My First Night at The Ryman

This past Monday, I had the privilege of enjoying my first ever show at The Ryman in Nashville and y'all, it was absolutely magical. Earlier this year when The Ryman announced that Ryan Adams was coming, I decided that nothing was going to stop me from getting tickets to the show. He played two nights, Monday and Tuesday, and I was lucky enough to get two tickets to the Monday night show. I invited my friends Margaret Anne to come with me and we had such a fun night! 

I left work about 2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon and made a stop by the chiropractor before going home. MA, who is a high school teacher, made it to my house just a few minutes after me and we were soon on the road. While we drove to Nashville, I took the American history finals MA had written for her 11th grade students. Y'all, I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I made a 55! Worst test score I've ever made I think. There is clearly a lot about the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis that I know nothing about. I've asked her to give me my terrible test paper so I can study up on what I don't know. 

We met MA's sister for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory (sorry Mother!). We were going somewhere else close by, but that place was closed and so the Cheesecake Factory was the second choice. We enjoyed the dinner and got coffee and cheesecake to go. The coffee to help keep us awake and the cheesecake to eat at a later time. 

After dinner we made our way to The Ryman. Natalie Press opened the show at 8:00 p.m. We had never heard of her, but she wasn't terrible. Apparently folks in Nashville are familiar with her because I heard a lot of people say they loved her. Rayn Adams came on stage at 9:00 p.m. and absolutely rocked the house. As it got closer to 10 p.m. he was playing more mellow music and I thought MA and I might fall asleep right there on the pew of The Ryman; but, then, one of my other favorites, Jason Isbell, made a surprise appearance and it woke me up quickly. I even got tears in my eyes I was so excited! Jason played a song with Ryan and then headed backstage only to appear later with his wife while the three of them played and sang and it was so, so wonderful. The night ended just a little before 11:00 p.m. It was a fantastic evening and made my heart so very happy. 

We hit the road back home and made it back to Huntsville around 1:30 a.m. in Tuesday. Thankfully I had made the very wise decision to go in late and so I slept until 7:00 a.m. and went in at 9:00. I was tired, but not as tired as I would have been had I gone in at my normal hour. 

I'm so glad I finally made it to a show at The Ryman and I'm glad MA got to experience it with me! I'm headed back in October as I got tickets last week to see Jason Isbell there - oh, the irony! I can't wait! 

Panoply, Pippa, and Privacy Fences

Well, here I am, writing a long overdue post which I'm sure you've all been anticipating. I feel like I'm constantly apologizing for not writing on the blog. I'll blame it on a series of things which are...

1. I haven't felt like writing anything

2. I hate logging on to a computer in the evenings

3. Life hasn't been too interesting

4. I don't think anyone but Erika reads this blog and I can just call or go out to dinner with her

I'm sure there are other reasons too, but I'm sticking with these four for now. I'd like to promise I'll do better because I feel guilty when I don't write anything; but let's be honest it's probably not going to get any better until I get out of this funk. Moving on....

Last weekend wasn't too adventurous. I did manage to venture out to Panoply with my friends Lauren and Margaret Anne. We went to listen to the Indigo Girls. They sounded great and the weather was nice and it was an all around lovely evening until the lesbians in front of us started making out towards the end of the show. It was at this point that we packed up our belongings and decided to head out. As we started leaving, the fireworks began so we stood by the pond and watched the fireworks and then went home. Other than my outing to Panoply, I really didn't do too much. 

Pippa has discovered that the fence is no match for her prowess. When I first got her, she found some holes in the fence between my yard and my neighbor Tina's yard and she would scoot under the fence and run over to Tina's (usually when Tina was outside). Tina sealed up some holes by stacking up bricks and I sealed off others by sticking bamboo in the ground where the holes were so Pip couldn't run through. So, for over a year, she hasn't bothered with trying to escape. 

Well, apparently she must have gotten bored or mad while I was gone on vacation because she discovered a hole in the back of the fence and also a way to open up the back gate. So, I got a lock for the gate so that she can't maneuver it open and my neighbor Mary Beth put some chicken wire and cinder blocks around the hold in the back. That worked for about five minutes until Pippa discovered she could just push the fence and crawl under it. So, I drove some stakes in the ground where there were other holes and loose spots.

Then she discovered more holes in the fence between my house and Tina's and is again escaping through those. I drove stakes in the ground along that side of the fence too and she got out again! So, basically she's either confined to the leash while in the back yard or I sit in the backyard with her and yell out every time she gets close to a weak spot which is basically every 30 seconds. 

All of this to say that I now have two companies coming out to provide estimates for a privacy fence. This is about the last thing I want to spend money on at the moment and I certainly don't have the funds to pay for it at the moment. Both companies have financing options so when the sales guys come out I will be discussing the financing options with them and then will probably cry after they leave because of the enormous expense of a privacy fence and there go my hopes of getting a new couch any time soon. Seriously, what 38 year old has a couch with giant holes in it? Me, that's who! My large chair is heading that way too. So, I'll have to gather my senses and remember that a privacy fence will add value to my home, it will look nice and it will allow me a moment of peace while Pippa runs around in the back yard and I enjoy silence. 

I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out. 

Book Review: Savor

Y'all are probably going to get tired of book reviews before too long. I do apologize. I've been given a lot of interesting book opportunities lately and they all seem to come due around the same time. So, if reading book reviews isn't your cup of tea, I hope you'll stick it out and come back another day when I maybe have something more interesting to say. 

Today's review is for a book that I was really looking forward to receiving. When I saw it on the list of books available for review I knew immediately that I wanted to request it straightaway. The name of the book is "Savor" and it was written by Shauna Niequist. You may recall that I reviewed another of her books a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed that book and so I was looking forward to receiving and reviewing "Savor". 

"Savor" is a book of 365 devotionals and is subtitled, "Living Abundantly Where You Are, As You Are" which is such a great concept because I think more often than not we are striving for something bigger and better than what we are or what we have and as a result we often overlook how great we really have it and don't live to our fullest. The book arrived while I was away on vacation and in some ways it was what I expected and in other ways it was not. 

There is an entry for each day of the calendar year that has a scripture at the top of the page and then a story or thought by Niequist. At the bottom of each page is a question for the reader to think about for the day, or the moment which relates to the story and scripture above. All of these things are what I would expect from a daily devotional; however, I think I had in mind that there would be more scripture and less story. I think I also had pictured in my mind that the book would have a spot for a journal entry as well. I like the idea of the question at the end of the page, but there is not room to write your answer in the book - not that everyone would be keen to do that, but it would be nice to write down your thoughts that day and then go back and do the devotionals again in a few years and compare your thoughts and answers from a few years back to where you are today - have you grown, fallen back, etc.  So, those are really are the only things I was disappointed with. Of course, you can always buy a small notebook to accompany the devotional book, I just think it would be better to have it all together. 

The presentation of the devotionals is very nice and clean with minimal graphics and very understated which is Niequist's style and I love it. The book is hardback, but cloth bound so it would be great for gifting as it beautifully put together. There are also recipes scattered throughout which might come off as a little odd, but if you are familiar with Niequist's work, then you know she loves to cook and fellowship with people over meals and so it's not unusual that she  would include a few recipes in her latest book. 

If you're looking for a devotional book to finish out this year or maybe to purchase for next year I would say take this one into consideration. It retails for less than $15 and you can preview the inside at Amazon before deciding to purchase. Overall, I think it's a nice book and would be beneficial to those looking for something to keep them on track in their devotionals throughout the year. 

Book Review: Henry Hodges Needs a Friend

Today I have the privilege of reviewing a super cute book that you and the kids in your life are sure to love! It's called "Henry Hodges Needs a Friend" and it was written by Andy Andrews and illustrated by Colleen Madden and released by Tommy Nelson books earlier this year. This book is absolutely adorable and I loved it! 

​Geared towards children around ages 5-8​, the story follows a young boy by the name of Henry Hodges. Henry is an only child and lives with his parents out at the end of a "long, dead-end street" away from other children and so he has no one to play with and he also doesn't like to play with toys - such a  predicament! Since Henry and his family don't live around other kids, Henry feels lonely and longs for a friend to play with. 

One day his parents surprise him by letting him know they are going to help him find a friend, not in the form of a person, but in the form of a pet. Henry wonders what kid of pet he may get -  a hippo that skates on ice, a goat with 10 legs, and a goldfish with antlers are just a few of the crazy pets Henry thinks up in his imaginative brain. 

The next day, Henry's parents take him to the animal shelter where he immediately falls in love with a puppy with brown spots! I gotta admit, Henry sounds like my kind of kid! Henry names the dog Hap - short for Happy - and the two instantly become best pals. The end of the story lets us know that even when we are lonely or sad, God knows it and he will provide friendship and companionship and healing for us, even if it comes in the form of a most loyal companion - a puppy. I love a phrase that is written on the book jacket - "So, you're pretty special, and that's guaranteed, maybe you're the new friend, that somebody needs." I think it's such a great lesson for young and old alike that we could be the friend that someone needs in their life. 

Maybe I'm a little biased because I'm a dog lover, but I think this book is just wonderful. The book is written in rhyme so it flows very easily off the lips of the reader and I personally think rhyming words make it much more fun for children to follow along. The story is cute from start to finish and the pictures are well illustrated and are sure to make your kiddos laugh - especially when Henry is imagining up all sorts of crazy pets as his new friend. 

"Henry Hodges Needs a Friend" is available from many retailers, including Amazon, for around $12. I encourage you to check it out for your little one.

My First Weekend At Home This April

This past weekend was my first one back after being on vacation and I'm happy to say it was busy and yet I still got some things taken care of around the house that needed to be done. 

The first week back home was rather uneventful. I went to the gym a few times and tried to catch up on as many TV shows as possible, got the oil changed in the car and took care of other mundane things such as bill paying and house cleaning and met up with friends for coffee at a Starbucks that closes at 8:30 p.m. - I mean, really? Despite only working three days last week, I was still looking forward to the weekend. Friday night I had nothing of great importance going on unless you count laundry and TV watching important. I even went to bed before 10:00 p.m. as I was starting to doze off and just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. 

Saturday was a pretty eventful day. It started by me going to the gym a little after they opened at 8:00 a.m. I powered through on the bike for about 45 minutes or so and then headed home where I planned to just do some weed eating, but ended up knocking out all of the yard work. We have had rain, rain and more rain since I've been home and I think while I was away as well. So, I think it goes without saying that the grass was overdue for a cut. When all was said and done, it was still higher than I prefer it being, but at least it wasn't knee high and it looked a heck of a lot better than it had that morning. 

After I was done with the grass, I had a bout 15 minutes to sit and cool off before leaving to go meet my friends Erika and Kendra for lunch. Thankfully I have friends who aren't embarrassed to see me and smell me in my lawnmowing clothes. I did give them the courtesy of changing into a clean shirt before meeting them for lunch. We met at Blue Plate Cafe and it was so good to see these two. Kendra moved to Nashville a little over six months ago (so hard to believe it's been that long) and so we don't get to see her as often as we would like. We had the sweetest waitress Bobbi, who could apparently tell we were there to catch up with each other and told us to take our time and talk and not worry about leaving any time soon. I thought that was so nice of her because most waitresses or waiters are ready to get folks out so they can make more money. We stayed about two hours catching up and lamenting our singleness which was good for my soul and I'm sure theirs as well. 

After we left Blue Plate, it was back home to finish up some things in the yard where I then discovered a surprise in the bushes outside the back door. I thought a bird had been flying out of the bush from time to time when I opened the back door, and sure enough, a mama robin has made a nest and laid some eggs there. It would appear I'll be having some baby birds outside the back door before too long. If I can, I'll chronicle as much as possible about these little birdies here on the blog. 

When I finished outside, I made some coleslaw for a cookout later that evening, finished up some chores and finally take a shower. The cookout was hosted by a girl from church, Tara, who actually lives almost directly behind Erika (oddly enough). She grilled hot dogs and everyone brought a side dish and she set up a large movie screen under her carport and we watched one of the Indiana Jones movies which I had not seen in forever. It was a fun time and there were probably about 20 people or so who came. I left after the movie was over and spent the rest of the evening watching hockey. 

Sunday was a rather typical day with church and then a Huddles meeting with the ninth graders that evening. After Huddles I spent the rest of the night finishing up some things around the house - including finally unpacking my suitcase and putting it away for another year. Vacation was great, but it was also nice to get back into the swing of things at home 

Vacation 2015 Came to a Close

I'll try to not to repeat myself today, but I'm not making any promises. Our vacation drew to a close over the weekend. Our last day in DC was Saturday. We packed up, loaded up and hit the metro for one last ride into the city. We had seats in the grand stands for the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade.

The parade started at 10:00 a.m. and we were close to the section where the performers stopped to sing a song or dance a jig. It was definitely the best parade we have ever seen which I guess isn't saying much since we've only ever been to parades in Huntsville. It lasted about two and a half hours and had a lot of great marching bands (my favorite) as well as floats, and some of those large balloons that they have in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. There were also celebrity performers, including Lance Bass formerly of NSYNC! There were other "celebrities" but I wasn't really familiar with them.

Once the parade was over, we caught the metro back to the station, jumped in the car and made our way southwest. We stopped for gas and food about two hours into our drive before arriving in Abingdon around 7:00 p.m. We checked into the hotel and unloaded our bags before we made a return trip to the Barter Theater for another live production. This time we saw "Anything Goes" and it was great! We laughed so hard I was actually doubled over at times.

On Sunday we went to church and then went to the grassy knoll by the Martha Washington hotel for a free bluegrass concert from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. After the concert, we went back to the hotel and watched some of the Masters before going to dinner and another play. Sunday night's play was called "The Gnome". It had apparently won some play writing competition in Virginia and it was by far the worst play I think I have ever seen. I think we both wish we could have our money back on that one.

Monday morning, we left Abingdon around 10:00 a.m. and headed South. We made a stop in Chattanooga at Lookout Mountain and Ruby Falls. I'm sure I've probably been there before, but I don't recall. It had been raining quite a bit recently and so the falls was actually flowing pretty well. I didn't know it was underground and so it was a pretty interesting journey into the cave to see the falls.

We made it home around 4:30 p.m. or something like that. I honestly am not sure what time we finally landed in Huntsville. It was another good vacation and time well spent on the road of adventure. I'm blessed to have these memories with my dad.

Mr. and Mrs. Claus made an appearance at the parade! 

More About The Zoo and Mount Vernon Too

Well, I'm back home in Alabama, but I have some catching up to do on the blog as I need to finish the tale of our DC vacation.

After our late night at the hockey game, we opted for a late morning on Thursday. We had breakfast at the condo before heading out to the city. Our first stop of the day was the National Zoo which is operated by the Smithsonian and therefore, free! We spent almost six hours there walking around and looking at the animals. It was a cold day and so not all the animals were out and about. I assume some of them opted to stay inside instead of braving the cold.

There were elephants, orangutans, lions and cheetahs, seals and sea lions, reptiles, birds, the list goes on and on. I think the most interesting part for me was a demonstration and lesson about orangutans in the think tank center. At the National Zoo, the orangutans have a set of cables that they will swing on to get from the ape house to the think tank where researchers study them. They are free to go back and forth as they choose and I found that to be very interesting and a nice way to give the animals some freedom.

When we finished up at the zoo, we went to Ford's Theater, but unfortunately it was sold out and there was a line that seemed like it was a mile long. I don't know if I mentioned it, but there were so many children and people in DC while we were there. It must have been spring break for a lot of kids in the country because everywhere we went, it was packed.

Since we couldn't get into Ford's Theater, we headed to the Tidal Basin to check on the progress of the Cherry Blossoms and take some photos. The blossoms had finally bloomed and they were so beautiful. I just realized I already mentioned the zoo and the cherry blossoms, but since I've written all of this, I'm just going to leave it. I guess it's been so long since I've written I've forgotten what I've written about! So sorry, y'all!

Friday we went to Mount Vernon. We got there a little before noon and our tour was scheduled to start at noon. The weather apps said it was going to be in the high 70s so we wore shorts and y'all, it was freezing! I don't think it got about 50 that day. Other than freezing, the trip was very enjoyable and probably one of my favorite things about our trip. There is so much to see on the estate and they have built a museum and an interactive area that has a lot of short films about George Washington. We spent about five hours there which ended up being perfect because we had dinner reservations at the Mount Vernon Inn at 5:00 p.m.

The dinner was good and the atmosphere was also nice. We had eaten there for lunch when I was a kid and I was glad we were able to do that again. After dinner, we caught the bus back to the metro station and then headed to the condo for out last night in the DC area.