Sunflowers & Showers

Brent & his cycling group found this field on one of their rides.  So, on the 4th, when I told Brent that I wanted to take a drive in the country, he knew just where to take me.

I made this pizza, including the dough. My first yeast experiment (yeast=magic)! It was really good!  I almost didn’t eat it, though – I thought the dough was bad or wrong because it was so sticky that I couldn’t do anything with it.  So, I just googled “bread dough too sticky” and the all-knowing internet told me to just sprinkle some flour on the dough, my hands, & the countertop.  Worked like a charm! (I did already know to do that, but I never imagined the dough would be that sticky!) But it takes forever to make a pizza from scratch.  I used pesto (store bought), tomato sauce, Roma tomatoes, and lots of basil & cheese.  Basil is my favorite scent/flavor/herb.  I am craving it & want to eat it on everything!

Figs are coming!

We FINALLY got some rain – yay!

Our 4th of July festivities included me working, watching the Tour, a country drive, TCBY, & a movie (The Ledge).  We watched some fireworks in the backyard (way in the distance) and listening to the Tuscaloosa City fireworks once we were in bed (ha! - by 9 pm).

“What do you have that you did not receive?”  - 1 Cor. 4:7

Chattanooga, Part 5: Incline Railway

As a child, I clearly remember asking my mother if we could ride the incline railway in Chattanooga.  It runs up Lookout Mountain and you can see the tracks from downtown.  I don’t remember the entire conversation, but her reasoning for not riding was: “I would get on that thing and fall to my death.”  I’m not sure of the exact wording, but she used the exact phrase “fall to my death.”  For some reason, that stuck in my young mind and I have never had any desire to ride the Chattanooga Railway or any other railway, for that matter.

And I should have just stayed with that idea, but we got package tickets with Rock City + Ruby Falls + the Railway.  So it was our last stop on the way out of town.

It was PACKED.  Seriously.  We stood in line for over an hour to get on and it was SO HOT.  Plus there was a live reggae band that I really enjoyed, but Brent not so much.  It was really loud and chaotic at times, but they were so into it, and I love watching that.

We finally got on the train and began the backwards ascent up Lookout Mountain.

At the very top there were some technical/mechanical difficulties and we totally stopped on the tracks.  They assured us it was “no big deal” but Mama’s words kept coming to my mind and I wondered if I was about to “fall to my death.”

We didn’t really realize that there would also be a line at the top to get back down the mountain and I’m not going to lie, when we stepped out onto the platform and saw the massive crowd waiting to get on and go back down, I almost cried.  But the views from the observation deck were nice.  Obviously, I am a sucker for a good view.

   

Ready to go:

We actually met a TN football player and his parents on the observation deck and stood in line with them for over an hour to get back down, talking football (of course I was just nodding and trying to look interested – ha!).  Finally, finally we were back down on the ground and we practically RAN to the vehicle.  Probably won’t go back to the incline railway.  At least not on the 4th of July.

So, Mama, just for the record, you are not missing out on anything. In fact, you would have absolutely HATED it and would have been tempted to jump to your death. Next time I’ll listen, I promise.

Chattanooga, Part 4: Celebration!

Saturday afternoon, we bought tickets to see Avatar in 3-D.  The show started at 8.  At 7, we were frantically looking for somewhere non-crowded to eat + realized that we were going to miss the sunset over the river while in the movie.  We started feeling rushed, decided that we didn’t want to feel rushed, and sold our Avatar tickets back.  We got a full refund!

Best decision EVER!

We ate supper and decided to walk across the Walnut Street Bridge.  However, when we got there we realized that Chattanooga’s 4th of July celebration was being held that night!  There was already a huge turnout.

And then….FIREWORKS!  Maybe the best I have ever seen?!  The first time I have ever tried to photograph a fireworks show.

    

After the fireworks we headed back to the hotel, exhausted.  At 10:45, it was way past our bedtime!  Ha!

Happy 4th of July!!!

We had a GREAT time in Chattanooga this weekend!  Glad to be back home now, watching the Tour de France, eating ice cream, and getting ready to settle in with some movies: Shutter Island & Wolfman.  Wondering if the Fairmont Drive fireworks are on the agenda tonight…..or at least a few rifle shots??  With our neighbors, you just never know!

Last night we went to happened upon Chattanooga’s Independence Day celebration.  I took photos of fireworks for the first time.  I looked up some tips on the internet for manual settings, but when the first few did not turn out, I switched back to an automatic mode.  Unfortunately I left the manual focus on, and since it was dark I didn’t really notice.  So I had to edit several of the photos a bit, but I thought many of them turned out….interesting, at least. :) Ha! 

I will update more about our trip tomorrow.  Until then,

Happy 4th!!!  And God bless America!!!