aoknkentucky

Okay, ladies, I need expert help while ya'll are on the subject of bras and fittings and such. The area where I live has gone from spring rain to humid hell. I'm just stating the facts here. I need a good supportive bra. 38D-38DD size, underwire necessary bra. At my age and after two nursing children, a VS cutesy bra just won't cut it. What I normally wear is reminiscent of what I imagined my third grade battle-ax teacher wore, but under my clothes, I feel like I look perky instead of saggy, baggy elephant.

Enough background. My question is--What do I wear when it's melting weather outside? Do they make a bra that's cool (read, not hot as hell) AND supportive AND won't let everyone know that I'm cold when I go into an air-conditioned restaurant? My normal T-shirt bras are so SO hot because of the tiny extra necessary padding to prevent my shining headlights. I don't care if it's front or back closure, but I can't manage one that doesn't have one or the other. I tried sports bras back in the day that you shimmied into. Can't go there anymore. Heck, they may not even make those anymore. I don't know. That's why I'm asking.

Thanks ever so much. --Debbie

Linda, so good to hear that things seem to be on the upswing. You certainly needed for them to be, huh? My mom and dad sound exactly like yours except they are both 79 and just recently began heart complications, cancer surgeries and the endless doctor and hospital visits that accompany such issues. My mother never seemed old until recently. It was a real eye opener the day I asked 'how are you doing?' and was told a list of ailments and each necessary past and future medical appointment. I hate that these things are uppermost in her mind instead of what's growing in the garden.

Like everyone else, life keeps happening here in Kentucky too. DH and I keep DD's kiddos most every Friday evening and Saturday until sometime after lunch depending upon the day's activities. DGD is 6 and DGS turned 3 last week. DSIL was hospitalized on Monday and DD alternated her time between work (it's her very busiest season) and hospital. We picked kiddos up from sitter as soon as my work day ended and dropped them off the next day. Whoooeee! I'm slap-dab worn out. I'd lay down right now on my office floor and take a nap if I could. SIL is home now, so our tour of duty ended last night. They will have "good family time" this evening and we are not needed again until sometime Sunday afternoon. I can't imagine grandparents that are raising grandchildren. I know I would, but it would involve LOTS of caffeine until my get-up-and-go revived. That is possible, right? Looking back, how did I ever manage when my kids were small? I understood that the aches and pains and general wear and tear of aging had taken a toll, but I didn't realize exactly how much until sometime yesterday. I. Am. Beat!

Kim, yes, all caps! I LOVE YOUR HAT!!! Weedeater line? I would never have thought of it, but we have plenty. Another tidbit to stick away in my "someday I'll do that" file.

Pam, how did the shoes work out for you? If you don't mind and have time, I'd love to hear more about how you work out your wardrobe challenges for the upcoming trip.

Melody, I'm so sorry to hear about your foot problems. Surgery is never good. Necessary sometimes, but....well, I just hate it for you. Hope #13 was your lucky number.

It's so good to listen to a snapshot of everyone's lives here and on the EARTH thread. I'm so glad to have such nice cyber-friends.

Opinion? Oh, I ALWays have at least one of those! LOL

If it were me and I knew the dress required hem alteration, I would be looking at long term. It sounds like you've already made a strong case without my input. If feet, hips and back complain now, how will your body react in, oh, I don't know, maybe, five years time? It sounds like a gorgeous dress. I keep some clothes, dresses especially, for a really long time. If I still love it, it stays. It sounds like that type of dress.

I have had really good luck with kitten heels. Take a look at your favorite shoe website and see if anything catches your eye, Pam. Even though the heel isn't much more than a pair of flats at 1" or 1-1/2", it's the style that makes me feel dressy. I still have a few pairs of higher heels, but they don't come out of the closet to play much any more. My feet AChe at the end of those days and the effort isn't worth the pain involved.

Please let us know what you decide. A picture of the dress would be nice too. It sounds lovely.

Most excellent, Kim! It looks like bright springy colors to me and I really like the pattern. I like your sandals too. I have purchased a few maxi skirts and dresses for this summer's fun. I just hadn't thought to post about them. If I can get optimal natural lighting and a cooperative husband/photographer, I'll try to post something soon.

Pam, I hope you have fully recovered by now. How's the trip planning coming along?

Linda, are you feeling better yet?

How is everyone else spending their summer vacation? --Debbie

I don't care who you are, that's funny right there! I've been using Google Translate to translate a Master Gardeners Course into Korean for a friend. Needless to say, I have no idea if it is correct or not. I've learned a few interesting tidbits about plants though. I never knew there were so many different ways to kill them. Guess that's why DH is the gardener for us. I can and have killed cactus, for heaven's sake.

Sounds like a grand trip, Pam. I've been planning a trip for my boss to Honolulu. He and his wife went several years ago. I have never been. It's fun to plan though. I keep telling myself that I may go someday myself.

I like the skirt with purple because...well...I really really like purple. I like the way the brown/blue skirt drapes. It makes me think of how the native ladies' outfits might have draped if they wore that same material.

Good job, Anita. You make me want to dust off my machine.

Oh, Laurie. I am so very sorry for your loss. Here's another big hug from Kentucky. --Debbie

Hello Ladies!

 

I just got back from being a chaperone for the eighth grade Music Department trip to Disney! OMG. About 200 eighth graders on that trip...

 

I'm getting settled back in and will continue on with my trip report today or tomorrow.

 

Margaret...LOVE that photo. The school year is almost over. Continuing with the KonMari method definitely on my to do list for the summer!

Oh MY! Anita. My first cruise was as a chaperone for our high school choir kids. Not sure if I'd rather have 8th graders at Disney or what we endured. It was an unforgettable memory. Debbie

Anita, I love your PICTOdiaries. You use such great descriptive words and pictures that I feel like we are there to see and hear it all with you. I distinctly heard Pam talking about her love/hate relationship. Thanks for taking us with you. (I'm trying to wait patiently for your next installment.)

P.S. I'm wearing my Missoni Converse tennies today. Thought of you.

I wish we could all get together again this summer. I'm up for it, anyone else????? Remember the fun we had last summer? Say "hi" to your DB and DSIL. What a hoot they were!

 

Don't be a stranger :)

I would love to get together again this summer! I can meet whenever and wherever. I had originally thought that if you and Anita were going to meet IRL with the finished African material items, we could manage a weekend getaway at some half-way point and that would still be fine as far as I'm concerned. Of course, everyone is always welcome at the campsite with us but I feel like I'm getting the unfair advantage two years in a row. Is anyone else interested? EARTH ladies?

Bon voyage, Linda! Have a wonderful relaxing cruise!

 

PICTODIARY :D

Amen, sister!

I’m baaaack! I didn’t fall off the face of the earth or have anything bad happen to me. I’ve just had life a happening here in Kentucky. My mom was diagnosed with heart trouble and I’ve been worried like heck about her, but everything is really ok. I have no excuse other than I’ve been trying to purchase less and have no vacation plans to talk about, so I’ve been AWOL from reading here since February. I caught up on this thread and read everything on the EARTH thread before thinking about my post. Wow! Those EARTH ladies are really rocking it.

I almost feel guilty about my latest adventure, but in the interest of full disclosure to my bestest buddies here, I’ll let you all know the reason that I haven’t been reading here lately. It’s because I’ve been spending my spare reading time learning about 12 season coloring. The idea behind 12 seasons of color is that each season is broken down into three. If your color palate leans toward the season before or after, you are not a true season but a neutral season. Most of you know that I’ve never been able to see my best colors. I did get fairly good at picking out FIRE colors, but some just didn’t feel right. I knew they weren’t neon ICE, but those bright and clear colors just didn’t work like I thought they should. I had very few moments of AHHH—like when I put on my light coral scarf at the campground last summer. The right ivory/off white/light cream color was great. I bought a LOT of FIRE red during the past year and what should have been wonderful near my face just wasn’t. I began reading a blog called 12blueprints and learned soooo much. After getting myself to a person that knew much more about color than I did, I came away with knowledge that I am a Light Spring and I have a color wheel of gorgeous light FIRE colors to play with. I am so happy. Because Anita, Kim and Pam helped me with my scarves, I know this is finally right for me. Every single scarf that you ladies picked for me, Cate also approved. My FIRE colors lean just a little to the summer. Think sherbet and Easter egg colors. Those are my FIRE colors now. Like the EARTH ladies have been talking about how to make their summer clothes not look like fall clothes, I’m thinking ahead to fall and winter and how I will make my light colors look ok for cold weather.

I would love to see Pam’s thoughts about their cruises when she returns. Since I had to cancel my January cruise and it sounded like Margaret had the same itinerary we were going to have, I’d love to travel vicariously a little more. Hint. Hint.

Sounds like Anita has been working hard on your material, Kim. Will you be able to show us something soon?

Linda, I would like so much to say I have been losing inches and sizes, but that is not the case. Keep up the good work. I hope to see your happy face in a pictodiary soon. Have a great cruise!

I see some new names have chimed in since I've been gone. Hi, y'all! I'm Debbie. Good to meet ya.

I agree, Linda! Where is everybody?

Work was...well, work today. My boss played catch-up over the weekend, so I really worked today. Hopefully, I can devote a little more time talking here soon.

Bad news: I'm a little bummed out because we had to release our hold on our late February cruise. Boo-hoo. Sounds like no escape from the winter cold this year unless we take a last minute deal.

Good news: We got our #1 pick of campsites on Saturday at the annual lottery drawing. (The spot DB and DSIL had last year. It was also the spot we had in 2013)

More Bad News: DB and DSIL's ticket was not drawn and did not receive a spot for the upcoming year. It will be strange for them to not be camping nearby after 5 years.

Pam, do you have anything to share about your recent trip?

Anyone else?

Margaret, if you order this, please report back about the color. It looks like it might be on the fence for FIRE and EARTH. I've been thinking about ordering it also, but Harvest Tomato sounds like an EARTH color. Sure wish the color was Bright Tomato. I need a replacement.

Hello, Everybody! 3 degrees this morning in Kentucky. Brrrr. Hope everyone stays safe and warm today. --Debbie

I've been off the board for such a long time. Happy Holidays, I guess. It looks like I'm not the only one MIA.

Melody, I love the pics you posted. It looks like you had a fun time. I didn't get into the discussion about FIRE vs. anything else, because, well, I'm never certain I've got it right even after all this time. So, maybe for the ONLY time, I try to keep my mouth shut!

If I haven't said it, and I think I haven't, it's good to have you join our conversation. We've been a little quiet lately haven't we?

My Thanksgiving was hectic. Only eight of us, but cooking as if 16 were coming. That's typical for our family though. It was a fun time, but exhausting.

One cold after another ever since. DGD spends the night every Friday night with us and sleeps with me. I think she has brought me a different cold to try out every week. I'm soo worn out that I didn't send Christmas cards this year. I go to work and come home. Veg out and go to bed to wake up and do it all again the next day. I put up the tree and the nativity scene, but all other decorations remained in their boxes this year. I finished wrapping presents Sunday night because our immediate family, 11 of the possible 17, opened our presents and had our big Christmas meal. I took off work so I could prepare at my leisure and it was a pleasant night.

I leave from work this afternoon, DH and I travel (100 miles approx.) to his step-mom's for a meal and presents. We traditionally play board games until 8-9 p.m. and drive across the county to my parents house. DD, DSIL, DGD, and DGS, DH and I will spend the night with my folks. The next morning DB, DSIL, DN, and DNIL arrive from their nearby homes. DS and DDIL will be driving in from our hometown. The most-loved tradition of a big Christmas breakfast will be cooked after presents are opened. Picture an 18-20 lb. country ham being fried; we run two skillets to speed up the process. Biscuits and sausage gravy, homemade jams and jellies, and eggs, fried and scrambled. My family shows love with food, and Boy Howdy, do we show the love at Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Everybody!

Pam, I hope I'm not too late to wish you a safe and happy cruise. Please wish your DH happy birthday wishes from me.

I'd love to see a tropical Christmas! I've cruised in January more than once, but not during the holiday season. I'd never thought about how packing would be different even though it is still leaving cold and going to a warmer climate. It is still Christmas. I understand your quandry. My packing list wouldn't be finished either!

Since Kim hasn't been around lately, I'll say it for her. PICTODIARY!!!

Merry Christmas!

Aww, thanks Anita for the kind words. I was afraid I gushed too much about our home base on this trip, but if you’ve checked out their website, then you’ve seen their mother lode of great pictures showing what a really a wonderful place they have.

The elk preserve is an 11 mile journey that takes about 30 minutes on gravel roads, but it is well worth the drive, especially if you love to see the elk up close. I can tell you from firsthand experience that rutting season seems to always occur the first weekend of October into the second weekend of October. Again, firsthand experience! It was one of the reasons BF and I decided to forgo the trip this year. But, you do hear lots of bugling. It’s fun to see the older bulls with those huge antlers run the younger bulls away. Scary fun to see the huge antlers tie up in battle, too. The first time we went to the elk preserve, we went by GPS and were traveling from TN on I-40. Our directions had us exit the interstate assuming the quickest route is the nearest. We had been told to expect a gravel road BUT, it had us go OVER THE MOUNTAIN. I grew up traveling gravel roads. My grandparents lived down a long gravel lane off of a gravel road. I’ve NEVER taken a trip like this one. This was one of those unexpected great adventures that BF and I have experienced over the years. This one happened to include our DHs. At one point, we saw a fellow fly fishing in a stream. We crossed the stream on a one lane bridge and the gorgeous sight vanished behind us. We’ve often talked about going back to see that bridge again, but I don’t think any of us can voluntarily endure the trip again. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Sooo, if you go to see the elk, make sure you enter from I-40, exit 20. The BP gas station will give you directions. Otherwise, expect a great adventure of your own!

We’d like try to catch the laurel in bloom. I kept thinking I was seeing huge older rhododendrons in the forests. After all these years, I was corrected last spring and now I really want to see and smell that mountain laurel in bloom.

I agree about the brown sweater, but it’s nice to have confirmation, ya know? I think I finally have enough good FIRE items that I can make a collage and throw a new piece in the mix and know instinctively if the color is good or not. I still have trouble with prints though. If I can find a good color in the mix, I think it works. Obviously, it doesn’t.

I do love my red shoes! They were purchased on sale (of course) from Lands End and were called red patent leather skimmers. They have rubber-type non-skid tread bottoms and I’m pretty sure they are waterproof. I bought them before our Alaska cruise and had plenty of time to break them in before DH even knew I planned a trip to Alaska. I’ve looked repeatedly since buying these and I don’t think they make them anymore. Well, they have something similar, but I really like the patent leather. No fuss—no muss.

I’ve learned that when it’s time to go shopping, I can walk inside the front door, take a quick glance at the entire store, you know, kind of a sweeping glance from corner to corner, and if nothing jumps out at me, then there’s nothing for me to look at in that store. Well, I might look at the accessories or shoes, but there isn’t much for me to look at clothes-wise. That’s why it was such a huge score to find two sweaters in that little Waynesville resale shop. I was tickled.

Thanksgiving will be spent close to home this year. I’m hostess for 10 – 15 this year since I never know if DH’s wild child and family will make the journey. There’s always plenty of food so it’s never a problem one way or the other who visits. I’ll set my alarm for 6AM like it’s a work day, and believe you me, I will work harder than if I spent the day at the office.

I’m afraid we are going to cancel our Houston cruise. It’s become more of a burden than something to look forward to and that’s not my idea of a vacation. If our plans EVER include traveling in your direction, you can be sure that I’ll sound out loud and clear.

Laurie, it was fun to go along with you to Cape Canaveral and your cruise. I especially appreciate the pictures of your outfits and everyone's comments. A Tshirt with a flattering fit is almost an impossiblity for me because I am top-heavy. I buy tops and have never understood why some work and others didn't until now. I will study this until I feel comfortable knowing what's been said here.

We no longer have a Dress Barn locally, but because of your great purchases posted here, I recently shopped out of town at DB and got a gold hooded trench coat. I really like it and I think of you often when I wear it.

Does that sound weird? I don't mean it that way. I just feel like I have an extended group of friends. Pam mentioned something similar on the FIRE thread recently. My friends and family don't understand about my "color stuff" and I'm glad we all have each other on the two threads where we can talk and help each other.

Melody, how much snow did you eventually get?

Anita, boots? Lemme see! Lemme see!!! Show us those pictures you take, ok? And your thought process. It's what you do so well and me--not so much. Who am I kidding? Me-not at all. What I really mean to say is--I would very much appreciate the tutorial if you are so inclined.

--Debbie

Corrections: Day 2--Cataloochee Elk Preserve (not Chattahoochee)

Day 4--Holston's Kitchen (not Holstein's)

From these pictures, I've learned: TAKE MORE PICTURES!!! A story can't properly be told with pictures if there aren't enough pictures.

On the fashion front, let's discuss a few things about my pictures.

Day 2 pictures: The brown merino cable sweater jacket has become a staple in my wardrobe. I wear it. A LOT. I have posted what I call my red multi floral top before. I gravitate to 3/4 length sleeves and v-necks. I also like the length of this top. I think it is overall flattering.

Day 4: Is the seagreen sweater that appears very bright to me IRL either not a true FIRE color, OR the gray overcast day overwhelmed my picture even though I thought the background colors were good. Or is the green bush surrounding my head more EARTH than FIRE? What are your thoughts? Doesn't my skintone seem to be a bit gray? Oh, yeah, and I need a necklace, scarf, a little something-something for pizzazz?

Day 5: The scarf in this picture was not deemed a good FIRE color during our scarf extravaganza at the Lake this summer. However, I thought some of the colors were good even though there's lots of white background. I told myself that I could wrap it and drape it in such a way that the white wouldn't be very visible. Obviously my picture proves me wrong. Before I ditch this scarf completely, I will try one more attempt by tying the scarf necklace-style so the white background is minimal. I will report back.

OK, Ladies, what say you? What do you see in my pictures that I missed? I'd like for this to be a learning experience.

Day 5, Heading for Home:

It’s time to pose for one last picture around the firepit and head for home.

Here’s a picture across the lake at the owner’s home. Spring and fall are equally pretty.

We ate breakfast at the local truck stop. A biscuits and homemade gravy place where you could sit and watch your breakfast cooking on the long griddle behind the cash register and counter. Everyone seemed local but us. It was just our kind of place. We saw a young boy, probably about 8-9 years old helping bus tables. You could tell that he was part of the family business, family cooking and waiting tables. We saw an older gentleman walk to him and give him a dollar or two telling him that he was doing a fine job. The boy turned to put the money in the tip jar near the cash register. The man stopped him and told him he’d left his waitress’s tip on the table and that the money he’d given to the youngster was for him to keep. The boy beamed from ear to ear. It was a perfect end to our time with the good people of Waynesville.

I drove back through the different elevations of North Carolina and Tennessee on I-40 saying over and over, “Oh my, look at those leaves. Aren’t they pretty?” Because I was driving, I didn’t get a single picture. Maybe next time.

Our last stop for food and fuel was at Lebanon, Tennessee to eat at Sunset Family Restaurant, a meat-n-three located directly across the street from Cracker Barrel. Nashville is famous for these restaurants; this one has been here for years and doesn’t need to worry that they have heavy competition nearby. Home cooking beats out chain restaurants every day of the week for our group, even if that restaurant is our guys’ beloved Cracker Barrel. From the looks of the crowd that day, we must be the last ones to get the memo about Sunset. The locals all seemed more than happy to be here. For those that don’t know, broasted chicken is pressure cooked from the inside out and fried chicken is cooked from the outside in. My husband is a connoisseur of chicken, both fried and broasted, and this chicken met with his approval. No one else complained, but evidently, restaurant vegetables are hard to cook. At least no one has ever come close to cooking like my Momma. Sunset’s coconut pie and chocolate pie came really close though. We’d eat here again.

We arrived back home safe and sound and if my trip seemed to be all about the food and people we met while enjoying that activity, well, you’d be mostly right. We do have quite a bit of fun enjoying both of those things. BF said one time that she thought we would be happy to just get in the vehicle and drive all around our own county, getting out of the car occasionally to eat, refuel and go again. We start talking from the moment we get in and don’t stop unless we are sleeping until we get back out of the vehicle again at the end of the trip. She would be exactly right.

Talk, eat, talk, eat, talk, eat, sleep, and repeat. Hey, that sounds just like our Meet-N-Greet at the Lake this summer, doesn’t it?

Day 4

Okay, this will seem even stranger than yesterday. We are about to go back over the mountain into Gatlinburg. Here’s the reason why. Depending upon the length of the trip, each person picks at least one thing to do and/or one place to eat so that everyone feels they got to do what they wanted to do during their trip. Revisiting The Original Log Cabin Pancake House situated near our previous years’ Gatlinburg accommodations is a tradition. Everyone picks this as a thing they want to do. It’s always a highlight of each trip. Many years ago, our waitress happened to be the owners’ granddaughter. We learned that the homemade blueberry syrup I ALWAYS get is her husband’s recipe. Three or four years ago, she and her husband opened the adjacent candy shop and it has become our tradition to stop in and catch up with her family and buy candy for our family souvenirs to take home. Carousel apples are Amber’s favorite and we’ve only been able to find them at Carver’s Orchard. She is the reason that we made the trek back to the apple orchard that day to purchase apples. We needed them because we knew we planned to eat breakfast there this morning.

We ate breakfast, shopped and visited. We drove on to Sevierville to shop. The guys dropped us off at a huge scrapbooking store and headed off to look around at a favorite store or two they want to check on.

However, this day did provide a restaurant repeat from last year and a photo op that was very enjoyable, so all was not lost. We ate last year or maybe this past spring at Holsteins, another one of BF’s phone app recommendations. The food was good; we’ve shared from eight different good meals here, but the reviews suggested a must-try dessert—their Warm Orange Cake. It was DELICIOUS. We repeated this restaurant this year just so we could order this dessert again. If you are interested in the recipe, try an internet search for Mandarin Orange Cake. It is served warm with a glaze. Oh, wow!

Bushs Best Beans has a Visitor’s Center, Museum and Gift Shop located along our route back to the interstate. Here’s our photo op. Remember what I said at the beginning about my lack of picture-taking technique? Well, I wanted to include part of the working operation in the photo and didn’t realize until much later that I should have looked closer at my position. Oh, well, it adds another dimension to the silliness of that afternoon. Are you familiar with Jay and Duke? Only our guys would enjoy stopping here for a vacation excursion….

We took the opportunity to pose among the pretty landscaping—

Suppertime came around and BF located a micro-brewery pizzeria that was hopping on Friday night. I forgot! We did have to wait for another meal on this trip—this one. It was worth the wait. DH said he thought this was The. Best. Pizza. He. Had. EVER. Eaten. EVER. Yes, that’s the way he said it—with two EVERs. It was good…. Well, you get the idea. There were no leftovers. There were also no pictures.

Day 3

During our spring visit, we ate breakfast at a local Mom and Pop place that served fresh sausage, homemade biscuits and REAL homemade gravy. There is definitely a difference and I don’t eat gravy that begins out of those tear-open pouches. Yuck! I’ll just save my carb allotment for something I like, thank you very much. Of course, we wanted to try it again and see if it was as good as we remembered. It was. We also caught up on the news about the waitress that was diagnosed with breast cancer and began her chemo therapy in the spring. She’s still working 3-4 days a week but wasn’t there that morning. I hope we hear more good news when we visit again next spring. Yes, we have a habit of being particularly friendly AND BF is a breast cancer survivor, so it hits home for us and we keep folks like that close in our thoughts.

We left Underwoods and drove to Sylva where there is a bookstore/coffee shop that we like to visit. BF, BFH and I spent our time there looking at books. DH usually goes downstairs and gets a cup of coffee. With our purchases made, we load back up and hit the road.

Here’s where the trip gets…well, interesting. The decision was made that we needed to go across the mountain to buy apples at Carvers. Remember that I said we decided to stay in NC so we wouldn’t be travelling over the mountain every day? Guess what we are going to do? Yep. Go over the mountain because apple purchases weren’t made YESTERDAY when we stopped. Frustrating? You betcha! Every time I read about Pam’s frustration with Mr. Google, I thought of this wasted day of our trip. When it takes most of the first and last days to get to where you are going during a five-day trip, it is extremely frustrating for this car-sick prone individual to travel over and back and around on the two-lane road circle repeatedly. The odometer read over 1,500 miles by the time we got home from this trip. Mr. Google says it is approximately 450 miles from our area to Waynesville. I’ll allow ya’ll to do the math. Waaaay too much riding in the car. Period.

We snacked around during the day and said we were revisiting Bogarts this night so we could enjoy live bluegrass music entertainment, but this trip was really all about the Prolific Sweet Potato for my husband. Sweet potatoes, stuffed with pulled pork, bbq sauce, bacon, jack and cheddar cheese, chipotle sauce and fresh chives. The menu states that it does not include a side choice. Here’s why! We are almost positive the dish is two sweet potatoes cut and reassembled to look like one big tater. It’s huge!

After lunch, our guys wanted to re-visit the Chattahoochee Elk Preserve. Since we have several pictures to prove that we’ve been there before, BF and I decided that this afternoon would be a lovely time to sit around the log cabin, read and rest a bit. A good afternoon was had by all. Here are pictures we’ve collected over the years of this area. BF and I especially like running water and rocks: waterfalls, creeks. Notice the picture where the top corner is cut off where I leaned out of the vehicle. That’s not a zoomed shot. The elk have their run of the preserved area. The youngish bull was really that close to the vehicle. They are magnificent animals, especially spectacular when the bulls raise their heads and bugle. Eerie sound, but spectacular.

My husband dressed in his favorite: jeans and a flannel shirt with a ballcap in the fall. He's in heaven!

This may be my favorite picture that I have EVER taken. EVER.

BF located a micro-brewery where we ate our meal that night and played trivia. Let’s just say that the current pop culture questions they were asking when we arrived were not our forte. Luckily they asked a few history questions so we could join in the fun. You know—things that happened in the 70s and 80s. The meal was good and the atmosphere was festive. We enjoyed the evening.

Day 2, Waynesville

Here’s the porch where we sat and watched the moon rise last night—

We are ready to explore. Let’s go!—

BF had wanted to eat breakfast at a local pancake restaurant that boasted great reviews during our spring visit but we ran out of mornings before we had the opportunity. We made sure our first morning breakfast would be this new place. We were given a buzzer/beeper thingy when we checked in with the hostess. We sat as instructed, walked and were seated when we were told and ate our breakfast. There wasn’t one single thing wrong with our meals or our service. Bless their hearts. It was nice. We decided before we left the building that we wouldn’t need to come back. How does that happen? Does that ever happen to ya’ll?

Waynesville is a county seat town with an adorable downtown area, complete with a courthouse square and two long city blocks of specialty shops and quaint little eateries. I really need to take more pictures of places I visit. It’s not like I’m saving film or anything! I have no pictures of the town itself other than these pickin-N-grinin guys stationed on a side street. They are made of old machinery parts (combine, tractor, etc.) and represent the music of the area. To me, they also represent part of the unique ambience of this town. I love quirky things like this.

During each year’s visit, BF and I usually shop in a few stores until the guys call saying they are ready to hit the road. The next time we visit, we just take up where we left off unless there is a store we want to revisit. I don’t think we’ve ever made it all the way from one end of the shopping area to the other yet! We’ve bought birdfeeders and seed, wool socks, and gifts for the grandkids over the years. This year we found a nice resale shop. I came home with two cashmere sweaters, one pair of NYDJeans, a pair of Cole Haan boots, and a Juliana collector piece of costume jewelry to wear with my purple dress for DS’s wedding. Pictures will follow after the wedding, of course.

We left Waynesville and drove to pretty and peaceful Lake Junaluska. We walked a bit and took a few pictures.

We eat at least one meal at Bogarts while in Waynesville, so lunch was a sandwich at Bogarts Restaurant, and because this is one of our favorites, we ate here again later in the week. We’ve had ribeye sandwiches, ABC (apple, bacon and cheddar) sandwiches, Bogart’s Reuben (sour cream instead of 1000 Island, messy but yummy) and burgers. BF and I shared the Prolific Sweet Potato which they admitted is a stolen recipe from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. When DH learned this, we knew he’d need to try this on our next visit.

I'm sorry that the pictures are so huge, but trust me when I say that I am grateful that the pictures are there at all! Posting pictures has turned into the biggest cluster imaginable!!!

Day 2 coming up. I hope.