UTK, Here We Come!

The teenager is heading back to university today. Sniffle. Nerves have the best of him once more and it just breaks my heart to see him hurt. I know tomorrow he'll be fine once he settles in for a night. This will be his first apartment (sharing with three other guys). Each year, he adds one more peg to his adulthood experiences. Pass the tissues, please.

Gonna be a hot one. I'm only hoping it's a tad cooler East in the Great Smokies. I think his apartment is on the second floor. Oooooof. Maybe I'll work the poundage off that I put on this summer. Let's hope.

I'll be happy once he settles in. Awwww, the worries of a mother.

xo
ro

Too Cute!

More weekend (apartment) therapy! Don't you just love it? This is "Allison's Super Creative Cottage" in Melbourne.

I'm ready to take it as-is and fully furnished.

You think she'd give it up?

Time Has Come Today

I've been busy catching up as much as I can. Enjoying the little time I had today. (Here, "grandpa" is working! My great grandfather's (Bailey) clock who has not worked since we moved to TN. Hmmm. I worked for quite a while tonight until I got him just right. All is well in the world when he is chiming away. Yay.)

We had our last dinner out tonight before the teenager heads back to university. Been such a fast-moving summer with him. We've enjoyed every fleeting moment.

The kid is off to his wonderful sophomore year in high school. Where does the time go?

While mom was still in bed, sleeping, when Jim and I visited yesterday, she opened her eyes, with a wonderful angelic smile when she looked up at her youngest son. A precious moment. Table's turned. They are both precious. Along with you too Johnny. You are always here with us.

A luscious last breakfast with brutha @ Dotson's.

Then we shopped at Lowes; and he worked for over an hour fixing what the kitchen idiots had left behind. Another goof. We had arrived home from Riverside with a heavy mildew smell throughout the entire house originating from under the newly installed sink. I love my brutha. I told him, "If we lived next door to each other, not only would we have two beautiful houses (me) but they would both be in full working order (him)!" Gaarsh, I miss him.

Abby is happy that we're all home and settling in. The teenager spied her in all her glory this afternoon. Had to take a snap.

And, while it was a tad over priced--in my world--I splurged when I saw this little Bella pillow in a Franklin storefront window. Wouldn't you have? A perfect cat bed, even though Dave is the only one who seems to enjoy it here.

The boys are off to see the last of the summer movies--District 9. Gonna wait until after the premier. Looks good though. But I'd rather stay home on premier night. I'd rather look at the light's shadows.

Woodstock, 40 years? Daig. For some reason, I still have this photo, Woodstock, from brother Johnny's August 1969 experience. Who's on stage brutha? I'll have to send this last hard photo to you. But, tell me why it's in my recipe box. A good, safe place, I suppose.

And this one too. Cousin John John. Funny thing, Don't Think Twice is playing on my iTunes. This is with his ex --but his wife in '69, in our living room. (Dunno who is playing the slide electric. ???) He told me once that this was their song when they were separating. Sad. War wounds of the 60s I suppose.

Time.

It's been good to me.

I wish I had a pair of bongos.

xo
ro

Smells Like Home

Awwwww.

We made it home yesterday afternoon from Riverside. I'm ready to honker down and get ready for autumn. How about you?

The kid had his first day back at school today, my brother left this afternoon for home and the teenager heads back east for school this weekend. I have lots to catch up on--here and there--to say the least; and I think I'm ready to get it all started!

All is well in our little world. It was a fantastical summer.

xo
ro

Summer of Love

My brother Jim arrived yesterday and my SIL arrived today. We are all heading to Riverside tomorrow for our last hurrah of the summer! Woooooooot! It's been a wonderful season full of family luv. <3

xo
ro

I Woke Up Screaming!

The kitchen idiots are here once more. Let's hope this is it. They are replacing my soapstone farmer's sink which they cracked last time replacing the countertops.

Think of me, will you?

UPDATE No. 1: Installers forgot to write appointment on the books, so we're still waiting for them. They were supposed to be here at 8 a.m, it's now 9:20.

Just Peachy Keen

On our way out of Alabama, we found some wonderful white peaches to bring home. I gave most of them to the nurses on Friday, along with a couple dozen peach and apple turnovers from a farmer's market; but I kept some for us too. I am loving the delightful delicacy of the light-colored peaches. Yum.

Tonight, I'm making a peach crisp. No, I'm not doing the fancy, schmancy crumble my brother and I did last summer. Nope. Just some sugar, butter and granola, thank you very much. I'm still waiting on his visit. School starts next week (can you believe it??) and not a word from him yet!

The kid had his first on-road training today. He did well for two hours and then knocked a mirror off his car and one that was parked. Oooopsy. Poor guy. I had to tell him that we all have done that once or twice in our life times. Well, not me. Tehe. I felt so badly for him, but he's back into the driver's seat tomorrow. If ya fall of, just jump back on baby!

I watched a train go by on my way to mom's. I sat and relaxed as it passed. Something about a train that is mesmerizing. That is, until it stops. I finally turned around and headed on my way after I became impatient. lol

Mom is doing great. I took her a happy meal which she enjoyed. She always loves the cups. Perhaps it's because it has children on it. She adores children! We got her hair cut on Saturday and the hair dresser's daughter sat and danced and talked to her the entire time. Mom just giggled at her.

Mom is getting moved once more. A bed became available in the long-term hall. It's where mom can be found every day. She loves this hall for some reason. Anyway, her new roommate is the sweetest lady in the entire place. She is the one who loves the birds and the one I made photos for of the nests this spring. She is alert and can help with mom if she needs it which is a relief, of course. Miss Mary's room overlooks the courtyard where mom and I sit on nice days. I think it will be a very nice room for her. Sigh.

The inlaws made it home after a three-hour delay yesterday. I'm sure they're happy to be in their own home again. I was glad to get back to my schedule this morning which still includes washing the bed clothes that Dave hit while we were gone. Damn cat. They have soaked and dried with the enzyme stuff and then I add 1/4 c of cider vinegar to the wash and it seems to have worked on everything! Thank goodness. Sometimes it doesn't and I have to throw whatever it is out. Lordy me.

Hope all is well on your ends!

xo
ro

Happy Birthday Vallen!

May the waves be always gentle at your feet.

xo
ro

Just Back from 'Bama

Home away from home. Beautiful Fairhope. As usual, I'm behind in posting! ACKH!!! I'm so sorry but it's just been so busy, back and forth and such. Road trips every week it seems!

The hub's parents came in last week, I can't even remember when now. Perhaps it was Friday. Yea yea, that's it. I know this because the kid had his driving class all week and we ran out of time on Friday and was unable to get his learner's permit. Do you know how hard that was on him not being able to have that license in hand??? Pretty darn hard! (He got it today though!)

We had found a new restaurant before leaving a couple of weeks ago, Bimini Bob's. Mmmmm.

Right on Mobile Bay.

BBQ shrimp. Mmmmm.

Conch chowder. Although I've only had the tomato base, this was very good!

Mmmm, and black beans. Yummmmm! Everyone enjoyed themselves except the kid. He came down with a little vertigo on the drive down from TN and he quickly made his way to bed after arriving at Riverside. Poor guy. But he was better the next day.

Just in time for a fabo Low Country Boil! It was soooo good, if I do say so myself. It was nice to stay in and relax. Such an easy meal, all in one pot--shrimp, sausage, potatoes, corn, lemons and onions. Voila--dinner!

The next day while the hub took the inlaws around town, I spied a new store. Rosie Blu's! I love it. Lots of felty things--one which I bought, a heart. Bella tore it up. lol

The kid and I came back yesterday--long drive. A story about that later. But we got home and Dave had peed on every bed in the house, except the guest room. Ugh. I could have killed the teenager for opening all the upstairs doors, which I had closed on purpose for that reason. You see, Dave gets mad and then he gets even. Ew. I have spent all day washing. Lordy me.

Mom is good. Everyone else made it back to TN today. I'm tired. But I wanted to catch up a little and let you know that I am still blogging--just a tad scattered about.

xo
ro

Fatter, Happier?

Call it what you will, but the South sure does have it charms. I've always considered myself a quasi-Southerner--not only by birthright, but I spent my childhood summers in Georgia and Texas, birthplaces of my parents. Now that I live in Tennessee and Alabama, I feel the connection even more. Yes, it can be quite quirky, sometimes ignorant just like other places; but for the most part, it is absolutely charming, the folk sweet as sugar, and the food? Well, I don't need to tell you about the food, 'cause I know you know. ;-)

I found a new magazine last summer in Fairhope while perusing the racks at our little bookstore Page & Palette. A nicely dressed southern lady walked in and asked the cashier, in the sweetest Alabama drawl, if they had any "Garden & Guns" left. Of course, a conversation then ensued, as it always does in the south. When I heard that our little town had been written up in the above-mentioned magazine, my ears perked up. I hadn't even heard of the periodical before. Well, with Gun in the title, I wonder why! It was then that I began my search for it and finally found in back in Nashville. I'm sure every copy within 100 miles of the place had been grabbed up back in Fairhope! The article, Southern Dream Towns, indeed did mention Fairhope, Al, listed under the "Best Birding Town" title. You'll recognize, I'm sure, some of the familiar spots around town that normally show up in my blog from time to time.

"Perched high on the bluffs of Alabama’s Eastern Shore, the town of Fairhope sits squarely on the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail. Each spring and fall, the 240-mile-long birding extravaganza surrounding Mobile Bay attracts upwards of one million visitors of the wingless variety, hoping to get a glimpse at the hoards of migratory birds that use the bay as a rest stop on their routes to and from Mexico and beyond.When the flocks have passed, however, Fairhope does not fold up its wings. The town is known for its sweeping panoramic views of Mobile Bay, its old bluff cottages, its tree-lined avenues, and its explosion of flowers lining planters and windows of downtown shops. The town owns and operates eight greenhouses. Even the trash receptacles double as planters.

The area has long been a haven for artists and writers, and maintains a progressive, culturally vibrant climate year-round. The annual Arts & Crafts Festival in March is one of the oldest and largest of its kind in the South. Each April, the Fairhope Yacht Club hosts the Dauphin Island Regatta, the largest one-day sailing regatta in the nation, which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2008.

A Typical Day:

Start your day at Julwin’s Restaurant with a stick-to-your-ribs country breakfast. Then head to the Weeks Bay Nature Reserve and stroll on walkways through the marshlands, or try your hand casting for redfish and speckled trout. In late morning check out Page & Palette bookstore in the beautiful French Quarter, where you can eavesdrop on the ritualistic gathering of Fairhope’s intellectual and creative fringe. Panini Pete’s, just behind the bookstore, offers crepes, seared tuna salad, and European sandwiches, with a courtyard for a patio lunch. Spend your afternoon exploring more than two hundred boutiques, galleries, antiques stores, and eclectic shops in the tree-lined downtown. Stroll through the award-winning rose garden in the park along the waterfront. For dinner, try the Colony Grill’s salmon filet glazed with rum and maple syrup, with “angry” hot pepper flakes.

Plant Your Roots:

Fairhope was once called the best-kept secret on the Gulf Coast, but its secret is out, so home prices are up, though still lower than in many coastal towns. The flip side to higher home prices is low property taxes and no sales tax. Fairhope was founded on utopian principles as a single-tax colony, where resources are pooled for the benefit of the town (the latest fruits of this program are an Olympic-size swimming pool and a planned 43,000-square-foot library). You can buy historic waterfront homes for around $2 million or cottages for $500,000."

After reading several months of G&G, I decided that it was good enough to subscribe to. I think in fact, that it hardly ever mentions guns--a short story on hunting every now and again--so I truly enjoy it. This was my brother Jim's and my favorite issue to date! Chock full of places to hit.

There are indeed some fun articles each month. I liked this one entitled "Study Shows Southerners Fatter, Happier." How's that for big news? lol "Fried chicken recommended as an antidepressant!" Yessirrie doggie! Bring it on! (I wish!!)

Of course, I then went on to read more of the Big Bad Chef's recommendations and found a place right here in Nashville that, low and behold, I had not yet frequented. You can bet it's now on the list. Prince's chicken looks to die for. Yes, I've heard of it, but I guess I've just been avoiding it.

There are wonderful articles on saving our frogs,

old Southern roads, great for road trips,

and local fare, such as soft shell crabs,

and the enjoyment of a longer oyster season this year! (Not for me, yuk, but the hub sure is enjoying it!)

We have been enjoying the family from the North, the hub's parents, as they always seem to enjoy the South although would never admit to it back North. lol. We are heading deeper South tomorrow to show them our sweet Riverside. I look forward to it--only wish the drive wasn't so long. Oy.

Will try and stay in touch. I'm just bad bad bad these days!!

Cheers to the South!

xo
ro

A Jujubee Summer

Mmmm, I don't know about you, but these have to be one of my all-time favorite candies. And, I believe, this has to go on record as being an all-time wonderful summer.

I found these at a cute little store in Savannah. The cuz and I went through an entire box driving from Savannah to Tallahassee. Yes, a stomach ache transpired. But it was good.

I have been so busy with this or that that I have neglected my blog; and I do apologize. Do you think I'll be able to remember anything if I don't blog about it? I doubt it very seriously. I guess sometimes we just lose that bloggy feeling. For whatever reason, I'll try and do better, as Uncle Vin used to say. "Are you going to try and do better?" Yes, Uncle Vin. Well, perhaps after school starts, that is.

The temperatures here in Middle Tennessee have been uncharacteristically cool. Oh, and we are loving it. I wouldn't change it for the world. Absolutely perfect. And so, with the cool weather (and I do mean cool), I have been cleaning. As you'll remember, I hardly ever spring clean--but come fall? Oooh, I'm in there rearranging everything! Here you will see my new view from another corner of the study. Yep, moved my desk and computer last week. Seems a little more confined over here--can't quite figure out why. So, who knows how long this will last. Regardless, it's a nice little change for the time being.

And then I moved to the upstairs and my little nook in the bedroom. Nice, no?

Look where everything went! lol Of course, I only do this rearranging and cleaning when the hub is out of town. Therefore, in order for me to sleep that night, I just shoved it all to the hub's side and finished the next day. Bella doesn't mind. :-)

Then came a couple of nights later--a little larger task that had become completely overrun. Not that I have a photo of the before. I wouldn't have dared share that one! And I'm pretty darn good at sharing, don't ya think?

I won't even begin to go into what I found on my bath counter. But now, it is nice and tidy. For the time being!

I've always been a tad paranoid about my jewelry. Most of the "good stuff" has been lost by the kids; but I've always had this thing about putting pieces all over the bedroom and bath. That way, if a thief comes in, they will get a piece or two, not the entire shebang. Well. Daig. I can never find what I'm looking for now that I'm in that age bracket, so I say "bring it on" burglars! I sorted it all and put it in these three boxes. Have at it. I'm too old to "put it away" and not enjoy it without having to look in a million different places! And it is so much prettier.

I have been enjoying mom and her new spot by the window. When the cuz was here, we even began decorating. It's looking nice and cozy--as much as it can, anyway. She's doing well. I do miss Mrs. M. though and her old room. Mom loves sitting by the window, so I'm happy. We had a scare the other night by a phone call at 1 a.m. saying that her blood pressure had dropped and her heart rate was up. They told me they would monitor it and call me again if it changed. The next morning when I went to visit, she was perfectly fine. I was a wreck, but she was fine! She's been very happy with visitors--the cuz, the kid and the teenager. Always does the heart good when she recognizes everyone.

To close, a new sink has arrived to replace the one cracked by the kitchen idiots in January; so that should be installed in a week or so. Shoot me now. The kid finished his driving class and gets his learner's permit on Monday. And, last but not least, the inlaws arrived today for a week's visit. I haven't seen them in several years because of my having to stay at home with mom. It's nice to have them here with us. As much as we complain about inlaws, we still love 'em.

Hope everyone is well. K, where are those jujubees?????!!!

xo
ro