Saturday, June 16, 2012

Nashville Photo Collage (So Much Better Than Dump) Two

So yes, I do really stink at follow-up posts.  Follow ups in general.  Which is why I haven't been to my dentist in two years.

Or called anyone back since the dawn of Facebook.

Or got Sadie's follow up Lyme vaccine, come to think of it.  That one's different though.  Not sure there really is a follow-up lyme vaccine.  Anyone heard of this?  The front desk looks at me like I am wearing a lantern shark on my head when I inquire.  Yet, we keep getting this alarming SADIE IS OVERDUE FOR HER 2nd LYME VACCINATION and YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY NEED THAT MANY NEW PAIRS OF FLIP FLOPS SO BRING HER IN ALREADY postcards in the mail.  Love those.  Such a warm form of harassment and belittling.  One step above the damn Cabela's catalog that Hubs keeps shoving in my face all, "Look at these Honey, we still have lots of Cabonuses."  My poor disillusioned husband, I'm never going to wear a bikini again, much less one that is camouflage with pink trim any more than you'll wear a shirt that is a color not found on a tree.  Let's move on.

So, following up with pictures of Nashville has been tough for two reasons:
  1. My computer hates pictures lately and it takes 300 years to upload pictures.  I love you, my faithful readers but sometimes 300 years is a lot of time for Abby to pour nail polish in her hair and all over Tillie.  Not that she can't accomplish that in 30 seconds.  She did.  Pink and it looks great on both. 
  2. Andy was away in CA all this week and I couldn't tell you guys or moan and complain about it because my mom would send the police over here to protect and serve my driveway all week.  Therefore, I will never announce to all thirty six of you I am home alone with children.  
Okay, so there are three reasons.
   
     3.The third reason is that I have been so floundering from single parenting (I know, deployment and all, I still hate single parenting) and looking   at those Nashville pics makes me want to pack us all up and move us to a small southern town where I will have a false sense of security and an even falser southern drawl.

With those confessions behind me, I'm gonna shut it and see about uploading these pics.  Kids are in bed, it's quiet and my husband is snuggled up with his jet lag and a pint of Ben & Jerry's.  He's not really.  He was out grocery shopping but I didn't want to tell you that because, well, Hi Mom! and he just rolled in with bags of what I'm sure contains at least one pint of Ben & Jerry's.

All right, where were we?

 Ah yes, on the sidewalks Nashville.  Love those boots, Mama.


 And in a Honkey-Tonk where I got down on the dancefloor and embarrassed my non-dancing husband.
 Their name was Smoke 'N Guns.  
Smoke had a great voice but Guns had the whole performing package going with killer pipes.  
We will probably see her up on the big stage soon. 
And I have her CD somewhere in a bag I haven't unpacked yet.  
See?  Such a bad follow-through-er.


 This little couple was so sweet.  They were in their forties and very in tune with each other. I imagined it being their wedding anniversary and him surprising her with tickets to a big fancy steak dinner right before the show.  Although they were very thin.  Probably not steak eaters. 
That might be Glen Campbell on stage.  He rocked it but thought every song was his last one.  As a physical signal, stage hands began to place a new guitar around his neck so he'd know to just keep playing.  Amazing muscle memory from years of performing.  His voice knew all the words and his hands remembered all the strings.  This will probably be one of his last hurrahs and I'm so glad we were there to witness.


  College drunkards down in front.  
It's not a true party without the college drunkards down in front.


 If you got yer Hat and yer Boots then yer all set for The Acoustic Set inside the Auditorium.


 Which is where we got to see Buddy Jewel.  
You may remember him from the TV show Country Star or something close to that.  I'm too lazy to Google it but he was amazing then and is a true country artist now.  
Also a terrific performer live; very funny guy! 
His voice is a rich spoonful of dark chocolate mousse to my soul.  
And I just about melted when he looked my way while I was taking this picture.  
I'd never be able to get an autograph with any of these people.  Too stupidly starstruck


All that idolizing got us hungry so off to Rippy's for the best BBQ in town.  
Behind me is a young band playing on stage near the window.  They sounded like a country version of Hanson but let me tell you, whoever the frontman is will be a star.  
He had the lot of us putting our forks down to twist around in our seats to see him belt out a few covers.  What a great day that was.  I love listening to raw talent and being there to support their efforts.  I'm usually the one who whistles like a dog handler so I know they hear me in the back.


 Awful pic but I love it because it shows the candid side of the getaway.  Jen is smiling, Cowboy is stunned into submission in front of a camera.  Big J is blowing a bubble with his gum and I'm scowling at something. We are waiting to get into the LP Field for the nighttime festival of music after one bigass day of walking everywhere.  Can't remember who was on this night but I do know we were sundried tomatoes by the time we ended up here.  Weary, bar dirty, and so very very happy.


 This is Andy's lovely cousin.  
She makes that hat look lucky to be on her pretty little head and not the other way around. 
We love her.


 These are new friends we (re)met in TN.   Such easy company that we chose to spend lots of time together chatting each other up.  That and we also had the eating thing in common.  
Her cowboy and I need food often.  
For once, I wasn't the only grazer who required a push of calories to the bloodstream every 90 minutes.
Grumpy bear soul mates.  
He even brought emergency peanut butter one day and shared with me when I became colicky.
I've been hiking my jar of peanut butter around everywhere I go ever since. 
Brilliant.


Oh the Happy Child-Free Couple.  
It's so nice to know I'm not a raging nastygram all the time.  

Just when our children are in the room.

This getaway did us all so much good.  
I have the tissue in my ears to prove it (!! lame-o !!)

 Half the fun for me in life is people watching.  Sitting in front of us one night were these two young couples. The girl in the white dress with her boyfriend in the red shirt were adorable.  
They practically touched eyelashes all night long flirting with each other so much.  
Aside from the fact they were twelve and drinking beer, it was fun to see them having such a great night.

The couple next to her though?  
Whoa.  Different country altogether.  
Black Dress wasn't happy with her date whom I realized much later was her husband.  
Didn't notice their rings at first and I was positive he was going home alone that night.  
The things she was whispering to White Dress all night long were absolutely sinister about her date.  He looked a little bit confused as to why she was playing Words With Friends on her phone throughout the concert.  I wanted to lean in and tell him to go buy her a diamond necklace and forget about the Miller Lites.  Those were getting him nowhere.
 
And here I must leave you with a tease for next post.  
The Vineyard.  Where Ghost Stories went well with Chardonnay and Blackberry wine.


Goodnight, Y'all.

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