My Mega Exciting Life: Heartland Series Homecoming, JP and Tabby's engagement par-tay-hey

I had a shockingly uneventful week. So much so, that I thought this was going to be the highlight of the sights and goings-on around town:

do you suppose this truck is full of brewed coffee? seems cost inefficient... just a thought.

and:

tru dat, yo...

BUT THEN. My phone rang and my girlfriend Amanda invited me to go with her and her partner, John, to the Museum of Appalachia to see the finale of the Heartland Series taped. Now, I'd known this was going down for some time, but figured no one would want to go with me. I didn't want to go alone so I didn't ask anyone, and then out of the blue - invitation! Actually, she bought a silent auction basket and the tickets were included. ANYWAY, I was tickled pink.

History on the Museum of Appalachia (from my head, not necessarily checking facts and figures): John Rice Irwin of Norris, Tenn. wouldn't clean out his garage. In about 1960, his wife told him she'd had enough and to clean house OR ELSE. He instead figured out a way to market all his junk and voila... the Museum of Appalachia was born. It truly is a treasure. If you're in the area, I highly recommend.

props, JR. thank you for dedicating your life to my heritage. well. not just mine. all of appalachia's and stuff. TADOW.

Here's their Web site.

Anywho, I get out to the Museum a couple times a year, at LEAST once for their Fall Homecoming, then maybe to go cut a Christmas tree. We went out this year because they were celebrating the taping of the last episode of the Heartland Series, which chronicles the life/times/heritage/unique cool stuff about East Tennessee. I love it and watch it every morning (except sometimes I fake watch the news and check out Vh1 if a really good video's on. I totally get the concept of the fakeout. Psyche!)

Well, it was a stupid decision to get rid of the Heartland Series. Like, "strategery" dumb. As my father pointed out, hundreds of people don't stand in line for hours in the hot August sun to meet the show's host for a show that was canceled after 25 years and is an established institution in this market.

I uh... *ahem* did not wait in line - I waited 'till after the program and waylaid him in the parking lot for a photo op. Tee hee!

kidding, not really. i did wait until after everyone left and got in line when it was only about ten minutes long. ladies and gentlemen, i give you me and bill landry. no relation to pretty princess rachel landry. THAT I'M AWARE OF. rach, have you been holding out?

bill landry being taped voicing the audio for the last show... *a tear*

Anyway, it was a big deal and a ton of peeps came out to see the last taping. Very bittersweet.

Well, I wasn't there to cry over spilled milk, so I showed up have some fun. First, I bought lunch (always hungry). Seemingly uneventful, but I sat on a stump and ate beans and cornbread and visited with this little buddy:

hi! i'm a lizard! watch out, i'll bite your bottom!!! hahaha, no he won't... at least he didn't while i was eating. biting lizard! biting lizard!

Next up, my father (Dipsey Doodle Venable) was holding court at the Yarn Barn. He's a local color columnist and, to quote him, "earned his BS in journalism from the university in 1969 and has been shoveling it fast and furious ever since."

his audience listens with rapt attention...

except for that one dude. he looks bored. it was awful hot; he may just be chillin' to avoid heat exhaustion...

sorry for the poopy pic, but see? these people think he's totes funny! when i go hear him speak, my job is to sit up front and laugh embarrassingly loud at the punch lines.

Here is his take on what went down last Saturday.

Next, many of the characters chronicled throughout the years on the Heartland Series showed up to strut their stuff. First, this guy showed us how a muzzle loader works:

check out his fancy clothes!

p and s, i could have have told HIM how a muzzle loader works. puh-lease...

here's a guy sawing logs. literally, not figuratively. sleep+whirling circular saw=DEATH.

Here's what I look like going to the bathroom:

oh my!

a smithy

smithing....

my name is megan smith, does that count?

A few years ago, my father was forced to execute a peacock. I asked for the carcass, then roasted and ate it as a novelty. Ya'll, peacock tastes GOOD. I ate it up and now look at these majestic creatures completely differently. Hence, now:

before i thought EENNN-BEEE-CEEEE, i think ummm! yummy! and lookit, she's got a baby with her too. LIKE VEAL.

sheep, hangin'...

whoopsie, i scared them...

old timey jail cells... this looks rough ya'll.

quit runnin' afoul of the law, 'mander....

Speaking of running afoul of the law: growing up, the museum's fall homecoming was my second "real" job after babysitting. Doc Randall would ask me to join his show on occasion to market his Rootin' Tootin' Tonic. My testimony was, "Before Rootin' Tootin' Tonic, I used to have bad breath. But now, my breath is so fresh, I'll put my mouth up against anybody's!" I was 13. Hahaha!!! Ya'll think I'm kidding, right?

contains ginseng, kerosene and benzene. made from the choicest roots and herbs taken from the north side of the hill when the moon is full and sap's going down. nothin' but the best.

this room creeps me out. like how the smell of rotten milk must be shared... here you go!

old-timey buttons! i bet all of these back in the day cost like $.40. OUTRAGEOUS!

i very politely asked this vendor if i could take a pic with his lil brown jug. he very politely consented. when i immediately swung this on my shoulder for a pose, he was audibly impressed. make note ya'll: that's how it's done. welcome to east tennessee.

Aside; please note: when my father reads this he will, quite literally laugh out loud: "THAT'S MY GIRL!" with all the pride a father has. Daddy, you're welcome.

On to the Hall of Fame:

i like big baskets and i cannot lie! you otha brothas can't deny!

i have always wanted to make one of these crazy quilts. i've tried, unsuccessfully, twice. maybe it'll happen one of these days...

Next: presto, chango. I went from this:

a la, peanutbutterandjellysandwiches!

POOOF!!

i am wearing clothes here. i promise. i am a LADY, after all....

Our dear dear dear dear dear dear (sorry, too much Adam Corolla) friends, Jonathan Palmer and Tabitha Easterday got engaged and are to be married in South Carolina in October. Can't wait for the nuptials! To tide us over to the big day, we attended a fan-tab-u-lous engagement party in their honor at Blake and Jo Case's Casa! First off, Blake impresses us with a bonfire:

Sorry again for the crappy pic (seriously, learning to use the new camera box, cannot ensure good pics on the fly. I promise to get better) but it was, for real, a blazing inferno.