Senior night

Tonight is Senior Night, the final home game of the University of Kentucky's men's basketball team's season.  Tonight, the Big Blue Nation will celebrate two student-athletes who will be graduating as seniors in a couple of months.  Now, Eloy Vargas has certainly put in some hard work in the two years since he transferred to UK, but for most Kentuckians, tonight is all about Darius Miller.

Everyone who follows Kentucky basketball knows the story.  Darius Miller, the 6'8 guard from Maysville's Mason County High School, was named Kentucky's 2008 Mr Basketball.  He was recruited during the darkest ages of the Billy Gillispie era, and was Coach Cal's only hope upon reviewing the incoming 2009 roster.  For Kentucky fans, Darius represents a model of perseverance, hard work, and leadership.  He may not be a blue-chip freak of nature like Anthony Davis, but he's given us four great years, playing where and how he is needed.  And his contribution has been key to our dominance this year.

In an era of "one and done", it's refreshing to see a player whose top priority is completing his education.  In a sport that often seems  little more than a farm league for the NBA, it's a wonderful change of pace to see a player whose commitment is far more to his team than to himself.

Darius Miller is the type of player that Kentucky fans love -- homegrown and hardworking, he's given us four years of solid play.  He's the name on the lips of every blue t-shirt-wearing grandma at small town Wal-Marts across the Commonwealth and the heart of our team.

We'll miss you, Number One!

{all photos courtesty UK Athletics}

Emmie's 20 Things

Several weeks ago, the HerKentucky contributors each listed their favorite things about Kentucky. I am the turtle in the group, but figure this post is better late than never! There are so many things I love.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Awesome people
2. Lexington Athletic Club
3. The pedestrian-friendly Bardstown Road in Louisville
4. Missy's pies: Served at Lexington-based Ramsey's (not the Louisville Ramsi's) and also available out of their small Ashland Ave. store, these pies are amazing and there are dozens of flavors
5. Columbia Steakhouse Nighthawk: if you like steak, you must try this
6. Keeneland: Spring meet is during my birthday and fall meet is during my favorite time of the year
7. Woodland Art Fair in Lexington
8. Southern Lights at the Kentucky Horse Park
9. Graeters ice cream: yes, they're Cincinnati based, but they're coming back to Lexington soon. Raspberry Chocolate Chip is ridiculous
10. Bluegrass Tavern: nothing fancy about this bar, but it's near Cheapside and I've had great memories there
11. US60: The drive from Versailles Road to I-64. Gorgeous horse farms lining the drive.
12. Coffee Times: Lexington coffee house I've gone to for over 12 years
13. Bourbon
14. Kentucky basketball
15. Brunch at Winchell's
16. The Legacy Trail
17. Lexington Farmers Market on Saturdays when it's outside
18. Chrisman Mill Winery - where I got married
19. Lexington Corn Maze at Kelley Farms
20. (and 21.) Ramsey's (Lexington) and Ramsi's (Louisville). 

Reason #3,459 to come visit

Meet Speedy. One of Paducah's most famous citizens.

Speedy was a poor African-American laborer in Paducah during the 1920s. In 1928, Speedy went fishing and never returned. His body was turned over to the Hammock's Funeral Home for a pauper's burial. Instead, the owner A.Z. Hammock used an experimental super-preservative to turn Speedy into a type of statue.

Speedy spent the next several decades in a closet of the funeral home (except for a quick swim during the great flood of 1937) from which he would be pulled out occasionally for the entertainment of tourists and school children. He eventually became a bit of a celebrity appearing in Jet Magazine and Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Eventually, someone took mercy on old Speedy and finally buried him in Maplelawn Cemetery in downtown Paducah.

Now, if that's not a reason to come visit, I don't know what is. I'm going to get y'all here one way or another!

~ Sarah Stewart Holland

Kentucky Crafted: The Market

We are thrilled to welcome Lydia Powell to the HerKentucky Team.  A Transylvania alumna (and Sarah and my Phi Mu sorority sister!), Lydia crunches numbers by day and indulges her many creative urges in her downtime.  Lydia., a Frankfort native, is a devoted Kentucky Wildcats fan, a quilter, a runner, and a photographer.  And did I mention that she made her own wedding dress? 

Lydia will be writing the new HerKentucky Crafts column, which spotlights her own crafty interests, tutorials and more!  -- HCW

How many of you have a DIY or craft-related board on Pinterest? Is it full of awesome crafty goodness that you hope to replicate or draw inspiration from for your next bridal shower or gift-giving opportunity?

If you are anything like me, you pin and pin and pin ideas for home decor that you love. You know it would be fun and more economical to make it yourself, right? How often do we ever put those grand pinboards into action, though? I've always been a crafter, but I rarely find time to make every project that is in my head. A lot of times, I have to turn to the professionals.

Of course, almost everyone is aware of Etsy as a great alternative when you just haven't found the time to make that chevron-striped throw pillow for your front porch swing. Etsy is a great handmade marketplace. While the site does have some location-specific searches so that you can support local artists and makers, I've got an even better option for you. This weekend, in Lexington Kentucky, the Kentucky Arts Council will host the 30th annual Kentucky Crafted: The Market event.

On Saturday and Sunday, March 3rd and 4th, at the Lexington Convention Center you can browse through the award-winning market for Kentucky art, craft, music, books, foods and more.

Kentucky artisans are known the world over for their exquisite traditional crafts and Appalachian art but you might be surprised at the contemporary art and design going on within the Commonwealth's borders. Very often, I think Kentucky residents take for granted the beautiful art available to them. The quilts on our beds or the basket we throw our car keys in were gifts from talented aunts or grandmothers. Each of us likely knows someone who is a maker of traditional crafts. Perhaps we are makers ourselves. This market really celebrates that strong tradition that goes back centuries in Kentucky's history but is so very alive and thriving today.

Tickets for the market are $10 for one day or $15 for two while children under 15 enjoy free admission. Children and adults, alike, will enjoy hands-on opportunities to create at booths sponsored by area institutions like the Living Arts & Science Center and The Carnegie Center for Living and Learning. Additionally, workshops are held throughout the weekend to provide more in-depth discussions of Kentucky art and craft.

What I am most looking forward to, though, are the retail booths. Shell-Bee’s Homemade Gourmet Sea Salts & Spices is a booth I am definitely marking to visit (you can preview the market program). I could do all my shopping for upcoming birthdays with some key purchases of pottery, jewelry and handmade baskets. With more than 200 exhibitors, I'm pretty sure I could easily find everything I wanted and more I didn't even know I wanted! The Boone Creek Creamery's handmade artisan cheeses, alone, could keep me happy for hours.

Supporting local artists is important. The Kentucky Crafted Market is an excellent place to do that!

Everybody's Got a George Clooney Story.

We talk a lot about George Clooney here at HerKentucky. He's one of our Favorite Things. He

isn't the only famous person from Kentucky, but he sure is famous.

Why shouldn't we talk about George Clooney a lot? He's handsome and charming.  (Or, as the

Kentucky for Kentucky guys would say, "George Clooney is a beautiful man."  He's one of the most recognizable actors in the world.  He's nominated for Best Actor in this weekend's

Academy Awards.  And, he's from Augusta, Kentucky, a charming river town located just a stone's throw away from Maysville.

The HerKentucky girls aren't the only ones who talk about George Clooney a lot.  It's been my experience that anyone with ties -- even the most tenuous -- to the Maysville area has a George Clooney story for you.  I once had a co-worker who'd grown up in Cincinnati; she never failed to tell you that George was the clerk who sold her shoes at Dillard's.  (I strongly doubt that she'll make it into the final draft of George's acceptance speech, but stranger things have happened...)  A secretary at one of the law firms in my old office building had been George's high school prom date; she was always extremely gracious when this fact was dredged up.  

Several years ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Rosemary Clooney Music Festival with some friends who are Augusta natives.  A charming, tuxedoed George was the master of ceremonies at the festival which honored his late aunt.  Even though I was never closer than 100 yards from the stage, I finally got why George Clooney leaves such an impression on everyone he meets.  He is just as charming and charismatic as Danny Ocean, , Doug Ross , or

Everett McGill. Even if he weren't George Clooney, Serious Movie Star, you'd always know that this guy was in the room.  He just has a presence.  It wouldn't matter if he were a prosecutor, a football coach, or a TV anchorman, you'd always pay attention to him.

Over the weekend of the Clooney Festival, I got a mini-tour of George Clooney's Augusta.  I saw where his parents lived, and where George himself keeps a small home.  I also realized why it is that everybody from that part of the state has a George Clooney story. The Clooneys are Maysville royalty.  George's aunt, the singer and actress Rosemary Clooney, was Maysville's most famous daughter.  His father, Nick,  is a beloved regional anchorman.  It seems that the entire town was devoted to George's success.  Stories still circulate about viewing parties for his Facts of Life and Golden Girls episodes.  It's as though the entire town was invested in George's future success.  There's a really sweet sense of hometown pride that emerges along with everyone's George Clooney Story.

Here at HerKentucky, we wish George the best of luck on Sunday.  (Even if The Descendants led to an unintentional yet inspired revelation for Sarah.)  And, we'd love to hear some George Clooney Stories from y'all.

In Photos: Snow Day

This weekend, I had the good fortune to be visiting my parents in the mountains when we got ourselves a good, old-fashioned Snow Day. 

Snowflakes.

Now, even though both of my parents are retired from our county school system, the promise of a Snow Day still connotes a day of fun -- an escape from everyday worries and routines.

Sophie didn't see what all the fuss was about.

The old joke goes that Southerners storm the grocery store whenever even a hint of snow is in the forecast.  I find that we Kentuckians do fall into this pattern, even though snow isn't a rare occurrence for Kentucky winters.  I certainly saw a guy buying three gallons of milk  at my hometown grocery store on Saturday afternoon, and briefly wondered if he had himself a neat little speculation/profit scheme.

This weekend, we got four beautiful inches of snow, which might be a joke to my friends in Chicago or a blizzard to my friends in Atlanta.  Here, it was just enough to celebrate!

Do y'all still love Snow Days?

More Favorite Things!

Last week, we asked y'all to list some favorite Kentucky things.  My sorority sister Becca -- an ordained Disciples of Christ minister and Trimble County native -- provided a thoughtful list that I thought I'd share.  Thanks for the beautiful list, Becca!! -- HCW

Cane Ridge Meeting House

1. Transylvania University (of course)


2. The Cane Ridge Meeting house, near Paris Kentucky-- this is the birthplace of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), my denomination. 


3. Mary Ann Saunders Chapel at Lexington Theological Seminary


4. Central Christian Church (seriously has the most beautiful sanctuary)


5. That moment right before the Run for the Roses when everyone sings My Old Kentucky Home. I cry every time.

Calumet Farm

6. The Horse Farms-- 3 chimneys is my favorite, Calumet is my 2nd favorite


7. Bray's Orchards in Bedford Kentucky-- they have THE BEST PEACHES.


8. US 42. This is the oldest highway in the area and was originaly the primary route between Louisville and Cincinnati-- there are so many neat little towns along the way. Bedford, Carollton, and Ghent being my favorites.


9. The Ohio River-- there is NOTHING as beautiful as driving across the rickety old bridge from Madison Indiana to Milton Kentucky and crossing over the river-- It's the last step on my trips back home to Kentucky from Chicago and it's my sign that I'm home.


10. Sweet Tea