And We’re BUSY

June 12, 2018 By Carole

Isn’t summer supposed to be when things slow down? Long, lazy days? Relaxed schedules? Well. Someone around here hasn’t gotten that memo because we’ve got a week that is absolutely FULL.

Last night we had a Kiwanis planning meeting related to September. Ugh. I hate that it’s June and we have to think about September but calendars and schedules fill up and we’re trying to get the word out about how awesome our club is and how much we actually do for the community and these things have to be planned in advance.

Tonight I have a work meeting and Dale has his monthly Civil War Roundtable group.

Wednesday night we have to go to a wake. This is not my story to tell but a good friend of mine lost her husband unexpectedly on Saturday. He was 51. In light of that I do feel the need to take a moment and say this: every day is precious, my friends, and tomorrow is not a guarantee. Do the things that make you happy right now.

Thursday night is the annual concert on our town common by Dale’s band. It’s one of my favorite shows of the year because I love seeing our entire town come out and enjoy the music and being together. Plus, it will be Jack’s first time hearing Grampa’s band and that’s very exciting for all of us!

Finally, on Friday night, there is a bench dedication that’s part of the Legends and Legacies event that honored our family last November. I’m quite sure, like everything else this committee does, that it will be a wonderful time.

Reading that over, I’m grateful for our active and busy social lives. I mean, really, only one of those evening activities is work related, everything else is about our community and the people that are part of it.

It’s a good problem to have, I think.

Gratuitous selfie with Jackie because every blog post needs a photo.

Three On Thursday

May 24, 2018 By Carole

Remember the other day when I posted the remaining photos of our Nashville trip and called it a wrap? Welp, yesterday when I took photos of the Islington Shawl and uploaded them to the computer, guess what I found on that memory card? Yep! More photos from Nashville. Specifically, more photos of murals in Nashville. I decided to share 3 that feature Dale today, hope they make you smile!

First up, Angel Wings.

Next, the Draper James wall which just so happens to be right across the street from . . .

The I believe in Nashville mural. Definitely one of our favorites!

Murals are a very big thing in Nashville and it was really fun to seek them out and take photos.

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Nashville Wrap Up

May 22, 2018 By Carole

Remember that trip to Nashville we took last month? I have more photos to share with you, to round out our experience because, believe it or not, it was about more than music and food.

It was also about boots. Lots and lots of boots.

We each bought two pair. I love Dale’s new brown ones because they aren’t as pointy and in-your-face-I’m-wearing-cowboy-boots as some that he has. Mine, on the other hard, are very pointy and very I’m-wearing-cowboy-boots. Not just these brown ones . . .

But these black ones, too. Both pairs are super comfortable and I wore them all week. I’ve even worn them since we’ve been home but . . . since I’m in Massachusetts . . . I have not worn them with skinny jeans tucked in . . . it’s just not a thing here.

Nashville has some great places to hang out like Pinewood Social, which is complete with a coffee bar, a bowling alley, a swimming pool, and really fabulous food. We went there twice, once for late night drinks and once for lunch but we never did do any bowling.

This here is the pedestrian bridge as seen from the roof top bar of Acme Feed & Seed. We never did get to walk over it . . . you may recall it was rather cold for most of the week . . . but that just means we’ll have to go back.

Nashville also has great murals although technically this one is in Franklin.

And this one isn’t really a mural, just a cool (and rather appropriate) sign in a restaurant.

We made a special point of visiting the angel wings mural. I just love this one and I’m glad Dale was able to get a picture of me in front of them . . . it’s hard for this photographer to hand over the camera, you know.

And that’s a wrap on Nashville. At least for this time because I can promise you, we’ll be going back!

Weekending

May 21, 2018 By Carole

Happy Monday, friends! And can I just say, right now, how glad I am that next Monday is a holiday? Because this Monday work thing seems to come around much too quickly. I imagine that’s partly because we manage to cram so much into the weekend. Here. I’ll show you . . .

Friday:

A walk with Jack in the afternoon. He was tired and refused to sleep so we went for a walk since I thought the stroller would lull him to sleep. It didn’t but when we came back he fell asleep immediately and was out for about 90 minutes.

Friday Night Snacks. You know the drill. We caught up on some TV and watched the first episode of Little Women on Masterpiece Theater. It’s good but feels a bit rushed to me, I think it would be hard to follow if you didn’t know the story.

Saturday:

Up early (very early) for the royal wedding and some knitting. I thought the wedding was spectacular, loved the wedding gown, was utterly impressed with the ceremony itself (the gospel choir! the exuberant pastor! the flowers!), and it was all worth getting up for. Plus, it gave me a great excuse to take a late morning nap.

It was a raw and rainy day so there wasn’t much opportunity for yard work but we still got some stuff done around the house and then headed out in search of food. We had a wonderful time at The Olde Hitching Post, the restaurant where we had our wedding reception almost 21 years ago.

The music in the lounge was great and we had a really lovely evening. We even sneaked into the room where we had our reception on our way out and danced in the dark to Moon River (our wedding song) as it played on my iPhone in my pocket book. Tots romantic.

Sunday:

The weather finally cooperated for outside work and the first order of the day was getting our new window boxes hung. Dale did a great job getting them done and it really didn’t take much time at all, which makes me wonder why we didn’t do this 3 years ago when we first did the new siding on the house. This is step one of our new-front-yard-curb-appeal plan, all those plants you currently see in those beds are either being relocated or ditched, more on that as we make progress.

I went to a local nursery to get annuals for the window boxes and container gardens. I also picked up some lettuce but we’ll hold off on the rest of the vegetables until next weekend. It was awesome to enjoy the warmth of the day and wander through all the greenhouses making my selections.

And then I planted containers. I went with more foliage and less flowers this year although I’m sure I’ll get zinnias and some other things going, too. It started to rain just as I was finishing up – I actually planted the lettuce in a pretty steady downpour – but I got it done and the rain was a welcome way to get everything watered.

It cleared up enough for a cocktail on the deck but a passing shower drove us back inside where we hung out on the couch and caught up on more tv.

It was a busy, productive, fun weekend!

Nashville 2018: The One With All The Food

May 1, 2018 By Carole

I’m going to warn you right now – if you are hungry don’t continue any further. In fact, even if you aren’t all that hungry, I’m going to predict that this post will make you hungry. So. Go get a snack – a good snack – and then come back before you read. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

Okay, we good now? Because I’m about to flood your screen with pictures of all the great stuff we ate (and drank) while we were in Nashville.

First up? Fried brussels sprouts and beer at Embers Ski Lodge on Sunday afternoon. It was very close to our airbnb and it was a great place to grab a snack and a burger. And it reminded me of being in Park City with Margene.

Monday morning. Donuts from Five Daughters Bakery. Chamomile Creme Brulee, King Kong (that’s the one with all that bacon and maple frosting), Lemon Blueberry and The Purist. We split the King Kong and Lemon Blueberry on Monday morning and ate the other two on Tuesday morning. They were fab.

Monday night. Hot chicken and cheesy grits from The Row. Hot chicken is a Nashville thing and it’s good. Real good. We never made it to Hattie B’s, which is supposed to have the best hot chicken around, but this was excellent. Honestly, though, I think I prefer my fried chicken without the heat.

Tuesday afternoon. Fried green tomatoes at Acme Feed & Seed. This was also accompanied by shrimp and grits but I don’t have a picture of that. I truly could have eaten fried chicken and shrimp and grits every day. Oh wait. I think I did.

Tuesday night. The Loveless Cafe. First up? Biscuits accompanied by their own jams: blackberry, peach and strawberry. So light and fluffy and so good for breakfast the next day, too.

My fried chicken, accompanied by fried okra and hash brown casserole. Is it pretty? Nope. But tasty? Oh my yes. It was probably the best fried chicken I’ve had since my mother’s and that’s really saying something.

Dale had chicken fried steak (so tender he could cut it with his fork) and macaroni ‘n cheese and fried green tomatoes. Again I say, pretty? Nah. But delicious and comforting and just like having Sunday dinner at your grandma’s.

Wednesday afternoon. Fried Pimento Cheese Balls at GRAY’s On Main in Franklin. This was my reward for tromping across a battlefield. Believe me when I say that I researched where to eat in Franklin the minute Dale said he wanted to go there to see the Civil War sites. It was pretty funny when he looked at the menu and said, “oh boy, those fried pimento cheese balls sound great.” That’s when I looked at him and said, “that’s why we’re here, honey.” Heh.

My shrimp and grits with his burger in the background. This place was wonderful and I’m glad we went even if I did have to tromp that battlefield first.

Thursday morning. The Big Fix at the Flipside. It’s a Bloody Mary that comes complete with crab claws, fried chicken, tater tots, a gigantic pickle, bacon, olives, pepperoncini and celery. It was a cocktail AND lunch and we both had one. It was fun and quite the experience!

Friday late afternoon. Ice cream from Jeni’s on our way to the airport. Vicki had mentioned Jeni’s and I’m glad we made time to stop before we left. Dale had the ice cream flight with wild Brown Butter Almond, Salty Caramel and Wildberry Lavender. I had Brambleberry Crisp and Bangkok Peanut. So flavorful. So smooth and creamy. So worth the stop!

And there you have it! Of course there were things not pictured like dinner at Puckett’s on Thursday night and lunch at Pinewood Social on Friday afternoon. Nashville has great music but it also has some really fabulous food, too!