Road Trip Continued. Come along. Nashville and Paducah

Thomas Green Ryman.  Nashville, TN  http://ryman.com/   Many pictures did not upload during our trip.  Even though we had wireless at every motel, pictures didn't upload in many areas.  This is the only on that uploaded from Nashville.  This is in front of the Ryman museum where there are wonderful country concerts and many country stars are preforming there over the years.  It was original a church.
We also enjoyed many other places in Nashville.  I will go there again in a heartbeat.  It is only about 5/6 hours away for us.  We heard many up and coming stars in the many bars on  Bourbon Street, many drunk ladies singing and dancing on the bar at Coyote Ugly. (I did not get up there). http://www.coyoteuglysaloon.com/  We loved Johnny Cash museum http://www.johnnycashmuseum.com/ and stood on the stage at Grand Ole Opry http://www.opry.com/ right where Johnny Cash stood.  Joe was so excited. I think he got a little of Johnny Cash's sexiness.  And of course, just walking down Bourbon Street, Broadway and others filled with bars, stores, restaurants, one right after another with music, aromas and drinking.  It was fun day and night.  I felt safe there, Police, cameras, fire department was all around making sure nobody got out of hand.  I want to buy cowgirl boots and a hat, but alas, $500 boots just don't make "cents". There is a little Blues there also, BB King has a place.  https://www.facebook.com/bbkingsnashville .
Also there are apps in most large cities now that you upload on your phone and they tell you what to see, how much it costs, times open, etc.
Next Stop- Paducah, Ky. Quilt Show.

 The Quilt Museum  http://www.quiltmuseum.org/

I took classes at the quilt show and this is what I made.

 Ricky Tims, is a male quilt maker, piano and flute player.  Joe and I enjoyed his show very much.  He is so entertaining with his stories. (I think Joe wants to make quilts now)

As you can tell I am drawn to the Fiber art type of quilting. (non traditional) 

 The highlight of my trip is meeting Alex Anderson of "The Quilt Show" http://www.thequiltshow.com/  She is so genuinely nice.

Road Trip Toledo, Ohio to ? Follow along!

My husband retired.  He was a truck driver so when he came home he never wanted to go anywhere.  Well, after giving him 2 weeks to recoup at home, I declared.  "Road Trip"  I wanted to go to the Paducah Ky Quilt Show.  I didn't really think he would want to come but he said he did.  Well, that one idea turned into a "Hey" we are retired now.  We can do anything.
So off we went this morning, Follow along with our adventure and please leave comments.  We love them.  I will also have him blogging too.  He loves food and history; I love music, quilts and nature. We took 75 South to Cincinnati. The trees are all in flower, the grass is green and most leaves are out on the trees.  The sky so blue, the traffic not so bad.  We decided to go to Nashville first, the Paducah, Memphis, New Orleans, Orlando and Tampa and every place in between.
A flowering crab.  So pretty.

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We didn't eat here.  I wasn't sure what a Colon Buffet meant even if it was only $6.75. I passed on this buffet.

 My dear retired truck driving hubby was in his truck driving mood,  Get on the road, drive to your destination, no side trips, stop for gas only.  Well,  I had to remind him, we can do anything we want, we HAVE no time schedule,  Yes, we have reservations in Nashville, but it was only 8 hours to get there, so I Made Him stop to see the House of Quilts.  Donna Sharp's outlet was here.  It was ok, but not worth the stop. There wasn't much good deals, and quilts looked dull and dated.  It was so disappointing.  www.houseofquilts.com 

Well, now back on the road and south we went on 65.  Well I had to do something for him and guess what I found.  Jim Beam Distillery http://www.americanstillhouse.com/  and Marker's Mark Distillery is down the interstate. https://www.makersmark.com/sections/18-tours 

V-twin Jim Beam motorcycle.  I took the picture for my boys. It says do not touch. 

 Red Bud Trees all along the interstate.  It was so pretty.

Time to eat.  Where is the Bar b q?  Well, he said, check the GPS.  Ahh! next Bar b Q is just at the next exit 1.8 miles.  Yummy. I couldn't wait.  So Smokey Pig it was.  https://www.facebook.com/smokeypig 

We had the family special.  Pull pork with vinegar coleslaw and baked beans with tea-unsweetened. The southern waiter just shook his head at the unsweetened part.  Don't want to rot my teeth out!

 Smokey Pig is guess where? Bowling Green, Ky which is the headquarters of Fruit of Loom and Corvettes.  We stopped for gas and right next to premium was Racing Fuel at $7.99 a gallon. It also had a lock on it. You had to go inside to get the guy to open it. It is only for off road use.

 Finally, we found our hotel after I had to look into it.  Joe had the wrong address and street name, so we were a little confused for a while and had to turn the car around.  (How did he find his way in his truck without me?) Inquiring minds want to know?

Being as old as we are, we are resting in the hotel with a couple of beers.  Tours can wait till tomorrow. Johnny Cash Museum, Coyote Ugly, Country Music Hall of Fame,  the Grand ole Opry, Bluebird Cafe and shopping for some new fancy cowboy boots.   Maybe Joe will get a cowboy hat and learn to line dance, I love a man in a hat.  See ya tomorrow.  If you have been to Nashville and know of something we shouldn't miss,  let me know!

Marvolous Kitchen Update

As you can see, our kitchen is a busy place.  

A Place for parties, making cookies, helping each other clean up.  The bones of the kitchen were fatastic. the height of the ceilings: grand, the fireplace in the kitchen: an added touch, and the wonderful windows to the lake view outside with sliders to the deck.  Added bonus wood floors and black granite counter top with an island.  I know alot of people only dream to have a kitchen like this.  

Before Pictures:  Large corner pantry, lots of counter tops and working areas, heck even a desk area and a little cubbie for a TV. (out of range) 

So as the years past, more grandchildren and new daughter's in law came, The kitchen seem smaller and smaller.  Even to the point of unworkable.  Just what was it.  Well I swirled my magic wand and thought what would my perfect kitchen look like.  What did I not like about this one: Everything worked, certainly enough cupboards. My husband was not happy with my unhappiness.

So out came my list:

1.  The island was too too big, When we replaced the stove and refriderator, they had to lift them over the island.  The walk ways on either side of the island was 18 and 20 inches.  When my husband and I both cook and clean up together, the main work area was right angled (stove, sink) and our butts and stomachs would bump. 

2.  Open the refridge or the dishwasher and nobody could get by. 

3.  We didn't use the desk or work surface, it just became the junk collector.

4. The black granite.  Ugh.  Beautiful when clean and shiny, but every drop, fingerprint, smudge, drip could be seen for miles.  First you wipe it down, then you dry it, then you shiny it.  EVERTIME.  I am not that kind of house cleaner.  I got better things to do.

5.  My Oak Cupboards.  UGH, UGH!  I have lived with Oak cupboards for 25 years.  I loved them in the 70's, I liked them in the 80's, I put up with them in the 90's, but now I wanted something new and different.

The in between stage: It was a mess for 6 straight weeks. Be prepared to be flexible, think outside the box and sweep, vacuum, sweep!  

Choosing, Shopping, Decisions, Not the right side, not the right color, will it look good with this or that, will the cupboards be to dark and make the kitchen look smaller, do I want to move things around, get rid of the pantry and get pantry cupboards with roll outs, what can we save on here to splurge on there?  To be honest, what I thought was going to be the fun part, picking out everything, became a real pain in my neck, REALLY!

So Here is the final revel. Drum roll, please!

We have a different island that I order from Crate and Barrel,  It is grey with stainless steel top and places 4 small grandchildren to sit.  (I will try and get a updated picture of the island) 

I love the height of the fireplace not,  It is very contemporary looking and sleek. 

Hope you all enjoyed the show,  Please leave comments, I would love to know what you think.  Thank you for stopping by.