Henley Street Bridge Construction

One of the sights I get to see out my window every day is the ongoing construction on the Henley Street Bridge. If you live in Knoxville, you may be aware that two bridge workers have already died during this project. It is a massive undertaking, scheduled to last over 2 years. I am fascinated by the progress as the bridge comes down. These photos were taken about a week ago, and it has already changed since that day.
I have always wondered how bridges are built, and keep hoping for a History Channel special about the subject. Until I find one, watching this construction is certainly keeping me interested.

Obsessive Collecting

Yes, I collect things. A lot of things. One of those things seems to be costume jewelry, especially rings. I love rings, all colors, the bigger the better. I like to have a ring to match each outfit and look as if it were made just for that particular set of clothes. I like cheap rings, expensive rings, gold rings, silver rings (mostly silver), thin rings, thick rings. I especially like ODD rings that I've never seen on anyone else before.

This ring box has 72 slots. It does not hold all of my rings. Some of them are simply too big to fit into one slot, and some of them are just overflow. And this isn't even all of them.
I actually managed to part with a few and took a little Ziploc bag full of them to my niece, Deann, last time we were down in SC. I also sold a few in the most recent yard sale. And this is what I have left.
Sadly, rings are not my only obsessive collection.

Scrapbook Pages

Do you see this messy work space? So much work can go into ONE single scrapbook page, and so many supplies can be dragged out to get that perfect effect. Sometimes I rush through a few pages just to get them done, but I prefer to take my time and make them really special. That is often a problem for me since I am a snapping queen with the camera. I take way too many photos, and then feel like I have to scrap ALL of them. The entire green album in the photo is dedicated to one vacation trip that the 3 of us took in 2007. Yes, shamefully, I said 2007. And I'm still finishing it up in 2011. I have more ideas in my head for scrapbook pages, as well as entire books, than I will ever be able to complete.
It doesn't help that I'm distracted lately by my new sewing machine and the quilt I've been working on. I guess I haven't accepted it yet that working 10+ hours per day at a "real" job doesn't afford me much time for quilting, sewing, scrapbooking, and the attention I need to give to my husband and son. Some of my scrapping friends stay up until the wee hours of the morning after everyone else is in bed so they can get that creative time in. I'm not a night owl anymore; if I'm up much past 9:00, I start to really fade. Plus I have to be at work so early (usually 6:45) that staying up late is really not much of a fun option for me.
I see some of my friends' pages and I think wow, that must have taken DAYS to complete. Then I feel like my work is sub-par. But you know what? It's still a memory that has been beautifully preserved, whether it took me 5 minutes or 5 days to do it. Right? I should enjoy the process, isn't that part of the joy of creative pursuits?
I have enough scrapbook supplies to fill my own store, so I should easily be able to create any type of pages that pop into my head. It is just having the patience and taking the time.

Mountains vs. Beach

Having recently returned from both a vacation at the beach and weekend in the mountains, this topic has been on my mind. Have you ever noticed how many people from Florida migrate to Tennessee, and many retirees migrate to Florida? When I was younger, I always wanted to live at the beach. In fact, Artie & I did job searches and had found an apartment in Clearwater many years ago, before Logan was born. We were planning to move to that area and get jobs in Tampa. People from Florida thought I was crazy to want to leave the beautiful, peaceful mountains of East Tennessee for the heat, humidity and tourist crowds at the beach.
Having been born and raised here, I guess I sometimes take the scenery for granted. I can look out my window from the office and see ridges, trees, mountains, and the river. The heat is really an issue this year even in Tennessee, but it's still manageable. When I am in Clearwater, I can look out my window and see beautiful white sand, the ocean stretching as far as the eye can see, with the different hues of green and blue in the water. I can hear sea gulls and feel the sea breeze when I step outside. There is a beautiful sunset on the horizon almost every night. How do you compare two beautiful places? God created them both and they each have different things to offer.
We did live in Virginia Beach for a couple of years when we first married and Artie was in the Navy. Being further north on the Atlantic Coast was a little different than being in the Gulf of Mexico, but we hardly ever actually went to the beach when we lived there.
I'll probably never give up on my dream of living at the beach, but for now, the mountains are fine with me. Do you have a preference? I'd love to hear any comments.

These Fun-Filled Teen Years

Don't you just love the look on his face in this photo? In all fairness, he was super tired here, having only had about 2 hours of sleep over 48 hours and a full day with his friends at Dollywood. However, where is the happy at? I remember SOME parts of being 13, but I don't remember being so morose. I do remember thinking every little detail of my life was monumental and somehow earth-shattering, and that Mom & Dad just did NOT get it! Does Logan think that about us? That we don't get it? How sad for me. I try to get it, I really do. I try to stay involved enough in his life to know his friends and know what they are into; but not so much that I'm a meddler. We took Logan and 5 of his friends to Pigeon Forge for his birthday weekend and rented a cabin. I learned so much from watching and listening to them. They talked about some parents being so over-protective that "they don't even let the kid go to the bathroom by himself." Then they talked about a friend who has threatened suicide because his home life is so miserable. Some kids made their own beds and washed their plates out in the sink; other kids left a trail of potato chips and empty soda cans wherever they went.
I have always thought that Artie & I were close to Logan, and that we made it clear he could talk to us about anything. Sadly, he is starting to clam up about his personal life. He still lets me look at his phone and check his text messages, and I can look at his Facebook account anytime I want. He doesn't want me to know what girls he has a crush on. He gets frustrated with me when I ask "what's wrong?" or "how was your day?" I hope the days of my smiling, open, comedian of a son aren't over yet. I am not prepared for these sullen frosty years.

Self-Labeling

Yesterday we had a guest speaker at our church, and his topic left a lasting impression on me. He discussed how we see and "label" ourselves versus how God sees us. He used the story from Mark Chapter 5 about the woman with the issue of blood. He talked about how she had gone to many doctors over the 12 years of her ailment, and had spent all that she had looking for a cure. In the time period she lived in, having an issue of blood made her untouchable by others. Can you imagine not being touched by another person for 12 years? No hugs, no pats on the back or handshakes? Nothing. This was in addition to her physical pain and suffering. Losing blood for 12 years would make you physically weak and tired, to say the least. So our speaker brought out the illustration that she must have labeled herself as sick, poor, and untouchable. Even in her state, she knew that if she could only touch a part of Jesus' garment, she would be made whole. Once Jesus felt the touch, he turned to find the one who had touched him. When she came forward, he called her "Daughter." Even though she saw herself as all of these horrible things, and felt so alone in the world, in Jesus' eyes she was His beloved daughter, His child!
The speaker then had the ushers pass out labels to the congregation - you know those name stickers that you have to wear at conventions or gatherings and write your name on them. He asked us to consider what we often call ourselves or label ourselves, and then to remember how God sees us - as His beloved child.
I really enjoyed this sermon and the illustration that he presented. I see myself as so many things, and none of them good. I see myself as lazy and sinful. But God calls me his daughter and sees me as His child - He loves me the way I love my son, except in an even more pure form that only God can attain.
What a wonderful feeling!

Sand Dollar Fun

While we were at the beach this year, we found over 300 sand dollars while digging with our toes out on the sand bar. Logan would dive and bring up 8 to 10 at a time. It was a sand dollar BOUNTY! :) So Kristi & I decided we would decorate some. I haven't seen any of Kristi's yet, but here are some of my "masterpieces" of sand dollar art. I doubt they will ever be in the Smithsonian or anything, but they are cute for a first try.
Artie & I are going to have a sand dollar Christmas tree this year for one of our many trees. We will use the plain, unadorned ones for that, but I have definitely been having fun playing with different ideas for these.
We just booked our Labor Day weekend trip, which means Artie, Logan & I are going back to Clearwater for the long weekend. We wanted one more "summer" getaway with just the 3 of us. I am very excited about it. More sand dollars are definitely in our future.