Sunday, December 6, 2009

A World of Whimsy

We woke to the sight of snow. I put on a pot of coffee, and built a blazing fire, hoping to surprise Camille with the feel of Christmas morning. But just like a little girl, she had jumped out of bed and looked out the window to check for snow as soon as she opened her big brown eyes. What a glorious winter world was waiting!

Camille was itching to hit the slopes with her saucer sleds. As I made breakfast and finished baking twelve dozen coconut macaroons for the Tellico Plains Candlelight Walk Cookie Caper, Camille put on her snow boots, grabbed a cup of cocoa, and scouted our property for the perfect pitch of property for sledding. If she’d asked, I’d already had grandkids sledding here; and there’s nothing like grandkids for finding the magic in life.

When we bought our house in the holler, there was a piece of property between us and our nearest neighbor that was just a fallow pasture. It wasn’t for sale, but I set my mind on having it simply because our creeks ran through it and I didn’t want to take the chance that someone would build so close to us on “our” creek. I hunted down the absentee owner and paid a premium for the land, but we kept the acreage intact. Now I know what we needed it for; this land is our sledding slope.

Camille and I found that it has perfect pitch for getting a good glide going. And it ends in a flat piece of pasture perfect for slowing your sled before crashing into the creek. We played and posed for photos until our old bones froze, then we got ready for a sightseeing and shopping adventure.

I showed Camille the rock Christmas village scene painted by a local artist named Hanson, which we agreed is one of the most original uses for rocks we’d ever seen. When I told her where I got it, we decided to make our first stop was the wonderful Coker Creek Welcome Center and Heritage gift shop. Here Camille fell in love with flapper-style knit hats, and bought one for herself and several for her version of Santa’s sleigh.

Camille is a fool for “cute,” so she absolutely adored the little town of Tellico Plains, Tennessee. We dropped off our cookies and spent several hours strolling through the shops, checking out artwork, antiques, books, and bakeries. I, who hate to shop, found furniture that will be perfect for our little house in the holler. I’ll substitute an oak rocker for the more delicate wicker rocker that is more in keeping with Camille’s tastes. Since Richard’s mantra is “Waste not, want not,” he’ll be thrilled that Camille requested the old ragged rocker. Camille and I will now have the sisterhood of the traveling chair.

Jack and Richard squired Camille around the square as I sat at the book signing table with Jack’s book. Everybody who saw Camille in her fabulous flapper hat asked about its origin. The Coker Creek Welcome Center should pay Camille for being such a darling model. She even had one local man follow her around flirting.

We ended the evening with a chat in front of our home fire, plotting future adventures.