We've been welcoming spring with picnic lunches outside on the deck and lots of playtime in the sun.
The front yard sidewalks are great for drawing shapes with colorful chalk, pushing trikes, and blowing bubbles. More than a few times, a car has rolled down their window as they've driven by and commented on the girls. One morning this week, a couple pulled over to ask if they were indeed triplets. The gentleman went on to tell me that he was getting ready to celebrate his 81st birthday, had twin granddaughters, moved to the United States from Ireland in the 60s, and how his mother and grandmother were suffragettes during the women's movement. He had the sweetest accent and lots of stories he wanted to share, and I'm sure whoever he shared with next heard a little story about the triplets. :)
We also had a couple days with severe weather warnings and tornado watches. To stay safe, we had to move our fun to the basement. I happen to be really good at building forts. We even took our sleeping bags and pillows and had a couple fun slumber parties, all camped out on the floor. Pure sweetness!
Early in the week, I stopped to sing Happy Birthday to Johnny on my way home from work.
I still need to pinch myself that things like this are something I can just go do on any old day. When I first arrived in Nashville and didn't yet have a lot to fill my time with, I began a hunt for celebrity gravesites in the area. So thankful for parents who will spend long days driving all over the mid-state and willingly walk through huge cemeteries searching for the right headstone with me - if they weren't willing to complete these silly projects I come up with, I don't know who would! Anyways, one such cemetery is one I drive by often. Its most famous residents are, of course, Johnny and June. But there are lots of great gems at this place! (If you come on a tour with me, each stop will include a history lesson and a couple YouTube videos.) At the Hendersonville Memorial Gardens, you can also find Mother Maybelle and a whole bunch of the Carter clan, Merle Kilgore (Ring of Fire, Wolverton Mtn.), Luther Perkins, and Ferlin Husky (Wings of a Snow White Dove)...
...but my favorite person to visit at this site is Sheb Wooley! When I first read his name, I had no clue who he was, but boy was he fun to learn about! He was on Rawhide, Hee Haw and The Muppet Show, just to name a few. Get this - he wrote the song Purple People Eater! And the coolest thing, he's credited as the voice behind The Wilhelm Scream. I had no idea what The Wilhelm Scream was, but this is so interesting...
...The Wilhelm Scream is one of those old canned sound effects that can be heard in countless films. Listen!
One evening this week, I met up with my friend Sarah (who I met through one of Kelly's Show Us Your Singles Link-Ups!) for dinner and a show at the Bluebird. It was Sarah's first time and I was thrilled to introduce her to one of my favorite spots in Nashville. Songwriting just blows my mind. SO MANY times I'll hear a songwriter play who's name doesn't ring a bell and looks like any guy next door, and then he'll start singing hit after hit that I've known by heart since childhood and it just blows.my.mind. that these people are all just walking around the same grocery stores as me. They're all around and nobody has any idea what they've accomplished! You can go to any writers' round at any tiny venue in this whole city on any night of the week and hear a song that you love and it's like, "Dude! You wrote that?!" Hands down, I'll always pick a show like this over an arena show (unless it's Celine Dion or Garth Brooks). So this time we saw Steve Bogard, Hannah Thomas, Charley Worsham, and Ryan Tyndell. Good good stuff, my friends.
Before heading back to my car after the show, I ran into Whole Foods really quick. I like to look for new taro chips and lychee juice, but mostly I like to look for celebrities. You never know who you'll see in sweatpants with no makeup in the frozen food aisle of the Hillsboro Whole Foods. I did get three Las Paletas Hot Chocolate bars - one for me and two to take home for the folks. If you come visit me in Nashville, we will go to Las Paletas. They're a local place that makes unique flavored gourmet popsicles - my favorite being one with chocolate and cayenne peppers.
A couple days ago I sat behind a truck at a red light that had a Wall Drug bumper sticker. It made me smile to see someone else who knows where to get free ice water.
They dismissed school three hours early today, due to the threat of severe weather. I do see the destruction on TV and know it's serious business, but as an outsider, I can sometimes catch myself teasing Nashvillians about their reactions to inclement weather. We had tornados all the time growing up - we just hunkered down in the hallway at school. There might have been two feet of snow, but we were still in class. I know they're doing the right thing by taking precautions and you can bet I'm praying for those who have been affected tonight! Today we had sunny skies and almost 80 degrees, and those lucky kids got to go home early and play outside! This evening, it finally rained for about five minutes at our house. We had some strong winds that ripped part of the rain trough off the barn and we lost a big limb, but all the chickens have been accounted for. Within a half hour, my Dad was outside with his chainsaw, cleaning up. I do love me a good storm.
Now the week AND the month have both slipped by. Where do these things go?!
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