Last Day, again

 Last day, again

Yesterday I got up, had breakfast and off we went to meander through what shops are here.  I was able to be fairly well behaved, though there was this one perfume bottle I am still pondering...........

We dined alfresco at Lil’s and it was delish,  though the corn chowder had bacon in it.  SO, I got all of Jodi’s bacon too! 

 I had artichoke, spinach and mushroom quiche and Jodi had an egg salad sandwich.  I had to laugh as there were Biden or Trump iced Sugar cookies for sale.

  Only one Trump cookie left, which made me wonder do people buy them in support of their man or to just chew him up and spit him out?  We bought cocoanut crime pie for dinner.

We decided to pack it up and went out to Cane Ridge.  

We had been there before but not seen the original building and there is interesting history there in regards to our church, THE church and slavery at least in Kentucky.  The original structure has had a new protective shell built around it and both are amazing to behold.  The Curator was very present and that was nice as we did have questions,  we hung out for a while in the Shelter house attached and I painted and Jodi read, it was a pleasant interlude.

  Until Jodi suggested that we pack it up, i did and boy was I glad as my painting would not have fared well with that rain that began almost as soon as we got in the car.   

We came back, it is about a 30 Minute drive and the rain did not last long  and the sun was shinning thought the clouds.  We dined on the tiny bit of ham, & cheese left, wine (at least me) , a couple of crackers that accompanied our soup at lunch and that PIE!  We really liked this place, but next time, if we ever stay here agin I will request a in person in service on the heating function of the room.

There are Places I remember

 There are some places that I truly believe if God just zapped me there and said to me where are you, I could answer correctly.  Horse country Kentucky is one of those places. 

 We decided to go back to Natural Bridge park, hang out, paint, explore and enjoy.  The trip there took us through about 30 minutes of exquisite pastures complete with horses and lovely fencing.  We agreed that we like the stone fences best, it reminds us of Normandy.   The trip was also beautiful on the mountain highway, though we had to laugh at the loose interpretation of mountain.  

We dined in the car on the last of our maple ham, Swiss and brioche.  We had stopped for ice for Jodi at a BP and i was  generously given 2 packets of Mayo for my sandwich!  I was and am still SO very frustrated with the lack of mask wearing.  I am a sinner too, I guess to some extent we all are.  We all do things that could impact our health and think nothing of it.  However,  I see these bold cocksure folks and know that if they get sick they will come to the hospitals expecting us to fix them for something that was preventable in the beginning.  

I think the issue for me here is that if folks smoke, they are impacting their own health, we the tax payers are often ( Via Medicaid, Medicare, Hospital write offs to bad debt and Insurance Premiums) responsible for assisting in their costs, but overall as a healthcare worker, I am not in danger when I provide car to them.  They can be a train wreck to figure out and treat,  and maybe make me sad at their suffering but not going to impact my health.  This virus puts us all at risk and I think there is a large contingent of people who either are not smart enough to figure it out or just don’t give a damn about anyone but their own selves (rights).   More to come on selfish bastards in a bit.

So the sammies were delish as was the moderately forbidden, to me at least, junk food, Cheetos (baked) are my guilty pleasure.  We rode up the gondolas again, Jodi said it was hard again, but she seemed more lookie- Lou this time.  

It is just amazing how lovely the trees are in all of thier shades of green, ochre and crimson.  

We walked fully across the bridge, inspected a large gazebo area  and walked down some perilous steps, through a narrow crevice that requires a side scoot and down even more perilous steps to get to the underside of the bridge.  

It was also an awesome view though and we lingered, explored and enjoyed a while.  

Folks were hollering back and forth, that crevice is a one person at a time, so people could pass through.  So when we were ready we waited, asked the last person through if it was clear, yes, as climbed the VERY perilous steps

I heard voices so I hollered that there were people on the way through, no change in behavior, so I tried Spanish, then English, and met these MASKLESS (Mostly) people in the middle, I asked them to back up and they wanted to know how many of us there were and I said 3 or 4 and the Salope said well there are 10 of us and I said that may be, but the part you have traversed is much easier than what we just went through and she said “well we can just scoot past each other.”  And I said “seriously, you are not wearing a mask and how am I going to social distance with you?”  She said i was “being ridiculous”. ( I wonder if she has ever seen the ridiculousness of an incredibly ill body in an ICU, it is not pretty and certainly nothing I would aspire to).   I said “fine, but I wish for you to experience if not now, some day the pleasure of going up and down these steps in exactly same way I enjoyed it.” 

 Then one of them hand to throw the clinker of “God bless you”, did she REALLY mean that, I seriously doubt it.  I was pissed and for a while.  They never ascended to cross back over so they must have tracked down the long way back. 

Back up on top, after I got my blood pressure back down below 200/100 we set up our chairs and I painted.  It tickeled me how everyone seems to want to comment about it.   I don’t think I am all that great of a plein air painter, I don’t draw well.  But folks kept commenting.  One lady was commenting, passing behind us, her husband giving me grief because I took a bit of artistic license with the placement of a tree.   When she went the other way I was pretty much done  and she commented again, and asked if I ever sold them.  I said no but ripped it out of my book, signed it and gave it to her.  LOL. Her very own “Caro” painting.

   Then another lady passed back by and asked about my painting and was I done and could she see it, I said well, no because I had given it to a previously lady.  As she walked away I thought, well I do have those pansies from Tuesday on me and I could do them again, maybe better, so I called to her and asked if she would like them.  She seemed pleased too.  SO she too has her very own “Caro:” painting.  Hopefully they both bring joy in some way.  

We drove home, and tried to order a pizza, but those TV ads are right and connection via the old phone is not ubiquitous so we waited until we got here and ordered.  We got the owner this time and he was not thrilled about veering off of the menu, he had to explain to me that he imports his flour and tomatoes to have authentic Italian pizza and that my request was messing this up.  BUT he would do it this time since they had earlier in the week.  I thanked him and we picked up the pizza.  I had to laugh, I bet he has to do a lot of “Educating” about proper Italian Pizza here in the middle of Kentucky.  I had also ordered a Cesar salad, which was nothing spectacular, but the Pizza was pretty delicious again!  I had brought a bottle of Cahors wine with us and it is mighty fine and was mighty fine along with that pizza.

  We watched the debate and I juggled text messages from my boss about productivity and new nurses.  I have to laugh, people tell me I will miss work, hmmm, I don’t think I will miss the calls from Doctors offices wanting to know something I have no access to on vacation, or from my boss wanting to know about productivity (though I must say I have an awesome boss, 10-1 he has forgotten I am on vacation) or the myriad of other interruptions that have happened to us over the years.  I don’t think Jodi or my family will miss it either.  Regardless I did not sleep well, I wonder if it was the contentious night cap I endured?  

Old Friends and the Bridge we did not see.

Yesterday after dining we left for Teri and Sal’s place.  

The entry of foyer of this place is lined with clear leaded glass and the prism effect was in full swing with the sun shining in.  Jodi was lit up like a Christmas Tree! 

 IT was lovely.

The drive was beautiful and fairly easy when compared to the day before.  They live on a long windy one lane road that ends in a gravel road.  It is in the middle of nowhere though I had to laugh as there is plenty of noise from the wild life and the chickens that they have.  We were greated by Griz who is MUCH bigger than I imagined him to be.  

He is an Giant Alaskan malamute, brown and  shades of tan and BIG!  But the saving grace is that for the most part nicely behaved, though more to come on that.

They live in an apartment in a huge building that was/is meant to be a wellness center.  Teri has decorated the apartment with her unique style and I could have arrived blindfolded and known that I was in her place.  After all these years of friendship that is comforting!

We had a look around the farm, lots of garden area to plant, tend and harvest!  

And the chickens.  I don’t know why , but I LOVE chickens.  I am really grateful for my home and love my little nest, but I do wish I could have chickens. 

 Anyway she looked for eggs, there were 2 and she added them to my stash.  I also LOVE fresh eggs!  I wonder at the gift of beauty of in some of the simplest things, they just bring me joy.  And one of her girls lays PINK eggs, they are a lovely soft pink.  Teri send me a photo of her eggs a couple of weeks ago and it made me wonder if our Easter Egg tradition came from trying to mimic God’s beauty in the color of eggs.  We are so used to white store bought eggs here that brown, pink even some for the greens and blues are foreign to us.  And aren’t eggs like people, we are so much richer for the diversity they bring but still a yolk and white inside, though sometimes that yolk is richer too.  

Anyway I got a lovely photo of Turnip  in her Turnip patch as we wandered around.  

As Teri - Turney was preparing lunch i remembered that she had let the chickens out to wander and i went to look for them,

Griz was tied up to the porch drowsing in the shade and the chickens were in the front of the house pecking and clucking around with an occasional doodle from the General ( rooster). 

 I went in side and told Teri that I had been worried about them, but they were good and that Griz was being SO good and, she said ( a bit alarmed) he is just waiting to pounce, move them away! So, back out I went and as I approached Griz attacked, fortunately no feathers (nor birds) seemed to have been lost but he sure had me fooled!

We enjoyed a  lovely lunch and then went to Natural Bridge and took a gondola up to the bridge.  I had to laugh as back in the day Sal would have made us walk up, but we got to take the easy way up.  Jodi was a trooper as she is not so much in love with the height thing. 

 It was lovely though all the trees are beginning to blush and it was a nice warm day.  SO pleasant.  We took chairs and Water color kits and had a lovely time trying to capture what we saw. 

 Teri is much more the natural artist than i though! The trip home was easy, but there is just no food to be had unless you want to shop and dine on gas tation fare.  I had purchased some HoneyCrips apples and BARE baked crunch cocoanut chips and that was dinner!  

Breakfast this morning was not photo worthy (yesterdays photo taken with the I-Pad was blurry), but it was a Zuchinni muffin and coffee. 

Paris (drumroll) Kentucky

 How does one get their hearts delight in the time of COVID?  Well, go to Kentucky.

We had reservations to do a revisit to Tybee Island, but the Covid rate in Georgia and Chatham County, specifically, is (was) ugly.  After much discussion we decided to do a staycation and maybe do day trips or overnighters.  But Jodi was ready for a stay away.  I threw out St Louis (no, their rate is not good),  Michigan (noooo), How about Paris?  

She: “What, we cant go there.”

Me: “Sure we can.”

She:  Questioning look

ME (smugly) “Sure we can, Paris Kentucky!  We could visit Turnip.”

So then it was agreed and the hard part began, because we left it for the last minute.  Nothing interesting near my bestie was open, so I turned to Paris in earnest.  We visited Lexington a few years ago and  had traveled through to Cane Ridge KY to see where the Disciples of Christ began, as least in the US.  There were a few options in Lexington, but my intent was to steal clear of density, so Paris it was!

I choose a B&B called Art on High.  

It is 2 rooms ( again density) on the upper level of a old house, with a art studio on the main level.  It was an interesting arrival, and our stay has certainly been more VRBOish than B&Bish, but it is good.  We have (I think during the first part of our stay we are the only ones here)  pretty much the run of the place.  As usual Jodi sleeps in and I figure out breakfast, no croissants here though, but so far again it is good.  Yesterdays  AM was a white chocolate-raspberry scone ( yoghurt and berries optional)  and Today was a egg in a muffin cup type thing with a bit of ham, and red and green peppers accompanied with potatoes, OJ and coffee.  

Yesterday when we got going we agreed to go to the closest park, forrest..... So we went to Daniel Boone National Forrest and dined on Ham and Swiss on Brioche and munched on junk food.  

IT was lovely, overcast as we began our sojourn but it cleared up and the sun was dazzling on the water.

 I started a Christmas present in watercolor and then moved to a Pansy Watercolor for my moms neighbor.  I got it done, not happy with one of the pansies, but it is done, though not signed.  Needless to say I expect her to frame it and place it in a location of prominence!  We read, chatted, loitered and then left about 6PM, as I HATE eating late and then going to bed early, which is what we ended up doing anyway.  Grr.  

BUT we dined on the best pizza I think I have has since our last night in Milano.  There is a little place here on the main drag called Noah's Brick house Pizza.  I was not sure the would let us do half and half, but they did and it was delish!   We watched some TV and went to bed.