The 21C Hotel in Louisville

The 21C Hotel. Such a fantastic concept and so stimulating! Honestly, I think a hotel like this would be popular in any city! The man working at the little shop in the Arts and Crafts Gallery across the street told us that the hotel was finally expanding and opening up new versions in a few other cities. No surprise there. 

We enjoyed the main art installation that's there now ... works by Anthony Goicolea ... and we enjoyed some of the permanent installations that were there when we last visited 2 years ago.

I love the steam vats that release little puffs of steam at various times. It's a zen thing for me. You can watch it from ground level or a level up or even from outside.

Three sides of one large foyer are papered in a black velvet, glow-in-the-dark mural. Love it!

Photos of stacked books. I can't resist stacked books.

The falling text ... between the elevators ... fascinates me. Obviously.  *sigh* More zen. Don't I look Zen? Art. It's a wonderful thing.

Street Art in Louisville

The creative spirit is rich and abundant in Louisville. I love their art scene.

All this pink looks like it might be an art installation and I guess it is ... it's the work of Mother Nature ... pink petals victim to the rain. It looks like pink confetti. Very pretty!

We saw at least 3 weddings going on in and around the 21C Hotel, which is very possibly my favourite hotel EVER ... even though I've never stayed in it. It's a hotel that's a gallery as well and it's FANTASTIC! I love it! One of these days I'll actually stay there and then I'll be able to wear one of its t-shirts that reads, "I slept with art".  HA!  The outside of the hotel is perhaps most easily distinguished by the red penguins.

The hotel limo is awesome! I had trouble getting it all in a photo, it's so long! What a lot of red glass marbly beads! Way cool!

And same with the Plymouth installation with all the feet beneath it. I knew it was making a statement but I didn't know what for sure until I saw the license plate, which reads "CUBA".  Awww ...

I think Saskatoon should have a 21C Hotel.  I really do.

Welcome to Louisville, Kentucky!

After an uneventful flight (that's a good thing) we landed in Louisville shortly after 1:00 pm and lickity split we were downtown and checked into the historic Brown Hotel. It's kind of famous around here much like our Bez, but older.  It's a beautiful old hotel for which Kevin got a really good room rate via HotWire.com. That's why we're here instead of some less impressive and less costly hotel. As much as I've loved staying at the Inn at Woodhaven, the Bed and Breakfast we've stayed at other times we've visited here, we opted to try something different, especially since I don't feel I need the extra comfort a suite in a bed and breakfast provides. Still, I do love that place. LOVE IT!

After dropping off suitcases we went to the hotel cafe for one of their famous Hot Browns (background and recipe here). I've never had one previous years we've been here but they're an institution in Louisville and associated with the Brown Hotel, of course, so that's what we had. Delicious! Turkey, bacon, tomatoes, toast triangles, Monteray sauce, and parmesan cheese. I think those are the key ingredients. Really good but more than I need for lunch. It was a "must try", though, and I'm glad we did.

Shortly after we landed in Louisville, the rain started pouring down. I mean POURING! The car wipers could hardly keep up. The rain had slowed to a drizzle by the time we finished lunch so we grabbed umbrellas and started walking ... exploring downtown on foot. We've already visited some of our favourite places here. When the sun emerged, it felt like we were in a sauna! HOT! HUMID! STICKY! CURLY!  I thought my hair was curly before! Maaaaaan.  And now here we are back at the hotel chilling for a bit in our room. That 3:30 a.m. is catching up with me!

Oh, and about Luke ... after all, he's why we're here! Wel,l he and the team are already in Columbus, Ohio for tomorrow's game. We'll be driving there bright and early tomorrow. I think Nora and maybe Arden's girlfriend are going to come with us. Luke won't be playing. He's only recently started practicing with the team again after being off with a concussion. He may not play this year at all and instead might be "red-shirted", which would give him an additional year of eligibility so he could play next year instead. Otherwise this would be his 4th and last year of college lacrosse and the season is half over now.  Even if he were to start playing next week, he would only get 6 games or so in, which would be a disappointing way to finish. Whatever happens, it will be up to Luke and his coach. Luke had planned on going to school for another semester next year anyway so he could complete a double major, so red-shirting might be an appealing option to him even though I know it really kills him to not be playing now.

I can't wait to see him tomorrow!

If You Want to Try Greens ...

For anyone interested in trying Greens ...

This is the brand I've been taking and that was recommended by my Naturopath. It's berry flavoured, includes fruit in addition to greens, and is not unpleasant stirred into 6 ounces of water but is especially nice in the smoothies I make for lunch using protein powder as well.

My Naturopath thought the one I had tried ... Amazing Grass Green SuperFood (the chocolate and berry flavoured ones that were quite palatable).... also looked good and if you follow the link, you'll see it has a good review at Green Reviews, is considered a good value, and I know it's available locally. I bought my samples at the health food store on Broadway and 9th.

If you're interested in trying Greens, you might want to check Green Reviews. It's a website I found that provides reviews of the various brands. I suggest that you start by scrolling down to the bottom of the list of brands where you will find three links ... two that are comparison charts and one that is an overview article. I would start with the overiew.

The Greens First product I've been using has a good rating but is criticized for being on the expensive side. Good to know. It probably depends where you buy them. I notice they're a lot cheaper at some of the online sources. I don't even know if this brand is available at any of the health food stores in town. I bought this directly from my Naturopath.

After reading the reviews, I'm interested in trying what looks to be their best rated Greens powder - Vitamineral Green, a regular award winner. If I can't find it locally, I'll probably order some. If you're interested, let me know. I think there's a saving to be had by ordering multiples. Here's the official website with prices.

So there you have it ... how I'm figuring out for myself what Greens products to try. They've turned out to be magical for me and, the way I see it, they can only do good. There's no down side. Who can't use some more vegetables in their diet?

Yes, Virginia, There Really Is A Santa Claus!

I came home from buying a new iron on Sunday and when I saw this in front of our house I was so sure this was a surprise from Kevin ... if not Santa. Alas, it was just Jim and Allen visiting ... Allen was helping Kevin sort out his iTunes, something that would have taken Kevin hours but only took Allen a few minutes.  Those Kerr boys - Graham and Allen - have had unusual formative years. It's not every kid who gets a new vehicle to drive around every week or two.  This one sure is pretty but, in truth, it wouldn't do for me. It's not very easy to get in and out of for the less than nimble. Stupid Porsche.  We had a nice dinner out with Graham and Allen and it was nice to catch up with all they've been up to lately.

I don't need a Porsche to make me happy. I was pretty happy to still be feeling amazingly good this weekend.  It's been three weeks since I first took that little package of "Greens" that has truly changed my life!

I went with friends to a performance of Arsenic and Old Lace by the Warman Community Theatre group on Friday after work and got home just before midnight. The play was SO well done, by the way. Really superb!  It was amazing enough for me to be out on a Friday night but even more amazing that I was up and hustling around the house earlier than usual on Saturday ... and with energy and enthusiasm for even mundane chores.  I met up with some friends in the afternoon for green beer (Happy St. Pat's) at McGuires, ran some errands, and had a happy and productive day.  Sunday was good, too.  AMAZING!

Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well Sunday night. That's the third Sunday in a row that I have suffered most of the night with hot, hot, HOT feet. The rest of me overheats, too, but the feet are the worst.  Last week after one such night, I noticed a dramatic improvement in the feeling in my toes. Feeling that I thought was lost forever had returned considerably in my smaller toes but not my big toes.

Last night wasn't as bad as Sunday night for my feet but something was still going on with them. Last night my toes would get very hot, painfully hot even, and it felt like someone was using them as a pincushion.  It didn't last very long, thank goodness, but after that I was aware that my toes felt different. I spent a couple of hours wiggling my toes, spreading them, rubbing them against the sheets, poking them into my legs ... trying to figure out what I was feeling and marveling that I really seemed to be feeling something at all! And what has happened is feeling has now come back into my big toes! It's amazing and feels so weird.  Today I noticed that my toes touch the ends of the shoes I was wearing, which isn't such a good thing. I did't feel that before.  It just feels so different to be walking about with feeling in all my toes.  My littler toes continue to improve. I really didn't think this would happen. Ever! While there is till some shadowy numbness in all my toes and the balls of my feet are still quite numb (the contrast really feels odd), I now have reason to hope that nerves will mend there, too. Maybe. Could happen.

And why now? It's over 2 years since the chemo caused the nerve damage that resulted in my losing the feeling in my toes and fronts of my feet.  I would be less amazed if the improvements were gradual but they're quite sudden and dramatic!  Why?  I'll probably never really know why but I do wonder if it isn't something to do with what the Greens have done to my body. Maybe they've increased my blood circulation or my metabolism and maybe all of that has led to the nerves being able to repair themselves. I really don't know but it does strike me as interesting that the return of the feeling in my feet has coincided with my starting to take a Greens supplement and a protein powder supplement as well.

Whatever it is, I'm SO HAPPY about it! And I will continue to take my Greens!