"ice", "kentucky", "rain", "sleet", "snow", "weather", "winter" Sarah Holland "ice", "kentucky", "rain", "sleet", "snow", "weather", "winter" Sarah Holland

Stay a day...

My grandmother always says, "If you don't like the weather in Kentucky, stay a day it will change."

However, I'd like to recommend if you are bemoaning the weather any time between late November through mid March, don't stay a day. Get the hell out.

Kentucky winters are grey, rainy, and bleak.

When we first moved here my husband expressed some serious dismay at the never-ending rain. Currently, we are on our third straight day of cold rain.

"Where have you brought me?!?" he exclaimed.

I always welcome the rain at first. I love rainy days. It's like Mother Nature is giving you an excuse to be lazy. You can stay in, read a book, lay on the couch. Of course, now I have a two-year-old and an infant so rain days are spent slowly. going. crazy.

One rainy day is bad enough. Last winter, I think it rained for a week straight. It felt like two. (And we won't even talk about the Flood.) It just gets old is what I'm saying, particularly when the holidays are over and there is nothing to break up the monotony of the cold, grey days.

Thanks only to climate change we've started getting more snow, which in some ways lifts the veil of grey but in others makes life miserable because most Kentucky towns (at least the ones in Western Kentucky) are ill-equipped to handle true winter weather.

Not to mention, some times the winter weather is just enough to cause some real damage (see Ice Storm 2009). No sledding. No beautiful snowscapes. Just ice and sleet, which is even worse.

Luckily, Kentucky springs are the stuff of dreams and Kentucky falls are the prettiest around. They make up for the winters...but just barely.
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Elizabethtown: The Movie


I was born and raised in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. After my senior in high school, all of the buzz was that this big Hollywood movie was going to be filmed in our town. Everyone got really excited as the preparations drew closer for the filming to begin. I had several friends that even auditioned and were cast to be "extras" in the film. One of them got to meet Orlando Bloom. Yummy!


The movie came out in 2005 and it was such a big deal for Kentucky and our town. They had a special premiere that locals were allowed to attend. I personally chose to wait and see the movie on DVD as I am not much of a movie-goer.


I had a couple of bones to pick after finally seeing the movie. First of all, they filmed maybe 1 or 2 scenes in our actual city while everything else was filmed in Versailles (nearly 2 hours away) and Louisville (about 40 miles away). Hello- isn't the movie called Elizabethtown? Apparently our city was too "modernly updated" for what they wanted to film. Second, the movie portrays our town as a small backwoods town. Again, we have a population of nearly 30,000 and the vibe portrayed in the movie is just a bit off.


While I'm glad the movie brought attention to the ole E-town, I have to say it wasn't one of my favorites. Have you all seen the movie? What did you think?
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"barns", "photos" Sarah Holland "barns", "photos" Sarah Holland

In Photos: Barns


Sure, they aren't as majestic as a mountaintop or as peaceful as a lake. However, barns have a beauty all their own and Kentucky is FULL of them. It's too cold and bleak to be photographing anything in Paducah today so I took to Flickr for some of the prettiest barns Kentucky has to offer.

Via SeeMidTN.com

Via gerrybuckel

Via JKlinger

Via Margaret Taylor2010

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"emily", "fayette mall", "lexington" Emily Ho "emily", "fayette mall", "lexington" Emily Ho

The Madness Begins

Tis the season to avoid the Mall!

Today I was off work and had to run a few errands as I've been out of town the past couple of days for work. I planned on a quick run to the grocery store, which I knew was a ridiculous notion since it's the day before Thanksgiving. Prior to going to the grocery, I thought I would go get some new eyeglasses I've needed for a while now. Yeah, dumb move.

If you're in Lexington, you know what I am going to lament about: that stretch of Nicholasville Road between New Circle and Man O'War. Between Thanksgiving and New Years, it is a complete disaster with bumper-to-bumper traffic, idiots who don't know how to merge, ill-timed traffic lights, and a test of people's brake lights. This is because it's where Fayette Mall resides, along with other holiday favorites like Best Buy and Target. Pure insanity.

My eye doctor is also located in the "stabby zone," therefore I nearly lost my marbles dodging out-of-town license plates, people who ignore traffic signals, and those waiting on a green light to make a perfectly legal right-on-red-as-long-as-you-yield.

Nerves frazzled, I'm now making it a point to avoid the stabby zone for the next 5 weeks. I advise you do as well.

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"appalachia", "eastern kentucky", "photos", "quilts" Heather C. Watson "appalachia", "eastern kentucky", "photos", "quilts" Heather C. Watson

In Photos: My Quilts

When I was growing up, I thought everyone had a stack of quilts in their closet.
Hearts.

Some were used on the beds, and some were used to just throw around. 
Max models a Lilly Pulitzer patchwork. 
Sometimes, you used a quilt as a picnic blanket.
Double Wedding Ring.
Sometimes, you used a quilt to pack furniture when you moved.
Grandmother's Flower Garden.
Only in recent years have I realized that my grandmother has sewn me an entire gallery of heirloom art.
Dresden Plate.


And some will be used,
"Scarlett's Barbecue."
while others are displayed,
Morning Glory
and still others serve a utility.
Max's very own quilt.

Sophie gets her diva on.

But they all remind me of my Appalachian heritage
UK Patchwork
.
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