Books Worth Looking Into

Welcome!

Lately, I've been reading some pretty helpful, interesting books that I thought you might enjoy knowing about. On this blog post, I'd like to share those with you.*

"...The best (books) should be labeled 'This could change your life.'"-Helen Exley

The first book is one I'm currently reading, "eat dirt," by Dr. Josh Axe.** (Dr. Axe is a doctor of natural medicine and a clinical nutritionist.) My whole life I've had persistent allergies, and this book just may be the answer for which I've been searching for quite a while. The subtitle is "Why Leaky Gut May Be the Root Cause of Your Health Problems..." According to the book, 80 percent of Dr. Axe's patients do have leaky gut. There is a quiz in the book to see if you have it. With today's toxic environment and people's toxic lifestyles, no wonder so many people are less than well. Dr. Axe gives many helpful suggestions not only in his book, but there is a lot of free info on his website, as well. (We're especially proud of Dr. Axe since he's from Nashville!)

FYI:
www.draxe.com

"I must say I find television very educational. The minute someone turns it on, I go into the library and read a good book."-Groucho Marx

A book that I really like and think is very helpful in my daily living is "Become a Better You." by Joel Osteen. The subtitle is "7 Keys to Improving Your Life Every Day." In fact, all of Joel's books are very positive and empowering.

FYI:
www.joelosteen.com

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends, they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers."
-Charles W. Eliot

Lastly, another book which I recently finished reading is "Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar Miracle Health System" by Paul Bragg and Patricia Bragg. I now use many of the helpful suggestions (that I feel are right for me) that are in this book.

They have an interesting website, www.bragg.com

Greg tends to like books with adventure like those by author Clive Cussler.

Sometimes it's fun to go back and reread the books of your childhood, like "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson or "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. And, it would also be neat to read some of the old classics that you never got to read in the past.

"A book is a magical thing that lets you travel to far-away places without leaving your chair."
-Katrina Mayer

"I'm a bookaholic on the road to recovery. Ha, not really. I'm on the road to the bookstore."-Author Unknown

Happy reading!

*Disclaimer: We are all different, and whatever I like and believe is right for me, may not be right for you. Please use your own judgment on these book, etc. suggestions. I'm not responsible for the choices anyone else makes as a result of something that was on any of my blog posts.
**I'm not being compensated in any way by anyone with my book and/or website suggestions.

Positive thought: "Life is an open book full of blank pages. You write the story as you go."-yourbirthdayquotes.com
Thanks for visiting! Until next Monday, Becky

Tennessee Park-of-the-Month

Welcome!

I guess you could say that Greg and I are hooked on Tennessee parks, and you'd be right! Our home state of Tennessee has some wonderful parks that Greg and I love to visit often, both near and far. In some of my previous blog posts, I've mentioned several different Tennessee parks that we have visited.

There are still quite a few parks in Tennessee that are left for us to explore, so we decided that for the next few months, we are going to go to a new park every month.

This blog post is about a park we just recently visited, Montgomery Bell State Park, which is in Burns, Tennessee. It was named for wealthy industrialist Montgomery Bell who established a major iron furnace.

The park has an inn and a conference center. In fact, the day we visited, we could hardly find a place to park since there was a large meeting going on there.

We were really glad when a parking space finally turned up so we could go have lunch at The Forge Restaurant which is inside the inn.

The dining room can seat 180 people.

The buffet is Southern-style.

Our Table with a View of Beautiful Lake Acorn

Lake Acorn

Delicious Food

Just like their website says, The Forge Restaurant is "recognized for its outstanding food, hospitality and lakeside views."

After lunch, we looked around the inn...

which has a rustic decor.

We then went outside on the inviting porch.

Imagine you and a friend, relaxing here!

We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the park-

Greg, Doing Some Creative Photography

There were some beautiful sights around the park-

"Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books."
-John Lubbock

Know what this is? (the photo below)-

It's an iron smelter!

We loved our April park-of-the-month, Montgomery Bell State Park, and we can hardly wait until next month!

FYI:
Montgomery Bell State Park
1020 Jackson Hill Road
Burns, TN 37029
www.tnstateparks.com

Positive thought: "May your search through Nature lead you to yourself."-Author Unknown
Thanks for visiting! Until next Monday, Becky

A Day of Fun in Columbia, Tennessee

I just wanted to share with you a fun day we had recently in Columbia, Tennessee.

The occasion was a special one, the Mule Day parade, that we enjoyed with two special people, Mike and Betty, who traveled over three hundred miles to celebrate with us.

The Mule Day parade is one of the best parts of Mule Day.* Here are some of the highlights of the parade, in words and pictures-

Toward the first of the parade, there were men on horseback, carrying various flags, including the United States and Tennessee ones.

There were horses carrying beauty queens.

There was even a "horse of a different color"!

And, since this was the mule parade, there were mules, of course, as well.

There was even a pretend mule.

Even some of the spectators came dressed for the occasion.

There were canine fans, too!

Like my animal-lover Daddy would say, "Here's a little sweetheart."

The over-hour-long parade was spectacular with lots of other things like floats, fancy cars, and horse-drawn carriages, etc.

After the parade, we were hungry, so we headed over to Puckett's** for lunch.

Preparing to Visit Puckett's

I got the breakfast buffet instead of ordering lunch. Great choice!

We stopped in at The Old Curiosity Book Shop which was right down the street.*** 

Next on our agenda was the home of James K. Polk who was the 11th President of the U. S. (I found a cute mule-shaped cookie cutter in the gift shop which is now on display in our kitchen.)

We then went to an old graveyard to find a Confederate soldier's grave since Mike and Greg are Civil War buffs.

While there, we happened upon this adorable little calico, which was nice to see, since we didn't notice any cats attending the parade!

Question to ponder: A mule is a combination of what two animals?

"Always make time for the people that remind you, life is meant to be fun."

-"An Inspired Approach"

*For more information on Mule Day, please see my 4/1/12 and 4/6/13 "The Art of Positive Living" blog posts.

**For more information about Puckett's, see my 4/14/13 blog post. 

***For more information about The Old Curiosity Book Shop, see my 10/13/13 blog post.

(Note: The first and last photos were taken outside of Puckett's.) 

Positive thought: "Have fun!! (seriously)-pinterest.com
Thanks for visiting! Until next Monday, Becky

Marcy Jo's in Pottsville, Tennessee, Revisited

Welcome!

On May 19, 2012, I wrote a blog post entitled, "Marcy Jo's Mealhouse and Bakery." Since Greg and I hadn't been to Marcy Jo's in Pottsville, Tennessee (which is near Columbia) in a while, we decided to revisit it. We love the charming country/rural atmosphere and the great food. The people who work there are nice and friendly.

Artistic Sign

We noticed on this visit that there was a nice gift shop upstairs. It had some pretty jewelry. (Jewelry is one of the main reasons I love gift shops!) There were also clothes, all kinds of novelties, and, of course, albums and DVD's of Joey + Rory. (Joey Feek was one of the owners of Marcy Jo's before she recently passed away.)

Downstairs, there are pretty antique pieces for sale.

There is a set menu, and they have specials every day, as well. The food is fresh and tasty!

After we got back home, Greg and I enjoyed carry-out desserts from Marcy Jo's, our special-occasion splurge of pecan pie and carrot cake. The carrot cake was one of the best desserts I've ever had!

Fly on over and check out Marcy Jo's...

You'll be glad you did!

F.Y.I
Marcy Jo's Mealhouse & Bakery
www.marcyjos.com

 Positive thought: "Plant smiles, grow giggles, harvest love." (From a church sign)
Thanks for visiting! Until next Monday, Becky