Monthly Newsletter: December 2023 (No. 23)

Welcome to Our Technicolor Life Monthly Newsletter!

Welcome back to another exciting edition of Our Technicolor Life's monthly newsletter! We're thrilled to have you join us on our colorful journey through the many facets of our adventurous lives. As always, we're Jeff and Carrie Ketterman, a dynamic husband and wife duo who are passionate about embracing a vintage lifestyle in the most vibrant way possible.

A Glimpse into Our Lives

In case you're new here, let us introduce ourselves once again. Jeff spends his days immersed in the bustling world of rail transportation as the General Manager at Kasgro Rail Corporation Management Division. With a fleet of over 500 heavy-duty railcars, Jeff is at the forefront of providing innovative solutions for the ever-evolving rail industry.

Meanwhile, Carrie's days are filled with creativity and artistic expression. As a painter, illustrator, and author, she breathes life into murals and paintings that tell stories with every brushstroke.

Adventures Await

After our workday concludes, the real excitement begins! Our historic home, known as The Old Capitol Tea Room, transforms into a hub of themed tea parties that transport us and our guests to different eras and worlds. From the glitz and glamour of the 1920s to the groovy vibes of the 1960s, we've hosted an array of captivating events this past month that ignite the senses and spark joy.

Speaking of our musical passions, our bands are another cornerstone of Our Technicolor Life. Rosie & the Rockabillies, a vivacious 1950s-style band, and The Tin Pan Alley Cats, a toe-tapping 1920s-style ensemble, allow us to spread our love for music and nostalgia far and wide.

TEA

It was a much quieter tea month compared to November's past because of a bit of travel, more about that below. We took a doozie of a trip, one for the books for our 10th anniversary. But it wouldn't be November if we didn't kick off the holiday season with fan favorite, the Polar Express Story Time & Tea.

I might be a bit bias but I think Jeff makes the perfect Conductor, maybe its because he really does work with trains, but I think he's just lovely bringing this tale to life.

We head into the last month of tea parties in December and we are looking forward to our Grinch Story Time, Christmas Carol Radio Show, and of course, our White Christmas Sing Along. The tea room will close up for the season after our White Christmas Sing Along on December 17th and be closed January, February, and March. Look for upcoming events for our 9th season towards the end of February/early March 2024.

TRAVEL

For years and years and years we have been talking about going on the Turner Classic Movies Cruise. We basically watch one channel when it comes down to it and we pretty much only watch Turner Classic Movies. We've never been on a cruise at all and thought since we are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this year, we decided to book it! So...we traveled all the way out to San Diego, CA. via The Not So Long Trailer and then boarded the Disney Magic for the TCM Cruise to Cabo and Ensenada. It was FABUOUS!

It seriously was better than we had even imagined. I mean we don't have a ton of cruise experiences to compare them to but we had an absolute ball, the trip of a lifetime! We started out November 1st and made our way cross country through Missouri, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. You can read our day-by-day excursions and even more photos on The Not So Long Trailer Facebook page. The cruise was just magical all the way around - from the staff to meeting the TCS hosts, to hearing the celebrities talk about their movies and experiences, to the stunning sites we visited along the way. We met Kim Novak, George Chakiris, Elliot Gould, Wynn Thomas, Ernest Dickerson, Andy Marx and Lorna Luft.

I also quite enjoyed packing for this trip. Jeff had the brilliant idea to pack separately for our two trips, the camping portion and the cruise portion. I was able to at least give myself a starting point as a notorious over packer. I also had these visions in my head of what to pack and wear on a cruise, again, we watch way too many old movies. This photo below is of us boarding! But I managed to wear just about everything I packed, and it was safe to say the luggage and outfits made for a great conversation starter once on board.

Again, there is extensive day by day details and pictures on The Not So Long Trailer Facebook page so you can follow along!

ENTERTAINMENT

Light Up Corydon was one for the books and honestly could not have been better weatherwise. This year the Grinch had the honor of being the Grand Marshall of the parade accompanied by Martha May. It was quite the highlight I must say and I cannot believe the sea of people that were downtown to celebrate the holidays! It was one of the best parades and Light Ups I think we have experienced in quite some time. Thank you to Main Street Corydon and all of the volunteers and local businesses that made it such a lovely event! Jeff and I started the afternoon with a Polar Express Story Time followed by our Christmas Carol Radio Show, Grinch Story Time and Pictures and then the parade.

In December we have quite a few holiday booking and one very special public story time in the most perfect town for this time of year. Join Mr. Conductor in a live story time of The Polar Express in charming Santa Claus, IN. Storytime is 3pm CST on Saturday December 16th. This favorite Christmas tale comes to life as the Conductor presents the story of The Polar Express in the 1880 Historic Santa Claus Church.

Admission is free; donations are accepted. While visiting the Santa Claus Museum & Village for the event, guests are invited to tour the museum and Santa's Office, take a photo with the historic 22-foot-tall Santa statue, write a letter to Santa, and more.

Santa Claus Museum & Village

69 State Road 245 Santa Claus, IN 47579

ART

Murals don't just have to be for walls! The last couple of holiday seasons, I've started painting windows. If you have a business and you want to jazz up your window display or maybe you don't have the wall space to commit to a mural, painting your windows is the next best thing. This year I returned to the Cat Clinic in Louisville, KY to create a little Catmas and I also painted the Chestnut Market windows in downtown Corydon with a little nostalgia vintage collection of Christmas images.

I also returned to local gym, Spirit Elite Athletics to paint their logo. Last year I painted their windows and now with their brand new wall in place and ready to go, it needed their logo.

If you'd like more information about murals or window paintings, just send me an email at ourtechnnicolorlife@gmail.com subject murals.

This concludes our December as we move into the New Year! Please explore the website and share with friends and family! This website is our one stop shop for all of our events and information. Don't forget to subscribe so you stay in the loop and check out our upcoming events section right on the home page. In the meantime, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Yours truly,

Carrie & Jeff

AT A GLANCE - DECEMBER EVENTS

Friday December 1st Grinch Story Time Tea Party - SOLD OUT

Corydon, IN

Sunday December 3rd Grinch Story Time Tea Party - SOLD OUT

Corydon, IN

Thursday December 7th A Christmas Carol Radio Show & Dinner at The Magnolia

Clarksville, IN

Friday December 8th A Christmas Carol Radio Show Tea Party - SOLD OUT

Corydon, IN

Sunday December 9th A Christmas Carol Radio Show Tea Party - SOLD OUT

Corydon, IN

Monday December 11th The Tin Pan Alley Cats Holiday Party

Private Booking

Friday December 15th White Christmas Sing Along Tea Party - SOLD OUT

Corydon, IN

Sunday December 17th White Christmas Sing Along Tea Party - SOLD OUT

Corydon, IN

Tuesday December 19th Grinch Booking

Wednesday December 20th Grinch Booking

Sunday December 24th Christmas Eve

Monday December 25th Merry Christmas