A Special Day in Bell Buckle, Tennessee

Yesterday, Greg and I visited one of our favorite places, Bell Buckle, Tennessee. We were celebrating a special day for us. It was my first big outing since I'd been sick. I've been slowly recovering from a rare serious illness the past few weeks. We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day early since the town was already dressed in its valentine finery.

First of all, we had a delicious lunch at the Bell Buckle Cafe. The quality and quantity of the food is amazing. No wonder the cafe is always so busy.

After our meal, including dessert, of course...

Oatmeal Cake (Yum!)

we looked around at all of the interesting little shops and other curiosities.

It was a beautiful, warm day for the first of February so you didn't even need to wear a jacket.

We even worked in ice cream for a snack from the "Bluebird Antiques & Ice Cream Parlor" on February 2, Groundhog Day, 2019.

The groundhog surely saw his shadow in this area, but we didn't care since we were there just to enjoy this day.

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."-Charles M. Schultz

Yes, this was Greg's and my special day that we thoroughly enjoyed, and I want to thank Greg for all of his help and support during my difficult time. Greg, I love and cherish you, my best friend and soulmate. (Also, I really appreciate others who have shown their love and support.)

"The best thing about my life will always be that you are in it."-liveboldandbloom.com

Positive thought: "You don't have to wait until Valentine's Day to show how much they mean to you."-soulfeeljewelry.com
Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, March 3, 2019, 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 West Tennessee Adventure

First of all, I'd like to offer an apology for this belated blog post.  Not only have we been out of town, but also, our Internet service has been down!  As they say, however, "Better late than never!"

I have a little adventure to share with you today.  Recently, Greg and I had the opportunity to visit an interesting city in West Tennessee, Jackson.  As a boy, Greg had briefly stopped there with his parents, on the way to Texas, to visit a cousin.  I, on the other hand, had never before been to Jackson.  My only prior connection to Jackson was that I used to have an aunt who grew up there.

First of all, Jackson is named for war hero and former U. S. President Andrew Jackson.  It was a big railroading center in the 1800's, and it's main claim to fame now is the late Casey Jones, a heroic railroad hero that they honor there.  If you don't know much about Casey Jones, you will by the time you finish your visit.

We went to the Casey Jones Village which had changed a lot since Greg first stopped by there.  The Village is a complex of different shops, etc. built in the style of the period of Casey Jones.

When we first got there, it was time for dinner, so we visited The Old Country Store's Dixie Cafe for our meal.

We're glad we did, for the Southern-style food (Greg's and my favorite type of food) was great.

Loved That Catfish!

The old-style decor was really well-done.

Next, we looked around the gift shop.

In addition, there is a beautifully-decorated, authentic ice cream parlor for anyone who'd like to have a delicious treat.

Also, we enjoyed going through an old Pullman railroad car.

We then got to go through the Casey Jones Museum and home.  (The house was the only Casey Jones thing that Greg saw on his first trip to Jackson, as all the other things were added years later.  Little did he know then that one day, he and his wife would get to enjoy it together.)

We got to climb up in this replica of his engine.

After being so immersed in all-things Casey Jones, we decided we needed a change of pace, so we headed for the great outdoors, Cypress Grove Nature Park where you can view birds and wildlife from a 6,000-foot-long boardwalk and an observation tower which overlooks a 25-acre lake.

Our day was quite an adventure.  We had so much fun, on the way home, we planned our next one!

"My favorite thing is to go where I've never been."
-Diane Arbus

Healthy tidbit from Patricia from Tennessee:  (This is a mini-continuation of last week's blog post, "Helpful Healthy Resources" [8/17/14].)  (I really love how Patricia expressed changing to a healthier lifestyle.)  "...there is so much to learn, and the process takes curiosity, research, patience, and time.  It is wise to make healthy living into an enjoyable hobby, taking it on 'one day at a time.' "

I have a little healthy tidbit to share, as well.  The Alliance for Natural Health-USA (www.anh-usa.org) sent me an email saying that they are working to try to keep the FDA from taking away our supplements right now.  You might want to check this out!

To see Greg's and my latest photos on iStock, just click the link below.
www.istockphoto.com

Positive thought: "There is no end to the adventures." -From "Our House on a Mountain" (Pinterest)
Thanks for visiting!  Until next Sunday, (hopefully!), Becky