Friday we brought Everything Christmas down from the attic, raising dust, destroying cobwebs and sneezing. We had made a fair dent in the decorating on Friday, but stopped Saturday to see a matinee of Ralph breaks the Internet with the Jrs. We returned to our mess that evening and again this morning. We have vacuumed up so much cat hair that I’m ashamed, but it’s pretty much done except for the tree…and maybe more Mr&Mrs Clauses….possibly some new pillows…
Now my week is free to catch up with my hair and nails and shopping. I am closing in on my Reading Goal for 2018, too. I’ve had to get my Grandmother story out of my mind and on paper, or air, or wherever these words go, before I can go on with the genealogy project and I’m getting verrry close to finishing.
I can’t get a good picture of our new wreath yet, but here’s a bad picture……use your imagination as your filter…
We arrived back at Sonnystone early afternoon Thursday. You can read about our trip at My Travel Blog. Wink had traveled very well, (even alerting us to bear outside the camper one night!) but was glad to get back to his old box, as were we.
Saturday was Olivia’s Dance Recital (as well as the Preakness, which did not turn out well, but I don’t wanna talk about it). She has really improved and this year was her best. In fact, the whole (half) of the recital that I watched was better than the last few. It’s tough to get dancing pictures from the cheap seats without blur, but here’s my best of her best…
Olivia is in the middle
Olivia is in the middle
Olivia, second from left
Olivia, back left
Olivia, back left
Olivia, middle row left
Didn’t I warn you about what happens when we go off-grid? While we were in the Smokies, the news cycle was Spinning, and when I came out of the no-news-zone it took several hours of reading to catch up with the chaos. I’m glad I missed it in real time. Reading it all summed up was anxiety-producing enough… Of course, those of you who watch faux news 24/7 don’t have any idea what I’m talking about…
Busy week ahead. The garden is growing strong. Check out the photos at My Garden Blog. Until we meet again…
On Saturday evening we spent some time at Boo-at-the-Zoo, trick-or-treating with the Jrs. …
Taking advantage of the beautiful week-end weather, we sneaked in some gardening. We trimmed and pruned, moved some things around, and the 2016 gardens are officially put away for the year. Lessons have been learned, notes have been noted, and like anyone who gardens, we’re full of plans for next year.
We’ve been to the Smokies dozens of times, and have always wanted to camp inside the Park, but the idea of no electricity or water leaves me cold and thirsty…get it? Haha. We bought a generator to keep me in style, but they only allow generators from 8am to 8pm, so we’ve been doing a number of experiments to check our battery usage. Casey is obsessed. I’ve politely listened and nodded as he explained the amperages and voltages, using hydrometers and just how much the furnace draws when it kicks on and on…and on…
I am excited about the trip, though. We’ll be staying in Smokemont Campground, something different for us. We’ve stayed on the Cherokee, NC side of the Park before, but more often we are on the Peaceful Side in Townsend, TN. Cades Cove Campground was full, so we welcomed the change. Look out Bears! Stand back, Elk! So far, the weather looks like it will be great too…
The week ahead is full of babysitting, meeting up with friends, and getting ready to go.
What every blogger is writing in their spare time, when not at work, parenting or surfing the internet
—-the Urban Dictionary…
I’ve started researching for a book, studying up on American culture around the turn of the 20th century. It’s just fascinating, obsessing me as I try to set the scene…how did they dress? what did they eat and drink? what sort of transportation did they use? what music did they listen to? what books and newspapers did they read? what was school like? on and on…
I got to cogitating on women’s undergarments and how they speak of our ever-changing, but always confusing, body-image…
My novel starts in the Edwardian Era, which was the mid-1890’s until WWI. During that time, corsets loosened and desirable women’s shapes changed rather dramatically. You can see by these silhouettes:
I remember my mom and her sisters wore girdles, but by the 1960’s young girls were not expected to cinch in their waists, though we did have some elastic in our garter belts… Oh, and we didn’t really burn our bras, we just threw them (and any girdles we may have had) into the trash can. It was a symbolic gesture, meant as a serious critique of the whole beauty culture and valuing women for their looks instead of their whole Self…obviously, most people didn’t get it.
Lately I’ve had to face the fact that I’m much thicker in the middle than I used to be and this shift has necessitated a general revamp of my wardrobe as I accept that no amount of wt. loss or sit-ups is going to make me look good in those old hip-huggers… While I’ve had to change my Style (and size) some to cover the flaws, I haven’t even considered girdling my girth into a bodice…
But that’s only the tip of the research obsession…Because I am free to google it (u r 2), I have immersed myself in the sights, sounds, and songs, as well:
I’ll be keeping you in touch with my progress on this endeavor…
I’ve got Christmas 2014 planned and it is filled with Rockettes…NYC Radio City Music Hall 12/13 with the Jose’ fam, Nashville TN Opry House touring show 12/20 with the Jrs. We’re having a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner to celebrate Casey’s 60th birthday, and I was hoping the weather would be good for a little travel that weekend, as well.
In the meantime, it’s all about the book, setting the scene, building the characters, and putting myself into the girdles of my grandmothers…
Blather & Balderdash 
