southern hospitality

there are parts of the south that i adore and, for obvious reasons, other parts that i abhor. i feel fortunate that i have enough *family* still left here to be able to visit and remember both parts.

having arrived in nashville yesterday to a wall of humidity hitting me as soon as i stepped off the plane (one of the many parts i abhor), today i'm reminded of one of the parts i adore ... sitting on a porch drinking coffee under a ceiling fan (yes, it's part of the charm) and welcoming the day. have been up for several hours sitting in the basically the same spot. the hours have been filled with conversation and catching up, drinking coffee (which i'm sure i'll regret later), smoking cigarettes, reading, and now blogging. what more could i ask for from a vacation?

last night bd made my favorite meal and it was scrumptious. i gorged myself as expected. my body definitely needs some vegetables today. i ate more fried food yesterday than i had in years. it all started with chick-fil-a. one of my favorite fast food restaurants which i still must frequent when i visit the south despite my having to check my politics at the door. the chicken sandwich with pickles and a sweet tea still call my name. after running a few errands, we returned to the porch for an afternoon of drinking gin & tonics (a tradition for us) and more catching up. then it was time to cook dinner. the double battering with buttermilk of cube steaks and chicken tenders and then the deep frying of these lovely morsels. the mashed potatoes ... truly mashed with the skins still on ... were decadent. grilled corn on the cob that just speaks of summer. so tasty and so filling ... and i'm *so* paying for it today. my portland-accustomed body is not used to that amount of grease in one day!

today we're about to motivate to go venture out in the world. i need to see more of this great town. we'll be visiting the VU campus, the country music hall of fame, and then off to a honky tonk later to kick up our heels.

for now, i'd be pretty happy to sit on this porch under this fan with my favorite people for the rest of the day ...