Nashville Mini Vacation, History and Country Music

Hello and happy Sunday. Come in and have a nice cup of coffee or tea or some hot chocolate with me. Let’s catch up. What have I been up to you might ask? Well let me tell you about my weekend in Nashville last weekend. I had a short mini vacation with a friend from Pennsylvania.This is how it went:

Last weekend I spent a few days in Nashville with a friend from Pennsylvania. We met several years ago at a cave convention. Yes there really is such a thing. We just became friends really fast. We have been talking about this Nashville trip for years. Every time we planned it something came up and we weren’t able to do it. But it finally worked out.

My friend Ann flew into Nashville Friday afternoon. I am about 4 hours from Nashville. I picked her up at the airport and we started our adventure.

We stayed at the Hotel Vanderbilt which is very close to downtown without the horrendous downtown prices. Also a perk with this hotel is that we had shuttle service to and from a certain mile radius. This covered downtown. Another perk was the Commodore Grille within the hotel that offered amazing food and local song writers and singers every night.

Our first night in town we decided to go to the strip in Downtown Nashville on Broadway. I parked my car at the hotel and we checked in. Our room wasn’t ready but the hotel stored our bags and off we went via a short shuttle ride to downtown. It was so much fun and so loud. It is not for the faint of heart. Weekends in Nashville are a bit crazy. A singer from near Ann’s hometown in Pennsylvania, Josh Gallagher, would be singing in a couple of different bars during the weekend so we wanted to see him and his band perform. Josh was a top 4 finalist on The Voice in 2016. We caught the last few minutes of his performance on Friday night but he was also playing on Saturday at a different bar. One thing I love about Nashville is all of the wonderful music. So many country music legends have been discovered in small bars in Nashville. You never know, you might be watching the next Alan Jackson or Morgan Wallen.

As you can see it was fairly crowded. It was Friday night after all.

It started to rain before dark, so we went to a couple of bars to hear music inside, and then decided to head back to the hotel for dinner, and listen to the singers and song writers in the Commodore Grille. The food there is amazing!!!

***The rain started and the crowds dwindled somewhat***

***Look at this salad topped with salmon!!!! So good.***

We went into this candy store that smelled so wonderful you could smell it from the street. We only looked and didn’t purchase anything.

The first morning we were in Nashville there was a fire alarm at the hotel. Everyone was ushered outside where it was a balmy 32 degrees with a wind chill of a lot less than that. Fortunately we didn’t have to stay long. Apparently someone had pulled the fire alarm on one of the floors and broken it so it continued to sound for a long time. The fire department came and checked everything out.

For our first adventure of the day we decided to take the shuttle over to the Parthenon. I had never been. The Nashville Parthenon is the World’s only exact-size replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It is in the center of Centennial Park which is a large public park just west of Nashville. The park itself is just beautiful. A lot of activities were going on at the park on Saturday. Soccer games, picnics and lots of people out enjoying the beautiful sunshine. I will have a full post on the Parthenon later this week.

***If I lived close to this park I would walk the trails here all the time. It is so beautiful.***

***Someone was getting ready to have a picnic***

Next, we got the car and drove down the road to Belle Meade Plantation. The history behind this mansion is so great. Mostly known for the thoroughbred stud business Belle Meade produced more than two thirds of all the Kentucky Derby winners including 11 Triple Crown Winners. A lot more of this history in a future post. There is just so much information here that I would like to share with you. It will be better done in a separate post.

After our house tour we did a short wine tasting, there is a winery on site. We enjoyed a light lunch outside in the sunshine. It was so nice and relaxing. Ann and I both agreed it had been awhile since we had just chilled out and taken time to enjoy what was around us. A lesson to be learned here for sure. I will have a full post on Belle Meade later in the week as well. To give you a little information Belle Meade is actually a city with a population of less than 3,000 people. A beautiful place.

Before we left Belle Meade we visited the gift shop. It was so nice. There was something for everyone in the shop. I loved the handmade pottery by local artist Roy Overcast. He has done some amazing pieces.

***I just had to bring a piece home. I love this color.***

On Saturday night we returned to the downtown strip and it was so packed. I knew it would be on a Saturday night. We wanted to see Josh and his band again and catch the full show. They were playing at the Tin Roof. We got there about 30 minutes before his group came on. Lots of people were there for him. He has quite a following. Josh is from Pennsylvania but now lives in Nashville. He came over and talked after the show and we got a few pictures.

***What a cutie he is, and just as nice.***

***The strip on Broadway was getting crazy***

We decided to call it a night and head back to the hotel.

***We shared these chicken tenders. They were yummy and I like the way they were presented.***

On our last day in Nashville we visited The Hermitage, Home of Andrew Jackson. I had been here a few times but Ann had not. It was a bit chilly. The house tour was very short only about 30 minutes. The grounds were beautiful with a lot of the gardens starting to bloom out. Check out this cookbook I found in the gift shop. Southern Cakes. I have decided to make each of the cakes from this book. There are 60 cake recipes. I plan to share each one on my blog. I can’t wait to get started.

The Hermitage, Home of Andrew Jackson.

We couldn’t let Ann leave Nashville without visiting The Opry Mills Mall. We spent some time there and headed back to the hotel to visit The Commodore Club for the last night. We had an early night because Ann’s flight left out at 6:00 AM. I had to have her at the airport by 4:30 AM. Luckily the airport was only about 15 minutes from the hotel.

I think our mini vacation was well rounded. We had history, honky tonk, shopping and lots of great food. All things southern that makes Nashville such a great place to visit.

After I dropped Ann off I left for home. I had a 4 hour drive ahead of me.

It was very nice getting back home to hubs and the babies. I got everything unpacked and took a short nap. What a fun weekend we had hit it is always nice to get home.

I hope you enjoyed our time together. Our coffee share was quite a lot today. So now what have you been up to?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

I am linking up with Natalie The Explorer over at Weekend Coffee Share. Check out her latest post and lots of others here #Weekend Coffee Share

It’s Redbud Winter

Hello and happy Thursday!! Wow did the temps around here take a nose dive. We were happily coasting along with sunny days and very warm weather when all of a sudden it turned cold again. It was 28F at my house Tuesday night. Fortunately the days have been sunny and warm just not as warm as last week. It’s Redbud Winter. This usually happens in the second or third week of March and can last for about a week or so. Unfortunately we are prone to freezing weather at this time and it can harm other things that have bloomed early.

I know you are probably thinking that these blooms look pink and you are right. However the very small bud before it blooms out is red, giving it the name of Redbud. They are quite abundant in our area right now.

We finally got a new refrigerator and stove. We have had the same appliances since we built our house in 1999. I will have to say they have lasted a long time. Probably much better than the newer models today. They were delivered yesterday and we had the old appliances hauled away. We are loving the new ones and we are still getting used to them. I had to leave work a little early to come home and be here for the delivery. The delivery men were just wonderful and so helpful. It is always nice to get such great service. It is almost sad but it is actually a surprise lately when things work out right.

I saw a video on Instagram about making paper bunnies I loved the paper roses I made last week so I decided to do a few of the bunnies for Easter. These are made from pages of a book. I used the old books I bought at the thrift store. I love the way they turned out. I am planning to add a baby bunny.

My mother in law hasn’t improved she is pretty much the same as she was a week ago. Maybe a little weaker. We have discussed Comfort Care with the facility. She is not able to do therapy. The therapy department still comes in to move her and turn her over. She doesn’t eat much. I think she is just worn out.

We have also been moving things out of my mother in law’s Assisted Living apartment. It is a lot. My sister and I worked on clearing clothes, books and things like that. My husband and I will finish up next week with the heavy items.

We have been very busy at work but I am taking a long weekend to meet a friend in Nashville. We planned this trip last year. She is from Pennsylvania and I can’t wait to show her Nashville. I have a lot planned for us.

To add to the craziness of the week my credit card was hacked. I had almost $700.00 of charges I did not make. Luckily I keep a close eye on my charges. The credit card company was very helpful. A new card is being sent. Fortunately this doesn’t happen very often.

My brother’s Birthday was Sunday, St Patrick’s Day. He passed away in 2017. I thought about him more than ever Sunday. He was a couple of years younger than me. Though he was younger he always thought he had to protect me. It’s hard to believe he has been gone for almost seven years.

***A picture of me and my brother, I was probably three and he was just about a year old. I had gotten the scissors and cut my bangs that day.***

What fun things do you have planned for this weekend?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Book Review for January & February, 2024

Hello friends, I meant to put this post together at the end of February but that didn’t happen. Life got in the way again. I did read several books that I enjoyed and I wanted to share them with you. These are in the order that I read them starting in January. I read a total of 10 books, well 2 of them were audio books and a lot of them were very short reads. As far as reading goes March has started slow. I haven’t finished an entire book. yet. Oh well that’s just the way it happens sometimes. Here is my list:

All That Glitters by Danielle Steel. I know that a lot of Danielle Steel’s books are a lot alike. You can sometimes predict what is going to happen. But I love them anyway. It is great reading that is uncomplicated and mostly happy. Danielle Steele, All That Glitters, This is a story of a young girl who loses her parents at a young age. This leaves her all alone in the world at a young and vulnerable age. this leads to some bad decisions. All she has is her trusty best friend Sam who stands beside her no matter what. Unfortunately she makes some bad choices and decisions along the way. But as most Danielle Steel books turn out she will come out ahead in the end. I give this one a 4 out of 5.

Abigail Thomas, What Comes Next And How To Like It: I have recently discovered Abigail Adams. Well I can’t say I haven’t read her books. I read “A Three Dog Life” and loved it, even though this book was the devastating loss of her husband. This book is different. It is, again, happenings from her true life. She tells about changes that age brings about to all of us. She always wonders, what comes next? This is a great and honest book. I loved it. It was real. I give it a 4 out of 5. I am currently reading Safekeeping by Abigail Thomas and it is good so far. I just ordered her book, Still Life At Eighty.

Ann Patchett, These Precious Days: Oh my goodness I loved this book. I had read a couple of Ann Patchett’s books but this book made me fall in love all over again. Another writer telling about her life experiences. A lot of this book is about Patchett’s close friendship with Tom Hanks’ personal assistant, Sooki. You will just have to read it to understand it. Tom’s brilliant assistant Sooki becomes a dear friend to Ann. She also painted the cover for the book. This is a portrait of Ann’s dog. Just read it. You will love it. This one I am giving a 5 out of 5. It was one of those books that you didn’t want to finish because you knew you were going to miss the characters. And the characters were real.

Mary Oliver, Dog Songs: This was a short book. I think I read it in one sitting. Being a dog lover myself I could identify with all of the stories and poems within this book. I may have shed a tear remembering my dear doggo friends. It is a great short read. This was really good and I give it a 4 out of 5.

Danielle Steel, The Challenge: Another Danielle Steele book. This is a story of a group of young people living in Montana. Several teenagers and an even younger boy are stranded on the side of a mountain. The story revolves around the parents, the teens and the local people of the town. It was so good. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Danielle Steel, Royal: This is three Danielle Steel books in the last two months. The Danielle Steel books are usually available on my online Libby service and they are free. I just can’t pass that up. This book is a doozy. I give it a 4 out of 5. It has such a great storyline. Both royalty and common folk and everyone in between. You have to read this when you get a chance.

Ann Patchett, Commonwealth: I had this book for a long time. I started it and stopped reading it a few times. Then I read These Precious Days by Ann and I decided I needed to explore this book a little more. It may have had a slow beginning but man did it finish on top. This story explores five decades of four parents and the lives of their six children. Read it. That is all. I give this one a 5 out of 5.

Ted Kooser, Delights and Shadows: I read most of this book of poetry waiting for my cat to have two enemas at the vet. I was waiting in my car most of the time and I happened to have this book in the car with me. These poems by Ted Kooser are different but they will touch you in a very profound way. I challenge you to read this book and not feel the stirrings of familiarity in your own life, in one way or another. It is great. I give it a 5 out of 5. It is a short but rewarding read.

Ann Patchett, What Now? This was the shortest of audio books. Only about an hour of play time. This was based on Ann’s commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College. This commencement speech has something for everyone no matter the occupation you might have or might be seeking. I know!!! I know!!! It’s another Ann Patchett you might be saying. But so what? When you find good reading or listening you cherish it. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Reading People by Anne Bogel This was a book that came recommended on the top books list of 2023. I bought it in December and finished it in February. It was a good book. A lot of new understandings about people and their personalities. I even discovered a couple of new things about myself. I know that I am an HSP, a highly sensitive person and an empath so I feel a lot of things just by being around other people. This one was very interesting a fairly slow read. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Well that is it for January and February reading. I guess you can see I have a pattern when I find a favorite author. Ann Patchett and Abigail Adams have become favorites for me. However, I am open to suggestions for new reads. That is all for the first two months of this year. I hope you enjoyed this review and it might inspire you to check out some of these books. What are you reading?

Always remember

Lover your day your way!!!!

Tuesday Happenings

Hello and happy Tuesday!!! Another busy and full week last week. We finally got my mother in law moved to a care facility closer to us. She is doing as well as can be expected. We are just taking it day by day. We are trying not to expect too much and hoping and praying for the best. She is ninety years old and we are realistic about how things can change quickly with her.

Last week was also a crazy work week. My work is starting to get really busy. Between work and going back and forth visiting my mil there wasn’t a lot of down time. She sleeps most of the time it is hard to rouse her to talk. I do think she knows we are there and that she gets some comfort from that.

I did take a couple of hours last weekend to make these cute paper roses. I saw the idea on Instagram and then went to YouTube and found a few videos. I love the way they turned out. Once you get the hang of it they’re really easy to make. I made these while watching a DIY on YouTube called Paper Book Roses.

I hated the idea of cutting up a book. I want to the thrift store and bought a couple of really old books. I think that made the roses even better because it gave them a more vintage look. Instead of trying to tell you or show you how to make them, and if you are interested in making them, just google paper roses or roses made from book pages or something like that and you will get lots of different ways to do them.

I also finished knitting a scarf over the weekend. I was really close to finishing and finally just buckled down and finished it. I love red and I think this will go great with a lot of things. It is almost getting too warm here for scarves but there is always next year. I am trying so hard to focus on some of the projects I have started and finishing them!!!!

And every chance I get I am working on my nephews’ Afghan. I am doing this one in gray and navy blue, Tennessee Titans colors. That is his favorite team. This one is crocheted and it is nice to switch from knitting to crochet every now and then.

Isn’t this the cutest brooch. I bought it a couple of weeks ago at one of my local thrift stores. I almost forgot about it. I started to throw the bag away and it was in the bottom. I collect some of the really big brooches. I love the unique ones. I don’t really like to wear them but I plan to use them for a project one day. I do occasionally put them on a purse or hat.

I leave you with a picture of our work cat. Her name is Anthodite which is a cave formation made up of crystals. We call her Anthey for short. She showed up about two years ago. She is a bit feral and only comes around when there is not a lot of people around. There are a few of us who have been lucky enough to pet Anthey, for just a second or two, but she is very selective. I would love to take her home someday. she is the most precious girl and has made it for quite a while in the wild.

So yes a very busy week but I did want to catch up with all of you. My blog is my happy place and I love reading blog posts from my fellow bloggers. I am catching up on some of those right now. Have a wonderful rest of your week.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!