Heeeere's Paula!

What a weekend! We had tickets to the Paula Deen Live! Show in Nashville at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center (TPAC) on Saturday morning. Thomas, Maredith, and I had fantastic seats, right in the middle of the packed-to-the-rafters auditorium, and we were wowed by it all. Paula (photo, right) is a hoot!! She chatted with her audience as if we were old friends dropping by her house...she even had a sofa, chair, and ottoman on stage alongside her kitchen (complete with the latest Viking appliances, of course). As you can see in the photo (below, center), her husband, Michael, joined her onstage, alongside the MC Jim (who had a fabulously deep voice) and her Kitchen Assistand du jour Rebecca, and they all vied for the honors of being named "Life of the Party." Paula's table was set for 8 guests, who enjoyed the menu prepared on stage: golden fried pork chops, Lady & Sons Mac & Cheese, and collards. We got the recipes with the program...and, of course, I intend to try them very soon. Well, I'll substitute turnip greens for the collards, because as Paula said: "I just prefer turnip greens." I guess I'll have to fix green beans for Thomas, though, as he doesn't like either one. Here's a photo (left) of us as we entered TPAC to find our seats. And (right), here's one of Maredith. As you can probably see, we are both holding our Paula Programs.

Can you also tell that Maredith's gotten her hair cut? Isn't she beautiful? And that beauty is inside as well as outside. She had been growing her hair long to donate the 8-10" cutting to make wigs and hairpieces for cancer patients. What a wonderful gift!

Here's another Paula photo (below, center) for you to enjoy:


"Who is Paula Deen?" If you are asking that question, you might want to check her out on the Food Network...or on her own website: http://www.pauladeen.com/. I can't begin to explain her...you just have to see for yourself!

The one sad note in the weekend was that Mom couldn't join us as we had planned. She went to Memphis with J&J to attend the funeral of a cousin who passed away just a couple of weeks after his 96th birthday. Although I find most funerals to be so sad, Mom assured me that it was truly a celebration of his long life, including the testimonials of those whose lives were enriched for having known MJS. He will be missed.