I’ve been meaning to post an update, and just looked to see how long its been, and am so surprised!  My how time flies!  Let’s try to catch up a bit!

In July, Ray and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.  Didn’t do much to celebrate, just went to brunch/lunch at what had been one of our favorite places. Sadly, the food was not as good as it had previously been and as I had hoped it would be, and now I hear that the restaurant is closing.  I guess I know why.

In July, also, we went to Cheekwood, our local Botanical Garden and mansion, to see the display of “Dressing Downton”. They had on display many of the outfits that were worn in the series.  So beautiful!  And so intricate!  The beadwork was amazing! These photos do not do justice to the garments.

 

The tour is almost over, but you can read about the exhibit here. Apparently St. Augustine is the last stop, so those of you in Florida (or going to Florida) still have a chance to see it.  I highly recommend it!

 

As you probably know by now, Ray and I are big fans of New Orleans.  We had a new Cajun restaurant open near us (Voodoo Gumbo), and I must say their food is amazing.  The Po’ Boys are to die for!  Yum! Short menu – crawfish étouffée, 2 kinds of gumbo, red beans and rice, shrimp, catfish, oyster and roast beef Po’ Boys, gator bites, etc.  We’ve had it all, and it is all wonderful!

Here is my oyster Po’ Boy:

We manage to get to Voodoo Gumbo every couple of weeks or so.  Food as good as, or maybe even better than, what one can get in NOLA!

In August, we were in the direct line of the Solar Eclipse. What a wonderful experience!  I was scheduled to cook that morning at The Nashville Food Project, so I stayed behind to watch the eclipse from the grounds – perfect location!  What a wonderful experience!  I took some pictures, but didn’t have the proper filter for my phone, so it just looks sunny.  With the glasses, you could really see the moon crossing over the sun.  I’ll put some of mine here, and also some that I snagged from the internet that were taken in Nashville by people who did have filters.

 

 

In late September, Ray’s brother, Mark, came for a visit from Florida – a couple of days after Hurricane Irma hit where he lives (near Tampa).  He comes about once a year to golf.  He came on a Sunday. This time, Rays sister, Terri and her husband, Bill came too!  But they came by RV on Monday! We were able to get the RV into the back yard, so we had campers!  What a fun time!  The guys golfed, and Terri and I did “girl” things.  We met up with Michelle for lunch on Tuesday. They had not seen each other since Michelle was 4 – in 1972 or so!

We took them to Voodoo Gumbo for lunch before Bill and Terri left on Wednesday.

In early October, we took our annual trip to New Orleans.  We used to go for Thanksgiving, but somehow got away from that.  I want to get back to making the tradition again – Thanksgiving in New Orleans!.

We had a very quiet visit.  Did some riding around, and lots of eating (shrimp, mostly – including some Royal Reds – best shrimp ever! – taste like lobster! – check them out here!) One of the cool things we did was go to the St. Roch Market (pronounced “rock”) – a wonderful emporium of eating places.  We had breakfast there one morning and it was wonderful!  The lightest and fluffiest biscuits ever, and cheesy grits to die for! To see more about the St. Roch Market, go here. The developers of this Market Hall are planning on doing one just like this in Nashville.  They had announced a location, but after almost a year, that fell through.  They are currently looking for another place.  We will certainly check it out when it does open! Can’t wait!

We also went to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.  We had been there shortly after it opened, but now it has expanded and has so many more displays.  Very worth ones time.

Noticed in a trash pile near where we stay:

Too funny!

 

We met up a couple of times with our good friend, Lloyd, and shared some good times at a local neighborhood bar owned by Dave McCelvey, a good friend of my son, Michael’s.

Beautiful weather while we were there, but the hurricane was expected to hit while (and where) we would have been driving home on Sunday, so we left a day early.  We made the right decision.  We did not experience bad weather on the ride, but the next day would have been really bad.

Here’s the sky around Hattiesburg on our way home.  Storm’s a’ comin’!

 

 

In October TNFP had a Volunteer Appreciation gathering for all of the volunteers.  I got awards for having been volunteering continuously for 5 years, for volunteering weekly, and for second highest number of hours over the last year.  Here is a picture of most of the honorees:

 

Here’s a picture of a sunset taken from our house in March (I know I’m chronologically backing up,  but I thought it was pretty anyway).

A Pretty Sunset

And, finally, a rainbow outside our favorite neighborhood restaurant!

 

Thanks for coming by!  My goal is to write a bit more often, but not so often that you, dear reader, will get tired of me!  Maybe once a month or so.  Stay safe, talk with you in a while!