5 Oaks Bed & Breakfast

5 Oaks Bed & Breakfast Erin, Tn

Our room for the night.  The plug for our electronics is behind the rocker.

 

This is the very couch that I am sitting on right this minute while writing this post. Barbara is sitting in the chair (lower right corner) reading a book on local cities but since she is sitting here in her jammies I thought it best now to take a photo of her. 

Margaret (our hostess) has been very helpful with local information and books and greeted us upon check in with ice cream.  :-)

Hopefully I will have more time to roam this house in the morning.

But the best praise I can give is I am very comfortable in this house.  I can see families growing up here and feel the love that this house has seen.

Until Morning.  It is night night time.

Hurricane Mills

What is Hurricane Mills you ask?  Why Miss Loretta Lynn. 

We made it into Hurricane Mills about 5:00 and we were very lucky to get a Kozy Cabin at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch.

 

Sorry about the luggage laying around – it was starting to rain so we were trying to get the car unloaded.  Once we had all of our stuff inside  we sat outside under the covered porch and had a nice cup of tea before bed.  Barbara took the bedroom and I took

Speaking of bed time… we were in bed snoring by 7:30 pm! 

I loved being in these cabins and I will bring the family back to spend more time.  It was so peaceful listening to the rain on the roof all night.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and did the tourist thing.

I am sitting on Loretta Lynn’s front porch!!! OMG!!!

 

This is the very same bus that used to drive right in front of our house all of the time during the short time we lived in Hermitage, TN.

I am sitting on the front steps!

All of the childhood memories that came back to me during this tour. 

What a great way to spend the day.

Natchez Trace Parkway

Barbara and I love to drive the scenic route so when she said she wanted to drive the Natchez Trace I was all in. 

It was an overcast day and in my opinion that is the perfect time to take photos but it was on the chilly side.

My travel buddy (Mother in law) Barbara

We drove the trace all day stopping from time to time take photos.  It was such an enjoyable day.  Next stop bed time but where?

Rhoda’s Hot Tamales

I am having a grand time!  On the first day of our trip Barbara wanted to to to go a place she found on the internet.  Rhoda’s Hot Tamales in Lake Village, Arkansas. 

My first clue I was in for a treat was Barbara's little giggle when she is up to no good.  I am looking around for a restaurant and she says to me “are you game”  Game for what?  Then I saw what she was looking at:

Can you read that sign?  :-)

But oh my goodness they are GOOOOOOD!

 

Making the tamales by hand.

Miss Rhoda herself.

We ordered a dozen to share but there we people coming in and asking for 3 to 6 dozen to go.   They were fantastic but I still have the heartburn.  :-)

ROADTRIP!

HI Gang,

I am so excited!  I have to “Wake up” in a few minutes but who am I kidding – you know me I never sleep well before a trip.  I get too darn excited.  I am leaving this morning to go on a Road Trip with my mother in law Barbara.  We have been planning a trip like this for years but work always made it very difficult.   

Now that we are both retired we are hitting the road.

The family is staying home and I hope that the house is still standing when I get back.  They are known little piggy's when I am not home.

I am taking my camera and laptop so hopefully I will have Wi-Fi and will be able to make blog posts from time to time.

Now as soon as I get back I will be working the Craft Fair in Carrollton. 

 

I will have a very fast turn around from travel to craft fair mode so I have already packed up and all of the goodies are ready to go.  I will be taking all of my hand made cards and a few retired products to sell.  Now is the time to stock up!

Oops there goes my alarm… Time to wake up.

See you soon!

Artbooking Made Easy: All-Star Scrapbooking

Bicycle Beauty

We hare having a creative kind of day.  It is the last day of spring break so my kiddo is home with me (not in the same room but home) and she is doing her thing and I am doing mine.  Here is a peek:

This is my play space (My Scraproom)

This is Kaela’s play space.

I find it funny that we both have the windows open and music playing while working on our artwork.  Like Mother Like Daughter

So the inspiration for today came from a show Kaela and I have been watching – Ink Masters – and while I do not have any tattoos I find the artwork beautiful.  Last night they were working on consistency – meaning that the Geographic's of the tattoo line up  time after time. 

I wonder if I can do that?

Now if you know me you know that nothing about me lines up every time. I try, I even use a ruler but nope I just have a hard time with this one but I was willing to try again.

Off to my favorite inspiration place: Pinterest.

Ok this one meets all of the marks.  First off the cuts have to be straight.  Then the boxes then the banner and so on.  How did I do?

First off there is no banner – I was working with no measurements and just ran out of room (oops).  I am not sure if I would get voted off the show but I think I nailed it.   But you are right…. I like the banner too. 

Craft Fair In Carrollton

I will be working this craft fair in Carrollton.  I am upstairs in one of the little rooms.  I will have hand made cards, retired items to sell,  a sample album, catalogs to pass out and stamps that you can test out. 

I can not wait to see you there!

Artbooking Made Easy: Trailblazing Travel Albums

New Heights Abound

Baby Steps

Has it really been since Feb 22 that I posted any artwork? 

This month has been a little strange for me.  I was not expecting to make an emergency trip to Florida and between the stress of the trip and coming home to a house full of sick people it has taken me a little time to put my scrappers hat back on.

  Today is the first day that I have even felt like coming back into the scraproom. That is so unlike me!

Since my creative mojo has been off this month I am going to just work on a card design today.  I was having trouble nailing down artwork to start my baby step back into the creative process and found a cute little card on Pinterest.

 

The original artist is Penny Ginnery (SU Demonstrator) Pennyscreativecorner.com

This simple, elegant card design is just what I needed to get my feet wet again.

Here is my version of this little card:

So as usual with a card I admire it has the same bones as the original just a couple of different details. 

Not a bad way to spend my day

Artbooking Made Easy: Fab Frames

)

Studio Savings

Get your Studio J™ layouts for only $5 each during the month of March!

During the month of March, order your Studio J™ layouts—including ones using our new Photo Express Collection—for only $5 each! Quickly create gorgeous, personalized studio layouts using our wide selection of papers, collections, patterns, and embellishments.

And don’t forget to check out the templates in our new Photo Express Collection, which allow you to design layouts entirely comprised of photos in minutes.

***Offer valid March 1–31, 2014. Studio J layouts ship in a protected box that can hold from 4 to 50 two-page layouts. Minimum order of 4 layouts. Free JPEG of every printed layout. For additional information about shipping and handling, please visit StudioJ.com > Products and Pricing > Shipping Options.

**It is recommended that the matting feature not be used with the photo-only templates, the Photo Express Collection, as matting may cause photos to appear misaligned. Close To My Heart does not assume any liability for photos and Photo Express Collection layouts that have been created using the matting option and will give no reprints or refunds in such cases.

I am home

What a week! 

Nothing like getting the life scared out of you.  I went to Florida last week because my Dad  was in the CCU with AFIB and low BP.  My sister called me (alert number one) and then did what she never does…. told me she needed me and my brother. 

Dad was admitted to the same hospital that Bridge works and for her to be scared when she is surrounded by the people she trusts with our Dad was enough to put my butt on a plane.

We went through many options to stop the AFIB from another cardiac cath to a cardiac ablation and everything thing in between. We were also scared that he had another heart attack but that was not the case.  It was decided that Citrus Healthcare was not able to do the procedure that Dad needed so we transferred over to Munroe Regional in Ocala. 

Once at Munroe the medical team decided on a TEE and Cardioversion.  That did the trick – the AFIB stopped.  Now his labs were all jacked up so we spent the remainder of the week trying to get his blood work back to a normal therapeutic level and he was not a happy camper after that!  But a grumpy Dad is a Dad that is getting better.

We did have some funny moments:

Like Bridget getting stuck trying to get into the bathroom to help the nurses as much as possible. 

Then there was the amount of air freshener that we used… long story but I am sure you can use your imagination.   

Dad was released from the hospital on Tuesday and he still has a long road to recovery with a Cardiac Ablation that still needs to be done once they deal with a few more pressing medical issues but he is happy to at least be home.  

I flew home late Monday and have been taking a few days to recuperate myself.  I am just now able to turn my brain back to scrapbooking or even coming into my room.  My brain has been mush. 

Thank you for all of the prayers and understanding when I just up and left.

I am so happy that this Saturday is CROP NIGHT because

I NEED A GIRLS NIGHT!

MARCH: Studio Savings

)

Pure Joy of Washi Tape

)

Project Inspiration: Transform Your Stamps

)

Family Emergency

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am leaving for Florida in the morning for a family emergency.  I am so thankful my mom is at my house this week to help make sure the home front runs smoothly. 

I am not sure if I will have wifi in the hospital so this will be my last post until I get home. 

If you need to reach my I will be checking my email.

Thank you so much