Finally, the third of September arrived so that Joe and I could go to TPAC to see Wicked. I loved, loved, loved it! I could have sat through it again and again and again. It truly was a delight. It tells a beautiful story, is squeaky clean, and laugh-out-loud funny. It is based on the book (but way better) that gives the perspective of the witches in the classic tale of the Wizard of Oz. Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda the Good Witch of the North. Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard’s corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot is set mostly before Dorothy’s arrival from Kansas. And yes, Joe liked it, too. Maybe not as much as me! But he enjoyed it.
It was a nice day so we decided to walk around downtown Nashville for a while before heading home. We headed down 2nd Avenue, stopped and listened to an outdoor concert, strolled through the reconstructed Fort Nashboro, and generally just enjoyed the atmosphere and the views of the Cumberland River, complete with riverboat. We happened upon a Melting Pot and decided to eat there. We’d heard good things about it and were not disappointed. Everything was wonderful. The best salmon I’ve ever eaten was at Homer Spit, AK. The second best was at this place. I also discovered a new love – raspberry vinaigrette. Oh my. I could just about drink that stuff. I have since bought some at Kroger, which is good, but not even close to the MP brand. They do sell it, though, and I want to get some first chance I get. Anyway, we were so stuffed from all the delicious food that we didn’t have room for any of their chocolate fondue. We’ll have to go back sometime, eat less of the other, and try that. It was a wonderful day and a perfect way to celebrate our 8th anniversary a little ahead of time.
The next day, we went to the WCHS Homecoming Parade. Several of my seminary students were in it, so I wanted to go see them. It was another beautiful day and we were glad we went. Later, we went to Rocky River so that we could be at Little House when Darla and her family arrived. I hadn’t seen them since Grandma M’s 90th b’day party – Crew was just a few months old at the time. I wondered if the boys would be shy around us, but they weren’t. They seemed happy to see us and were quite sociable. You’d never know they’re brothers. Max has dark hair and Crew is blonde. They’re equally handsome, though. Darla’s dad had also driven down from Kingsport to be there when they arrived. Joe had the fire pit ready when they got there and the boys had fun roasting wieners and marshmallows. After we had visited for a while, we came home and left them to enjoy their stay on the river.
On the following Sunday night, Joe and I went to RR to spend the night. Lori, Patrick, and Will came out later on Labor Day and brought a lot of food with them. It was yummy.
The next day, Joe helped Eric with some concrete work and I took Mom to the dentist in Cookeville. As usual, we did a little shopping before we came home. It was a good day. Joe did a lot of bush hogging the next day at the property out by FCF and at his mom’s.
The next day, Thursday, life got crazy. Lemee splain… Lori was admitted to the hospital so that labor could be induced. They discovered she had the flu (she thought she just had a bad cold), so they sent her home. Well, to a home – ours. She didn’t want to be around Will with the hopes that he hadn’t caught it, yet. He started showing symptoms on Saturday, though, and they were suspicious enough that Patrick took him to the doctor on Sunday. Yep, he had the flu. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Lori was having contractions. Not regularly but they were sporadic ALL day. About 6:30 that night, Lori demanded that I take her to the hospital IMMEDIATELY. We got there a little before 7 and Jack was born less than an hour later. Patrick arrived before Jack, but neither the midwife nor the doctor did. Wow! Jack’s first cry was the only one I’ve heard of all my grandchildren. Wow. Mommy & baby were released from the hospital the following Tuesday. I picked them up and brought them here. Since I’d helped with William some while Patrick was at the hospital, I didn’t hold the baby – actually, no one did but Lori per doctor’s instructions. We sure didn’t want that little guy to get the flu. It was a great sacrifice for him to be so accessible and me still not be able to hold him. There’s nothing quite like cuddling with a newborn. Anyway, William finally got a clearance from his doc and the little family was reunited on Friday. It had been quite a week!
That was also the week of the Warren County Fair. Needless to say, we hadn’t gone for any of the festivities and not just because of Jack’s birth. It had been really rainy and there was still quite a bit more in the forecast. The last I heard, it was the 4th rainiest September in TN weather history. Joe and I did go on Saturday. It seemed such a shame to not go eat a cheeseburger and a funnel cake at least once. We looked at a lot of the exhibits while we were there and watched part of the horse show.
One Sunday evening (27th) Joe and I went to the Smith Farm and had a nice visit with David & Polly. David was more than willing to show off his very well trained Border Collie. It was amazing to see the dog respond to David’s commands and witness the results that had on a field full of goats. After our visit with them, we went to see Nancy & Arthur. They’ve been doing a lot of remodeling at their place on the Barren Fork River and everything looks really nice. I especially like their sunroom overlooking the river. Anyway, it was fun to spend some time with them.
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