The Tunnel, Revisited

Being the end of the year, I've thinking back of what I would have liked to have done this past year.  Loving the Tunnel as much as I do, I would like to document the changes throughout the year.  So, I decided (loftily, albeit) that I should take a picture either entering or leaving the Tunnel each Sunday that I go to Oak Mountain.  I was on my way to the Park this past Sunday and got to the turn in the tunnel and noticed 3 HUGE BULLDOZERS!  They were sitting about 30 or so yards from the road up on the hill and were surrounded by downed trees.  "WHAT ARE YOU DOING????"  I heard myself yell.  I couldn't believe it.  The trees are coming down.  What could possibly be going on?  My shift supervisor at the Center theorizes that there could be apartments in the Tunnel's future.  This, however, would mean grading the hill way down and even widening the cozy 2-lane.  My heart broke.  I have no problems trimming trees and shrubbery from the road side to keep things safe and visible, but apartments?  Really?  I'm further befuddled because I thought this land belonged to the State Park.  Mostly because there are "STATE PARK LAND" signs affixed to several trees on both sides of the Tunnel. 

I still plan to try to take my pictures.  Hopefully, enough people will be as enlivened as I am and we can stop whatever development this is to become, and enjoy the Tunnel that much longer.  Or, I can watch as one of my favorite places is destroyed and document more of Shelby County's "progress".

:(

Cuteness abounds at our house!

Cell Phone Pictures from Moab

This is only a small, pitiful excuse for a vacation blog, but I'm lazy and busy. Sorry. I haven't even looked at the real photos I took with my camera! I went out to Utah to see Jenny, the Man, and Munkey Belle. We spent the weekend at an amazing cabin outside of Moab and spent time at Arches NP and Canyonlands NP. More to come later {I hope :)}.

The Tunnel

Most Sundays, I drive south to Oak Mountain State Park. Before I even get there, I pass through one of my favorite places this close to home. Just turning off the main road and passing a service station, I enter the Tunnel. This time of year, everything is lush and green. Soon it will begin to turn with the season with several beautiful shades of brown, red, orange and gold. As we move into winter, the leaves disappear and the Tunnel becomes gray and still. Just when it seems that the world won't come out of the cold, the trees start squeezing out tiny green buds. Spring is beginning. Each week, I watch the forest here wake up from it's winter sleep. The trees get greener and greener, and the Tunnel becomes alive again. The trees almost seem to reach down to say hello. Greeting you as you enter a calmer, quieter place. As the heat of summer moves in, the leaf-full trees offer shade and a brief, cool respite from the heat. Even though I've been watching the Tunnel change for several years and know what comes next, each time I drive through I take a deeper breath and smile. As I leave the park a few hours later, the Tunnel amazes me again to carry me to the next trip.

Been a little too busy

For evidence, check out One Stitch Wonders and Bees Lees

Hopefully, normal programming will return soon!

New stuff over there

Ha! I have been working!

Look down there >>-----
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<<-----/ for One Stitch Wonders.

Testing-Testing-1-2-3

I'm working on some stuff, promise. In no particular order.

Stay tuned.

Please :)

A Reason to Blog

Because a new car and the holidays weren't enough...

Several times this winter, the weather people have forecasted snow, but have never delivered. Until now. Wednesday and Thursday were so nice last week. Almost 70 degrees nice. Friday we had a really bad storm, with tornadoes and all. Saturday morning was a little dreary then it started getting really cold. Sunday we woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow. It always amazes me how quiet everything is when it's snowing. These are pictures from Oak Mountain. I got there around noon, and 2 hours later there was almost no snow to be seen.

Intentional Addendum

I've been taking a new daily medication for my migraines, and it causes a bit of brain malfunction from time to time. My short term memory lacks and I forget about half of what I need.

Think more and talk less. My mouth tends to get ahead of my brain and I end up saying things that are more snarky than intended. I've cut some pretty deep wounds with this tendency.

Get/Stay more organized. I usually have piles and piles of important bits of paper lying around that need to be filed. Of course, when I need something, I can never find it. I sort of started this in December, but mostly it was in preparation for doing taxes in a couple of weeks. I set up a pretty good system in a pretty good place, so hopefully this will be easy.

Be more prepared. With everything from getting lunch ready for the next day to "disaster preparedness". I've had a list of important things to compile on the fridge for about 2 years. I think it's time to take care of that. And, this will help with aforementioned intention. The older I get, the more I hate doing things at the last minute.

Get rid of stuff. Not necessarily throw things away, but find better homes for all the extra stuff we have and don't need. We have a lot of stuff that hasn't been out of boxes or in use in years that is just taking up space. This one sort of goes with the yard sale intention. One of my new mantras should be "If you don't use it, you don't need it."

Adding to my Collection

I started to run out of room with all of my new jewelry I've been working on. So, I made another Jewelry Box for my necklace and earring sets and hung it just below the first one.


Everything on the top row is original, only a few on the middle and bottom are original. When I get jewelry going for sale, I'll start making these to sell, too.

Awesome Surprise

For New Year's we went to the house of an old college friend of mine. We noticed a really cool painting just inside the front door and asked him about it. He immediately lit up and said he had something for me, and that I was the perfect person for it. We followed him back to his bedroom and he produced this painting: The one one the wall has less color, but is no less cool.


This is a close up of the painting. It is covered with Hershey's Kisses flags. And yes, he ate all of these. Both paintings are about 20"x30". That's alot of Kisses. We brought it home and found the perfect place for it. He started painting about 8 years ago and several different sized and themed works all over his house. Hopefully one day he'll have some in a gallery.

New Year's Intentions

Because I don't do well with resolutions, here is a list of things I intend to accomplish this year.

Finally get a new-ish kitchen. We don't have a dishwasher and the cabinets are too low t0 install one. So, we pretty much have to rip out all the lower cabinets + countertops and re-do. But, the sink stays. I love my sink. That's why I bought the house.

Tear up some carpet to expose hardwoods. We've discovered that there are hardwoods under the hall carpet and one of the bedrooms.

Take more time to do things I keep saying I'm going to do. Hike more, bike more, garden more, clean more, spend more time with friends.

Have a yard sale. We gathered a bunch of stuff for a yard sale last February and moved it to the front of the house. And it has stayed there. I think this may also fall under previous intentions.

Work on the jewelry/craft business. I've really enjoyed learning to make jewelry and using different materials and techniques. We've talked about having a business selling honey and wax and their related products, so why not add in my new favorite hobby. I would eventually love to have a little shop.

Of course, I intend to eat less and exercise more, but doesn't everyone?