The Fish Fry!

Sandy and family arrived on Thursday night. They have been coming to Nashville the first weekend in October for 4 years now to go to Kid Rock's Fish Fry. This year, Stephanie, Nicky, Butch and I decided to go. 

Oh my gosh! All I can say is the it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to---and I've been to a lot!! Dozens at least. Sandy had prepared us for what to expect. She was concerned that we would be put off about everything. As it turns out, it wasn't any worse than any other concert we've been to. 

Let me start off by saying that pretty much as soon as we arrived, I started to think "I'm getting too old for this." I didn't like that we had to park sort of far away (which turned out to not be all that far). I didn't like that we had to stand up and eat our food. I didn't like that I had to put my wet bottle of water in my purse in order to balance my food. I didn't like that people were smoking. I didn't like that the concert was going to last until 11 p.m. and it was only 6 p.m. I didn't like that it was kind of hot. 

You get the picture. I WAS acting kind of old! Maybe I wasn't old,  just "hangry!" Because once we got our dinner---we had the Cajun catfish sandwich (which was excellent)---I started to feel better. Then, when we got to our seats, I was really happy! Sandy had gotten us seats on the end. I don't like being blocked in. 

Sandy had been preparing us all year for what to expect.

She warned us about:

1. Drunk people. I expected there to be falling down, vomiting drunk people, falling on me---not the case at all. Just the regular amount of drunk people.

2. Pot smoking. I thought it was pretty funny when Steph leaned over and said, "can you smell all the pot?" I said, "yeah, it's a rock concert!" I don't think I've ever been to an outdoor concert that didn't have pot smoking going on.

3. Foul language. Heck, you hear that just about everywhere these days. Yes, Kid Rock has a lot of explicit lyrics. But there's no doubt that you get the message! 

4. Huge crowds. The crowds were not any worse than going to the theater or any place with a lot of people.

5. Long lines. The lines weren't at all long for the food or drinks that we wanted. 

6. High prices. The prices for the food seemed reasonable, but the beers were pretty expensive--$9.00! I paid $5.00 for a bottle of water, but I only needed one so that wasn't so bad.

All in all, it was way better than I expected.

Now for the photos:

Stephanie and Nicky showed up like this---a couple of rednecks! I thought it was hilarious and wanted Nicky to wear the fake wig and tats to the concert. Steph said he'd probably get beat up!

 Stephanie and Nicky rode the Ferris wheel. Sandy said they always have it. It was sure pretty at night.

 Greg, Sandy, Stephanie and Nicky.

Butch and I.

The opening act was George Thorogood. Butch was excited about that-- as he's always loved GT. 

He is and amazing guitar player and put on a really good show. He started at 7:30 and played for an hour.

Next up was Kid Rock. He opened to a fireworks display.

The show was great! There was only one song that I thought was a little too much of a head banger for me. Then there was another song that I liked until it got to the "rift." So basically, I liked all but 1.5 songs! He had 6 wardrobe changes. He used the "F" word about 183 times (only kidding, I didn't really count). It didn't bother me because I know what a good guy he is outside of his stage persona. Another thing I loved was the pictures from when he was young and then when he started out in his career. His bandmate told some really funny stories.

But then we all really loved his tribute to the military. I'm not talking just a minute or two. I'm talking about a whole segment of photos honoring our soldiers and thanking them for their service. He talked about the fact that he gets to do what he does because they do what they do to keep us all free. It was so obvious that he is a major patriot---and we LOVED that! With so many stupid athletes taking a knee, it was refreshing to have someone acknowledge what the military does for us. It was a great way to end the show and included another fireworks display.

Honestly, we all loved it and have plans to go again! High energy and just plain fun!

More to come of their visit as it was a jam packed weekend!

Monday Mystery

How in the world could this happen?

Okay, so we all know that when it rains, we'll see worms on the pavement. Usually they come up because the ground they are in gets waterlogged. Well, that is not the case here.

This worm---which was really long---about 6 inches---so very healthy, was on the pavement outside the movie theater. Now, there is no ground or dirt ANYWHERE! All of this pavement leads to the parking garage or to the right, straight out to the driveway and parking lot of the mall! Besides that, what you see here is raised by about 2 stories. To the left just out of view, is a rail overlooking the lower courtyard---which also has no ground!

I cannot figure out how this worm possibly got here. Maybe it was dropped by a bird or something.

It's a mystery for sure!!

OMGosh! We've had a whirlwind weekend. More about that soon!

Friday Funnies

Our Soon to Be Little Nurse!

Our little Morgan---not so little any more---is graduating from college in December with a BSN in nursing. She sent me this picture yesterday---I had no idea nurses still wore this cap. Actually, they don't, so I guess this is just for the pictures.

 I just can't believe she's all grown up! Last week, when we took her to lunch, I had my first opportunity to see her apartment--even though she's lived there for two years! We just don't go up to Murfreesboro that often. We were supposed to help her move in two years ago, but that's when I broke my ankle. Butch had to go without me. Anyway, considering we called her with a half hours notice, I was impressed.

Her apartment is pretty spacious. Even though it's full of "hand me down" furniture and decorations, it really looks pretty nice.

Okay, maybe a little too much crap on the refrigerator, but then again, she's only 22!

The big dog is Walter. The little white dog is his friend that Morgan was keeping for her friend. But the most interesting thing in this picture is the mounted bass above the front door. Butch caught that bass in 1978 or 1979 when we lived in Louisville. I had finally convinced him it was time to get rid of it as we didn't have a place for it. Morgan wanted it! That made him happy--and me for that matter! I'm always preaching how our kids don't want our stuff. I was surprised that our granddaughter wanted it! She said it's quite a conversation starter! I guess we'll be keeping it in the family for awhile longer. Maybe Mitchell will take it next---it does seem more of a guy thing. But it's Morgan's as long as she wants it!

Her bedroom. My favorite thing here is:
Okay, I give up. My photos are not cooperating---again! After many freezes, I just have to go with them as they are. We'll get to my favorite thing in Morgan's bedroom in a bit.

 was most impressed with her closet. Butch joked that she cleaned it up since we were coming over. I said that there's no way she could have gotten it this organized in a half hour! She just wanted us to see how big it is for an apartment closet!

So now we get to my favorite thing in her bedroom---those vintage cameras! I started that collection for her years ago when she wanted to be a professional photographer. She loved them and looked forward to getting a "new/old" one for her birthday and Christmas. I had fun hunting them for her. They will be a nice addition to any decor she has in the future---even amidst books on a shelf.

Here's her family: Jordan, Nicky, Stephanie and Morgan.

We're so happy to soon have a nurse in the family. We couldn't be more proud of her!

As for us, we're happy to have one more college education down. Just three more to go!!!

What I Buy Wednesday

Well, you might not believe this, but unless you count groceries, I didn't buy anything this week! Nothing, nada, not a thing! I'm sure I'll have a report for next week!

But, it's very likely I'll have a BIG purchase next week! I just dropped my computer down the stairs. Yes, the computer I've already been having problems with. I dropped it from the 3rd step straight on to the hardwood floor. The fact that I'm still able to type here, could be a good sign. But for how long? We'll see!

On another note, I might not have bought anything this week, but someone else bought something for me. Does that count?

Bonnie and Dave sent this:

It's a gift basket with meat, cheese, crackers, nut mix, popcorn mix and a cookie. It was a nice surprise from friends who are now members of the family!

The fact that I was just able to deal with photos and complete this blog post makes me think that maybe the computer drop could have fixed my problems! Ya' think? Nah, that would be too good to be true!

Travel Tuesday

Butch had to take his car in for some warranty work. Since we were going to be in Murfreesboro, we decided to do a little geo-caching. We went back to Canonsburgh (the original name of Murfreesboro) to search for a cache we couldn't find the last time. This time the little village was open so we toured it

It was so interesting and well done. All the furnishings and details you see are original.

 The local telephone operator donated all her furnishings from the turn of the century.

 This was her house.

 The school house.

 The kitchen of the telephone operators house.

 Of course this was much later.

 Butch was talking to the owner. He had his car running and the fumes were overpowering me, so I left!

 This is the car that was running. I guess it was a model T or something.

Anyway, this was a fun little place to tour. All the details are pretty cool. I was most surprised by the fact, that you get to roam around--there are no guards of any kind. Sure there are ropes or rails to keep you out, but it would be really easy to get in if you wanted to steal something. Luckily, we're not thieves!

Oh, and by the way, we didn't find the cache this time either! Butch ended up going back a third time while I was scrapbooking last week. and finally found it! It was under the bridge. Not a really good place for it since it was all wet from rising water! Butch is an expert geo-cacher---he's found more than 2000! He didn't look under the bridge because he said no one would put one there because it could get wet! Well, now he knows that not everyone thinks like he does!

Monday Mystery

Last week, I was sitting in the family room and saw something big out of the corner of my eye---outside. BIG! Really BIG! So I got up to look out the window and saw it again! BIG I tell you! I was inside the house and it made me yelp and jump back! It was fast. I tiptoed in to the kitchen and there it was, just as BIG as you please, sitting on top of the roof. I was able to snap a picture:

 This is standing back in the family room, looking through the kitchen window.

The picture is not all that great, but I was afraid to get any closer, lest A. It would fly off and B. well, I just didn't want to get any closer in case it could attack me through the window!

It's a black vulture! Those things are huge---HUGE!

Here's a close up picture I pulled off the internet. It's 25" long and has a wingspan of 5.5 ft. Yeah, that's what I saw!

Now you know why I freaked! They feed on carcasses of dead animals. That made me wonder what died on the patio that attracted it! No way was I going out there!

It will remain a mystery.

Perhaps it was after my fish like what happened a few years ago:
You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up!