258 The Pink Palace Museum

I grew up in Atlanta, so when I posted on Facebook that I was going to the "Pink Palace" I was not surprised to have Atlanta buddies questioning me. In Atlanta they have the Pink Pony, which is a "shake" joint ... so many people wondered why I would take my kids to the Pink Palace. I am a large child, and I giggle everytime I say Pink Palace because they are so very similar. Okay, so it is mainly in my head, but I do see the connection. Of course, that is all beside the point ...

Last week I took Katie, Connor and Mia to the Pink Palace Museum. We have a free pass, and it would be a shame not to use it. At least this time they actually had power! I hate to even think of the meltdown that would have occurred if Katie was thwarted again. She had wanted to go on Tuesday, but then she went to play and did not mention it again until 2pm, and I refused to take her when the museum closes at 5pm.

So, last Wednesday we headed out at about 10 o'clock to check out the Pink Palace. Fittingly, both girls chose to wear pink (and I actually JUST made that connection). Oh, and the same shoes. These are their "special" sandals because they have DIAMONDS! Kids can be so cute ... sometimes!

The Pink Palace is a mansion ... ohh, duh. It is faced with pink Georgia marble ... oh, you probably guessed that, too. Do you know how it became a museum? Sad story really. Clarence Saunders, the founder of the Piggly Wiggly grocery store chain, began building the house in 1922 .. then lost his fortune in 1923 in an "epic battle with the New York Stock Exchange", before the house was even completed. It was then donated to the City of Memphis to be used as a museum, and eventually construction was finished and it opened as a museum in 1930. That is the short version of course, if you want to know the rest of the story then click on this link.

On the first level there is a large exhibit of skulls, skeletons, birds, bugs, and dinosaurs... among a few other things.

Right now there is an exhibit called "Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters" which involves animatronic dinosaurs and some actual fossils. Very cool, and just a tiny bit scary for the girls. You can probably tell, my favorite thing is the Clyde W. Parke Miniature Circus And then, and INCREDIBLY freaky section on medical history!! This one depicts a trip to the dentist. Which is thankfully less gory than the Civil War Field Doctor's Tent where they are cutting off a man's gangrened leg. Oh yeah ... you don't want to look too close at that. Some spooky set-ups to show us how Memphis houses might have looked back in the day. Had to take a picture in front of Andrew Jackson. Chip has been told that there is a possibility we are related to him.

(We are also kin to those Tupelo Presley's ... just not close enough to count) This is one of Elvis's Army uniforms.

AND ... the best part of any visit to a museum ... THE GIFT SHOP! I think we spent almost as long in there trying to pick out the perfect things.

I am sure we will be going back, but I may have to figure out a way to make it back on my own sometime. The things that I found interesting were the exact exhibits that Katie and Mia wanted to run right past.

239 Veterans Plaze of Memphis, TN

After Katie's fieldtrip to the Memphis Zoo, I decided to wander over to look at some statues I had noticed but never explored. Right beside the zoo is Overton Park, and located there is the Veterans Plaza which holds monuments to the men and women who have been killed in the service of our country. For more of the backstory on the founding of Veterans Plaza you might want to visit this link about Pete Dugan. For the quick story ... Pete Dugan served in World War II. In 1998 he began his quest to honor those from Memphis and Shelby County who gave all in service of our country. He managed to research and confirm each name WITHOUT a computer. He also raised the money and community support needed to create this monument to our Veterans. I was only able to spend a few minutes there, as I was on my way to pick Katie up from school, but it seemed like a very peaceful spot. A great place to sit and think about the people who have fought to insure our freedom. Thank you to all those who have served!
Be sure and check out the work of Jayel Aheram. He is currently serving in the Marine Corps. A wonderful photographer and documentarian (is that a word?)

187 UrbanScrawl Part 2

More pictures from the photocation in Memphis, TN!

185 UrbanScrawl Part 1, with words and pictures

Alright, now it is time to write (I will be sprinkling in some repeat pictures from the last post to illustrate)...
My Shutter Buddy Candy (one of these days I will just say Candy and expect you to know who I am talking about, but I am still convinced no one reads this, so I have to keep explaining) is a photography student at the University of Memphis, and every once in a while she involves me in her assignments. This past week her assignment was "urban impact" or something along those lines. I'm not in the class, I don't really have to know. She wanted to go downtown and take some shots of graffiti, but she did NOT want to go downtown alone! That is where I come in :) Although we ended up not being in a very rough part of town. The first building that we took pictures of was right across the street from brand new townhomes. And I mean NICE townhomes. Also, there was a wreck at the end of the block, so convenient policemen as well. Yes Mom, you can calm down now.
Originally, we just hopped out to take some pictures of the side of the building. We came around the corner and saw all those doors leaning against the walls, and bricks and paint! Purely great! Only thing that would have made it better was if the sun had been on the proper side, but you can't have everything. So, we walked all along the side, taking pictures of the graffiti, laughing at the poor guy with the backwards J in TROJAN and the tag that said "Shoot Yourself". But we noticed more graffiti and a cool alcove across the street, so we had to investigate. It was definitely someone's "home", or at least it had been. At one point I stepped over a deflated air mattress, a pillow, and some lotion. It was such a huge jumble of trash that I could have been standing in the bedroom or the bathroom ... ok, so the bed was a giveaway, but my point is that it was NASTY! And then we went around the corner and received our VD Street training ... Then we headed back to the car, but I had to check out the OTHER side of the building, and I am so glad I did! It had two trees growing out of the brick! Actual trees! How long has a building stood empty for trees to grow? Complete with birds, no less. Yes, that lump toward the bottom of the trunk is a bird :)

And then there was the graffiti with a nicer message ...

and really this might be Memphis's new motto. There is a huge revitalizing effort going on in the downtown area. The slummy streets right off the river are getting a swift kick into a higher tax bracket. These old warehouses and factories are going to be lofts. I wish I had the money to invest! How cool would this building be made into loft spaces?? Anyone wanna loan me some money??

Even cooler, the trolley goes right in front of it! There is a little park to the right, and more new gorgeous homes! Seriously, who is ready to invest?

And just because I love ya, and everyone loves a trolley ... here is a bonus super played with shot. It is my current screensaver I love it so much!

And of course, that is still not all the pics from our little photocation in the ghetto (I had to say it, this is Elvis World!) Maybe I will throw up another slideshow. Really, I can't wait to get back downtown and take some more pictures. Sure wish we had a chaperone though :)

184 Urban Scrawl Part 1

There are many names that these pictures could have been placed under, but I chose the most fitting (plus I think I came up with it, at least as far as I know)!
Here is a slideshow of about half of the pictures we shot. I will write more later :)

155 Back to the Present

Just realized it has been a week since there was any kind of mention of present life in the Jackson household, so I thought I would give a little update and, of course, post some recent pictures.
Nothing much has been going on around here. Just same old stuff. Living, laughing, and Rockband. Connor has caught the Rockband addiction as well. If one of us is on the guitar he will either bang on the drums or blabber into the microphone. Katie and I have both bought our "mummy" clothes. I did mine in green and she did her's in pink. We are some seriously stylish mummies!! Rockin' mummies!!! I have yet to venture onto the "hard" setting, but Chip has managed to not get boo-ed out of a few songs. Our band is moving right along, ready to hit the big time any second!!



I actually got out of the house without the kiddos in tow last weekend! Charity, Toya, and I decided to roll up toward Memphis and hit The Big One! It was very sad. In my words from the day, it was not IMpressing me, it was DEpressing me! I had not been in years, and I did go when the weather was nicer, but I still expected to like more stuff. I was worried I would see something and not have the moolah to buy it, but I most certainly did not. I was amazed at the amount of drugstore items that were on sale. Who goes to a fleamarket to buy Immodium and Vagisil??? We looked at quite a few hairbows that day since Toya was searching for some for Jaclyn to wear for cheerleading. I was accosted by a lady trying to sell some kind of scrunchie with combs thing. I have a hard time saying no, so I ended up in a seat with a total stranger playing with my hair. Thankfully, Charity was there to laugh at me! There was only one booth that truly caught my eye. I could have spent hours looking at old postcards and reading the backs of them. I should have bought a stack, but we were getting tired of walking through the muck. Toya did get one of the coveted Jiffy Dogs. Footlong as you can see. We all would have gotten them, but we could not bring ourselves to pay $2.50 for a bottle of water, and if you got the Dog you need the water! Seriously, Nestle brand water ... $2.50!! Years from now, that may be the only thing I remember about this day, the grossly overpriced water! Even though the flea market was sad it was great to spend some time with the girls. See, I am branching out. Two days without kiddos in the past 3 months. It's a new record for me.

And Katie finally got her way. She was allowed to ride the bus home from school. I shouldn't say that she got her way though. She did not get to ride because she wanted to, though that did make it easier. She rode the bus because it was the simplest way to get her and the two boys across the street to my house at the same time. Two days a week their mom, my Shutter Buddy Candy, has class that runs just a little bit over time for them to get home, so Katie gets some built in playmates. Although this week Candy actually made it home in time, but Katie insisted that Travis and Jacob be allowed to come over. She had been looking forward to it, and they are sweet sweet boys, so of course they could come over!! All they did was sit on the couch and watch tv, then sit on the couch and play Nintendo DS, and then they actually got off the couch and played Wii Bowling for one game, and then it was up the stairs to play in Katie's mess ... I mean, her room. And the bus, SHE LOVES IT!! She has now ridden it 3 times, and as long as she is enjoying it she can continue to ride. Just means that I don't have to get Connor out in the cold! Although we tend to be waiting outside for her to arrive home anyway. I still have not gotten over the odd feeling of waiting on her instead of going to get her!

That is about it on the Jackson front. Nothing exciting. But we like it!

116 yeah, I took more pictures at the cemetery ...

I am sure you are tired of looking at pictures of Elmwood Cemetery, but I am going to put up another slideshow anyway. I only had about half the "keepers" on the last post. Next post will have pics of the kiddos, don't worry :)

Our trip to the cemetery was full of silly jokes, that I am sure just seem plain dumb if you weren't there. I was making a comment that one of the statues had lost its arm, and Candy responded with "Maybe that's how she died!" Which was pretty funny at the time, but got even more funny when I found a headless statue. So, of course I commented that maybe that was how she died, but Candy did not think it likely. I bet a lot more people have died from losing their heads than losing an arm ... dontcha think :)
Or finding a pack of Pall Mall cigarettes laying next to a grave. It seemed the perfect caution against smoking.
And the best was when Candy came running up to me "I got a picture of a ghost!" And how cool would that be ... and she shows me a picture of a Mylar Ghost balloon that had been tied to a grave. We had talked about how the theory is that ghosts can be captured by photography ... but no ghosts for us.
Although Candy would say the best was watching me run/flit across the graveyard trying to get a picture of the coming train. We did not know the trains would come every 15 minutes!! Or maybe when I "flew" to the next big monument. Or maybe when I kicked the van into reverse to try to get another shot of an oncoming train. It sure looked a lot slower than it was :)
Also, there were a few statues that bore striking resemblances to Gone With the Wind characters. I saw Ashley Wilkes and Doctor Meade! There were also a few Grover Cleveland-esque statues around.
I am sure they enjoyed the sound of laughter a lot more than the pounding of the trains!!