1-28-17  Big day for the old guy!

Ken turned 65 today!  Another milestone reach---he's now on Medicare!  Can't believe we're that old already!  Where has the time gone?!  Just so happened his birthday was on a Saturday and the kids decided it was a good time for our monthly meet up brunch.  So the girls picked Maple Street restaurant in Chattanooga as the brunch spot this month and we met Tim and Faith there about noon (a 2 hour drive for us and a 1.5 hour drive for them).  Brunch and our 1.5-2 hour visit was great.

 It had quite a line of customers waiting to order their lunch at the counter.

 Mostly biscuit items which they're known for

 and a few other lunch items.

 a table opened up while we were in line, so Josh went and grabbed it. 

 They have quite the system going.  Food was ready very quickly.  They asked what your goal was for the year and that's how they announced when to come pick your order up.  Ken's goal was to live another day, Angie and Josh's was to have a baby, and I don't remember Tim and Faith's.

I got the Reinhold.  I was a little concerned about the honey mustard on the biscuit, but it wasn't bad.  I did disassemble my sandwich and ate the chicken and biscuit separately.  Josh had ordered a side of Hashups which I helped him eatup.  It was all very yummy!

There were lots of presents there, too.  We had seen Tim and Faith a couple times in the past month, but Angie and Josh hadn't.  So they brought Christmas presents for them and a birthday present for Tim whose birthday was Dec. 22.

 Faith taking a group photo.

 Angie and Josh

 Birthday old guy with one of his gifts. 

 brother and sister----our babies!

 The happy couple wanting to get a baby this year.  Adoption papers are all done, now they wait.

 Faith showing off where we are.

Angie told Faith now that she's a Southern Belle she has to have monogrammed stuff.   So she's started them off.

 Tim moving on to birthday presents.

Tim and Faith Christmas present was a double hammock for their hiking.   I kind of blew that surprise when we were there in Jan.  I went shopping with them and when we were in REI Faith kept talking about getting a hammock for their hikes.  I asked didn't Angie and Josh get them one for Christmas to which she answered they hadn't gotten presents from them yet----ooops!

Our time in the parking meters was running out, so we took that as a sign that it was time to part.  But it was another wonderful brunch with all the kids----something we didn't do that much of when we all lived a couple miles from each other! 

Took us all moving away to make the time to all get together!  Should have moved years ago!!!

1-24-17 Pizza Hut and Lake Lanier sunset:

Seems Ken's no longer interested in going to Luigi's or Parma's for pizza.  But there is a nice sit down Pizza Hut nearby and their service is really good.  The pizza has even been quite good the last couple times that we went there.

 The price is certainly good, too, at something like $6@ for 2 or more medium pizzas any way you want them.  Of course, we got the meat lovers ones.

Then we continued on to Lake Lanier to check on the water levels and catch sunset.
Saw this house for sale just down the road from Old Federal Park.  If we were looking for a house, i'd be checking it out!

This is probably more like what we could afford!

Our favorite park on Lanier---at least to this point.  We've driven around to most of the parks, but most of them don't have a view west over the lake for sunset.  This happens to be looking East across part of the lake.

 This is a little marina to the north.  I would love to go to the marinas to take pictures, but they all seem to be gated and the gate keepers keep the rif raf like us out. 

We did drive down the main road around the lake to kill some more time before sunset (it was too cold to wander around at the park).  Saw another house I wouldn't mind checking out!

Back to Old Federal Park.  Here's the "island" that's still not an island.

 Looking out towards the setting sun.

 pinecones on the trees.

and these things 

and the sun has set.  No clouds to change colors, but it was still a beautiful way to spend the evening.

I'll be glad when spring comes and we head back up into the mountains.  Can't wait to see all the wild rhodies and other wild flowers in the Spring!  And green leaves on the trees again!

1-23-17  our neighbors:

Our neighbors actually have wings and come and go a lot.  They also like to eat and drink on our patio.  I'm a little surprised that we were gone for 4 weeks and as soon as we got back and refilled the bird feeder, they were back almost immediately.

Even the doves have started going up to the feeder instead of just wandering around on the ground like they usually do.

 a female Cardinal.

 Carolina wren. 

 one of the many Chickadees that come.

 close up of a Chickadee

 one of the wood peckers or sap suckers that regularly comes to eat, too.

 and a tufted titmouse

 The tufted titmouse waiting it's turn in the trees nearby.

 a Chickadee waiting it's turn.

 Male Cardinal and a Chickadee.  There's often 2 birds on the feeder at a time, but they always go to opposite sides of the feeder from each other.  As soon as one leaves, another immediately takes it's place.  At least for a good part of the daylight hours.  We put a glass full of bird feed out per day and they usually have it gone by the afternoon.

 Cardinal waiting it's turn.

 Chickadee

Can't wait until we can put the hummingbird feeder back out there and have them popping in, too.

1-21-17  Praise the Lard----

Went to a new (to us) restaurant tonight---Praise the Lard.  Yes, it's a bar b q restaurant.  I thought it was really quite good.  Certainly not a fancy place.  They don't even wait on you---other then to take your order at a counter then bring your plate of food out to you.  It was very much a little Mom and Pop place.  I think I was more impressed with it then Ken was, though.
Ken coming to our table after getting his self service soda from the soda machine.

Interesting art work 

my chicken/pork combo with my choice of sides---collard greens and  house fries.  Apparently house fries are what I part mashed potatoes, part fries, and fried---not what I was expecting, but the meat and collards were good.  They also had a variety of sauces.  Sort of reminded me of a Bandana's Restaurant.

Always looking for different places to go to.  When you go out to eat every day, it's nice finding those places with great food and always great service---like Antonetta's.  Don't know if this place will get much of our business, but it's hard to find a place we both like a lot.

1-20-17 a stroll along Mill Creek:

The winter here in Georgia has been really pretty nice.  They've had a record tying 10 days above 70 so far this Jan.  So I took advantage of the weather and took a walk.  Usually I go up to the shops, but this time I headed into the Preserve.

The river was up pretty much from what I remember back in the summer.

 I was surprised to see there's even some sand in places.

1-16-17 Back to Atlanta:

The kids were off work today because of the Martin Luther King holiday, so we went out to lunch in downtown Knoxville again.  And to another little brewery.

 food was very good, too.