AKA Road Trip: Sleep in a Wigwam!

After our long day touring we were looking forward to getting some rest.  I promised Himself that this time we wouldn’t be sleeping in a “junk yard”  (http://teri-gonewalkabout2.blogspot.com/2011/05/southern-adventure-our-next-lodging-was.html ).  Nope, we didn’t sleep in a shack…

 

 

…we slept in a wigwam!!

 

 

The look on his face was priceless!

 

 

And it just kept getting better!

 

 

The room was small but adequate.  A bed, chair, dressing table and stool, and a TV on a stand. 

 

 

Himself got a kick out of the ceiling.  Said he felt like he was in a spider web.  LOL

 

 

Wigwam, sweet wigwam. 

 

 

The Wigwam Motels, (http://www.wigwamvillage.com/ ) also known as the "Wigwam Villages", is a motel chain in the United States in which the rooms are built in the form of tipis, mistakenly referred to as wigwams. It originally had seven different locations: two locations in Kentucky, a location in Alabama, another location in Florida, one in Arizona, one in Louisiana, and another one in California. They are very distinctive historic landmarks. Two of the three surviving motels are located on historic U.S. Route 66, in Holbrook, Arizona and on the city boundary between Rialto and San Bernardino, California. 

 

Frank A. Redford applied for a patent on the ornamental design of the building on December 17, 1935, and was granted design patent 98,617 on February 18, 1936. Seven Wigwam Villages were built between 1933 and 1949. 

 

Wigwam village #2 was built in 1937 a few miles south of the original wigwam village #1, but on US-31W in Cave City. It was built consisting of 15 wigwams used as guest rooms and a much bigger concrete and steel central structure that originally served as a restaurant. The 15 wigwams are arranged in a semi circle around a common area with playground and recreation area. Each wigwam has a paved pad to accommodate one car. 

 

The diameter at the base of each tipi is 14 feet (4.3 m), they are 32 feet (9.8 m) in height. Behind the main room of each unit is a small bathroom with sink, toilet, and shower. In 2008, the rooms contain the original restored hickory furniture, cable TV and a window mounted air conditioner. There are no telephones to maintain the original atmosphere of the motel, though there is internet access. The restaurant is no longer in operation, but the motel is still open and welcoming guests. 

 

Wigwam village #2 is close to Mammoth Cave National Park and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The motel is located on 601 North Dixie Hwy, Cave City, Kentucky.   ~~ Wikipedia ~~

 

 

Directly behind our ‘wigwam’ was the pavilion.  So we pulled out our brand-new Kingsman grill and fired it up for a cook-out. 

 

 

 Cooking up our ‘foil potatoes’ and some home canned green beans I bought from an Amish lady at a roadside stand.  So good!

 

 

Himself enjoying supper:  grilled steak, green beans,…

 

 

… and cheesy foil potatoes.

 

 

And nothing is more “Americana” than an apple pie for dessert!

 

Soon it was time to get some sleep so we would be ready for the next day's travels. 

 

Creative Friday - 14 June '13

Now that my routine has slowed down for the summer I have more time for fun creative endeavors.  I’ve missed working on the various “challenges” at the creative blogs I follow. 

 

 

This one was for the challenge at Word Art Wednesday, Psalms 127:4-5a. 

 

 

And this was for Artist’s Play Room, where the challenge was “bizarre”.  I’m not into ‘bizarre’ unless you’re talking a shopping ‘bazaar’. 

 

Besides the regular challenges, I’ve found a couple fun just-for-summer challenges.

 

The first one is ICAD: Index Card A Day.  The challenge is to create SOMETHING on an index card every day of June and July.  It can be doodling, art, mixed media, writing, quotes … anything that fits on an index card.  There are optional themes and prompts if you get stuck but you can do your own thing.

 

 

 

These are my first week of cards.  I’m having a lot of fun with these and have started carrying some cards in my purse so if I have to wait somewhere… I do a card. 

 

Second challenge is SOC:  Summer of Color.  The challenge is to use the two colors of the week to create anything you’d like as long as it uses those colors.  It could be a painting, something knitted, jewelry, sculpture… anything with the colors.  Fun! 

 

And of course I’ll be working on some things I come up with myself!

 

Summer Project: Organizing the Master Closet

 

(BEFORE)

One of my accomplishments of my summer organizing is my bedroom closet.  No, I don’t have one of those ‘beautiful’ closets but it is an organized closet! 

I pulled out every single piece of my clothing and tried them on.  I was happy to see most fit well.  I culled out a few that I just haven’t been wearing because deep down I didn’t really like them.  You know… the ones you put on and look at yourself in the mirror… and DON’T smile.  Into the Goodwill bag they went.  I also looked for stains that had gotten past me (off to the laundry basket) and those needing mending (into the fix-it basket). 

(Himself’s clothes I just neatened.  He can deal with it when he gets home!)

(AFTER)

Had a bit of fun when I put things back.  I arranged them ‘prismatically’!  And made a discovery.  I have WAY too many black shirts!!  Egad!! 

On the top shelf I added to my storage bins.  In one I have my fun/specific purses (ones I don’t use for everyday).  The second has sweaters.  The third has my heavy ‘warmies’. 

On either side of the bins are Himself’s and my sweats…for working and working out. 

Dresses and jacket/sweaters/scarves were neatened up too.

This dresser was my great-grandmother’s.  It fit into this space perfectly to give me some extra storage.  The top has some of my jewelry.  The bracelet holder is a letter rack Himself brought back from Honduras. 

Top drawer –mainly my jewelry.  But I also keep things like buttons and embellishments that came with new clothing, jewelry cleaner, etc.  The ‘dresser scarf’ is a piece of fabric I got in Guatemala. 

Second drawer – night clothes.  This drawer was culled with a heavy hand!  Ratty stuff…be gone!  Don’t care how comfy you are, I have nice stuff that is comfy too!  Having things folded vertically really saves space.  I’ve used this method on my dresser drawers for about a year and love it.

Third drawer – purses and wallets I use regularly.  (I’m missing a few!  :-{  Wonder where they are??) 

And the bottom drawer – house shoes and warmie socks. 

Shoes were neatened up.  Off season shoes went into some wooden crates in the bedroom.  I’m going to add to the shelves a bit later when I can get to the shelf pieces I have in the shed (which will be after my studio is done and the stuff going back in there is emptied from the shed.  The domino effect…).

I’m happy with it.  Organized and easy to get to…and no clutter either!

http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/

http://www.modernishhomemaker.com/

http://orgjunkie.com/2013/06/june-2013-organize-it-linky-party.html

Flying To Dutch Harbor, AK?

I’ve noticed on Pinterest that a lot of pins on “bucket list” have “Visit Dutch Harbor”. 

 

I have a word of warning for anyone planning on flying in there… plan on arriving WITHOUT your luggage.  Himself landed there this last weekend and he’s now 3 for 3 coming in without his bags.  Oh…Penair gets it to you eventually but it is getting to be a real hassle. 

 

So pack your carry-on with the minimum of what you must have.  Be prepared to wash out things in the sink.  And know that basics like deodorant can/will cost 3x-ish what you buy them for in the Lower 48. 

 

You’ll thank me…

AKA Road Trip: Land of Lincoln's Boyhood

Yep, we made a stop to see where “Honest Abe” was born and spent his childhood years.  They are actually two different sites located a few miles apart.

 

 

The building in the background is a memorial to the Lincoln birthplace.

 

 

It houses this ‘symbolic’ cabin that is supposed to be similar to the one Lincoln was born in.  Don’t you love the juxtaposition of the rough cabin and the ornate marble of the monument?

 

 

Inside the museum were displays representing the Lincoln family.  This statue has Abraham as an infant with his parents and sister. 

 

 

 

Thomas Lincoln – Abraham’s father.

 

 

 

Nancy Hanks Lincoln – Abraham’s mother.

 

 

The Lincoln family Bible. 

 

 

‘Nuf said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up the road is the farm where Abraham spent his first 7 years growing up.  This cabin is another “symbolic” cabin but it does give you an idea of what it was like.  It is thought to be very near where the Lincoln cabin stood. 

 

It’s a nice site to relax and walk around.  There are some picnic tables for use in a shady area.  And Knob creek is a very short walk from the cabin.

Summer Plans

Himself left this last weekend for the boat and it’s time for me to get to work too! 

I’m going to work on very specific items this summer: inside and out.

I’ve finally gotten my house decluttered (except for the stuff in my studio/hobby room as I’m still working on that).  It’s now time to get what I have left completely organized, and do a bit of culling while I’m at it.  I have just the right number of weeks to spend one week in each room getting in organized. 

This week: the master bedroom and closet.

The studio is a project in itself!  Himself got so much done for me the first part of the year.  Now it’s my time to get in and bring it all together during the summer.  Again, I have it broken down into sensible bits for each week.

This week: paint and build shelves in a closet so I can store my frames, clear the west wall area and start getting it set up, and do a basic ‘neatening’ of the general room.

Then there is the never-ending yard.  I’ll be getting up with the sun to beat the TN heat.  I’m going to focus only on the area 40 feet out all around the house. 

This week:  finish getting annuals the herb bed, spruce up the porch and deck, and mulch an area in the bird garden around a tree. 

And of course I have some creative projects lined up for relaxation. 

A Summer-ful of Veggies

A couple years ago I joined a local CSA (community supported agriculture) produce box group and enjoyed fresh veggies all summer.  Last year the group decided not to do the CSA boxes anymore (they are supplying restaurants now). 

 

So I was quite happy to discover another CSA group to join.  This one does not require a ‘subscription’ for the year but instead you let them know the weekend before the mid-week drop off that you will be wanting a box for that week.  This will work perfectly for me, as I will not have to pay for boxes I don’t get when I’m traveling!

 

This was last week’s box…

 

 

Tomatoes – red & green, a yellow squash, 2 zucchini, 3 cucumbers, onions, cauliflower, new potatoes, snow peas, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, strawberries, English peas, and eggs.

 

I didn’t get a shot of my first box but it had:

 

1 dozen free range eggs, 4 tomatoes, 1 Romaine lettuce, 2 head broccoli, 1 head cauliflower, 1 head cabbage, 1 qt strawberries, and 1 qt snow peas, 1/2 lb asparagus, 3 zucchini, 3 yellow squash, 2 bunches of onions, 3 lb baby potatoes, and 4 peaches from a swap someone did (??). 

 

I’m going to plan all my summer menus around what I get each week in my box.  I’ll have mainly chicken or fish for my proteins with lots and lots of vegetables.  If I need to, I’ll get additional veggies from the farmer’s market (I do love my greens…). 

 

And I’ll be trying new recipes to share too!