Weekend Getaway!

Max and I just got back from a weekend getaway with four other couples from Gatlinburg, TN. We stayed at a large chalet tucked away in the snow covered mountains where the temperature was a balmy 60 degrees and sunny all weekend.




The warm weather alone was enough to make me want to not go back to Cincy where it's currently dreary and cold. Not to mention that I'm dying to see the new bulbs come up that I planted in the fall and to put our seedlings in the ground. But I digress. Gatlinburg is a very touristy area but there are some nuggets of goodness if you know where to look. The Apple Barn is an awesome place to have breakfast with their amazing apple fritters and apple juleps that are free with every meal. WonderWorks, the upside down house with 120 interactive exhibits, was just the ticket for us kids at heart. We got to climb inside the Mercury lander replica like we were astronauts, stand in 65 mile an hour winds that simulated a hurricane at half speed and lay on an actual bed of nails. Then to top it all off we visited the buy 1 get 2 free boot store. Yes, you heard me. I am growing as a person and bought my first (and then my second the next day) pair of cowboy boots.



They are the most comfortable pair of shoes ever and not to mention very sassy! I think I might just love them. Aren't vacations wonderful? I should really take more of them...

Introducing Me!

Hello all, my name is Kristin but you can just call me Red. At some point or another everyone does. I've gone by the moniker of Rubida ever since I learned in Latin class in the 7th grade that it meant "red-haired." This is only one of the things that defines me. I also love to talk, garden, throw parties, craft and play with animals. Everyone knows that when they travel with me and we pass a petting zoo...we are stopping. I don't care if the petting zoo consists of a pack of goats, a dog, or ducks. We are stopping. Of course the more exotic the animal the better which is how I ended up petting a kangaroo last year. Totally awesome!

I also have a few addictions. Nothing too terribly scary, the list pretty much goes like this: chapstick, tea, hobbies. Doesn't sound like a lot, right? Until you take into the account that these things are small and easily collected. There are lots of pieces and parts. I guess I should clarify that the hobbies I collect that produce crafts. For example I knit and crochet which means I get lots of different needle types and sizes plus all the various yarns needed for each project. I make jewelry which requires it's own set of tools, beads, connectors and such. Now I sound like a boarderline hoarder...which I am not as I constantly give away my finished crafts and donate gently used items to charity. Basically I like variety and quantity. I like to constantly reinvent, grow, change and learn. Learning new skills keeps me sharp and I like to learn the older crafts best. It makes me feel good to preserves some of my family knowledge when my mom teaches me how to can or my grandmother teaches me needlepoint. That's what I contribute to society, carrying on traditions.

I started this blog to share a snapshot of my adventures as I explore my world and new life in Cincinnati, OH. After this one I am going to cut down on saying I so much...but I thought it was only fair to introduce myslef before I jumped into other posts. Join me as I travel, garden and craft my way through my 30th year of life. I quilt, I grow plants from seed and I try to be green. It's nice to meet you.