Why I Love Tennessee, Round 2

I left work early yesterday (sorry Alicia!) to head out with some friends for a tiny weekend getaway to Monteagle (A sleepy little mountaintop retreat with amazing views, as you can see). Sometimes all you need is to drive for an hour and a half and feel (mentally) halfway around the world. It was a beautiful mini-vacation!


Today we went on a hike in Fiery Gizzard (great name!) I went there with my family many many years ago, and remember the sheer cliffs, up and down trail, intense rocky overhangs and water everywhere. So today we brought swimsuits and were expecting to hear the powerful waterfalls, but there was hardly any water. Tennessee (and much of the south) has been dealing with a tough drought for what seems like forever, and it was so sad to see a rushing creek turn into a standstill. One member of our group trekked around a slick waterfall and jumped in where the water was deeper, but after putting my feet in, I decided to stay dry. It was cold!


I snapped some great pictures, wish I could show them all. Below is an enormous old hemlock tree that must have been 12 feet in diameter.


I did bring knitting, of course, and wanted to knit on the porch last night after dinner, but there was too much wine around and it's hard to knit while looking at the stars - there were a bunch of shooting stars. Sometimes you have to get out of the city to see just how much light pollution effects the starlight.


Here is a current sock while driving down the highway. I got a lot done, but didn't count my stitches until about a half inch past where this picture was taken, and I have 28 sts on one side (how it should be) and 30 on the other (whoops). I have no idea when or how this happened, and am too tired to figure it out tonight. It's late, I just now ate dinner, and my legs are killing me. It's time to settle down with a certain project (felted clogs) for a certain good friend (who took me to Monteagle).

And I almost forgot - the Titans played the Falcons today, and it took all of the patience I could muster to wait until the hike was over to call friends in Nashville and find out that WE WON 20-13! Haven't found out the details yet, but apparently our offense was off but our defense saved the day. We're 3-1!