Ketchup!! or Catch-up!!

Good morning from Pleasant View, TN!!! It certainly is a pleasant view out my bedroom window!! The sun is shining, the sky is beautifully blue, and it is cold!! I am so excited that we haven't had any rain for the past two days!! I would really like to know how many inches we have gotten total since the beginning of September. It is a cool and crisp 48 degrees, and inside the house, it isn't much warmer!!! My inside thermostat says 60 degrees, which is a good temperature for sleeping but not much else!! Luckily, the gas people are coming today to turn my heat on!!!

So today's blog is going to start way back at the first of September when my Dad and Patty came for a Labor Day weekend visit. They live out in LA, and this was Patty's first visit to the Nashville area, so we did some touristy stuff. There are pics from our trip to the Ryman Auditorium and some from our visit to my aunt and uncle's farm. We also went on something called Duck Boat Tours. No pictures from that, but I will post the website for your viewing pleasure. Ok, so let's start with the Ryman....
Here is Patty, on stage, at the Ryman for a great photo op!

Another one of Daddy and Patty in front of the stage at the Ryman Auditorium

Everyone wants to take their picture with Minnie Pearl!!

We went on the backstage tour also, and we had an older lady who was a very colorful guide on our tour. She told us lots of stories about what it was like back then!! She said she remembers standing in line for hours outside of the Ryman waiting for tickets for that nights show! I sometimes wish I could time travel back to that period of time just for a few hours and experience what life was like back then. That same day, we walked up and down Broadway where most of the legendary bars are located. We ate some BBQ on top of Rippy's, which is a bar and grill that has upstairs outdoor seating. It was so nice to be outside and have an elevated view of downtown. We wanted to pass a little time before our Duck Boat Tour, so we walked down to 2nd Avenue and went in Buck Wild which has karaoke! It was fun, but just a little loud!! We finally got to go on the Duck Boat Tour at around 5 that afternoon. The DUK boat was used in WW2 and many cities have them being used as tour vessels. It is called DUK because it goes over land and in water, although I wouldn't want to travel very far in the water, because it doesn't go fast... at all!! Here is the website, for more information. http://www.nashvilleducktours.com/

The next day we had church and then went for a visit to Uncle James and Aunt Evelyn's farm. Here are pictures from that day....

Patty being given the tour of the back 40/garden.

Patty and Leah, the milk cow

Patty on a very old tractor which belonged to Uncle James's dad.

Patty lovin' the John Deere!

We all had a great time while they were here, and I am looking forward to going out to LA for Thanksgiving to meet the rest of my "new" family.

The next off weekend I had my sister Misha down for a visit. This was another first timer, so we did some touristy stuff, but unfortunately, she took all the pictures, and I have no idea when I will ever see them. My friend, Leslie came up for a visit on my next weekend, and there are no pictures as proof!! I always forget to take or use the camera!! This brings me to my next set of pictures, which we will call The Incident...

I had a run-in with a deer, and we both won. He won because he did damage, and I won because he didn't do much damage!! I don't think it killed him, because I didn't see a corpse, but I imagine he had an awful headache. Here's more....

The next week, I went to the All For the Hall Benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame with Cara. We got to see Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Little Big Town, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Faith Hill, and Taylor Swift all at the same concert!! It was pretty awesome for just $25!! Here is a picture of Cara and I waiting for the concert to begin...

And finally, this weekend, my Mom came for a visit! We had a blast as always, and we love to shop, so we did... a lot!! We were both worn out when we got home every evening! On Saturday night, my Sunday school class had an activity planned called Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and my Mom participated with me. A brief summary of the activity is a family signs up to either be guests or hosts, and everyone is paired up. However, the guests only have an address and so they don't know whose house they are going to, and the hosts have a number of people attending, but don't know who's coming to dinner! It is really fun. We went to Meredith's house, and I brought my camera, so here are some pics from that night...

L-R Me, Meredith, Tonya, Adam, and Rachel

Mom, Me, and Meredith

So there you go, it has been a very busy couple of months, and I don't see it slowing down anytime soon. I hope everyone is keeping warm and having a great week!! Love to all, and until next time, Be BLESSED!!! S