The 6 1 5

I have been fortunate to be able to go on little trips almost every two months this year. In September, I took a solo trip to the 6-1-5 (aka Nashville) to see my family and attend my cousin’s wedding. We had a mini Sinz reunion with almost all of the immediate family and grandkids. Nik was the only one missing, but having 11 of 12 there for a whole weekend was pretty fantastic. My sister, brother, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and I even got to go out after the wedding for drinks without kids!!! It might have been the first time that we have ever done that, and we all decided that it should happen more often.

The old Marathon Automobiles building, and the new home to Antique Archaeology

Also, I requested a trip to Antique Archaeology…you know…the place where Mike and Frank of American Pickers fame sell their wares? So my entire family (parents, brother’s family, Aunts, and Uncles) loaded in cars and met there as soon as they opened on Saturday morning. Well, the location was awesome and it was really cool to see some of the stuff from the show, but the shop is more gift store/museum than pickers paradise. And the place was PACKED. We luckily got there right when they opened on Saturday morning, but if we had waited half an hour, we would have had to wait in line. To get into a gift store. Seriously?? But I bought my American Pickers sticker and my dad and brother geeked out on all the old motorcycle engines on display, so it was worth the early wake up call!!

My dad explaining the intricacies of the Indian motorcycle engine sitting at his feet

Niece and Nephew being adorable

After the weekend in Nashville, I went to Kentucky to help warm my sister’s new home. This is the home they see themselves living in for the rest of their lives, so I wanted to be there in the beginning. My nieces are sure to have incredibly fond childhood memories of the house, and I was able to participate in a few of their very first ones. We spent a couple afternoons doing cart wheels and dance moves in the backyard. One evening we raked huge piles of leaves that they jumped in without realizing that the leaves were peppered with dog poop. (The joy of being an aunt is that I didn’t have to clean them up afterwards!!) Then one evening my niece rode her bike for the first time without training wheels!!!!!

R taking her first ride with her Mom and Dad following closely

A Spinning

(A. specifically requested a spinning photo of herself after seeing the one Nik made of me here.)

I was also treated to a couple days of sister-sister bonding time. We went to the American Quilt Museum in downtown Paducah and saw one of the coolest collections of vintage quilts. We had lunch at a cute little bakery after listening to part of the city-wide cell phone walking tour. Then we went to a fabric store where Keisha and I picked fabrics for a quilt that I will be making for their family. Now that my week with my sister is over, I miss her more than ever.

The generator room for an old bunker at the Presidio

A condemned military prison

In other new and exciting bits from San Francisco, I have spent some quality time in the Presidio lately, I have been sewing a ton, and I am about to take my final test to become a licensed architect next week. My days are busy and varied, just the way I like them.

The sewing process

A quilt I made for my parents 40th Anniversary and 60th Birthdays

Star Quilt (the back)- I am making this one out of scrap fabric for Nik and I

BEFORE / AFTER – Today I rescued an old wool sweater from Nik’s donation pile, and made myself one super cozy, slim fitting sweater.

The next time you hear from me, I will have gone on our BIG TRIP OF THE YEAR!!!!!! We are going to Japan for two weeks over Thanksgiving…that’s less than two weeks away!!! We cannot wait.

A boy and a Chevy

Nik and I flew to Tennessee this year for a family Thanksgiving that involved the annual Sinz reunion, a four kid toy fest, a fifty pie feast, a four-man RISK match, a seven adult puzzle competition, a new swing push-off, a three turkey dinner, a mother-daughter attic clean-up, a one-month-early Christmas, and a Black Friday camp-out. Oh, and then there was a soccer-girls+husbands chinese lunch and a good-ole friend meet-up. The four day weekend was fantastic, and ended with us missing our flight because I was never notified that it had been moved an hour early. Thank goodness I don’t have a husband that gets upset about things like that…oh wait, I do. But I think he has forgotten it by now!!

Thank you, family, for being my family.

Tennessee Sunrise

When I arrived home last Tuesday, my mom, dad and I had one day to prepare the house and our sanity for the rush of family and friends for the feast. We cleaned the house, went to the grocery store, baked pies, boiled cranberries, hung lights and enjoyed the stillness of a house of three.

Hay-bale Turkey

Then over the next two days, our family members joined us a hand full at a time. First my brother and sister-in-law flew in from Colorado with their 1-year-old and new-born in tow. Next, my sister and brother-in-law drove down from Kentucky with their two little girls. The next day, the Nashville crew arrived in batches of 2-5. We had dinner in my father’s shop and used his workbench as the buffet table. It was the perfect dining hall for 30, and unfortunately I didn’t take nearly enough photos.

The dinner table

After the big dinner, there were plenty of leftovers to feed my parents, siblings, nieces, nephew and I for four days…and that is exactly what we ate. In fact, my brother ate the last serving of dressing five minutes before his family left for the airport four days after Thanksgiving!

We also spent an afternoon taking photos in my parents backyard. We used to go to a park to take family photos, but now that they live in the country, we just have to walk out side! I have a feeling that this will be a tradition that we keep up for a very long time.

The Family

Aubrey

Reagan

Daddy & Daughter

Me and my big sister

It is amazing how as soon as there are kids in the family, the attention shifts and family becomes even more crucial than ever before. My brother, sister and I have become much more nostalgic and we keep asking Mom and Dad, “Did we do that when we were their age?” My nieces and nephew are just so wonderful, but perhaps I am a little biased.

My favorite shot of the little ones

One of the many nice things about Tennessee is the mild winter. During this time of year, sunshine and blue sky days far outnumber rainy or snowy days, and the temperature often falls between 40-60˚F. This means that you can be outside nearly year round, and I am trying my best to take advantage of it by taking walks as often as I can. The first week I got here, I left the house not knowing where I would go or how long I’d be gone, and I ended up finding a great route that is about 5 miles long and takes just over an hour. All of the roads are small 2-lane low-speed country roads that wind through the hills and along streams. Every one that drives by waves, and all of the dogs call out with a bark as I pass and some even join me for 1/2 a mile or so. I absolutely love it out here, so I thought I should share!!

The wind chime that used to hang on my grandfather's back porch, but now hangs on my parents'. It has the best ring and does so at the tiniest gust. I love it.

Hay bails at the farm next door.

It is supposed to be 5˚F today in Tennessee, but I don't think we're going to make it since it's 50˚F right now. Regardless, the water from heavy rains last week is still frozen and make it look cold!

Do you ever wonder if a double wide could be cool? I think they could.

The Sweetgum seed pod, nature's version of the Christmas ornament.

It kind-of looks like that could be a normal size house, but it's not. It's more the size of a large bird house.

Americana at its best.

Another house, this one has a old rusted plow in the front. I love these little bits of the country in moderation.

I think this is an old canning shed...or bomb shelter.

A lot of tobacco is grown in Tennessee, and this is the side of a barn used to fire-cure the tobacco leaves which produces pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff. Fire Curing is a process that dries tobacco by hanging it in a large barn, and then a low hardwood fire is kept burning continuously for up to 10 weeks. I was here a couple years ago during the curing time, and it was amazing. As we drove down Hwy 25 we would smell the hardwood fire first, then we would see these huge red barns covered with green ivy smoking to the high heavens. I am not a fan of tobacco smoking or chewing, but the curing process is pretty phenomenal.

This is my childhood dog, Copper (Fox and the Hound reference), brought back to life. She sneaks up on me every time I walk down her road and simply nudges my hand begging for recognition.

Horse fences

A fallen log that happens to be the perfect bridge over a small stream.

And of course, the Cows. There are probably 30 cows that graze in the land across the street from my parents' house, and when I was behind the trees they were all sitting in the shade on the other side. When they heard me, every single one of them stood up and ran away to a more comfortable distance, then they watched in fear as I took their photo. I guess they're not as used to pedestrians as the ones in India.

So this is how I’ve been spending my days. Pretty nice.