Hanging Basket

I don't know what kind of flower this is, but it is so cool. It is soft and furry-- sort of like a cat tail. I love it. I can see it from my bedroom window when I wake up in the morning and it brings me great joy.

Spring in Nashville: Sedum

Two different varieties of sedum. I love sedum...I would love to one day have a large rock garden.

Spring in Nashville: Trees

1. Bradford Pear trees (there are two up front) in bloom.


2. Leaves on the Serviceberry trees in the side yard towards the back. I've never seen this tree before, so I'm interested to see what happens with it.


3. Leaves beginning to unfurl on the three Red Maples in the back.


4. Kousa Dogwood in bud.

Spring in Nashville 2

Pink coreopsis that has sprouted.



Bleeding heart. One of my favorite perennials.



The tulips I planted last year are coming back.

Photo Study: Spring in Nashville

My next series of photos will include various flora located on my property. I shamelessly stole this idea from Erin. I love to stroll the grounds after winter and see the beginnings of life in the garden. So, to start...

A planter of annuals I put together the other day. Gotta heighten the curb appeal, you know?

Banana Split

I am definitely an emotional eater. And stress makes me want to eat ice cream. I've been craving a hot fudge sundae or banana split for weeks now. Last night I made one with M&M and Cookie Dough ice cream. Tasty. What do you eat when you are stressed?

View from the room

I had a nice view from my room at the Marriott. I was able to look out directly over Centennial Park and see the Parthenon. I was kind of sad to leave my room this morning, although I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight. I always sleep better with my own pillows-- I'm really picky about my pillows. Even as a child, when I would go to sleep over a friend's house, I would always take my pillows with me.

Evolution

On Monday night, while dining in my hotel room on a sandwich I picked up from Jason's Deli, I also drank a bottle of Evolution. It's a great white wine from Oregon that I've liked for about 5 or 6 years now. Quite tasty. I drank it all night long and watched Dancing With the Stars, which, by the way, is a TERRIBLE show. I don't know why I even sat through the entire thing. The wine made it tolerable, I suppose.

Vanderbilt Marriott Vacation

Things were getting a more than a little tense in the house, so my Mom suggested I stay in a hotel for a few days. I took her advice and went on Priceline and got a GREAT rate for the Marriott by Vanderbilt. Here is a picture of my room. I stayed there for 3 nights and it was such a relief to not deal with the house, the pets, and the atmosphere of general hostility. It really helped me refocus and calm down a little bit. S is moving out on April 2nd, so just one more week of the weirdness to go.

Bye bye dining room furniture

I sold my dining room furniture because 1) I don't want to move more than I have to, and 2) I have a kitchen table, I never use the dining room furniture, and 3) I can't imagine myself moving somewhere where I would have a formal dining room. It just seemed superfluous. So now the dining room is completely empty and it's kind of depressing.

Lime Tree Update

My lime tree is blooming like crazy. I've noticed that the flowers bloom in the winter, but it fruits in the summer. I like the citrusy smell the flowers have. It is warming up quite a bit, so I'm getting ready to move it outside.

A little bit of vino...

I am trying to go through my wine, because I don't want to move it once the house sells. My goal is to move as few things as possible. Where am I moving? I have no idea-- I am open to any and all suggestions. Anyway, this was a glass of Zenato Ripasso I had the other night. Delicious.

POW!

I found ANOTHER gun on the front lawn the other day. I feel like the kids in my neighborhood are even more obsessed with guns than the average child. I think it's because we're in the South. Of course, I took this gun as well, just as I take all items discarded on my lawn. I'm having a big garage sale this weekend and I plan to include this in the loot for sale. Hehe.

Pop goes the weasal

Over the summer I went to this vineyard outside of Nashville and bought a bunch of cheap, decent wine. I decided I wanted some the other night, but it needed to be chilled. I put it in the freezer, thinking I could chill it quickly and then drink it. Well, I forgot about it and the next morning I opened the freezer and saw that not only was the wine completely frozen, but the pressure had caused the cork and the foil wrapper to pop off. Not one to waste wine, I "defrosted" it and drank it. Sad, but true.

Differences between the North and the South

I've noticed that people in the South really aren't into crocuses (croci?) or daffodils. They plant lots of tulips, but you only really see daffodils in the woods or in fields...not in gardens. And these crocuses (again...is it croci?) I came across the other day were the first I've seen in Tennessee. Peculiar.

Delicious Coffee

I've been spending a lot of time in East Nashville recently. Here is a picture of Bongo Java. They have good coffee, but I still prefer Drew's Brews. I think the big bags of beans everywhere and the huge coffee grinder are pretty cool looking.

Spring has sprung

Yay, the trees are starting to bloom here! It feels like it's too early, but I am more than happy to welcome them!

Down there at the car wash

You know how after it snows your car gets all encrusted with icky junk? Well, that's what mine was like, so I decided it was time to get it washed. I love car washes...I find them so relaxing for some reason...

Cereal is boring?

Look, I like Chick-Fil-A, don't get me wrong, but the idea of eating fried chicken for breakfast makes me queasy. They have this big breakfast campaign going on now and when I was there the other day, I took this picture of part of their advertising blitz. I personally like cereal-- it never gets boring, it takes good, and there are a billion different kinds out there.

CSX Train

I was way out in Bellevue the other day, driving down Route 100, when I saw a CSX train pass by. I took a picture because it reminded me of living in Delaware, where I saw the CSX train on a daily basis. I can remember being late to classes sometimes because I had to cross the train tracks and when I would leave the house a few minutes late, I would get stuck walking to class because the train would come by and I had to wait it out. Memories...

GiGi's Cupcakes

We FINALLY got a cupcake bakery in Nashville. It only took the city five years or so to come around to the trend I guess. Anyway, there is now a cupcake place called GiGi's Cupcakes over on 21st Ave. by Vanderbilt. I went in and bought an assortment or cupcakes earlier this week. The pink one is birthday cake, the ones with hearts are red velvet, and the ones with almonds are Bailey's. I tried the birthday cake (as you can see, I had already eaten one by the time this photo was taken), and the red velvet. Both were excellent. Mmm, cupcakes, my favorite.

Mutant Chicken Goose

I was walking around Centennial Park and I saw this strange looking creature out of the corner of my eye. It appears to be a cross between a chicken and a goose...very strange. I have this theory that a chicken wandered into the park and mated with a goose and this is the result.

Mmm, blast

OK, back to a photo a day. Today's photo is my favorite snack/dessert, the Cappucino Blast from Baskin-Robbins. It is so tasty and filling, but if you order it with nonfat frozen yogurt, it is actually fairly healthy too...at least as much as a dessert type drink can be. I have at least one a week because I like them so much. I had to get one today though because it is 70 degrees outside and ice cream seems appropriate.

(Saturday March 1, 2008)

Center Hill Lake

Center Hill Lake is located on the Cumberland Plateau, about an hour east of Nashville. It was beautiful and very peaceful. I only took two pictures, but I did spend some time walking along the shore, picking out cool rocks, and writing in my journal.

Lunar Eclipse

I managed to take some decent pictures of the lunar eclipse, once I fiddled with the settings on my camera and used the timer. They would have been better had I been able to find my tripod, but oh well. I will post all my eclipse photos on my Flickr page, but here is one of them.

Back home

It's always fun to visit new places and meet new people, but there is a certain relief that comes when you arrive back home. Behold the Nashville skyline.

Metropolis

On the way home from St. Louis, I made a stop in Metropolis, Illinois, home to Superman. Here is the hero himself. The town is VERY small and it doesn't seem like they have any other commerce going for them other than the Superman thing.

Cupcake Obsession

I love cupcakes and cupcake shops are all the rage now. One just opened in Nashville, but I haven't had the chance to check it out yet. However, while in Saint Louis, I visited a delightful cupcake shop. My cupcake was so delicious. Here is a picture of their cupcake spread. Mmmm...

St. Louis Drag Show

While I was in St. Louis visiting some of my Spark peeps, I went to a drag show that Hank coordinates at Novak's Bar. It was super hot. These two hunks performed to George Michael's "I Want Your Sex".