Sunday, March 1, 2020

Celebrating in Southwest Virginia and East Tennessee



(At Cootie Brown's)

Greg and I are really enjoying being back home in the Southern Appalachians, near places that are familiar to us since we've lived in this general region most of our lives. I'm originally from Southwest Virginia and Greg, from East Tennessee. Right now we're living in Virginia, but we're just a stone's throw away from East Tennessee. We love where we live now. It's a nice central location for nearby Abingdon, Bristol, Kingsport, and Johnson City, as well as several small towns, some of which we've yet to explore.

February is usually a month of celebration for us, not only because of Valentine's Day, but because it's also my birth month.

We started celebrating early this year, when the "Tri-Cities Storm Tracker 5" weather team came to the new Food City in Abingdon, Virginia the first of the month. It was food and fun.


Getting Autographs from the Storm Tracker 5 Weather Team
(Greg Arnott Photo)

Then, came Valentine's Day-


We decided to celebrate by going to a new (to us) restaurant in Abingdon.


 We loved the arty look on the outside of "Luke's Cafe."

The inside was just as interesting-


It had a retro decor featuring celebrities from the past such as James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and even Al Capone!


And, the food was very tasty!

Since we were so full from lunch, we decided to wait and have dessert somewhere else later...



like Anthony's Desserts.


We're so glad we decided to stop by. The place was all dressed up for Valentine's Day, and the shelves were full of goodies.


We decided to divide a piece of this luscious-looking berry cream cake, and we weren't disappointed. 
It was absolutely delicious!


After being out all day, celebrating, we later celebrated at home with valentines and flowers.

A couple of days later, came the birthday celebration...


at Cootie Brown's in Bristol, Tennessee.


We met with some family members to celebrate my cousin's and my February birthdays.


Cootie Brown's is a fun place to go, and the food is great!


They even let us bring in our own birthday cake!


Before leaving, we had to get some of  Cootie's famous key lime pie to take home with us.

And, a big wish of mine came true the last day of February when we finally got a big snow. I really enjoyed taking pictures of the beautiful snow-covered landscape around us.


One of Our Cats, Mitzi, Looking Out the Window at the Snow

Winter has come.
 "...can spring be far behind?"
-Percy Bysshe Shelley


Spring has already sprung at "Evergreen" in Kingsport, Tennessee!

Spring begins March 20 this year. Happy spring, everybody!

Positive thought: "Make each new day a celebration of life."-Pinterest
Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, April 5, 2020, Becky