The Trip Continues

Hello there! So when I left you, we were heading toward Murfreesboro, Tennessee. We were looking for the geographic center of Tennessee and the obelisk that marked it. On our way there, we found a winery in Arrington, TN. There was a beautiful view down the hill and it was cool to see the vineyard. After a break, we headed toward the obelisk. Now, Keith and Jennifer were pumped about this obelisk. There is this random obelisk on the way to New Orleans and they get really excited every time they see it. I know they were expecting this obelisk to be as cool as that one. When we pulled up, I heard the disappointment in Jennifer's voice. The obelisk was only about 20 feet high. They were expecting it to be like 150 feet high. This obelisk is now known as the "Disappointing Obelisk." After the disappointment, we ate some dinner and headed toward Chattanooga. We ended up stopping for the night near Jasper, TN and Jennifer and Keith immediately ran for the pool. I called Leigh. She was glad we were having a good trip, but she did miss us. After a good night's sleep, we got up and started down the road. Our first stop was in Whitwell, TN. If you have ever seen the movie, "Paper Clips," this is the city the Children's Holocaust Memorial is. If you haven't seen that movie, I would recommend it. It is a very inspirational story. I stayed in the car while Keith and Jennifer went to the memorial. This was a very emotional stop and I wanted to let them have the time to do what they needed to do. When we left Whitwell, we headed toward a house that looks like a flying saucer. I was about to get motion sickness from the curves of going up the mountain and then suddenly, there it was...it was a house shaped like a flying saucer, and people actually live there. We finally made it to Chattanooga. After going to the "Moon Pie General Store," grabbing some lunch, and finding "Muffler Man," we hit the road toward Atlanta. We had many adventures on the way to Atlanta, but those are stories for another day. Our trip was epic. I hope you are enjoying hearing about all of our adventures. Ta-Ta for now!

Getting our Moon Pie on!

Arrington Winery

Keith and I at the "Disappointing Obelisk"

Children's Holocaust Memorial- Whitwell, TN

Children's Holocaust Memorial- Whitwell, TN

A house shaped like a flying saucer

Muffler Man- He better stay away from Leigh...he looks shifty.

The Trip

Hello all,
I am so sorry that I have neglected my gnomley duties of blogging for my gnomies. I got back from my road trip and I have been telling Leigh all about it and forgot to tell you all in blog land. We had an absolutely wonderful time, but of course I missed Leigh. This was the first trip I have been on since her arrival at our home. For the next few blogs, I will break down some of the places we went on our journey. It will help to settle my mind. We have been extremely focused on the wedding plans, and I need a creative outlet to NOT talk about wedding details (although the plans are coming about smashingly). When we left on our road trip of various odd sites, I was very excited. Our first stop was at a place in Brownsville, TN. It is called "Billy Tripp's Mind Field." Pretty much this guy loves to weld. He has welded this huge array of various saying, thoughts, symbols, and imaginary thoughts/items. He has dedicated the Mind Field to his parents and he plans to be buried underneath it some day. He has the place marked where he will be buried. There is currently a bathtub in that area. This place was a little creepy. I opted to stay in the car on this one, but I did see Keith be a rebel and go behind the fence marked, "Do Not Trespass." I wonder if his mind got filled with craziness...I guess we will have to wait to find out. Once we left Brownsville, we headed toward Nashville. Well, en route my people saw a sign for this antique store. They thought, "That was a cool sign, we should find this place." We got off the exit and drove for literally 30 minutes looking for this store. We did get to see a Civil War battle field, which was cool, but they were obsessed with finding this store. Once they found it, they were only in there for about 15 minutes. My people can be wacky sometimes. Then we were back on the road to Nashville. Nashville is a crazy place to drive! There were all these , "Switch to this lane, no this lane, put your foot on your head and scratch your nose," directions. We finally (after Jennifer did a Duke's of Hazzard style cut across 3 lanes) made it to the cemetery we were looking for in Nashville. The thing we were looking for was the "Suicide Rock-Maybe." Legend has it that a man's fiancee committed suicide by diving from a rock. He had a piece of the rock shipped to Nashville for her to be buried under, hence the name "Suicide Rock," Since it is a legend, they have to include the maybe. I got a chance to stand on it. Jennifer made sure I didn't fall. I think she wanted to make sure it wasn't renamed, "The Rest of Rupert's Hat Demise Rock." We then looked around this cemetery for a little while and got back on the road to Murfreesboro, TN. For the evening, this is where my tale will have to end. It is time for Leigh and I to get settled into the book shelf. I will fill you in on more crazy tales from our trip in future blogs. I promise not to make you wait so long! Ta, ta for now.



The Mind Field



Where Billy will be buried.

Keith being a rebel in his Hawiian shirt.

The random antique store

The Suicide Rock-Maybe

On the Road Again

Hello there,
I haven't blogged in so long, you probably thought I took a long dive from a high shelf. I assure you I am quite fine. The end of the school year is always an extremely stressful time in our home. I've been trying to tend to things around the house the best I can to take some stress off of Jennifer. However, now school is out for summer and I can resume my blogging duties. So,  I heard some rumblings from the back room last night. No, it wasn't a bear hunting for food, it was Keith and Jennifer planning our summer vacation. The first thing I did was offer to let Leigh go because she hasn't traveled with our people yet. She declined my offer and said that she is a "House" gnome and not a "Traveling" gnome. I guess I am a "Combo" gnome. I am both "House" and "Travel." I have never thought of myself as a combo...weird. What fantastic destination will we be going to this time? Las Vegas, the Bahamas, New Jersey...I couldn't even imagine. Keith and Jennifer were so excited when they had finished planning, it was making me a nervous wreck. Then they told me where we are going, and my excitement TRIPLED! We are going on a strange and weird roadside attractions tour on our way to Atlanta, GA. There will be all kinds of thrilling sights along the way. They are calling it my bachelor party. How much fun is this trip going to be!?! Leigh and I have the coolest people! So, now I have to go start packing. I will have to neglect my duties again, for a little while, but look for oh so many blogs about this trip. Remember, the worst thing about being a tourist is having other tourists recognize you as a tourist. Ta, Ta for now and Happy Trails to you!

Trying to Get My Ducks in a Row

Hello all,
Sorry I have been neglectful of my blog duties as of late, but I have been trying to get my ducks in a row. I've always wondered where that statement comes from? Is it so important that the ducks walk in a row? What will happen if they get out of the row? Who is the leader? How do you "claim" the ducks? Wow, so sorry...I got on a bit of a tangent there. We are continuing with the wedding plans. We are currently waiting to see what Saturday Keith will have to work so that we can set the exact date. We know the place (Botanic Gardens), the dress and tux are being worked on (Did you know that there is no where to buy a gnome-sized tux...the nerve?), and the menu is set (see previous posts). I have recently been offered a "job" by Jennifer. She recently got picked to be the librarian at a school. She asked me if I would be willing to be her "library gnome." I replied fervently, "Yes," but I have no idea what a library gnome does. I'll get back with you all once I figure it out. Have you ever agreed to do something, that you have no earthly idea what you have gotten yourself into? Oh well, we will have to wait and see. Remember, laugh a little to lift your spirits a lot. (Also, if anyone can answer the ducks in a row question...that would just be thrilling!) Ta, Ta for now.

Reunited...And It Feels So Good!

Hello all,
I am currently getting settled back in next to the VeggieTales movie. That's right folks...Leigh has forgiven me for the watermelon fiasco. You haven't seen anyone hold a grudge, like a gnome lady. They get their knickers in a knot and it takes a while for them to calm down. I am so happy that we were finally able to come to an agreement. Now, the wedding planning can continue. We've decided that the reception will include watermelon (a whole one), cheeses, crackers, and some sort of punch. A tiny cake will also be made, although we gnomes are not huge cake eaters. Next, we have to start working on invitations. This ceremony is only going to have a select few in attendance. We are currently working on the guest list. I will then have to be fitted for a tux and Leigh will have to pick out her dress and all that goes with it. Who knew that planning a wedding would involve so much actual planning? Alright, I need to get back to planning. I just wanted to give you an update and let you all know that love conquered all today. Even something big as a watermelon could not stop the love between two gnomes. Ta, Ta for now.

Watermelon

Hello all,
Now that the royal wedding is over, Leigh and I are now able to focus totally on our wedding plans. If Leigh has a dress anything like Kate's, she would topple over. We have already seen what can happen when a gnome topples over...see the half-hat story as a reference. Anyway, back to the subject...the food. Leigh and I had our first argument the other day. I know you are completely and totally shocked, but we gnomes can get our dander up just like humans. We can't be jolly all the time...that's just unrealistic. We were discussing wedding plans (as those of you who are married know, it can be a stressful time). We were talking about food for the reception. Leigh believes that we should cut up an entire watermelon into pieces as one of our buffet items. I made the suggestion (being the money watcher that I am) that we only cut up 1/4 of a melon for the buffet. There is absolutely no way that we will be able to eat an ENTIRE watermelon. We are small gnomes. Then she stated that we would not be the only people at the wedding. Of course, I knew that our people would be there, but they probably wouldn't eat an entire watermelon (although Jennifer can put down some melon...I'm just saying). Leigh thought that we may have at least 3 guests, besides our people. "Well, let's cut up half a watermelon," were the words that came out of my mouth. Who knew such words would open a can of worms?!?! Suddenly, Leigh was accusing me of being too cheap to give her the wedding she had always dreamed of. She told me that ever since her days of creation at the factory, she had dreamed of having a WHOLE WATERMELON at her wedding. Who knew?!? Obviously, not me. So I was forced to move to the other end of the shelf, for a "cooling down" period. I'm still regulated to stay there. Who knew that a New Orleans made gnome could have such a temper? I am, of course, going to let her have her dream of having a whole watermelon at the reception, but can you blame a gnome for trying to save a buck in this tough economy? Hopefully I can be forgiven for my penny-pinching ways. Oh well, I have to get comfy next to the Star Wars movie for the time being...I really wish Jennifer would get rid of some of these tapes...a gnome needs some room to move, even if he is in the dog house. Ta, Ta for now.

I am a desperate gnome. Next to Star Wars is not my home!

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?

Hello all,
Have you ever felt like you were in the middle of an EMO concert? Have you ever watched someone pace the floors, unable to sleep? Have you ever seen someone jump at every little noise? I can say, "Yes," to all of these questions tonight. Apparently, our person Keith is away getting training for his new job, (Hey, someone has to pay for our upcoming nuptials...money,money, money) and Jennifer does not do so well when he is away. You didn't have to endure the entire Winter Olympics of 2006 (that was when Keith went away for Basic Training) or the endless love songs streaming through the satellite in the fall of 2009 (when Keith went away for more military training). He has got to quit doing this to me! I can't handle the moping about that his absence causes. If I could kick that high, I would kick our person Jennifer in the tail end and tell her to buck up. She is a strong and powerful woman. She can handle staying in the house by herself. Besides, I am here to keep her and Leigh safe. I guess for the next little while I am the man of the house. As man of the house, I am going to put an end to all moping and sappy lovey-dovey music. Besides, all her moping is rubbing off on Leigh. She is all teary-eyed and melancholy as well. Something has got to give. We will get through this absence of Keith with our heads held high. Although, I have to admit...I miss having some extra testosterone in the house. A gnome can only do, what a gnome can do. Ta, Ta for now...Oh no, I forgot there was a TV in the back of the house. I guess love songs it is.