A Broken Finger

Well, pictures are worth a thousand words, so you can see we have a broken bone.  This is the first for Brian.  He was playing tag with his friends, fell and rolled across his pinky bending it backward toward the wrist.  That isn't a good thing.  Little man that he is..he didn't complain. Just mentioned his hand hurt. We put ice on it and hoped for swelling to go down. When it looked worse in the morning, we headed for an X-ray machine.  Yep, a salter-harris fracture of the left pinky.  He has been fitted for a cast and will wear it for a few weeks, then wear a buddy brace. (meaning a type of velcro strips that will tie the ring finger to the pinky for support).    

A TRIP TO TACO BELL MADE HIM FEEL BETTER! I'm sure we will have more mishaps in the future, but until then.....

Spring Soccer season 2012

It's a new season, soccer season that is. The weather may be cold and the skies grey, but for a group of 6-8th grade boys all that matters is surviving the next three days of tryouts.
Coach calls them out on the field, and the training begins. After running back and forth across the field a few times, the whole group drops to the ground and begin sets of sit-ups and then flipping over to perform push-ups.  For a solid 35 minute regiment the boys move around non-stop.  Then it's time for a few minutes to hydrate. Then the boys are back at it!
Coach wants them to build endurance, he doesn't want exhausted boys at half time.
Today everyone found out that the 6th graders didn't make the team. Boy, were they bummed. However, they are all smarter for the experience and have learned what will be expected of them next year at tryouts.

On a positive note, our soccer player has new shoes!  Bright orange!!!!

And since we still involved in recreational soccer with the city, the team he has played with (most of the players anyway) is gearing up to start in March!  LET's GO STRIKERS!!!!

A little bit of FAITH goes a long way!

Meet Faith. Yes, okay so I named my orchid. I've never named a flower or plant before.
Why this one? Because Best Bud and I wanted to use an orchid in a terrarium.  We both had a good time selecting a special orchid.
The little orchid I picked out was not picked out because of its color, or little tab that foretold us what it would look like in the future. In fact, Faith was the smallest orchid in the whole bunch. She wasn't blooming and looked very dry in her half dollar size round little pot. Her only redeeming quality was that her leaves are two colors.
Looking her over, I decided she was the one I wanted. With her being so small, she would fit in my little apothecary style jar.

So far she is doing well, and as you can see blooming beautifully!

Union Station - A National Treasure, a Nashville Tradition, a Night of Luxury

The Union Station hotel in downtown Nashville, TN is a beautiful, national landmark. Growing up in the area, I have been driven past it many times over the years. The architecture of the structure is a beauty to behold, and the history behind it is intriguing. There are still trains that roll into and out of the yard to the right of the facility. The quick, soulful blasts of the trains horns is all that it takes for this daydreamer to get a glimpse into the bygone days of early Nashville.

Union Station was built as a railroad station in 1900.  There have been a few presidents to stay there as well as other dignitary's. Now Sweetie and I get to mark this off our bucket list, and add ourselves to the growing list of admirers who likewise have been able to rest a weary head on one of the plush pillows during an overnight stay.




First, let me say I was thrilled by this surprise. The boys were off doing their thing and it gave us a evening all to ourselves. After an amazing Predators game, we retired for the evening at the beautiful Union Station.

There were valet's to park your car, carry your bags in, and open the doors for you. All of this was done with a genuine smile, and a great attitude. Check out the ceiling!
Isn't our room pretty? The bed was so soft!  The train yard was outside our window to the right, so we got to watch the trains come in and out. At night the view is beautiful!

We were up on the fourth floor, looking over the bannister this is what I saw. Pretty awesome, huh?  

If you get an opportunity to stay here, it will be well worth your time. My only regret is it was only one night! 

Hatch Show Print Nashville, TN

Recently Sweetie and I spent a Saturday exploring places in nearby Nashville that we had never looked into before.  Since there are so many places to explore in our own neck of the woods..there will be more blogs like this one posted in due time.
Hatch Show Print was one of those places.

Being fascinated by the printed word, this was on the top of my list. I just love the sectioned, wood drawers laden with various sizes and fonts of letters, numbers and shapes.
While there, we learned that they are one of the oldest known letterpress poster shops in America.  They have been in business since 1879. One of the workers said, "not much has changed in technique since then."

 The history in this little workshop is everywhere you look.  The mixing of colors is a fine art...it takes a well trained eye for such details.

 Look at the rollers!

The finished product ! There were so many to look at and read.   If you get an opportunity to stop by they are located in downtown Nashville at 316 Broadway, (615) 256-2805, or website: www.countrymusichalloffame.org.

KAAAAA-BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

Things are never boring at our house!  In preparing dinner one night this past week, I was interrupted by a LOUD BOOM!
Just knowing this involved one of the boys, I went looking. The eldest was on the computer looking as surprised as I was over the sound.
"Did you hear that?" he asked.
I nodded. Next question was, "Where is your brother?"
Said youngest was bumbling his way down the stairs.
"All I did was flush the toilet, I swear!"
Now that they were safe and alive, I just knew that meant the gas water heater had exploded. Since there was no water gushing down the stairs, and the toilet was intact, I headed to the garage.
Opening the door, we looked to the immediate left and were glad to see that the water heater was still intact! Pushing the button for the garage door to slowly crank open, we discovered the sound had garnered the attention of our neighbors.  The neighbor across the street at his mailbox, looking toward our house. When we locked eyes, he walked toward us as did a worker next door installing our other neighbors wood floors. We all discussed the big boom and what it could have been.
My youngest was the first to find the answer. On the floor next to my car was the carcass of an old basketball split in half!
This explains why it was so loud. The garage has great acoustics!
Between laughing about said explosion and the mystery being solved we all went our separate ways.