Category Archives: Tennessee

John Deere and Fish

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My dad — my parents live in Manchester, Tennessee — is retired from John Deere, but that’s only given him more time with tractors, not less. He and my mom are serious antiques collectors, and while she heads for the linens and Depression glass, he can spot a rare tractor part or tool from a mile away. Also: Actual tractors. At least the wrenches and oil cans and other portable items he collects are easier to store and organize.  He does a great job of documentation and has an impressive library of tractor advertisements, manuals, giveaways and other tractor-related paper goods. He even led a workshop on “Industrial John Deere: In the Beginning” at the recent Gathering of the Green conference in Davenport, Iowa. My dad also likes fish. Not to catch or to eat, but to stock the pond at his tree farm/nursery. The fish eat the algae and pretty much keep the ecological system going strong, although I think my dad likes to talk to them them while he’s mowing. Just as long as they don’t talk back …

Interior Design and Cooking

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Going to my brother’s house in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is like going to a restful mountain retreat. In fact, six years ago when my then-husband-to-be and I were thinking about where to get married, we considered Mark and Tammie’s house — although I don’t think we ever told them that. (So, Mark and Tammie, would it be OK if we laid claim your house for a weekend and invited 200 people over? Thanks!!!) Anyway, when they bought their house on the side of Lookout Mountain, the interiors were sort of dark and chopped up. Since then and after much hard work, they have let in the light and gone bright and airy by taking out walls, adding light-colored hardwood floors and sticking with minimalist decor. I especially love the kitchen, where they took off the cabinet doors to offset the dark wood. Bonus: Everybody gets to see their collections of colorful vintage espresso cups, bowls, glasses and other dishes, although, as my brother pointed out, sometimes you have to wipe off your chosen dish before you use it if it’s been sitting on the shelf for a while. But that’s a small price to pay for fabulousness, don’t you think? Their bedroom continues the theme of calm and serene, with pale green walls and light-wood furniture. If you didn’t know this family but you walked into this house anyway, you’d know instantly that the folks who live here are creative and artistic and love being outdoors. And they are.

And speaking of creative, I kept telling my husband I was going to cover a “Cooking with Ginger” class for the TimesDaily — the newspaper I freelance for in Florence, Alabama — and he was bitterly disappointed to find out I was not making a Gilligan’s Island reference. But I did learn that ginger is an incredibly flavorful and versatile … herb? spice? … that will brighten up everything it’s added to. Younger Daughter has taken to putting some in the fresh juice she makes, and after this class I’m adding ginger along with the onion-garlic stir-fry duo to everything I get a saute pan out for. Read more and get some wonderful recipes at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100421/ARTICLES/4215001

Shopping

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What is it about North Carolina and super-cool grocery stores? First, our much-loved Fresh Market originated in Greensboro, and now the up-and-coming Earth Fare is starting to grow beyond its Asheville roots. Earth Fare emphasizes healthy, fresh, local, organic, non-toxic and earth-friendly — and affordable pricing. Besides all the usual grocery-store sections you’d expect, it also has a bakery, deli and salad bar  — you can take out or eat in — and a health-and-beauty section. Think Fresh Market’s seasonal variety along with Whole Food’s in-store options mixed with a local farmer’s market commitment to sustainability all supported by the pricing of a Publix or Kroger’s. I mean, any mainstream grocery store that sells rain barrels at its front door and locally made gluten-free bread in the deli has got my attention. Earth Fare says it does not sell anything with high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats, artificial colors, unnatural sweeteners and synthectic growth hormones in milk and meat, and I believe it. You just sort of feel healthier as soon as you walk in. I’d heard rumors about the Earth Fare store that’s opening on University in Huntsville, Alabama, in the building formerly occupied by Office Depot and Barnes and Noble across from Madison Square Mall, so when I was in Chattanooga recently and my sister-in-law said she needed to stop by Earth Fare for some groceries, I was delighted to get a sneak peak. You know I like browsing through a good grocery store almost as much as a good shoe sale. All I can say about Earth Fare is, “Y’all are gonna love this.” Go to http://www.earthfare.com to learn more.

Farming

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I know. It’s not my usual Saturday shopping stop, but when there’s only one retailer for miles around, what are you gonna do? I was in Elkmont, Alabama, headed for a cheese-making class at Humble Heart Farms — http://humbleheartfarms.com/ — when the hay bale in front of the Saddle Rack Farm & Pet Supply beckoned me. Actually, it was the llamas, roosters and other assorted animals in the front fenced-off area near the highway that grabbed my attention, but sadly they wouldn’t cooperate for photos so I only can promise you that they were there. I love poking around feed and farm stores — my love for Rural King, the farm/home store found mainly in Illinois and Indiana, is well documented. Something about hanging out with bins of seeds and samples of fencing reminds me of when I was little and I’d go places with my dad. We didn’t have a farm (although he has a nursery now) so I’m not sure why I associate feed stores with him. But he did sell John Deere industrial tractors and for years we had a vegetable garden, so mud, dirt and dust were familiar parts of my childhood. But we never had a hay bale in a front yard. My dear husband, on the other hand, did grow up on a farm and so probably is not as fascinated with feed stores as I am.

Band Geeks — and Nashville, Tennessee

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In our house, we are Band Geeks. Both my two daughters were Band Geeks in high school, my younger daughter was a Band Geek in college and I was a supportive Band-Geek Parent for years. But you know you can hang up your “I’m a Proud Band Mom!” T-shirt and throw out recycle your calling lists but you can never entirely lose the Band Geekiness. It’s there, just waiting for a chance to resurface and turn you into someone who gives up free weekends for band competitions and says things such as, “I think I’ve got a spare vibraphone string in my purse.” It happened to me. It could happen to you. Read more at my weekly newspaper column, http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100326/ARTICLES/3265000.

And while you’re clicking, check out Gwyneth Paltrow’s Part II of her trip to Nashville, Tennessee, at http://goop.com/newsletter/75/en/. GOOP is her newsletter/Web site and she usually writes from the I’m-a-famous-and-rich-movie-star-and-you’re-not-you-poor-things perspective. However, I was impressed with her Nashville Part I — she recommended several affordable and authentic Nashville spots for eating and drinking, whatever your beverage of choice. Part II looks at shopping and family activities and I’m on less solid ground here for seconding her suggestions. Except for Hatch Show Print, I’ve never been to any of the retailers she likes.  But that’s not surprising since the clearance rack at Belk’s is about as upscale as I get. Her choices for family fun, though — the Cheekwood Botanical Garden, the Frist art museum and the Adventure Science Center — get my vote, too.

Basketball and Nashville, Tennessee

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Oh, my cookies (as almost-2-year-old grandson Capt. Adorable says with his precious little Capt. Adorable-grin) — I love Bracket Time!!! When NCAA men’s college hoops action starts, I am glued to the TV. I mean, I’m even okay with Survivor being preempted — and you know how sacred I hold my weekly Survivor-watching. Not jumping on the Bracket bandwagon? Not sure what all the fuss is about? I know — I sort of feel that way about all those football bowl games. But read this article by Sports Illustrated writer Michael Rosenberg and you might give it a try: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/michael_rosenberg/03/17/ncaa.tournament. And then click on over to my weekly newspaper column at http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20100319/ARTICLES/3195000  for why I choose basketball over football, every time. (And you know I have to say that very quietly since Alabama is pretty much totally football country and basketball is what you do to fill the time until spring practice starts.)

And while you’re clicking, I want you to go here —  http://goop.com/newsletter/74/en/. But first let me explain, because you’re right that GOOP is the much-maligned newsletter sent out by actress Gwyneth Paltrow. As much as I loved her in one of my all-time favorite movies — The Royal Tenenbaums — her newsletter makes me cringe and laugh and spit out my coffee all at the same time. She writes — and I assume it’s actually her doing the writing — as if we all can hop jets and fly over to London for some bargain shopping or we all have famous friends who can give fashion and entertaining advice or as if we all have the time to Gaze Out At Nature and Contemplate Life. Sigh. Maybe I’m just jealous. Because, as Liz Lemon says, “I want to go there.” But this one time, GOOP gets it right. Apparently Gwyneth recently spent some time in Nashville, Tennessee, and the latest “Go” edition of the newsletter has some great food and music suggestions and some lovely things to say about my fellow Tennesseans. For the most part, she eschews the patently tacky tourist places and sends you to authentic Nashville — including the patently tacky tourist places that make Nashville what it is. Go to Nashville. Gwyneth and I both insist.

Beer

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It was my Dear Husband who’s taught me that beer is much more than frat parties and ballgames. Beer has flavor! And variety! And depth and complexity! Who knew??? One of our favorite beer-eries is Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, a franchised chain of beer pubs in Tennessee, Texas and the Carolinas, where the extensive menu is a fascinating textbook in beer-ology. We’d been to the one in downtown Memphis several times, so when we were in Nashville recently we checked out the Flying Saucer in downtown’s The Gulch, where the renovated Union Station has sparked an urban renewal of restaurants and condos. The night we were there, temperatures were sub-freezing and we had trouble decoding the parking layout — we are simple country folk and are used to being able to park right in front of wherever we want to go — so we were quite happy to get inside and enjoy. The place was lively and just-right crowded — enough for a party atmosphere but not so much that you can’t move your elbows — and we were not the oldest people there, which is always good. We tried out a couple new brews while my husband drew on his vast knowledge of 1980s pop culture for the ongoing trivia game and I tried to figure out which of the commemorative plates decorating the walls were actually Antiques Roadshow-worthy hidden treasures. If you ever find yourself close to a Flying Saucer, go inside. You’ll be glad you did. http://www.beerknurd.com/

Restaurants

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My Dear Husband is an adventurous eater but I could tell he wasn’t impressed when we first stepped in one of those Mongolian barbecue/grill places — too crowded, too many choices, too much work. I already had fallen in love with the concept of fill-your-bowl-and-let-somebody-cook-it-on-a-grill at the sadly now-defunct and much-mourned Fire and Ice in Birmingham, Alabama — and after his first taste, Husband joined the fan club, too. I mean, it’s like wandering through a grocery store and choosing your favorite ingredients for the best stir-fry ever and then letting somebody else do all the work, resulting in a bowl of pure perfection. Now Husband and I try every Mongolian place we come across, but our favorite is Genghis Grill, around the Galleria area in Franklin, Tenn. It’s on our must-eat list every time we head that way. In fact, Dear Husband starts talking about it days in advance. After all, who could resist the chance to create your own dish with its own can’t-be-duplicated flavors and the never-fail entertainment value of watching your carefully constructed bowl transform into lunch? Not us. Besides digging in to my freshly cooked bowl, one of my favorite Genghis Grill activities is matching other diners with their food choices as we all stand around the grill and covertly make sure nobody’s bowl is better than our own. Who, for instance, ignored all green items and went straight for meat and potatoes? Who’s the one who went heavy on the shrimp? And which liberal-leaning Greenpeace leftist went mainly with bok choy and tofu with a smattering of bean sprouts? Oh, yeah — that was me.

Happy New Year!

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May your journey through 2010 be filled with new adventures shared with your favorite people! Happy New Year!

Christmas Decor

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Has this holiday ribbon made it to your town yet? Everywhere I go in my usual family-and-friends route through Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, I see it. This super-wide bendable mesh is the latest thing to hit Christmas decorating since the invention of inflatable yard snow-globes — at least around here. Folks are decking their halls,  mailboxes, wreaths, garlands, trees, lamp posts and even presents with it. I love it — it seems so bright and festive and cheerful — and I would join in except I spent major $$$ a few years ago on going all gold and white for our outdoor Christmas decor and I imagine that my dear and darling husband would not take kindly to a major redo. But it’s tempting. I tend to overhaul all our outdoor Christmas decor every several years or so. The current white and gold replaced a symphony of gorgeous metallic purples, reds, golds and greens that I was in love with but my children cringed every year and heaved ponderous sighs about living with circus decorations. And in its full glory, the white and gold isn’t much better — when I put everything out in its originally intended spot, the house takes on a sort of puffy Victorian fairy-tale look that really has nothing in common with anybody who lives inside it. Consequently, I pare it down to the bare essentials of a couple wreaths, some mailbox decor and a few bows here and there — leaving many $$$ worth of wreaths, garlands and ribbons packed up and unused. But do not tell the husband, please. Our secret???