My Old Kentucky Home

Today we moved out of our Kentucky home.



This house has been home to us for sixteen months. To live in such a beautiful house, with a yard and a quiet neighborhood, has been a tremendous blessing. Our thanks to Jason and Marsha for allowing us to rent their lovely home ~





Some farewell pictures (from pre-packing days, of course!) ~

We will remember this home fondly and we pray it will bless the next residents as much as it has us.

~~~

Louisville Ice Storm

Our "Schmidt Family Seminary Adventure" won't be properly chronicled without any mention of what transpired over the past week...

On January 27th, an ice storm froze our city into a crystalline Narnia. Trees were weighed down to the breaking point under thick ice, many of them bowed over to the ground, unable to withstand the weight. Many other trees were uprooted, including one in our backyard.

Hundreds of thousands of people were left in the cold without electricity as these downed trees took out power lines. We were among those thousands. By the morning after the storm, our house was too cold for our little children to tolerate.

Our friends from church, Steve and Tammy, opened their home to us. We imposed on them for a full week as we waited for the Louisville Gas & Electric trucks to roll into our neighborhood.

Our power came back on yesterday, and now we are joyfully back in our home. Ironically, this happened to us before, during "Windstorm 2008." I can't help but laugh at what life hands you sometimes.

A word about our hosts, Steve and Tammy (and their three young children!): They were so good to us! We felt completely welcome and wanted. Through all the hassles of being displaced, being in their well-run, child-friendly home made it much easier on us.

And a word about our great God and Savior: The Lord has provided abundantly for our family. In a city where we have no family, few roots, and have only lived a short time, God has given us a spiritual family-- our church.

As our family sang at bedtime last night, "God Is So Good!"

~~~

We're Back On The Grid

Our power is back on! Or, as they are saying around here, we are "back on the grid."

Many in Louisville are still without power, though, including our church. We had our worship service outdoors this morning, which was very cool.




From conversations this morning, it is clear that this has been a long week for many, and, particularly for those still without electricity, nerves are frayed.

On a brighter note, I have a request to share some grilling recipes, created during our power outage:


Grilled Peaches

Cut fresh peaches in half and pull out the pit. Place peach halves, face down, directly onto hot grill. Cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Remove peaches from grill and place face up on serving plate. Drizzle with honey. As good as peach pie, but healthier!


Creole Tinfoil Packets

1 link smoked sausage, halved and sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
1/2 cup sliced onion
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Olive oil
Garlic powder
Cumin
Chili powder

Spray 4 sheets of tinfoil with cooking spray. Portion out sausage, peppers, onions, and beans on the tinfoil sheets. Drizzle each serving with just a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder. Wrap edges of foil up and around the food and seal like a package. Place tinfoil packets directly on grill and cook until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. About 4 servings.

Enjoy!

~~~

Still No Power

Our home is still without electricity or telephone. Now it has been 5 1/2 days.

Our friends, Steve and Tammy, have power at their house. They are graciously allowing the Schmidt clan to crash at their house while they are out of town this weekend. A computer, telephone, television, hot showers, hair dryer, refrigerator, washer and dryer, an oven...this is luxury.

We have been doing just fine though. Many blessings come from "unplugging" for a few days, as anyone who goes camping knows. Some lessons learned:

• I spend way too much time on the computer.
• Reading by flashlight is tricky.
• I take hot water for granted.
• Without hot water for washing (clothes, dishes, floors, ourselves, little boys), bad smells crop up quickly.
• Grilling is awesome! With only one cooking method, we're trying all kinds of delicious grilled foods...apple crisp, roasted green beans and mushrooms, creole tinfoil packets, honey-drizzled grilled peaches, pizza, chocolate biscuit "clouds." Yes, we are eating quite well.
• I understand why the average nightly hours of sleep was so much higher in ages past. Without electricity, there's little reason to stay up past dark or get up before sunrise. We are well rested!
• Gathering around a couple candles and a single flashlight in the evening is great family bonding time.
• Lacking some of our usual entertainment, we've been telling jokes to one another. Fun!

Louisville Gas and Electric was working two blocks from our home today...it shouldn't be too much longer.

~~~

Camping At Home

We've been without electricity since Sunday afternoon.

Strong winds swept across Louisville Sunday, and half the city is still without power. Trees are down everywhere you look. Nearly everyone has piles of branches and debris set out at the end of their drive.

We had almost no damage to our home (just one small piece of siding blew off), though the yard was a mess. Neighbors down the street were not nearly so lucky. One house sits crushed beneath a huge tree.

The seminary cancelled all classes and activities for the week. Ken is also out of work for the time being because the Macaroni Grill has only partial power. We are hearing mixed reports about when the entire city will be back up and running...anywhere from five days to a month.

So, in the meantime, we are eating out of a cooler, cooking all our meals on the BBQ grill, eating outside (the weather is gorgeous, praise the Lord), using the laundromat, and taking cold showers.

Essentially, we are camping at home.

But we have so much for which to be thankful, and we are remembering often that this is all mere inconvenience compared to those affected by Hurricane Ike.

~~~

Happy Independence Day!

For the second year in a row, we celebrated Independence Day at the Crescent Hill Old Fashioned Fourth of July.

We ate tons of junk food ~




Listened to a Dixie Land brass band ~

Played instruments at the Music Together tent ~

Visited Sweet Petunia the clown ~

Watched an antique car parade ~

And we went for a trolley ride ~



What a great day! Happy 4th of July!

Cave Hill

I've been curious about Cave Hill Cemetery for months. I drive by it and around it often. It's hard to miss: 296 acres in the middle of Louisville.

Until today all I had ever seen were the miles of stone fence surrounding the cemetery along Grinstead Drive and Lexington Road.

But this morning, we took our family walk in the cemetery. Sounds strange, but it was fascinating and beautiful.

Walking through the cemetery was a history lesson, for sure. All the big names of Louisville history are buried at Cave Hill: Speed, Seelbach, Colonel Sanders, Gheens, Norton, Belknap, Boyce, Sampey, Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr., and many more.

We passed by the graves of Breckinridge, Henry Watterson, Zorn, Grinstead, Baxter. It seems every street in Louisville is buried here :)

Cave Hill is known as a "Garden Cemetery," and is in fact an arboretum, the only one in the city. The foliage this season is full with roses, peonies, Iris, and Japanese Maple. Probably many more exotic things, too, but I'm still at a basic level of plant appreciation.

Part of the grounds were used as a Civil War burial site. One section for Union solders; one section for Confederate soldiers.

The elaborate monuments are quite a sight, all in memory of wealthy and influential Louisvillians. Fountains, statues, obelisks, mausoleums with stain glass windows, elaborate family plot gardens. One monument was a life-like statue of a magician, his hand outstretched in invitation to his audience. To his side was a trunk with a cape draped over top. Many amazing works of art, really.

We didn't intend for the morning to be any more than a walk through a sort of outdoor museum. It turned, however, into a spiritual lesson when Calvin asked, "Mommy and Daddy, why do people have to die?"

We discussed with him Hebrews 9:27, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."

What a profound question he asked us, and what an unexpected opportunity to once again share the gospel with him.

Peonies

At our home in Minnesota, I planted a Sarah Bernhardt peony in the front flower bed. I never saw it bloom. We were always in Louisville for summer term classes, ironically, while the peonies were in bloom. (I did see pictures, thanks to my neighbor Mary, and they were gorgeous)

God always gives the most thoughtful gifts. Look what is blooming in our side yard ~

Peonies!

A Simple Pleasure

A random thing I love about our home in Louisville:

The vent for the clothes dryer is right below the kitchen window. When I open the window on laundry days, in wafts the smell of detergent, bleach, and dryer sheets. Good clean smells. Mmm.

Derby Day

Today is Derby Day, the biggest day of the year for the city of Louisville. And I did today what so many Louisvillians do: I stayed as far away from Churchill Downs as possible! I did spend the afternoon making Derby Pies, so I do feel like somewhat of a participant. And I caught a few minutes of the Derby on television, where I saw Joey Fatone. Whoo hoo.

I knew next to nothing a year ago about the Kentucky Derby. I knew it was in Kentucky, and I may have been able to tell you that it was a horse race, but only after a brief hesitation as I debated in my head between horses and cars.

I still don't know a ton, but here's a few tidbits (Louisville friends, correct me if I'm wrong):

• Derby is always the first Saturday of May.
• It is held at Churchill Downs, near downtown Louisville.
• The day before Derby Day is called "Oaks." The fillies race on "Oaks" day, and the saying of the day is "Lilies for the fillies."
• Oaks day is mostly attended by locals, and has more of a family atmosphere than Derby Day.
• The flower of Derby Day is the red rose. I'm not sure on this one, but from the street boulevards to the cakes at the bakery, I've noticed that the whole city is decorated with horses and red flowers...
• The two airports in town are as busy as can be with charter planes bringing in the rich and famous.
• Several restaurants in town are rented out this evening by groups of celebrities.
• Every hotel in town is completely booked.
• The infield (outfield?) has a reputation for boozing and rowdiness. In short, stay away.
• People bring elaborate picnic meals to Churchill Downs.
• The hats are even more elaborate.
• Traditional Derby foods include strawberries, Mint Juleps, and Derby Pie.
• Summer in Louisville begins on Derby weekend, not Memorial weekend. Derby marks the beginning of summer clothes, white shoes and white purses.
• It's called "the fastest two minutes in sports."
• Derby is anticipated for two weeks prior with hot-air-balloon races, fireworks shows, festivals, and parades.
• Before the big race, everyone sings, "My Old Kentucky Home."

And, by the way, Derby Pie is a chocolate chip pecan pie served warm with sweetened whipped cream. Is your mouth watering?

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill

We spent Friday at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, a 3,000 acre National Historic Landmark near Lexington, Kentucky ~

The main museum is in the Centre Family Dwelling ~

This building served as the home for up to eighty Shakers. Members lived as brothers and sisters on opposite sides of the building. They came to be called "Shakers" because of their charismatic trembling or shaking in worship services.

A broom-making demonstration ~

Product testing ~

We had been to the Shaker Village once before in the fall. This visit, we spent time at the village farm ~

This chocolate brown kid named Cocoa took a liking to my boys and followed them around for awhile. The kids roamed freely outside their pen ~

A "Pleasant" day!

A Full Week

My mother has been here for the past five days visiting us. She returned to Minnesota this morning. We had a great time with her! The boys loved having Grandma Maggie here. When they woke each morning, they barely greeted me but went right to find Grandma. The weather could not have been better, so we spent much of the week outdoors, playing with the kids, exploring, and enjoying the spring foliage ~

One of our outings was to the Farmington Historic Plantation ~

We got a glimpse of plantation life in the 1830's on our self-guided tour. Mostly, though, we enjoyed seeing the grounds and gardens ~

I plan to post more pictures tomorrow from our week with Grandma Maggie!

Spring Flowers

Lately, I have been taking in the delightful sights and smells of my neighborhood in full bloom.

This type of flowering tree is common around the neighborhood--a type of Magnolia, perhaps?

These are the blossoms on the tree outside our kitchen window ~

A flowering shrub on our neighbor's fence ~

The daffodils at the Zoo's Etscorn Garden ~

Flowers from my sweetheart on our anniversary, the sweetest flowers of them all ~

These are branches of an Eastern Redbud tree, very common in this area ~

I am not trying to rub it in, dear Minnesota friends. You will have your spring soon enough! And isn't it extra sweet after the long winter months?

Kentucky State Capitol

We took a family trip today to Frankfort, the capitol of Kentucky.




We toured an historic candy factory, Rebecca Ruth Candy Company. Can you guess their signature candy? (This is Kentucky, remember) That's right, folks, the Bourbon Ball ~

Don't you love this picture of the pastor next to the bourbon ball sign?

The boys choosing candy out of the "non-alcoholic case" (Thank goodness for that) ~

A famous jockey (Calvin something-or-other) ~

The state capitol building ~

The grounds have enormous tulip beds, which are a week or so away from blooming. We'll need to go back again!





Also on the capitol grounds are the biggest hanging planters I've ever seen, though they've yet to be planted this season. It made me think, what flowers would I plant in these?



The Executive Mansion (Ken is not the Governor of Kentucky...FYI: neither is Teddy Dean.) ~

My new favorite flowering tree, the Jane Magnolia ~

This floral clock is supposed to be quite a sight when it is planted with annuals. Again, something to go back and see later in the season ~

We also learned some state history along the way at the gravesite of Daniel Boone.




Thanks to my sweet husband for planning this family trip!

Kentucky Springtime