A Trip of Firsts

Last month I took a short trip to Kentucky.  It was a whirlwind and a very fun trip.  When I got home to reflect on it, I began to realize that it was a trip of firsts for not only me, but for my cousin, Ellen, who is the reason for my visit.

For starters, this was my very first visit to Kentucky!  The part of Kentucky I saw was so beautiful.  It was so green.  So many trees.  So many rolling hills.  So much land and so little congestion.  I love Florida and never plan to live anywhere else, but there is no denying the differentiating landscape between Florida and Kentucky.  Another first was seeing stone walls built along the roadways that date back to civil war times.  They were everywhere!  It really was such a lovely contrast to the green and plush landscape.  And it also made you really stop and think in amazement of the walls being built by hand in a time so long ago.  Kentucky is steeped in some rich history.

It was the first time that Ellen and I had ever had a one on one visit like that for so long.  No one joined us for anything we did.  We had some serious one on one time.  We loved every moment of it and we talked about things like being not only friends but "sisters" of a sort.  Ellen grew up in Shelby as an only child.  She always looked to her cousins as her siblings.  The older I grew, I realized what an important part my cousins played in my past and I want to continue to have them in my future.  Ellen admitted that growing up she always envied me (and her other cousins) as we enjoyed relationships with our siblings.  Bill was an only child, so Ellen has always been able to relate with him regarding that.  Since my sister has passed away, I told Ellen I needed her more than ever to help fill that void.  We have a lot in common and we need each other even more as we watch our nuclear families dwindle away.  Both of Ellen's parents have passed away and I only have my dear, sweet 90 year old mother left.  I think it was a first for us as we reflected on that and actually began to see ourselves as "sisters."

This visit was a first for Ellen.  I was the first one to visit her new home in Kentucky.  She admitted that anticipating my visit urged her to get busy and get her home in order!  It was great.  I slept like a baby.....so much so that one morning I was lying in my quiet, comfortable room upstairs and I heard Ellen yell:  "Mare, are you alright?"  I told her that yes I was and I asked her what time it was.  She told me 9:15!  That was a first.  I don't think anyone has ever had to awaken me at 9:15!  Even as a teenager, I never was a late sleeper.  We had a full day planned, and I know Ellen wanted to get on with it.  She had been up about 3 hours.....tended to her dogs and cat, had her coffee, read her email, watched some CNN news, watered her lawn, showered and dressed and who knows what else!  I teased Ellen about providing such a comfortable and quiet place for me where I felt so at home.

This visit was a first because I can't remember when I went away on a trip that was just for ME.  I am not complaining, but I have a lot of things that tie me to home, so trips and visits like this don't happen often any more.  I think that is why I was anxious to cram as much into it as I could.  I think Ellen and I did....we utilized our time well with outings, crafts, dining, shopping, talking, watching TV and playing with pets.

The souvenirs that I chose to bring home from this trip proved to be another in my list of firsts.  I brought home not one.....but three......cookbooks!  I like to buy cookbooks when I travel, but couple that with eating in wonderful and unique places eating different foods and being with my cousin-sister who loves to cook as much as I do, and I was doomed! 

To relive my trip, I would love to tell everything I saw, did, ate, felt and experienced, but I am sure I will omit some things.  It was a wonderful 3 day adventure and I never want to forget one moment of it!
Ellen picked me up at the airport.  Coming down the escalator and seeing her standing there was such a treat!  I had a very early morning flight and although the inconvenience of getting up and out early wasn't fun, it turned out to be a blessing.  This gave us a really full day to do a lot of things.  I can sacrifice a few hours sleep for that!

Ellen had made reservations at a place called The Glitz for lunch.  She had been telling me that she knew I would love it.  Boy was she right!  (but more about that later.....)
Ellen decided that her sweet dogs wouldn't be able to last if we went straight to The Glitz and then spent the day away from home.  So we went back to Ellen's and let her dogs, Diamond and Kimber, out for some fresh air and relief.  I got a tour of Ellen's new home and I got myself settled into my new cozy bedroom.  I also got to see Pablo again.  I had always liked Pablo, but when I left Ellen's, Pablo had completely stolen my heart!  He is such a sweet and loving cat.   Ellen had been telling me about Pablo giving her heart attacks when he would walk the rails above on the second story as if he were walking on a tightrope.  I think she was glad that I actually got to see it, but it was about to give me a heart attack too!   It was a first for me to stay in a house with 2 dogs and a cat.  I like dogs somewhat, but have never been a dog lover.  People who know me well know I am pretty much obsessed with cats...an obsession that began when I was a toddler and has done nothing but grow and strengthen (to the point of being called a Crazy Cat Lady!)  I must say, Ellen has some great pets and I can say in all honesty, her dogs sort of stole my heart too!

We left and drove to The Glitz.  The drive itself was a first!  We are driving along this plush green countryside, take a left turn onto a road that is narrow and winding and is nestled between a huge rock cliff and an even larger drop off into who knows where!  Thank God Ellen is a wonderful driver.  (I still said my prayers until we wound our way to the road that turned to go to The Glitz.)  It was like we had somehow traveled to Blowing Rock or somewhere!  That stretch of winding road did not seem to match the rest of the landscape.  It was breathtaking, nonetheless, and well worth it as it was the way to our destination of The Glitz and Irish Acres Antique Gallery in a remote town called nothing other than Nonesuch, Kentucky.  For real.  We browsed in the largest, most beautiful antique gallery that I have ever seen while we waited for the time of our lunch reservation.  That time arrived and I was not prepared for what I saw when I neared the bottom of the stairs that went into the BASEMENT of this massive antique gallery.  I was greeted with glittering white lights from ceiling to floor, greenery, fountains and statues all adorned with white lights and 3 lovely decorated rooms with small luncheon tables with PINK chairs!  It truly was breathtaking.  It is hard to describe and the pictures I took failed to do it justice.  But this charming place with be forever etched in my mind.

 

 

The food surpassed the décor.  You are seated and greeted with The Glitz's own Spiced Apple Refresher.  This drink was as beautiful as delicious!  It was pink, sparkly and sweet and served in a chilled fluted glass and adorned with an orange slice.  You choose from a menu that changes every two weeks.  You choose one of 3 appetizers, one of 3 entrees and one of 3 desserts.  Ellen had ham puffs for an appetizer and I had garlic bagel chips with basil pesto spread (which Ellen and I recreated later in the weekend!)  We both had salmon in phyllo dough with red leaf lettuce salad with The Glitz's own poppyseed dressing for our entrees and my dessert was the house specialty.  It had all sorts of yumminess, including homemade coconut ice cream.....I ate every crumb!  Ellen had a berry tart fruity sort of thing that was also beautiful and yummy.  We had iced tea and coffee and thus kicked off my weekend of eating in Kentucky!
It was sitting in the Glitz when I experienced another first.  I was about to burst a bubble and I was granted 'permission' by my daughter.  I got my phone and pulled up a picture and showed it to Ellen.  No words were needed.  She saw the picture of the ultrasound and immediately knew I was going to be a Grandmother!  Ellen got teary eyed and I could see the genuine joy she had on her face.  I saw how happy she was for me!  She was the very first person I told and I had to swear her to secrecy as it was very early on and Madeline and Eric wanted to wait a little while to let others know.  But it is a first that I will never forget!

 

 

I mentioned that I bought 3 cookbooks in Kentucky.  My first purchase was at The Glitz.  They have a beautiful hardback cookbook called "Lunch at The Glitz."  I took my purchase to the counter to pay and this lovely lady told me she was the author of the cookbook and one of the owners of The Glitz.  She asked if I would like her to sign the book, so of course, I said yes.  We began to talk about the delicious food and the recipes and I enjoyed our conversation so much.  We didn't buy anything else, but Ellen and I both came close to buying a necklace or two.  They had some lovely things.

After The Glitz, we rode out to Tanner's house.  He was away so we went to feed his cats.  Tanner lives 'out in the country' as I like to call it.  The view from his back porch was magnificent.  You could see nothing but green, rolling hills and occasionally some wildlife would pop into view.  I met Mama and Bob (now Bobbi or Bobbin.....mistaken gender!) and of course, I was in love!  Bob was so tiny and cute and so was Mama.  She was so tiny to be a mama cat.  I grow my cats big!  I even got right up close to a butterfly on the door and snapped it's picture.  I was loving this laid back life in the country!  I think we went out there about 3 times during my visit.  We would just sit on the porch and rock and watch the cats eat and then little Bob would dive off the edge of the porch into the grass.  I was entertained beyond measure!

(Bob)

 
 

(Mama)

 

 

 

Ellen and I went back to her house to freshen up then made a quick drive through Sonic for our diet Cherry Limeades.  So delicious!  Then we went out to a municipal airport (after a stop at Wal-Mart to buy some lawn chairs) to watch a hot air balloon race.  Another first.  I had never been to such an event.  We sat and talked, drank our cherry limeades, took a selfie, discussed names and why we chose the names we chose for our kids, talked about genealogy and our ancestry and then we saw a hot air balloon just off to our left begin to inflate.  Then another.  Then another.  It kept on and on!  So fascinating to watch!  We were close and I had never experienced such a thing.  Each one that popped up was our 'favorite!'  It seemed that the colors and designs just got better and better. There were balloons that looked like footballs, American flag, checkerboards, sunshines, etc.  But then I did find my true favorite....a hot air balloon with a PINK CAT on it!  Not the pink panther....a cute little pink cat!  I had seen it all now.  We sat in the cool breeze and watched balloon after balloon float into the air.  It was a clear and beautiful evening and this was a sight to behold.  It was a first for Ellen too, and we were glad that we were able to share this moment together.

 

 

 

This guy entertained us while we waited on the balloons!

 

 

 

After the balloon race, we went out to dinner.  We decided to forego the barbecue and kettle corn at the balloon festival and chose to go to Cheddars.  We sat outside on their patio since the weather was so pleasant.  It stays light much later in Kentucky than it does here in Clearwater.  I had been up since 4 a.m., but I was running on adrenaline and with it not even being dark yet, I didn't even realize I should be tired!  Ellen and I enjoyed a glass of wine, a nice dinner and then went back to her house to get our pjs, watch a little television and then we hit the sack.  After all, we had just completed only the first day!  We had Saturday and Sunday still to look forward to.
Ellen introduced me to another first.... a TV series called "Doc Martin."  Apparently, she has become hooked on it since a marathon session on Netflix when she was shut-in due to weather and illness.  After watching a couple of episodes, I could see why she enjoyed it.  It is a comedy/drama about a doctor in a small English coastal town.  I normally don't take to British humor, but I must say, this show has some endearing characters.  We watched until we both felt ourselves nodding in our chairs.  So we hit the sack in order to be ready for another fun filled day!

Saturday we lolled around, talked a bunch, drank coffee, played with the cat and dogs and decided to get ready for another day of adventure.  We had decided we wanted to visit  Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill.  Ellen was snuggled in her chair with Pablo and she started to get up to get her phone so she could call and make a lunch reservation.  I said "No!  Don't get up.  You are COL."  Ellen learned a first.....she didn't know about COL.  In our house, if you are COL (Cat on Lap) you don't dare get up and disturb the moment!  She told me where her phone was and I went to get it for her.  I guess only true 'cat people' understand the importance and reverence of COL!

(Pablo!)

Ellen made a 2:00 lunch reservation for us since we had managed to sit around in our pjs yapping away until almost noon!  I went to take a shower and had to call down to Ellen to ask how to make the shower come on!  I got water to come out in the bathtub, but I couldn't figure out how to make it come out of the shower.  She assured me she didn't know how but she did know that it worked since it had been used before by Tanner.  So, I knew that surely I could figure it out.  Nope.  Couldn't figure it out.  So, I took a bath which was fine until time to wash and rinse my hair.  Not a pretty sight.....but I did manage to get myself clean and dressed!
We headed to Shaker Village.....a first for both Ellen and myself.  What a wonderful afternoon!  The village is so quiet and quaint.  We  first had lunch at The Trustees' House.  It was a lovely place and very interesting.  I felt that I had gone back in time.  The menu was outstanding and although I was very tempted to order Mary's Salad or the Fried Green Tomato Salad, I thought, when in Kentucky......so I ordered my first Kentucky Hot Brown!  It was so delicious.  I will definitely order that again sometime.  They also served bowls of coleslaw and corn sticks, which were long skinny pieces of corn bread....so yummy!   After lunch, we went in to their gift shop and you guessed it....I bought not one, but two, cookbooks!  They were small paperbacks and they included some history about Shaker Village.  How can you resist a cookbook entitled "We Make You Kindly Welcome"?  Talking to the clerk we realized that the second cookbook, "Welcome Back to Pleasant Hill" was an additional cookbook with entirely different recipes.  So, of course, both Ellen and I bought both books.  I also saw the cast iron molds that they use for making their corn sticks.  I was tempted, but I also realized I was probably not going to use them often, so I resisted.

 

We proceeded to walk some of the grounds and came upon a couple of craft shops.....one a former Post Office from 1848.  Ellen and I love shopping and crafts so we had a great time shopping and both of us buying a few things.  The favorite thing I bought was a handmade wooden mouse.  I was looking at them and the clerk told me that a lady had come in and bought a couple of them to put atop her cheese for her bridge club.  I thought that was ingenious, so of course, I bought one with the same thing in mind.  I put it on top of a block of cheese at a recent craft party I hosted with Trina.  Yes, I am pretty sure Trina thought I was crazy, but she didn't protest and let me have my fun!  I bought Madeline some honey for cheese and a handmade wooden honey dipper. Madeline loves cheese and honey and I knew she didn't have a honey dipper.  I bought some other small things including a pattern for a cross-stitch sampler with an old Shaker blessing.  Ellen and I had been talking about how much we used to cross stitch, so I bought the pattern for inspiration.  Ellen bought some salsa and a jar of pickled okra.  This led us to a great idea that on Sunday night we would stay home, make a craft, eat some yummy snacks and not go out to dinner.  More about that later.....
I think the laid back atmosphere of Shaker Village attracted cats.  Of course, I thought this was great!  I first saw a black and white cat outside one of the craft shops sleeping on the window ledge above some beautiful red geraniums.  He was adorable.  Later at another of the craft shops I saw a cat jump up in the window INSIDE the store and just snuggle up as if he did it every day.....which I am guessing he did!  Cats, crafts, good food, history, the great outdoors....all shared with my cousin-sister.....I was in my glory!
There was a lot more to see in the village and a lot of history to read about, but we had cats to feed and a Brass Band Festival to attend, so we decided that the next time I came we would tour more and take the boat ride they offered.

 

 
 

No wonder this is a dish named for the state....YUM!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kentucky is steeped in history and Shaker Village is no exception. 

 

 

After Shaker Village, full and satisfied, packages tucked in the backseat, we went to feed Mama and Bob again.  We marveled at how Bob's markings seemed to be more prominent than even the day before.  He really entertained us with his antics and we decided both he and Mama were just more accustomed to us and they were warming up to us.  I love cats.  All cats.  All the time.  Bob and Mama had my heart from the moment I met them.  Ellen tells me now that Lula, her granddaughter, has really fallen in love with Bob.  I guess he will be her special pet from now on!  All kitties need a little person to love.

 

Ellen and I had no intentions of slowing down!  We went to get our Diet Cherry Limeades at Sonic (large this time!) to take with us to the Great American Brass Band Festival.  Another first!  I have been to the Clearwater Jazz Holiday, but I have never been to a Brass Band Festival.  We parked in downtown Danville and took a shuttle to Centre College where the festival took place on the grounds.  We had a nice spot on a hill and it was great watching people....kids were running around playing and having a great time!  Centre College is lovely.  It is nestled right in the heart of Danville and has a nice college vibe to it.  The brass band festival is an annual event.  In fact, this year was the 26th annual!  I saw posters all over town from past years.  It reminded me a lot of the various posters I have seen through the years for the Clearwater Jazz Festival.  I didn't know what to expect, but the music was great!  They had college bands, high school bands, military bands, professional quartets, etc.  We heard music that was patriotic, classic, military, and even a whole segment of Beatles music!  It was so entertaining.  I think we would have stayed longer if we hadn't been....get this....freezing!   I think this was a first.  Leaving an event in June because I was freezing!  It got breezy on that hill and despite the fact that it is June and the temperature had been in the 90's that day, we got cold!  I guess I am a wimpy Floridian when it comes to that stuff!  I wish I had taken a sweater so that we could have heard some more music.  Instead, we went to a cute little place for dinner uptown.  I was marveling at how light it was still after 9:00 p.m.  The restaurant was called Cue.  It was on main street.  We had a great dinner (except for the bug in Ellen's wine glass....TWICE!) and left there quite full and satisfied.  It FINALLY got dark, and we went back to Ellen's to get our pjs and watch another episode of "Doc Martin." 

I got to experience another first:  Ellen's dog sits in front of the tv and watches diligently.  Whenever he sees a dog on tv, he starts barking!  It was hysterical.  I was totally entertained by this.  I don't spend a lot of time around dogs, so this was a hoot!

 

I think Ellen and I had gotten plumb worn out!  We had spent 2 days eating, laughing, talking, enjoying lots of firsts, and just having a blast.  This is the night I fell asleep and had to be awakened at 9:15 the following morning!  Geez.

 

When Ellen and I took the shuttle from the Brass Band Festival back to our car, the shuttle driver had brought his wife along for company.  There were only the four of us on the shuttle (I guess the other folks at the festival.....which lasted past midnight......weren't freezing little wimps like us).  We struck up a conversation with the driver's wife and told her we were headed to Cue for dinner and she proceed to tell us about this place called Village Inn Restaurant in a crossroads of a town called Burgin.  She said it was a dump but that it had great southern style home cooking for a great price!  She talked about some of the food and our mouths were watering.  Ellen and I are hometown Southern girls and we like our fried okra, pinto beans, and cornbread and Ellen was excited to hear about Village Inn's wonderful fried chicken livers (not my cup of tea, but I was excited about the other things!).  So, once I managed to get up on Sunday morning, we went to the Village Inn.  It was pretty much as the lady explained to us, but for once, we were slightly disappointed.  First of all, they didn't have fried okra, but I did get my pinto beans.  No fried okra?   This was a first.  A country cooking restaurant with no fried okra!  I'm sorry, but Shelby Café puts this place to shame!  Ellen had ordered a 'side' of chicken livers (2 or 3) because she didn't want a whole meal of them.  She did say they were good.  Despite being a bit disappointed with the restaurant overall, we had fun because just being together is fun enough.  Ellen just put Village Inn on her list of places NOT to visit again!

 

 

 

Knowing my visit was drawing to a close, we decided to make these last hours the best hours.  I might have to say they were!  We left Village Inn and went to check on Bob and Mama again.  Sitting on the porch with the cats and taking in some fresh air was a great way to digest!  I knew I'd be saying goodbye to these rolling green hills soon, so I wanted to soak in the sight. 

We had to make another trip to Wal-Mart because we had a plan to implement.  Ellen and I had decided we wanted to try to make fabric pinecones.  We were going to go back to her place, feast on some yummy appetizers, a bottle of red wine, and we were going to listen to oldies music and work on our pinecones.  It was a wonderful plan, if I do say so myself.  Wal-Mart did not have the Styrofoam eggs we needed to make the pinecones, but they did have sytrofoam cones.  Plan B.  Make fabric Christmas trees!  We found the pins we needed and of course Ellen assured me that she had the fabric we would need.  Ellen is a quilter and this is something out of my realm of comprehension!  Good old Wal-Mart also has groceries so we bought tortilla chips for the salsa Ellen purchased the day before at Shaker Village.  We bought pimento cheese and celery and the makings for the basil pesto and bagel chips like we had at The Glitz.  We bought apple slices and some other yummy things.  We went back to Ellen's and opened the wine, made the pesto spread and put all our delicious delicacies out on the kitchen table.  It was so good!  Ellen had told me how our Aunt Madeline used to make pickled okra with big chunks of garlic in it and how yummy it was.  As much as I love fried okra, I had never had pickled okra and didn't think I would like it.  Wrong.  I ate three or four pods of the okra and loved it!  In fact, when I got back home I bought a jar.  It is good, but not as good as the okra we bought at Shaker Village.  And Ellen tells me nothing tops our Aunt Madeline's recipe!  I came home and found Aunt Madeline's recipe in the old church cookbook!  I haven't attempted it yet, but I am sure I will one day.  Bellies full, music on, we went upstairs to begin our fabric trees.

I chose 4 Christmas fabrics from Ellen's massive collection of fabric.  We you-tubed the instructions and Ellen began cutting our tiny squares.  I do a lot of crafts, but not much with fabric.  That is the place where Ellen feels most at home....fabric and a rotary cutter!  We couldn't hear the music up in her craft room (I must say, envy is not a nice thing, but it reared it's ugly head.....I am so very envious of Ellen's craft room.....).  I decided to get my ipad and put on some music.  It was on random and a song came on and I asked Ellen who she thought it was.  I learned something about Ellen.  She likes to hear the music, but she is not a fanatic like me.  She didn't know the artists even if she recognized the song.  Anyway, she heard this song and said it was Bob Dylan.  I told her no it wasn't him singing (it was a Bob Dylan song, so Ellen had that much right!) it was my son, Joseph!  She was amazed so I proceeded to play a few more of his songs for her to hear.  That was fun.

We began our trees....fold, place, pin.  It was foreign to both of us, me more so than Ellen, but we got the hang of it.  Our trees turned out so cute!  I love crafting, and I love crafting with someone else even more!  The night went on and we finished our trees about 11:00!  I am hooked!  I bought fabric (learned all about fat quarters), pins (learned all about sequin pins), the Styrofoam eggs,  a rotary cutter (a first!) and a cutting mat and I am ready to go!  I don't know when I will find the time to make the pinecones or another tree, but whenever I do, I will always remember this special night spent with my sister-cousin!

When I got home to Clearwater, I put a bow on the top of my fabric tree for the finishing touch!  I love it.  I am thinking that this might be the next project for the crafting parties that Trina and I like to host.  Hmmmmm.......

 

Some of Ellen's fabric collection

Finished fabric Christmas tree



Leo likes to help me craft

 

 

The next morning was bittersweet.  Whenever I am gone from home, I am always anxious to get back.  There is such truth to the saying "There's no place like home."  I love home and I missed my cat and my husband!  But saying goodbye to Ellen wasn't easy.  I know Ellen misses North Carolina.  I know she hasn't had time to make a lot of friends, find a church that feels like 'home,' or establish any sort of routine in Kentucky.  It's hard to move, especially at this point in our lives.  Ellen was brave to do what she did, but I know she wanted and needed to be close to her only son and her only grandchild.  Tanner and Lula are lucky to have her.  I had a blast in Kentucky, so it was hard to leave behind a weekend of fun to go home to chores, housework and grocery shopping.  Having a little mini-vacation was so much fun!  And it was sad leaving Ellen because we had such a wonderful and close visit.  I knew I would miss her as soon as she dropped me off at the airport.  Ellen and I shared a lot in 3 days.  We experienced a lot of firsts.  We told each other some secrets and we talked a lot about our pasts.  We have both been through a lot of love and loss.  I told her how much it meant to me that her daddy was the person with me when my dad died.  He was the first person who held me and let me weep.  We talked about Ellen's sweet mama and how hard it was for Ellen to watch her go to that 'Glorious Reunion'.  Ellen was telling me that her mom was her buddy....they went shopping and had such fun together!  It is never easy to lose your mom....at any age.  We talked about the joys and difficulties of dealing with aging parents. We talked about how hard it was to lose my sister and how important my sweet cousins were to me at that time.  We talked about all the wonderful memories we had growing up and laughed about our bubble gum chewing, our family get-togethers, the birth of our children and the struggles we have gone through.  But the most important first for us both was to realize that the weekend we shared was filled with enough to keep us going until the next time!  It is nice to share so much with another person even if that person is 850 miles away. 

 

And memories are made of this.

 



 
(......and I realized I went on a trip and took more pictures of cats than people.)