Tag: Wine

Our Day out in Hendersonville, TN: Sam’s Club Run, First Watch Brunch, and Yazoo Brewery

On By BackporchwriterIn Brewery, Food, Nashville, Restaurants4 Comments

George and I had a meeting in Hendersonville with our financial advisor and as we do, we like to hit other things in the area – usually favorite shops, a brewery, a favorite liquor store for our wine and happy hour stash, and of course trying new or old favorite restaurants.

Yesterday, much to my surprise, George did NOT have a line up for us. And I got busy and also used to him planning things, so I didn’t really think much of it other than – “we’ll pick a place for lunch, hit a brewery, and Sam’s”. I think we both strongly desired to hit Sam’s Club. So we really ONLY had decided on Sam’s and the rest was up in the air. Totally not like us to not have a scripted plan of order – you know how we plan – and you know how we check off our lists. lol

So the meeting went well and we are thankful with all going on that we didn’t have to take off work or a vacation day for this meeting. As you know our life is a little crazy right now trying to fit it all in with the time we have. All the numbers are looking good for me to retire at 62 and George at 65. He’s three years older and we will retire at the same time. I can’t believe it is so close. In my side bar (or at the bottom, I think if you are on iPhone/iPad) I have a ticker saying how long it will be. Right now it’s 3.2 years away. 😉

After the meeting we went to this liquor/wine store in Hendersonville called Pour Vous and we got there just in time for the Saturday 1:00 wine tasting. We tasted 4 wines and bought one of them. The lady behind the counter was bubbly and talkative and very enthusiastic and also gave generous pours, lol.

Then we went to the restaurant pictured above “First Watch” also in Hendersonville, TN (laughing at the couple intently on their phones). That couple could be us except I’m probably just taking pictures of everything. lol

OH MY GOSH! I absolutely loved this restaurant! Loved the food and the vibe. We even had a mini brunch drink with our meal.

While there, I took pics of some of the wood for phone wallpapers. I’ve been looking for a good one for the fall backgrounds. You can snag them if you would like.

I’m using the 2nd one I posted right now. I love wood. I don’t know why but I love natural colors and textures and not so much a glass type of person like my Mom. She loves ritzy bling and glassware and shiny things. I like rustic but I do love the look of lace against wood. Anyway here is my first two “phone pages” of apps with this background. I’m pretty fond of decorating my phone since I’m on it so much!

Afterwards, George and I went to Sam’s Club. And do you know how entertaining this was? lol lol We had a blast. First of all, all the sample people were there! Yay! It was a VERY COSTLY entertainment though. I think this was a $497 excursion. However, George picked two pair of jeans, underwear, and socks for me to wrap up for Christmas. He also bought all kinds of vitamins, supplements, deodorant and soap. I bought a big huge thing of laundry detergent, a bunch of Dove hand soaps, multiple tomato basil spaghetti sauces, multiple cans of chopped tomatoes. We bought olive oil, bubble waters, mega amounts of crackers for the holidays, a bottle of Quilt Wine which was only $29.99 for the holidays (used to be about $44) and Katy and I have a story about our $80 purchase of Quilt in San Antonio. Friend Lauren had suggested this wine once when I was in Oregon – didn’t get to have it in Oregon but bought it when we got home and have loved the complexity of the flavors. (Good call Lauren). So the Quilt just brings back some memories and laughter and is a special occasion wine- for us anyway.

I texted Katy that we have Quilt Wine, so she must come for Christmas!

So back to Sam’s, we bought all kinds of meats, that were on the bottom there – chicken, pork of all kinds, and you know – I think we didn’t buy any beef. It was very expensive, but we did buy lamb. Lamb was cheaper than normal as was the chicken. We bought like 10 chicken thighs in a huge pack for $5 and then separated them into two packs when we got home.

We bought enchiladas for dinner that were already made and just ready to be cooked. I bought a big thing of pimento and cheese for $5 b/c it’s about that much in the store for a small one. And I bought “loaded potato salad” already made b/c I knew Mom would love eating off of it this week. I also bought a couple of salad kits.

George bought some sushi. And we bought Mom some of her Welches bubbly drinks that are popular this time of year. She’s asked for them for over a month but no one has had them. Well Sam’s did and we bought the red and white and apple cider so she has enough to last til summer of next year, lol.

Also we bought her some of those good frozen hamburgers which they had not had last time. You just microwave them but they taste like a burger out somewhere. They are Angus and so good. We are hoping this helps Mom with her burger cravings as she is not driving up here to leave and go get them. No burgers are not good for you, but when your 77 year old Mom asks for one, you provide. She has not been asking for much, so I try to think of things that will make her happy while she is here for these last few weeks. Their shelves were VERY WELL stocked, unlike our grocery stores. We also bought River a toy/book. So we may have to go to Sam’s sometimes and get her the chicken she likes from there as well as her burgers, lol. Anyway needless to say we stocked up!

We packed and loaded the car with all the Sam’s treasures and packed everything in two coolers with ice. Then went to Yazoo and had a beer and headed home. I got the flight. We enjoyed the outside at 65 degrees but as the sun went lower in the sky and the shade and hefty breeze took over, we retreated indoors. Happy that the tables were spread out.

It looks like a lot when you get these flights. I think it was equivalent to a couple of beers. But I like getting the variety of flavors. And I really find I enjoy a couple of IPA ones now – even the crazy and hazy ones. lol.

So we went home and unloaded into the various freezers and fridges, lol. Mom’s freezer is in the basement and while we have eaten well and eaten a lot out of her big freezer and our medium size one, and our normal freezer that is in the fridge and also we have another fridge downstairs that we keep overflow in that also has a freezer. We are well stocked for a long long time. We keep eating but we keep restocking with good deals when we see them because we keep hearing the prices will soar or that things won’t be available. So I feel good about our finds. It would not have been so expensive if we were not also Christmas shopping.

And then when we got home, I had this wonderful card from Terri, a blog buddy from across the years. This was so sweet and just warmed my heart. Thank you Terri for your kind words inside!

When you get something like this, just because, it just makes you have faith in human kind again. To know people genuinely care enough to address, stamp, and mail a card! It made my day and my day was special too already. So thank you again Terri! I will repay your kindness!

So today….after this blog, I’m showering, heading to the store, and making Chicken Rotel Spaghetti Casserole – I know we had the big Sam’s run but I need Rotel and Velveeta particularly for this recipe. George was fixing a roast for tonight and me the Rotel casserole tomorrow night. But we bought a rotisserie chicken at Sam’s for me to slice up for the chicken. We figured we should let me do that since the chicken was already cooked. Oh and Mom has a few things on the list too that she needs so need to go to the regular grocery store and I can’t seem to find little Dr. Peppers so I may have to get big ones for her.

I also have to finish laundry, change George’s sheets, iron, reset my vitamins for the week, and vacuum, clean bathrooms, and such. I hope to find a bit of time for doing things on my agenda but we’ll see. I’ve already done my devo for the day. I do that every morning with coffee – prayer journal and devo in my chair corner of course. I look forward to it every morning. I do admit that sometimes I wish I could dive into the blog but I’ve made myself put God first. And it’s been a good habit, and the best habit of the year I think.

So I will probably be back in the morning and post pics of anything today. I can’t believe how fast a weekend goes by. I’m going to leave you with Fancy girl, who has been a real sweetheart during her stay. She is very much my Mom’s girl. She doesn’t want to leave her side. A very loyal dog. But lately she has taken to 1) Getting more excited when we come home from work, which I take to mean she has accepted us as part of her “pack” 2) Going outside with me instead of having to have Mom there too 3) Coming to check on me and say hi at various times of the day. I’ve been giving her more food off my plate, saving her bites, and making sure her water bowl is filled at times. I think she has noticed and has started to appreciate me a little, lol. She is sweet so I’m leaving you with her pic today. Oh I just noticed you can see Mom’s reflection in the window there. Oh well.

Concert, Dinner and Shopping in Franklin, TN and other July 4th Weekend Activities!

On By BackporchwriterIn Uncategorized5 Comments
Gabes, Franklin, TN near Cool Springs Mall

Saturday afternoon, we began excursion #2 of the day. We went by Gabes, the Cool Springs discount store. It was a LOT busier than in January when we went. Matter of fact, just people in your way a little more than you wanted. The isles are small and with a buggy two people can’t go down them well. But we got through the maze. I bought a couple of clothing pieces. I had my cart stacked with pants to try on as I just knew the fitting rooms would be open. But no, they lost some sales since I could not try on clothes. I mean…really? At this point they need to be open!!

I am going to put a “pants buying” mission on the calendar so I can get a shopping day for this. I also could use a few summer pieces for week since I have gained weight again and had given away all my large sizes. Ugh! I need to go the other direction. It’s always a battle on a normal basis, but give us a year like last year and then like this year – and we are having to eat horribly on the go, fast food and such. Plus Mom eats a lot of fattening type foods (white bread, not whole grain, a lot of burgers, regular pasta and not whole grain, fried foods, etc.) and we end up eating it too. For example, I gave up chips but those are back in the house. A huge temptation for me. So once I get myself a bit settled, I need to go back to working on my weight. ::sigh:: Once I lose again, I have two big containers of clothes waiting on me!

So I only have the two pair of jean capris for summer and really need at least ONE more pair to avoid having to do extra darks. Anyway, at Gabes, I bought a lot of the pump hand soap. We go through that pretty fast and I like to buy different kinds. I buy those face wash towelettes and I bought a bunch of those and some cosmetic items. It’s “the hunt” and the “good buys” that are fun to find.

The Bottle Shop, Franklin, TN

George got a gift card to the Bottle shop. I think it was for letting Katy and Cody have his car for a week. So we went and picked out a few things from there. It’s just a great place for finding a few special bottles of wine with good prices. They also have a few liquor items and also craft beer that you can take home in growlers. We never do though as we are usually doing other things and not going straight home. They also have a little gift section, including cards.

The Bottle Shop, Franklin, TNG
Gift card from the gift shop section, The Bottle Shop, Franklin, TNG
Gamay, a French Wine we love, The Bottle Shop, Franklin

You may have heard me talk about Gamay before. We had bought this and really liked it. I kept it in my photos for a long time so we could buy another one. And then I didn’t find it again, and finally just erased the photo. Now I found it! lol

We then had just enough time to get to our 5:30 reservations at Americana Taphouse. I picked this restaurant as the others nearby, Gray’s, 55 South, and a few others were just a little more pricey than I really thought we should spend right now. Instead $25 to $35 for an entre plate plus ala carte for everything you add, I was looking for $15 to $24 ish. We always add drinks, sometimes an appetizer or salad anyway. So “the price was right” at this restaurant. I had fish and chips and added a Caesar salad.

Americana Taphouse, Franklin, TN

As six o’clock approached, more people began arriving and the place was almost entirely full by the time we left. Note to self: five-thirty is an excellent time to eat dinner out around these parts!

Americana Taphouse, Franklin, TN

The Americana Taphouse is still owned by Puckets. It’s no longer Pucket’s Boathouse. It was hard to keep fresh seafood coming in and they flipped it around to be more accommodating for what they could resource. So it’s kinda like REALLY GOOD pub food, but with a few extra Nashville like flairs, like George’s Hot Chicken PBLT – Pimiento, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato sandwich. They also had fish tacos. I almost had that, but I really wanted the cod (fish and chips). It was all really good!

I would have taken a pic of the food but we were so deep in conversation about a few things and having a great time talking so I didn’t even think about it.

Paleta de Mango Kolsch, Americana Taphouse, Franklin, TN
Franklin on Main, Downtown Franklin District, EST 1799
Savory Spice Shop, Franklin, TN

Shopping on Main Street in Franklin is quite fun. Best to go before night time as many shops close, and even some were closed for the 4th weekend. Some are family owned type of shops, so anything goes. But some chose to be open. This spice store, The Savory Spice Shop, was open. We bought some pork chop seasoning and some dried shallots. They are very attentive and will let you try anything as long as they open it for you and give you the sample. A great little place!

East Main, Franklin, TN

“Oops! We have time left over, we shopped all around, what we gonna do now?”

“Well, there is little Wine Bar down the street? Wanna sip a glass of wine til concert time?”

JJ’s Wine Bar, Franklin, TN

The wine bar inside was calm, dimly lit, and quiet. Honestly, it was really really nice! The outside vibe was sunny with laughter and conversation. We chose the quiet spot with air conditioning, lol. We enjoyed picking the wine from the menu. I chose a French wine and we sipped, talked, and also sat some in quietness, checked phones, etc. We had an hour after all, so we could do it all. The bathrooms were nice. It was a converted old house and in the bathroom you could see the “charm” of the old house. It gave me a quick desire to “redo an old house” but then I thought of my age and quickly changed my mind. I just love to decorate is all. And it would be fun to decorate an old house into a comfort zone mixture of lace and wood. I’d have to give up my beach vibe rooms. Ahh, fun to dream but, enhhhh, probably more fun to just travel and decorate a cottage up if I ever did have to move again or RV’d with a little cottage base. (hint hint). Not gonna happen, but fun to dream.

Then on to the Franklin Theatre where our concert would be. Often I end up way behind George. He thinks I’m with him and I’ve stopped to take a pic. He looks around often though, he’s used to it. He’ll discover I’m not by him and I’m somewhere behind taking pics. I noticed my iPhone was not taking good pics also – I think I changed the settings back when River was here. I adjusted it a bit to get some type of photo and I guess never changed it back. I changed it back yesterday and it should be set to take more pics and adjust itself to the lighting. Either that or Apple’s done something with an update to make it worse where you will want the next new phone, lol. They wouldn’t do that really would they? Wait didn’t they do something to the battery life so you’d you buy the next one? I think they admitted that one didn’t they? If you know, let me know.

Gray’s on Main, Franklin, TN
George and Sonya, headed to see Striking Matches, Franklin, TN

Absolutely LOVED and enjoyed the Striking Matches concert. We had seen them years ago at Third and Lindsley. George bought their 3 CD’s Morning, Noon, and Night. And we got to meet them. What a treat!

A horrible and tired picture of me with half styled hair and not a lot of makeup or glam! But what a surprise! Was happy to have my picture taken with such talented folks that I’ve listened to for a long time. They have a YouTube Channel that they post some of their songs on. Just look for Striking Matches wherever you listen to your music.

These two met at Belmont and were thrown together in class to do a collaboration and what a collaboration it was! It’s funny how things come to be. Love watching them perform.

So we got home about 11:30 as we had to drive about 45 to an hour back to Mount Juliet. Bed felt good. I had clean sheets as I had changed them a bit earlier Saturday afternoon.

Sunday morning, I got up to get dressed for church so we could head out. George informed me that Mom had changed her mind and didn’t want to go and was fixing breakfast instead. So I grabbed a cup of coffee and breakfast was ready. Mom said we were out so late she thought it was best to stay home. I told her it wasn’t a problem that we were prepared to go as I had gotten up to get dressed. Then she said really the main reason was that she was hungry as she did not eat much the night before since we were gone.

So with breakfast on the table and the surprise last minute change of her plans, we didn’t go to church. I did my devo as I do EVERY day, not just on Sunday. And I guess we’ll see what next week brings. lol

So with not spending half a day out going to church, it opened up the morning. And I was able to take a walk after breakfast. I ate breakfast before I was really hungry. I usually wait til I’m hungry before eating. Anyway, didn’t want to be rude so I ate and then went for a walk to walk off dinner and breakfast.

The walk was nice.

We have some cherry tomatoes about to come in. And there are lots of herbs. George brought a lot of herbs in the house this weekend to dry.

Can you believe how busy our couple of days have been?

Then we went to see Paul and Judy yesterday. They are moving soon and had some things for sale and wanted to see if we wanted anything. George bought some books and Judy gave me a couple of books that she had bought that I’m looking forward to reading. It’s REALLY making me want to read. I think it’s a good time in my life to read more and get out of my own head a bit. I was so excited to meet their dog! Their dog was excited to meet us. We hit it off so well that Judy said “you can’t have my dog!” lol lol lol His name is Ozzie! He looks so much like Maisy dog only without the white spots.

Oh what fun and what delight this gave me, to pet and hug dog that looked and acted like my Maisy girl. I had prayed I would meet another dog like that. And I believe I did. He was a sweet dog. I’m so glad to meet him.

On the way home, George surprised me with a quick stop at a local taproom, Catch 22. We had a brewsky before heading home. Once home, I helped Mom change the sheets on her bed, fixed up a good lighted area for our “Puzzle Station”, which we started, and we watched some of my sailing shows, and George began fixing steaks. He actually grilled them! They were so good. They are good anyway he fixes them. We then began watching a history about Nashville after dinner – while waiting for dark thirty so the fireworks would start. We only got half way through. It’s very interesting.

Once it got dark we headed out to see the fireworks all around while sitting on the front porch. I do believe we made some memories. We had good disabilities for some fairly impressive shows. I think we were seeing a show from Circle K ranch not too far away and just at an angle where there were not many trees. Then neighbors down the street had some and a few streets over. We had some good ones.

We ate watermelon on the porch.

And most impressive was the view I saw from the news of the gathering in downtown Nashville. Wow. Just Wow. Everyone celebrating not only July 4 but just being able to get together as a crowd again. Here’s a screenshot.

Anyway, what a great 4th! One of the best ones I’ve had! Also want to share a pic that Mom shared on Facebook.

Mom, Me, and Dad

The scar on my right eyebrow (left in the pic, lol) shows. Before seatbelt requirements, I hit the dashboard once when the car driver slammed on the breaks – not sure who was driving. I don’t know what happened. A nurse was at Nanny’s house when we arrived and said “I think you better go get stitches” so we went to ER. Now I can “do my brows” – and have since high school – so you can’t see the scar. This pic was over 50 years ago I guess, lol.

Meanwhile in TX…….I can see River in my Dad. And Dad in River! lol


Ok ya’ll. What an entry. That should keep you for a few days. I’ll be back sometime before the work week is over – 2 to 3 days. So here’s what’s up:

I have to do two days worth of work tomorrow so it’s a LONG day – going in early and possibly staying late. Today we have a low key day, don’t wanna go anywhere but probably the store. I need to make sure Mom is set up for the week and me too, with lunches and snacks for work. I need to do some ironing for the week. I will try to do the bucket list and read and puzzle and make my Italian chicken cooked in a bag today. This week is kinda low key. We may do trivia night Thursday night with friends. Next Saturday is the day we go to look at flooring. 😉 We will be planning Mom’s birthday later in the month. I think she wants to do Hermitage Steakhouse so we’ll get that on the calendar and make reservations. Glad for a low key week though and now maybe things will settle a bit and we can relax some. I’ve enjoyed having a peaceful two hours to work on the blog. Need to get breakfast and start on some chores/cleaning so I can enjoy the day later.

Employer Picnic Day, Winery Excursion, and Little Roo Takes to the Pool

On By BackporchwriterIn Uncategorized6 Comments

We went to George’s company picnic yesterday for lunch. We had BBQ, kielbasa dog, baked beans, Mac n Cheese, and I brought home my chips. It was nice a little lunch. We did not win any prizes but there is nothing we need in life right now I guess, but perhaps reflooring and a house remodel. lol. They were not giving those away. We only stayed for an hour or so as George had to leave to go get a PO for an emergency order. The plant runs 24/7. He only works Mon – Fri but every now and then if a part will shut the plant down, he will have to give a PO for something or try to order something on the weekends. Rare but the call came during the picnic of course. lol

Afterwards we wanted to run by a nearby winery, Cellar53 Winery in Smith County, TN.

The place is beautifully landscaped. It looks like George has flowery pants, lol lol lol. The day was breezy and warm and we enjoyed sitting outside among the green hills and breezy trees. A couple of dogs were around. One evidently went home with its owner and the other lazed around and surprised us by peeking around the corner.

We only did a picnic tasting. These were actually smaller cups than they look. They are larger than communion cups but smaller than the little small size clear drink cups you see at social settings. We got to pick 4. We ended up buying 3 bottles of wine to take home. But it was about like having 1 glass of wine a piece total I guess while we sat outside for a bit. Here was the straight on view from my seat.

I held up my watermelon wine to the US flag, “here’s to America reopening and having gatherings and excursions again”.

One of the wines I bought, was Independence Red, for July 4th!

I really like this winery place. It’s just a little far out though for my liking. It’s close to George’s work though. It’s about 45 min away. Not much else to do in that area but Walmart and maybe a dinner. So we don’t go out this far usually. George has to travel that way all week long so we usually stay close around for excursions unless we are going to make a half day tour of an area or something.

I’ve missed our excursions and it felt like a mini vacation day. We enjoyed it so much. We headed back home and after a big lunch followed by a glass of wine, I was not in a “work mode”, I was in “relax mode”. So I chose to have another glass of wine and read. It was good for my psyche. I redid my to do list marking off all that I had done this week, which was more than I thought. I planned for the next week.

Have I told you how much I love my little escape room? My bed is perfect, my Mac computer is both a hobby spot, planning spot, and a TV. And my chair and little table make the perfect prayer journaling, bible reading, pleasure reading, wine sipping corner.

Life.Is.Good

Life.Is.God

We had a wonderfully cooked evening meal at the dining table.

My To List for Today (Sunday):

  • Church this morning
  • Lunch with friends
  • See Mom’s Plot/House
  • Redo my Vitamins
  • Make pimento and cheese
  • Maybe make a pasta salad
  • Wash George’s sheets
  • Change purses
  • Do my Order for that Wellness Company I use
  • Grocery (might wait and do that tomorrow after work)
  • Hem blue pants
  • Iron a couple of pants/shirts for the next week
  • July 4th decor for table

I thought I had fewer things to do, but I guess not, lol. I’ll probably work on the video in the morning. It’s time to start editing.

I think life is starting to get back to normal. George and I have also booked a concert for next weekend and dinner before. So we have “a date” of sorts.

But George’s Uncle Richard passed yesterday and we are sad about that.

Better go and get ready for church. I’m showered but just need to put on my outfit and do makeup. I’ve been wearing makeup again this week, takes a little extra time.

Pray for us that Mom likes the church. I guess I’m being pessimistic but I’m not used to family members EVER agreeing on much when it comes to churches, and the things churches do, or the people do, or whatever. And someone she doesn’t like she heard goes there, but I’ve been told they no longer go there. So Mom agreed to go.

Mom has decided she doesn’t like ANY church that has “Hills” in it because that their code word for being ________ (fill in the blank here) -however it is she things they are. Liberal I guess. It’ll be a miracle if we end up all going to the same church. Or church at all. George won’t go to Mount Juliet Church of Christ. So……yeah, wish us luck. It would be too easy if she liked this one right next to her place, and where our friends go right? Mom thinks this church has instrumental music and women preaching, but they do not. I don’t know where she got the information or if she just internalized that somehow on her own. I’m afraid to hope so that I’m not disappointed. So we don’t have high expectations today. Maybe that is a wrong approach, but one has to protect themselves from disappointment. And no one gets to own my emotions anymore. I’m not tying myself to anything. It’s just simply going to be or not to be and we’ll move on from there. ;-). But I will say that how things go today will determine the future. So it IS important. If Mom is not happy, I will keep my promise and take her somewhere else in which we will either go with or drop her off, or we’ll all just stay home and do our own thing, but I will keep my promise and that is all that matters on my end. I’m good with me and my God. We are tight. I worship him where I am, all day and everywhere, not just on Sunday. But yeah, how it goes today, determines the rest for ALL.

Meanwhile in Texas