Sunday, November 4, 2018

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 
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!

Monday, October 15, 2018

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 
I've shared everyone's cake except my own.
So here it is.


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
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.

Friday, September 14, 2018

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 
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




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.

Thursday, September 6, 2018

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 



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...

Thursday, August 9, 2018

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 
until October 7, 2018.
If you are in the area,
do not miss it!

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