Lunch at Miss Bobo's and Bob Dylan...

...all in one week!

Last week was my "favorite" sister's birthday.

On Monday, Nancy and I 

made the half hour trip from my parents' house

to Lynchburg, Tennessee for lunch.

Lunching at Miss Bobo's has been on my 

TO DO list for quite a while.

So what better way to experience it than with Nancy?

It was an excellent afternoon.

Miss Bobo's, at one time was a boarding house.

It is now owned by Jack Daniels

and operated as a southern style,

family style restaurant.

The food is plentiful and excellent.

The day we were there the menu was

fried chicken, meatloaf, buttered potatoes,

okra (*****), green beans,

rice and broccoli casserole,

red pepper relish,

tipsy apples 

(baked apples GENEROUSLY doused with Jack),

and for dessert chocolate pie

with Jack flavored whipped cream.

Need I say more? 

Afterwords,

(we DID need to walk off a few calories)

we walked around the town a bit,

and found some cute shops.

These guys came home with me.

Many of the shops in Lynchburg are

Jack Daniels theme related.

On Tuesday evening,

M had tickets for 

a Bob Dylan concert 

in Huntsville, Alabama.

Bob Dylan is an icon

and what a treat to see him!

Remember how in the past,

you couldn't always understand

all the lyrics to his songs?

Well, things have not changed.

One difference now though,

is that often you cannot easily

catch the melody of the song

he is singing.

Not complaining here, though.

As someone said,

"he wrote the damn songs,

he can sing them anyway he wants."

To finish up my lovely few days away,

M took me by 

In Bloom.

It's the floral shop that has been 

doing all the gorgeous flowers

M has been bringing to me.

I met the floral designer, Tamra,

who is the genius behind all the beauty.

Back home now,

and back into my normal routine.

I love getting away,

but Buttermilk Cottage

 is always nice too!

Putting Summer Away...

As I sit here today 

contemplating bringing in my

plants from the porch

because we might, possibly

have a frost later this week,

I realize summer is over.

Of course it is!!!

It's mid October after all!

It's just that it has sped by SO quickly,

even though the warm weather has

lasted way longer this year

than we have any right to expect.

One summer event I should have ended weeks ago

is my family's 

2018 Summer Bake Off.

I've shared everyone's cake except my own.

So here it is.

I used the Updated Hummingbird Cake

recipe from DELISH.

The main difference between my cake

and those of everyone else

 is that the recipe 

called for the addition of 

unsweetened applesauce and less oil.

A healthier cake....

 ...probably not because of the 

Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting,

which was the BEST thing about the cake.

The cake was a bit too dense.

Probably because my recipe did not specify

what size can or how much 

crushed pineapple to use.

I used a large can and did not drain it.

So, although the frosting was first rate,

I wasn't too impressed with my cake.

After living here for almost fifteen months,

my violets finallllllly

began to bloom this summer.

I had wonderful luck with them

at my previous house.

But for some reason, no blooms here.

Don't they like this house???

Are they mad I moved them???

After feeding them a bloom boost for several months

and moving them to some direct sunlight,

I am seeing flowers again.

(Thank you for your advise M.)

I have "read"

or listened to some outstanding

audible books this summer.

These were two of my favorites.

And finally,

as I say goodbye to summer,

here's a little round up of

the gorgeous flowers M has kept

me supplied with over the past few months.

Come on Fall.

I'm ready for you.

Stormy Weather...Soon...

It's a perfect, sunshiny, blue sky day in

East Tennessee today.

Hard to believe we will probably

be dealing with the remains of 

Hurricane Florence

on Sunday and Monday.

Our local forecast is rain,

some wind, rain and more rain.

I have now lived in my little

cape cod for fifteen months.

I have a huge basement,

which has not flooded since I have

been here.

But my neighbor Sue tells me

it did once flood several years ago.

So,

I am enough worrier to worry about that.

I know what dealing with a 

flooded basement is like.

My big concern is that I am storing 

all my sister Nancy's 

furniture and home goods 

while she is a care giver of our parents.

So I have a very full basement.

On my To Do list today or tomorrow

is to get everything I can 

raised a bit off the floor.

Just in case...

Fun road trip last weekend.

M was visiting and we drove

to Wise, Virginia and visited

The Mountain Rose Vineyard.

Located about a hour away,

the vineyard is located

atop a mountain.

The drive was twisty and curvy.

But once we arrived we were rewarded

with a bucolic and pretty winery.

We had a tasting of several wines

and explored their small shop.

The vines for the concord grapes 

were open for "cutting your own."

Since I have never cut grapes,

I had to give it a try.

After a very short while

I had a nice bucket full 

to take home.

They taste as good as they look!

Godspeed for everyone 

who has already been, or will be affected

by the hurricane.

The Porch is Finished!

I have actually been enjoying it

since mid July.

All the work was completed then,

except for the arrival

of a new door from the living room

onto the porch.

That got installed last Monday.

 So nice to see this summer's project

come to completion.

 This stone kitty, 

who actually belongs to my sister Nancy,

has found a corner for herself

for the time being.

I brought my porch furniture

up from the basement, 

where it has been waiting patiently. 

It used to grace the front porch 

of my Pine Street house.

I made new cushion covers

from an outdoor fabric

with a fun and colorful bird motif.

I love this sheep, but until the porch,

could not find a place for it inside the house.

So, it's very nice to now be

able to find a home for it.

What would a porch be without

a swing?

As I said earlier, I've been enjoying

the porch since mid July.

My favorite time is early in

the morning, watching my street

come to life as I have my first cup of coffee.

I think it almost looks as though it has always been there!

Now, time to start planning

for next year's

home improvement project...

Chihuly at Biltmore

I had a road trip last weekend!

M and I met up with friends

in Asheville, NC and had a full day at

Biltmore Estate.

Biltmore is hosting an exhibition 

in their historic gardens

and house 

of work by American artist, 

Dale Chihuly.

Chihuly's glass sculptures have been installed

throughout several of Biltmore's gardens, Conservatory and 

the Winter Garden inside the house...

...resulting in a stunning exhibition.

If you have ever visited Biltmore

you know what a visual treat it is.

Orchids in the Conservatory.

One of several

"Burnished Amber, Citron and Teal Chandeliers"

in the Conservatory.

"Fiori Boat"

located in one of the ponds of 

The Italian Garden.

This was one of my favorite installations.

This is another favorite of mine,

 inside the Winter Garden of the house.

"Laguna Torcello II"

"Sky Blue and Cobalt Fiori"

located just outside the Winter Garden.

As you can see from some of the pictures,

we had a rainy day.

But other than the inconvenience,

it did not in any way  distract from the 

beauty of this show.

After viewing the gardens

we made our way into the house.

I did not take pictures inside,

but have included a few from

Google Images 

to give those

of you who have never visited

an idea of the splendor.

The Dining Room

 The Library

George Vanderbilt's Bedroom

After touring the house we had

an excellent dinner at 

The Deerpark,

...a lovely restaurant on the grounds of the estate.

We ended the day at a concert on the grounds.

What a setting to revisit the music of

Creedence Clearwater Revival!

(I have not been to a rock concert since

Three Dog Night 

during my college days!!!)

Needless to say,

it was quite a day!

The Chihuly Exhibit remains 

at Biltmore Estate

until October 7, 2018.

If you are in the area,

do not miss it!