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Chattanooga Weekend

"So where is this house you all come from, where everyone is beautiful and talented?" -Morgan

Okay, KB has the best sister ever. She managed to get us all together for an amazing weekend in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was a weekend of surprises, new experiences, old friends and beautiful landscapes. We surprised KB and Annie surprised us all by driving up from Atlanta on her weekend off from touring with Invisible Children.

We arrived in Chattanooga around 1am in the morning. I knew Annie was coming but it was a surprise for everyone else, so I had told Annie to meet us at a grocery store parking lot. When we pulled into the parking lot we saw a man in a nice Lexus waving us down. Since I've watched way too much Law and Order; I figured we were about to get gunned down by this drug dealer/pimp so I peeled out of the parking lot. Turns out it was KB's really nice cousin who had come to lead us to the cottage. Embarrassing.

Ashley had planned for all of us to go to Raccoon Mountain Caverns for a 6 hour Wild Cave Expedition. We got to wear headlamps and kneepads and crawl through tunnels called dubious names like "the birth canal" and the "teeth scraper". I never knew human bodies could fit through holes so small. We came out caked in mud and completely amazed by what is under the earth.

Chattanooga is a beautiful city with an amazing art district. The sidewalks even have dance steps printed on them!

Walking around Chattanooga we found a beautiful walking bridge, a giant hill to sled down on old cardboard boxes and awesome crafts for sale, most of which you can buy on Etsy. One of the crafters was Reuse First, sellers on Etsy.com who make beautiful things out of things people usually throw away. I loved their etched jars and wood grain books which they silk screen using old house paint! I think I'm in love. We also went to an amazing dessert house, Rembrant's Coffee House; magical is all I can think of to describe all the desserts and pastries they have. I got Tiramisu and a pumpkin truffle. Amazing!

Such a good weekend. It was amazing to have us all in one place and it made me realize how magical and epic great friendships can be.

Petaluma Whiskerino!

So ridiculous, ridiculously AWESOME.

PETALUMA WHISKERINO: "Beardo Optico" from TINBIKE on Vimeo.

Time Lapse: My Hairy Commute from Petaluma from :: Fred Abercrombie on Vimeo.

Mowgli

I know, I know, this means I'm a cat lady.

playing farm

This week I get a farm vacation! I'm house sitting for my friend Mary Beth. Her and her husband Jason, their two little munchkins, Caleb and Kathryn, have a beautiful house with chickens, a garden and two great big labs, Hank and Maggie. Every night I go and gather eggs and then go pick my dinner from the garden!

A few things a city girl like me did not know:

1) Vegetables have WORMS and BUGS on them! Fresh corn taste so wonderful, but not when there's little worms all over the tops. eeeeeeeEEEKKKKKKKKSSSSSS. All I have to say is gardening gloves are the best invention ever.

2) Dogs must be the friendliest creatures ever. It's great being greeted everyday by Hank and Maggie who act like they love me tons and tons even though they just met me. The chickens act like they love me too, but I know its all an act.

3) Chickens are not potty trained, they poop everywhere, including on their eggs. Almost made me stop wanting to eat eggs.

Chickens can be freakin mean too. All of Mary Beth's hens are very nice except for Big Momma Chicken. I never thought I would be afraid of a chicken, but I am. If you met Big Momma Chicken you would understand. Big Momma could be confronted by a flesh-eating-wolverine and still would not get off her eggs. I have never been so against being a vegetarian as I am now. She truly deserves the stew pot.

Staying at Mary Beth's is such a wonderful vacation from my house and Harrisonburg. I get to pretend I have all this wonderful land and animals for a week and then go home without actually doing all the work! I feel very safe too since Mary Beth's sister, grandpa and parents live within sight of the house. Her Grandpa even came by and gave me some vegetables from his garden! I'm going to miss all this country goodness when I go back home to the city!

do it.

I'm doing it.