NOTHING LIKE FOOD WITH FAMILY ADDED ON VALENTINE'S DAY

The Knights took the Dragons out for Valentine's Day on Saturday evening. They decided they wanted to try Carino's, which used to be Johnny Carino's, in Knoxville.

The place was already jumping when we arrived, but by the time we relinquished our 8-seat table, the lobby was standing room only.

When Judy and I arrived the others were gathered at the bar having wine, margaritas, and Fat Tire draft. I ordered a pull, and by the time I paid they had called our names.

We love to meet'n eat and exchange magazines (PC, Photography, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and Playboys) and vampire and forensic mystery books in the parking lot. Naturally, all the dirty family secrets are cussed and discussed, and time is taken to make fun of each person in their own order.

The food seemed to please everyone, even the pickiest. Judy had the Jalapeno Garlic Tilapia - Pan sautéed in lemon butter cream sauce with spinach, tomatoes and angel hair pasta. I liked the looks of the Spicy Shrimp and Chicken - Penne pasta, cayenne pepper Romano cream sauce, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and green onions!

We split the wonderful Italian Wedge Salad - Applewood smoked bacon, candied pecans, Gorgonzola, Roma tomatoes and apple slices with roasted garlic ranch! So very satisfying and almost a meal in itself!

Judy and Terri decided to join Tracy and Katie at the Ice Bears game across town, while Steve and I elected to go on home and watch the Olympics!

Of course, being the romantic that I am, I stopped off at Kroger's and bought my traditional jar of macadamia nuts, Snicker bar, and a Valentine card for Judy. She was quite surprised when she got home, around midnight and found my offerings under her pillow! What a man!

Oh, did I mention the great shrimp meal Judy and I had at Calhoun's Thursday!?

Then there was the P. F. Chang meal Judy brought me the other day...wow, love that place!

The food has been great lately!

HINT: Double click on all the food photos and you can actually smell them!

LILY LOVES TO EAT OUT!

Monday, as you may know, is the day we pick Lily up after her "Wee Pre-School" day.

Sometimes we go straight home and read books, build with her blocks, color, or play games on the computer. Other days we stop off at a local playground and watch her try out new things on the slides, swings, tunnels, and climbing devices. But some days she announces right off that she would like to "eat out"!

She is very good in restaurants, she plays with the things on the table, or things she's dropped under the table (in her cave), or tries to look out the windows! What she doesn't do well out is eat! We wind up taking most of what we ordered home and she picks over it later.

This week we went back to the “Good Ol’ Days Diner”, where I can't resist corn-nuggets, and Judy cannot leave without having a chocolate milkshake! Trouble is, this week she had to share it with Lily...don't tell her mother!

My burger and corn nuggets were great, but, according to Judy, her slaw-dog and fries beat my burger hands down!

Anyway, Lily was so thrilled that she danced for the entire diner and kept asking, "Who's that?"

We would say, "I don't know...ask them!"

She started walking toward them and then turned around and ran back to the safety of Judy's lap. She is getting braver these days, finally overcoming her earlier shyness. No longer does she keep her eyes closed all the way from school to our house before opening them and talking to us. Now she's singing to us before we leave the church parking lot.

We love it!

Later, we took Lily over to her Granby's, where her sister Kinsley stays when both Tia and Corey are working. We played with them both for quite a while, and I took this photo of Kinsley before we left. She's a doll, and has just started walking. She will be 1 this coming Saturday!

I'm beginning to think that Kinsley is a mix of Connie (Corey's mom) and me, while Lily is pure Tia!

THEY DIDN'T REMEMBER ME AT HOOTERS!

First let me get the food out of the way! I had some good stuff over the past week, including "Fried Pickles" at Hooters. However, their wings leave a little to be desired, and what I desired while eating them was some "Wild Wings"! Next time, if there is a next time, I'll order plain wings with the sauce on the side. I'm not sure how I got back to Hooters, but someone wanted to go and I obliged.

So years back I banned myself from Hooters over an incident that still rubs me raw. I mean, I may be old, but I got money too!

We sit down in Hooters, the Knights and I, any finally a young girl (notice there was no "lady" included in the description), with midriff bulges all around, comes over to a table of the 4 or 5 of us and takes a our drink order. We would probably have eaten there had this gal put just a little effort into fulfilling our needs. A smile would have gained her an extra five bucks!

See turns and walks to the bar and turns in our drink order and then returns to the table of young'uns we had previously broken her away from, and picked back up on the conversation she was having with them. I noticed that the beers are opened and placed on the bar, but she pays no attention. We sit and wait, thinking about how warm our beers are becoming and then watch her laughing and having a ball.

Finally, after about 15 minutes, Ron gets up and goes to the bar and picks up the beers and brings them to the table. No one seemed to care or notice, so we drank them down. The cool beers do nothing to cool the fire burning inside us. The incident only proved that the waitress knew nothing about old men and their generous tips! Had she played us, she would have been rewarded generously, but the longer we sat there and waited for a return visit the more we fumed while staring holes in the back of her head.

It may not have been so bad had the routine not repeated itself a second time.

She finally returns, not even noticing or remembering that she hadn't brought the beers to the table. "Would you guys like to order?"

"No," I said, "just give us a check for the beers."

"You guys gonna leave me?"

"Yes, we're going somewhere with better service," I said calmly.

"Wha...you mean I haven't given you good service?"

I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Hell no, you've been over there stuck up those young dude's butts since we arrived!"

"I brought your beer..."

"Bullshit, we went and got them ourselves! Now give me a check," I said firmly without taking me eyes off her's.

A manager was sent to the table and he started to jump us for being rude when I broke in and explained how things went down. He backed off...I threw money on the table, minus a tip, and we left. Had she just given us some courtesy she would probably have made fifteen to twenty bucks from us.

This last week was the first time I had been back in 3 or 4 years, and little had changed except we did receive better service, and they had added Fat Tire and fried pickles to the menu! I still don't like the wings sauce!

YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO BRUSHY MOUNTAIN STATE PEN?

Couldn't believe it, but Judy, born and raised in Harriman, had never been to Petros to see the old Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary! So, on Thursday, that gloriously gloomy day, we took a little road trip from the house up Bitter Creek way, and turned onto Coal Creek Road and went to Coalfield, Tennessee.

In Coalfield we turned back toward Wartburg, Tennessee on 62 and then off onto 116 to Petros. The prison sets against the farthest mountain you can see driving back through Petros and is still guarded, but there is no public access.

I talked to the guard and an old gentleman standing at the main gate for a bit. The guard said there were a few tours just after the prison was closed, but nothing was being allowed in at this time. I told them of my 70's visit, when the prisoners had been moved to Nashville, and about Geronimo, the whitetail buck that was once a pet of the inmates. The older fellow remembered the deer and we enjoyed reminiscing about that little known fact, and the guard added that there were currently about 6 deer living within the fences at Brushy.

Even though the light was not perfect for photography, it was a good day for a circuit through Roane and Morgan Counties. It seems we look for more and more things to get us out of the house lately. The weather has locked us away much too long. After all, there is just too much beauty in our East Tennessee backyard to stay in all winter!

We passed the prison and rode up a way on Bald Knob Road, past three sandstone cones of rock just on the side of the road. Apparently these piers of rock are capped with a much harder layer of stone. After the road was cut by them, the elements have eroded them from the side facing the road. They make a very colorful addition to the area's beauty.

I didn't stop to take any photos, but we did notice that this hollow has a great abundance of Rebel Flags and Camaros!

Leaving Hwy 116, we turned back west toward Wartburg and then made a southerly turn onto Liberty Road over to Mossy Grove, and on back down Hwy 27/29 to Bitter Creek, completing the circle.

DID YOU GET SNOW?

The better question is, "Did you get out and play in the snow?"This was our first "real" snow is several years, still not like it used to be, but it was measurable snow of from 4 to 6 inches.The Dragons (them) and Knights took the opportunity to do a little hiking and photo shooting at the nearby Frozen Head State Park, near Wartburg, Tennessee. I always get a few comments about the town's name when I post it, but it really is a nice community about 8 to 10 miles from my house.

Tennessee's Frozen Head State Park is a lovely wilderness pocket nestled between two mountains, and just past the Morgan County Correctional Complex on Flat Fork Road.

We just wanted a short distance walk, since we all getting hungry, so we took the Interpretive Loop, which is around .4 miles long. However, the loop offers many wildflowers (in season), a roaring creek, water falls, bridges, old foundations from the CCC era, and wildlife, such as the 4 deer we saw quietly watching us from across the creek.

Everyone got some great shots and enjoyed the walk in the winter wonderland, especially being with family and being ourselves! Of course, being ourselves usually means there will be no wildlife within a mile of us!

However, I think the meal at Ruby's later was the highlight of the Sunday afternoon. Once someone mentioned Fat Tire, every action then become a means to an end! The Lobster Carbonara was very tasty too!

There are more shots on my Flickr page!

THE ASHEVILLE WINTER WARMER BEER FESTIVAL AND JEFF DANIELS CONCERT

Judy and I went to Asheville, NC this past weekend with new friends Gary and Claudette Coulombe Baker, and Nathan and Nancy Hammons. Gary, of course, is someone I've known for over 45 years, but it has been just over a year now that we joined forces in the Princess Theater project and have become close friends. Nathan and I met through the project in March of last year. Both guys are "good people", the kind you enjoy hanging with and having a great time. I've only begun to get to know the wives, Claudette and Nancy, but I'm quickly finding out I also enjoy their company. They are all witty, intelligent, full of life, and seem to enjoy the same things as Judy and I.

The goal was to attend the 2010 Winter Warmer Beer Festival and to see Jeff Daniels (yes the actor) in concert at the Diana Wortham Theatre, located in the heart of the Pack Square Cultural District.

Well, the goal was attained and all had a ball! We walked the heart of Asheville, various shops and snacking at local sports bars. Asheville is a lovely town that gives you a secure feeling as you walk the streets. It's clean, and the center is central of several hotels and motels. You don't need your vehicle to have a great time, unless you want to go out to Biltmore House or other attractions.

When we arrived we didn't have tickets to the beer festival, but that didn't stop Gary from checking out every lead. He finally scored 3 "drinking" tickets, and 3 "DD" tickets from one of the event coordinators at the event site. We broke the news to the girls that they couldn't drink, but quickly added (after getting "the" look) that we would work that out by sharing. Otherwise, we would have been in the doghouse for sure!With tickets in hand we proceeded to Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria to enjoy a good draft beer (I had the Highland Gaelic and, my favorite, Fat Tire) and some appetizers. It was good to sit down a few minutes and replenish our stores and warm up. The weather in East Tennessee was definitely much warmer than Asheville. It was probably about 15 to 20 degrees colder with a stiff breeze blowing. We all had consider only wearing a light jacket or sweater, but we were all glad we brought heavier things to wear. It got down right cold, especially after dark!

There was a throng of beer enthusiasts at the festival, all clutching their "beer" glasses, which were included in the price of admission, and much smaller than the normal beer glass size that they handed out for "water only"! Everyone was friendly and there were no obvious drunks there, or any hint of frayed nerves from being compressed into a small area, shoulder to shoulder with full beer glasses being gingerly guarded in front of them.

Many local micro-brewers offered their product at the event:

From Asheville and WNC area:
French Broad Brewing Co.
Highland Brewing Co.
Green Man Ales
Pisgah Brewing Co.
Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co.
Heinzelmannchen Brewery
Appalachian Craft
Wedge
Craggie

Piedmont & Durham area:
Catawba Valley Brewing Co.
Foothills
Duck-Rabbit
Triangle
Big Boss

Nashville, TN:
Yazoo

Atlanta, GA:
SweetWater

Personally, I didn't find much I preferred. I don't like a heavy hopped beer, no bitterness, but I like pale ales. Of what was offered I mostly tried the vendor's "winter" beers, but settled for mostly the Sweetwater 420, the Yazoo, and the Highland beers.

When we had our fill, we troughed back to the Marriott to get the show tickets. It was freezing! We warmed there for a few minutes and then headed back toward the theater to Jeff.

The theater is a modern 500 seat proscenium theatre built in 1991. We were in the balcony and I had no place to firmly balance my pocket camera, so the photos of Jeff leave a little to be desired. However, you can click on his link above and see him. It look exactly the same.

Jeff Daniels is a musical storyteller and quite accomplished on the guitar. I was impressed with how he could continue to play with all five fingers, scan the audience, and tell his story at the same time. I might be able to do one or the other, but nothing close to him. He was enjoyable, but I think Gary was a little disappointed in the style of music. I think he wanted more upbeat bluesy music, like he I both like, so Jeff left him wanting more. For me, I was thoroughly entertained and was glad I didn't miss this opportunity to see him perform. Would I go again...probably not.

Judy and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and our traveling companions. We also enjoyed the detour trip along Highway 25/70 through Hot Springs, NC and on to I-26 and into Asheville. Intestate 40 has been closed over the mountain to Asheville, which is the normal route, for some time and will probably be closed through the summer due to rockslides. Coming back we took the I-26 to I-81 to I-40 route. Mileage wise it is longer that way, but with 70 mph speeds you can make more time that way. Unfortunately, it rained just about the whole way home. I had to be careful that I didn't hydroplane like a couple of unfortunate folks we saw.

Thanks Gary for coordinating this adventure...we were and are completely grateful for the invitation. Looking forward to future trips!

More photos of the trip on FLICKR!

ROAD TRIP TO HAPPY VALLEY, TENNESSEE

Saturday wasn't the best day of the year to go on a road trip, but we worked with what was given us! Gary still runs a business and had crews out working even on Saturday, so time is still limited for him to take off for a little fun. However, he tried to stay in contact with his guys, but Happy Valley prefers not to be bothered by modern technology! I suppose that's what makes it such a happy place!

Of course, anytime we go through Maryville, Tennessee we are obliged to stop at the Richy Kreme. Just a few miles further down the road, Gary and I were wishing we had split an "Apple Ugly" (similar to a "bear claw") instead of nearly swallowing a whole one on our own! By then, Dr. Ahler was trying to give away the remaining eight from his dozen. However, he didn't get the sugar high Gary and I were experiencing, just before reaching for a Tums!

You can bet though, that on our next trip we'll stop again...they're just too delicious to pass up!Soon we were on Happy Valley Road in Blount County, Tennessee, and going under the Foothills Parkway on our way to Abrams Creek Road. Within a few minutes we passed our friend Bill Landry's house and into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Abrams Creek Campground is a lovely little area of the Smoky's. There are just a few camp sites there, but it's nestled in under white pine and hemlock trees along Abrams Creek.

The water there runs at least waist deep in places and is the a beautiful green color due to the green shale rock found there. The creek, even though the lighting was subdued by an overcast sky, photographed beautifully revealing the green tinted water. I was pleased with what I captured that day, but I bet a bright clear sky day would reveal even more of the beauty there.

We left Abrams Road, turning left in order to pass through the heart of Happy Valley. Along the way we could tell we were paralleling the Foothills Parkway. After reaching Hwy 129 at Chilhowee Lake, we turned right onto the Parkway and followed it back to Hwy 321 and on into Maryville.

I'll have to go back soon, and maybe I'll attempt the 5 miles to Abrams Falls which is normally visited from the Cades Cove side of the mountains. Got to lose some of this belly and get my back into shape first!

I got a "hitch" in my lower back while buckling Lily into her car seat last Monday. It was almost better when I pulled it again putting on my socks Friday! It's hell gettin' old!

Anyway, I shall return and will be in far better shape than I am today. See ya!

More photos on Flickr...be sure to double click them to enlarge!

THE SOUTH WILL RISE IN HEAT AGAIN

Yes, it has been a very cold winter thus far. After nine straight days of near record cold temperatures, rain is predicted by tomorrow evening. There was never much snow, but the temps dropped and stayed below freezing for longer than it has in several years, so what little fell stuck around and is still around in places. Oh, it's been as cold over the past winters, but it has been some time since it stayed that cold during the day for this long.

I really don't remember, at least in recent memory, seeing the Emory River freeze over. It wasn't thick enough to walk out on, but there was at least an inch of ice covering the lake areas from shore to shore. The rocks and debris, including one garage can I saw, that kids threw out onto the ice still await a warm enough day to allow them to settle to the bottom.

Even the water inside plants and at their roots was forced up and out into beautiful little ice flowers known as "Frost Flowers"! I thought the little white things along the roadside were pieces of paper, but after stopping and taking a closer look I saw their beauty frozen in time.

There is one fountain in our local Riverfront Park that completely froze up, while another in the little pond by "Wild Wings Cafe" in Knoxville still struggled to put out its spray.

As I wrote in my last post, the ice covering the river made weird noises, sounds I called "singing" as the wind above and the water moving below pushed at the surface causing strains that made audible sounds. I've heard the Indians talk about the singing waters, but I always assumed it was babbling springs, but it could have also been the friction of the ice as it gently moved on the waters. Follow this link to hear the "Chants of Frozen Lakes" by Marc Namblard! Click the audio start button to hear the recordings.

Nonetheless, spring shall be back in sixty days or so, and all will be forgotten, save these photos. I suppose that's true about everything though...it's here...then gone...unless we have a photograph to remind us.

More frozen photos HERE.

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!

I took Judy down to the river this morning to hear the ice sing, but alas the river and ice didn't feel up to it today. I mentioned this in my cooking post HERE yesterday, and she wanted to hear it for herself. Maybe tomorrow...after tonight's little bit of snow the ice will sing to us!

We had headed out to see Avatar, but debated on whether or not we should go. All the weather services were predicting snow and we hated to drive the 40+ miles to Knoxville and not be able to get back home. However, nothing ventured nothing gained, so we took off.

I'm so glad we did. James Cameron's movie "Avatar" is absolutely wonderful - candy for the eyes! Once you get immersed in the movie, you will wish you could live on Pandora too! A world so beautiful, so connected to everything on it and in it, so wonderful it even lights you path at night. Everything is beautiful and understands its place and contribution to every other living and non-living thing.

To me it was a European and Indian confrontation all over again, except this time the Na' vi (Indians with Afro-American characteristics) band together to force its adversaries to leave them and their land alone! How I wished that had happened then. Had the American Indian understood what was happening and united, the white Europeans would never have dared get off their tiny boats!

When the movie ended, which was, even though it was over 2 1/2 hours long, too soon, we came out to a white parking lot. The temperature was still around 28 degrees, but we had no problem getting home. The car slipped once when crossing a railroad track, but I may have punched it just a little too much...on purpose! Judy just smiles...she knows me!

Back at home, I pushed the heat back up to around 71, sipped a small glass of homemade wine, munched a few almonds, all in an attempt to pass the time until last night's stew was a decent eating temperature. We had an egg on an all-grain thin bread this morning, munched some nuts and a few apple slices during the movie, but now it was time for some real satisfying chow!

I can hardly wait for morning to see if the cold dry snow showers amount to more than an inch on the ground. It's so dry that it blows easily across the road or yard. Regardless, we plan to get out and find some winter beauty. If there's any beauty to be found, East Tennessee, any time of year, is the place to find it!

IT NEVER FAILS!

Yep, when you really need something, it fails to work! It hasn't been out of the high 20's this week, and down in the teen's at night with light snow blowing. The coldest and longest spell of cold weather we've had this year in East Tennessee, and mom's heat goes out!

I just happened to be there when we noticed a weird sound coming from the external heat/air combo unit, and noted that there was no air, thus no heat, coming through the vents. She immediately called her contact at Central City Heating & Air and got a planner-estimator to come out. The diagnosis was as expected, since she'd had trouble earlier in the fall and got a warning from the tech, it was dead!

There was nothing they could do yesterday afternoon, so a new Trane unit was ordered and plans were made for the crew to show up at 7 AM to install a new combo unit.

I fixed mom up with a couple of electric heaters and they kept the house at about 68 degrees. I wanted her to either come home with me or stay with Virginia, her next door neighbor, but she was concerned that if she left the pipes would freeze. There is no arguing with her, so I left her and called back a couple of times that night before bed. Every time I woke up I'd start thinking about her, but she made it with no problem. She even slept in her recliner...again, so the pipes wouldn't freeze.

If anyone can figure out what difference that made, let me know. All I know it was the best for her piece of mind.

The workmen arrived at 7 AM as planned, and worked until about 3:30 today. It was 17 degrees when they arrived, but they all acted as if it was old hat to them!

So, everything is back to normal, she has a toasty house in every room now, and was back vacuuming and cleaning up after the workers. She'll be worn out tomorrow, just like she was when everyone came to visit on Christmas and left. She has to have everything clean and back in its place before she can relax.

It does no good, really, to come to her house to celebrate family events, because she is left with the cleaning and gets all exhausted. But, it makes her happy...that's what counts.

Snow is predicted Thursday, so now we're all ready...hope you are too!

NEW FILM SEGMENTS SHOT IN ROANE COUNTY TENNESSEE

Veteran film and television director Harry Thomason is planning a film about the last ride Hank Williams, Sr. took, and has already begun collecting film clips for the production.

It is most probable that the ’52 Cadillac, driven by 18-year-old Charles Carr, with Hank asleep in the back seat, came through Roane County Tennessee sometime on New Year’s Eve 1952. They were on their way to Canton, OH and points north, for new bookings intended to be a new beginning for Hank’s career.

On the anniversary of that occurrence, December 31st, Bill Landry coordinated/directed, and Doug Mills filmed several local vintage automobiles driving around the area. This footage was procured by Harry Thomason for his planned movie "The Last Ride”. Thomason called Bill on Wednesday, but Bill was still able to get the needed cars, including a baby blue ’53 Cadillac convertible belonging to Rex Walls. The car is basically like the one Hank Williams was riding in as he passed this way. filmed several local vintage automobiles driving around the area. This footage was procured by Harry Thomason for his movie “

See more of the story and photos on the Princess Blog!

See more photos HERE!

OUR TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN NEW YEAR'S DAY MEAL

For as long as I remember, my family has eaten black-eyed peas, hog jowl, and either cabbage or plain ol' spinach on New Year's Day. The question always asked when meeting a family member or friend was, "Did you have some black-eyed peas today?"

Click on THIS LINK to go to my cooking blog! Warning...your mouth will water!