Tropical Storm Lee

TS Lee followed us back through the Smokies from Atlanta; but thank goodness, it was an intermittent rain. Those hills can be treacherous in the best of weather!

So happy we left on Sunday. There was flooding in both Atlanta and Chattanooga. We dodged that bullet! Wish Lee could have turned west and hit Texas with some well-needed rain. Crazy weather patterns these days.

So happy to be home where we can sit back and enjoy the rain from inside. Cooler weather has settled in for a couple of days too. We'll always take that!

 Perfect weather for hot bialys in the morning. YUM!

Southern Haute

 We love "haute'lanta!" So we continued on our journey after Chatanooga.

Our first dinner was at Empire State South. 

(Chef Hugh Acheson for you foodies)

 

House charcuterie, mustards and pickles; oysters of three varieties to begin.

 Sole for the kid with flash-fried mushrooms--mmmmmm. 

The hub had duck breast with hominy. I don't know that the hub had tried this southern staple before and asked me to tell him what it was. (grin) Hominy reminds me of my childhood. Mom would sauté a pan full every once in a while. It was always a treat for me--Ms. starch junky! 

 And, speaking of which, field peas for Ms. starch junky herself! 

 Didn't try it, but sounds delightful.

 No Phatty Cakes? Pffffft! We'll pass, then.

And save it for breakfast the next day at Rosebud in Virginia Highlands. (We had a Virginia Highlands growing up in Arlington; so it's a special neighborhood for me.) There are even more great places to shop and eat since I was last here several years' back.

Of course, we had to get rainbow cookies and bialys (stay tuned). Always have to make that stop at our favorite Atlanta deli Goldberg's.

Popcorn at The Spice Market with drinks. (Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten) (My brother Jim knew of him which is all I ever need to know.)

Our last night's dinner was at ONE. Midtown South, another highly recommended restaurant. 

(I preferred Empire State, truthfully.)

The dessert was good, of course

UT-Chatanooga

Although this looks quite Autumnesque, don't believe it. It was almost, if not, 100˚! Ugh. Frankie and I stayed in the shade.

And then we sniffed out Bluff View Bakery. Just what I need, my friends. Of course, we had to stop. What a beautiful, old building.

And, of course, we had to go in. Well, Frank stayed in the car. I found delightful soft pretzels and a small loaf of chocolate bread.  Ya think anyone is eating any of it except Frankie and I? Nope. Just us. Figures.

Can you believe the kid, THE KID!, is looking at colleges? Sniffle. My baby is almost grown.

Yummy

I have been looking for a vintage typewriter since, like, forever; and looky at what I finally found. Isn't she bee-yoo--tee-ful?

After playing with her all afternoon, I relocated her to the hall upstairs on the old school desk. Perfect! 

Love, love, love!

Speaking of love, love, love a-n-d yummy, here's a few shots from last Sunday. We had a wonderful brunch with friends at Fish & Co.  Of course, I am back on a diet trying to take off the unwanted pounds I've gained over the past two years. But ya know, I wasn't wanting for anything after this salad. It was just so fresh and summery. (Still so hot down here.)

The hub had the omelet, which I believe was spicy. Yes, I tried the taters. And yes, they were as good as they look.

Ok, I'm officially hungry, again. I should have waited until after dinner to write this!

Keeping Up

The bump? I thought it was a dance. Well, back in the day, it was. And, I'll have you know, I could do a pretty mean bump. Today, not so much. I think I'm as round as I am tall. I could fall, and roll, and you'd never see me again. Hmmm. Ok, regardless . . . the BUMP is back-- in a new technological-kinda way.  It's a new app for the iPhone that exchanges phone numbers with just a shake. Now, I don't have an iPhone, don't care about having an iPhone (touch-screen challenged here), but I do love hearing about all the new apps. How brilliant is this one? Ok, everyone go and get the new Bump app, K? I just can't keep up with all this technological goo. But, I am trying to keep up with music. Don't ever take that from me. Please. 

Earlier in the summer, a friend told us that ZPZ (Zappa Plays Zappa) was coming to the Schermerhorn, our beautiful symphony hall here in Nashville. I had not seen Dweezil (Frank's oldest son) do ZPZ nor had I been to the Schermerhorn. So yes, I was gonna go--if there were only one seat left in the place, I was gonna go. Of course, all I could think of was my brother Johnny and how he told me about his experience, several years' back, of seeing ZPZ. He said, "When I closed my eyes, I was in Zappa heaven." I will never, ever forget that. Hey, who knows, Johnny and Frank my be somewhere jamming right now. Who knows. Johnny sure could play a great guitar in his day.

You know the most influential music in my childhood was The Beatles and Frank Zappa (w/ and w/o The Mothers). My brothers raised me on those two staples. We never missed a Zappa concert that was within 100 miles of DC. I was probably all of 13 when I first saw him live. It was always the highlight of the year for us. At least it was for me.  My brothers would buy an entire row of seats when they could and then all of our friends would get their tickets from one of them. That many friends in one spot at a concert? Priceless. What great memories.

I'm still grinning thinking about it. No one was disappointed, I don't think. It was a great show by Dweezil and the rest of the players. I was very surprised that the Dweez didn't open his mouth once to sing. Wonder whatup? The young Ben Thomas did the singing. Not bad. Kinda comical, kinda cute --as it should be in that role singing Zappa, right? Well, at least he had all the words correct. Now, Dweezil's channeling of his father on guitar was amazing though. Yes, you could close your eyes at those times and say "Yup, Zappa heaven."

So, you wonder. Could it get any better? Oh yes, my friends. It could. It did.  Looky at who played after ZPZ. Um, yes, that is Stanley Clarke, Jean-Luc Ponty, Chick Corea, Frank Gambale and Lenny White--aka Return to Forever. Who knew? I am definitely going to have to do a better job at keeping up with this music thing.

 

Let me tell you what. Stanley? Still got it, baby. (Did I tell you the first time I saw Stanley Clarke? Well, he opened for Bob Marley. Uh huh. The Bob Marley. That concert was a spiritual experience for me. No, it wasn't the ganja. People! Well, hmmm, maybe it was, ha! That place was smokin'!) Stanley is still smokin'!

Ok, click on the photo above, please. WHO is this guy?? And why is he wearing sunglasses and a business suit? I spied him earlier and thought, well, perhaps he was blind. Nope. Just hot sh*^, I guess. (And yes, of course, Stanley is pointing to me. Yes he is. hahahahaha)

The only thing that would have made the night Zappa Shangri-La? Jean-Luc playing with Dweezil. But, that's ok guys. I'll keep those Zappa-heaven moments close to my heart.

Hazy Days and Lazy Nights of Summer

We're winding down here in Middle Tennessee. The kids have all gone back to school; first full week has come and gone. The hub and Frankie enjoy a stogie in the evenings on the front porch.

Gone too are the county fairs.

But there seem to be plenty of bunny sightings these days. I don't know how they survive so close to "Dave's" house (the cat). Very surprising that we haven't had any bunny-part presents this year. That's a good thing.

Bella doesn't seem to care. She is actually using her new cat "bowl" bed. (Don't tell her, but I rubbed it all over Frankie's bed first since she seemed to enjoy that dog smell. Hmmmm.)

The back trees are needing a little assistance in the watering department.

Unfortunately, the poison ivy seems to be quite content with no help from me at all. Now, if I could only remember to get some ivy killer. I would hate to end the summer with that stuff all over me! Ugh.

As the World Turns

I am so happy to see the first signs that summer will be closing up shop soon. Whenever I notice these brilliant shadows in the afternoons, I know fall is just around the corner. Yay.

As wonderful as summer is, come August most people are just about ready to move along into autumn. My hand is raised high; Me, me, me! I'm one of those people! I am SO ready. The summer flowers are just about spent and I'm already thinking mums in the window boxes. I bought a new hummingbird feeder for Riverside and brought it back to Tennessee with me. I've never been able to attract them here. Hmmmm. Well, low and behold, the new feeder did the trick. (Too far away for a photo, I'm afraid.) How excited am I. They have always reminded me of my Uncle Euell in Carrollton. He was friends with his hummers, and it was heartwarming to watch.

Feed up little ones, soon it will be time to head south!

UPDATE!

Caught. On digital.

Who dat?

Now, I wonder if I bought a doggie bed for Bella, you think  she would use it? I doubt it. But Frankie's? Geesh, ya'd think she were a pig in mud wallering around in it. She keeps her eyes on the dog at all times, though--you know, just in case he wants his pad, or at least his purple baby, back.

Kritters. Gotta love 'em.

Sunday Afternoon on the River, View Nø. 4

A boat anchored across the river and let the kids swim about. It was a lot of fun watching them and looking through my magazines. Lazy summer days on the river.

Rosie's Corner, View Nø. 3

My little corner in the back of the house. Things are looking a little worn now. Perhaps when I get back home, I'll do some plantings for Autumn.