Artsy Fartsy Tuesday

Monday I worked, but Gary came in to straighten out his schedule.  Since his approved (yay) new medicine will not be delivered until Thursday, he said he felt good enough to work on Wednesday.  Friday will be the first day of his new treatment.  Meanwhile, he took a picture of me at the time clock.

Today was a play day and we woke up early, probably because of the sun shining in my window so early every morning because it's summer!  I LOVE SUMMER!  So we got up, had a cuppa, showered and were in the car by 8:30.  We wanted to find a new place for breakfast, and headed toward Gatlinburg.  The Coffee and Company Cottage had fabulous coffee and a bagel for Gary and a lemon pound cake cupcake for me.  OMG, was THAT good!  I probably had my day's worth of calories at that meal. 

The Arts and Crafts trail is an 8 mile long loop meandering through the mountainside with over 100 artists and craftspeople and their studios and shops lined along the way.  I wanted to find a little suction cup bud vase for my little kitchen window.  Found it!  Gary wanted to find a walking stick medallion that was made in the USA.  Found it! And how much more American can you get than an American Flag?

The best part was talking to the artists, many of which were in their studios working.  Most of them start the conversation by asking where we're from, which starts us on the story of our adventures.  Sometimes we were in there for half an hour.  It's great when people just click and we found that at a leather store with Doug and Becky from Colorado.  Not only were their wares absolutely beautiful, but we talked and talked.  We even got into politics.  Oh, yeah.  Well, we finally moved on delighting in so much talent. 

But we were getting hungry and there was a pub up ahead.  The Fox and Parrot Tavern specialized in over 100 beers and really good British fare such as fish and chips (our choice) along with a Guiness and a cuppa.  Tea, that is.  Delicious, not to mention the view - we were two stories up in the tree tops.  Lovely.

More stores on the last leg of the loop, and then a leisurely drive home.  It only reached 83 degrees today and even though started cloudless, by lunch it was cloudy which made it so much more pleasant.

Back at home, Gary grilled a couple of sausages and I filled the birdseeders yet again.  Then I got out my sketchbook and vowed to get something in it that I could be proud of.  Today gave me inspiration.

Refreshing.