Adventuring with Karen
Living in Each Moment and taking photos of it all
Nosy Rosy
Yesterday my grandparents were on my mind. My Grandma has been gone two years and my Grandpa almost two. They lived out in Amish country in Michigan and we would try to visit and stay with them out on their farm. My Grandpa was an extrovert. He would talk your ear off if you let him and he and my Grandma knew everyone in their little town. One of the things we thought was so funny was that each morning they would open their blinds and sit together at their little dining room table and watch up the road. As soon as a car or wagon came into view the excitement began. They had all of the questions. Who was that? What kind of car? Where are they going? If they knew the person they could tell us a bit about them. We always thought that was so funny but also endearing.
Yesterday when I opened my blinds I thought “Ooh! Who could be out there?” I wondered what people were doing and who I would see. We often don’t open our front blinds because it causes a glare on the photos and television but since we have been avoiding people I just want to see what is happening in the world. If I know the person going past I can tell you a little bit about them. If I don’t I have all of the questions.
Do you know your neighbors and the people who come and go on your street? Since you have been cooped up during this pandemic are you more interested in what your neighbors are doing? Is your neighborhood like Italy and singing from the porches or are you hiding away in your house? As for me, I am opening my blinds to see what’s happening and also sitting on the porch in anticipation of the conversations I could possibly have with total strangers.
Cook the Books Fridays
For years I baked through Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I went to the International Food Blogger Conference in Seattle to meet her, her sweet husband, and the Doristas (the lovely group I had been baking with for years). We baked through Around My French Table and continued with My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz. The most recent book that we are baking through is Everyday Dorie. I started out strong, lost focus and moved blog platforms over here to Adventuring with Karen. You can see my previous baking adventures over at www.ourcrazyblessedlife.blogspot.com. All that to say I have 3 recipes to share with you today!
The most recent recipe everyone cooked was Ginger Fried Rice. To see how the recipe went for the rest of the group you can click here.
The most difficult part of this recipe was finding the ingredients. I made a special trip over to Publix to find Gochujang and Ponzu, which my daughter immediately dubbed Gucchi gang and Pikachu. We love rice in our house and fried rice is no exception. I have made fried rice before but it has always been a poor attempt until now. Dorie’s recipes are magic. I didn’t add any protein because we were having pork chops and this was a perfect side. Actually, my family liked the rice far more than the pork chops. I think the next time I will add eggs but other than that I didn’t feel like I needed to tweak anything to make my family happy. This is perfect for a cozy evening or pandemic at home. You can find this on page 239 of Everyday Dorie
Next up is Sheet Pan Chicken. If you are a fan of sheet pan recipes this one if for you. Another lovely easy recipe that you can throw together quickly and throw in the oven. You can check out the recipe on Dorie’s blog. You can also click here to see how the other cooks enjoyed this recipe.
I used chicken thighs for this recipe, made sure to use the fresh herbs, and picked up actual mushrooms. I do not like mushrooms at all but my hubs does and he especially liked them in this recipe.
Last but not least the recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies was chosen way back in September but I didn’t make them until January. My son had a science fair and we were required to bring a treat for the snack table. These were the perfect choice and I came home with an empty platter. I did save a few for my family and they were so happy about that. Dorie said they would spread so you could freeze the dough to bake later. I did chill the dough but didn’t freeze it and I think these cookies turned out perfectly! If you want to make these they are on page 246 of Everyday Dorie.
While you are self distancing or if you are under quarantine these are all incredible recipes to try out. Based on the empty shelves at the store at the moment, everyone should have the staples to make some fun dishes. Stay Safe, wash your hands, and I’ll see you on the other side of self distancing.
B & K DIY..and We Still Like Each Other
This weekend my kiddos were out of town on a church retreat. You might think my husband I would live it up and party. If your definition of party is fix the shower and install a new vanity you are correct! We did party!
In my last post I talked about the struggle bus we were on when it came to replacing the cartridge in our downstairs shower. Well, the part came in the mail so we made another attempt to fix the leaky situation. Everything went exactly as it was supposed to until I was done and the water continued pouring out of the faucet. I got my flashlight and discovered a tiny piece of rubber blocking the cartridge from being able to sit correctly. Our brilliant idea was to pull everything out, turn the water back on full blast and see if we could get the piece out. IT WORKED!! Not only did that piece come out a second piece flew out as well. Aside from flooding the bathroom due to the shower curtain being out of the tub we were quite pleased. Once it was out everything clicked smoothly into place.
Our next DIY project for the weekend was to install a new vanity. We have had a pedestal sink the entire time we have lived here and it has never been terribly steady. The hot water tap has been leaking for awhile so we MacGuyvered it to make sure the water stayed at the sink. I took it apart a couple of months ago and could not get the tap out. Even the Facebook hive mind generated suggestions didn’t work. Our plumber told us it would be cheaper to install an entire new vanity than to replace the cartridges on a sink that is at least 30 years old.
We removed the pedestal sink, scraped off the old paint and wallpaper, filled the holes and sanded everything down. We also primed the area and took measurements. I have to say, my hubs did an incredible job measuring and cutting everything. I am a hands on person who sometimes might skip the directions just to get my hands dirty. He wants to do a project once and he wants to do it right. In this case I was completely on his side. We did need to make another trip to the hardware store so we decided to get lunch while the primer dried. Patrons at the restaurant we went to were robbed later in the evening by a guy who grabbed purses and ran out the door. I’m glad we went for lunch.
Later in the evening we placed the vanity, hooked up the faucet and all of the pipes…and it leaked. After another trip to the hardware store, bruised knees and sore backs my hubs was able to overcome the leak! So far, so good. When our kids got home they were very surprised! My son is not a huge fan because all four of us can’t stand around it and spit toothpaste at the same time…not that we did that anyway. That would be weird.
You might think that is the end of our plumbing drama but alas, it is not. The other day I paid off the powervent that was installed on our HVAC. The same day we discovered a leak to the basement from the upstairs bathroom. There is a giant crack in the cast iron pipe that leads from the upstairs bath to the sewer line. We are not even going to attempt a DIY project. While we worked well as a team on our projects this weekend, replacing the cast iron is being left to the pros.
Have you replaced plumbing or done major projects on your home? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
Calgon, Take Me Away
Do you remember those old commercials? I pretty much thought when I was a grown up I would get to take baths and all my troubles would melt away. Alas, as an adult I am actually fixing the tub so I can use it at some point.
My sister and her husband recently sold their house and bought a fifth wheel to live in so that they can hit the road and start traveling in a couple of years.They are both quite handy so it didn’t surprise me when she posted on Facebook about all of these things she had fixed on her home after a massive water leak. I was feeling inspired! Yes, little sister, you inspired me to try to fix my leaky bathtub faucet.
I watched a few YouTube videos and was convinced I could take care of the pesky leak myself. So, I stopped at the big orange home improvement store and looked at all of the cartridges for the shower. I chose a Danko that said it was compatible with the Moen 1225 cartridge.
Still feeling like Superwoman I headed into the abyss under our house to turn off the water, came back upstairs and was able to remove the old cartridge without any trouble.
I then placed the new cartridge. It took me far longer than it should have to get it in place. When I finally got it put back together and the water turned back on…..it leaked worse than when I started…plus I hadn’t lined everything up correctly so the hot and cold were in the wrong places.
Back to the spider filled darkness to turn the water back off where I smacked my head on the very short door, and back to the bathroom to remove the cartridge…which I managed to break and could not remove. Are you a person that does crossfit? I am imagining something like pulling a tractor or doing those big rope things or maybe flipping tires. What I attempted in that bathroom to get that cartridge out counts as a crossfit workout. And I couldn’t remove it. Neither could my husband. We called in a local guy who had an actual cartridge remover and it took him about 15 minutes to get it out.
At this point I had gone to another local home improvement store and purchased another of the same exact cartridge which I then managed to place correctly. Unfortunately, it is still leaking but not quite as much. So, I called our regular company to come take a look at that and our upstairs sink to see if he could fix it. I paid him seventy bucks for him to tell me to call Moen and see if I could get a part from them. He said it is still leaking because the knockoff isn’t quite right. As far as our sink goes he suggested getting rid of our pedestal sink and putting in a vanity because the price of fixing the at least 25 year old stems would not be worth it.
Aye, yai, yai…I have called Moen for the part and it is being shipped, we are going to look at vanities soon, and I have learned my lesson. I don’t need to be Superwoman when there are talented, trained people out there who can fix the things that need to be fixed. But, I am still proud of my Superwoman sister and myself for trying.
National Pizza Day
Today is National Pizza Day! We have been training for this our whole lives! Or maybe not training but eating pizza on the reg.
In honor of this special day we tried out Longhollow Pizza and Pub in Goodlettsville. I’m not sure what we were expecting but it was much bigger than we anticipated and much brighter. For some reason I figured it would be dark and greasy.
It was a little busy but our server got our drinks pretty quickly and left us to mull over the menu. There are many items on the menu that looked enticing but we decided to stick with pizza since that was the whole reason we were there. Next time we may check out sandwiches, wings, or calzone type sandwiches.
We started with a spinach bomb. It came out and actually looked kind of terrible. It was like a weird colored hockey puck However, we cut into it and the spinach, cheesy goodness exploded out and it was quite tasty. Next up was our pizzas. I do not like red sauce because it kills my stomach so my daughter and I got “Pretty Fly for a White Pie”. Chicken, white sauce, tomatoes, garlic, and a delicious crust. My hubs and son ordered a cheese pizza with several toppings. Both pizzas had plenty of toppings and tasted great. We finished our meal with a funnel cake. I have to say, that was not the highlight of the meal. It was a bit too dense for our liking. I guess we will have to try the cannoli next time.
I hope you got the chance to eat pizza today but if not I am sure you can make it up sometime this week.
615 Waffles
One of my very favorite waffles in America was at a hotel in Texas. It was shaped like….you guessed it! Texas! I like waffles but my husband LOVES waffles. I heard the other day the the popular food truck 615_Waffles was opening a brick and mortar store tonight. My husband and son had been to the food truck before so we thought it would be worth a trip to the shop. As luck would have it we were the very first customers for their opening night!
We got to East Nashville about 3:30 so we had a little time to wander around and see what shops had opened and closed since the last time we were out there. We found a little tea and coffee shop called International Tea and Coffee Company. All of the tea is loose in jars, you choose what you want, take it to the counter, and they weigh it out for you. My daughter chose a tea and got an ounce to bring home.
The first thing you will notice when you walk in the door is the glorious scent of fresh baked waffles. You can choose from a regular liege waffle, churro waffle, bubble waffle, or vegan/gluten free waffles. You can choose your ice cream (supplied by the Pied Piper Creamery) and then choose your toppings. Or you can choose from their suggested menu. My husband and I both chose the Waffle Boss but I asked for no extra peanuts and substituted M n M’s instead. My son chose S’mores, and my daughter chose The Birds and the Bees (this is lavender and honey ice cream with fresh berries). When asked what the Birds and Bees meant my son said….uh birds and bees? It might be time for a little conversation.
While we were devouring our delicious ice cream topped waffles we had the opportunity to talk to Aisha, the owner of 615 Waffles and her business partner from FlyBoys (another popular food truck). They make everything in house and are hoping to try and get a vegan oreo icecream in the near future.
If you get a chance to get over to East Nashville 615 Waffles is located at 1100 Fatherland St St 102. You won’t be sorry. Plus they have a super cute Instagram worthy spot with waffle print pillows!
Homeschooling: Why We Chose this Adventure
My son has been in public school since PreK. He has done a great job in school even though he has had to work twice as hard as other kids because he has some learning challenges. He is sweet, kind, generous, and his teachers have all told us that they love him. He also has a rare disorder called Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum. It’s a mouthful and he knows all about it. He even did a powerpoint with one of his teachers in seventh grade to share with his peers. If you didn’t know that he had a rare condition you might think he is on the autism spectrum but he is not. He does get very excited about certain things, he tends to get along really well with younger kids, and has a speech delay. I have been asked before what kind of accent he has. Over the years he has had fantastic teachers. You may be asking yourself why we chose to homeschool this year since it sounds like he has had such a great experience up to this point. Well, I will tell you.
Over the last several years I have been a substitute teacher at the elementary and middle school levels. I have gotten to bear witness to how schools have changed since I was in high school. There are wonderful teachers in our districts and there are many, many wonderful kids in our district but it only takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch. Unfortunately for our teachers this means they spend so much time having to discipline “that one kid” that the 26-30 other kids in the class miss out on instruction time. I have a child with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). He needs the extra help. Since out district is pretty much one hundred percent inclusion that means that the kids that have IEP’s for emotional disturbance and other diagnosis for harmful behaviors are included in all classes. In the last few years In School Suspension was taken away so even if a kid is sent to the office for “restorative discipline” they are back in class ten minutes later with a sucker and pat on the head. I have seen a kid body slam another kid, go to the office, and come back in ten minutes. The victim then has to continue sharing space with the attacker.
When the time came to start thinking about where my son would go to school I started subbing at the high school level so I could see things from the inside. You can go to all of the open houses you want but you don’t really see the school from the inside. I went to our zoned school for two days. Kids were vaping in the halls, I walked through a group of kids making plans to beat someone up later, and saw a kid screaming in a teacher’s face. I went to an artsy magnet school, when I told the office who I was subbing for they laughed in my face and gave me directions to the Dean’s office. I went to an early college high school which was pretty good but you have to meet certain test requirements. I went to a school that had internships that I thought would be amazing but they wouldn’t let the freshmen in the hallway with the sophomores because there were too many fights in the halls. Honestly, if my son was going to be in honors classes I probably would have let him go to our zoned school. The classes are smaller and there are fewer behavior problems. But, he has an IEP so he is in inclusion classes with the general population which means he misses out on actual learning time. I should point out that my daughter goes to public school but it is a magnet school with test requirements so it is hard but she is thriving there.
When homeschooling started to become more of an option I was terrified. I want the very best for my kids like every other parent. For him, this is the best option at the moment. He gets the extra time and attention he needs to up his skills. He gets to spend time with other kids at tutorial.
For our homeschooling we have an Umbrella School that takes care of maintaining his transcript and he goes to tutorial for Science, Spanish, and Band. At home we do History, English, PE, Bible, and Algebra 1. First semester went pretty well. All A’s and B’s. We are changing a few things up for second semester and I hope they are helpful for him. I realize everyone does not have the option to homeschool and I am thankful that we get to be on this path!
Dog Fights and Good Neighbors
We live in a neighborhood that is often referred to as Mayberry. We have lived in this neighborhood for quite some time and have pretty great neighbors. I can jump on the group page and ask if someone has a roasting pan and someone will come through. We have had the same neighbors to the left of us the entire time we have lived here. These neighbors have always been good and kind to us. They also love animals. They rescue dogs and make sure the dogs are well loved. Often our dog will run up and down the fence line with one of their dogs. Most of the time it seems like they like each other and are playing.
Yesterday their newest dog had Houdini’d himself into our back yard. My neighbor was actually already out shoring up the spot but I didn’t know their dog was in our yard when I let our dog out. I came out to horrible barking and crying and broke the dogs up. On first inspection everything seemed fine so I took our girl in the house to settle down. That is when I discovered she was bleeding…at four on a Sunday… Since we have never had to take our animals to the emergency vet clinic I wasn’t sure where to go. I went and found my neighbor and let him know that our pup was bleeding and asked if he had suggestions about where I should take her. My neighbors did the same google search I did and then handed me their debit card. I just about cried. Like I said we have been neighbors for a long time. They were as worried for our dog as we were.
My daughter and I loaded our old lady into the car and took off for the emergency clinic. Quite a few cars filled the lot when we got there so I figured we were in for a bit of a wait. We arrived at five and left and 1:15. Everyone in the waiting room was quite friendly and wanted to talk about what was going on with their pets. Several others dogs were brought in with more emergent cases than ours. Apparently open wounds are priority two. The vet had to sedate our dog so she could find all of the wounds because being fluffy makes finding wounds more difficult. Before the sedation she asked if we wanted them to do CPR if our dog’s heart stopped. uh…. My daughter and I have been watching a lot of Grey’s Anatomy so she realized I was basically being asked about a DNR. The vet was very good at giving us information on how expensive it was to do CPR but also that it only works in 3-5% of dogs and if they are as old as our dog they do not go home well. So I said no. My daughter held it together until the vet left the room and then let her tears take over.
My daughter was reassured when we could hear our dog in the back being a very unwilling participant in her care. We did recommend a muzzle because she is 75 pounds and has puncture wounds. After they finally got her sedated we were able to watch an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and an episode of Boy meets World before they came back to tell us they were trying to wake her up.
Our pup finally woke up enough that the vet was able to get her in the car but she was still groggy. We were able to get her out of the car when we got home but her back legs seemed to not be working so when we got to our front steps she just sat down and wouldn’t go any further. After pushing, pulling, getting treats, and cajoling I had to get my poor hubs out of the bed to help. He has been feeling terrible the last few days so I felt awful about getting him up but my daughter and I could not get her in the house. If it was summer I would be tempted to leave her out in the backyard. But it is not so we had to get her in. My hubs managed to make a sling out of our heavy duty picnic blanket and carry her into the house all the way to her bed. It took a good 30 minutes to actually get her in the house.
Now we are dealing with medicine. This is the dog that over the years has accumulated an impressive history of things she has stolen and eaten. She loves peanut butter (xylitol free of course) so I put her medicine on a spoon with peanut butter but she will not touch it. She is still very groggy but my hubs said that when he came down this morning she got up and went to the door to go do her business. So she can get up it just might be later today before I can get meds into her.
Back to neighbors. If you don’t know your neighbors go meet them today. Plan an event, go to coffee, take treats. This could have gone a very different way yesterday and I am thankful we have wonderful neighbors and that know us and love our animals and kids as much as we do.
I Heart Books
Each year I have been challenging myself to read more books. A few years ago it was 50. Last year it was 100. I beat last year’s goal by 3 books! I read a combination of the PopSugar list, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine book club, and the books for my neighborhood library book club. This year I will likely do the same but have added the free reading list from Modern Mrs. Darcy. I think often of writing my own book but with so many on the market to read I get overwhelmed wondering if anyone would take a second glance at a book by me. I know, stop with the excuses already! What is on your list to read this year? I would love to hear your recommendations! Without further ado, here is my list from 2019. May you find some inspiration for your reading goals.
January
- Faith, Hope, Light: Art of the Stained Glass Window Running Press
- Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (And Other Lies) by Scarlett Curtis
- Crazy, Rich, Asians by Kevin Kwan *
- Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as a Spiritual Practice by Belden C. Lane
- Braving the Wilderness by Brene Brown *
- Bone Black by bell hooks
- A Long Walk to Water: based on a true story by Linda Sue Park
- The Book of the KellsAn Illustrated Introduction to the Manuscript in Trinity College, Dublin by Bernard Meehan
- City of the Lost by Kelly Armstrong
- My Squirrel Days by Ellie Kemper
- Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
- Night Shift by Stephen King
February
- Wayfarer by Alexandra Bracken
- Adequate Yearly Progress by Roxanna Elden *
- Anxious for Nothing by Max Lucado
- On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
- Cat Out of Hell by Lynne Truss
- Watching You by Lisa Jewell
- All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
- If the Creek Don’t Rise by Leah Weiss *
- The Great Outdoors: A Users Guide by Brendan Leonard
- Bad Call by Mike Scardino *
- Night Shift by Nalini Singh, Ilona Andrews, Lisa Shearin, Milla Vane
March
- The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory
- Reckless: My Life as a Pretender by Chrissie Hynde
- The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
- The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah *
- Homeschooling 101: A Guide to Getting Started by Erica Arndt
- The Mad Feast by Matthew Gavin Frank
- I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
- Flat Stanley: His Original Adventure
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys *
- The Nature Fix byFlorence Williams
- The Library Book by Susan Orleans
April
- The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton
- Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Backyards and Boulevards: Words from the Neighborhoods of Nashville *
- Gmorning, Gnight little pep talks for me and you by Lin-Manuel Miranda *
- The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart*
- The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion *
- Rethinking School: How to Take Charge of your Child’s Education by Susan Wise Bauer
- Selected Poems by Walt Whitman
- The White Darkness by David Grann
May
- The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
- The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness
- Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
- The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler *
- My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing
- The Night Tiger by Yangszu Choo*
- From Scratch: A memoir by Tembi Locke *
- You’re Not Lost if You Can Still See the Truck by Bill Heavey
June
- lord of the flies by william golding *
- Dumplin by Julie Murphy
- Freefall by Jessica Barry
- The Hate List by Jennifer Brown
- The Au Pair by Emma Rous
- The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss *
July
- Still Lives by Maria Hummel
- The Cactus by Sarah Haywood
- Wild by Cheryl Strayed
- Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen by Susan Gregg Gilmore
- Homeschooling for Dummies by Jennifer Kaufeld
- Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days by Nancy Lande
- Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
- Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal
- A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet by Sophie Hudson*
- Gray by Pete Wentz
August
- The Girl in Red by Christina Henry*
- What Would Dolly Do? by Lauren Marino
- They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
- American Pop by Snowden Wright
- Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon
- The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
- The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
- Cole and Sav: Our Surprising Love Story by Cole and Savanah LaBrant
September
- The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker
- A Murder in Music City by Michael Bishop*
- You’re on an Airplane by Parker Posey
- Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati*
October
- The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
- Nashville Scenes from the New American South by Ann Patchett
- The Old Willis Place by Mary Downing Hahn
- Southern Lady Code by Helen Willis
- Letters to the Church by Francis Chan*
- The Leveller by Julia Durango
- The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
November
- Fair Play by Eve Rodsky*
- Surviving Nashville by Stacy Barton
- Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane
- Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey*
- The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody by William Cuppy
- Love Does by Bob Goff*
December
- Gullah Images by Johnathan Green
- Gullah Home Cooking by Sallie Ann Robinson
- Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae
- Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard
- Gullah Folktales from the Georgia Coast by Charles Colcock Jones Jr
- Cooking the Gullah Way by Sallie Ann Robinson
- The Scottish Food Bible by Claire Macdonald
- Dreamers by Yuli Morales
- Looking for Alaska by John Green
- The Second Worst Restaurant in France by Alexander McCall Smith
Happy 2020!
Good morning and welcome to 2020!! I hope you had time to reflect on 2019 and what you want out of this new year. Like everyone else 2019 was full of ups and downs but compared to 2017 and 2018 I feel like there were more ups than downs for sure.
Last night we rang in the new year a little bit differently and then exactly the same. You might have heard of a tiny little show called Hamilton? Well, the show finally danced and sang its way to Nashville and last night was opening night. The tickets were not cheap but I am appreciative of the way TPAC handled them. You had to go pick your tickets up at the box office or get them on the app. If you got them on the app they were not available until 90 minutes before the show and forwarding was not available. They also had warnings on the website that said that tickets from 3rd parties were likely fakes. I don’t know about you but I am pretty tired of legalized scalpers buying up all of the tickets for everything and marking the prices up.
Anyway, we got downtown about 5:30 partially because we didn’t know if the tickets would show up on the app so we were going to head to Will Call and also because we wanted to find parking and knew that there were a bunch of road closures. Lucky for us the tickets showed up and none of the road closures were near where we wanted to be. Of course all of the meters that are free after six were blocked off for the Music City Eve party in Bicentennial Mall. On our way to TPAC we discovered Caesars Pizzeria (No, not Little Caesars). It was right on our way to the show so we stopped in and picked up a pizza. They seemed to be a bit short staffed but once our order was taken our Italian pizza and cheesy breadsticks made it to our table fairly quickly. I think we would likely eat there again if the opportunity presented itself. They are pretty much open most of the night. After dinner we still had plenty of time to make the short walk to TPAC and take a bunch of pictures along the way.
TPAC was packed last night and it was the first time I have seen them use metal detectors and security at the door. I wonder if that was just a New Year’s Eve precaution or a “this is our biggest show of the season” precaution, or if it is a new protocol. Since you had to go to Will Call or use your app the lobbies, staircases, restrooms and every other space were all packed. It was hot but the crowd did a good job of staying calm and waiting for doors even with sweat trickling down their faces…and by their I mean me. We finally made it in to our seats in the loge and got settled with just a little time before Aaron Burr stepped to the front of the stage and began the show. We were entranced from the first moment of the show to the last.
One of our 2019 adventures was to start homeschooling our son for high school. He is taking a US History Class and the beauty of him getting to see Hamilton is that it counts as a field trip for him. He will be writing a paper about it as well partially because it falls right in line with some of the history he has learned over the last semester in his lessons. It feels like a good end to his first semester of homeschool.
Once the show was over were were able to pick up my daughter’s sweet friend so she could spend the night and another friend and her daughter made their way to our house to watch the Nashville Note drop. These are best friends that have been joining us for several years to ring in the new year. We have a few fireworks leftover from 4th of July but ended up not using them due to the amount of fireworks and (if you believe the neighborhood watch page) gun shots already being set off in the neighborhood. After the ball dropped the kids asked if we could watch a couple of episodes of Friends since it was slated to be removed from Netflix at three am. We made sure to watch “The One with the Cake” in which Chandler and Monica tell Emma it is 2020 and they hope she is enjoying her nap. Um…Friends fans, and friends that have kids turning 18 this year…how are our children the same age as Ross and Rachel’s daughter?
We wrapped up our night about two in the morning. The snacks were put away, friends went home, and we all crashed into our beds with dreams of what this year holds.
We get an extra day in February this year. An extra day to be awesome! We have a Presidential election this year which gives each and every one of us the opportunity to get out from behind our computer screens and talk to our neighbors with cool heads and calm demeanor. I’m not saying don’t be passionate about whoever you support but try to talk to and listen to each other without judgment. My daughter will be old enough to vote this year. I want to be an example of kindness, thoughtfulness, and love for others that she can follow. My son will be of driving age this year. Watch out world! We have a lot of change happening this year and I am excited to see what adventures that will bring! How about you? What kind of adventures do you see for yourself this year?
Adventuring with Karen 
Recent Comments