Pushing on through Winter

The 2018 Collage came together quite nicely.  It is dedicated to our dear cat, Mabel, who we lost this year and miss very much.  I went a little more 3-D with it this year with some not-so-flat attachments around the frame's edge that really make it unique.

 January 11, -  We headed down to City Winery in downtown Nashville tonight to catch one of our fave bands, Big Sam's Funky Nation, along with a local favorite of ours ,Alannah Royale, as the opener.  Both sets were awesome!  We even got to say hello to Alannah after her performance and Ashlee got a selfie with her again after showing her one that we got several years ago here when she was also working here as a server.  Big Sam and the boys came to play hard as usual and we were the first ones on our feet right up in front of the stage when they came on.  By the end of the show, the floor was full of movers and shakers!  

They are back!!  After getting pushed out of their parking spot by the grump old City of Lebanon, our favorite taco truck folks at Alberto's Taqueria are set up in a permanent location now in the Lebanon Outlet Mall Food Court.  Same great burritos, tacos and street corn and now with  indoor seating! 

Sunday, January 27 - Ashlee was back in town from travelling for about 48 hours before having to head back out again for more work travel.  While she was home, we  did meet up with an old work-friend of hers, Michelle, and her fiancee', Adam, who were visiting Nashville.  They picked the rooftop bar called The Lookout atop the new Blake Shelton-owned honky-tonk, Ole Red, for brunch.  The food was pretty good.  The views were spectacular as the weather was mild for late January.  In the foreground of the photo above is the new Kid Rock-owned honky-tonk whose name is somewhat controversial, but we don't see what the BIG ASS deal is with it! 

We were in Chattanooga this weekend and even though not for a lot of fun - cleaning out some of Ashlee's mom, Evelyn's, house to put up for sale,  and also visiting her in the hospital (which turned into two emergency surgeries), but we were able to squeeze in a couple of tasty dinners at two new-to-us spots.

Friday, February 8 - Basecamp Bar and Restaurant in North Chattanooga  has great food and libations.  Ashlee had been here before, but this was our first visit together.  We can't wait until the weather is warmer and we can visit their large outdoor patio!

Saturday, February 9 - I have been wanting to visit The Bitter Alibi for a while now since they have a great beer list.  Well, their food is even better!  We had a couple of excellent Asian-themed dishes and the prices were very reasonable.  We shall return!! 

While Ashlee was away on a business trip, I was given the task to make sure and get some of the Special Valentine's Day cheese offered from Aldi's and was able to grab the tasty foursome before they sold out.

Thursday, February 14 - I am posting this Valentine's Day throwback picture from 4 years ago to honor Ashlee's mom, Evelyn..  We are wishing "Evie-baby" a speedy recovery from a scary perforated bowel that has put her in the ICU unit in Chattanooga's Memorial Hospital this past week.  Ashlee slipped home for the evening with Evie in stable condition and we had a nice, quiet night at home with some tasty take-out from Painturo's Pizza and Pasta around the corner.  We also had to cancel a planned trip to The Florida Keys this coming weekend, but we will be back down there as soon as we can.

Sunday, February 17 - It was another weekend (and week for Ashlee) of hospital visitation in Chattanooga with her mom, Evelyn, still in ICU.  We were able to squeeze in a little fun before and after our afternoon visit with a stop in at Heaven and Ale Brewing (where they always have the coolest murals) for a couple of 5 oz. beers and a tasty cheese plate.
After visitation we met Ashlee's sister, Paige, her husband, Andy, and their daughter, Ella, down at the Frothy Monkey in the Choo-Choo for dinner which was very good.  

Tuesday, March 5 - We went to our first for the season, and probably only, regular-season Nashville Predators game tonight vs. the Minnesota Wild at Bridgestone Arena.  It was a "wild" game to say the least, going back and forth the whole game and then into overtime and a shoot-out with the Preds squeaking out a 5-4 victory.  The victory leap-frogged them back to first place in Western Central Division with just 10 games left before the playoffs.

We had good lower-bowl seats thanks to some of my Lebanon Poker connections.  We enjoyed some arena food (tasty chicken and waffles for me!) before the game and were back home late with no problems.  The luster of going to live Preds games has waned a lot for us since it is quite an endeavor to drive to Nashville, deal with traffic, high parking fees, higher ticket prices and the always trying ordeal of dealing with other people.  But, we had fun, and I am sure it won't be our last game ever.  Go Preds!!

We thought this was our first overtime shoot-out to see in person at Bridgestone Arena, but looking back through the blog, it looks as if this was actually our third one.

Friday, March 8 - We were scheduled to meet our friends, Chris and Tarryn, who moved away a few years ago but were back in town for a visit this weekend, for dinner and a concert at The Ryman tonight The show got rescheduled to Sunday night due to illness by the performer, Amos Lee.  And, Ashlee got delayed coming back from Chattanooga for dinner, so we salvaged the evening by meeting Chris and Tarryn at the fairly new Catch 22 Gastropub in Mt. Juliet for a late snack (a huge tasty soft pretzel) and a few libations.  I have been to this place a few times before thanks to their great beer menu, but this was our first visit together.

Sunday, March 10 - We headed into Nashville this afternoon and our first stop was the relatively new 5 Daughters Bakery location in the bustling 12 South area.  We were lucky to find parking nearby and enjoyed our maple and vanilla cream doughnuts (well, half of them at least - they were HUGE!) outside on their deck in the warm sunshine.

Next, we headed over to catch the first of three SOLD OUT showings of the Cat Video Fest 2019 at The Belcourt Theaters.  This collection of hilarious clips kept us laughing throughout.  Cats BE CRAZY!  It was so great to see that the clips were being shown in the large main screening theater since some of the admission price went to help the Nashville Cat Rescue, who were also on site and we got to walk through their cool mobile adoption-mobile. They announced that they had already had three adoptions by the time the show started!  After the show, we walked across Belcourt Avenue and had some pretty good rolls at Sushi 88.

  We headed downtown next, just in time to catch the opening act, Ethan Gruska, at The Ryman Auditorium for singer/songwriter, Amos Lee.  This show had been rescheduled from Friday night as Amos was battling strep the previous week.  His voice was still not at 100%, but his band is tight and he had some great guest singers to help him out along the way.  This was our first time seeing him live and we really enjoyed the show and can't wait to see him again in full form.  Thanks again to Chris and Tarryn for the suggestion and for attending the show with us.
(song memory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPMy01lS5as)

Sunday, March 17 -  Yes, it was St. Patty's Day today, but more importantly, it was the day of the birthday party for our kittens, Doris and Byron, who turn one year old this week!  Yes, throwing our pets a birthday is a first for us!!  Thanks to all our friends who showed up for the party (and probably to make sure we hadn't really slipped off the deep end).    Below are some fun pics and info from the party and the day:

We played the game, CAT, which is kind of like Pictionary, but with cats, of course.  I really thought my "pilot" drawing was one of the best of the day...despite our team, Whisker Inc., losing the game to the St. CATricks team.  

Our friend, Wendy, made this hilarious (and tasty) Cat Litter Cake for the party.  Calm down, those are just Tootsie Rolls...I hope.  Thanks to Wendy for the picture also.  

Here is Doris partying it up with some "cat wine" aka liquid catnip.   Another great pic by Wendy.  

Doris (left) and Byron (right) were excellent sports throughout the day.  They were social and patient as we took silly pictures of them.  They really are two of the sweetest little charmers in the world.  We are so happy to have them in our lives.  

After the party, along with Paige and Ella, we headed to the Nashville Humane Association to drop off a large amount of donation gifts from us and others that our friends had brought to the party.  Since we got Doris and Byron at the Humane Center in Chattanooga, it only seemed right to help out other cats in need.  We also dropped by the Mewsic Kitty Cafe (our second visit to this great place) for some more cat interaction.  The $12 it costs per person to go in the cafe is worth it since all the profits go to aiding more cats in search of permanent homes.  What a fun and fulfilling day!! 

Wednesday, March 20 - We had dinner tonight at Pastaria in West End area of Nashville and it was delicious!   Afterwards, we were back at the The Belcourt Theaters tonight to catch a repertory showing of the 2018 film, First Man, which I have seen before, but Ashlee had not.  Despite being basically looked over during awards seasons, this was one of my favorite movies of last year.   Ashlee enjoyed her first viewing as well.   The film is part of Belcourt's "Science on Screen" series and we had the benefit of a special guest speaker after the film.  Retired NASA astronaut and surgeon, Drew Gaffney, gave some interesting insight on his space shuttle Columbia mission several years ago.  

The restaurant, Pastaria, is located in the new ONE C1TY complex off Charlotte Avenue.  It's a beautiful facility with a great outdoor area that includes a small park and lots of seating.  We will definitely try and come back for a visit in warmer weather.