2010, Quite a year....

It's New Years Eve and I have finally sit down to recount the past 365 days.  2010 began with the formation of a business partnership with Scott Sallis and the formation of Dalrymple Sallis Architecture, a venture, that's idea was formed several years ago and whose time had finally come.
Every business partnership takes a few months to get situated and DSA was no different. In April, soon after we got most of the bugs worked out, the BP Oil Spill occurred. This event caused a crawling construction/design industry to sit still and me to think about possible interim options....
Near the end of summer an opportunity to work as a construction manager on a couple of National Park Service projects in Kentucky was made available.  That story is croniciled in greater detail in my previous blogs.....
During my working sabbatical, my wife Tami has held down the homefront and helped to maintain the operations of DSA. Her efforts helped make this year the rewarding experience it has been. Can't imagine how we could have done anything without her. Thank you.
Now that I'm back, the work seems to be picking back up and Scott and I think 2011 will be filled with more opportunities for success in both work and our personal lives. I can't wait another day....
Look for all future posts to be on a new blog titled " beautiful, useful and necessary ".

I'm back...Part 1

Today is Friday and I'm back in Pensacola, but this time I don't head back to Kentucky. I visited my boat that is serving time at the local repair shop for the last six weeks. Still not ready, the employee stating that one of the four carburetors was a bit more difficult to repair and it would be later this afternoon before the boat would be released into my custody. It's 3:30 and I'm getting concerned

The family is hoping to take the boat out this weekend to watch the Blue Angels from a strategic postion in the Bay. crossing my fingers....
The last week in Kentucky was uneventful except for repouring the wide circular concrete sidewalk that was removed last week at Mammoth Cave and the semi-final inspection of the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Memorial. We did perform a glorified puff test the week before last to determine the air circulation within the air cavity between the stone veneer and the masonry structure. The test proved the need to seal a plenum access door. I did go into the attic on Monday and verify the dimensions and construction of the access door.  It was determined to be a non-contributing historic element of the building so there will be no need to be concerned about the method of sealing.  I will be designing a method to seal the door this week. woohoo...

Okay..4:00 and no phone call about the boat.....I'm having thoughts of a jailbreak tonight...that barbed wire fence doesn't look that tall......

Next to last week.

Church near the Hall Place

Well, as this next to my last week comes to an end, the weather has decided to become "Fall" in a big way. The Park has lost a little of it's charm as it has lost a lot of it's foliage (leaves) and what was once red, yellow, and orange has become brown, tan, and grey.

The deer, that have been camouflaged by the leaves, now stand naked on the edge of the road. Not always the best place to be when it's night. I saw 15 on the way home just the other night, so I'm driving a little slower with both eyes on the road.

The Hall Place continues to be my "old Kentucky home" until the 12th of November when my contract ends. I'm looking forward to heading South to Florida, especially since the forecast is for tomorrow is a low of 25 and a high of 47.

Construction is basically a made-by-man process to create shelter from nature, but sometimes nature can mess up even the best laid plans. Such was the case this week when the concrete for a wide, circular, sloped sidewalk was poured. The forecast for early morning rain to end by 9am did not happen and the rain kept on till the early evening, this caused unacceptable conditions when the finishing was completed the next day. So, up came the concrete 24 hours after the contractor had poured 28 yards with rebar mesh. Ouch.

The next day everyone is back on site ready to do it again and make sure it turns out perfect. That stick to it attitude is impressive and much appreciated by those involved on the project.

The funny thing is, the day after it rained the Governor of Kentucky issued a state of emergency for farmers due to the drought.........

"Patches" the painted pony

Every other weekend, I have a day completely to my own. I try to explore more of South Central Kentucky every chance I get, especially since fall has set in and the leaves have begun to fall.

Yesterday, I worked for about half a day at Mammoth Cave and decided to take a different way back to Glasgow, over the river and through the woods. One of the routes out of the park is road that leads to a ferry that takes you across the Green River. The ferry has been slated for a bottom inspection and paint job but the river has been to low to even pull the ferry out.

Before you get to the river a one way gravel travels along the ridge of the foothills of the park.

Turn left and upwards I went on the road less traveled. The hardwood trees are shedding their leaves with wild abandon with every little breeze that blows by and moves their spiney limbs. Leaves of gold, red, and orange are everywhere tempting me to jump out and make leaf angels on the ground. But, you have to be careful because some of these leaves can be poison ivy.

I continued further until I once again hit pavement and headed to another park attraction, Cedar Sink. Located about 3/4 of a mile off the road, Cedar Sink is where one of the underground rivers that flows through the cave actually surfaces in an area that has sunk. A crushed stone walkway leads to a set of stairs down to the sink. The lack of rain this summer made the sink a little disapointing but still a nice walk in the woods. On the way back I made a stack of stones and will always wonder how long that stack will last.

Now, I'm sure you are starting to wonder what the title of this blog has to do with my nature musings about leaves and walks through the woods. For the last few weeks I have been passing by a barn on Highway 31E with an interesting painting above the entrance. 31E is also known as Dixie highway and was first built as the Louisville and Nashville Turnpike in the 1830's. Many barns along this road have some type of emblem or symbol painted above the entrance. Sometimes they are quilt type patterns of triangles and squares, or stars, or a logo representing the farm. I assume these paintings are for good luck or to ward off bad luck.

This one particular painting has been the objective of my day and I decided to make a pilgramage to the barn.  Therefore the title of today's blog.

21 Years

The days since my last post have been filled with work, travel, music, cars, caves, and a little time with Tami; my wife of 21 years.
I made my bi-weekly pilgramige to Pensacola at the end of September to spend time with family, friends, and take the boat in for maintenance  My return home corresponded with my son, Dylan's first cross-country race with the Pensacola High School Team.  We were all proud of his time and the performance of the whole PHS team.
My daughter is in the middle of applying to colleges and taking the SAT. A whole lotta pressure for a seventeen year old and her parents. Why these colleges can't all use the same form is beyond me.

I was finally able to convince my wife to visit me in the land of Lincoln to celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary. This took considerable more coordination than anyone could have predicted. We had to schedule plane flights, work days, school schedules and driver's license test dates that needed to correspond with my bi-monthly visits with the smaller car. whew.....
Tami arrived at the Louisville International Airport Thursday afternoon and was greeted by her very grateful flower bearing husband (that would be me). We were both famished and ready for an early dinner. Tami had met a Lousville native on the plane that recommended the famous "Pat's Steak House", an old world Irish restaurant that was seeped in history and tradition. A green jacketed young waiter served us steaks, green beans, mushrooms, and yeast rolls that filled our overly abitious stomachs.
After diiner we headed South to Glasgow and the Hall Place B&B where I have been staying the past few weeks. The innkeepers, Karin and Gary, greeted Tami with their typical openess and she too became a member of the family. A good night's sleep was followed in the morning with a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, super french toast and a history lesson about the Hall Place House. The inn keeper, Karin, does something special with the french toast and coffee creamer.I'd tell ya but,she has sworn me to scerecy.

Tami and I drove to Mammoth Cave, passing several deer and the three turkeys that always hang out at the curve. Tami donned a yellow hard hat and I gave her a tour of the Visitor Center and the grounds surrounding the project.
We had decided to take a tour of the Cave that day, and joined about a hundred others to walk the two hour journey. The tour is very impressive and a bit of a exercise. There are large cavernous areas and areas were you are bent over to walk under or turned sideways to walk through, properly named "tall man's agony" and "fat man's misery". After the cave tour, we had lunch at the retro coffee shop diner located at the Mammoth Cave Hotel and took a drive through the park, stopping to visit a birdhouse shop in the front yard of someone's house.

Friday evening was perfect to enjoy a little of the outdoors and we did, sipping and sitting at a sidewalk table on Main St. in Bowling Green. Life is good.....The dinner at the adjacent restaurant was great with crab cakes and bourbon glazed pork tenderloins. mmmmm, good.......

Saturday's weather was Kentucky perfect and we headed to the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Memorial.  I finally was able to enjoy the Park as a visitor instead of as a worker at a jobsite. We also chose to visit the Maker's Mark Distillery for a tour. What an interesting place, filled with history, barrels of bourbon, and the aroma of sour mash. After the tour, we were lead to a tasting room to learn how to properly taste and enjoy the bourbon.  the trademark of Maker's Mark is the hand-dipped red wax topping on each bottle and I did try my hand at this task.  Needless to say, I will keep the day job.

Once we got back to Glasgow, it was time to get ready for the "show". Last month, I had purchased tickets to see Mary Chapin Carpenter at the Plaza theatre here in Glasgow and was fotunate enough to get seats in about the third row.  woohoo.....The Plaza is a hundred plus year old theater that has been renovated within the last few years. the side walls of the theater have a facade remeniscent of an Italian town with windows, storefronts, and balconies.

Well, it seemed like the whole town turned out as we walked up to the box office and will called our tickets. About 800 people showed up and just about filled the little theater to capacity. MCC walked on stage promptly at 7:00 and began the show solo with her bandmates joining her one by one after each 12 bar segment of the song with each member adding their touch to the song. The concert lasted about an hour and 45 minutes with MCC playing many of her Grammy winning hits and new material from her most recent album.

No visit to South Central Kentucky is complete without a visit to the National Corvette Museum. So, Sunday came and off we went to Bowling Green to learn a little history of America's only true sportscar.  Tami and I had a great time looking at the cars and going head to head in a virtual pitstop competition.  I will be practicing for the rematch!

Bounty of Barren County

Awesome day here in Kentucky, clear, cooler, and cloudless.  Perfect for the open air market occurring just three blocks down the street from the B&B where I'm staying the rest of my time here.
Breakfast was waffles, eggs, bacon, and fruit served in the large dining room on the first floor. The B&B owner Karin, makes a tasty breakfast and comfortable setting for all her guests. I read the Louisville paper (remembering my friend Randy Hammer, the previous VP of the paper) and chatted with the other guests, a woman with her daughter and sister, who are here to attend a wedding.

The market is called the Bounty of the Barrens Market and has dozens of vendors with crafts and food produced locally. The market is similar to the one in downtown Pensacola every Saturday, but about twice as large.  I thought this to be a great opportunity to do a little gift shopping.  There were many booths with seasonal gifts, jewelry, clothing, and food. The market is setup to surround the central park, much like the festivals in Seville Square in Pensacola, terraced up the sloped sidewalks that surround the County Courthouse located in the center of the park.

I found a booth that had these really cool designs set in soap created by a local woman that are most unique I had ever seen. Another woman had a table full of interesting jellies, with flavors like banana here were also hand woven baskets made by the Yoder family that were very much like the Longaberger baskets.

Last night I visited a local joint, called George J's on the Square, to listen to some local pickers play and sing. The songlist included CDB, Merle, John Prine, and some originals. George J's is a old time corner drugstore building with soda counter, booths, and a black/white checked tile floor.  

I know I'm probably sounding like the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce President but, this is a cool and friendly place. I can't even count the times I've been called "hon.."

d

The nomadic life

Well, got back to Kentucky after a fun four day weekend in Pensacola. I had a great time Friday night at the downtown Gallery Night and Canstruction Event. Much thanks to my business partner, Scott Sallis and the team of Nick and CarrieBeth of Dalrymple/Sallis for their hard work. I am also very proud of my wife and son for their efforts to construct "Canzo the clown" for Canstruction.
"Canzo" was displayed in the lobby of the Saenger Theatre and was one of several displays created by local architectural firms. These creations help raise awareness and food donations for Manna Food Bank. DalSal's clown was created with over 400 cans of food ranging from ravioli to raisins.

After spending the last 6 weeks in and out of hotels, I have decided a more comfortable housing situation is needed.  I did a little Internet research and could only find weekly vacation rentals or 6 month lease apartments. The requirement to be furnished was very limiting.
When you're looking for real estate, the word "location" is extremely important.  I left work and headed to downtown Glasgow to search for a garage apartment or room for let.  During a stop for a red light, I looked to my right and noticed a bed and breakfast.  I quickly rounded the block and parking thinking I would ask the owner if they knew of any available rentals nearby.  While reading the 'we'll be right back" sign taped to the door, a hand appeared and removed the sign, pushed opened the door and invited me in. Karin, the owner, welcomed me with a smile and asked how she could help me.  After explaining my situation, she told me that a room was available for the dates I needed.  Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
This bed and breakfast, Hall Place, was built in 1852 by Judge Tompkins for his daughter and son in law, Theodosia and Dr. James Hall.  Thursday night I will move in to Hall Place and spend the next 8 days in the Dr. Hall room.  This room is filled with doctor collectibles, ranging from stethoscopes to bed pans. A large poster bed, amoire, and desk complete the late 1800's decor.

You can check out the place at www.hallplacebedandbreakfast.com
I think that being located in the heart of Glasgow will give me the opportunity to engage in more of the local activities and visit the restaurants and shops in the area. I already have tickets for the Mary Chapin Carpenter www.marychapincarpenter.com concert that will happen in Oct. at the groovy Plaza theatre located just two blocks away from Hall Place. www.plaza.org/events/plaza_events.html



Work continues to keep me busy with my time still being split between Mammoth Cave Visitor Center and the finishing touches to the Abe Lincoln Memorial Building.  On a sidebar; apparently, the Judge's wife's nephew was Lincoln's law partner.
In this part of Kentucky everything or everyone is somehow related to Lincoln or a cave. (smile)
Time to pack........