You just turn around and he seems to be taller. Nice young man.

Sunday morning we went with William to his church. St John's Lutheran Church had suffered the loss of most of the building in the 2020 tornado including the sanctuary and altar area, stained glass windows etc.

The former parish hall is now being used for the services. It feels very modern with large screens etc. But every time we visit we still see familiar faces including Pastor Rick. 

Their service starts at 9 am, too early for a weekend soft-boild eggs kind of breakfast. But since Helen had Ben and William's hens free-range eggs we decided to have that for lunch. And yes, the family tradition....

Sunday evening dinner was supposed to be our last meal at this Nashville visit and we didn't want Helen to have to cook. We went out again. This time we went to a pho place we had been before. Very nice. It was dark when we were heading back to the house. The highway was full of traffic going a good speed and ... a deer decided to cross the highway ... or commit suicide. Either way, it was a big scare. I was going full speed and there was no avoiding hitting her. Bits of my car were flying away and I could not stop. We slowed down and took the first exit possible. A warning light had come on and the car looked bad but we evaluated and decided that we could continue to drive back to the house, but regular roads not highway. 

First photo next morning. Calls to my toyota car shop at home and in Nashville for some information. It was Monday and we had wanted to leave early for the 600 miles home. The closest toyota place in Nashville was about 4 miles and wouldn't take long but again we avoided the highway and took the round-about way through slow school zones etc. Parts of the car were flapping with too much wind.

The place opened at 7 am and we were there shortly after. They told us that they could do nothing for us. They were not allowed taping or tying anything up, a legal matter. But we were advised to visit the closest Wal-Mart and buy duct tape. 

Well, those shops were not open for a while but I knew that Dollar Tree was opening at 8 am and there was one just around the corner.

We were there 6 minutes before and they were of course still closed. A nice sales person opened just a few inches to tell us that. Before she closed again I had enough time to ask her whether they had duct tape. She thought and said that she was almost sure they did. It was worth it to wait. They were actually very nice. 5 minutes after 8 am I came out with it having paid $1.25 and started taping. 

It took a while and James took a lot of photos of me and my work. And then we went on our way back to Virginia. 

This is the half-way stop.

We checked how everything was holding up. Duct tape was doing the job!!!

We had to drive the last hour in the dark but we knew the roads and all lights worked except the front blinker on the right. But we were relieved when we were finally home. And I am sure, our children too.

Thank the Lord for keeping us so safe. It could have had a different ending in that heavy traffic in the middle of Nashville.

And off to the next Adventure

Saturday October 11 - We had a nice drive. Fall had definately arrived and the trees were changing colors. We were lucky with the weather because the sky was blue.

We were not in a hurry so we stopped in Mount Juliette for lunch. We knew that there was an Olive Garden. Soup and Salad, just right.

We had booked an airbnb in Paducah, Kentucky. We had lived in this area 30plus years but moved away 2008 when James retired. It had been a good time and we had many friends. Oh, the memories!

The appartement we had rented for three nights was part of the Market House Theater, a historic building, and exactly opposite the new and grandiose Carson Center. We were still residents when it was built and we had been to some lovely events. I remembered one of those which was the violinist Itzhak Perlman.

Fun that we can see it from the airbnb balcony. 

Before our arrival we had been told that we could park anywhere on the street in front. Well, plenty of space no problem. But when we mastered the locks and entered we found a lot of stairs. Back at the car and opening the trunk I was a bit worried ... and then something funny happening. A young boy (15 years) approached, very polite he asked whether we would mind buying some candy to support his sports team. I was taken aback for a moment but replied that I would rather hire him to carry the suitcases up for us. He was so friendly (and strong) and the deed was done quickly. I am sure he was happy with the generous cash. I felt lucky and James pleased. Ha-ha!

It was still early so we thought it would be nice to have a little walk after being in the car so much. Of course this is all very familiar. The flood wall with all those murials. Ups, no detailed photos.

The river where steam wheelers stop with tourists and the local "red jackets" are taking care of them. That's something we would like to do sometime. May be from New Orleans to St. Louis?

A few days ago (when I had just booked the airbnb) our friend John had called. He has made all the Chrismons for Grace Church for many years especially when we moved away and sometimes calls to confer about my patterns. But that time he just wanted to connect because he had not heard about us having done any travelling. All I could say that we had not gone of one of our special trips this year yet but then added that we were planning a little road trip in addition to visiting Helen and William. Of course he wanted to know right away when and to where. 

When I said to Paducah on Saturday he was very excited. Then he said that he and Sherry were attending the Symphony concert that evening. He is on the board. Of course we had season tickets when we were living in Paducah and he knew that. He hang up and half an hour later called back telling us that he had tickets for us right next to them. 

All we had to do was walk across the street to the Carson Center to meet Sherry and John and have a wonderful evening. The first half was the Violin Concerto in D Major by Ludwig van Beethoven. The violinist was Russian-born Dina Nesterenko and she was incredible. I am (unfortunately) not playing any musical instrument but I was in awe about what I witnessed. 

During the intermission most of us just stood up to stretch the legs. I turned to look around a little and saw a couple which looked familiar but if my life depended on it, my brain could not make the connection. And suddenly all 4 of us realized, remembered the names and rashed out of our aisles. Unfortunately the intermission ended just then and the second half started. Randy had worked in the company and we had a "history" of many years together. We looked for them after the concert but could not find them. It had been such a surprise.

Sunday morning! We had a pretty good time in this strange bed. Had some breakfast in "our kitchenette" and headed to the church which was not far. The service started at 10 am but we had heard about the lecture starting at 9 am by one of the members about the Women in Genesis. This was the second week and the Women were Hagar & Sarah. It was very interesting and we were glad we went.

We had arrived a little early and just walking around in what was so familiar. The parish hall is now featuring a Labyrinth painted on the carpet. The custodian gave me a printed page about it. 

Of course just like our church Grace is also in the midst of their Stewardship drive. Today after the service was a little talk in the Memorial Garden by Tricia to point out its features. Of course thats were we wanting to go next anyway.

We wanted to say hello to my father anyway. In the above and below photos you can see the flowers standing on the tile under which his ashes are. He always talked about that he did not want a grave were somebody had to take care of it. Every time I had visited my parents we had to discuss and research this issue because laws are different in Germany. My mother had agreed at the end that "he wanted to fly to America one more time". They both had so loved when they visited us where-ever we lived at the time.

We were not quite sure where to go for lunch but ended up at a Thai restaurant. When we had finally arrived with the help of the GPS two familiar face came out and highly recommended it. Yes, we really enjoyed it. 

And here a note: The whole morning our hearts where leaping for joy. Grace church and its people had been such a great part of our years in Kentucky. And when faces lit up in joy when they saw us and recognized us, it was a wonderful experience. So many hugs. Even the Priest gave us our communion calling us by our first names, and he came to the church after we had moved. It felt good.

But more experiences to come. We had seen that there was a performance at the Carson Center which fit into our time. We had bought tickets for 3 pm to see "Cotton Patch Gospel". 

(copied and pasted from the theater: This entertaining musical features the creative retelling of the Gospels of Matthew and John in a contemporary southern setting, set to bluegrass music. This performance mixes spiritual satire with humour and poignancy to delight and entertain audiences. 

This "Greatest Story Ever Retold" is based on the book The Cotton Patch Version of Matthew and John by Clarence Jordan in which the Gospel is presented in a setting of rural Georgia, is the final and perhaps best work of the late Harry Chapin.)

Our fourth theater experience in four days. And all so different. 

But the day wasn't over yet. Sherry and John had invited us to there house at 5 pm. Sherry had prepared some delicious snacks. We had some wine and chatted like we used to. Finally we had to find our way back to our airbnb.

Monday October 13

We had the whole day and the weather was nice. I really wanted to have at least a quick look at things in the Quilt Museum. There are usually at least 3 different exhibitions and they change very frequently. James was very patient with me. Actually, I think he was also interested. We walked around seperately but sometimes we would even talk about this or that.

Of course I took lots of photos (it is permitted, just no flashes) but I think I should post those on "My lace and quilt blog" (see top tabs).

Just like in any museum, after a while you have "information overload" so we decided to drive to Grand Rivers to "Patti's 1850" for lunch. Oh, the memories. When we lived at the lake we knew that place and the owners really well. James, being the boss of one of the companies in the county, met them at Chamber of Commerce and other meetings. Unfortunately the place had a fire a few years ago and does not look at all any more as it used to. It has become much more commercial. 

The flower pot bread with the strawberry butter still seems the same but the KY hot brown and the chips tasted very much of (old?) grease to me. We did talk about some funny things though. Once when James was there for a business dinner meeting (without me) there was a tornado warning and Bill, the owner, asked everybody to help taking the breakables off the shelves, cover the tables with the quilts which were hanging around everywhere and clime under the tables. The last was surely not that easy for James being so tall.

Yes, the Indian in the bathtub didn't look as genuine any more as it used to (40 years ago?). It would give you the heebie-jeebies when you had to use the toilet. Looks very staged now. 

After lunch we continued to drive the Trace on the Land between the Lakes. We knew that there used to be bison in a field before but now there was something new. We came to the Elk & Bison Prairie, a National Recreation Area. A native grassland habitat for (right now) 42 elk and 63 bison which can roam free within this 650-acre enclosure. 

We stopped the car to see a herd of bison.

And we saw one elk crossing this path very fast that I only managed to get his back end before it totally disappeared behind the tall grass. It was on James' side and I was not fast enough. Oh well....

We continued on "The Trace" and then drove back to Paducah through Cadiz, Jonathan Creek, Gilbertsville etc. Oh, the memories!

Tuesday. Time to leave. Loading everything back into the car was not so difficult. Gravity did help.

We left the car where it was and walked around the corner to the Kirchhoff's Bakery. Our friend Sara was meeting us there for breakfast. And again I forgot to take photos. Sara has a birthday on the same day as James so of course we can't forget that. We chatted and chatted until it was time to leave. Yes, there are people in your life were you are never uncomfortable because you don't know what to say. The opposite, there is not enough time to say all.

On the way back to the car, a quick photo of the little free library looking a bit like the Market House Theater on the other side of this street. Helen would love this.

And now we are on our way to Nashville to visit with Helen and William. William has his fall break from school this week. It will be fun!