... and one to grow on!

I knew I needed to go out with a bang for my New Places Project, and I think I did.  I went to the Mecca of cat lovers in Nashville – The Cat Shoppe!

There were kitties EVERYWHERE!  And it was AMAZING!  I wanted to take them all home.  If I need a crazy cat lady fix, now I know where to go.

More info on The Cat Shoppe here.

PS: You should adopt a furry friend, if you haven't already and if you're able to take care of it. 
PPS: Also, please visit this site to click every day and help save animals.

Week 52

We'd been to Las Paletas once before, but it can count as two new places, because they got a new location!  I had a pineapple blueberry paleta, and Darrell had a creamy berries paleta.

Then, we walked across the street and goofed off where there's a fun sculpture.

More info on Las Paletas here.

Week 51

The weather hit a nice spell and Darrell and I took off on Percy the Motorcycle and went out to Seven Points nearby.  It was a nice, relaxing jaunt.

More info on Seven Points here.

Week 50

Wendy and I attended a wedding reception/celebration for our friend Marabeth and her husband Ken at the Nashville Bahá’í Faith center.  It was a lovely ceremony and it was wonderful to hear all the kind words of love and support from their family and friends.  I am glad we were able to attend such a beautiful event.

More info on the Nashville Bahá’í Faith center here.

Week 49

Darrell and I ventured out to try one last time to find the Tilgham Cemetery, without avail.  We did, however, have a nice jaunt through the woods, and we explored the park office.

The closest we could find to anything resembling a grave were piles of rocks like this, but the ground was so rocky, they were natural formations, I'm sure.

More information about the Tilgham Cemetery is, well, I frankly don't know.  If you find it, let me know?  :^)  It is on the Google Maps if you search for "Tilgham Cemetery, Hermitage, TN."

Week 48

They built a new Goodwill Store in Antioch, and I'm working on a bookshelf project, so I just had to go exploring today.  I got a handful of clothes off the $0.99 racks, and I found exactly what I was looking for, book-wise.  It was a successful trip.

More information about the Goodwill here.

Week 47

Darrell and I went in search of a local cemetery, Tilgham Cemetery, but we couldn't find it.  Instead, we found a rainbow that followed us around, this really pretty campground, a climbing tower, some pretty raindrops on a dead tree, and an ominous walking path.

All in all, a good adventure.  Maybe one day, we'll find the cemetery.

More info about Couchville Recreation Area here.

Week 46

Since we are working on a 30th anniversary display at work, my supervisor kindly got me into the anniversary timeline exhibit upstairs at the Ryman Auditorium.

I've been to the Ryman many times before, but I'd never been upstairs, and I'd definitely never seen this Hatch Show Print exhibit.  I was pleasantly surprised to find this autographed print from the last Ben Folds show I saw there.

More information about the Ryman here.

Week 45

Father, Christopher, and I went to Scottsboro, Alabama, to the Proctor family reunion.  We had a lot of fun, and we decided on the way home to stop by Hammer's Department Store in South Pittsburg, Tennessee.

Christopher had been there before, but Father and I hadn't.  It was an adventure for sure!  They had every kind of Carharts available.  I got some ladies pants for myself, along with some mens irregulars for Darrell.  (Still not sure what makes them irregular.)  I also got a cool dress for $1.50.

More info about Hammer's and about South Pittsburg here.

Week 44

I'd never been to the new Kohl's they built in Smyrna, and Sarah and I both needed to go shopping for bras, so we went off in search of the spanky, new Kohl's!  It was a moving experience, and we both found a bountiful supply of undergarments.

I probably should not be discussing undergarments on my weblog.  *sigh*

More info about the Kohl's here.  Also, in case you didn't know, tons of ladies out there wear the wrong bra size!  Info about measuring for bra size here.  (You can thank me later.)

Week 43

After helping Sarah move, she, Jeremiah, and I went to a Mexican restaurant in Nashville, The Local Taco.  I had vegetarian burritos that were quite tasty, and I enjoyed relaxing and spending time with friends after finishing with the moving stuff for the day. 

More info about The Local Taco here.

Week 42

For this week, I went to see a sculpture off Bell Road that I had seen only in passing quickly by in the car.  It is at the entrance to Mission Mill Creek Apartments in Antioch, Tennessee. 

It is a kinetic sculpture, and it has various lovely finishes to the metal and lots of light-catching sparkles at the top.  It is surrounded by a bed of roses, and I must have looked quite strange trying to get the perfect picture of it.  :^)

More information about the artist and the sculpture, "The Gift," here.

Week 41

On the way home from Colorado, we went through Kansas, Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky to get back home to Tennessee.  Somewhere in Kansas, we stopped to get a bite to eat, and we discovered this lovely billboard I like to call "Jesus in the Prairie." 

I looked it up, and found some information about the folks that made this billboard happen!  Here's another article, too.  The artist is Phyllis Shanks. 

More information about Kansas and about Jesus here.

Week 40

While we were in Colorado Springs, Darrell took me on a side-road to see a private sculpture garden.  The sculptures are magnificent, kinetic sculptures that soundlessly glide with motion when the wind stirs.  It is mesmerizing, however we couldn't linger, because there is controversy about the sculptures.  People aren't supposed to stop there, and they aren't allowed to give tours.  It is quite a strange and twisted story!

More info about the sculptor, Starr Kempf, here.

Week 39

Darrell and I took a vacation this year to Colorado.  We went through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico to get there.  It was quite an adventure!

We went in the Jeep, and we slept in the Jeep at this Welcome Center in Texas, just west of Alanreed.  It was a gorgeous stop!  In the morning, we woke up refreshed, took in a beautiful view, and got to see a wild roadrunner. 

More info about this rest stop here.

Week 38

Darrell and I ventured out to the new Ethiopian restaurant in Antioch.  It was a wonderful experience!  The food was DELICIOUS, even the beets.  (I usually don't like beets.)  The layout was beautiful, too, with all the different colors of the foods.

Overall, we were definitely pleased.

More info about Goha here.

Week 37

Some folks from work ventured out to the San Antonio Taco Co., and my intern Kelly and I went with them.  Kelly took this picture for me.  Thanks, Kelly!  :^)

They didn't have much I could eat there, but it was tasty.

More info about SatCo here.

Week 36

For this week, I signed up to volunteer with administrative duties at the Hadley Park Community Center.  I take it as a good sign that the work was slow... apparently most people who need FEMA aid have applied for it.  Plus, it was Mother's Day, so I'm sure a lot of folks were just trying to get out and enjoy the day with their families.

I met some fun people, and I got my tetanus shot, in case I do end up finding "field work" that is light enough for me to handle next weekend.

More information about the Hadley Park Community Center and the Nashville floods here.

Week 35

First, I went to the Progress center to drop off some clothes.  Progress is a home for special needs adults, and one of their houses flooded.  Two adult men were living there with a lady companion, and she escorted them to safety in the flood.  (I hear it was quite a feat!)  The companion and the men lost all their clothes to the flood waters, so I rustled up what I could around the house that would fit them and brought a bit to help.



Then, we went to Metro Animal Control to drop off cat food, litter, and some laundry detergent.  I hear they are in need of supplies now more than ever with all the animals displaced and lost in the flooding.

More info about Progress and Metro Animal Control here.

Week 34

Darrell and I'd been hearing good things about a vegetarian Indian restaurant in Nashville, so we went to explore.  I was scared we were eating our dosas wrong, but then discovered we were doing it mostly correctly!  It was quite an adventure, and the food was fabulous.

More about The Woodlands here.