So my family is taking a trip. When I was a child, my whole early-life pretty much, was filled with these trips to the north. We’re a northern family and visited our family a lot. My dad’s from Springfield and my mom’s from Columbus, so we’d hit both sides of the family during the holiday breaks. We haven’t been in a long long time, and my grandpa’s not doing so well, so we’re taking a trip back north to visit with family! At first, I didn’t really want to go, but it’s been such an adventure, and I’m really glad I did after all. Sure I miss work, but I’m sure it doesn’t miss me.
Anyway, I wanted to share my trip with you so far… here’s cell phone pictures of my experience. It’s been awesome!
As always, click the picture to get it large-sized. Holler at me! Miss you all!
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- One of my Christmas presents, an Amazon Kindle… man this thing is AWESOME!
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- Lydia playing her DS in the car. She’s actually VERY good at Cooking Mama!
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- In case you didn’t know, that’s the direction we’re heading (North).
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- Reading a little bit of the Zombie Survival Guide. Great read!
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- The weather’s pretty nice, right? Just wait. We’re headed to Ohio, remember?
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- Here past Louisville, KY is when it starts to get cold and rainy. So much for the sun.
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- Flurries!
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- Stopped for gas and treats… It’s past the flurry point and I consider it “snow” at this point. It’s about 30 degrees…
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- Oh Henry! candy bars… I just thought it was funny…
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- Notice the snow in my hair! Don’t look at me though, I look rough.
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- My treat. Only winners eat Reeses and milk instead of chips, candy, or Corn Nuts or something
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- Here stuck an hour outside of Cincy, the traffic’s at a dead stop/crawl. Notice the snow starting to accumulate.
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- Oh! So that’s why we were stopped… I feel bad. Probably ruined his day
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- We’ve arrived at my dad’s parents… 3 inches of snow fell that evening!
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- Izzy and Lydia experiencing the white goodness that is snow. They don’t get a lot of this in China or Tennessee
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- Lydia made about 50 snow angels, Izzy kept throwing snowballs!
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- We’re packing the car and loading up to head to my mom’s parents, and Lydia and Izzy have taken over the van!
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- The roads are pretty bad…
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- …and they got worse on the way to Columbus. Tennessee drivers would be in a ditch or not driving
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- It reads 28 degrees
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- Here we are, visiting with my grandpa. He’s great. We had good talks about all sorts of stuff… interracial relationships, Catholics (“They’re okay”), Lutherins (“Like small Catholics”), etc
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- My grandpa at his assisted living center in his favorite chair
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- My grandpa! How jolly is he?!
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- Biggest curb ever. Randomly at a gas station called Bubba’s Corner
On Christmas Eve, my dad had some last-minute errands to run for my mom, and since I was already awake in the wee hours of the morning, I thought I’d tag along, just in case we went somewhere that I could find a good White Elephant gift. My wishes were answered though and my dad, brilliant as ever, pulled into this dilapidated warehouse building on Murfreesboro Rd. in La Vergne… He talked this place up like it was his favorite store or something. Well, as soon as I stepped through the door, I realized that it fit my dad perfectly. Wandering around wide-eyed in amazement through the junk isles, this store blew my mind. And I want to share it with you. Check it out: Merchandise Liquidators.
Sorry for the poor quality of the pictures, I took them with my cell phone. BUT! You should still get a good idea of the shop. Holla!
When you look at these pictures, I hope you share in my delight at the randomest junk store I’ve ever seen. Click the pictures for the full-size.
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- Ever the eye-catcher
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- My favorite item from this list that has no context to anything else in the store: “5. Oh Pam stop that”
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- My dad checking out a picture of some sort. Notice the plethora of random trinkets and decorations…
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- “Fantasy Prince on Horseback,” a Vols helmet, and Gandalf cast in porcelain. No joke… this place apparently has it all!
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- This must be the magic isle. Wizards made cheaply, ceramic pink dragons, more wizards, and dog decorations. Yup. The randomness of their inventory NEVER ceases to make me scratch my head.
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- There’s actually not enough room anywhere to move these stairs… and creepy porcelain dolls and collectables are in the glass case to the left
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- Wooden boats (it’s Noah’s Ark), boats, and porcelain pirates. Notice the cheap prices: $5
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- Dixie flags, Titans flags, wooden propellor clock, boat houses, chicken sculptures, and at the end of the isle, all sorts of hardware and tools.
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- All sorts of baubles and ornaments… stupid decorations NATION in this area. And that’s my dad checking something out.
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- Shell soap dispenser, “stone-carved grapes,” “grape ornaments,” bowls, vases, etc.
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- George Foreman grills, glass oil lamps, rat poison, and other junk I can’t remember.
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- Stuffed cats, blue hats, colored pencils
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- This is just around the corner from the check-out counter. Look at the plethora of items here and how it’s arranged… organization FAIL.This is just around the corner from the check-out counter. Look at the plethora of items here and how it’s arranged… organization FAIL.
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- What’s this? An architect drafting kit? And American flag containers? And Sex in the City board games? And face cream? Yesssss. And my dad.
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- It never ends… junk. Everywhere. All over the place.
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- Nothing says “buy me” like hadwritten signs: “Blue lights!”
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- Sub-Dollar-Store quality toys in plastic wrap
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- More shelf items… these are mostly Native American figurines and decorations… weird. The man is my dad!
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- Between the isles there’s def boxes of more random junk. Did I mention that it was all stupid junk?
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- What are these?! Why are they selling them?
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- An example of a row of shelves in the store
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- It’s poseable! Yeah. Junk packaging, wasted space… it just looks awkward.
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- More junk. This time, a Chinese knockoff video game system and travel games
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- Things are just in boxes, everywhere.
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- The check-out counter. Notice the hand-written signs. Also the “X-Rated Movies $4.00″ sign in the top right.
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- This is the entrance to the shop. Notice the junk…
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- Definitely bought these legit oil paintings on canvas for $7.50
Merry Christmas! Remember what today’s about… Enjoy your family time and remember who Christ is and how he came into this world for US! That’s the all-time best gift, ever. Period. PTL!
Been a while, hasn’t it? Remember my posts about words? Well, I’ve thought of still MORE that I love. I used to do Wordly Wise in elementary/middle school, and I went back to my roots (and the dictionary) to give you all more words that are my favorites, lovely, cool-sounding, etc., with the Canaan Chapman definition, like always. Hope you enjoy as much as I do and please, incorporate one or two of these into your vocabulary!
Redolent – reminiscent, suggestive
Adroit – skillful
Umbra – shaded portion
Cockle – heart-shaped shell
Ripple – gentle wave
Lilt – lively rhythm
Dulcet – sweet, soothing
So my brother Jordan, lives in Washinton, D.C., our nation’s capitol. Well, they’re about to be hit by the biggest snowstorm in years… He’s making a joke about it, and it’s even being satorialized on area blogs like The Wonkette. Man, all this buzz and general jolly attitude just gets me giddy for some reason! They’re about to be pelted and destroyed and they’re getting psyched up like it’s a party. I can’t wait to hear all the buzz to come out of this one, stories like this just get me. Anyway, just so you know, be ready for pictures from my brother and such.
Also, follow these hashtags tonight and this weekend, if you will:
COMPLETED.
That was the “Say Something Stage.” Turns out it went really well. I can’t say better than expected, because I expected it to turn out exactly like it did. I only wish now I had a better plan to proceed. The Intentional Stage and all that needs to be next, but being me, I tend to think a lot and I don’t want to be a nuisance, you know? Sigh, where’s the win in this? I know what I want… Why can’t it be that easy? Or is it?
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