Celebrating and Having Fun!

 

August is Greg's and my special month since our wedding anniversary and Greg's birthday are both in August. So every August, we really celebrate and have fun. August was even more special this year since we had a milestone anniversary, and Greg had a milestone birthday.

~"Let's have some fun!"-Jesse Kelly

The celebrating began when special relatives sent us special balloons, candy, and other treats for our anniversary which is during the first week of the month.

Near the end of the month, our cat Kallie had fun playing with the balloons after they were past their prime. (Supervised, of course!)

A few days later, some members of my side of the family came to our house to help celebrate Greg's birthday.

Waiting in the kitchen...

for our little buffet meal,

complete with a special dessert.

Then, a couple of days later, we celebrated with two members of Greg's side of the family.

Betty and Greg

Since Betty's birthday is close to Greg's, we celebrated her birthday, too, at Pisgah Inn in North Carolina at lunchtime.

Mike and Greg Waiting to Go Get Some Birthday Desserts in Asheville, North Carolina 

Later in "our" month, Greg and I went on a little trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee which was a lot of fun.

We really enjoyed lunch at Huck Finn's Catfish-

The delicious food was served family-style. We even had hush puppies left over for supper at home.

There is so much to see and do in Pigeon Forge. 

What a wonderful way to celebrate! (Gatlinburg and Sevierville are also great!)

~Positive Feature-

To live a more positive life, you might want to get this "special edition" of "Real Simple" magazine at your local newsstand, "The Power of Positivity." It features articles on "The Science of Smiling" and "Make your Own Luck," as well as others.

~Cute Dog Feature-

Rip

Recently, Greg and I were outside our local convenience store when we ran into a nice couple visiting from Maryland which is to the north of our state of Virginia. They had a super-cute dog, a Shih Tzu, named Rip. I touched its fur, which really felt more like cotton than fur. It would really be neat to have a little dog like this, but there's no way our three cats would tolerate that!

 You never know what or who you might encounter when you go out. Life is truly an adventure!

~Book Feature-

If you like retro, and would like to take a positive walk down memory lane, you might want to check out my latest book, "Down Memory Lane" by Becky Arnott. Please see the widget above for more information on Amazon for both the paperback and Kindle editions.

Beautiful Mountain View from Pisgah Inn

For a list of United States flag holidays, visit this website- www.flagsusa.com/flag-holidays/ 

Celebrate and have fun!

Positive thought: "Happiness is not by chance, but by choice." Jim  Rohn

Thanks for visiting! Until Saturday, October 7, 2023, Becky

A Celebration in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Welcome!

In February, Greg and I met some family members in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee to celebrate Cousin Bruce's birthday, as well as mine. It was a fun time for us all to get together. And who wouldn't have fun in Pigeon Forge!

We met at The Pottery House Cafe and Grille which is a wonderful place to eat. In fact, it's the number two restaurant out of 109 in Pigeon Forge according to TripAdvsor! And, it's reasonably priced!

The food was great! It was served on pottery dishes.

From The Pottery House Website

After the main meal, we all indulged in what else, birthday cake! They let you BYOC (bring your own cake) to celebrate birthdays.

Cutting the Cake

Gifts were opened-

Pictures were taken-

And, a good time was had by all!

FYI
www.old-mill.com/info/cafe

Positive thought: "Time spent with family is worth every second."-amazon.co.uk
Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, April 7, 2019, Becky

An East Tennessee Adventure

Welcome!

A few weeks ago, Greg and I went for a visit to East Tennessee which we thoroughly enjoyed.

The main purpose of our trip was to celebrate the birthdays of three family members.

Photo by John

The celebration was at Nick and Lisa's where we had an end-of-summer cookout, complete with...

hot dogs...

birthday cake and...

ice cream sundaes.

A great time was had by all!

Greg and I spent the night in nearby Jonesborough, Tennessee in the "Jonesborough Bed and Breakfast," which is a "quaint turn of the century Queen's cottage...", to quote the website. 

It is the number one B&B in Jonesborough, according to "TripAdvisor."

It even has a resident dog, Tori Amos.

The decor is bohemian.

The innkeeper, Brian Mills, who makes you feel at home right away, is from London, and speaks French and Spanish, as well as English.

The large Continental breakfast was delicious, especially the granola with fresh fruit and milk.

FYI:

"Jonesborough Bed and Breakfast"

232 East Main Street

Jonesborough, Tennessee

www.jonesboroughbedandbreakfast.com

After breakfast, Greg and I headed to downtown Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee, where we...

explored around town which was all dressed up in its fall finery.

Jonesborough is well-known as the "Storytelling Capital of the World." It holds the "National Storytelling Festival" every October.

After a bit of shopping (including finding Christmas gifts!), we had a wonderful lunch at one of our favorite places, "Main Street Cafe."

Does this look good, or what! It was!

A little later, we stopped by "J J's" for some ice cream. So good on a warm autumn day!

You really ought to try Jonesborough. Bet you'd love it!

On my 9/18/16 blog post, I discussed things that I've found that made me feel happier and more positive. 

On this post, I'd like to add to that list-

Reading something inspirational, like Rhonda Byrne's new book How the Secret Changed My Life. This book is, to quote the ad, "...how everyday people completely transformed their lives by applying the teachings of The Secret." This book got five stars on "Amazon." Might be a book worth looking into!

Positive thought: "We are the creators of our universe."-"The Secret"

Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, October 23, 2016, Becky

A Birthday Celebration at Bruce's Ice Cream Parlor

Welcome!

Hope you are enjoying your day!

Just recently, my cousin Bruce and I celebrated our February birthdays in East Tennessee.

In this area, as in many others, this time of year, you never know what the weather is going to be like so you don't know for sure if you're going to get to have your planned celebration or not due to possible wintry weather.

Last year, we had to put off our birthday celebration two or three times, but this year, we got lucky and had it in between two big snows! Great timing!

It was a really special birthday celebration at-

Cousin Bruce recently set up a really neat old fashioned ice cream parlor where he lives. Years ago, he and his parents had a drug store in Southwest Virginia, and these fixtures, etc. came from that store. In addition, Bruce has added several more pieces to his collection gradually through the years.

Bruce, in His Ice Cream Parlor 

My brother and his family brought delicious pizza for the main part of our meal.

Then, of course, there was the cake which Bruce had bought that cleverly had our edible picture on it of our last year's birthday celebration.

Cake has got to have ice cream with it, so Bruce got to work dishing it out- 

Does this sundae look great, or what!

It was wonderful! Peppermint ice cream with either butterscotch or chocolate syrup! Yum! Bruce works wonders with ice cream!

After the Meal, Were Gifts

Looks Like More Decorations for the Ice Cream Parlor!

Little Table for Two

Everyone should be so lucky to have a nice place to celebrate such as this!

Thanks, Bruce, and to my other wonderful family members who made this birthday celebration at Bruce's Ice Cream Parlor one we'd always fondly remember!

And...

Positive Thought: "The most beautiful view is the one I share with you."-Author Unknown

Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, February 21, 2016, Becky

A Variety of Positive Things

Welcome!

I'd like to share with you a variety of positive things on this blog post today.

According to the Mayo Clinic, people who engage in positive thinking tend to be healthier.  They suggest that during the day, you:
-Change your thoughts from negative to positive.
-Smile and laugh.  Develop a sense of humor.
-Follow a healthy lifestyle.
-Surround yourself with positive, supportive people.
-Say good, encouraging things about yourself.  (Like-"I am a likable person." )

One example of changing from negative to positive self-talk:
Change "I can't do this." to "I will do my best to accomplish this."

Becoming positive is a gradual process.  Just try going in a more positive direction, and you might find yourself being a lot more positive before you know it!

"We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."
-Abraham Lincoln

Judy Samples and Millie Crum volunteers at the June Tolliver House in Big Stone Gap, Virginia wanted me to announce that they are having a fundraiser for the Tolliver House.  The event is Saturday, September 20, 2014 at 1:00 PM.  You pay just $15.00 and get to make several projects for fall, Christmas, and a gift card envelope.  To reserve a space for a fun time making crafts, call 276-523-4704 or 276-393-7674 for more info.  (P.S.  You don't need any special skills or equipment to do this.)

What a great opportunity to enjoy yourself and to help the June Tolliver House at the same time!

This past weekend, we had a tasty meal at my brother and sister-in-law's house (everyone brought something for the meal), and celebrated three birthdays at the same time!

Happy birthday to Julie, Nick, and Greg whose birthdays are all within three weeks of each other.

Check this out: Yesterday, I put another blog post on my "Spirit Photographs" blog (www.spiritphotographs.blogspot.com).  It's entitled "Our Paranormal Adventure in a Park-Part Two."

Please click on the link below to see our iStock photos.  (We're putting on more every week.)
www.istockphoto.com

Positive Thoughts: -"...spread positivity!"  -"Be helpful.  When you see someone without a smile, give them yours." -Zig Ziglar  (Both quotes from "Woman's World")

Bell Buckle, Revisited

Welcome!

Some places are so interesting that you just have to return to them.  Bell Buckle, Tennessee is one of those places.

When Greg asked me what I'd like to do on my actual birthday (My early birthday celebration with my family is on my 2/10/14 blog post.), and without hesitation, I said that I'd like to go back to Bell Buckle.
 (For more about Bell Buckle, please see my 4/28/13 blog post.)

I'm so happy we did get to go back to Bell Buckle because we had a wonderful time, just as we did on our previous visit.

Our first stop was the Bell Buckle Cafe for my birthday dinner for two.

 

After our wonderful meal, we shared a complimentary piece of delicious (birthday) oatmeal cake with caramel sauce.

 

We then strolled around town and looked at some shops.

One of my favorites was Southern Charm...

where I bought myself a pretty little glass potted plant with some of my birthday money.

It fits perfectly on one of our bedside tables where I needed a third object.  (It's always good to have an odd number in arrangements of items.)

  As this ice cream parlor sign shows, R C Colas and Moon Pies are big in Bell Buckle, so much so that  they even have the RC-Moon Pie Festival in June.  We plan to go to that one and maybe more of their several festivals this year.  Should be a lot of fun!

For a small town, they sure do have a lot going on there.  We can't wait to return!

Positive thought:  Do something fun this week to brighten up your winter.
Thanks for visiting!  Until next Sunday, Becky