Vacation Day #6

Our day started very odd. First we ate a breakfast here at our hotel. Then we decided to start the trolley trips back to Pigeon Forge.

We got on our first trolley and got to our first stop. We were waiting to load on our 2nd trolley. The lady who we had before started to lower the lift and I noticed a small amount of liquid squirt out of the left side. Um. Not good. It got lowered fully and the liquid was just gushing out. I was hoping it wasn't hydraulic fluid. She was ready to lift Jeremiah up to the trolley and with the push of the button...no juice. Yep it just lost all it's hydraulic fluid. We felt bad but of course nothing anyone could have done to know it would have happened. Especially at that exact moment. Here is the trolley with the lift stuck open blocking the trolley depot...

Another trolley showed up to take us. We just kept saying Well at least Jeremiah wasn't on the trolley trying to get off. Right? How bad would that be??

The lady driving the next trolley was supposed to drop us off at this lower part of the Welcome Center since it's more flat. As she drove past it I said Um Excuse Me? She was having a really bad day. When she first got to work she drove her trolley off the lot and the fan belt blew. So she apologized and turned around to drop us off. No problem. Until she goes to hit the button to unload Jeremiah. Yep...not working. She called the mechanic to come help. The same guy who helped with the first trolley problem shows up. I told him I know I know we're grounded. But they were able to manually get it down and get Jeremiah unloaded safely after some tinkering around.

Our bad luck seemed over though. We made it where we wanted to go finally...

This area is called The Island in Pigeon Forge. There is restaurants, lots of stores, and several rides and things to do. (No we didn't ride the ferris wheel. They scare me to death!) Look at this crazy rope course too...

Nope. Not doing it. Even if you pay me! We did sit and watch several crazy kids run through the course. Crazy! We had a nice lunch with this friendly bear...

Jeremiah did some rock mining and found some beautiful large stones...

Then we went to our last dinner show...

This is another Dolly Parton show. I heard it's pretty new. It's called Smoky Adventures and it was lumberjack type of theme. We were very impressed with the show. There was a lot of acrobatic acts. Jeremiah really enjoyed it! I would say it's better than Dixie Stamped by far. Better than the Hatfield and McCoys by a little. Still our favorite is the Pirate Voyage in Myrtle Beach though. The food was delicious and we were very happy we went to the show.

By the way our trip back to the hotel was not near as eventful just took a forever because of all the people and traffic in the area. Now to finally sleep.

Vacation Day #5

We started our day with another delicious breakfast at the Log Cabin pancake house across the road. I even ordered the pancakes today. I told the waitress to please tell the cook if I like pancakes they are doing something right haha.

It was forecast to be hot and humid again. It was 91 but the humidity made it feel like 97. Yuck. So we decided to come back to our hotel and rest a bit after breakfast. Jeremiah surfed YouTube and Mom and me watched some TV on our Traveling Roku. Then we started our trek to our dinner show for tonight...

Dixie Stampede. This is a Dolly Parton show with horses. There was a really fantastic pre-show...

The guy with the banjo has won the national banjo competition 4 years in a row. He's Dolly Parton's personal banjo guy. The other two guys had won several competitions too. They did so many fantastic songs and some popular music remixed and made their own. We really enjoyed it alot!

One laugh I had to share with you. The bathroom here...

Yes I used to right stall considering I'm from Indiana.

I didn't get any pictures during the show because I was having too much fun watching myself. It was a great show. The food was good. (Not as good as the Hatfield and McCoy show.) If you are a follower of my blog you know how much we love the Pirate Voyage show in Myrtle Beach. It's a Dolly Parton show too. She put in millions of dollars to change the Dixie Stampede to a Pirate Show. Now that I have recently been to the Dixie Stampede again I can say I personally prefer the Pirate Show. The horses are amazing to watch but I just get worried about how happy they are to perform two times a day. I'm sure Dolly makes sure they are well taken care of. Just my preference though. We are thankful we seen the show though. Jeremiah enjoyed the horses and the stunts the riders did.

Jeremiah got a photo with a southern belle after the show...

 

Then we started the trek back to our hotel. We overheard the area is going to be really busy the next few days. We even heard one guy tell the trolley driver to call in sick. So we are a little worried about it but we will have to deal with it. Nothing much we can do about it really. Just please someone send some cooler air this way.

Vacation Day #4

Jeremiah and me slept in a bit and it was very nice. We walked over to a log cabin pancake house right here by our hotel and it was delicious. I don't even like pancakes but Jeremiah got this butterscotch chip pancakes that were just amazing!! He loved them and I stole a few bites haha.

Then we started the trolley trips haha. It's a little annoying with the take this one to here and then this one to here but we had fun and it got us to where we wanted to go...

 

 

 

 

The bottom picture shows the trolley stop in Pigeon Forge. It's the main hub for that town. I've been helping as much as I can to get the wheelchair all hooked up in the trolley tie downs. I've been offered several jobs with the company haha. No thank you!

It was another hot humid day. We found a cute little apple themed area to stop at. They had a winery, 2 restaurants, and a few other stores. They also had an ice cream cafe.  We were forced to get milkshakes and mom got some orange sherbet. It tasted great on a hot day. Then we headed to our planned event today...

 

 

 

 We went to a dinner show called Hatfield and McCoy Dinner Feud. We had a blast. The show was fantastic. Lots of great music and dancing. A cute love story. The food was delicious. Fried Chicken, Pulled Pork, Corn on the Cob, Cole Slaw, and Mashed Potatoes. Pudding for dessert too. It was all you could eat but our first serving was more than enough.

The traffic was horrible coming back to our hotel. So it took us 2 hours to do the 4 trolley trips back. Plus the trolleys were packed. But yet again we are glad Mom isn't having to drive in all this traffic. Now I'm TIRED with a capital T. So night!!

Vacation Day #3

Our goal today. Figure out if the trolley system works for us...

I'm so happy to report it works for us. They can load Jeremiah right up and at any stop we need. Great news!!! The only bad part is you have to do this route to this route to this route but we have it figured out mostly. It's always so nice to not have to drive. There is a lot of traffic and it's also nice to not have to pay to park. We went over to Pigeon Forge and ate a delicious meal...

It looks scary from the outside but it's delicious. They have good home cooking kind of food. Including a delicious corn chowder that tasted YUMMY!

We also did a little bit of shopping and guess what stitching friends...

A stitching store!!! I heard Santa Claus shopping so no photos of my stash to share. It's really HOT and very humid so we didn't stay out too long. We came back to the hotel to enjoy air conditioning for a little bit. I also got a few shows setup for our upcoming days that we are really exciting to see. We ate dinner at a BBQ restaurant here by our hotel.

Vacation Day #2

We had a rainy trip for some of today's drive. We found a nice artisan center in Kentucky...

These cool pieces were all made from old car parts and other metal stuff. So cool! We had a lot of fun looking around and admiring but we didn't buy anything. We wanted to wait and see what we find while here at our destination. We did eat a quick lunch at the little cafe they had...

That's my mom and Jeremiah (my son). We love traveling together. We make every day a blast.

After 4 and half hours (which felt like forever) we finally arrived safe and sound in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We got all our stuff moved into the room and grabbed a bunch of pamphlets to look over about the area. We just got pizza delivered and rested after our long drive. Tomorrow we'll start the tourist things. We have so much fun stuff to look forward to. Stay tuned.

On the Road Again #1

Here we are On the Road again.

First though a look back...we had a blast on the Lincoln Hiway Sales. We did 100+ on Thursday. We found a lot of stuff we couldn't live without. I finally found some stitching stuff. The sale had a piece of evenweave and several sheets of perforated paper for less than a dollar. What a buy! Friday was a little rainy but we still stopped at over 50. We also stopped at the place where Smucker's started. They had a lot of history about the brand but also a very nice store to shop at. We also found this cute place called Grandpa's Cheesebarn and there was a delicious chocolate shop next door. We got back to the hotel Friday and I really was looking forward to reading my book. I fell asleep way early beside Jeremiah watching Youtube. He said I didn't read much that way haha. Must have been tired.

Saturday we got home and Fred treated me to a movie night. We went to see the Annabelle: Creation. I loved it! It was so scary. I jumped several times and at one point Fred had to pry my hand off his arm. I cut off his hand's circulation I was holding so tight haha. Sorry honey. It was a great movie and an excellent date night.

This morning we hit the road again. On the way today we passed by a large flea market (Treasure Isles) we used to go to several years ago. We would go like once a year at least. It was always nice but then they didn't allow dogs and we didn't have anyone to watch them. Plus it started to get run down. Here is what it looks like from the hiway...

There are a lot of vendors outside with garage sales prices and then quite a few inside a large building too. Unfortunately we were very disappointed. The people shopping were fun to watch but not exactly fun to be around. Oh my. The vendors were selling mostly trash. It was sad to see how bad it's got. But it was a nice break and then we got back on the road.

This time our vacation is to Gatlinburg, TN. We've been there before. Fred and me went for our 10th anniversary in 2011. We didn't do many tourist type things though because we had both our dogs with us. Jeremiah went when he was 1 year old and for some reason doesn't remember it haha. Mom and I had been a few times when I was younger. But it will be great to be back. We have a lot we are looking forward to. It's 8 hours from home so we stopped for tonight at...

Tomorrow will have 4 and half hours left till our destination. Hope you enjoy traveling along with us.

Monday Update

Tuesday I heard a scream from my Under the Sea SAL. It really wanted to by worked on. I figured it was time to finally start the May block. I worked on it for 2 days. Here is where I got on it...

Thursday and Friday we were busy.

For several years we have done the 127 Yard Sale. They say they are the world's longest yard sale. It goes from Michigan to Alabama. It started 30 years ago. You can follow the link to learn more about it. We have done the Michigan part but decided not to this year. We mostly just focus on Ohio (Van Wert to West Unity) and I can't imagine doing any more than that. We were TIRED. We keep track of how many we stopped at. We ended up doing 130 Thursday and 135 Friday! A lot of them setup together which makes it so nice. The Van Wert Fairgrounds Thursday had 50 different vendors setup. We had so much fun. I didn't find any stitching stuff this time. I only seen one small piece of Aida and a few little kits. That was disappointing but we each got some stuff that we couldn't live without. The weather was hot Thursday but cold Friday so that worked out.

Saturday I heard a new louder scream from my stitching tote. One I hadn't heard since March. So out came my Spring Bell Pull from Stoney Creek Magazine. Remember it?

Here is where I was on the I block the last time I worked on it actually...

Here is where I got after this weekend 2 days on it...

It's still screaming right now. So it will stay out for now. We have a busy week though. We are heading over to Lincoln Highway Buyway sales this Thursday and Friday. We plan to get home Saturday. Fred is taking me to a movie for date night Saturday then Sunday morning we are hitting the road for a vacation to Gatlinburg, TN. So laundry, packing, and preparing has to be done before Thursday morning gets here. Hope everyone has a great week.

July WIPocalypse

Yesterday was time for a WIPocalypse update. I like using this fun SAL to keep track of what I've been working on and how many days. I'm in the midst of my busy season but let's see what I've been up to when I've been stitching since the last check in June 28th...

Family Crest -- Just 2 Days of Progress. Then I realized I had lost my mojo. No worthy progress was made in those 2 days so no photo.

Dream of the Sea Kit -- 3 Days of Progress. Photos are in the last two posts. No reason to bore you with the same photos. I got 1 of the set complete and started the 2nd one.

May Snapshot -- 7 Days of Progress. Was able to start and finish this one. Picture in the post before this one. Now only 2 months behind on this one well soon to be 3 haha. 

I had 20 days of no stitching!!! I can't wait till winter when my stitching takes over again. I have had a blast though. 9 nights of camping fun in this span. Lots of special friend and family time. Stitching can wait. It will always be here for me when I return. Life is special and I sure try to cherish it when I can. See ya next check in August 27th.

Monday Update / July Smalls SAL

Hey only a week between updates. I'm not doing too bad haha. I even stitched. I know don't die from shock haha. 4 more days put into the May Snapshot and I was able to get it finished up...

(9) July 28th, 2017

May Snapshot from Pine Mountain Designs

Stitched on 32ct Lambswool Evenweave

Threads are Suggested DMC

Started July 21st. Took 7 Days.

Saturday Hubby and I had a movie day. We rented Life and Kong from Redbox. They were both really good. After that I had seen a list on Facebook about the top 30 scary movies on Netflix. So we started with #1 Hush. It was really good. Glad we had heard about it. Only bad thing about our nice day was no stitching during the movies. They were too interesting. 

Sunday I made up for it though. I worked on the Dream of the Sea pincushion I started in my last post...

Got one side of the 4 complete. Can't wait to put this one together to see how it becomes a complete piece.

**Edited to add**
I just realized I made the cut for the July Smalls SAL. The last time I remembered to join in was March. Nothing like skipping a few right? Oh well. I really want to try harder I do. I'm using the monthly snapshots for this SAL. And look I actually finished one....yeah it's May in July but shhh haha.

Long Time No Post

Finally stepping out of the busy hustle of life to post an update. My July has been so full. 2 fun camping trips. One for the 4th and another the 11th through the 16th. What a blur July has been. I had only stitched on the family crest 2 days. I felt obligated to work on it when I finally got time to pick up my needle. Then I noticed I wasn't picking up my needle. I was just staring at the TV when I had time. So I knew what meant. I was letting the stress of working on the crest get to me again. I want it done so bad it makes it not move. Then it makes me scared that I won't finish it. Then it makes me hate my stitching. It breaks my mojo. Time to pick up my other stitching and remember this is a hobby that I'm supposed to enjoy. My grandparents understand the crest won't be finished right away. I need to breath and relax.

So on the 18th I finally got back to enjoying my stitching. I received a new piece in the mail. Wait till you see this one...

Yep totally a me set. I just couldn't not do right? This is a very limited edition piece called Dream of the Sea made by Hands on Designs and sold at Down Sunshine Lane. I was lucky enough to grab one while they were for sale. I heard rumors she might have more though so if you want one better head over to her website and see. I couldn't wait to get started on it and my needles were so happy to stitch beach again. Jeremiah had the options 1 - 4 to pick and picked 4 so I started the corner gauge piece in the lower right. I got it finished up in 2 days...

Then he picked 2 so I got started on the pincushion in the upper right...

On the 20th I went over to Ohio to visit a few ladies that attend the PALs Retreat in Myrtle Beach. It was so nice to see them and I got to see a new stitching store. I didn't let myself buy any new projects since I have so many screaming my name right now. I did buy some threads I needed. Two I needed for the May Snapshot design. When I got home I couldn't wait to finally start the May Snapshot.....yep in July haha...

I got 3 days into it so far...

I definitely have my mojo back and it feels great to be stitching again. August is going to be a blur. Two fun garage sale filled weekends. One fun vacation to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I also need to find time to read emails and blogs. I'm so far behind on your blogs. So hopefully you'll be seeing comments from me soon on your blogs. I miss you guys. I'm looking forward to winter when life settles down.

June WIPocalypse

So I'm in the midst of my crazy busy time. This means I've missed the last 2 WIPocalypse updates. So much for checking in every time this year. I try I really do. Since we left before the last one on vacation I totally forgot. So let's see what sad progress I've made since my last WIPocalypse check in March 27th. I also like to use my WIPocalypse to keep track of how many days I've worked on which projects. LOL This should be easy. Let's see...

Family Crest -- 12 Days I'm still trying to focus on this one. I at least have some major progress done during these sad amount of days in 2 months

Here I was at the March check in...

Here I am now...

I finished the 7th page and started the 8th. The top row of pages is now complete finally. Wohoo progress!!

Monthly Snapshots -- 8 Days. I finished up April before my vacation. Have yet to start May or June. So behind. Here is April anyway...

To the Sea by Hands on Design -- 6 Days. Started this one on vacation and finished it up in June.

Love these front and back pillow type finishes.

Under the Sea SAL -- 4 Days. Finished up the April section.

I also participated in the Longest Day SAL. So I had 11 new starts. Scroll down one post to see all those pictures. It was a fun SAL to join in on.

So even though I've been extremely busy progress is still being made. Not near as much as I would like but hey stitching is happening in there so I'll be thankful for that.

I'm going to skip this month's question. I have too many others thing calling me away. Just glad I got this post posted at all haha. See ya hopefully next check in with maybe more progress.....hopefully.