Nashville Throwback
Back in the first week of August, we headed for the annual summer week at my parents’ house in Nashville. The week prior, the Prof took the kids to his parents’ house for their week there. As I had already spent a week vacation with that side (and vacation time is not easy to come by ’round here), I stayed home that week. I got out my sewing machine and new under-bed foldable sewing table and I merrily sewed 7 Harry Potter robes for my nieces and nephews and sons, while bingeing Midsomer Murders. It was a glorious week. You may recall we film a little family movie every summer and this summer it was a Harry Potter based script (last year we did the Great Baby Baking Show). Given I now work less hours than I used to, I had more time to write the script, prepare costumes, do set decorating, etc. I also decided to buy a green screen and some lighting setups so we could play around with that. The whole family joined in and we had a good time putting it together – and the final product is pretty great! Anyhow, these robes were fun to make and relatively easy, and it was nice to get out the whole sewing machine setup and be able to just leave it out for a while, and not have to put it away. Because I was alooooooone in my hooooooouse, that sweet glorious experience that almost never happens for an hour, let alone a week!
Since filming the Great Baby Bake Off last summer, we have added an additional Baby, the third kid for my baby sister. I sent them matching Louisiana pelican Big Bro/Big Sis/Little Bro shirts, and here they are modeling them in a pic she sent me just before I left for Nashville. This August trip was my first opportunity to meet Little Bro Louis (pronounce the ‘s’). *Cute story – When Big Bro Charles and Big Sis Margot learned a few months ago that Louis was a boy, Charles said “Hooray! A boy sister!”
As you can see in the montage of photos below, Louis was spoiled for choice for laps during this trip, although Jack basically hogged him the whole time. We had some fun with a slip and slide and, for some reason, plastic hangers (the Toy of Choice for the toddler set this trip).
One evening, we all went to a baseball game to see the Nashville Sounds. Craig sat between his dad and his Uncle Andrew and talked their ears off about the game, given he is now a Professional Baseball Little Leaguer.
On another day, we went on a hike at a pretty cool nature center. It was boiling hot and Jack, of course, wore his hoodie. I took a turn holding the baby in a carrier, which was very special and also very HOT. We got sacks of burgers and fries for lunch and the car smelled AMAZING all the way home.
Sprinkled throughout the trip, we filmed scenes from our movie. There were 14 – probably too many. (Next year we’re thinking Lord of the Rings, and I will try to trim down the scene list!) I turned corners of my parents’ house into Zonko’s Joke Shop (my dad was Zonko), the Gryffindor Common Room, Gladrags (I played the Gladrags proprietor), Honeydukes candy shop, Three Broomsticks (my sister was Madame Rosmerta), and Scrivener’s Quill shop (BIL Andrew played that part!). Plus we green-screened some scenes at Hogsmeade and other scenes inside the castle. The green-screen effect turned out completely amateurish and hilarious – in one scene I made the rookie mistake of letting Craig (Ron) wear a green shirt. My niece Hannah played Hermione, Liam was Harry, and the students were rounded out with Margot (1) playing Luna Lovegood, Jacob (2) playing Collin Creevey, my sweet earnest little buddy Charles (4) playing Neville Longbottom. I got just about everybody else in it, too – my remaining sisters played Professors McGonagall and Trelawney, my mother was Professor Sprout, Jack was Hagrid, and I had my brother (who couldn’t be there this time) do the voice-over for Dobby the house elf – played masterfully by Louis.
Some children (Charles, Craig, Hannah) were totally game and said their lines with gusto and occasional prompting. Some children (Margot) loved the robe so much they would not take it off. Some children (coff, Jacob, coff coff) were having ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THIS and had to be cajoled with chocolate chips to even deign to stand on the set. Luckily I got enough footage of this stubborn little man that I could stick him in the movie even though he never said his lines – then I got my sister to catch him on a more cooperative day and got his lines dubbed in via Voice Memo. The one exception was the green screen scene, which he was totally into because it was in the garage and he loves the garage. I don’t know guys, two year olds are just wild.
Craig was Ron Weasley, and I sprayed his hair with red temporary hair dye each day. On particularly sweaty shoots, as you can see below he looked as if he was being murdered, as red hair dye dripped down his face. (More than one Giuliani joke was made!) He was pretty game, as I said before, and just laughed while we rinsed his hair out in the bath.
There was a picnic scene on Hogwarts grounds at one point, and I have about ten minutes of footage of my sister plopping Jacob/Collin on the picnic blanket and Jacob screeching in rage and immediately toddler-rage-stomping away while I just laugh and laugh behind the camera. She eventually bribed him with paper cups full of chocolate chips, and cousin Margot/Luna totally got in on that. While the drama went on around here, she just quietly sat mainlining chocolate chips (I have video of her just tipping up the cup and pouring them down her gullet), and her father observed from some distance, shook his head, closed his eyes, and said “I’ve never been so proud of her.” Great memories, even the Jacob tantrums, because there’s nothing funnier than a furious two-year old who is angry for no reason.
One night, we took the green screen stand and hung a white sheet on it, and watched Galaxy Quest on a projector. It was after Charles’ bedtime and, lucky for him, his “bed” was a toddler mattress on the floor right beneath the window looking out into the backyard movie. Originally he wasn’t going to be able to come, but he just kept sweetly poking his head up under the blinds and looking out at us, and at last his mother relented and let him come join.
We had an epic Nerf battle, exercise/horsie rides on the back porch, lots of home-grown veggies and even a watermelon, and lots of just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company.
Last but not least, we did our traditional day at the county fair. I rode the Ferris wheel with Jack, took way too many pictures of chickens, and ate a lot of ice cream. It was a wonderful way to cap off a wonderful week.
We came home to start school, only to leave again for the hurricane, and it’s been a struggle for me to get out of the funk after that. But I’m planning some work trips – I think they will help, get me out of the house and all – and maybe after a couple more weeks of routine Ill get back on the ball. It would really help a LOT if they would pick up the garbage around the city – driving around seeing piles of debris and bagged trash everywhere definitely doesn’t help with the feeling of things being “off.” In the meantime, I have memories of a pretty special summer with both sides of the family, and some trips coming up to look forward to.