homemaking

i was ready to gossip to you about this whole pageant thing.
to gently poke at helicopter moms and spray tan dads.
to highlight the general absurdity of teens parading around in swimsuits.
but i’ve decided to let it lie.
caiti learned a lot. she had a blast and never wants to do a pageant again.
mission accomplished.

she had a lot of support from her family and friends.
who all marveled that she so didn’t seem the ‘pageant type’.
i think she realized early on that she was out of her league.
that many of these girls (and their moms) have made pageantry their reason for existence.
so she said she got ready quick back stage and then helped other girls with their hair and makeup.
that’s my girl.
a few even called her ‘mom’.
she’s such a good sport and made the best of the time she was there.
she seems to have a pretty good handle on real beauty and from Whom and where it comes.
i love that about her.
she’s beautiful in so many ways that have nothing to do outward appearance.
we’ll chalk it up to a good learning experience.

okay, just one bit of gossip. one mom had to be escorted out by security for storming backstage and demanding to know why her daughter didn’t make the top fifteen.
not a word of a lie.
and the whole thing made me wanna come home and read some serious literature.
amen.

love you caiti. you make me proud.

First let me say that we can only take fun trips like this because Stevie works so hard and supports all our educational/pure fun endeavors.  We are thankful 🙂

We drove 4 1/2 hours to Clarksville to drop Caiti off to her activities.   The pageant police (literally) informed us that we could not so much as see her for the next 3 days.

So we promptly drove back to Nashville to begin our fieldtripping festivities and communicated with Caiti by phone only.  {I think hanging out at pageant headquarters would have done me in anyways.}

One of the highlights of our trip was an impromptu knitting lesson at a fabric shop called Textile Fabrics on 8th Avenue (thank you Debra and Jenny for the recommendation).
You guys who live in big cities probably always have access to great fabric and knitting shops but here in our little town, we’ve got Hobby Lobby. So a large fabric shop that stocks Amy Butler and Anna Marie Horner fabrics and Rowan yarn  is like Christmas morning  for us. They had so many employees that we were able to get a great tutorial on knitting ‘in the round’ and then Amanda got the girls both started on hats.

From then on, they were little knitting fools—in the car, in the hotel room, waiting for pageant to start etc.

Another treat was getting to visit my friend Grayson from medical school. We met her and her sweet little family at my favorite Nashville restaurant (The Bound’ry).
It was so fun to reminisce and catch up. I coached the girls to practice their best table manners. We called it etiquette class. They got an “A”.

Grayson and I  became a little depressed when we realized that we first met each other 16 years ago.   How does time get away from us so fast?  It seems like just yesterday.  I told her she looked just the same.  She said I did too.  That’s what you call true friends 🙂

Which brings me to why I love blog world so much. You guys gave me great suggestions and ideas for my trip.  Jenny and Rachel both gave me the ‘heads up’ on the Chihuly exhibit at Cheekwood.   We went on Friday night and it was quite an adventure.   A lot of walking through crowds but so worth it.   Thank you girls!

Sarah, another awesome reader, suggested Silke’s Old World Bakery in Clarksville so we took her advice and had lunch and coffee there. We loved it so much we went twice during our visit. It’s a European bakery with authentic German-speaking employees and todiefor bread and desserts. Thanks so much Sarah!  I wonder if the people of Clarksville know how lucky they are to have this place?!

Roadtripping Part 2, Pageantry coming soon.  It’s hard to find words, except that Caiti makes me proud with her new found anti-pageantry sentiments.

And now I must shake off the exhaustion and get ready for another week of school. We’re studying leaves in science, Esther in bible class and nouns in grammar.
We’re starting The Plymouth Colony in history and will begin memorizing  the Mayflower compact. We’re reading Indian in the Cupboard and The Silver Chair in literature and are looking for a good literature choice to go with our Plymouth study.     Any suggestions?

And don’t forget that this is Reformation Week at Issues Etc.!

we’re serious about our  handicrafts (aka crafts–but charlotte mason called ’em handicrafts—and i kinda like it).
never mind the hot glue gun being operated by minors in juxtaposition to the grilled cheese.
we’re busy, okay?
and we’re making a tutorial for you on rosettes.
these two girls-a-mine are rosette makin’ fools.
they’re taking their supplies on the road,
because well, we run a tight ship around here.  (aka—-they fear boredom)

****as a side note, i think that’s one of the reasons i don’t love going out of town. i don’t have my books, my kitchen, my bed, my coffee, or access to handicrafts.

and then there’s all the packing and planning and  schooling and cooking and cleaning and downloading and printing—-getting ready for pageant weekend.
so, working lunch it is.
fyi, we are (as in ‘I am’) making slimshady meatloaf (it’s really called ‘slim and trim’ but i like slimshady better), chicken gumbo and banana muffins to leave for stevie while we’re gone.
with that menu, think he’ll even miss us?
and i very well may be computer-less for 3 days. because mine won’t SHUT. remember that?
but if i can get my act together, you’ll have a post or two while we’re gone. that’s a BIG IF.
i loved all your suggestions about nashville/clarksville and i’m trying to work it all in. i regret to inform you that although i LOVE franklin as much as the next guy, i’m not sure i can work it in this visit. we’ll see.

now back to it.

oh and one more thing:  know of any fabric stores in nashville?   i’m looking for upholstery fabric for an ottoman.

and one more thing: wanna help me clean out my car?  it may take a village.

goodbye and carry on.

my friend tammy and i took our kids to the apple farm.

we had apple fritters and chicken and dumplings.

it was all divine, the food, the fellowship, the fun!

our friends sebastian and sarah invited us for dinner and introduced us to raclette.
it’s a european dining experience where you cook your own food on a double decker grill at the table.

kinda like fondue, except not.

it was really cool.

we ate too much.

and then…….

then, sarah made butterscotch molten cakes!!!!

whaaaaat?

i must get the recipe.  it was joy unspeakable.   and full of butterscotch glory.

sarah, who is a math teacher, taught us some cool math games using playing cards.

and they’re doing some super renovations at their new lake house.

we love them!  we’re so glad they’re here. {sebastian is steve’s new partner.}

thanks guys!

and then i took the girls (and two friends) to a local fall festival.
have you ever been to a fall festival in the south?
it was priceless.
and i have crowned myself mother of the year for this endeavor.
it’s not for the faint of heart.
what, with the hillbilly clown and the deep fried oreos and the reindeer crafts,
i could hardly contain myself.
then there was a guy with a shirt that said,
“i’m a good-looking redneck. what more do you want?”
what’s more, i let them eat hot dogs, kettle corn and cotton candy.
i rest my case.
crown me now.
mother of the year.
do we really even need a vote?

but in all fairness, there was some nifty stuff too.
a few really unique quilts.
a potter working at her wheel.
a bee-keeper, keeping his bees.
some bluegrass music.

inspiring.

whew!
now i must ready myself for another doozy of a weekend.
my sweet caiti is in the ms. teen tennessee pageant next weekend in clarksville.
neither of us are really into pageants.
but she applied and she’s in it and we’ll have fun i’m sure.
when she went for her orientation weekend, she came home and said,
“those girls need to eat a cheeseburger.”
that’s my girl.
she said the other moms were ‘sizing her up’. these people have probably been doing pageants all their lives.
my daughter still hasn’t found a bathing suit and she doesn’t seem to be the least bit worried.
i should probably be more into it but all i can think of is toddlers and tiaras.

maybe i’ll set up a fried oreo stand just for kicks.
think it would go over well?

i am excited to spend the weekend with caiti.  she’ll be beautiful and self-deprecating and wonderful.

and nashville is pretty swell too.

any recommendations for me? regarding pageants? or antique stores near nashville?  yarn shops? favorite food stuffs? field trips? (the littles are coming along) music to add to my ipod?  or books on tape?  things i should say if confronted about my laissez-faire pageant attitude?

help a girl out.

lest i lose my mother of the year status.