On Saturday, we went to the Wye Mountain Daffodil Festival with Leigh & Robert. As soon as we stepped out of the car, we could smell the flower-perfumed air, which, according to Collin, smells like old ladies. For me, daffodils have the distinct smell of early spring in Arkansas. Now, I don't want to say it was a girl thing, but it really was as far as Leigh & I were concerned. Our s.o.'s lumbered along behind us as we ooh'ed and ahh'ed over the many varieties of daffodils and their cuteness while we picked our own bouquet to take home. We accurately predicted that the novelty of a field of flowers would wear off quickly. There were a lot of folks. And they all looked like zombies from a distance. Really.
Hand model, Leigh:
Yellow is a very welcome color:
En route to Wye Mt., we decided that we might as well go to the Heifer Ranch while we were in the area. Perfect timing as Leigh & Robert have never been and my friend Binyon, who is a full-time, live-in volunteer, was available to give us the super duper private tour. (We didn't have to watch the video!) Simply, it was great. I felt a happiness wash over me because it's so lovely out there on the farm.
Binyon informed us that it can get very R3al World in the volunteer's quarters. I believe it. Here's a peek into one bedroom. This is the president of Yemen, hung as tapestry. Someone needs to make their bed!:
Binyon's seedlings, in his room.:
This nanny just had a kid:
These poor male kids got castrated that very day, so some volunteers hung out in the pen to comfort them. Awww, little fellers:
The Ranch has a replica of a Mississippi Delta abode, which is essentially a shack (with no insulation) and an old school bus converted into a living space:
I think we could've stayed on the ranch for the rest of the day, but after a lovely cup of coffee, we headed back into the city to have supper @ Mt. Fuji.
I love it when you spend all day with someone and they ask, "So, what are we going to do next?" The fun continues! Yeah! We went to Leigh & Robert's place to round out the evening with some tequila and kitty time.
Collin popped in briefly. I ended up going home tired & completely content. ATM & I talked about a daytrip to Memphis the next day for fried chicken & to pay respects to Jay.
We did exactly that. We drove to Memphis & went directly to Gus's Fried Chicken. No words, just photos:
I enjoyed what I thought was the best friend chicken & fried green tomatoes that I've ever had. (And in the same day!) Strong iced tea, perfect sides & whole pickled jalapenos. Uhn! I wanted to carve my name on the table & "skate" around on the greasy floor while hootin' and hollerin'. But, since the wait for a table is long & there were folks staring longingly at our table, I settled for a moment of silence, amen. If you find yourself in Memphis and you've got a time (and only if), Gus's is recommended, bygawd!
After lunch, we went to Memorial Park Cemetary to visit the gravesite of Jay Reatard. Even though I couldn't find his site location online, I had read that it was "close to Isaac Hayes's", so I figured if we could find his, we could find Jay's. When we got to the office of the cemetary, we inquired about Jimmy Lindsey's grave location and instead of giving us directions, they just drove us right to it.
Unbelievably, and it made me so sad, Jay Reatard's grave is unmarked. AND, remarkably, it's directly left of Black Moses's grave.
RIP, fellas. I love you, I love Memphis.
A quick visit to Goner Records & Otherlands Coffee & we hightailed it back to Little Rock, so I could nerd out (and nearly OD) on CSPAN. I wanted to witness Congress "working" and voting on healthcare reform. All I can say is HOT DAMN!
This weekend? A perfect 11.
So, what's the best kind of Monday? The kind where you spend the morning with Rachel Maddow, lunch with Gov. Mike Beebe, shooting off the bb gun in the back yard with ATM after work, dinner with KMHD & quality couch time with the cats. I have THE best life.
This morning, I had the honor of seeing Rachel Maddow speak at the Statehouse Convention Center. The event, sponsored by the Clinton School, was one (of two) of the most invigorating & inspiring "conversations" I have ever attended. The only other person that excited me so was then-Senator Barack Obama. I laughed, I choked up & I felt a great civic pride. The entire audience was completely charmed by Ms. Maddow. She is fiercely intelligent and respectful and, well, right. She's right, ya'll. She is one of those people that you want to be friends with, because with Rachel on your side, you can change the world for the better. Her presence actually makes you feel that.
She reminded us all that 45 years ago today, MLK, Jr. gave his "How long? Not long" speech which inspires us to remember why we do what we do and to keep that in focus:
(I'd like to point out that Pres. Obama has used the same speech for inspiration. Great minds.)
KMHD's work hosted Gov. Beebe for a lunch & we (Anne & I) got to go. I didn't realize that the group would be so small, so it was intimate and I think anyone who wanted to got some decent one-on-one time with the Guv'nah. I've seen Gov. Beebe so many times that I'm familiar with his tune, but he's still a really nice good ol' boy and he really does have Arkansas's interests at heart. I'm certain he's secured re-election.
After work, ATM lined up some aluminum cans in the backyard so we could put them out of their misery with the bb gun. After that, KMHD & I went out to dinner and had our first "business meeting". (Ya'll do know that we're opening a boutique hotel in Hot Springs in a few years, right?) It's been a really long good day; it was like a one-day extension to the weekend.
Spent.
1 comment:
Yay! For it all! (except sad grave visits)
Can RM BE any cuter? Those glasses, that turtleneck...swoon. She is beyond awesome and yes, what I love most about her is her respectful nature.
Post a Comment