Eating our Way Around Middle Tennessee

Mike and Connie picked us up today at 11:00 to go to Franklin. One of Mike's hobbies is woodworking and his favorite woodcraft store in Franklin is having a sale. After shopping, we drove through Leiper's Fork, an historical area south of Nashville. Evidently a lot of the Nashville C/W stars live in the area since it's remote. It was pretty with the rolling hills and small country road winding through it and the miles and miles of fences. We can't wait to see it in spring when everything is in bloom. We also drove on the northernmost 6 miles of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Loveless Cafe. http://www.lovelesscafe.com/If you want to experience Southern cooking, this is the place! The biscuits are to die for, and their blackberry jam is incredible. I had the country fried steak (no gravy) squash casserole and fried okra. It was worth every calorie. I'll fast tomorrow to make up for it, or maybe all next week...

We reconnected with old friends, Wayne and Judy Harvell,  who live just this side of the Alabama border last week. Wayne is semi-retired from preaching and owns a contracting business called Mr. Goodhammer. They have a house on 7 acres and with Wayne's carpentry skills and Judy's decorating talent, we can't wait to see their home. Depending on the weather, that may be next weekend's jaunt.

To Memphis, To Memphis, to Buy a Fat Pig

Okay, actually it's to eat some good Memphis pork barbecue while we're taking care of the arrangements for our Vow Renewal in April. We're also taking our washer and dryer to Mendy to get it out of our storage garage. Mendy is giving her old set to a friend's newly wed son and daughter-in-law.

Going to Memphis only takes as long as the trip from Abilene to Sarah and Jarrod's so that's a blessing. Unfortunately it now takes 13 1/2 hours to get to Sarah and Jarrod's from Murfreesboro...

End of Week Two

It is so cool to drive in any direction and see historical markers in some cases predating the Civil War. There is such an aura of history here, especially in the area around the oldest part of MTSU. The MTSU President's House on campus is a beautiful antebellum mansion. The courthouse square is so quaint, it is reminiscent of small town squares in Texas. We have heard Murfreesboro described as a growing modern city with a small town feel. There's no better way to describe it. We are blessed to be here.

We took a drive to Watertown yesterday to see a nearly completed log home. The builder comes highly recommended from one of the ladies in David's office and with good reason. He is a master at his craft and does wonderful work. The drive out there was beautiful, even with the bare trees and a slight mist and fog in the hills.

I think David has finally realized that with all he wants in land and square footage, a newly built log home does not fit in our budget. The house alone would be around $290,000, and the land would be at least $40,000 on top of that. It makes a lot more sense to buy an existing home with more square footage and a half-acre or so lot. There are a lot of new homes that haven't "bottomed out" in price yet.

We had a great time at Mike and Connie Boyle's last night. David and Lisa Foster and their 15 year old daughter were there as well. The Fosters moved from Abilene to Murfreesboro in 2002. David was the founder of Leapfrog Technologies in Abilene and taught in the Bible Department at ACU. Lisa is from the Nashville area originally. She went to ACU for college and thought she had "fallen off the edge of the earth" when she got to Abilene. She's ecstatic to be back home, but does miss the people and the sunsets and sunrises.

Nesting in Tennessee

Our furniture arrived Friday and Mendy came from Memphis to help us unpack and decorate our new temporary home. The upstairs neighbors must be Sumo wrestlers who play drums and do Wii Fit in the living room. We can't hear conversations or even voices, but we sure hear a lot of thumping and dropping up there. David was ready to move the first night he spent here. Now that we have everything arranged and comfy cozy, I feel almost at home.

We went to Bell Buckle Saturday night for dinner. It's a cute little town about 25 miles out in the country with little shops and a great restaurant called the Bell Buckle Cafe. They serve comfort food and oh is it good! I had the vegetable plate but Mendy had meatloaf and David had a smoked pork chop plate. It was as good as a steak from Perini's! They are known for their blueberry (congealed) salad but they were out of it, so it looks like we'll have to go back another time to try it. They have live music on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and even though I'm not much of a country or bluegrass fan, it was very good.

We went to North Boulevard church this morning. We went to John Risse's class in the auditorium (he's good but talks really fast and it takes some getting used to). He came by to talk to us during the "meet and greet" at the beginning of the worship service and is really a nice man. The pulpit minister, David Young, is incredible. There is a lot of talent in that congregation, and even in these difficult times their contribution exceeds their budget. I think we've found our church home.

I think I'll call it a night. The thumping upstairs has ceased, so maybe I can get to sleep!

Chilling in The 'Boro

It's been an interesting couple of days here in Murfreesboro. David's work is very exciting for him and new opportunities are opening up almost on a daily basis. He loves being a part of something so vital and in which the administration and even the governor give a lot of support. I'm still trying to get my bearings and recuperate from all of the chaos of the last couple of months. Hopefully the movers will get here Friday. The weather has been pretty cold but should be in the 50's and 60's later in the week, so having the front door open Friday won't be too uncomfortable.

There's a new shopping center on the north side of town that everyone here is very proud of. It's called The Avenue and is a large outdoor shopping venue much like you would see in Houston or the Metroplex. Considering that Mboro is only around 146,000 in population, it's pretty impressive. With the economy and the number of retailers that have gone under in the last couple of months there are still a lot of vacant storefronts though. I'm excited that they do have a World Market. There's a Kohl's within easy walking distance of our apartment, too. Sarah will feel right at home here!