Leftovers

Here are some leftovers from previous photo outings.



The Steam Plant at the Clover Bottom Development Center.

Apparently I am drawn to rust and peeling pain. Especially in the form of windows and poles. This window is on 9th behind Christ Church Cathedral.

Another window. The next two are located at Clover Bottom

This is my favorite rusty, peeling window.

Yep. You guessed it. Clover Bottom again.

Back to Christ Church Cathedral on 9th and Broad. The next two poles are behind the church.

This pole is located across the street from LifeWay. The colors of the rust are amazing.

A closer view from another side.

This is a small, square door to a crawl space at the old Dodson Elementary School.

Looking straight up a column on the Baptist Sunday School Board building.

Part of the statue between the Parthenon and the lake at Centennial Park.

A park bench near the Hermitage library branch.

(Here is the original color. Blech! Don't you think they should be painted charcoal or black?)

I hope you liked the photos. I know I've always enjoyed leftovers.

Random Thoughts From My Day

• Josh Groban takes me to a happy, calm place.
• Note to self: Don't touch your mouth after touching a tomato plant - your lips will tingle, and not in a good way.
• My car smells like 190 mini, chocolate cupcakes.
• I love being financially organized. There is such peace to be enjoyed.
• I need to drink more water today.
• I'm having a good hair day. If only I could get it to translate into a picture. Unfortunately good hair days and good picture days do not co-exist.
• I'm loving the weather.
• A corn maze and a bonfire cookout sure sound fun right now.
• How many beaded icicles do I need to make this year?
• Wait. Does anyone even want any icicles this year?
• I need to get to work on the bookmarks that have been ordered.
• I love my friends.
• I despise filing.
• I miss my dear, sweet friend Andy.
• I wonder what tomorrow holds. Next week? Next month?
• I smelled Christmas this morning. It was a mixture of scents that transported me to a particular time at home with my family.
• I wish I could spend more time with Bug, Topher, Jake, and the Mattman.
• Have I searched every inch of my heart to make sure nothing is festering? I mean a conscious effort to seek out anything that needs to be let go.
• Where is my lip gloss?
• Oh yeah! Tailgate partay at the BrickHouse (w/the youth group) tonight! GO TITANS!
• There is joy in discipline.

Well, you get the picture. Obviously these haven't been my only thoughts, just a random sampling. So what has passed through your mind today?

A New Post for Posting's Sake

I've been nudged by a few peeps to provide a new post. Unfortunately all I have to offer is the promise of a new post soon. Who knows what it may be about or when it will hit... maybe as soon as this afternoon.



I have a few things (ok, a bunch of things) in operation but will add a post soon. I promise. Until then enjoy this fun shot of my day at the mall with three wonderful, fantastic, brilliant, fun, encouraging, beautiful 15 year olds - MM, MW, & AB.




Trying on rings at Forever XXI. Such fun. Can you guess which hand is mine? Hint: it's the old one. HA!

I See The Moon

Last night there was an exquisite, full moon. The photograph doesn't do it justice by any stretch. I wish I had the proper equipment (and know-how) to have been able to capture the beauty God placed in the sky last night.

For those that missed it, let me describe the view from middle Tennessee. Our sky was filled to capacity with clouds. But these weren't mountainous, corpulent clouds. Instead, the sky looked as if it had been covered in a thick, luxuriant down comforter. The clouds stretched over the entire sky and moved at a significant pace. There were a few rips in the fabric from time to time but the blanket remained intact for the most part. Despite the prominent cloud cover the moon was so brilliant it shone through clearly.

By now you are wondering why I spent so much time looking at the moon. Well, I've been watching the moon for the last 4 nights waiting for it to be full. You see full moons are special. And I don't mean special in the way my friend Cara would convey. (Cara is an ER nurse and full moons mean something altogether different to her.)

Each month, during the full or new moon my daddy and I call each other and look at the moon together. And since Daddy works nights we are able to do this rather easily. I don't remember how this little tradition got started but we have been doing it for years. When there is a full moon and the phone rings late in the evening we know who will be on the other end.

I know what most of you ladies are thinking. "Ahhhhh. That is so sweet." (I say ladies because I seriously don't think there are any guys, to which I am not related, reading this blog.) And you ladies would be spot on. It is sweet. This is a sweet, sometimes funny, always enjoyable occasion with my daddy. In fact, we've spoken on the phone for the last 4 nights in anticipation of our prize.

Somewhere along the way this little ceremony was no longer reserved for full moons. Now any time the moon is particularly nice or interesting we call each other. I remember once when the entire moon was visible but only 1/4 of it was actually bright and shining. I called Daddy and said, "Daddy you should see the moon. It looks like it has a French manicure." His response was, "What? I don't know that is!" HA! Do you guys remember the post about my Marine Corps Daddy? Why in the world did I think he would know what I was talking about.

So, last night I called Daddy at 11:04 to look at the moon. His shift ends at midnight so I had plenty of time to catch him before I went to bed. There was just one, itty-bitty problem. Daddy wasn't at work. He was in bed. I had gotten so wrapped up in watching our treasure that I forgot it was Daddy's night off. When he answered the phone I heard a small commotion. He had knocked all the pictures over on the side table trying to answer the phone. I felt dreadful. However, Daddy didn't mind at all. He was happy to talk to me about our moon.

The moon will be beautiful again tonight if the storm clouds allow. I want to encourage you to go out and enjoy a glimpse of God's creativity, and maybe start some traditions of your own.

Worth a Look

Hi friends. I wanted to take a moment to direct your attention to a friend's blog. Recently Christa went to India on a mission trip and she has posted her journal online.

There are 11 entries but don't be scared because they are very quick reads with fabulous pictures. You can find a link to "Oh My Soul" on my list of "friendlies" to the right.

Enjoy! I know I sure did.

Fun Times & Family Photos

Last Saturday I spent the day with sweet friends. We started the day by taking casual, family photos then we went to lunch, rode bikes, and washed cars. Good times! Here is a small sampling of the pictures.


Miss Grace at the Opryland Hotel.

Katrina

On the walk between Opry Mills and the hotel.

I love this candid shot of Jim & Kellie laughing.

And this one is just sweet.

On the greenway in Two Rivers Park.


Clover Bottom Development Center

The Steam Plant at Clover Bottom.

Thank you, my friends, for a lovely day.

You Asked For It

You guys should have NEVER encouraged me. It your own fault. Ahhh. The Frist Center. There's nothing fab about this photo except that it is of one of my favorite Nashville locations.

For the non-Nashvillian readers, Nashville's main post office was built in 1933 & 1934 with a classicism style exterior and an Art Deco style interior. The post office moved to a modern facility in 1986 leaving a small branch open on one floor in the three story structure.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts opened as an art museum in 2001. There is still a post office branch on the bottom floor, accessible from the outside. The Frist Center's logo comes from an Art Deco pattern inside. A notched edge was added to make the design resemble a stamp, paying homage to the building's origin. To see the logo and learn more about this wonderful place visit here. The building alone is worth visiting but then there's the art... such a happy place.

A column at the front entrance.

A corner of the ceiling of the front entry.

The Lobby

When the building was being refurbished into an art museum there was a lot of cleaning needed. When workers were cleaning the ceiling they found stars. The stars had been hidden from years of coal smoke from the old furnace.

The original lobby tables from the post office are still in place. The beautiful granite tables are accented with decorative metalwork. This is a view from the underside of the table.

This is a side view of one of the table legs. I really like the detailing coupled with the flag in the background.

More ceiling stars in sepia tones. The original colors are navy or black and white.
Standing under the stairs in the stairwell. I really like this shot.

An outside window of the Frist.

This star is on the base of the flag pole at the Frist Center.

The decorative bars on the post office windows on the lower level. You can see Union Station in the reflection.

One of the patio areas at the back entrance of the Frist. This is just outside of the cafe.

This is the covered patio. I've enjoyed several meals at these tables.

A magnolia at the back of the Frist.

This was taken near the covered patio area at the Frist Center. The marble ledge gives a beautiful reflection of Union Station.

Union Station

The back porch of Union Station.

A close shot on the back porch.

The back staircase leading from the porch to the old train yard and current parking lot.

A corner view from Broadway. Notice the archways on the bottom level - they are below street level.

The stained glass windows are exquisite.

More than the stained glass I enjoy the iron scrollwork all around Union Station. I couldn't decide which of the next two photos I liked best so I decided to post both.

The lower level archways. You can see the bridgeway in the background that leads from valet parking to the entrance.

Finally, the Batman Building. Okay, it's really the AT&T building (formerly BellSouth) but we all know it by its obvious knickname.

This shot is from Union Station. It's funny how short the building looks from this angle. It sure doesn't look like the tallest building in TN.