Southern Skiing

I fully admit that as we headed off to North Carolina with snowboards and a large assortment of gloves, hats, and coats, I thought Chris was deluded. No way there would be snow, no way it would be worth it, no way we could pull this off.

I was wrong. There, I said it. Granted, the snow was entirely man-made, but it was still a great day. We didn't do a whole lot of spring skiing when we lived in CO -- probably because it was a busy time of the semester even for those law students who were mainly there to play intramural soccer. Regardless, it was nice to push the sleeves up and wear sunglasses instead of goggles.

Mer took to it quickly, partly because she's pretty adventurous, and partly because Chris is a great teacher. They skiied together for an hour, she went to an hour class, and then she and Chris skiied together again. For all you haters out there: she had to start with skiing instead of boarding, 'cause they don't rent snowboarding stuff 'til you're 7.

And Chris totally took one for the team, getting in not one moment of snowboarding, while I went up and down the mountain seeing if I could still remember how to stop. I did.

And now, for the record and for the grandparents. Video of Mer's first solo ski.

Spring Breakin'

We don't consider it an adventure if we don't leave before dawn.



We like our adventures with al fresco dining. (Knoxville, TN)



- Posted using BlogPress

Carnton Plantation, Franklin, Tennessee

Last weekend we went to stay in the "eco-villas" at Montgomery Bell State Park with mom and dad. This was a long awaited trip--intended to be a birthday present for Dad (for a looong past birthday). We've all read Widow of the South and wanted to visit the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, TN, which is the setting of the novel. We got up Saturday morning for the drive from Montgomery Bell to Franklin, and Dave was sick. Really sick. Dave is never sick. Talk about terrible luck. The rest of us carried on as best we could, and this is what we saw.





The story of Carnton is a great one because the family (the McGavocks, I believe) didn't hesitate to open their home as the Battle of Franklin unfolded. While they wouldn't have had a choice, in the end, the evidence does seem to show that they were very willing and involved caretakers for the hundreds of wounded men who filled their home. After the battle, they allowed their land to be used for a cemetery, and supervised the creation and organization of the memorials so that families could visit their dead.



There were slave quarters and tombstones and blood stains on the floors. And the story includes a 9 year old named Hattie whose bedroom was used for surgery. Any guesses as to how many questions Meredith had about these things? I'm not sure you could come close. At one point, after a barrage of unanswered questions, Meredith said, "If I were Hattie, my life would have all the answers."


After appropriately somber reflection at Carnton, we headed into Franklin for lunch at Merridee's and as much shopping as 2 worn out girls would tolerate (turns out that's about 23 minutes). I'll go back to Franklin anytime anyone would like to take me.


This photo of Merridee's Breadbasket is courtesy of TripAdvisor

On Sunday morning, we were blessed with a perfect weather occurrence. It rained hard throughout the early morning, lulling us all into a deep sleep--even those who consider 6:30am a "lie-in." Then, after we got up, it switched to snow...huge, beautiful flakes that we could watch fall all through the forest, thanks to the floor to ceiling windows in the "eco-villa" (sorry, that phrase has to have quotes every time I use it.)


A pretty perfect trip, with the exception of Dave's mystery illness, which will provide an excuse to go back. So all's well.

Sisters

Magic Madi

This is Madi's favorite trick, lately. She usually is a bit more subtle with the trick's "explanation."

In other news, a homeless man gave Madeline $5 today. Maybe she really IS magic.

6:07am

At 6:07 this morning, the girls decided to have an Anne of Green Gables reading session. They then got dressed relatively peacefully and watched Dennis the Menace (1959 version) while they ate breakfast. Luckies.


- Posted using BlogPress

Back to Work

Hopefully I'll hop on here soon and fill the place up with some Christmas pictures.

In the meantime, here's a great pic that Ginger took of Meredith playing a game with Maddox at the new Chess Club that Ginger helped start at Peabody.