I've wanted to learn to use a sewing machine for years now. It just seems like one of those things women should know how to do, even if they just use it for fixing hems or other simple things like that. Anyway, I finally got my chance; while Tom and I were at his parents' house for Thanksgiving, my mother-in-law helped me make a pair of flannel pajama pants!
I used the fabric scraps to have some fun with Roy the cat (or, as I like to call him, Crazy Eyes LaRue).
I didn't actually wear the pants until after we got back to Louisville. The first time I wore them, I found this in our bed the next morning...
Oops! I thought I'd gotten all the pins out when we finished sewing the pants. Glad Tom and I don't have a water bed...! I'm also glad the pin got stuck in the mattress and not in, well, me.
By the way, my in-laws gave me an early birthday present while we were in Clarksville: a brand-new sewing machine! So now I have no excuse not to keep up with it.
The day after Thanksgiving, we all went to Nashville to see The Story. (After nearly two decades of fandom, I finally got to see and hear Steven Curtis Chapman live and in person. Aaaahhhh!) Before the show, we went to dinner at the Nashville Hard Rock Cafe. This was one of the cooler HRCs I've visited. The decor is clean and modern with a slightly urban feel, and the service was excellent. But what made this HRC visit really unique was that we got to share a meal with a couple of very special guests. One of Tom's professors, Dr. Coppenger, lives in Nashville; and Tom invited him and his wife to come meet up with us for dinner that evening. We had a great time with them!
And finally, I finished a great read during Thanksgiving break too: Julia Child's My Life in France. I honestly never really knew much about Julia Child until I saw the movie Julie & Julia, which quickly became one of my favorites. Then I came across this book a few years ago during a big closeout sale at our local Borders (I had to decide between this and Rue McClanahan's autobiography...a very tough call for me!). I learned that she actually didn't know much about cooking for the first half of her life, but then she and her husband Paul moved to France for his job, and her life was completely transformed. She fell in love with the people, the culture, and most importantly, the food. What made her story really interesting is that she discovered her love of French cooking during a time when France was not really at its best; she moved there shortly after the end of World War II, and the country was war-torn. Amidst all the descriptions of dishes like soufflé Grand Marnier and sole meunière were descriptions of buildings in ruins and people whose lives had been shattered by the war. But to hear Ms. Child describe the country as a whole, one would think it was the greatest place on earth. She seemed to be able to find the good in everything. She had such joie de vivre, it's no surprise that she made the most of her time there and eventually became one of the most-loved TV personalities of our time. (By the way, I really tried to come up with a non-French way of describing her personality for fear of sounding cliché, but nothing seemed as accurate as joie de vivre, which means "enjoyment of life.") I so enjoyed getting to know her through this book. She seemed like such a lovely person. And it makes me want to read other cooking-memoir books like this. It's fun to read about people who love cooking as much as I do and are more well-written than I am. :)
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