All This...and Heaven Above

"I'm just an old hound dog
Roaming around, oh Lord
I've got all this and Heaven above

Oh, Atlanta
I hear you calling
I'm coming back to you one fine day
No need to worry
There ain't no hurry cause I'm
On my way back to Georgia

On my way back to Georgia..."

— Lyrics by Alison Krauss

We are on the road again, for the second weekend in a row. And since our destinations involved Nashville and Atlanta, I thought the song lyrics above...written by one of my favorite "country" artists (she is just so talented: singer, songwriter, and performer!) about one of my favorite places...was apropos.

Last weekend, Mr. T and I made it to a very special picnic with a very special group of people: my Lunn cousins. It was held at a fabulous park in Goodlettsville, organized by my oldest first cousin and his wife, who not only coordinated everything and everyone...but also grilled the hamburgers they provided...on one of the hottest days of the year, so far! Three generations from near and far were in attendance, and we were delighted to see the duo who drove the distance from AZ. Someone said "that's a long way to come just for lunch!" But you know what? I wouldn't have missed this chance to see these folks for all the tea in China...or all the meclizine in my medicine cabinet. Yeah...I had to overcome a vertigo episode to get there, but dizzy or not, I was determined to be a part of this happy get together. And Mr. T, who had driven 8 hours to get home from NJ on Friday, got right back behind the wheel to drive us the 8 hours to get to middle Tennessee on Saturday. Go, Mr. T!

Here are some photos of the family picnic (forgive the first few, as the lighting in the pavilion was not the best):

Thomas Adsit; Julie and Jack Lunn

Foreground: Terry Lunn

Roy and Ann McGuire

Walt Lawson; Kenneth Fly; Steve Clark; Kevin Lawson; Helen Fly Clark; and Ann Brown McGuire (back)

Thomas and Patricia Lunn Adsit

The First Cousins, from oldest to youngest: Kenneth, Wayne, Cliffordene, Terry, Ann, Helen, Walt, Patricia, and Jack

The "Outlaws:" Granville, Madge Ann, Steve, Roy, Irene, Thomas, and Julie

The Seconds and Thirds

Julie and Jack Lunn

Patricia, Terry, and Jack (Sidney Lunn's children)

And even though the picnic lasted just a few hours, we got to spend time with Bro and SIL J & J...spending the night with them...and Bro T, who met us for breakfast on Sunday. We also got to meet two extended family members (Bro T's stepson who drove him to TN and SIL J's aunt who joined us at Cracker Barrel). Oh, and Mr. T and I had an "interstate 40 reunion" with a couple of my Stewart cousins on our way to the Lunn picnic! So, all-in-all, it was a very social family weekend.

Then, it was back on the road this past Friday (with the Pound Pups this time) to get to ATL in time for a Braves vs. Mets game that Missy M had arranged as her Father's Day gift to Mr. T. We made it to our seats in time to sing the National anthem...which is an accomplishment, take my word. With somewhat low expectations for a good outcome (have you heard what they did to our roster this year?!), we endured many scoreless innings for the Bravos. Then, as the 8th inning rolled around, we went ahead 2-1, and the crowd went wild! It was a great finish, capped off with the Friday Night Fireworks...ooh, aah! Loved it!

Missy M made a fabulous salad (fresh baby greens, strawberries, walnuts, feta cheese, and cherry tomatoes from her garden...with a vinaigrette dressing...yum!), while Mr. T grilled fresh corn on the cob and thick strip steaks last night, and today I made blueberry pancakes for our breakfast...with blueberries from our garden. At least we ate well before we had to get back in the car!

And we have enjoyed being together. As a family. As it should be.

Oh yeah. I've got all this...and Heaven above. Sing it, Alison!

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Remember, check out the latest post over on our gardening blog, Gardening with Giants. Click here to go there! 

To Every Game There Is a Season

Hard to believe...Summer is coming to an end tonight, and Fall starts on Saturday. No...not on the calendar. I'm speaking of the wonderful World of Sports.

We just got home from our final Greensboro Grasshoppers (Single A-minor league team in the Florida Marlins system) game of the 2013 season. It's the last home stand against the Hickory Crawdads (gotta love minor league baseball teams' names...:-), Thirsty Thursday with $1 beverages, and fireworks! A triple play!! Since the Hoppers are 10.5 games back, any hopes for the Playoffs this year are just a field of so many dreams. Ah well...play ball!

Funny aside from the Hoppers game tonight: while Mr. T was foraging for food and beverages, I'm clapping, hollering, cheering...and generally having the usual good time. A Crawdad hits a pitch down the first base line, and the man sitting next to me turns to his wife, claps and says "it's a foul ball." About that same moment, I see the first/second base ump (it's minor league, remember...only two umps for four bases...:-) give the sign, and I said "no, it's a fair ball." A few minutes and several plays later, Man says "You're really into this, aren't you? Have you always enjoyed baseball?" 

Lord have mercy, if he only knew...

I think I may have shared with you before about me and my love-hate relationship with baseball. My grandfather Keaton...known to me as Papaw...played catcher on a semi-pro baseball team in Tennessee, back in the early 1910's, and he was always a keen Yankees fan. Daddy was Dixie Youth Baseball commissioner for Ripley, and my younger brother played every level of Dixie Youth (Little League through Senior) baseball there was...and got a baseball scholarship to college. From the time J could swing a bat and wear a glove, we were at the ball park every Summer week night. To keep my level of boredom in check, I helped out in the concession stand...I bet I can still make a mean Suicide (a horrible drink that is a mixture of several fountain beverages)! 

And if we weren't going to local Little League games or tournaments, we were shaping our vacations around baseball season...and going to major league games. Local-boy-makes-good Jim Hickman from Henning was an original Mets team player, then he played for the Cubs...and he got Daddy tickets for games in Atlanta, St. Louis, and Chicago on several occasions. I vividly remember going to a Braves game that went 17 innings! Is this ever going to end? I always said I didn't like baseball. B-o-r-i-n-g. Do you blame me?

Truthfully, I think I didn't like yielding my life to Dixie Youth baseball...without being able to participate myself. We didn't have softball opportunities like there were later, plus I'm a lousy base runner and weak fielder...no arm strength for throwing. But I guess I learned the mechanics of the game by association and acquired the passion genetically. No one was a bigger Braves fan than my mother! As I've aged, baseball has become like an old family friend...and I've embraced the relationship. I recognize what a big part of my life this game has occupied. Now, I can answer the Man with "yes, I guess I do enjoy it," and mean it.

We won, by the way. Hoppers 4 — Crawdads 3. And the fireworks were fantastic!

Moving on...

We pack our winner-winner-chicken-dinner tailgate basket and head to Durham on Saturday afternoon for our first Duke football game of the season. Kickoff is at 4:00. They offered the Family Plan again this year (4 General Admission tickets to all home games for small bucks), and we love the atmosphere at Wallace Wade Stadium. "What a cute little stadium!" we once heard an Alabama coed exclaim as she walked around the horseshoe to the visitors section. A throwback to days before college football became Big Business. At Duke, basketball is King and the cash-cow, so football can be fun. Easy parking, easy tailgating, easy getting to-and-from our seats...no hassle. Go Devils! (Unless you're playing my Memphis Tigers, like you are on September 7...then I change loyalties, even if I continue to wear the same color blue...:-)

Baseball. Football. Both in the same week. Can basketball season be too far off?