Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Narnia part two

 Last spring me and my family went to Gatlinburg Tennessee for a long weekend and even though it was the end of April we were pleasantly surprised by snow at the top of Clingman's Dome.  Yes it looked like Narnia.  Well  this past weekend we returned there wanting to see the Smokies in Fall array and went for another drive towards the higher elevation . This is what we saw!  Snow beautiful, Christmassy, fluffy, white snow!
 So, what are the odds of this happening to us again??  We were ecstatic!  This is me and my awesome snowball makin husband!
 The day we arrived it was chilly and Fallish, leaves twirling downward in the wind.  Apple dumplings at the Apple Barn started our mini vacation with a bang. Me and my daughter Christina in front of a stream across from the "Apple Barn"
 Two days later, THIS!  This is me and my daughter Jenny.
At lower elevations it was still Fall!  My son in law Suj and Kavi outside "Santa's Claus-et"
This is after we descended from Narnia back to the land of Autumn!
The cabin we all shared had a wood burning fireplace that made the stay especially cozy and made up for the concave mattress in me and Ray's room, the poop-like aroma in my daughter Christina's room and the scary, scary twisty and steep road up to it!

Seriously though Gatlinburg Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains national Park is my favorite place to go!  If you haven't been there go there!  Gather a bunch of family to chip in and get a cabin!!  You will love it!

Monday, October 15, 2012

The Waltons are Hip...they really are!

This past Fall I had a bad cold and stayed in bed one day watching a Waltons Marathon. I watched this series when it first was on in the early or mid 70s and loved it and I loved it even more this time around. First of all, if you are even remotely in to etsy, pinterest or blogworld, and the handcrafted, DIY movement, you will notice upon tuning in to the show, that it could very easily fit into this artsy time we live in.
They made the most delicious pies, cakes and well, everything from scratch. Hello!! Pies are very hip now along with all yummy hand baked from scratch anythings.
Simple rustic yet homey decor. Very in . Drinking ice tea from mason jars!!! Using mason jars with wild flowers in them to decorate the really cool canvas tent they put behind the house for Grandpa to sleep in so he would be able to see Walton's mountain and recover from his serious illness?? It worked, Grandpa made it! Looked like a blogger wedding site!
John and Livvy's 25th wedding anniversary where they drove to a town nearby to get professional photos taken, all the while the youngins were secretly planning a surprise party for them, saving paper bags for luminaries, and foil gum wrappers to make shiny table decorations and John making a gazebo to surprise Livvy on the mountain!!
Jason being in a bluegrass band playing in barns with hay to sit on and lights strung for decoration?? Church picnics with colorful pennant garland and PIES and home made canned goods! Yep, and when the kids grew a little older, the girls in their simple cotton 40s dresses, the boys looking very hipster in their vests with oxford shirts and ties, caps and suspenders.
Who knew they would be all the rage three decades later than when they were filmed?
I didn't know, but now I do. Next time you are going through the channels and you see this show, tune in. You may just get inspiration to do something creative or artsy!