Wordless Wednesday

A Quick Trip to Memphis--Day 2

Today was so suffocatingly hot that we could barely go outside. The humidity was like 90%, and it was about 97 degrees. Plus, we had thunderstorms. Steamy.

But after the storms cleared, I took Kendall and Jax outside to grab a few pictures of them. Just some casual, summer stuff. I processed some of them using Flora Bella's Spring actions.

I also snapped a few photos of the neighbor's spectacular backyard--including my favorite Stargazer Lilies.

I had to head back home right after an early dinner, and right around Jackson, TN, I caught this spectacular sunset--which I shot while holding my camera over my shoulder, driving down the interstate, not even looking to see where it was aimed.

A Quick Trip to Memphis

I don't get to see my niece and nephew very often, as they live in Florida. So when I learned they would be flying up to Memphis to visit my parents for a few days, I decided to make the drive over and see them.

I planned to arrive shortly after their flight was scheduled to land, so I drove over in the late afternoon. And managed to get caught in a nasty storm for over an hour. But once I got past Jackson, TN, the storm abated, and I arrived in Germantown shortly after 7 PM. Since the my parents were still at the airport picking up the kids, I went to my younger brother's house, and we went out to eat at the Half Shell. It was great to spend some time one-on-one with him. I haven't done that in years!

Just as we were finishing up our meal, my mom called to let us know they were home, so we headed over there. They were eating pizza--which my parents had to pick all the toppings off of first. Everyone knows that little kids don't eat peppers and onions and mushrooms on pizza, right? Well, Kendall's not so little anymore, but she still wants her pizza plain.

We all sat around catching up for a while, and I managed to grab a few shots of my parents' cats--Lucky and Leo--before heading to bed.

Woofey's New Chair

Oh wait--that's Kelly's new chair! But Woofey thinks it's his. It matches his eyes...

Wordless Wednesday

Ewwww!

I went out to get the mail today, and found this: A dead bat stuck in the hinge of the mailbox. I have no idea how this happened, but it's seriously gross and creeped me out. I left it there for Kelly to deal with!

Yummy

I made blueberry muffins for breakfast today. Yum!

Somebody wasn't thinking...

I had to drive up to Ashland City yesterday. It's the county seat, and it's 45 minutes away. All back country roads. I don't like going up there, but I had to go pay for Kelly's court-ordered traffic school.

Ashland City is 45 minutes outside of Nashville, and is a very blue-collar town with a population of about 4,000 people. It's on the Cumberland River, and there are a number of small factories and industrial-type companies located there. Home prices range from $100k to $350k. And that $350k will get you a big ol' house with some land.

Which is why, for the life of me, I can't figure out why someone thought it was a good idea to build these luxury condominiums there! They are priced between $450,000 and $1.2 million. The boat slips in the marina are sold separately. Is it any wonder they are nearly empty, development/construction companies associated with the project are filing bankruptcy, and the marina has about a dozen boats in it's 161 boat slips?

In my opinion, these buildings stick out of the rural/industrial landscape around them like a neon sign flashing "Stupid Tax."

Summer Means Sonic

It was a great day when our little town opened a Sonic Drive In a few years ago. I love stopping by there in the summer for milkshakes or root beer.

Summer Storms

Around 10 o'clock this morning, it got as dark as it is at 9 PM. A severe storm rolled through, lasting about 45 minutes. We had another one just like it at around 3PM, and another around 6PM. All with bright sunshine immediately after. It was bizarre!

I took these shots out my bathroom window.

Wordless Wednesday

The Batman Building

Just a grab shot of the Bell South Building (aka the Batman Building) downtown...

What a Lovely Surprise!

One of the dear girls from the Two Peas in a Bucket Photography forum sent me some great Happy Mail all the way from Hawaii! Elizabeth has an ETSY shop where she sells designer camera strap covers. She sent me this beautiful strap cover as a gift! I just love having so many friends all over the world and being able to stay connected through Facebook and internet forums and message boards!

A Little Western Flair from Thursday...

Here are a few more from last Thursday. Love the attitude I'm getting in some of these. Of course, she threatened to steal my boots and take them back to Hawaii with her.

A few more from downtown...

Just a few more from downtown. These were taken at Legislative Plaza.

Our Downtown Session

So after the field in Kingston Springs, we headed to downtown Nashville. I should have been paying attention to local news, and I would have known they were getting ready for CMA-fest, previously known as Fan Fair. So some of the place we wanted to shoot were either inaccessible because of flood damage, or because of CMA-fest. The Symphony Hall was still barricaded while they tried to dry out all the water damage from a month ago. The Country Music Hall of Fame had a bunch of white tents in front of it for Fan Fair. And there was heavy machinery on the Pedestrian Bridge. We worked around all that as best we could. That and the harsh sun which was still blasting down on us.

How freakin' awesome are these shoes?

Wordless Wednesday

Saying goodbye for more than 6 months sucks!

So the kid left today. She's driving back to Memphis, where she will spend the night and catch a plane tomorrow for Honolulu. She was only here for 8 days--not nearly long enough! It's been six months since her last visit home (Christmas) and we won't see her again until December when we fly out to Hawaii for her college graduation.

Of course, I had to take just a few more photos of her before she drove off...