Life Perspective: Reviews & More

  With a spring unlike any other, an alternative spring break might be in order. C onsider getting outside for your vacation, the best alternative to a  vaxication , virtual  wellness days , or travel in general. However, if you want to enjoy your vacay outside in nature, keep in mind that not all U.S. cities are equally built for a good time in nature. That’s why  LawnStarter  has put together the Best Cities for Spring Outdoor Activities.  To help Americans plan a fun but safe outdoor adventure, we ranked the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on 17 key factors. They include, for example, the number of public gardens, trails, and campsites; walkability; and amount of spring sunshine.  Check out the top outdoor spring destinations below, followed by some highlights. Best Outdoor Cities for Spring   Rank City 1 San Francisco, CA 2 Portland, OR 3 Honolulu, HI 4 Mesa, AZ 5 Washington, DC 6 Tucson, AZ 7 Los Angeles, CA 8 Long Beach, CA 9 Huntington Beach,...

Blogger Kathryn Darden in her eclipse glasses If you have Eclipse Glasses left from the recent Solar Eclipse and don't know what to do with them, don't throw them away! Donate them to a good cause !  A group called Astronomers Without Borders and Explore Scientific is recycling eclipse glasses to send to schools in South America and Asia when eclipses cross those continents in 2019. The glasses will be collected and sent to people who cannot afford to purchase them for the 2019 eclipses. Get the details here: Donate Your Used Eclipse Glasses to a Good Cause | Christian Activities Also see: 2017 Total Solar Eclipse in Nashville Perfection in Detail | Christian Activities  Ask me about amazing clinical skincare products and start your way to clearer, healthier skin today! Join me on  Facebook  or email   skin_and_health@yahoo.com  for more info! I would love to help you have healthier skin! Thank you for reading and thank you for sharing t...

Right after the total eclipse the sun came back out and the lighting crescents faced the other direction. A rare natural phenomena took place in Nashville today when we were almost directly in the path of a solar eclipse, and certainly in its path enough to get the full effect. A friend and I took Jack The Pap to Edwin Warner Park to observe the unusual sight and to enjoy things only seen during a solar eclipse. Using the solar eclipse glasses kindly provided by Twice Daily, and wearing my new once-in-a-lifetime total eclipse t-shirt, we watched the moon slowly make its way across the sun until only the corona was visible. The sky got dim and then darkened as if we were in deep shade and the temperature dropped a few degrees. Early during the eclipse, the lighting showed the sun with a small moon shadow on the right side. What I had the most fun with besides glancing up at the sun through my special lenses was watching the phenomena of the shadow of the eclipse on the g...

I just finished watching the third season of "Naked And Afraid XL." I respect these people for leaving the comfort, safety and security of home to face unknown hardships in remote and inhospitable places. I wouldn't choose to do it, so my comments should be viewed knowing I realize I could not do what these people have done. In addition, I am aware that most of the action and dialogue takes place off camera. All my impressions are compliments of a cameraman and a film editor and the scenes they chose to share. A lot happens that that I am completely unaware of. With these two disclaimers in mind, let's talk about Mean Girl Cliques on "Naked And Afraid XL." Every girl comes up against them in elementary school. They become a force to be reckoned with in junior high and have usually become more sophisticated and somewhat nicer in high school. Even boys know their wrath, but the cruelties of Mean Girls are normally reserved for other girls. Not so on...

There is a depression in the ground I have covered with tarp to keep water out until I can have some rocks and stones put in to fill it. An Eastern Box Turtle found his way into the depression, but he couldn't get out. Instead he scrabbled at the tarp trying to get a foothold but ended up shredding the plastic and getting the strands wrapped around his legs and pulled into his shell. He literally became attached to the tarp at each leg and all around his shell. A crazy whim drew me to the tarp this week which sits well out of view of my house hidden in some bushes and wild cane. I decided to trim back the tarp and see if the cane might stabilize the depression. As I pulled some of the tarp away, up came the turtle, securely attached to the tarp. I couldn't lift him off but had to go get scissors to cut a circle around his shell so I could begin the task of trying to get him free. It soon became clear there were too many strands of shredded tarp pulled around his legs and...

This afternoon Jack was making such a racket on the patio extension that goes around my rustic little fish pond. I wen out to investigate, and this is what I found!

This has been a bad afternoon of storms in the Nashville area. A terrible storm cell passed over my Bellevue home. I could hear the high winds, the rain pelting the house and then an awful banging all around my house like someone was throwing rocks at my house. I have never heard anything like it before, although once I heard a storm pull siding off my house which was equally scary. I stayed in my safe room with Miss Katy listening to all the noise until the storm passed, and then I watched the news, so it was about 15 minutes after the hail fell before I thought to go outside and look. There were quarter-sized round junks of ice all around my house and yard. It was almost 70º outside so I don't know if the hail lost any diameter due to melting during those 15 minutes, but it was still an impressive sight. Author Kathryn Darden holds 3 quarter-sized junks of hail in her Bellevue yard We were lucky in Bellevue. Tornadoes touched down in other places including neighboring...

 Because I have been dealing with mold remediation following a flood in my house on October 17, I am writing two articles on mold. Here is the first one: Health issues associated with mold and black mold - Nashville Skin Care Examiner Mold and Skin Rashes Many Nashvillians became intimately acquainted with mold following the Nashville Flood . Molds are a common type of fungus and can be found in many thousands of known species and have been known to cause rashes and skin irritations.

'The Flood of the Century' - the Nashville Flood of 2010 Devastates Bellevue, Tennessee A first-hand account of living through the devastating flooding of the Harpeth River in Bellevue, TN, during the great Nashville flood of 2010 (with photos) By Kathryn E. Darden  |  Published 5/12/2010 Bellevue, Tennessee, is a quiet little town on the edge of Metroplitan Nashville/Davidson County which sits on the scenic Harpeth River. Normally the Harpeth River is a very small river that winds gracefully through the Bellevue hills and meadows. I live on a hillside off of Highway 70 which runs alongside the Harpeth River as it winds into Bellevue. Usually local take the stream for granted and barely notice the picturesque river running serenely below the highway. That all changed on May 1 and 2, 2010. Click here to read my personal account.

Tennessee can be visited by tornadoes, electrical storms, earthquakes, ice storms, landslides and other natural disasters. These weather conditions can cause power outages. Here are 2 articles to help you prepare for a power loss in Tennessee. How to Prepare For a Power Outage In Tennessee Top Five Ways to Be Ready For a Power Failure In Tennessee 

It is so nice to have my nights off! I am still working the day job, but not as hard, not as many hours. After all, I am on vacation! Even with gas prices like they are, not to mention that fact you can't find gas in Nashville, I have had a lovely time already. I was able to take the dogs to the park yesterday, and we just ambled down side trails and paths we don't usually cover, finding new vistas to admire, and new rocks to sniff. I have discovered I am a park-aholic. I love these long walks; they are so restful and soothing. Looking at countless shades of green, the tapestry of overhanging branches, twisting vines, colorful flowers, even the variations in the color and texture of tree bark is breathtaking. The first day of autumn also brought with it the heady aroma of fall leaves on the breeze, and the first scattering of fall leaves on the paths. Even the dogs crunched leaves as they walked. The dogs love our walks, too, and it is fun to watch their reactions to squirrels,...