19 February 2009

Day Four and Five of the ice storm


Day Four and Five:
Ice, snow, and cold. Still no power, and still don't know when there will be any either. Cell phones haven't worked in days, so most of the communication we have gotten has been whatever neighbors that have been able to get out and hear have come over and told us. Its like living in the old days, at least as near as I can figure it is. Days are spent with neighbors outside, cutting our way out of the driveway and borrowing/ lending whatever we have to share. At least everyone has been in pretty good spirits still, and we have great neighbors. Our wood burning stove insert in the fireplace has been our only source of heat, but frozen, green wood doesn't burn easily. Our neighbor across the street lent us an ax and splitters, so there's been a lot of wood chopping going on. Everything is a lot of work, but at least the days go fast. The nights are slower. Reading by candlelight and playing board games that you can actually see in semi-dark are more challenging than one might think. We played Uno last night cause that seemed simple in the dark, but blue and green cards look surprisingly alike. Connect Four is easy in the dark, but I must be tired cause the kid beat me over half the time! If there's no power this weekend, we've decided to go to Illinois for some power and warm showers. Of course that, too, involves planning, since the gas stations that are actually open are about 30 minutes away in the opposite direction, but I want a shower so bad...

17 February 2009

Day Three of the Ice Storm





Day Three:
Everything is a total mess, but even after the house shaking all night from the falling trees and branches, which was terrifying at times, we got really lucky. Everything missed the house by a foot all the way around. There's a branch on the roof, but it didn't seem to go through. Even better, in walking around the house assessing the damage, Tramp, who has been missing for two days, came out from hiding under the AC/heating unit totally fine. I cried from relief. I had half expected to find him under a branch or something.

14 February 2009

Day Two of the Ice Storm

Day two:
Crunching and crashing is all I have heard all day and night. Falling trees and limbs shake and rock the house, and even in the distance sound close. Probably the most unreal winter storm I have ever experienced. Hopefully none of our trees fall on our house. Sleeping tonight will be hard.

12 February 2009

The Ice Storm of 2009- day one


Day One, morning:
Everything is covered in ice. Its actually really pretty especially since we never get ice or even really snow down here. I have these berries on my tree; to be honest I have never even noticed them before, but how pretty are they? There are a few branches down and the power is out, but it isn't so bad besides that.
Day One, evening:
Its been doing this freezing rain thing/ snow all day off and on. Its pretty but cold without power. At least we have some firewood to burn from this summer's bonfires and wood left from Ike knocking down trees, and a fireplace/ wood stove to burn it in. Plus two laptops=two movies, one tonight and one tomorrow assuming the power is still out, which I am guessing it will be.
Stay tuned for my day to day replay of my mental and photo journal of our lovely ice storm that knocked out the power for two weeks. I'm sooooo glad to have my power and internet back!

21 January 2009

Grand Rivers is in the top ten!


I have often thought that I live in the most beautiful resort town in Kentucky, part of what brought me here four years ago in the first place. Now, Southern Living Magazine's wonderful readers agree with me! January's issue put our town in the top ten of these two categories, only a few years after Cosmopolitan magazine named our Lighthouse Landing one of the most romantic places to be kissed!


Best Scenic View
1. Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee

2. Grandfather Mountain, Linville, North Carolina

3. Chimney Rock Park, North Carolina

4. Grand Rivers Jetty, Kentucky (pictured below)

Jetty Sunset, Corinne Sullivan 2007, oil on canvas, 16x20



5. Rock City Gardens, Lookout Mountain, Georgia

6. Cades Cove, Tennessee

7. (tie) Clingman’s Dome, North Carolina/Tennessee

7. (tie) Stone Mountain, Georgia

9. Brasstown Bald, Georgia

10. Mount Magazine, Arkansas



Best Small Town
1. Beaufort, South Carolina

2. Fairhope, Alabama

3. Fredericksburg, Texas

4. Blowing Rock, North Carolina

5. Franklin, Tennessee6. Eureka Springs, Arkansas

7. Oxford, Mississippi

8. Grand Rivers, Kentucky

9. Madison, Georgia

10. Hendersonville, North Carolina

11 January 2009

That's how we do it in Kentucky...

My dad totally rocks. He has always loved to spend time with me, and loves to hang out with his granddaughter too. He also loves guns, and last Christmas bought Sierra a 22/ 410 for her first gun ever. This Christmas he came down to spend the holiday with us, and got to help Sierra shoot it. Thank goodness we live in Kentucky, where the neighbors think nothing of hearing gunshots outside when you shoot at boxes and cans in the backyard!

06 January 2009

We got a new dog!

Anyone who knows me knows I can be very impulsive and spontaneous. So to those people, it may come as no surprise that this weekend, when we went to PetSmart to buy a few fish to replace Roger and Larry, our two fish who met their maker shortly before Christmas, we instead came out with a dog. But in all fairness, PetSmart doesn't usually have dogs, unless you count the ones people bring in. So when we were looking for fish and I happened to notice cages all along the back of the store full of dogs, I HAD to go say hi. I mean, looking at all the animals at PetSmart is the closest thing we have to a zoo here. When this little Rat Terrier looked at me through the bars of his little jail, he seemed to say, "please, don't let me stay in the shelter," and later, after learning about his past, "don't let another crazy family take me and be mean to me." Besides, he looks like Lady (except he is alot smaller), and he is the same age too. Oh, and his name is Cubby. It's like it was meant to be!


See? He is little enough to fit in the toy bin! Which he jumped in to bury his bone almost right away. Which, oddly enough, turned out to be a pretty good hiding place for it since it stayed there for two days with two dogs in the house.
I hope everyone else's new year brings them happy surprises too!