Strang'n Beans

So this weekend has been busy - the norm of late...

Today I decided I needed to see my mom, so I went to "The Burg" this morning and hung out awhile and helped snap beans for mom's canning-mania. Mom has this old 1950's pressure-canner and about 4 billion mason jars - and I think she uses all of them every fall. Mom picked the beans yesterday from the garden. I wrote about "Stick'n the Beans" back on July 1st.

I was only there a few hours, but by the time I left I had managed to assist in producing 5 quart jars full of beans for mom to can, eat my fill of momma food and prune my fingers within an inch of their lives....

Mom planted red beans, turkey-craws, and rattlesnake beans. As you can see above, there was some more color in my week!

Yes, I wasted time taking pictures and that made mom laugh a bit. She was laughing at my mania...

Just as a side note, I got to see low lying clouds on the drive to the Burg and while we were snapping those beans a large doe showed up to graze in the yard. I managed to snap a photo of her without completely spooking her...

I cooked up some fresh beans tonight...

My Week in Pictures; Color of Another Sort

This last week has been a busy, yet interesting week.

Sunday was a music celebration at Stoney Stonecipher's home. Probably about 18 musicians, 2 Jordanaires and probably 30 family and friends as guests. The music was really good. Quite a few were very accomplished professionals.  Many, if not most, of the pickers have weathered the unexpected loss of two beloved fellow musicians last month. I think the untimely passing of the two men might be driving folks to reach out to one another. 

Behind us was a small ranch with horses that seemed to delight in the children as much as the children delighted in the horses!

After the celebration I went with a friend to eat at the great new "Taste of Thai" restaurant location in Knoxville off North Peters road. 

On the menu, then on the table was pink lemonade and Tom Kha soup

Pink Lemonade

Tom Kha Chicken Soup

While waiting on the server, I caught this photo:

Ha, you can just catch the grease from car brakes there...

On the surface it seems to be a simple photo of just hands with a phone. But when I snapped it, I realized what was captured in color was pure talent. These hands have made music with the top original Bluegrass music artists ever. This pair of hands translate into action the thoughts of an accomplished professional aviator and musician, plus a self taught wood worker and mechanic. If you missed reading about "Old Blue", you can read about her Here, then you will know a little about the truck which is now restored to running perfection... 

The work week was CrAzY. Wednesday morning several of us rode together to a meeting a couple of hours away. The morning brought us this spectacular view of the sky. This is good since I'm no morning person. I do not like anyone before noon as a rule...

Lunch included one attendees ability to build a dessert that caused be to drool:

Ice cream sundae

A couple of us took a drive while waiting and I thought this view was cool:

Tunnel

Prevailing theme of my busy week is color.  It was full of color.
Colorful food.
Colorful lights.
Colorful skies.
Colorful drivers.
And unfortunately, from me, colorful language.....

My Week in Pictures

I don't have a lot to say of late.

Ok, we'll, that isn't exactly true.

I have plenty to say but nothin that should ever make it from my mind to pen and paper.

Evidence you know! "what can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. ~Christopher Hitchens

I particularly liked my outfit this day.

 

My spaghetti squash is growing! 

 

My riding companions are cute. And quiet...  Good little Wellington Duck smells great!

I cleaned my car. Finally. 
 

Who knew $3.09 would be exciting?  

 

Or Cheetos? 

 

Ritz

AND Proof People are stupid.

 

Went spelunking in the old garage (for real garage) yesterday...

8 years of neglect....



Retro Starburst  wall clock

Old saddle bag, old hanging light, old block/tackle, old....

No filter on the view at the river.

 

These were good shots from phone!

Spanking Good, Spanx Bad...........

Spanking can be Good.

Spanx can be Bad.

Yea, so I'm still gaining weight. A month ago I wrote about how I had put on a few pounds in "136#-109#-150#-What?".

I really thought at that point I had plateaued when I blogged about my new weight odyssey back on May 30th.

I was wrong.

Flash forward 30-some-odd days and I sit before you at 165 big old pounds.

 

Yep...

So there seems to be no end in sight to this great expansion.

Chocolate Chip Frappe' @ 760 cal

 
Why?

I'm still drinking liquid crack from McDonalds's  

and CrackBucks.    

Iced Caramel Macchiato with Whole
Milk add Whip @ >500

Daily.

I bought spanx y'all.....  I don't like them.

This is how I felt...

It is time to take control... Check Thyroid. Cut down on the liquid crack....

Daytime Romping and the Midnight Jamboree

It seems like lately I have a booked solid "dance card" every weekend.  There are so many obligations, chores, things to tend to and - finally - some fun....

Friday night was the show at the Norris Community Building in Norris Tennessee.  Read about that here. Mom came with and spent the night so she would not have to drive.  This is good.


Saturday morning I put together the Fowur-Bazillion Bean Salad for Sunday's family reunion at Frozen Head State Natural Area.  Then off to the Midnight Jamboree at the Earnest Tubb Record Shop / Texas Troubadour Theater in Nashville Tennessee.

We got to Nashville in the afternoon, just in time for me to realize I've only been there a few times and I SHOULD have done my research because there is A LOT there to see and do.  I did NO prep-work so I had no idea where to go for anything except the jamboree and to sleep.

What I did see:

The Parthanon in Centennial Park

Engine #576 in service 1851-1957

Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway Steam Engine
Centennial Park itself (duh)

Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop (wooooooah babeeeee)










Tazza for supper, and it was better than I expected.

Nashville has skyline and buildings galore!

I know it is hard to believe right now, but I am fairly well traveled.... Germany, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Austria, Netherlands, Luxembourg.....  But not Nashville....

Justin Trevino was the headliner at the Midnight Jamboree radio show. The man can sing.
Pure Country. Listen to  "Take One as Needed for Pain".  And, if you ever find yourself in NashVegas on a Saturday night, and you like REAL Country music, stop by the Record Shop there at midnight and catch a free show during the weekly radio broadcast. If you can't go but like the music, tune in Saturday night for the live show here.

I will be going back and doing a better job at being a tourist...