Another birthday, a little Pilgrimage and a new (and muddy) South Star

Well, the man was pretty smart...

Saturday, September 8 - The birthday presents for Ashlee have started to arrive and first up was this hilarious little door mat that is very accurate in its forecasting of our little Letty Spaghetti, the backdoor escape artist! 

Thursday, September 12 - Happy Birthday from afar, Ashlee!!  While I was on the road for work in East Tennessee, Ashlee was in Austin, Texas, for work as well today for her birthday.   We have a weekend of birthday activities planned to make up for it however.   

Friday, September 13 - Ashlee's birthday extravaganza weekend started tonight with a drive down to Murfreesboro for the Canine and Cactus Mixer at the Wag it Better Dog Training and Boutique, co-hosted by the Classy Cactus Farm.  Along with a couple other friends, we had a fun time arranging our own dog-themed succulent planters and then hanging out with some cute and friendly small dogs that are up for adoption as well.  

1,700 pieces!!! Happy Birthday, Ashlee...and good luck!!! - love, Dudley

Saturday, September 21 - We attended the Duke at MTSU college football game this afternoon down in Murfreesboro with our friend, Tom, and his girlfriend, plus his brother and his wife.  We were definitely for D-U-K-E even though this wasn't basketball.  The game was actually halted due to lightning in the area in the 3rd quarter with a comfortable lead for Duke, so we skedaddled before the storm and rain got to us.  They eventually finished the game with Duke winning 45-17.  

Saturday, September 28 - After learning that our # 1 want-to-see artist, Gwen Stefani, was headlining at the new South Star Music Festival in Huntsville, Alabama, today, we decided to buy day-passes and see her show even though we already had Pilgrimage Festival two-day passes also this weekend.  We figured we could catch Day 2 at Pilgrimage on our way back.  Simple, right?  Not so fast says Mother Nature! 

The rainy remains of Hurricane Helene threatened both festivals with complete cancellation, but we monitored both of their social media pages to see if they were going to try and go through with them.  With no cancellations announced, we headed down to Huntsville today and met our friends, Emily and Bridgette, at a nice Hilton Garden Inn near the festival site where we would spend the night.  We found parking fairly easily, not realizing it was a helluva walk to the festival entrance, but we made it with rain continuing to spit and sprinkle down. 

We headed to the Supersonic Stage and caught a great day-opening set from 90's veteran rockers, The Gin Blossoms.  We decided to stay at this stage throughout the day since we were able to move up to the very front when the next act, Tom Morello (photo above), took the stage...and proceeded to blow the roof off of the place as well as our minds!  Holy crap!  This dude is phenomenal!  As a part of Rage Against the Machine, we now have his band at the top of our must-see-live list.  An amazing show!!  And his "fuck Trump" banner in the heart of Bama was awesome!! 

After a fun and entertaining set from the 90's divas, TLC (minus the L sadly), it was time finally for the big payoff, front row for Gwen herself in all her blonde bombshell glory (video above).  She put on a stunning 90-minute set full of energy covering songs from her solo days and with No Doubt.  A great day and night worth the rain, mud, and sore feet and legs.  

Sunday, September 29 - This is the remnants of "Hurricane Gwen" last night! That joke is in very bad taste to the shocking damage and death toll to our east with the powerful Hurricane Helene path.  Our thoughts are genuinely with them. And, yeah, sure, global warming is a myth.   This pic does give a good idea of what we had to slog through last night in the dark to get out of here from the front row.  Not surprisingly, the City of Huntsville cancelled the second day of shows here for safety reasons due to the poor conditions of the grounds in their park.  
(photo courtesy of the South Star Facebook page) 

We tried our best to carry out the Two Fest Weekend, but Mother Nature made it very hard.  We made it to this year's 10th Annual Pilgrimage Festival with no problems from Huntsville.  Getting in was fairly easy and we even got some free tasty food from the Hardee's tent, but then here came the non-forecasted and not-on-the-radar rain again!! Seriously??  WTF?? 

So, after a very entertaining set by new-to-us artist, Stephen Wilson, Jr., IN THE RAIN AGAIN, we made the tough executive decision to call it a very early day.  There was just no way we could stand for another six or so hours in even more possible rain.  Sorry, Better Than Ezra, NeedtoBreathe and Noah Kahan.  Maybe next time.  It was nice to get home and rest early.  

Tuesday, October 1 - Summer is over, but it's trying to hang on as best it can.  We are closing the pool this week for the season and that's just too sad of a picture to post, so this little beauty got the nod instead for hanging on as long as possible.  

Friday, October 4 - We attended a magic show and dinner at Cedar City Brewing tonight along with our friends, Kate and Curtis.   The food was good, and the two magicians from House of Cards in Nashville were great.  Ashlee even got called up to help with a trick!  

Saturday, October 5 - We attended the relaxing and lovely "Beautifica" show at the Adventure Science 360 Theater in Nashville tonight with and at the suggestion of our friends, Kate and Curtis.    We had a quick, but tasty, stop at Schulman's in East Nashville for dinner beforehand. 

Holy cutie-pies, Batman!!!  Our new fosters, three brothers named Frankie, Gordie and Jett, are just freaking adorable and oh so loving.  They definitely should be easy to convince someone to adopt them (all together maybe??)

Sunday, October 6 - We did a fun and interesting behind-the-scenes at the Nashville Zoo at Windmere today.  We even got to feed a giraffe!  This was a belated birthday present for Ashlee that we both really enjoyed.   Beforehand, we strolled around the rest of the zoo checking out the Komoto dragons, the rhinos, red river pigs and some beautiful azure macaws.  We even had a very tasty lunch at the zoo.  The behind-the-scenes tour was great.  It looked like you were going into Jurassic Park when we entered the giraffe's enormous habitat and state-of-the art barn.  

The Nashville Zoo actually has five total giraffes of which we saw all of them including this gang shot of four of them at one time.  Proceeds from our tours go directly to conservation efforts in Africa for these magnificent, shy but curious animals. 

Summer Rageth On

Friday, June 28 - We drove to Asheville, North Carolina, tonight after work and stayed downtown at the Renaissance Hotel with some friends for our annual summer "go to the mountains" trip.  This year's trip came a little early, so we could also take in a concert here tomorrow night. On the way, we stopped at the Buc-ee's in Crossville for some amazing sandwiches for dinner. 

Despite our late arrival, we still met up with our friends, Curtis and Kate, at a late-night cocktail bar called The Rankin Vault within easy walking distance of the hotel for a couple libations before turning in for the night. 

Saturday, June 29 - We started the day here in Asheville with a baker's dozen from nationally famous Hole Doughnuts that included decadent flavors like vanilla glaze, toasted almond sesame, cinnamon sugar and watermelon margarita.  These giant babies are hand-made at the time of order and were delicious.  We had a nice share session in the lobby of our hotel along with Kate and Curtis; and our friends from Chattanooga, Michelle and Patrick, who also arrived last night.  

Despite a strange end-of-the-hall location and a bit of musty smell, our hotel room had a nice view of downtown Asheville including legendary author, Thomas Wolfe's, boyhood home.  

Keep it weird, Asheville.  Even though it's been nine (gulp) years since we've been to downtown Asheville, it's not changed a lot, and that's good.  There was a homeless presence as there is everywhere, but the city's been doing a good job with them based on what one of our Uber drivers told us.  We forgot how much we love it here and sure can't wait another nine years to return!! 

Today's selfish endeavor was a planned Asheville 6-Pack Brewery Crawl planned by me.  Everyone but Michelle was game for it, and we wound up having a great time walking and taking Ubers to Highland; 7 Clans; Hillman (great lunch here too); French Broad; New Belgium [East Coast Ops] (good snacks here too); and finally the recently expanded Green Man Brewing.  

Tonight's show was Michael Franti and Spearhead (guess who we saw here in downtown Asheville nine years ago too) with Niko Moon opening at Salvage Station.  What a great outdoor venue!  It's a damn shame it's closing soon due to eminent domain for an interstate expansion (boo!!).  

Niko Moon was a ton of fun as the opener for Franti.  He's such a great entertainer and good soul seems like.  Love the outfit, Neko!!   It's a natural match to be playing with Capt. Stay Human whose show was as solid and heartwarming as ever.  

Sunday, June 30 - After a great breakfast in downtown Asheville at the Five Points Restaurant, we had an easy drive back home thanks to decent traffic and the continuation of a great audiobook autobiography called "What a Fool Believes" from legendary rocker, Michael McDonald, and his late-in-life friend, funnyman Paul Reiser.   We were supposed to go see them talk about their book a few weeks back in Nashville but got stormed out of going.  We did get a signed hardback copy of the book at least. (photo above).  

(Editor's note:  A mere four months later this beautiful area of North Carolina and East Tennessee were ravaged by flooding from Hurricane Helene.  We wish the entire area and its inhabitants the best in recovery.)

Thursday, July 4 thru Sunday July 7 - Happy Independence Day from the pool!  We hosted a fairly casual long weekend "come by and swim and hang out" party since we both also had Friday off from work as well this year and decided not to travel anywhere.   Ashlee's cousins from Cincinnati came down for the long weekend also and were our only guests on Thursday and Friday which was fine with us.  We grilled excellent steaks from CostCo.  Saturday had a few more friends drop by throughout the day including a couple dog-friends for Sunny.  Hot dogs and hamburgers were the grill selections. 

Sunday, July 7 - It was just us today in the pool and some leftovers from the weekend's activities.  Shout-out to Ashlee (and Memo's in Chattanooga) for this great chopped-wiener plate/bowl idea for dinner tonight.  Salute!! 

We did have several bats drop by during this beautiful sunset tonight as well. 

Sunday, July 14 - It was another Dog Party at the Pool today with Sunny's friends, Duke and Rio, coming by for a dip.  Thanks to our friend, Adrianna, for snapping this great pic, and our friend, Kate, for the Care Bears Knockabout Sunglasses that Duke is sporting. 

Sunday, July 21 - We went to see the new movie Twisters in IMAX at Opry Mills Theaters with several other friends this evening.  The original Twister (RIP, the great Bill Paxton) was the first movie Ashlee and I ever saw in IMAX down in San Antonio, so it seemed like a must to see this remake in the same format.  The film was fantastic!  Great (scary) special F/X and a good, original story that was a bit different from the original.  

Saturday, July 27 - We went to see the Hootie and the Blowfish show at the Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville tonight.  Opening were a couple other 90's classic rockers: Collective Soul and Edwin McCain.   The entire show was great, but the timeless voice of H and B's, Darius Rucker, was and is the best of the bunch.  Thanks to our pals, Kate and Curtis, for going with us in place of Emily and her husband, Andrew, who is not doing very well after being diagnosed recently with skin cancer.  We wish him all the best and a full recovery.  

Thursday, August 1 - It's the 25th Anniversary of the BFFFL! Let's get ready to FUMBLE!! 

Monday, August 12 - One perk to some of the dog-sitting I've been doing as a side hustle on Rover is getting to hang out at some pretty nice houses here in the area.   Ashlee stopped by the Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Lebanon and got us some dinner tonight which we enjoyed with this nice lake view and some canine companionship from Sunny and the two dogs I am sitting with tonight, Maggie and Mollie.  

Saturday, August 17 - We grabbed some super-cheap ($8! on StubHub) Titans' preseason tickets for tonight's game against the Seattle Seahawks along with our friends, Craig and Alison, and Emily.  We rode The Titans Express train from Donelson to the game and back.  We chose the Donelson station so we could get some tasty dinner and do some imbibing before the game at the Homegrown Taproom which is just across the road.  The game was a good one (despite the heat) with the Titans pulling out a game-winning field goal as time expired.  While it was still hot this evening, we played it smart and sat on the west side of the stadium out of the sun (opposite of our tickets) since there were large swaths of empty seats up top for the 6 PM kick-off.  The ride back ended with some stormy weather that made the short drive home a little daunting.  

Saturday, August 24 - This beautiful mourning dove hung out around our patio this morning as we sat and reflected on the sad news that our friend Emily's husband, Andrew, passed away last night after a very recent battle with cancer.  At just 48 years old, it's pretty shocking.  We've read that the presence of mourning doves symbolizes departed loved ones, so we hope this one meant Andrew was telling us goodbye in one of the last places we remember him and Emily being together - relaxing and smiling on and around our patio and pool here at home.  RIP, friend.  

Sunday, August 25 - We tried our first Sunday Brunch at the Cumberland University Cafeteria today and it was tasty!  We will be doing that again!  The puddin'-head shown above stayed home and guarded the couch.  

BYRON the BELOVED

Tuesday, June 25 - We got tough news today that Byron's body is not responding to the fluids he is being given which could mean kidney failure among other issues.  We decided to bring him home for the night and give him peace tomorrow.  He had a restful night back in the familiar sights and smells of home.  All his buddies checked on him as he slept between us on our bed.  We love you, buddy. 

Wednesday, June 26 - We lost our sweet boy today.  Rest in Peace, beautiful and beloved Byron Finch.  It's totally unfair to lose you at such a young age, but we enjoyed our six years with you and know felt that love every day and gave it gladly in return.  You will always be in our hearts.

Byron thru the years... 

A Stay-cation Anniversary and an Embrace of Summer

Friday, May 17 - We decided to have a 23rd wedding anniversary stay-cation in East Nashville this weekend while catching a couple of concerts in town as well.  We rented a sweet little AirBnb in a great spot just off Gallatin Road.  It was clean, quiet and roomy for just us two.   We were in walking distance of Tailgate Brewery and had a couple of beers along with an excellent street corn and chicken pizza for dinner tonight. 

Our first of two shows was Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors on the first of a two-night stand for them at The Ryman Auditorium.  We had good aisle seats in the balcony and Drew even came up to our section and most of the balcony during his beautiful cover of Adele's "When We Were Young."  He had some special guests join him on stage including his wife, Ellie, and Josiah Leming of Josiah and the Bonnevilles.  Their opener, Abraham Alexander, was terrific as well. 

After the show, we ambled down to Broadway to check out the new Garth Brooks honky-tonk, Friends in Low Places.   After watching an interesting documentary recently on its creation by Garth and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, it was fun to see it in real life.  With no cover charge, we were surprised how easy it was to move around inside, and really enjoyed our visit there.

Above is a fish-eye panoramic view of Broadway from "The Oasis" on the roof of Friends in Low Places. We like the way they are closing off portions of Broadway now on busy nights. 

Saturday, May 18 - Our anniversary staycation continued today.  After a nice sleep-in at our comfy Airbnb, we grabbed a tasty breakfast and some excellent chai tea lattes at the Ugly Mug Coffee Cafe nearby as well as a half-dozen delectable doughnuts from Five Daughters Bakery  we brought back to enjoy throughout our stay here in East Nashville. 

Pedicure time!!  We had to run back home today to check on our cats (regulars and fosters) since our usual cat-sitter was out of town.  On the way back to Nashville, we met up with our friends, Kate and Curtis, for pedicures in Mt. Juliet at No.1 Nail Bar.  It was my first pedicure in quite a while, but I enjoyed it and we all had a fun time.  

Back in East Nashville with some time to kill before our dinner reservation, so we Ubered over to the new-to-us Tiger Bar, a very cool speakeasy with a circus/carnival theme.  We had a ball here with some excellent cocktails and finger foods including a flavored popcorn flight.  

Another quick Lyft ride got us to dinner at Noko, a unique wood-fired Japanese restaurant.  We surprisingly came to realize that this is where one of our old favorites, Pomodoro East, used to be.  Well, it's an upgrade in my opinion.  The food here was fantastic.  Their wood-fired edamame is insanely good!    The staff was excellent as well with the owner coming by to ask about our experience and even a free appetizer and dessert when we mentioned it was our anniversary tomorrow.  We will definitely be back here ASAP!! 

Tonight's show was with one of our favorite bands of all time, Augustana, at The Basement East.  Lead singer and band founder, Day Layus,  has put together a great new group around him for the first record in ten years.  They sounded great live, and we were just a few feet from the stage to enjoy it all.  Their opener, Very Gently, is a relatively new band of seasoned, talented performers who had some great three-part harmony.   We also got a signed limited-edition print of the tour poster pictured above.  

Sunday, May 19 - Happy 23rd Anniversary to us!!  Has it really been that long ago?  Wow!  We started our anniversary day with a sleep in at our Airbnb and then a delicious breakfast at Snooze before leaving East Nashville.   We spent the rest of the day enjoying our pool, our pets and our home with some friends.  

Check out the numerous cicada flashes in this tree in our yard as the sun was setting behind it.  The number (and sound) of them is just amazing this year.

Thursday, May 23 - Man, we got us some cute foster kittens this year.  This one's "Boonie" and he's about the sweetest little boy in the world. 

Here's the whole gang in an extraordinary picture made by Ashlee.  How she got them to all sit still and look toward her is amazing.   Clockwise from the top we have the aforementioned Boone, Rosalind, Nelly, Hedy and Meri.  All named after regional pioneers.  

Sunday, May 26 - We drove down to attend the high school graduation party of our niece today on Mowbray Mountain in Soddy-Daisy.  It was also a house-warming party since Ella and her parents just moved into this great house and property.  A fun time was had by all including a dip in their new pool as well.   Ella is following in our footsteps and attending UT-Chattanoga this fall. 

Monday, May 27 - We had a fun Memorial Day Dog Party at the pool today when our friend, Adrianna, brought over her dogs, her boyfriend's dog, and another one she was sitting for over the weekend for Sunny to have plenty of companions in and out of the pool.  We grilled out and enjoyed time with friends while soaking up some sun after a lot of rain lately. 

Sunday, June 2 - We had tickets to see legendary rocker, Michael McDonald, and comedian, Paul Reiser, recently talking about McDonald's new autobiography called What A Fool Believes that Reiser helped write also, but we had to forgo seeing it in downtown Nashville due to bad weather.  I did pick up our books signed by both authors from Parnassus Books over in Green Hills who sponsored the event.   We sold our extra copy today via Facebook Marketplace to a very grateful young man in the music business who says he's a big fan of McDonald.

Tuesday, June 4 - We went to our local Roxy Theaters (recliners!) tonight to catch a showing of the action/romantic-comedy, The Fall Guy.  It's been out a while and I actually already saw it and liked it a lot, so I knew Ashlee would enjoy it as well especially with eye-candy, Ryan Gosling, in it.   She loved it, as did I for a second time.  So clever and funny.  

Friday, June 7 - We had our first dinner at the Cumberland University Cafeteria tonight since I started working there.  One of the perks of the job are $5-flat all-you-can-eat meals there as an employee (and guest).  

Tonight's entree was beef tacos and they were pretty darn good as was the banana pudding desert.  All-you-can-drink sodas too!  Looks like we will be coming here pretty darn often in the future!  Photo credit to Ashlee.  

Sunday, June 16 - Our pool day/home-made Indian food day got cut short today due to thunderstorms and heavy rain that just wouldn't let up.   An Indian student/friend I recently made at Cumberland U, Apurva, offered to make us some authentic Indian food in exchange for a ride to the airport and back that I offered him next month.  I invited him to come enjoy the pool with us and his food along with his friend, Sachin.  The food was excellent, but the weather turned nasty just after we finished eating which cut our pool time short.  Still, it was a great chance to meet these fine young men and show them a good time (minus the rain) here in Lebanon which they seemed to appreciate. 

Sunday, June 23 - Ashlee had to rush our sweet baby boy, Byron, to the pet emergency hospital in Murfreesboro today.  He was vomiting a lot and very lethargic.  He's being given fluids and evidently his blood sugar had severely spiked.  We are very worried about him.

Monday, June 24 - We went to visit Byron who remains very lethargic.