Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Pictures and Parker Pumpkin Carving Night

While the garage sale managed to consume the majority of my weekend time, I did manage to get a few other things accomplished. I got home from the sale, jumped in the shower and got all gussied up because Pippa and I were having out Christmas card pictures made. I was supposed to meet my friend Kristen at the Green Mountain Nature Trail at 3:30 p.m. but ended up running a little late because I desperately needed gas in my car. Pippa and I finally managed to arrive and walked over to the covered bridge where we were supposed to meet Kristen. She patiently took a million photos and then we parted ways. I haven't seen any of the photos yet, but Kristen said there are some good ones and some funny ones. I look forward to seeing both. 

After pictures, we headed back home where I managed to watch the second half of the Alabama-Tennessee game before leaving again to go back over to my parents' house for dinner. My dad grilled filet mignon, made baked potatoes, steamed asparagus, salad, and rolls as well as a cake. All of it was delicious! By the time we were done with dinner, I was done for the day. I was so tired from working all morning and so I took my tired self home and went straight to bed. 

Sunday was Parker Pumpkin Carving Night at the home of my cousins, Benny and Jan. This has been a yearly tradition for some time, but this was only my second year to participate. I arrived a little before 6:00 p.m. with my tray of deviled eggs and my large pumpkin to carve. 

There was a crowd of maybe 20 or so people, maybe more, I lost count. It seems liked people were coming and going throughout the night. It was a fun group. I carved a basic jack-o-lantern again this year. I may carve another pumpkin on Friday or Saturday, but wanted to quickly get my carving done on Sunday so that I could get out of the way and let the kids have a go. We enjoyed a delicious dinner (as is always the case) and lots of good conversation and laughter. It was a great time, as always. 

To say it was a busy weekend was an understatement. This coming weekend should be pretty busy too and then I'll have a break of a low key weekend and I'm really looking forward to that! 

Monday, October 26, 2015

If You Want Our Treasures, Check The Saving Way

Well, this past Saturday was our  big blowout garage sale. My dad and I have worked for the past four-five Saturdays to get ready for it and he worked throughout the week as well. I placed an ad on Craig's list that ran for two weeks prior to the sale and my cousin Jessica listed it on facebook as well. I was so excited about this big blowout sell. I felt confident that we would have a big crowd because we had done such a good job advertising and preparing. My dad and I put up big bright neon signs the night before and I felt confident we were going to have a huge crowd. 

I could not have been more wrong, y'all, and it was so disappointing. I woke at 5:00 a.m. and gathered up the last minute things I needed to take with me, brushed my teeth and hit the road. When I got there, my friend and co-worker Maria was already there. You may recall that she had some treasures in the sale at my house back in the summer and she brought what didn't sale as well as many other items this time around. It was sprinkling a little and so we decided to pull the boat out of the garage, which wasn't in the original plan. We moved things out of the way, pulled the boat out and discovered a treadmill and a filing cabinet that could be added to the sale and it's a good thing because the treadmill actually sold late in the day. 

We spent the next hour and a half or more setting up for the big sale. Usually when you're having a garage sale, people start showing up as you're dragging things out of your house or garage, but not this day. I don't think we had any customers until about 7:30 a.m. and it was three ladies that attend church where my dad preaches. They bought some baby clothes that my cousin brought over to sell and some other odds and ends and one of them bought the dining room set that was my granddad's. They got the table, six chairs and hutch for $300 which is quote a bargain! I'm glad they got it because I know they will use it well and take good care of it. Slowly but surely we got a few more customers throughout the day and made a sale here and there. Since it was so slow, my dad and I did some yard work during the slow periods. He is basically chopping down every shrub in his flower beds for the winter and if they come back ,great and if not, he's replacing them. So, we chopped and hauled to the road when the garage sale business was slow. 

Towards the end of the day we had a surge of about five customers at once and after they all went their ways, we started packing everything back up to put back in the garage for The Saving Way Thrift Store to pick up. Unfortunately, they don't pick up on Saturdays, but hopefully it will be some time this week because I know my dad is very, very anxious to have his garage back in order. It took us a couple of hours to get everything boxed up and put away and we finished around 1:30 p.m. When all was said and done, we made around $300 in total, not including the dining room set. We, of course, sold a lot of weird things that we didn't think would sell, and didn't sell things that we thought would sell. It was quite an interesting experience and a very draining day. 

When I went home, I noticed what seemed like hundreds, but was probably more like 20, signs for yard sales. So, undoubtedly it was a big day for sales in the heart of the city which probably contributed to the lack of people who wanted to drive "over the mountain" to where my parents' live. So, needless to say after the hours and hours and hours and sis I mention hours that my dad and I put into the sale, it was a bust. I didn't even make the $50 I set out to make. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes I guess. I'm thankful that we are done with garage sales for 2015! 

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Monday Night at BJ's

On Monday night, I met up with friends Erika and Candy for dinner and a couple of hours worth of catching up in conversation. It was a great night. I always love spending time with these two ladies. 

We met up at BJ's Brewhouse which is a newer restaurant at Bridge Street. It opened back in the summer and we had planned on going for our friend Kendra's birthday. but the wait was incredibly long and we settled on Cantina Laredo that night. BJ's has a pretty extensive menu and before arriving I had settled on having a burger. Burgers are one of my favorite foods and it sounded so good to me and that is exactly what I ended up ordering. It was delicious! One of the best burgers I've had in a while. In fact, it was so good I got another one the next night since I was headed out that way for an Agape meeting. On Monday I got fries with the burger. The fries were shoestring fries and were really good. On Tuesday I got a Caesar salad as my side item and ended up eating only a few bites. I am a weirdo in that I can taste the preservatives or whatever is used on bagged lettuce and to me it makes the lettuce taste terrible. There is a definite difference in the taste of a fresh head of lettuce than bagged lettuce and the lettuce on the Caesar salad tasted like it was bagged lettuce and I just did not care for it. 

Erika, who had actually been to BJ's a few times already ordered the salted caramel mini pizzookie for an appetizer and a Caesar salad and an individual deep dish pizza. A pizzookie, in case you are wondering is a hot cookie that comes out in a deep dish pizza pan covered in ice cream. The mini size is an individual serving. They also come in regular size for those who like to share. Her pizza looked and smelled wonderful and it was half price because we ordered during happy hour. Candy ordered the fish tacos. They looked delicious and she ate every bite; so, I have no doubt they were every bit as good as they looked.

After Candy and I finished our dinner, we also ordered a pizzookie. Candy got the salted caramel and I got pumpkin. Don't judge me, pumpkin haters. I've loved pumpkin flavored things since I was a kid, long before the pumpkin spice fad became a thing. We both really enjoyed our pizzookies. Just warm enough and the ice cream on top was perfection. I would definitely recommend this dessert. 

We had a great night spending time with each other and catching up on our lives. I'm so thankful for these friends! As for BJ's, I think we would all give it two thumbs up. Give it a try the next time you are out that way!




Wednesday, October 21, 2015

2015 Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll

This past Sunday was the annual Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll presented by the Huntsville Pilgrimage Association. This is always such a fun event. I actually haven't been the last few years and I was so glad I went this year. The afternoon was beautiful and it's always fun to learn more about Huntsville and enjoy some great storytelling. 

My friends Margaret Anne (who is from Huntsville) and Lauren (who is not) went with me this year. Margaret Anne actually arranged us all going. Lauren and I got there right at 2:00 p.m. when it started and MA met us a few minutes later. Before MA arrived, Lauren and I went to the graves of Goldsmiths and Schiffmans and also Milton Frank. I don't remember these folks being portrayed before and I had an interest in them for a variety of reasons. The Goldsmiths and Schiffmans have a football field and a school named after them (thanks to their generous donation of properties) and Milton Frank was a renowned football coach at Huntsville High and has a football stadium named after him. He was only 57 when he died - so young! His "wife" was visiting his grave so she was doing the storytelling, not him. I asked her how he died, but she said she didn't know as she had not come across that in her research. 

Since Lauren had never been to the stroll before, we let her pick the most of the rest of the people we visited. We did stop by John Hunt (founder of Huntsville!) who was being portrayed by MA's former history teacher at Grissom. He actually retired a couple of years ago and now she teaches in his place. He did a great job and was very animated in his storytelling. 

We made a stop by one of my favorites, Miss Howard Weeden. She always has great stories to tell and the lady that portrays her does a fantastic job complete with accents as she tells the stories of the slaves she painted. 

One of my favorites this year was new to me. It was Reverend "Saint" Bartley Thomas and his wife from the Primitive Baptist church. He was a black minister and baptized over 3,000 people in Big Spring in the 1800s. Here we were also treated to singing by the Saint Bartley Singers and they were so good! Everyone clapped and some people sang along and this group got the biggest round of applause by far. 

Since Lauren loves cows, we had to make a stop by Lily Flagg so Lauren could learn all about the 1,047 pounds of butter and about as many gallons of milk she produced in one year. Lily went to the 1892 World's Fair in Chicago and when she got home, her owner Samuel B. Moore threw her a big party with 50 different kinds of cake and Lily was at the front of the receiving line. 

We left the stroll a little after 4:00 (it ended at 4:30) and headed home. We didn't even put a dent in all the people being portrayed. There were 72 characters this year and about 10,000 people showed up to learn about our city's rich history. If you've never been before (or even if you have) be sure and put this on your calendar for 2016! It's one of the best ways to celebrate and learn about Huntsville! 












Monday, October 19, 2015

The 12th Annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run

Saturday morning was the 12th annual Liz Hurley Ribbon Run and honestly at this point, I've lost count of how many years I've participated in this race. Maybe six, seven, eight? I just really don't know. I didn't think I would have anyone to walk or hang out with this year, but then remembered that my friend from church Emily had participated last year and so on Friday night I sent her a text and asked if she would be my walking buddy (that is, if she were planning to walk). She agreed and we set a meeting place for Saturday morning. 

Emily's mom had breast cancer in 2011, but is doing great now and so Emily, her mom and brothers have done the race for the past four years. I parked in the Blossomwood neighborhood and walked over to the school and walked and shuffled through a  sea of pink to find Emily her mom and brother and some of her mom's friends. We started towards the back of the group and finished in about an hour or so. I've got to start walking more because I think I get slower every year! Emily and I spent the whole race talking and catching up. She and I have been friends for a few years but don't see each other all that much. She has kept Pippa for me a time or two and I usually just see her at church so it was good to be able to spend some time with her one on one. After he race was over I grabbed some goodies, otherwise known as breakfast, and then walked back to my car. I was back home before 9:30 a.m. and was able to take a late morning nap before tackling the rest of the days activities. 

I heard there were about 6,000 participants this year. The team than raised the most money raised close to $12,000 all for a great cause - to fight breast cancer and buy some great equipment for the Huntsville Breast Center. I love seeing so many people come together for such a fun event and a worthy cause!


Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Photos from My Phone - October 2015

It's been a while since I've done a "Photos from My Phone" post; so, I thought I would tackle it today. 

First up is a photo from this past Saturday when I took Pippa to the Dog Wash. I know I've mentioned it before, but the pet shop in Five Points has a dog wash which is super convenient. I can give Pip a scrub and they will trim her nails while we are there and they clean up after us - all for $15. The folks who work at and run the shop are really nice and I like to support local businesses so I'm happy to be a repeat customer. The pet store is called "Goin' To The Dogs' and Cats" and it's located on Wellman in case you want to check it out. They have lots of fun things for pets of all shapes and sizes. 




The first Saturday of the month, I drug out my bins of Halloween decorations and inside I found such a treasure! I had completely forgotten that I bought two Halloween costumes for Pippa. One is a pumpkin (which I haven't put on her yet) and the second is a referee, also known as the "Rufferee". It's a ref's outfit and even has a yellow flag for penalties. It is hilarious and I'm so glad I got it because it has provided me with numerous laughs. This past Friday, Pip managed to get a hold of it and tore two holes in it, but I think I can sew them up and she can still wear it. 



Mild Green Mojo Chips by Late July - They are good!



A picture of a dead shrub which I had a heckuva time getting out of the ground. I had actually asked my male cousins to come by and help with it but when they didn't show up week after week, I decided to have another go at it. I guess I had enough stress or aggression to get that bad boy out of the ground. Persistence pays, my friends. 



This coral fungus was on a felled tree branch on the Alms House Trail on Monte Sano which I hiked on Labor Day. I thought the fungus was so pretty. It looked like it should be in the ocean, not on the side of a trail. 


Here we are, the 2015 Halloween Party Planning Committee. G is our leader. I wasn't told to make a scary face, but instead look half asleep. 


These "surprise" or "spider" lilies pop up in Five Points in late August and early September. I have always loved them and never had any in my own yard until this year. I had one come up in the flower bed in the back yard. 


I have the College Gameday Bobbleheads in my office and a few weeks ago I came in and found a note on my desk from the janitor. She was dusting and something bumped into Desmond and he fell and his arm broke. I was sad, but not devastated - this is a sign that I'm growing up. I was proud of the janitor for confessing that she was the one who broke the Desmond. She actually stopped by that afternoon before beginning her shift and asked if she could pay for the damages. I told her no, it wasn't a big deal and not to worry about it. One of the guys at work glued Des back together for me. Sadly, he will never have full use of his right arm again. 



That's it for this edition of "Photos from My Phone". Until next time. 

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Updating You on Stuff That You Probably Don't Care About

There's not much news to report from the weekend. Friday I went to a football game and Saturday I finished cleaning out the attic at my parents' house. On Sunday I went to church. That's about it. So, here's some updates on things you probably don't care or didn't know you care about. 

I'm two months into the fall semester of school and so far I am really enjoying it. I'm taking one full class and a half class that's required for the program; so, the load the semester hasn't been too bad. The full-time class has been great. The information has been very interesting and I've enjoyed learning about different styles of management and how to deal with different personalities, etc. I've done well on all my quizzes and assignments so far and right now have an A in the class. We have our big assignments, term test and group project due in the coming weeks so the majority of the grade has yet to be determined. I've laid out a schedule for myself so I can stay on track with everything. The next three weeks in particular are jammed packed with reading and assignments and quizzes so I'm glad I don't have too much going on socially and plan to keep it that way. 

The one thing I've disliked most about this class is the book we are reading for our case study. I just cannot get into it and am finding it to be exceptionally boring. So, I've made a day-by-day schedule of what chapters I need to read to be finished by November 1 so I can contribute to the group project which is due in late November. I'm hoping that if I just sit down and start tackling the book per the schedule I've made that I'll enjoy it a bit more. So far I've just been reading about how the company got started and it hasn't peaked my interest in the least. 

The one hour credit class, which is an intro to the MBA program, has been fairly easy. I've had to read some articles from Bloomburg Businessweek and discuss my thoughts about the articles. The quizzes for this class have been about our thoughts regarding the program and we had to complete an ethical leadership program. So, it hasn't been bad at all which has been great because the fall seems to be the busiest time of year and I was concerned how I would balance everything. I have decided that I will only take one class in the fall next year as well since I seem to have so much going on. I plan to take two classes in spring and summer, but haven't decided what those will be yet; although I need to figure it out soon because registration for spring classed takes place in a couple of weeks. Crazy!

The addition at my parent's house is complete. I did not do a very good job of chronicling it as it was being built, unfortunately. My granddad moved in a week or so ago and I wish I had taken a picture before he moved in because you would have been able to see it clean and nice and neat which isn't always the case when someone is living in a space. My dad is super thankful to once again have a bed to sleep on after sleeping on an air mattress or a couch for the last few months. 

We are almost finished with gathering and pricing items for my parents' upcoming garage sale. Y'all, this is my last garage sale of 2015 and for that I am thankful! We got the last items down from the attic last weekend and I started pricing things. We have a few more things to go through and price this upcoming weekend and then we should be done with everything except the actual sale which is taking place on October 24 from 7-11. I've put an ad on Craig's list with pictures so I'm hoping that helps bring out some people. We will have bicycles, a wheelchair, a hospital bed, dishes, games, puzzles and various and sundry other items for sale. I have a few items in this one as well and am hoping to clear about $50. I'm setting that as my goal. Fingers crossed. 

I think that will do for the random updates for now. Hope everyone is having a good week! 

Monday, October 12, 2015

It's the Holiday Season

In case you didn't know, there are (at the time of the writing of this post) 80 days left in the year and 74 days until Christmas. So, if you haven't started your Christmas shopping or at the very least your Christmas list, now might be a good time. 

I wanted to let you all know about an opportunity to help Agape of North Alabama when doing your Christmas shopping, or at least your online shopping and actually, you can do this year round. If you shop on Amazon (and why wouldn't you?) you can automatically make a donation to Agape by going through Amazon Smile. Instead of just typing amazon.com in your address bar, type smile.amazon.com. Once there, you can select a charity of your choice and obviously I ask that you choose Agape of North Alabama. Then, you shop, add things to your cart, check out and automatically 0.5% of your purchase price is donated to Agape. 

Now, 0.5% isn't all that much, but the more people who shop and go through Amazon Smile the more money is donated to this great organization. So, please spread the word and remember Agape when crossing off your Christmas list (or any other list for that matter) by shopping on Amazon. Thanks and happy shopping. 

Sunday, October 11, 2015

The Enchanting Rose Mug Exchange #7

Today I've got another great guest post from Erika. I think you'll enjoy hearing about her mug exchange and may even want to participate the next time The Enchanting Rose hosts one. Happy reading!

Hello!  Since I don’t have a blog, Natasha was kind enough to let me post about a mug exchange I recently participated in.  Stephanie, who blogs at The Enchanting Rose, hosts a teacup/mug exchange periodically and it sounded fun, so I decided to sign up.   I discovered Stephanie’s blog by happening upon Kitty’s blog. Am I the only one who has no idea why or how they originally discovered some great blogs???

I sent Heather in California a package, and it was so fun choosing items to include.   We also share some similar interests, and it was such a fun way to make a new friend.  Please visit her blog Blue Jeansand Teacups and tell her hello!  

Jodi from Virginia sent me a lovely package!   I don’t think I did a great job of completing my profile, but Jodi chose a mug that has “Erika” written all over it!  The colors are soft pastels, and it has peonies on it, which are some of my favorite flowers!   And the best part?  It came in the most beautiful box!!!    It also perfectly matches the throw on my ottoman.

Jodi also included an adorable quilted coaster.  It has such pretty shades of blue and green.   She also sent me a bar of homemade soap which I will certainly enjoy.

A great variety of teas, hot cocoa, biscotti and caramel wafer cookies were also inside my box of goodies.   I am saving most of them until the weather gets a little cooler, but those caramel wafer cookies – they were calling my name - I had never tried them before and they are deeee-licious!

Thank you Jodi!  This mug exchange was so fun, and I am so glad I decided to participate.







Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Last Concert of 2015

I saw the Foo Fighters on Monday night and y'all, it was so good. My brother has always said I'm the biggest Foo Fighters fan he knows, which I personally consider a huge compliment. So, when they announced a tour and tickets went on sale back in February, you'd better believe I took advantage of that pre-sale and ended up in the nose bleed section. I was in the building, people and that's all that matters. 

My cousin Lauren accompanied me for the show which was in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena. We made plans over the weekend to leave town at 3:30 p.m. so we could get to Nashville in time for dinner before the show. That morning, I was scrolling through Twitter when I notice that my friend Grayson said he was pumped about the show and so I contacted him and his wife Margaret Anne (who is one of my closest friends) to see if they wanted to ride with me and Lauren. They had gotten tickets at the last minute which is a long story in an of itself. MA and Grayson got to my house a little after 3:00 p.m. and we soon headed over to pick up Lauren and made our way north. 

We got to Nashville a little after 5:00 p.m. and met MA's sister and her boyfriend at Five Points Pizza for dinner. MA's sister had the tickets that MA and Grayson were going to use that evening. Is this story getting confusing yet because I feel a little confused and I was there. Anyway, we ordered pizzas and sodas and enjoyed a yummy dinner together before parting ways. We found a spot to park downtown and walked to the arena. Grayson and I bought t-shirts because we each were in desperate need of a new t-shirt (she types sarcastically); but, it was the Foo Fighters and truth be told I've had a Foos shirt on my Christmas list the last couple of years so it's justified. 

As luck would have it, MA and Grayson's seats were in the section right next to mine and Lauren's seats which worked out perfectly because we were able to find each other very easily after the show. Gary Clark, Jr. was the opening act and he wasn't too bad. I'd never heard of him before so I was pleasantly surprised. Gary wrapped up his set a little after 8:00 p.m. and the Foo Fighters were scheduled to come on at 8:30 p.m. 

The Foos came out right on time and put on a fantastic show. They played for about two and a half hours and played songs old and new. There were a few songs I had my fingers crossed for that didn't get played, but that's the way it goes. I suppose they can't play every song or else we'd be there all night. Really, that would have been okay with me. Dave Grohl was hilarious as always and seriously big props to that guy for playing this tour with a broken foot. He had a "throne" designed so he could still play and sing while keeping off his foot. I had a great time at the show and cannot wait until they go on tour again, hopefully some time soon. 

We made it back to the car around 11:15-ish and were back in Huntsville around 1:30 a.m. We were all exhausted but everyone did a great job of keeping the conversation going so that no one would fall asleep. I think this is the last concert for me for 2015 which is kind of sad. You never know though, in a weird twist of fate I may end up at another show of some kind; but if the Foo Fighters is who I end the 2015 concert season with than it was a good note to end on.Can't wait to see what the 2016 concert season holds!










Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Cleaning Out The Attic

I need to begin by saying I should have taken some before and after pictures, but sadly I did not. Hind sight is 20/20 as they say. The last time my dad and I cleaned out the attic at my parents' house was probably 10 years ago. In the time since then, the attic has acquired a lot of junk. We started working on cleaning it out again earlier this summer on one of those rare cool Saturdays. We didn't get too much done that day. We did manage to put down some new plywood just so we would have somewhere to move things so that we could get a start. Justin had a lot of furniture and things up there so we moved all of his items to the new plywood and called it a day. I think Justin and my dad worked up there one day and Justin threw a few things out. 

This past Saturday, we decided to tackle it again. There still wasn't much room to walk around up there, but before the day was out things were looking a lot better than they did to start the day. There was a large pile of stuff in the middle section of the attic and we got that section cleaned out. Some of the items were thrown away, others were sent down the stairs to be put in the garage sale at the end of the month and a few things were kept in the attic. The middle section actually had carpet on it and we wanted to vacuum, but there isn't an outlet up in the attic and we couldn't find a working extension cord. So, next week when we do some more work up there I'll bring an extension cord with me so we can do some vacuuming. 

We found carpet and linoleum remnants from when the house was first built. The linoleum and carpet found in the attic had been replaced years ago so there was definitely no need to keep those items any longer. So, we hauled those out to the street. There were also a random assortment of cheap curtain rods up there and all of those got tossed as well. By the time a few hours had passed, we had finished cleaning out most things. The main thing we didn't tackle was the Christmas decorations and we plan to go through those come Christmastime. 

We'll finish up purging the attic next Saturday and will start pricing stuff for what will surely be the last garage sale of 2015. Here's to hoping we sell a lot of treasures. 

The Concert Was A Bust

So, this past Friday night I had tickets to a concert. The concert was in Huntsville, which is weird because usually people I like don't make it to Huntsville for a concert. The person who was performing was Jason Isbell. I bought my tickets the day they went on sale and have really been looking forward to the show for a long time. 

I asked my friend Nevin to go with me. We always have fun when we hang out and so I thought he would make a good date for the night. He came by to pick me up and we went by Taco Mama for dinner. I'm a big Taco Mama fan, but for whatever reason the food was just okay on Friday. It might have had something to do with the fact that there were no seats inside and we had to sit outside where it was cold, the wind was blowing and it was sprinkling rain. It would have been nice if Taco Mama had maybe put up the outdoor umbrellas for us, but I guess that was too much to ask. I was also a little miffed because Nevin didn't offer to pay for my dinner. He was getting a free concert, after all so it would only have been the right thing to do; but, then we must remember that he is 26 and young and immature and these are all the reasons why we would never be a good match. It's just all so much more than my old self can tolerate. 

After dinner we made our way to the VBC and I paid for parking because Nevin didn't have any cash (are you beginning to see a pattern here and maybe why I was beginning to be in a bad mood. Lesson learned I hope). The other person playing that night was John Prine, who I had never heard of. So, I wasn't in a big hurry to go inside because I didn't know any of Prine's songs and figured we would go in after Prine played and just listed to Isbell. So, after sitting out in the lobby and people watching for 30 minutes, I caught on to one of the songs being sung and realized that Isbell was actually playing at that moment. We went inside, walked over 20 people to our seats and heard three songs before Isbell's set was over. As it turned out, Isbell was the opening act and Prine the headliner and as I've mentioned, I have never heard of Prine and had no desire to hear him. We asked the man next to us if Prine was any good and didn't get a resounding yes. The man told us Prine was in his 70s and he doubted his voice was any good at this point. So, with that, we left. At that point, I was just not in a good mood and was ready to be home in my warm bed and so that's where I went. 

Yes, that's right, I bought concert tickets and heard about three songs. It was very disappointing to say the least. We should have gone in to see who was playing before assuming it was Prine. Apparently a lot of people were upset about it because I heard people rumbling about it in the lobby and Isbell made mention of it on Twitter. Seeing as how he is from Green Hill in North Alabama, I think more people were there to see him and were also disappointed when it was discovered he wasn't headlining. To top it off, that afternoon I sent off my second set of tickets for his show at the Ryman because I had sold them on Stub Hub that morning. Really, I'm not too torn up about that because I made really good money on the tickets and had decided I just didn't want to go to Nashville for a show on a football Saturday; but, still, it was kind of laughable. On the bright side, I think Isbell has a promising career ahead of him and I'm sure I'll get to see him perform more than three songs at a show some time in the future.