To quote the ultra-cool R & B, funk band Kool & the Gang,
There’s a party goin’ on right here,
A celebration to last throughout the years,
So bring your good times, and your laughter too,
We gonna celebrate your party with you
And that’s exactly what we did this weekend. The motley crew pictured above gathered in Elizabethton to celebrate Grandmother Ginny’s 97th birthday. Friday morning, Terry, Roy, Jasper and I piled into our car and headed east bound while DJ drove up from West Point, AL. We arrived early afternoon so we had plenty of time for hugs and catching up. That evening we all converged at Primo’s where we joined D.J., Olivia and Andi for an amazing carb loading Italian dinner.
Saturday arrived picture perfect. To celebrate Grandmother Ginny’s big day, we decided to surprise her with a picnic lunch at Watauga Point. She had no idea what our destination was to be as we convoyed to the lake. She was so excited when we arrived as it is one of her favorite places to picnic. We found an idyllic spot right at the waters edge, covered our table with a red and white checked table cloth and began to unload our bounty.
The menu for day included crispy fried chicken, baked beans, potato salad, cole slaw, gooey mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs and salty potato chips. And to cool us off, chilled bottles of water, Lemon Lemon Sparkling Lemonade and ice cold Coca-Cola.
And for our sweet tooth, a box of caramely Crunch n’ Munch popcorn, white grapes for those who care about calories, mini bags of plain M & M’s and the pièce de résistance, an assortment of mouth watering Bundtinis from Nothing Bundt Cake.
Click on images below to enlarge.
After our fabulous luncheon at the lake, we headed back to Grandmother Ginny’s house to continue the party for the three June birthday girls, Grandmother, Olivia and Andi. Phyllis had the kitchen decorated with a Mickey and Minnie Mouse theme that was just too adorable for words. And of course, all the gifts were marvelous, each one was thoughtful, fun and wrapped to sublime perfection.
On a side note, this is an extra special summer for both Olivia and Andi. Olivia will be traveling nearly 9,000 miles across the globe to Thailand to visit the home of their good friend Myles. I can’t even imagine the adventures she will have while recent college graduate Andi, will be moving to East Tennessee to begin her first grown-up job.
Positively pooped from all the excitement from our fun filled afternoon, everyone decided to take five so we could regroup later for dinner at Fatz.
Before we left for dinner, Terry and I grabbed a few photos in the back yard.
Is it just me, or does Elizabethton exist within its on time zone. Seriously, one day seems to last at least 36 hours. Even after everything we had accomplished in the scant amount of time we had together, we still managed to squeeze in one more bit of entertainment into our day. Roy, Terry and I introduced the uninitiated to hockey as the Nashville Predators took on the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff game. You see, this year, the Nashville Predators have had an outstanding season. For the first time since their inception in 1998, they find themselves in the Stanley Cup Playoffs skating their little hearts out for the coveted Stanley Cup, the holy grail of hockey. The level of excitement in Nashville and the mid-state has been palpable and Terry and I have become newbie hockey fans. At each home game, thousands of people throng to downtown Nashville to show their support. Several city blocks are closed to street traffic and it has become the place to be with live music and jumbo screen TV’s streaming the game as hordes of fans stand outside the the arena cheering them on the Preds. Tonight, in Elizabethton, we raised our voices as the Predators skated to victory.
I can’t say enough about what a wonderful weekend we had. It was marvelous from beginning to end.