Babes in Toyland....and Candyland

No reason to pout or to cry here at our house this week. Luke just happened to intercept the UPS man with a very special Christmas present from his Aunt Holly and Uncle David yesterday: a handmade, wooden Marble Track. And as nice as it is, it's really even more special because it was made by the Rothenberger boys in the the family wood working and furniture making business up in PA. We are so pleased to have such an heirloom gift for Luke to enjoy. He hasn't quit playing with it yet and tried to take the large wooden "marbles" to bed with him last night.

Luke and I also had some nice Christmas visits today; we went to lunch with a friend at a tea room and then had more friends over to make cookies and decorate gingerbread houses. We made miniature homes and Luke certainly had fun sampling all the trimmings----I see visions of sugar plums turning to tummy aches later on.

We'll be heading to NC soon and then on to GA for more visits with family. We hope all of you have a blessed and Merry Christmas whereever you may celebrate. Noel!

Holiday Express

We took Luke to see the Holiday Express displays at the UT Univerity Gardens this past Saturday. With more than 100 model buildings and 10+ trains running, it was a little boy's Christmas dream. The bigger boys, Ben included, were pretty smitten with the collection, too. Two engineers ran all the trains in concert with twinkling lights, a waterfall feature, and Christmas music. Ben's favorite train was the Pennsylvania passenger train, while look prefered the green Southren engine---he said he was going to drive that one when he grew up. The collection was entirely owned by one of the engineers, who built nearly all the structures and builidings himself. He said it had taken him nearly 25 years to collect and build it all. He had unique trains with fish-tank cars (quite a ride for little goldfish), a miniature carnival with ferris wheel and teacup rides, and a working sawmill. The attention to detail was amazing and none of it was wasted on all the starry-eyed children and families who attended. Enjoy the photos!

For more info, visit http://www.utk.edu/tntoday/2008/11/14/Climb-Aboard-the-Holiday-Express-at-UT-Gardens/

Christmas Rocks!

It was a dreary, rainy night in Knoxville, but it was warm with the Christmas spirit and rockabilly beats at the Tennessee Theater Tuesday night. For Ben's birthday, Luke and I gave him tickets to the Brian Setzer Orchestra's Christmas Rocks Extravaganza! Now that's a mouthful, but it lived up to the wordy title and then some. We felt like delinquent parents taking a little guy to such a late show, but 'tis the season for special events and getting to stay up late for some holiday fun. They had a great blues act from Chicago open the evening and Luke was shakin' it in the third row! We had great seats--so close we could make eye contact with the performers and best of all, catch Santa's attention when he made a surprise cameo during one set. The Knoxville concert was filmed for a Christmas Eve program for Billboard.com, so maybe you'll be able to see the show, too. Meanwhile, if you are looking for some fun, up-tempo Christmas music to round out your playlists this year, check out BSO---they won't dissappoint!

Deck the Halls

After rearranging the furniture and making a place for the Christmas tree, it was time to start decking those halls with boughs of holly...and pine, juniper, etc. I was pleased to find ample evergreens and berries right in our own backyard to make wreaths and garlands for the house and to spruce up the faux ones still in rotation.

We have a smaller, tabletop tree again this year but it's full of childhood classic ornanaments and even a red-and-white paper chain garland. It's not our usual tree, but it's just right for a wide-eyed little boy with Santa on his mind. Luke has been pouring over his toy catalogs but is also making some connections that this is Jesus' birthday coming up and that is why we really celebrate. The mixed messages are everywhere, but we all keep muddling through them. I have even found myself resorting to the terrible cliche of "Luke, you know Santa is watching you...." when he's starting to act up or feeling uninclined to listen to me. So yes, you know the holiday season is full upon us.

I suppose I already had one of my big Christmas wishes granted when we awoke to about an inch of heavy, wet, wonderfully white snow last Saturday morning. It covered all the trees and houses beautifully and drew even the older children out early on a weekend morning for a quick snowball fight before the sun melted their fun away. Luke and Ben got in on the action, landing a few good shots on the neighbor girl and her brother, and then we went out for doughnuts in our PJs and boots----a pretty wonderful morning whether you are two or twenty-something. I'd love to see some more snow this holiday, but if I don't we at least had a great start to the Christmas season with snow in the first week of December.

A Pennsylvania Thanksgiving

This year we spent our Thanksgiving holiday in Pennsylvania with many of Ben's relatives who either still live in the area or came back home for the occassion. We stayed with his grandparents (Luke's Pop Pop and Gigi) and were lucky to have lots of family come by to visit with us there. Ben's sister Lauren and her boyfriend Matt even made it over since they were in PA for Thanksgiving with his family. We were also fortunate to see Ben's aunt Holly and uncle David up from DC, cousin Peter who lives in PA now, and their daughter Brin who flew in from LA. There were 17 for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, with aunts, uncles and cousins a-plenty. Luke had a great time with everyone and appreciated our hosts Tina and Alan and their children opening their home to a few more guests this year.

My parents also made it up over the holiday weekend, not for turkey and dressing, but to help pick up a tractor that has been in Ben's family since the 1940's. After an extensive restoration, she's all shined up and ready to go down south to stay in the family another 50 years and then some. It made the trip very well and is now resting safely in a garage for the winter.  It is a special memento of the family farm and all who have lived and worked there. 

All told, Luke saw 23 different relatives during our four day visit! It was certainly a whirlwind trip up on Wednesday and back Saturday night, but it was great to see everyone we could and to be there to help decorate for Christmas with Pop Pop and Doris. Our next treat was to see the lighting of the tree in nearby Skippack with Ben's aunt Nancy and uncle Pete. My parents stayed overnight with them when they got into town, so we had a great night out seeing Santa, listening to carolers and eating some delicious Italian food---we started the holiday feasting early with year! Luke had some big laughs with Uncle Pete as you will see in the photos---he knows how to get him going!

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving whereever and however you may have celebrated. I know times are very challenging for so many families right now, but that seems to be all the more reason to simply acknowledge the gifts we have been given, to celebrate our families and friends with grateful hearts as we enter the holiday season. This Christmas is the perfect time to find comfort and joy in what we already have and not what may or may not be under the Christmas tree. 

Admiring a Parade of Trees - Oak Ridge, TN - The Oak Ridger

Admiring a Parade of Trees - Oak Ridge, TN - The Oak Ridger

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My friend Laura and I made the front page of the Oak Ridger today!  Ben called from work to tease me.  We had a great time at the Parade of Trees gala on Saturday night.  The event benefited Girls, Inc. of Oak Ridge.  Ben's company was a key donor for the evening, so we were asked to attend on behalf of the company along with Laura and her husband Duke, and four other coworkers.  The food was excellent, the band was great, and everyone had fun bidding in the auction or shopping in the Chrismas market.  We'll try to post more photos when we get copies from others at the party.

To learn more about Girls, Inc. and the work they support, visit http://www.girlsinc.org/.  You can read about their educational initatives, community activities, donate online or find a local chapter to volunteer your time.  For example, the Oak Ridge chapter offers programs such as workshops in financial fitness and encouraging girls to pursue academic coursework and careers in the sciences.

The Big 30

We celebrated Ben’s 30th birthday yesterday, remembering the experiences three decades afforded and welcoming all the new ones to come. Unfortunately, he had to work, but we tried to make it festive all the same. Luke stayed home from school to help me make him a red velvet cake and to meet Ben for lunch during work. Luke spilled the beans that we got balloons and flowers for the occasion, but I think Ben liked them all the same. In the evening, we went out to a concert at the Tennessee Theater by the Youth Symphony Orchestra and then came home to a late dinner and of course, the cake. Luke was eager to help his Daddy blow out his big 3-0 candles… and to sample the sweets. And so to Ben, I hope you had a great 30th birthday. Here’s to 30 more and then some! Luke and I can’t wait to see what those years will hold.

Wedding in the Mountains

Last weekend we were happy to be in Western NC for a beautiful fall wedding for my cousin Robert and his lovely new bride, Crystal. The wedding was held at Lake Junaluska Assembly Chapel. I've driven by the little lake community for years but never had occasion to stop and visit. The chapel sits right on the lake, facing high mountains all around the valley. The setting was serene and quaint, reminiscent of a quiet New England village. Everyone looked their best for the big day and had a great time at all the events from rehearsal and dinner on Friday through the ceremony and reception Saturday night.  A few of the photos we took are shown here and in the slideshow to the left, but to you can see the gorgeous professional photographs by Jon Bowman by visiting www.pictage.com/619436 or http://www.jondbowman.net/ .

Most of our family all stayed together for the wedding weekend at Smoky Shadows Lodge in Maggie Valley, courtesy of Uncle Harmon and Aunt Beverly, the parents of the groom. We had the whole place to ourselves after the rehearsal dinner there Friday night. It was nice to have the time to visit and relax together, all in one place. We hadn't really gotten to spend much time with Harmon, Beverly and Rob since coming back to the States, so it was treat all around.

The day of the wedding Ben, Luke, Rob, and I went out for lunch and a little trip to Cataloochee Ranch to see the horses. At nearly 5,000 feet, Cataloochee Mountain opens up to meadows on the very top. There is a horse ranch on one side and the ski lodge and lift on the other. We only visited the horse ranch, walking around and letting Luke briefly ride a horse around the paddock. We thought they might have pony rides, but a few minutes on a big horse is plenty when you’re two. He was excited to tell everyone back at the lodge he rode a big horse!

During rehearsal on Friday night, Luke broke free from me to join Ben, a groomsman, up front. We joked he’d probably try it the next day, hoping we were wrong….but we weren’t. All was going so well at first; Luke was sitting very quietly with his cousin Delaney who came over with Grandma Allen, Aunt Lydia, and her parents Lindsey and Mac from Murphy. After the bride arrived, Luke thought it was a good time to rejoin Ben. I had to take him out into the adjoining vestibule for the remainder of the wedding, but I could hear it and was able to be there all the same. You never know what will happen when a two-year old is in the mix!

Luke also had a big time at the reception...on the dance floor all night, literally. We sat at a table directly beside it, and he started out there during dinner and kept going until it was time to send the newlyweds off through an arcade of sparklers. It was a wonderful wedding weekend and a great time to visit with family. We were grateful to be a part of it and wish Rob and Crystal all the best in the coming years. Auspiciously, the couple was blessed with perfect weather for their wedding. It was fairly warm and completely clear in the day, starry and crisp at night. It reminded me of a poem about October, but I think one could say all the same of early November in the North Carolina mountains.

October’s Bright Blue Weather

by Helen Hunt Jackson

O suns and skies and clouds of June,

And flowers of June together,

Ye cannot rival for one hour

October's bright blue weather;

When loud the bumblebee makes haste,

Belated, thriftless vagrant,

And goldenrod is dying fast,

And lanes with grapes are fragrant;

When gentians roll their fingers tight

To save them for the morning,

And chestnuts fall from satin burrs

Without a sound of warning;

When on the ground red apples lie

In piles like jewels shining,

And redder still on old stone walls

Are leaves of woodbine twining;

When all the lovely wayside things

Their white-winged seeds are sowing,

And in the fields still green and fair,

Late aftermaths are growing;

When springs run low, and on the brooks,

In idle golden freighting,

Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush

Of woods, for winter waiting;

When comrades seek sweet country haunts,

By twos and twos together,

And count like misers, hour by hour,

October's bright blue weather.

O sun and skies and flowers of June,

Count all your boasts together,

Love loveth best of all the year

October's bright blue weather.

Remember the Veterans

Happy Veteran's Day to all those who serve or served in our military and to the families who serve along with them. The service and sacrifice of all our veterans is a precious gift for which we should give thanks on more occassions than just this day, but I hope all of you will at least use this holiday to thank a veteran and pray for all those who still serve and/or carry the scars of war with them each day.

We always appreciated all the well-wishing and support on this day when we were on active duty, but we need to remember the veterans at all stages of life. No matter what our positions are on the wars we fight and the missions our military carries out, our service men and women deserve our gratitude for their willingness to defend and protect. So thank you, today and always.

Autumn Splendor

Autumn has officially come to East Tennessee, and the maple in our backyard is strutting her stuff, flashing blazes of red, yellow, and orange. The leaf color is reason enough to celebrate the tree, but as the leaves fall to the ground, they hold new potential. On Sunday, All Saints Day, Ben and Luke raked the first big pile of leaves. Luke just stood and looked at the mound for a moment, and then that little sly smile spread slowly across his lips. 1-2-3- Go......and jump! He reveled in rolling in the pile and even started saying, "Time to get out of the pool" when he crawled out, only to ask for a rerake and jump in all over again.

The days are certainly shorter, but that's not all together bad. This makes more time to sit by a warm fire at night or enjoy the rise of the Hunter's moon. With bright foliage, crisp weather, and happy boys in sweet-smelling piles of leaves, it is easy to see why fall is our favorite time of year.

Happy Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year, spending the evening at a Halloween party hosted by a friend of Ben's from work and his wife. It was a great party with lots of delicious, spooky foods...think pimento cheese roll "eyeballs," Bloody Mary sauce for rare steak, spider eggs (deviled eggs decorated with Black widows make of olives), mummy dogs, etc.

There were four children at the party including Luke, so he had a wonderful time just playing with new friends. After some pumpkin carving and filling up on the scary snacks for dinnner, we all trouped out to do some trick-or-treating with an elephant, the Little Mermaid, Jack Sparrow, and one more sweet little pirate. Lots of candy was had by all, as you would expect. Many of the houses seemed to be rewarding coming out in the cool drizzle of the evening with extra candy. We finally headed back in once the rain really started peppering down, but no one's spirit was dampened. The kids were thrilled with their candy and since they were younger, honestly seemed to enjoyed receiving the older trick-or-treaters at home as much as going around on their own. Hope you all had a very Happy Halloween, too. Enjoy the photos!

Halloween Preview

Today was the Halloween Party in Luke's preschool class, and I was lucky to get to volunteer to help with the party. All the kids were so cute in their costumes. After they had snacks and treats in their classroom, they all paraded through the other classes and then to see the seniors who participate in an adult care services housed in our church. The seniors had candy for them and gave them all handshakes or high-fives. It was very nice to see the intergenerational interaction.

Enjoy the Halloween costume preview!

Spying on the Lindberghs

Those of you who know Ben well know of his love for building and flying RC planes, but I would say this hobby is more an offshoot of a general love of aviation history and technology. He enjoys books about the Wright Brothers, especially, but there are so many extraordinary figures in the early years of aviation. Arguably the most famous after the Wright Brothers would be Charles Lindbergh. He was an interesting man beyond his transatlantic and numerous other flight records, he seems to have had a somewhat stranger vocation working a Nobel laureate to develop medical devices, with the ultimate aim of prolonging life indefinately. This darker body of work is written about in David Friedman’s The Immortalists, which sounds very intriguing and may well be next on my reading list.

While we were in Italy, I read the classic Gift from the Sea, written by Charles Lindbergh's wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and found it to be a wonderful book for a new mother. The meditative quality of the book is not unlike scripture and other sacred texts in that you can come back months or years later and read the book anew, finding and taking new lessons that seem to fit the exact stage of motherhood and womanhood in which you find yourself.

So this famous couple had some presence in my thinking and reading for a while now, but quite by accident, I stumbled upon the writings of their daugther Reeve Lindbergh and have been delighted with her children's books for Luke. I first checked out The Circle of Days and Our Nest for Luke based solely on the titles and appealing covers from our local library. When we got them home and read them, I was moved by Circle of Days, a retelling of St. Francis' Canticle of the Sun. It is a beautiful book for children and even for adults, painting a picture of thankfulness at the most elemental level---it's as fresh and relevant now as in the 1200's when St. Francis first wrote it.

Our Nest carried on with the theme of the holistic nature of life; all things integrated and coexisting in various scales of home. Since loving these books with Luke, I requested and checked out for Luke Nobody Owns the Sky, a great mini-history of another amazing aviator Bessie Coleman and If I'd Known Then What I Know Now, about a bumbling but lovable father and all his mishaps in homemaking and farming. Again, no disappointments here; both are great books for children of any age.

For myself, I was pleased to see a nonfiction work called No More Words, a book written to be a type of memoir for her mother Anne Morrow Lindbergh as she found herself speechless and homebound after a series of strokes late in her life. I am enjoying this book very much given my love of both their written works and my interest in aging and care at the end of life.

In a strange way, though, I feel like I have been spying on the Lindberghs, this most famous of American families. Through the themes and diffusely spiritual material in many of the books, it's like watching them figure out what they believe and how to live it in their daily lives. This search and struggle is common to us all, but rarely do we get to learn about this experience in others through such eloquent and touching testimonies. They all led such colorful and accomplished lives, but at the end of the day and life, they all dealt with the same issues the more ordinary among us grapple with everyday.

Petrushka

Ben and I extended the celebration of our anniversary this year, taking in a wonderful symphony Friday night, compliments of his parents. The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra performed a wonderful program around the theme of storytelling. The first half included An Overture to Blanche, a piece written by the conductor Lucas Richman for the stage production of A Street Car Named Desire. It was a beautiful, haunting piece mixing Dixieland swing, jazz, and lovely string arrangements. The various characters of from the play were given signature instrumented voices such as Blanche's saxaphone and Stanley as an overbearing trumpet. The next piece was Dvorak's Golden Spinning Wheel, based on a Czech folk tale. The story is not unlike Sleeping Beauty in some elements, but much more like a Grimm's fairytale with dark deeds and sorcery. After Dvorak's happy ending, we enjoyed just looking at the palatial interiors of the Tennesse Theater during intermission. It's a beautiful venue and it would really be a treat to see anything here, be it movie, play or concert. The second half was Stravinky's Petrushka, originally written as a ballet for the Ballet Russe. Storyline titles were projected over the concert stage to narrate the actions that would normally by performed by a ballet company. Petrushka is the story of a puppet with the heart and emotions of a human: his unrequited love, an ensuing battle and evental death during a Shrovetide (pre-Lent) fair. This composition was Ben's favorite of the evening. If you are interested in hearing more, please visit the program link and listen to the podcast of the show. http://www.knoxvillesymphony.com/kso.asp?id=178&dt=10/22/2009

Spokane Dispatch

After much recollection and writing, I have finally finished the travelogue from our trip to Spokane in September. I wrote this more for Luke, so we can remember all we did with him, but if you are so inclined, set aside some time and give it a read. If you are short on time, just check out the slideshow on the sidebar for now. Trip to Spokane: Sept 5-14 Saturday 9/5 We’re back from our 9 day trip to Spokane, Washington. Our maiden voyage was a great one, taking in most of the sites of Spokane and many of the surrounding locals of Eastern Washington. We started off our Saturday afternoon by hitting a farmer’s market on the way back from the airport and picking up purple potatoes and freshly picked huckleberries. Then we arrived at their new home, a beautiful, contemporary condo overlooking the falls of the Spokane River. Just across the river we could see aptly named Riverside Park. For the Labor Day weekend, a festival called Pig Out in the Park was going on in the park, bringing extra rides, musicians, and people to the otherwise quiet park. We rode the ferris wheel, giant Radio Flyer wagon slide, and walked back across the falls to a nice dinner at home. Sunday 9/6 Upon arriving we were immediately struck by how different it looked topographically and even geologically. Eastern Washington is semi-arid, almost desert-like with brown steppe, sage brush, and mostly evergreen trees where any are growing at all. But with the warm temperatures and mostly sunny weather, you can grow nearly anything and everything so long as you water it. The parks are lush and replete with plants we know and love back East, but in sizes and bloom states rarely seen back home. A perfect example of this is Manito Park on the South Hill of Spokane. The park was designed by the Olmstead Brothers of Central Park and Biltmore Estate fame, and the attention to detail and ‘garden rooms’ is evident. I was just so impressed that in early September every single garden could still be at peak bloom and color. It was a treat to walk through on our first full day in town. Before strolling through the park, we had a wonderful lunch at Luna, a French-inspired restaurant that grew most of their own produce. Everything was fresh and delicious…a great place to try regional specialties like the Idaho ruby trout (looks and tastes similar to mild salmon) and huckleberries. We tried to go Arbor Crest, a hilltop vineyard, for an outdoor concert but a strong storm blew through and cancelled the show. Ben and I toured the grounds briefly, very lovely up on the mountains overlooking town and looking on to the timbered mountains of Idaho just over the border. Instead of the show, Ben and I went out on a dinner date at a great restaurant called Millfords, stopping to listen to the last concert of the weekend at the park festival: the totally irreverent but funny Austin Lounge Lizards. Monday 9/7 I should mention that just before we arrived in Spokane, Tom had just come home from a business trip to Japan. He was dealing with a big time change and jet lag of his own, so he was up in the night when Luke was waking early, still on East Coast time. So sleepless in Spokane, Tom took Luke on an EARLY morning adventure in the pre-dawn damp and dark city. They headed out with Nelle in search of coffee, finding most places tightly closed up, until they finally found the Starbucks kiosk in the Davenport Hotel open for business in a most regal of settings. The lobby of the Davenport is worth a visit just to see how fine hotels used to be; Luke loved the fountain in the center teeming with koi. He reported in excited bursts on all this and their walks when they came back home later that morning. Oh, the adventures grandfathers can take you on! The remainder of our Labor Day was spent boating with family friends, Gordy and Judy Jones and her niece in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The weather was cool and a little rainy, but it was a treat to see the mountains and pretty lake homes from water. Luke was not sightseeing, however, as he was too busy ‘driving’ the boat with Ben for the latter half of the trip. He finally tuckered out after a stop for drinks and snacks, rocked to sleep by the boat over windy water as we raced a storm back to the docks. Upon leaving the boat, we Tom, Susan, Ben, Luke, and I drove further into the forests of Idaho to see the lay of the land….so different than the arid, sparsely treed area immediately around Spokane. Luke was still asleep from the boat ride back until several miles down the road on further into Idaho. Through his sleepy haze, he surprised us all by looking around confused and asking, “Where are the other three?” We couldn’t believe put that together and counted who was ‘missing,’ but it was a perfectly logical think to ask. Just goes to show you how attentive even two year olds are to details. Tuesday 9/8 Tueday was a red letter day for Luke….and his sentimental mama. This was the day of Luke’s First Haircut. Tom had an appointment to get his cut, Ben needed a trim, too, and so it turned out to a be a boys’ day for haircuts at Leland’s on Wall, a great barber shop along Tom’s walk to work. I was apprehensive, but I knew it was coming and what better time than for them all to get haircuts together. Luke watched as Tom and Ben had their turns and then sat on Ben’s lap for his trim. Just cleaned the curls up a bit, but it still made him look older to me. The end result was very cute , and he was so proud of his haircut. After all this, Tom went into work for a bit and we later toured the Clearwater Paper offices, meeting some of Tom’s new coworkers and of course seeing Mr. Jones again. Luke went right to Gordy, which was very sweet to see. He certainly remembered him from boating the day before. We packed a lot into this day, leaving the office to drive down through the Palouse to Steptoe Butte. The topography is wildly different in this wheat and grain growing section of the state: rolling, mound-like hills as far as you can see in every direction. The only major outcropping is Steptoe Butte, a quartzite mountain rising to over 3600 ft and about 1,000 ft over the surrounding hills. The view was the top was stunning, with the fields below rolling out like earth-tone quilts. We noticed lots of apple trees growing along the road up, so after having our picnic lunch on top and enjoying the view, we headed down stopping along the way for apple picking and then apple-pelting as the boys started throwing them at each other. Luke even took a few cheap shots at Ben from close range. I picked enough for a pie and was happy for the experience, thinking all the while that maybe Jonny Appleseed had brought these apples all this way west. From Steptoe, we took in one more stop, driving down to the college town of Pullman. It was a quaint town and we enjoyed walking around the downtown shops before stopping for drinks and appetizers in a restaurant in what was their old Post Office. I like seeing the old structures get a new life and this reincarnation was very charming. It was a nice final stop before making the drive back to Spokane for the evening. Wednesday 9/9 After our long day on Tuesday, we spent Wednesday at home and walking around Spokane. We visited the Flour Mill shops next door to Tom and Susan’s building. There I secretly bought some silver sheet metal to start on my first metal working project in jewelry: a simple silver ring for Ben for our upcoming fifth anniversary. Next it was back to the park for more rides and slides, visits to wine and cheese shops and some nice cheese selections to take home: Comte’, a truffled pecorino (in homage to our Italian compatriots), and Luke’s mild favorite, Mimolette. It was only a quick walk back across the footbridges and we spent the evening enjoying the roar of the falls from the balcony. Thursday 9/10 Tom had to go away for the day on business, so we relaxed at home most of the morning with Ben finally getting time to while away the morning reading the paper and drinking coffee. We rallied in the afternoon and headed out to a large cat rescue center called Cat Tales. It was amazing to see the tigers, lions, and yes, even some bears (Oh my!), as well as cervals, pumas, and bobcats. All the animals were rescued either from an injury in the wild, owners who could no longer care for them, or from entertainment acts. We saw one of the remaining Zambian lions, with his long dark mane and keen eyes; you may have seen him, too, since he was a retired MGM lion that roars through the movie credits. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable and the animals all looked healthy and well cared for. With Susan’s love of animals, I’m sure she will become a regular visitor. When Tom came back home, we made a stop by the Davenport Hotel and then went out to dinner at the Steam Plant, literally a converted steam-powered generation station. They are now a nice restaurant and functional brewery, making several different kinds of beer, including huckleberry ale---talk about seasonal and local! Friday 9/11 Friday we took a trip to Walla Walla and the surrounding wine country. As it turned out, the locals grow apples and some grapes, but it seemed like most of the wineries in the area use grapes grown in the nearby Columbia Valley. The town was very nice to visit and walk around, with a mix of restaurants, tasting rooms, interesting boutiques, and Luke’s favorite, a real old-fashioned candy store. This shop reminded me of the popcorn and hot nut counter that was in the Sky City store in Murphy when I was young. All children have or make good memories from a special candy or treat store, even children who are now adults. Most of the actual wineries must have been a bit of a drive out of the town, but you could get a feel for what the area had to offer just by visiting the downtown and tasting their wares. Ben and I were impressed with a very young winemaker (21!) who is turning out surprisingly well-blended bottles at Sweet Valley Wines. The Otis Kenyon room is another to visit; don’t skip their Malbec if you make it that way! Saturday 9/12 The highlight of Saturday was the Spokane County Fair. Ben read about it in the paper, so we decided to check it out. It was a great traditional county fair with rides and a midway, farm equipment, produce, livestock, a rodeo, and even train rides on a decommissioned Union Pacific rail. Luke enjoyed playing on a hand-powered rail push cart the repairmen used to scoot around on the line many years ago. All the animals in the livestock barns were a big hit with Luke, too, and of course all the rides: He rode motorcycles, baja carts, and a carousel before calling it a night. Sunday 9/13-14 We all rose early to make it to the airport for our 6:15AM flight back home, but our pilot had other plans. He was supposedly sick and didn’t get to call in and let anyone know until it was nearly time to board. There were no other one-stop routes home to Knoxville all day, so at the last minute we decided to be bumped to the same flight on Monday morning and have one more day in Washington. This plan was much better than bouncing around the western hubs with a 2-year old in tow, plus everyone got one more day of vacation and visiting. We took advantage of the time to finally make our neglected apple pie and celebrate Tom and Susan’s anniversary (which was the next day) over dinner. Early to bed again and this time with even less bags in tow, we finally made it onto our flight back to Knoxville and work and all our regular routine. Our time in Spokane was a welcome break and a wonderful introduction to the Northwest. Luke enjoyed his time with his Bacca and Nonna and constantly talks about wanting to go back. We have lots more to explore and I’m sure Tom and Susan are game for any and all adventures to come.

The Big Five

Ben and I just celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary on October 2. We made our pilgrimage drive by the field where we were married, and it looks just the same. It was a big weekend to celebrate all around with three birthdays thrown in the mix: my Grandpa Allen on the 2nd, my best friend back home Melissa on the 4th, and my Mamaw on the 5th. It was also the annual Fall Festival at the J.C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. I always looked forward to going each year when I was growing up in Murphy and still like to make it back for it whenever I can. Going to Murphy for the weekend gave us a bevy of babysitters so Ben and I went out for dinner Friday night. Saturday the family went to the Folk School, and Sunday, we celebrated Mamaw’s birthday early over lunch before heading back to TN. Luke visited with his all three of his greatgrandparents on my side of the family, his Aunt Lydia, and his Uncle Morris and Aunt Glenda. It’s nice that so many relatives are there for Luke and us to see over just a weekend. Fall Festival always turns into a reunion of sorts as well; this year I introduced Ben and Luke to my beloved childhood art teacher, Betsy, and ran into our childhood neighbors and playmates, sisters Holly and Lacy Strawn. I hadn’t seen them in many years, and it was wonderful to see them as women now back to visit with their own husbands. Holly and her husband were due to celebrate their fifth anniversary the next weekend, too, since we were married just a week apart. The traditional gift for the fifth anniversary is wood, signifying strength and the established roots of the marriage. The modern gift is silverware, but I interpreted it as silver to wear and made Ben a silver ring that was displayed on a piece of driftwood from our honeymoon in a wooden memory box. The box was easy to assemble compared to the ring, but I wanted to try to get it all done this year. I have been saving all the mementos of our honeymoon to Northern California for five years, even lugging them to Italy and back. Finally, all the papers were made into a travelogue, hand-bound book and the stones, driftwood and evergreen boughs were displayed in specimen boxes, all in one large shadowbox. I enjoyed the silversmithing and will continue to experiment with more metalworking in the future. It is wonderfully tactile and I really enjoyed working with the jeweler’s saw; the surface of the ring is saw textured - lots of tiny cuts in random patterns on the top. Ben has worn it every day since I gave it to him and says it is very comfortable. We're both happy with my first experiment in silver and look forward to more pieces in the future!

Picture Day

It's picture day at preschool! Luke was up extra early to get ready for his big photo shoot at school day. He shooshed up his hair and even tucked in his shirt and wore a belt. He was in a big way when we arrived at school. I can only hope everything turns out well inspite of it also being pizza day at school: pictures after pizza....not a good combination in most cases.

The Muffin Man

Do you know the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man who lives on....Blackburn Drive? Well, I do. I like with him day in and day out, and there's nothing he likes better than baking and eating muffins. Luke has started mixing a little bit of real cooking into his extensive pretend repertoire. He prefers "blue-by" (blueberry) muffins, but today he tried his hand at zucchini and raisin with good results. He's only a slightly messier cook than I am, so it's definately a fun and worthwhile endeavor to bake with him. Ask him to whip you up a batch next time you're in town.