Weekend Work

The kid and I had a busy agenda this weekend. Both of us have spring fever so we planned a visit to the local nursery on Saturday. My girlfriend Pam, originally from AZ and transplanted to CT, is a big succulent and cacti fiend.  While we were there last fall, I admired all of her indoor succulent plantings and said to myself, "I'm gonna do that!." Well, I'm finally getting to it. 

Our favorite nursery has a lot of interesting nooks and crannies to meander through. I love these old stained glass doorways. Aren't they fab!

After we loaded up our wagon with all kinds of goodies, we headed home and got to work.

Do you think I have enough succulents in this basket? 

We found this old jar laying around the house and made a little terrarium. (Thanks, Pam!) Remember way back when they were all the rage? Well, they're back!

I'm still working on this glass container. Can't quite figure out what to do. I need my Pammy here. Hep!

I had these tiny, vintage vaseline-glass pots, so I planted some little hens and chickens. Can you believe I've never grown them before? Pfffft! Mom used to call them cats and kittens. Awwww, precious.

 A small kitchen window planter.

And, of course, I couldn't leave the nursery without a few delicate plants that I will kill off soon. Hey, I have to keep myself in check, right? Just when is St. Patrick's day? I'm ready!

Then, on Sunday, the kid and I had planned a day on the Natchez Trace. Well, we should have switched days. Saturday was bright and beautiful while Sunday turned out to be chillier and more cloudy that we had expected. (You'd think "the meteorologist" would have checked the weather!) It was a bit nippy up there! But, it was beautiful just the same. And, duh, I forgot my camera's extra battery so I was only able to  click off a few photos before it died. Doy. 

Rain today, but I'm loving it.

Labels: Pam, Flowers, Tennessee

Oooopsy

I left the French doors open the other day and the wind blew not one but TWO of my pysanka off the dresser. Oooopsy.

Well, it is Lent. Suppose I should bring out the ol' supplies and get to work. I can't remember the last time I made any. Hmmmmmm?

Time to go buy some eggs.

(Or as my momma used to say--"them ol' hen ehhhhhygz.")

Labels: Pysanky

Music in the Ol' Bones

 

Here you see why my brothers and I are so enthralled with music and photography. My father, Bill Ivey (above right) was a professional photographer who took photographs of country stars as a hobby. Here, one of my favorite photos of him, he's with Freddy Fender. (Y'all see what happens when I start looking for something -- like my resume!? I come up with something all together different.)

Stuffed in a drawer (and other places), I found a box of my father's photos that mom had saved.  As you know, one thing leads to another and long story short--over the years, I've had several requests to put together a book of my father's photos. Well, now that I have them all out (and my brother Jim has all of the negatives), what better time than now? This is one of my favorites of mom with one her faves,  Faron Young.

A lot of my parents' love of country music stems from a very dear friend, Tom 'Cat' Reeder, a local DJ and MC back in DC. During the 60s, 70s, 80s and beyond, they spent most weekends together at various country shows; my father the unofficial photographer and bartender. (He would keep a full "bar" in his trunk; and once he pulled up, the trunk would open and the party would begin!) There is a story where George Jones got so drunk before going on stage, they wouldn't allow him to do the show! Oooopsy. Oh well. Don't know if it's true or not, may have to check into that story! Anyhoo, my dad was always passing out photos at every show and never asked for a penny for any of them. I can only imagine how many hours he spent in that dark room. Yea, this is way-back-when--before digital cameras. But I know it brought him so much joy. It was his passion. Tom 'Cat' above with Ray Price.

Mixed in with the old photos, I found some programs that mom had also saved from the day. I had no idea that my father's photos were ever used professionally. I'm happy he did get credit, at least. Oy, teenagers don't pay any mind, do they. I never did, anyway. Couldn't care less. Shame.

His photos were used throughout these programs over the years, like the one of Tom and Jerry Lee Lewis to the right (not the Harrison/Dylan/Russell photo, unfortunately!). Wow, what memories these Top Ten lists brought back! Yup, that's about what I was listening to.

I was never allowed to stay at home with my teenager brothers, Lord forbid. So, yes, I spent many a weekend sitting in the back of my daddy's Cadillac listening to Three Dog Night, Alice Cooper, and the Top Ten. I don't know how I never wore the battery down, I often think about that. I'm talking HOURS with the radio on, probably A/C too!  Country music was not cool in any way or form according to me. Well, I guess I did come out of the car every once in a while because that's me with Faron Young (obviously before I became a moody teenage girl). One of my fondest memories around this time is dancing with my dad at some honky tonk; and Johnny Cash and June Carter came on (not live, mind you) singing "Jackson." Up until a couple of years ago, I thought the words were "We got married in a beaver" which I thought was a euphemism for a VW Beetle! HA! Lawds, help me.

Well, you know of course I did come out for the Killer! Always did like a bad ass! (Of course, I had to hide the photo of ME and Jerry Lee somewhere SAFE--which means I cannot find it to kill me. It's probably with my resume!)

I wonder if mom or I took this photo as there is dad on the right. He must have liked Jerry Lee also. He hardly ever got in front of the lens.

Love, love love! Mom with Hank Williams, Jr.. Just look at that baby face! Wow. And mom's beautiful smile. Aw. I'll never forget when Hank had his horrible accident and almost died. Tom got a phone call in the middle of MCing a show; and he left right then and was on the next plane out to be with him.  Now, that's friendship.

Here Tom is with another bad boy, Merle Haggard. Wonder why he's wearing sunglasses??? lol

Mom looking good with good-looking Conway Twitty.

Beautiful Loretta Lynn smiling for the camera. Talk about Angelina being skinny!

Tom with my brother Johnny and Grandpa Jones. Great pic of Johnny.

George Jones and Tammy Wynette. Check out the lamé outfit. Oooooohweeee. George and I go to the same optometrist! Next time I see him, I'll ask him if he remembers the "trunk incident!" NOT!

Mom with Hank Snow. Wonder if that suit is in the Country Music Hall of Fame. What a beaut!

The sweet Mel Tillis.

And take a look at these youngins'--Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. LOVE Porter's boots! Oww! Now those babies could crush a roach in the corner, as we used to say.

And, here's mom and Mac Wiseman yuking it up about something.

I can't begin to tell you what memories have been flooding my brain today as I've scanned all of these orginals. It's sad that so many of these folks are no longer with us, including my parents and brother Johnny. Tom 'Cat' has had some recent medical issues and it breaks my heart. He has brought so much joy to so many over the years and has always been a decent man.

I dedicate this post to him. 

Get well, Tom 'Cat'!

Labels: Music, Dad, Mom, Brother John, Friends

Spring Has Sprung

I was very excited to see the new tulips from my trip to CT this fall from White Flower Farm beginning to peek through the soil. One is just blooming! Yay! (Don't mind the weeds, please!)

 The grape hyacinths are up and beautiful.

 The crocus are just about past their prime.

One of my faves from Virginia is blooming for the first time this year. I've had a horrible time getting the forsythia to take root here. You really don't see too much of it in TN. Such a shame. I love going home and seeing it growing everywhere in Virginia!

Of course, the daffs are all popping. I keep cutting them and bringing them in. They can liven up any table in a jiffy!

But these are my favorites of all--the lilacs I moved from my mom's yard back in  Arlington when she moved down here. They took right away (only because SHE planted them!). They are now quite a nice-sized bush with buds all over.

See! Mmmm, I cannot wait to smell them. The purple ones do have a luscious fragrance while the white ones (which I chose for my wedding bouquet) do not. Go figure.

And speaking of which, the hub and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary today. He sent me 25 gorgeous white roses with the sweetest note. Do I have to tell you that, yup, he's out of the country?! No worries. We will celebrate upon his return. Twenty-five years. I simply cannot believe that much time has passed. We're pretty lucky, us two. Just like we were married yesterday. Well, almost. Ha!

Happy Anniversary, hub. We still got it baby, don't we!

Labels: Flowers, Hub, Wedding Anniversary, Spring

As Time Goes By

This has to be one of my all-time fave photos of the kid. It was the only time I used a professional photographer; and this was probably the only photo that came out to my liking. (Photo snob.) It seems like it was just a short while ago this little fellow was afraid of just about everything. Now, he's about ready to go out into the world on his own and I'm the one who's kinda scared.

What in the world am I going to do? I've recently been looking into volunteering to take up some of my time now that my stay-at-home-mom status is about to come to an end. I've found a wonderful site, Volunteer Match, that lists opportunities in your area. I'm sure I can find someone who can put my old secretarial skills to use or somewhere I can just pitch in with whatever is needed. With all of the tornadoes last week, I know there is such a need out there.

And hey! With all my fiddling about with my codes yesterday, I lost my labels under my posts. Wha? Where are they?? Still being listed to the side--big help that is, huh? Working on it!

Ok, Ro, where would a copy of your last resume be? Ha! Good luck with that one!

Labels: Kid

Motivation

Thanks to a visit to Amy Power's blog, I was inspired to totally redo my blog. Oy.

Oh well, I didn't have anything else on the agenda today. Obviously, I still have some tweaking to do; but I'm about done with HTML and CSS code for the day.

That Amy, wow. Thank you for sharing your talents.

Labels: Blogging, Inspiration

Weathered the Storm

 

This is what most of the day looked like. We'd have sun and then the clouds would roll in, fast.

Command Center No. 2--mom's living room in the basement. The kid was in his element and I felt safe with him at the helm. This was about the time that Bethy was getting hit in Dickson. I had just heard from her before the tornado hit and she told me the lights had just started flickering. It scared me to death when I wasn't able to get in touch with her for a couple of hours. Was so happy to hear that they had only a little damage; and thank goodness, everyone in her family was safe in her basement when it hit.

 

 

Speaking of which. Whoa. Storm mode in the alcove. All of this is underground with no windows around. I even moved mom's mattress over here, just in case things started flying and falling on us. Animules were close by too. After a couple of hours, they all calmed down and slept through the day.

 

Oh look, a rainbow at the end of the day. We were so fortunate. Many were not. Such destruction and loss of life in so many areas. We stayed just (barely) South of the storms raging through.

A beautiful sunset.

 

Until another storm approached. Thank goodness, again, it stayed SE of us. As you can see, barely.

Once we got the all-ok, we brought our "necessities" back upstairs, including Frankie!

Ha, then I had to unpack all MY junk!

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers yesterday. We were spared once more. Sending thoughts and prayers to those less fortunate. So sad.

Labels: Kid, Nashville

Batten Down the Hatches

Hope everyone stays safe!

I feel like I'm heading to Alabama! Packed up this morning and gathered all my essentials--computer back-up drives, medicines, MAKEUP, extra change of clothes, etc. Ha. I'm like Dolly Parton, can't let the "people" see me without my "chemtone" in check. That's what my dad called makeup, "chemtone." Go figure.

The kid is here; and since he's a future meteorologist, he has his room set up like NOAA--TV monitors, computers, etc. Ha. He's on it and is keeping a close eye on things. He says the storms are heading this direction; so around 3ish, we'll head downstairs.

The animules are in lock-down mode, already in the basement--and not too happy about it. Dave has already tried to break into their food supply which is in a sealed plastic tub. Bad kitty. Bella is freaking. Frankie thinks it's kind of fun, running around like a puppy. 

I even moved mom's twin mattress over to our safe spot. Thank goodness we have a true basement underground. The kid found the best spot down there which is surrounded by earth and cinder blocks. We weren't able to use it until I cleaned out all the junk last year! Yay. So, hopefully, I have thought of everything and we're in good shape.

Weather alarms are going off pretty regularly now. Ooofy. Time to shut everything down.