Christmas in Florida
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| Very happy to be warm on Rosemary Beach in early January, 2019. Front Row: Amelia, Grace, Hannah Back row: Philip, E-man, Nancy, Wallace, & Big Guy! (for those who don't know E-man and Big Guy are foster children and can't have their recognizable likenesses displayed on social media) We love our fam! (Michael is taking the picture, see below.) |
WE ENJOYED a five-day getaway in early January at Rosemary Beach, Florida,
with our son Michael (Palo Alto, CA) and daughter Hannah, son-in-law
Phil, and our four grands (Winnipeg,
MB). What a treat! Although the weather was cloudy with rain, the
temperatures were unseasonably warm.
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| Granddaughter, Amelia; son, Michael; and Granddaughter Grace |
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| Amelia, Son-in-law, Philip and Big Guy brave the chilly salt water lap pool. |
The Canadians ventured into the
pools and Gulf with no reservations whatsoever, as anything above
freezing is just fine for them! We celebrated Christmas,
took lots of walks and hikes around town, at local parks and on the
beach, and had lively conversations over dinner about current events and
global, socio-economic and political situations, which is standard fare
for our family gatherings.
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| Brauds on the beach (Hannah is now a Cavey, too) |
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| Beeps as Santa with Granddaughers! MERRY CHRISTMAS!! |
Hannah and little E-man were able to come to Chattanooga for a few days after the Florida getaway. Phil bravely drove the 30+ hours back to Winnipeg with the three other children. We hear it was quite the adventure. THANK YOU, PHIL!
Michael came up for one day before returning to the west coast and spent part of the time helping Ma'am in the garden. THANK YOU, MICHAEL.
We can’t wait to
see all of them again at the Clemens Family Reunion this summer on Lake
Erie.
More SFC Tweaks
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| Hummingbird room with new bench. |
We
have taken the opportunity during our slower season to implement some
incremental changes to the Cottage.
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| New Sunflower rug for Sunflower room. |
While out-and-about, we stumbled upon a fun
sunflower rug that fit perfectly in our
Sunflower guest room, so into the truck cab it went! Of course, with
the new rug came a new color-complementary comforter.
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| Metal Poppies adding some color and dimension to stairwell. |
We also decided
upon a temporary metal art piece for the stairwell until Wallace has
enough time to construct and install a wooden
art structure with a design that’s currently stored only in his brain.
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| Adding safety and contrasting colors to entrance stairs. |
We added some safety stair treads for all the outside staircases and, finally, put the handles and hardware on the Library/Media Room doors.
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| New iron handles and decorative elements for library barn doors. |
In addition, we decided to rearrange a few of the larger art pieces/photos in the dining area and upstairs hall.
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The
next big project is a wooden wall treatment in Monarch Room under
Wallace’s design, and he has produced three renderings with the boards
running vertically, horizontally and diagonally.
When we asked for opinions from Michael, Hannah and Phil, of course
they each chose one of the three. We can't decide . . . so, we’re throwing the designs out
there for your comments Please leave us a comment on the blog or drop us a note via email. (see below).
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| Proposed Horizontal design: Reclaimed Oak & Smooth Cedar with Metal Ceiling Tile Accents |
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| Proposed Vertical design: Reclaimed Oak & Smooth Cedar with Metal Ceiling Tile Accents |
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| Proposed Diagonal design: Reclaimed Oak & Smooth Cedar with Metal Ceiling Tile Accents |
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We
had fun decorating SFC for St. Valentine’s Day and hosting our guests
for their celebrations. Chattanooga has experienced an intense rainy
season this winter, so we were grateful
for indoor activities to suggest for their V-day week of getaways, including Ruby Falls, the Aquarium
and Songbirds.
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And I (Nancy) received the best gift ever from Wallace:
a bright red wheelbarrow! I have already put it to use mulching the
blueberry bushes, and my new friend and I will
spend many, many hours together as spring and summer approach.
There
are several exciting upcoming events over the next two months, and we
would love for you to stay at SFC during your trip to Chattanooga.
Specially featured are the Coker Tire’s
Spring Cruise-In and the 4Bridges Arts Festival. Click on the links in each listing for more information.
Saturday, March 2, 2019 – Paint & Sip Party – Georgia Winery – 5pm-8pm - $40
Sunday, March 3, 2019 – Chattanooga Marathon 2019 – 7:30 am – 1:00 pm - $105 to register; FREE to the public
Saturday, March 9, 2019 – One Delicious Bite: Mindful Ways with Food – Crabtree Farms - $50
Saturday, March 9, 2019 - Outdoor Rock Climbing 2.0 – 11am-4pm - $89
Saturday, March 9 to Sunday, March 17, 2019 – Shamrock City at Rock City Gardens - $26.95
Saturday, March 16 – St. Chatty’s Day Parade – 11am
Saturday, March 16 – 6th Annual St Paddy’s Party on the Parkway – 2pm - $15.00 - $45
Saturday, March 16 - Wildlife Photography Workshop – Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center - $55 (Wallace received the gift of this course two years ago and some of the results are hanging in the Library at the Cottage)
Saturday, March 23, 2019 – Sip TN Chattanooga Wine Festival – First Tennessee Pavilion - 12pm – 6pm - $45
Saturday, March 23 and Sunday, March 24 – Wilderness Survival: 3-Season Skills – REI School – 11am-3pm - $79
Saturday, March 30 – Coker Tire’s 2019 Chattanooga Spring Cruise-In – 8am – 4pm - Camp Jordan Arena – FREE!
Friday, April 5, 2019 to Sunday, April 7 – Vintage Market Days – 10am – 4pm, Chattanooga Pavilion - $5 - $10
Friday, April 12 through Sunday, April 14, 2019 – 19th Annual 4 Bridges Arts Festival – First Tennessee Pavilion
Saturday, April 13, 2019 – Hike, Bike & Brew: Lula Lake Beer Festival – Lula Lake Land Trust - $25-$75
Saturday, April 27, 2019 – Sculpture Fields Spring into Sculpture and Sculpture Burn – 12pm – 10pm - Sculpture Fields at Montague Park – FREE!
Saturday, April 27 to Sunday, April 28th – Opening Weekend of the Chattanooga Market – First Tennessee Pavilion – 10am – 5pm (Saturday); 11am-4pm (Sunday)
– FREE!
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