Weekend | dual personalities

Postcards from Nashville

by chuckofish

Nashville. as you know, is a very swinging place and always fun to visit. We stayed downtown this weekend so we could walk everywhere.

Friday afternoon we staked out good seats at a bar in sight of the river and people watched. We were amazed by the huge amount of bachelorette parties, i.e. groups of young women in matching tank tops sporting some cute bachelorette-themed saying, short shorts and cowboy boots. Ahem. (There were also large groups of young men–not wearing matching shirts.) The main attraction looked alarmingly like someone we know:

From there we moved on to the Wildhorse Saloon, which although huge, is not so loud and intense.

The crowd is more middle-aged and the line-dancing lessons are a spectacle in themselves.

The next day we walked around town and over the river for a good view of the city.

We checked out the Johnny Cash Museum and were very impressed.

We had lunch at the Ryman…

…and generally had a lot of fun reacquainting ourselves with Music City. Eventually we had to go back to our hotel to get gussied up for the wedding.

We did not look like this for long, as it was pretty warm in the airplane hangar in hipster East Nashville where the wedding reception was held.

Don’t worry, we stayed hydrated.

The parents of the groom had rented an RV, which was parked out back to be used by a select few to cool off, which we did.

Despite the heat, it was so much fun! And the bride and groom were lovely…

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Thankfully, the OM did not burn down the house, but held the fort while we were gone and rested up. We made it home in time to enjoy our usual Sunday night barbecue with the wee babes and their parents.

Little Miss Lottie is so focused! She loves her vintage figures…

The wee laddie not so much…he is a wind-up toy!

Well, I definitely needed a day to recover, but no way, José!

Have a good week!

6 Comments

May 25, 2018

“Well, come see a fat old man some time!”*

by chuckofish

I am so ready for a three-day weekend! Quelle busy week leading up to it, of course. Phew.

Daughter #1 stopped at home last night on her way to Indianapolis and a fun reunion with her college pals. She will stop in on the way back on Monday. My other plans include babysitting for the wee babes for a few hours on Saturday (probably by myself, since the OM is under the weather)…

and then recovering from that activity by binge-watching John Wayne movies.

Screen Shot 2018-05-24 at 11.35.03 AM.png It is the Duke’s birthday tomorrow, so TCM is showing a whole bunch of his WWII movies:

Screen Shot 2018-05-23 at 8.49.25 AM.png I also have plenty of my own, thank you, so I can pick and choose.

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Sounds like a mighty good plan to me.

Have a good weekend!

[My DP is in England visiting her in-laws for a few weeks, so we won’t be hearing from her until she returns stateside.]

*Rooster Cogburn, True Grit (1969)

4 Comments

May 21, 2018

“Come down, O Love divine, seek thou this soul of mine”*

by chuckofish

On Saturday I got up early and headed to Queeny Park for the March of Dimes March for Babies walk.

By the end of the morning little Lottiebelle was over it…

but the wee laddie was raring to go.

I was done in myself, but found the energy to hit three estate sales afterwards. I got a couple of old silver frames.

The rest of the day I spent puttering around and catching up with daughter #2 on the phone. We went out to dinner with old friends and gabbed away, and were home before cool people even head out on a Saturday night. I fell asleep watching an old movie.

It was Pentecost on Sunday, so the service was longer than usual and jazzed up with a brass quartet, plus we also recognized the high school/college graduates and Sunday School teachers, renewed our baptismal vows and heard all about the 18th century chasuble that our rector was wearing. The man who was the boy’s small group leader when he was active in K-Life back in middle school and who is now a chaplain at the Episcopal City Mission talked at the adult forum and made an announcement in church. It was nice to catch up with him after the service. He is married now and has four kids under the age of 10. Time flies.

After church I returned to one of the estate sales to check out what was left and half price. The dudes who direct the traffic at these particular sales, helped me wedge my Mini into a tiny spot right in front after they removed the cones for me. It was raining and I was grateful that chivalry is not dead. Plus I found a couple of things to put away for gifts. Score.

The wee babes and their parents came over as usual on Sunday night, so it was a bonus weekend for me, getting to see them twice.

And now back to the salt mine. Have a blessed day!

*Hymn 516

4 Comments

May 18, 2018

We can laugh about it now

by chuckofish

Friday at last. Phew. Yesterday I was involved in a little fender-bender on the way to work about two blocks from my house. No big deal, but it still threw me for a loop. It is jarring to have to deal with the Polizei so early in the day. I think I actually told the OM that “it’ll buff right out” when I called him.

I do have some good news: I found Season 3 of The Detectorists on Acorn! This is the British show about Andy and Lance, friends who share a passion for metal detecting and the hope that they will make an important historical find.

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It won Best Comedy at the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2018 for season three, but writer, director and star of the show Mackenzie Crook says that there won’t be another season. C’est la vie. I’ll enjoy watching season three this weekend.

On Saturday we will walk with team wee babes in the “March for Babies” March of Dimes walk.

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Last year we were rained out, so this will be our first such event. Should be special.

There are also a couple of good estate sales to check out and I will engage in my usual puttering around the house. Sounds like a plan.

And, hey, the sermon in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding this Saturday will be delivered by The Most Reverend Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. This is cool. I have heard the Very Rev. Mr. Curry preach and he is, indeed, a good preacher who is not embarrassed by the name of JESUS. But I won’t be watching, because, really, I could care less about royal weddings, even Anglican ones. Perhaps many millions of people will watch and hear a good Anglican service and hear some good hymns and that is a good thing. No doubt about it.

But this was very interesting.

Have a good weekend!

4 Comments

May 14, 2018

Simple pleasures

by chuckofish

What a weekend! No mother could ask for more (except for all three of her children to be home!) than a weekend filled with all my favorite things: Doris Day, estate sales, lunch out, mani-pedis, the wee babes, wonderful gift bags of treats from all three daughters, barbecued hamburgers/hotdogs, margaritas, spinning tunes in the Florida room, someone accompanying me to church, and brunch out with mimosas. Sigh.

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BTW, I was not the only one to get presents. I gave little Lottie a shopping cart to push around because she likes a push toy better than anything and because she likes shopping. I mean the girl gets a new pair of shoes every week. (Note the gold gladiator sandals she is working here.) The shopping cart is also perfect for piling vintage toys in.

The twins are clearly musical geniuses.

And this quote from daughter #2 on her Instagram page was the cherry on the proverbial sundae:

“When I was learning why the sun rose and the moon set, how the flowers grew and the rain fell, that God and heaven and art and letters existed, that it was intelligent to say one’s prayers, and that well-bred children never told a lie, I learned that a mother can be strong and still sweet, and sweet although she is strong; and that she whom the world and her children both have need of, is of more value to each, for this reason.” — Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

My cup runneth over yet again.

4 Comments

May 7, 2018

Sing a song of sixpence

by chuckofish

How was your weekend? Mine flew by. I was busy, busy with a social event, estate sale-ing, church–the usual–culminating with the wee babes’ visit on Sunday night.

We played in the grass.

The wee laddie polished his soccer skills, while little Lottie practiced walking…

They have mad skills. We had tacos and everyone was happy. The wee laddie liked his new engineer OshKosh overalls. Loose and unbinding–don’t we all wish we could wear them?

After they all went home, we had a thunderstorm. Life is good.

And, by the way, how about jockey Mike Smith, the oldest rider in the field at 52 years old, winning the Kentucky Derby this year on Justify. Impressive. Also, I was glad to hear him thank his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ first thing after the win.

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AP photo

Let us go forth into the world,
rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.

4 Comments

May 4, 2018

“Ah, but I was so much older then; I’m younger than that now.”*

by chuckofish

Do you have one of those friends who is always sending you jokes and strange pictures of nature from the internet? Well, I do too. Here is something he sent me that Will Rogers

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allegedly said about growing older …

1. Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.

2. The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

3. Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me. I want people to know ‘why’ I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way, and some of the roads weren’t paved.

4. When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth, think of algebra …

5. You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.

6. I don’t know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

7. One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it’s such a nice change from being young.

8. One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.

9. Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable and relaxed.

10. Long ago, when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it’s called golf.

He makes some good points I think. Food for thought anyway.

This weekend I am going to go with “comfortable and relaxed.” I may go to an auction or I may stick to estate sales. I may clean the garage. Also, lest I forget, Pottery Barn is delivering a new sofa for our den on Saturday, so that will generate/necessitate some activity in that room. I do not buy “new” furniture very often, so comme c’est excitant!

Tonight is the preview party for the Print Fair at the Mercantile Library here in town.

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Old books, prints, wine, a silent auction–my kind of fun. On the other hand, the OM’s 45th high school reunion is this weekend, but I am begging off. I prefer to be comfortable and relaxed at home. Of course we’re never too chill to see the wee babes and their parents!

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And is there anything better than a picture of these two guys together?

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I think not. (Thanks to the @johnwayneofficial Instagram page.)

Have a good weekend!

*Bob Dylan, “My Back Pages”

4 Comments

April 30, 2018

“Abide in me as I abide in you.”*

by chuckofish

I stood on chairs this weekend and put things away in closets (not preserves and without the help of a maid). I also assisted the OM in replacing the old hose which had connected the dryer to the dryer vent. That was quite a job and took quite a while, not to mention quite a bit of cursing (which worsened as the task lengthened) to accomplish. The result is certainly not perfect and there is still electrical tape involved, but it works and I caught up on laundry.

I did some reorganizing in my kitchen. Our friend Gary came over on Friday and took out our old non-functioning trash compactor and built in its place a shelf/cabinet in which to put our toaster oven, blender and other infrequently used appliances.

A big improvement!

I went to an estate sale at the home of a man who had rowed crew at Yale back in the day. I bought a watercolor of the Yale Crew team,

which I like a lot and which reminds me of my old friend Tom Mendenhall. (Hard to take a picture of it though.)

I also got a box together to send daughter #2 containing things she forgot to take back with her last weekend and a few other goodies.

I got out the ironing board and did some actual ironing…It is now linen season and all that entails. Ironing is not one of my favorite things, but it can be restful if you listen to some good music and don’t rush.

After church I took a walk around the neighborhood to enjoy the beautiful spring day.

I gabbed on the phone with my daughters and the wee babes and their parents came over for a barbecue. It wasn’t the same as last weekend, but I am very grateful nonetheless.

Send us now into the world in peace, and grant us strength and courage to love and serve you with gladness and singleness of heart, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have a good week!

*John 15: 4

3 Comments

April 27, 2018

Keep your eyes open

by chuckofish

First of all, a hearty happy birthday to one of our favorites, U.S. Grant–or Cousin Lyss as we like to call him. Born in 1822, he would be 196 today. I think his 200th birthday in 2022 calls for a big blow-out party. Let’s put that one on the calendar!

I have to say, I was struck once again, when my DP posted a picture of our dear brother a few days ago,

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how much he resembles our old cousin.

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I mean really. Personally I think the wee laddie is headed in that genetic direction as well.

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Time will tell…

And it’s Friday again. The weekend looms; the weather forecast is promising. Although it has been delayed several weeks, I think spring is finally here in flyover-land. The signs are everywhere!

My weekend plans have not jelled yet, and that’s okay. After last weekend’s full schedule, I am ready for some down time. It is really just a matter of choosing the wine and the movie to match, right?

And I love these guys:

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They get it.

9 Comments

April 23, 2018

Where’s the action? Where’s the game?*

by chuckofish

My birthday weekend (shared with daughter #2 who turned 28 last weekend) was so fun, starting with our traditional margaritas on the way home from the airport.

Over the three day weekend we managed to fit in trips to the botanical garden and Grant’s Farm, lunch out and Ted Drewe’s, a night at the Sheldon with a red hot bluegrass band, plus three visits with the wee babes. We also watched Guys and Dolls (1955)! I even managed to squeeze in church–albeit the 8:00 a.m. service where I saw people I hadn’t seen in years!