Walking the dog

Drift took me for a walk on Sunday and we enjoyed the mild fall weather -- as you can see, not a cloud in the sky! The clouds and rain have since rolled in and we're not slated to have sunny weather until next Tuesday.

The long, main road to our house is STILL being worked on, but they have made a lot of progress. Most of the street and one side of sidewalk has been paved. It's still a one-way though and I am officially sick of driving almost a mile out of my way in order to get onto a main thoroughfare.

This is another road we take on our walks. Drift insists on stopping every couple yards to mark his territory, but when I want to stop for a photo of a sunflower he gets all antsy.

This time of year is really lovely -- it's January/February that test my resolve and make me question why we live here!

Thursday roundup

Have you gotten your flu shot yet? I popped downstairs for mine yesterday -- the employee health nurse poked me, band-aided my arm and sent me on my way. Doesn't get any easier than that. But holy cats, my arm is sore today.

Everybody has been asking about the engagement ring - sorry, no photos yet because we haven't had a chance to go ring shopping again! D is still trudging through rivers, muskeg and tundra on the search for moose and caribou. A friend of my mom owns a jewelry store here in town, so I'd like to talk with him and see if he can offer us a good deal. Most of the settings we've looked at have included a solitaire princess cut - I'm just really drawn to that style.

I'm considering going wedding dress shopping, but really have my heart set on altering the gown that my mom wore when she married my dad. It is gorgeous -- white lace overlay with a nice-sized train. It is also like a size 2 (my mom seriously could have been an Asian supermodel back in the day!) so I barely got the dress over my shoulders when I tried it on the other night. I guess it's just motiviation to lose those 5 pesky pounds. My mom is cool with me making some changes to the top of the dress (goodbye long sleeves and high neck) and nipping in a bit around the waist so I can show off my figure (va va voom!) We've been discussing possible alteration shops in town who can be trusted not to mess up this priceless family heirloom - you know, no pressure or anything.

Tennessee 3: Aquarium

Pretty early on in our trip the three kids (me, Risha, Gabe) visited the Gatlinburg Aquarium, which I highly recommend. It was a little pricey at about $24 a ticket but we used a couple free passes that my parents had received.

Outside the Aquarium and overlooking the creek.

I love the Canon camera that D gifted me for Christmas. It features an aquarium setting that I finally had a chance to use on this day.

These little guys were a lesson in evolution -- they are able to swim in the water like fish and then walk up on land with their fin-like feet. It was almost creepy to witness.

My favorite portion of the tour - the walk-through tunnels.

Amazing colors througout the facility -- I couldn't help myself and took way too many photos.

This guy reminded me of a day-glo lobster.

I'm obviously amused by simple things, but the faces on the rays always make me happy. Look at those smiles!

Photos

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Wedding location

I took advantage of some Labor Day weekend sales and picked up a few things for the wedding. It's mostly just table decor stuff, but most people know that I LOVE good deals and I managed to discover some amazing things for cheap, cheap, cheap. The local thrift stores all had 50% sales on Monday so off I went in search of large canning jars and cute modern glass vases. Found a few, but most people tend to hang onto canning jars in Alaska for obvious reasons. I'm not too worried since I have at least a year to gather all this stuff together. I'm really aiming for an outdoorsy, rustic vibe for the wedding. Think natural elements and hues, with an outdoor ceremony and bringing the outdoors in for the reception.

A friend of my parents' in Gatlinburg offered up his property as a ceremony site if we wanted to hold the festivities in Tennesse, which was so incredibly generous.

We're standing on the deck in these two photos, overlooking the Smoky Mountains.

The owner's home on the left, and little chapel/dressing room on the right.

We have almost too many options if we decide on an Alaska wedding. This is one of the places I'd like to check out when D returns from hunting. Not gonna tell you where it is though...don't want to give away too many details!

Tennessee 2: Mills Park

My dad is a disc golf junkie, so it's really convenient that a course lies less than a mile away from my parents' house. Mills Park is located next to the local high school.

Dad's full white beard really threw me off at the airport -- didn't recognize him at first! Mills Park is really a nice little place. Risha, Mom and I walked through the area while Dad and Gabe played a round of disc golf.

I think this was pee-wee football -- the little boys had big helmets on their tiny little heads. And they even had little girl cheerleaders.

Yes, a town nearby is called "Boogertown." My mom reports that Boogertown Gap is a popular band in the area.

Little bunnies everywhere.

During our walk we came up on this tree in the park -- I thought it looked like something out of a Scooby-Doo cartoon.

Everywhere in Sevier County you see the same names: Ogle, Proffitt. These people settled the area and apparently never left, so many of their descendants own a lot of land and are quite wealthy. The elderly guy who lives at this house is a Proffitt, I think, and sells tomatoes and okra out front. You weight it and then put money in the tractor mailbox. It was kinda cute.

And then the guy came out of his house to "chat" and pretty much kept us hostage there for about 30 minutes. At first I thought, oh this guy is very friendly. Then he went on and on about how much money he makes off the land his family owns and I thought, oh this guy is conceited braggart.

Ah, good times...