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Friday: we had yet another FANTASTIC field trip. The started out rainy and wet. The rain here is so different from the afternoon deluges we are used to; it’s more constant and light and go on and on and on….But our trip was mostly indoors so we stuck to the plan.

We went to the Ramsey Plantation. It’s in Knoxville, on the east side, about 20 minutes from here. The Ramsey family started UT and a bunch of cultural stuff in Knoxville…thier home was the first to have a full size basement and the first to be entirely built of stone with an attatched kitchen. It has 18 inch thick walls! The windowsills were amazingly beautiful…they had full inner shutters with panels and were deep enough to sit in. The staircase was carved in the builder’s signature “hoop”. The guides also held a candle dipping class with the kids. We went with a bunch of church friends, saw wild turkeys in the fields, walked the gardens in the cool drizzle, and otherwise thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

From there we had to finish our errands and spent the afternoon getting groceries. I am finally on my structured meal plans which leads to big time savings at the store. That friday “happy weekend” surge started taking over; it would have been a GREAT day for date night. I was, in a few words, ready to be my man’s BABE rather than MOM for a few hours. No sense dwelling on what couldn’t be though. We’ve been shoe shopping for the BABES, with rather difficult criteria:

-no laces or thick velcro; either slip on or “cinch”
-no white whatsoever
-all weather
-similar to each other but one pair had to be girly enough for Celia (witout being pink, purple, or white!)
-I didn’t want to spend more than 25 a pair

I’d found what I wanted from Lands End but dindt’ want to pay shipping. So the plan was to go to the MALL of all places, to try to find a sale.

First though, was dinner. We’d tried Uno’s pizza before; good food, bad service, and that usually seals a place’s fate for David. But I wanted pizza and salad and he was willing to give it one more shot. Our pizzas were great….when they finally came. After a long wait for seating, drinks, menus, a highchair, dinner, and the CHECK, plus all the stuff she just plain forgot, they confirmed the “bad service” reputation. Scratch that one off the list. Maybe we’ll still get it for take out now and then.

That didn’t leave us in a great state of mind for that bastion of insanity before us…the MALL. I usually avoid that place like the plague. We went into Sears and found thier shoes but they only had Andrew’s size. From store to store we went, getting very strange looks from salegirls who couldn’t figure out what I have against laces and white trim on shoes. Well, none of them were moms! Wearily we closed along with the mall, scooting out just as they were locking up. I came home and orderd my LE shoes in three differnet colors and sizes, the deed done. So nice and easy to just “click”!

Brings me to Saturday: Muffins and juice and birds on the balcony. Shin guards, long socks, pony tail, soccer games. They had pictures first and then thier games. They have a blast playing. The weather was trying very hard to be cooler than it was…blazes in the sun and pleasant in the shade. All that rain on Friday made for lots of RED MUD. I see raincoats and galloshes in our future.

It ended up being a very pretty day though. We finished it with an afternoon in Cades Cove for a hike and a tour of a few more houses and buildings. We just missed the blacksmith but found out where to go for a hayride; we’ll be doing that soon! The valley view halfway through the scenice drive was AMAZING. We’d missed it last time for the rain I guess.

The mountains look folded, just like some giant is laying on it’s side under a blanket, with ripples and folds. There were sections of the fields that had been cut and were bright green and others that were meadows covered in yellow goldenrod and some kind of purplish grain. The sun fell in dusty beams over all of it. And there were shadows of the clouds falling on mountians and fields alike. With the breeze, we could have sat there drinking it all in for the rest of the day!

Sunday: lazy and beautiful. Another rousing worship experience, utterly blessing with every element. Fellowship and connection with the members. And then off to the Cove park down the street for a most picturesque picnic.

We planted ourselves about 4 feet from the water’s edge, sitting beneath a hemlock and a tulip poplar that had turned a vivid yellow. The sailboats were out bobbing and fishing, the wind was soft, and we stretched out on the grass. I’d packed fried chicken made last night (Joel, it was cold LOL), white stilton with lemon, sourdough rolls with the Amish butter I bought this week, apples, and cider. Simple and YUMMY. The sun glistened on the water and there’s not a time I see that where I don’t remember the very first time I noticed it at Ludington Park as a kid in Michigan. Whether it’s the ocean, the St. John’s, or a Tennessee lake, the memory comes back just as strong.

Our chickens rolled up thier pant legs and played on the rocky edge, eventually with all three of them falling completely in. There is a swimming area about 20 feet from our picnic spot, so that wasn’t such a big deal. It all washes :-). We finished up by swinging on the large porch swing under the trees, the kids playing imaginary “ice cream shop” with new found friends.

The rest of the day will be mostly about getting ready for another week. I hope you all are well.

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