Keeping Fit at Our Age

I try to do my best to keep fit. The older I get the harder it is. I'm not looking to build muscle.  I just want to stay reasonably trim, have some muscle tone and to generally feel good. With young grandchildren, I am going to try my best to live long enough to see them grow up. 

Having good genes is probably the most important factor to longevity.  We don't have any control over that. Other things we can control. Not abusing our bodies by smoking and drinking in excess.  Regular medical checkups and following your doctor's orders. Eating healthy and exercising regularly is also very important.

That doesn't mean that we necessarily enjoy controlling these things. One of the things I have to force myself to do is exercise.  We bought one of these contraptions to help us stay fit. 

The salesman called it a treadmill. That's not what I call it. I call it a DREADMILL. I hate the thing and dread the daily routine of using it. I don't know who invented it but he was clearly a sadist.  

I've been walking on the DREADMILL for several months. I have to say that I do feel better, especially when I get off, sit in my recliner and raise my aching feet. 

Rex and Pat

Just thought you might enjoy seeing what it looks like today on the mountain at Rex and Pat's cabin. They really have a beautiful place (see earlier blog "The Matthews Cabin in the Mountains" dated 2/27/14). Stay warm guys. Hope you have plenty of food. See you when it melts. 

Thank God we didn't get this in Angier. I'm ready for spring. I want to see some green. Worst winter ever and the spring sucks so far. 

Baby Levi's Babysitter

I guess most of you know that I have a 5 month old grandson named Levi who lives in Nashville, Tennessee.  I recent found out about this young lady who occasionally babysits young Levi. Her name is Kristina Train and I was completely blown away when I found out who she is. You know that many people in Nashville are involved in the music business. Just listen to the following link and I think you will be equally impressed. 

http://youtu.be/rNyhWXrLv8Y

Following is a little bio that I lifted from the internet. 

"Kristina Train (born January 17, 1982 in New York City)^[1] is an American pop singer-songwriter and musician who has lived in London, United Kingdom since 2011.^[2] Her music blends influences from country, soul, gospel, blues, folk, and jazz.^[3]

Performing in Warsaw, Poland, in November 2010 with Herbie Hancock

Kristina was born in New York City and raised in Savannah, Georgia.^[4] She is of Norwegian, Italian, and Irish heritage. At the age of four, Kristina started studying classical violin and ballet. She taught herself to play piano and guitar at an early age. Kristina was a dancer in the Garden State Ballet, Savannah Danse Theatre, and Ballet South where she studied under Karena Brock-Carlyle (Principal dancer of the American Ballet Theatre sharing roles with such stars as Natalia Makarova, Cynthia Gregory and Carla Fracci; and partnering with stars such as Rudolph Nureyev, Ivan Nagy, Fernando Bujones, and Mikhail Baryshnikov)."

I have added Kristina to my Pandora radio stations and have enjoyed both of her albums. I sure hope I get a chance to meet her when we visit Nashville again.  Levi is a lucky little fellow. 

Spring is in the Air

It has been a long cold winter. Most people are ready to see an end to these cold and dreary days we have been having here in North Carolina and most of the country. 

"The first day of Spring in 2014 is on March 20 (according to the astronomical definition). It is also called the spring quinox. Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. 

The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and customs. At the spring equinox or the first day of spring, days are close to 12 hours long with day length increasing as the season progresses."

Well, let's get all of those spring chores out of the way so that we can get on with the fun stuff. The temperature will be rising and the outdoor activities will begin. Golf, boating, fishing, gardening, going to the beach or mountains, cooking on the grill, travel. So many things to do and so little time before winter will be back. 

Saint Patrick's Day

Since I have an Irish son in law, I'll be sure to wear the green today. 

And a few corny Irish jokes. 

Why can't you borrow money from a leprechaun? Because they're always a little short. 

Why don't you iron 4-Leaf clovers? Because you don’t want to press your luck. 

I went out drinking on St Patricks Day, so I took a bus home...That may not be a big deal to you, but I've never driven a bus before. 

An Irish priest is driving down to New York and gets stopped for speeding in Connecticut. The state trooper smells alcohol on the priest's breath and then sees an empty wine bottle on the floor of the car. He says, "Sir, have you been drinking?" "Just water," says the priest. The trooper says, "Then why do I smell wine?" The priest looks at the bottle and says, "Good Lord! He's done it again!" 

Angier Gourd Museum

Most people from Angier have heard of the Gourd Museum, but how many have taken the time to visit it. I recently stopped by the Angier Library to get a card so that I can start borrowing e-books. While I was there, I took the time to visit the museum which is in the same building. 

The gourds are a collection that belonged to Mr. Marvin Johnson.  Mr. Johnson grew and collected gourds for many years. He was a very kind and generous man. The original museum was on his property on highway 55 across from the airport. When he passed away and the property was sold for development, the collection was moved to the Angier Library building. 

Please make time to visit the museum. You will enjoy it and will be paying tribute to the legacy of a fine man at the same time.  Following are just a few photographs of the collection. Please excuse the quality since most of the gourds are kept in glass cases. 

Mr. Marvin Johnson in his later years. 

Decorated gourds. You can see my reflection in the glass holding my cell phone camera. 

Gourd mask. 

Highly decorated gourds. 

Musical instruments. 

Animal gourds. 

Snake gourds. 

 

Might as Well Laugh at Getting Older

We are now approaching 51 years since we graduated from high school. That means that we are soon going to be what used to be consider old.  I certainly don't feel old. If it weren't for the occasional aches and pains, I would feel like I did as a teenager. I guess that 70 really is the new 50's. 

It has been said that this time of life is when we are the happiest. Most of us are now retired, have raised our children and can take a little time to smell the roses. Aside from trying to keep our bodies healthy, we should also try to keep a good attitude and sense of humor.  With that in mind, I found a few jokes that may appeal to people of our age group. 

We have all strived to be successful in life. But as we get older, our defininition of success tends to change.

SUCCESS:

At age 4, success is not peeing in your pants.
At age 12, success is having friends.
At age 16, success is having a drivers license.
At age 20, success is having sex.
At age 35, success is having money.
At age 50, success is having money.
At age 60, success is having sex.
At age 70, success is having a drivers license.
At age 75, success is having friends.
At age 80, success is not peeing in your pants.

Hope these put a smile on your face. 

Enough Already

That's it. I have had enough. This has been the worst winter ever. I'm cold. I'm wet. I've seen more snow than an Eskimo this year. When will spring ever arrive?  I promise to never complain about hot weather again. 

To get in the mood for spring, I am posting some pictures I took last summer. They do make me feel better and remind me that spring will get here in a few weeks and we will forget about all this crappy weather. 

Zinnias

Sailing on the Pamlico

Picnic on Shackleford

Sunset on the Newport River

Grandson with a nice bream. 

The Pharmacy Burger Parlor and Beer Garden, Nashville

Some of the guys on the back porch. 

Are you ready for spring yet?

What is This Nashville Hot Chicken?

According to Wikipedia:

"Anecdotal evidence suggests that spicy fried chicken has been served in Nashville for generations. The current dish may have been introduced as early as the 1930s, however, the current style of spice paste may only date back to the mid-1970s. It is generally accepted that the originator of hot chicken is the family of Andre Prince Jeffries, owner of "Prince's Hot Chicken". She has operated the restaurant since 1980; before that time, it was owned by her great-uncle, Thornton Prince. Although impossible to verify, Jeffries says the development of hot chicken was an accident. Her great-uncle Thornton was purportedly a womanizer, and after a particularly late night out his girlfriend at the time cooked him a fried chicken breakfast with extra pepper as revenge. Instead, Thornton decided he liked it so much that, by the mid-1930s, he and his brothers had created their own recipe and opened the BBQ Chicken Shack café."

For those of you who don't have a cast iron stomach, let me suggest that you order the mild version. Anything hotter than mild will keep you up all night. I thought I could eat hot foods, but I am no match for the chicken from hell. 

• Pepperfire

TRADITIONAL ITEMS            2 SIDES

Breast Quarter           $5.99                  $8.49
Breast and wing served with bread and pickles

Leg Quarter               $4.99                  $7.49
Leg and thigh served with bread and pickles

1/2 Chicken               $8.99                  $11.49
Left or right side served with bread and pickles

Whole Chicken         $15.99                 $18.49
Both sides served with bread and pickles

Jumbo Wings 6pc     $7.49                   $9.99
Served with ranch, bread and pickles

Tenders 10oz            $5.49                   $7.99
Served with ranch, bread and pickles

Tenders 14oz            $7.49                   $9.99
Served with ranch, bread and pickles

SIGNATURE ITEMS                 2 SIDES

Hot Chicken Sandwich $5.99                  $8.49
Tenders, local bun, lettuce, tomato and blue cheese

Peppercheese              $3.00                  $5.49
Our deep fried "grilled" cheese w/Pepperjack

Tender Royale             $8.49                  $10.99
A Peppercheese topped with an order of tenders

AppleFire                     $6.49                   $8.99
Belgium waffles topped with tenders and sweet apples!

Large AppleFire           $8.99                  $11.49
Belgium waffles topped with more tenders and more sweet apples!

Chicken and Waffles    $8.49                 $10.99
Tenders, waffles, syrup and butter

SIDE ITEMS $2.00
Traditi

I picked up take out orders from Pepperfire's for the family on the way back from the gym for lunch today.  Pepperfire is one of approximately 14 resturants in Nashville that specialize in hot chicken.  

If you are ever in Nashville, give hot chicken a try. 

 

Dreary Day

The weather here in Nashville pretty much sucks today, cool and drizzling rain.  Rather than spend all day in the house, we decided to go downtown and grab a quick lunch. The resturant was located in the same building as the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Omni Hotel. Dirctly across the corridor from the resturant is Hatch Show Print. Hatch prints posters for the Grand Ole Opry and others. They have been in the printing business since 1879. 

They are suppose to be somewhat famous, but I had never heard of them. Anyway, they have a store where you can purchase posters and other printed material. 

Some of the posters on sale in the store. 

The print shop was closed since it was Sunday but the store was open. 

The equipment inside looks like it came over on the Mayflower. No computers here. Every poster is printed by hand. The business was relocated from Broadway St. to this modern new location in 2013. 

Nashville Again

We are in Nashville again visiting our youngest daughter, her husband and our 4 month old grandson. Unfortunately Nashville is 550 miles from Angier, but that is not going to stop us from seeing our grandson. He's a cute little fellow who is just the happiest little baby I have ever seen. He hardly ever cries and will smile and giggle when you play with him. He goes to sleep at seven and sleeps most of the night. Why weren't our girls like that?  He is the greatest but that is what all grandparents say. 

Today was relatively warm, so we drove to Centennial Park and took a one mile stroll around the grounds. Not so pretty in the winter but still a nice city to visit. 

The Parthenon, built to commemorate Tennessee's one hundredth anniversary in 1897.

The Nashville skyline. The tall building on the right with the two towers is the AT&T building, better known as the "Batman Building".  This building is visible from my grandson's room. 

Most people think Nashville is all about country music and that is a major draw. Nashville is also a great university town with Vanderbilt being the major university. Medicine is also a large part of the Nashville scene.  In 2013, Vanderbilt School of Medicine ranked 14 in the US News Research School Ranking. The more time I spend here the more I am impressed. 

We haven't been to honky tonk row this week. Hopefully we will get a chance. The weather is suppose to turn cold with a chance of snow on Monday.  Our plans were to go to the Hermitage, home of president Andrew Jackson, on Monday.  May have to scrub that. Oh well, I'm sure we will be coming back soon.