That old crooked highway... Kentucky bound!

Little Miss Piglet woke up 45 minutes before the alarm went off, so we figured we'd take advantage of it and get going! After the kids were fed and the dog was walked we were off. It was still raining though. Grrrrr. But it didn't matter, Tennessee was breathtaking! Because of the rain and the fact that I was driving 75 mph down the freeway, I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I did snap one quick shot of the Tennessee River as crossed over it.

Honestly, Arkansas and Tennessee both reminded me a lot of Oregon, except there were more deciduous trees and less evergreens. I was truly amazed at scenery. It's strange, you go about your life having a preconceived notion, something that you heard or that you thought you knew about someplace and then you actually go there and are completely blown away at how different it is compared to what you thought it would be! I guess it shows you can't judge something until you experience it!

We boogied through Nashville, stopping only for a potty break and then it was onward to Kentucky... FINALLY!

And what a sight, Kentucky is beautiful! Green and lush and full of life. Happy fat, black cows on green, green grass! My mom says there is nothing prettier than black cows on green grass and she may be right! I could just kick myself for not taking a picture of some! :( And not only is the countryside wonderful, but the people were warm and friendly and always happy to stop and chat a moment. I would like to give a great big shout out to Rhonda at the Subway in Bowling Green, KY for finding my purse, that held my debit cards, my driver's license and almost $400 in cash and calling my YMCA of all places (it was the only number she could find) and having them call me on my cell phone to inform me I had left it behind! They were so relieved when I arrived and every single thing in my purse, including the cash, was present and accounted for. It was heartening to know that there are still really good people in the world today!

After our little purse snafu, we we headed up to Elizabethtown and veered onto the Bluegrass Parkway heading to Lexington. We stopped to pick up groceries and wine and headed on to Stanton. By this time it had started to rain again, it was getting late and the kids were beyond whining. It was more like whimpering and crying! But we finally made it! We greeted my aunt and unpacked as much as we could in the deluge, had a LARGE glass of wine, headed off to our various sleeping locations and called it a night!

Thankfully the next day started to clear up and by early afternoon I was able to take a tour of the homestead and get myself familiar with the lay of the land! This is the main house...

It is on the side of a hill and is therefore very vertical, 4 stories total, I think. There is no public water, all water for this property comes from a cistern that collects rainwater. In the dry months she can have a water company come out and fill the cistern, but at this time it was strictly rainwater. You don't drink cistern water, but you bathe, flush toilets, and wash clothes and dishes with it. She gets her drinking water from a spring located in the next "holler"! Mom stayed with my aunt and the 7 cats and a beagle in the main house, the kids, the dog and I stayed in the workshop which was lovingly referred to as "The Chalet"!

The main house is still under some serious construction, but the workshop is fully finished (at least internally). Well, except for a bathroom. So, for the first time in my life, I FINALLY had a pot to piss in... literally!

The Monkey Man didn't really dig the chamber pot, so he took to pissing on trees (every 8 y.o. boy's dream!)

Here is a view from the main level deck in the main house (meaning main level on one side of the house 3rd level on the deckside).

This was a deck for cats and grown-ups only as there was NO railing! But it was, without a doubt, the perfect place to have your tea in the company of songbirds, butterflies and pileated woodpeckers!

The kids, and the dog, didn't know what to do with themselves. So much to see, so much to explore, and as far as Nigel was concerned, so many cats to chase! There is a big circle drive that goes around the house and next to the workshop and that was the boundary.

The kids raced around the drive with dogs frolicking behind them, rocks were thrown, moss was petted, bugs were investigated, sticks were found and used as swords and my kids quickly became dirty, and very happy, little wild things and my dog became a bonafide mountain hound!

Stay tuned for more adventures in Kentucky!

Muzzy was kind of fuzzy wuzzy!

Introducing Muzzy!


The Monkey Man spotted this fuzzy wuzzy little thing on our front window. We of course had to go out and investigate. It looks just like the woolly bears we see all the time except it's obviously tan and not black or black and orange. So we came inside, got on the internet and after a few minutes came across something called a Yellow Bear Caterpillar. As usual, my son has decided to raise it and watch it go through its transformation. So research commenced and we discovered that they like warm, humid environments with the safety of leaf litter and they eat clover, dandelions and other types of groundcover. Next thing you know, I'm fashioning a makeshift home for "MUZZY"!

We'll keep you updated on its progress!

That old crooked highway... the road to Memphis

I got up early, like crack-of-dawn, should-be-outlawed kind of early, to get the picnic packed and the last of the luggage in the car. Made sure that Nigelito Poquito Burrito had his breakfast and ample opportunity to relieve himself! The kids didn't seem to care about waking up early, they were just excited to go. Little did they realize that when I said we'd spend two days in a car, I wasn't kidding!

First stop, The Donut Palace on Wells Branch! What can I say, it's a road trip tradition. We HAVE to have donuts, and not the crappy Krispy Kreme nastiness--the honest-to-goodness, fresh, Sunday morning donuts that diligent, hard-working and very funny Californian Korean ladies make! Maples for me, Mom and the boy, chocolate for the Piggy! Then we were off... "Move 'em on, head 'em up, head 'em up, move 'em on, move 'em on, head 'em up RAWHIDE! (And yes, as soon as I put the car into drive I sing this and my kids think I'm awesome!)

Life was good, kids listened to music and took the opportunity to catch up on their lost sleep. So did Nigel.

We drove hard up through Texas, only stopping for potty breaks until we reached Sulphur Springs. At which time we pulled off and asked for directions to a local park to picnic and let the kids and dog run wild for a bit. I have to say, not a park I'd visit again. No bathrooms (seriously?), part of the playscape had to have been built in the 1950's and there was a suspicious older guy who spent his time meandering through the playscape admiring the lovely little children. So if you're traveling through Sulphur Springs, don't bother stopping there!

Then it was off to Texarkana and my first visit to Arkansas!


Can I just say that Arkansas is gorgeous? We stopped at this great rest area/tourist info center and I was just blown away at the amount of stuff that Arkansas has to offer! Seriously, the thought of an RV and two weeks exploring that state gets me all giddy! Sadly, I only managed one picture of Arkansas as I drove most of the way through it. :(
Things were going great though, the kids were only whining minimally, the sun was shining the temps were nice, I was getting decent gas mileage and Memphis was in our sights! Then it happened. About 30 minutes outside of Memphis I was thrown into my worst driving nightmare! (Just for a little background info, I am NOT fond of driving in the first place, I am especially not fond of driving at night, or with a lot of semis, or in heavy rain, or through construction that has concrete barriers--claustrophobia, what can I say?) So just like that, things went from pleasant evening drive through the country to heavy construction with concrete barricades and orange barrels EVERYWHERE, it was getting dark, the only thing on the road besides me was freakin' semis AND it was pissing down rain! What the hell?!? Instead of taking a leisurely, light-hearted drive on over to Memphis, I was white-knuckled and straining to see the lane markers, amidst a convoy of semis spraying mist and mud all over my windshield through construction hell! So much for getting my photo of the Tennessee sign OR seeing the Mississippi River for the first time in my life! And I don't know if it was the rain, the stress or the fact that we were 2 hours behind schedule, but Memphis did not win any brownie points with me in regards to their infrastructure. You should not have to take 8 different exits to stay on ONE freeway! Jeesh!

We finally made it through Memphis and found our exit. The plan was to pick up dinner to-go and hurry to the hotel to check in before they gave our room away! We had predetermined that we would try Corky's a well-known BBQ joint. It was slow as it was well past dinner and I was greeted by the sweetest little guy who spent the entire 20 minutes I was there saying, "Yes, Ma'am, No Ma'am, Oh that meal comes with fries Ma'am." It was cute at first, then I wanted to poke him in the neck! But with one last smile and a "Thank ya, Ma'am!" I was on my way out the door with a bag of really good smelling food! We raced to the hotel, stomachs growling, kids whining, and me really needing to pee! We got checked in, ran upstairs with the barest necessities (kids, dog, food) and quickly found out that I wasn't the only one who really needed to pee. Nigel whizzed like a Russian racehorse all over the floor! So for any of you traveling through Memphis and staying at the Northeast Drury Inn, try to avoid Rm 205!

5 more sleeps...

until we leave for Kentucky! Woo-hoo!

ROAD TRIP coming up!

I couldn't be more excited about our next road trip! I'm packing up my mom, my kids, and my dog and heading to Kentucky for almost 2 WEEKS! I am excited about this for several reasons:

1. I've NEVER been east of Houston, TX (except for a one week excursion to Washington, DC about 17 years ago).
2. I get to finally see my aunt's home!
3. We have loads of wonderful stuff planned which I will detail in just a bit.
4. The kids will get to see a new and interesting part of the country.
5. I'll get to spend some quality time with my mom!

I'm not sure how a 16-17 hour drive with a crabby 3 year-old and a dog will be, but what the hell, I'm game! Have kids... will travel! We'll head up through the northeastern part of Texas and then over to Little Rock, AR and we'll stop in Memphis, TN for the night. Now don't ask me if we're going to Graceland because we're not. After 9-10 hours in a car, I doubt I will even give even the slightest crap about Elvis or his house! All I will want is a clean bed and a continental breakfast the next morning! However, I AM researching the perfect place for dinner. Cause seriously, you know there HAS to be bitchin' food in Memphis! Any suggestions would be welcomed! We'll get up the next morning and head on up to Kentucky, driving through Louisville and Lexington and heading over to Stanton. I've never seen my aunt's place, but I do hear that it's out in the boonies and I couldn't be happier!

Now from a homeschooling standpoint, I really should be carting the kids off to see Lincoln's birthplace and Mary Todd's home, but I just don't see that happening. The kids are still pretty young so I think we're going to keep things simple and fun, we have plenty of time to delve into the life of our 16th President at some other time! Instead, we will be sticking close to Stanton and exploring what that portion of KY has to offer. We'll be checking out the Kentucky Reptile Zoo and taking loads of nature hikes around my aunt's property to hunt for wildflowers, ferns and various fungi. We'll make some bonfires and cook outdoors and sing folk songs and learn to play our dulcimer! We'll explore the Red River Gorge (which I hear is AWESOME!) A friend who raises bees will talk to us about beehives and beekeeping and another friend has a rock shelter that was used by prehistoric native Americans located on his property. The kids will get lessons in forestry and woodcrafting and we'll take canoe rides and maybe, just maybe if I feel like the kids need more, we'll go to Ft. Boonesborough which is a re-creation of the stockade and community founded by Daniel Boone in the 1700's, where folks dress in period clothing and demonstrate the work and crafts of the day! I can hardly contain my excitement!

But not to worry my friends, I will surely have a camera in hand the WHOLE trip! So if you don't hear much from me in the weeks to follow, never fear, I'll just be off enjoying the perks of homeschooling and learning on the fly! You can be sure you will get a full report when I return!

And then there was one...

So I had to do one of the hardest things ever today. I had to admit that Penny was not working in our family and I had to make the decision to return her to the Humane Society. And can I tell you that today is the suckiest day I've had since Otis died! There is nothing worse than returning a dog you've tried to make a part of your family for four months. She was sweet, she was soft, she was beautiful and she hated it here! She didn't like the kids, especially the Piggy. She didn't like all the noise and ruckus that, quite frankly, defines our entire existence. She attacked Nigel frequently and she had some serious aggressive tendencies when it came to food and toys all of which are not OK when you've got a three year-old that doesn't understand the ground rules of owning a dog with those tendencies. I had a nice long talk with the woman at the shelter and broke down crying like a blubbering idiot. She told me not to beat myself up that unfortunately just because you WANT the situation to work doesn't mean it always will. Penny needs something I can't give her. She needs a quiet home with no other dogs and she needs plenty of opportunity to run outside and not get into trouble because of a damn garden, she needs a fence tighter than Ft. Knox! Luckily for Penny, there was a couple that returned a dog a couple of days ago that returned their dog for the complete opposite reasons we returned Penny. The shelter plans to call them because they thinks they could be that perfect match. I hope it works out. That little dog deserves nothing short of the perfect home and I wish more than anything it could have been with us. I'm sure I'll end up with an ulcer before it's all said and done.

On a bright note, she is highly adoptable and the woman at the shelter seems to think she won't spend much time with them. Nigel will no longer have to fear for his life and he can actually enjoy a bone or toy without the threat of someone bigger coming and taking it away. I do not have to live in fear that the Piggy is going to try to pick up Penny's bone and get her hand ripped off! This transition is super hard, but I truly believe that it will all work out for the best. The Humane Association wants her to find a great home as much as I do.

But now is a time to focus on our future with Nigel. HE worked.

Thankfully, I can attest without a doubt that we will be his forever home and I guess I should be glad that I was able to make a difference for at least one. I'm glad for that, but it certainly doesn't make this situation any better. Today sucks.

Hooray! Numero Dos emerges!

This year we had the great honor to play host to 2 luna moth cocoons and two Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly chrysalids. The first butterfly emerged almost a month ago and the two lunas shortly followed suit, but there was one lonely little chrysalid still hanging out in the butterfly enclosure. I have been checking on it daily but nothing. The kids were worried, I was worried, in short we were all beginning to think Little Dos was a DUD. But not being one to give up on life so easily I just let it hang out. I probably would have left it another month before I finally got rid of it, just to make absolutely certain it wasn't going to emerge. Much to our great joy we were greeted by Little Dos this morning when we came downstairs! I was SO relieved! As usual, we packed it up and went to my son's room (which oddly enough is the cleanest room in the house right now, I know, WEIRD) and let the little butterfly out. It was perfectly content to hang out on our fingers, arms, shoulders, etc... and we were thrilled! It was so mellow that I was really able to show and talk to the kids about the different parts, its abdomen, its thorax, its eyes and its proboscis! So cool! And of course, I had to snap a few shots. I only got a few in before my camera croaked though, damn batteries!

Here's the kiddos checking it out...
The Piglet was brave this year!
Monkey Man has always loved them, he is so gentle and so curious, I love it!
We spent about 30 mintues with this lovely little beastie before I decided we needed to let it go to find some food and a mate. There were some tears from the Piggy, she wanted to keep it forever as she loved it SOOOOO much. But I explained that this was a wild animal and the only way it would be truly happy was to be free. I let her unzip the carrier and get it out and it sat on her hand for just a few seconds before it took to the sky, flitting back and forth. We lost sight of it over the house. Good luck little butterfly and thank you for making our day so special!