adventures in home-making

Fun at the Cahaba on September 20th.

Download Cahaba Fun on Sept. 20

Spend some fun family time in canoes and on the beautiful Cahaba before the weather gets too cool for river swims.

Travels with Tintin.

Do I have a special place in my heart for the French Tintin because his first literary adventure took place in the land of Soviet Russia? Mais, bien sur! Billions of blustering blue barnacles, c'est vrai.

In 1929, Tintin In the Land of the Soviets appeared in a children's supplement to a Belgian daily newspaper, Le Vingtième Siècle. Hergé's satire on the Soviet state preceded the grand anti-communist crusades of the 1940's and 1950's . Soviet propaganda to persuade the world outside Russia that the economy was booming was a particular target for Hergé, as were the activities of the secret police, the OGPU.   

According to Benoît Peeters, the only source Hergé used when making this album was a book entitled, "Moscou sans voiles" from 1928 by Joseph Douillet. Douillet was the Belgian Consul in Rostov. Some of the scenes from the the album was taken directly from Douillet's book including the voting scene. Herge was just twenty-three when he wrote this first Tintin story. Yuri Kim has more on Tintin's  travels in the USSR.

More Tintinisms: Listen to the Tintin TV series tune here. Enjoy the Greek-ish music associated with Tintin's travels and the Golden Fleece. Download an entire Tintin adventure in English; The Red Sea Sharks makes for great car tripping. And this French episode, truer to form, makes for great trips of all kinds.  It never hurts to have a few Tintin coloring pages printed out for grumpy old folks.

A ski trip.

My mother, my sister, Max, and I headed to Colorado for some spring skiing over the past five days. Needless to say, I got more sleep than I've logged in almost 12 months... and I got to spend one-on-one time with three of my life's greatest loves.



We spent the first day at Arapahoe Basin, where the weather was perfect and the snow like butter gliding along my skis. Bunica gave Max a ski lesson, which he fought until he finally passed out in my lap while I enjoyed a local brew on the slopes. Arapahoe is probably my favorite skiing location-- the basin leaves me breathless, a combination of the altitude and the beauty. Apart from the challenge of Pallaviccini, which I was unable to take on this year, A-basin offers lots of backcountry skiing and excitements. With a base of close to 11,000, and a summit elevation more than 13,000, it  has the highest skiable terrain in North America and a vertical drop of 2,270'. If that's not sexy, then I don't know the meaning of the word.

The next day, we skied Keystone. Max got to take his first gondola ride before skiing with Bunica and promptly passing out in front of the fire at the top of Dercum Mountain. It was so warm that I didn't need gloves, so Carla and I just kept going. It was perfect, and I was so proud to ski with Carla, who had to be the classiest skiier on the slope.

There is so much more to post-- from the sled that I found in a park and managed to bring back to Tuscaloosa to the blizzards and Max's faithful rabbit burrow-- but I don't have the time or the hands to share it all. Unfortunately, Micah is still upset with me for taking this trip. At the airport yesterday, she wouldn't even look at me! In fact, she cried every time I tried to hold her. I felt terrible; it was all I could do to keep a stiff upper lip. So I have to make it up to her now.

But in the meantime, here are a few links of my favorite things about our ski vacation:

• Dinner at the Ski Tip Lodge.
• The lovely town of Dillon.
• Pancakes at the Sunshine Cafe.
  
• The story of Max Dercum and Edna Dercum. And how they brought trails to Keystone. And tributes.
  
• Keystone trail map.
  

Our trip to Birmingham with Bunicu.

Bunicu takes in the city from atop the Vulcan statue. And Max enjoys being on top of his little world-- high above Giuseppe, Aunty Carla, and his mom.

Our wild and crazy weekend...

We started the weekend with a trip to Red Top Mountain in Georgia to celebrate the wedding of Ryan and Keturah Coryell. The weather was spotless, and the location rather sentimental for us, since we camped at the Red Top State Park the first night when we decided we wanted to start "dating". Ask me about the part where Patrick took off his shirt and loaded the trunk with various trees he plucked from the ground-- "kindling", he called it. I think we just sat on rock that night watching the moon over the lake until the wee hours of the morning a little awed by the road we were considering.

Unfortunately, we couldn't squeeze the nostalgia for all it was worth this time because the Red Top campground was full. We ended up camping at the McKinney campground about 3 miles away from Red Top State Park. It was lovely; Max fell asleep outside by the fire in a nest of blankets with the hum of old timey music on the radio. Sleep came simply after a day full of playing with Trey and Chance at the wedding.

Keturah, the beautiful bride, was escorted by her father. Ryan made his way down the aisle with the preacher who married them. Gary and Bradley sat in the last row with us. Max gave us his best wedding whoop when the groom kissed the bride. A lovely nuptial.

After catching up with the Coryell side of family, and meeting Aunt Russell's lovely sister, Kate, (who used the phrase "kindred spirits", which harkens back to my days as an L.M. Montgomery bookaholic), I learned about the family antique store in Atlanta-- Kudzu Antique Market-- which is now on my list of places to visit. How cool.

After waking with the sunrise on Sunday morning, we decided to hit the road in search of adventure. So we consulted the local stars, gas station attendants, and tourist brochures to discover the Prater's Mill Country Fair. It satisfied (almost) all our cravings, including deep-fried Vidalia onions, homemade lemon creme cake, red beans and rice, alligator sausage, pony rides, live gospel music, avian explorations, good folks, good food, and a little slice of history on the side.

 

The gentleman featured above cuts bowls from tree trunks with a chain saw. We got to watch.

We also strolled through the Mill, which is still running. You can even purchase Prater's Mill Grits inside (if you still have money left after pony rides).

After spending a few hours at the fair, we decided to follow our fancies to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Patrick remembered a park by the river-- Coolidge Park-- with a carousel and kid-friendly fun. We stuffed ourselves with ice cream and laughed as Max accosted various Sunday strollers that just so happened to pick the same park as our loquacious little man.

Onwards we ventured to Cloudland Canyon State Park, which took my breath away.

Persimmons and kiwis in Alabama.

Dr. Arlie Powell will give a tour of persimmon and kiwi plantings at Petals From the Past on October 7th at 2:00 pm. He will discuss growing conditions for these plants, and explain a little about the different varieties available. Refreshments made from kiwis and persimmons will be available on the porch prior to this seminar. Bring kids and family!

Petals From the Past is located at 16034 County Road 29 in Jemison, Alabama, 35085.

A Saturday visit to West Blocton.

The morning was slightly fall-scented, but the weather reports promised it would get warm enough to swim, so we decided to explore the Cahaba River. So we drove towards Birmingham and got off at the West Blocton exit, drove for a while, then turned right onto County Road 27. This is when we realized that we had no clue where to begin our exploration. Lo and behold, directly before us appeared The Country Store. So we hopped out of the car and asked the two lovely ladies behind the counter if they knew where we might find a swimming hole.

The ladies gave us directions to a place they called "Limestone Park". But our family outings always have a tendency towards wandering off course, so we discovered a few gems on our way to Limestone. From The Country Store, we continued up County Road 27 until we arrived at a 4-way stop. At the 4-way stop, we turned left onto Cahaba River Drive. We passed the West Blocton Food Center, a mini-grocery store, and just before we crossed a bridge over Caffee Creek, we passed an Italian Catholic Cemetary from 1901. It seems the area was heavily invested in coal mining during the Civil War period; Patrick thought he spotted a few "mine markers" along the way.

We struck unexpected gold after entering the Cahaba River Wildlife Management Area. Turn right into River Trace just before you go over the bridge crossing the Cahaba River (about 5 miles after turning onto Cahaba River Drive). You can pick up a map and a little packet about the Cahaba River wildlife, flora, and fauna at the wooden kiosk. Basically, the gravel road runs alongside the Cahaba and turns into a dirt road (which the Cadillac road as gracefully as might be expected). Along the gravel part of the road, you will find several stops with rope swings, catapults, and fun water activities. If you continue driving after the road turns to dirt, you will find our gold nugget- a swimming hole just after the shoals, lined by a cliff, and surrounded by gorgeous scenery. There are even little rapids that carry swimmers over moss-covered rocks for a natural water slide!

After playing in the water, we climbed back in the car to find the legendary Limestone Park. From River Trace, we took a right onto Cahaba River Drive and continued until we got to a 3-way stop, where we took a right onto County Road 65 (also known as Bulldog Bend Road). We drove no more than 5 miles before spotting blue canoe marked "Limestone Canoeing Club" on our left. So we turned left and kept driving past a few foreboding "Private Club" signs before pulling in to the Limestone Canoeing Club. We were greeted with grunts from three teenage boys propped in black inner tubes. Canoes can be rented for $30, and tubes can be rented for $10. Limestone is open on weekends through the month of October. You can find more Cahaba canoeing resources at the Cahaba River Society's website. There are a few great swimming and BBQ areas on site.

You might be able to reach someone at 205-926-9672, but you can definitely find Limestone at this address:
1531 Linestone Pkwy
Brierfield, AL 35035

The Cahaba River, all 190 miles of it, is the longest remaining free-flowing river in Alabama. Its watershed covers an area of 1,870 square miles, with water flowing through portions of 8 counties (Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby, Bibb, Perry, Dallas, and small portions of Tuscaloosa and Chilton,), beginning at its source on the southern slope of Cahaba Mountain, northeast of Birmingham. .. The first 100 miles of the river, the Upper Cahaba, is the most mountainous, full of steep banks, high bluffs and rocky shoals. From its initial elevation of some 1,200 feet, the river descends at an average slope of 15 feet per mile for the first 25-30 miles, then falls more gradually at 2.5 feet per mile. After another 44 miles the river begins to flatten with a slope of just 0.6 feet per mile to its mouth.

• Cahaba WMA Bike Trails 
• Cahaba WMA Hunting Information
• Cahaba River WMA map in PDF format
• Cahaba River Society
• Canoe Access Points along the Cahaba River
• 2007 Canoe Trips, including the Moonlight Trips

Travels to Tullahoma.

This past weekend, we loaded up our biggest rucksack and cruised north to Tullahoma, Tennessee for a little visit with the Coryells and the Riseners. PBS Parents shares a few games and hourglass-flippers for long car trips with energetic, happy, excitable, bubbly preschoolers-- I should have taken the time to print them before we stuffed ourselves into the car because my imagination draws blank whenever it could play a practical (as opposed to digressive) role in my life....

Pulling into the Coryell driveway made me feel warm and fuzzy. And seeing Ashley, Bradley, Suebee, Pops, Mallory, Tom. Ginny, Boris, and Maggie rocked our world gently.

On Saturday, Mallory took us to a BBQ restaurant that seemed made for Max-- the Caboose Cafe in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Lynchburg is one of those quintessential Southern tiny towns that leaves you scratching your head and licking your chops. We licked our chops after the awesome BBQ and bluegrass at the Barbeque Caboose Cafe; I scratched my head when I learned that Lynchburg-- home to Jack Daniels Brewery-- is also a dry county. The owner of the cafe and his wife have been married for more than 20 years, so my husband, the marriage detective, couldn't resist asking. The owner, a really warm, sociable fellow, told Patrick that the secret to a long, happy marriage was "a lot of dancing". Which suits me just fine.

An afternoon at the swimming pool...

Drove my mom to Hartsfield yesterday and here's what I saw...

It's a boy for Jonathan and Aja! And I was fortunate enough to see his first portraits! Though I couldn't make out too much from the sonograms-- always very classy in black and white-- he looked like he had big feet. The aunt-to-be is also very excited.