MEMORIES . . . and JOYS --- Then and Now

12/09/2019

So.  Back home agin. (*)

Left Thursday afternoon to meet with some friends from church; one of whom drove us to Cheekwood for the Holiday Lights show.  AWESOME!  Even if it DID cost $22.  Cheaper if you're a member (free to join, so I did to qualify for discount prices for future events). 

She drove straight down Hillsboro Road to Old Hickory and then on over to Cheekwood.  I've been to Cheekwood but it's been a long time.  Just being a passenger along this route reminded me of places and things I haven't seen for years.  Some of which has changed a bit, of course.

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(I used to take Hillsboro Road to Moore's Lane where I turned right down to the offices of Matrix Enterprises.  They were Franklin's cable company back in the 80s and when I first joined the staff they were actually located in the county jail building.  I can picture the building now but can't remember exactly where or if it's still standing. We moved to the new building on Moore=s lane a few months after I began working for them.)

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After we left the Cheekwood exhibit, we headed back to Franklin, choosing Zolo's for dinner.  That took me back some years, as well. 

I don=t often eat out anymore but when I do I always check out the appetizers/soup/salad side first B and sometimes that=s all I get B since I get filled up quickly.  If I do get a full dinner, I always bring home enough left-overs for at least 2 more meals. So it=s a good deal, either way.

What's This?  OHMYGOSH! I had forgotten all about these . . .

(When I lived and worked in Franklin, shortly after Jer returned to Michigan, I frequently stopped at Zolo's for this absolutely DELISH (and filling) . . . Crusted DEEP FRIED Artichokes!!!). 

WOW!  Price has doubled.  But I gotta have >em anyway.  One of the other ladies agreed we would split the price and the consumption. 👍

  

Oh, I will definitely be stopping here regularly once again whenever I=m visiting J/B in Franklin. In fact, I may have to come >more often.= 😉

I ended up choosing the Lemon Chicken/Pasta ($22) as my entree so between that and the artichokes I ordered, I had enough food for (3) more meals when I left.  So the price wasn=t too bad after all.

Friday morning I headed to CJ=s.  We were going to work out a tentative plan for how/when I will help her (data entry stuff) organize/record data in connection with one of her new clients and then watch a movie with dinner.  Maybe Rocket Man.

So we did.  But Rocket Man was no longer available so we watched Big instead.  If I ever watched it, I didn=t remember any of it and it was delightful.

            We still had some planning to do, plus I always like to help with laundry whenever I go to the kids= homes.  They=re in that phase of life that keeps them running in ten directions at once and I have time on my hands now, so I am glad to pitch in on the easy stuff whenever I can.

So CJ and I spent Saturday continuing to organize/plan stuff and that night we watched First Man during dinner.  It was heavy duty at times but an excellent re-telling of the expeditions leading up to and including the moon landing.

Before leaving CJ=s the next morning (Sunday) I called to check with Becky/John to see what, if anything, was going on there (I knew they had had a houseful with John=s birthday and their anniversary celebration being one day apart B on the 5^th and 6^th B and wanted to check and see if they needed me to play laundry catch-up.  Depending on what was going on, I could stay overnight and head home in the morning. Or head back home late afternoon.

Not surprising, John said Acome on over; maybe we=ll watch a movie later.  Or not. We=ll figure it out.@

So I did.  And stayed.  It was hectic but joyful >little kid= hectic stuff.

My staying would definitely be helpful, they said, because one of the little ones (5 years) has to have a surgical procedure tomorrow and John is going with them to the hospital for the procedure and Becky will stay home with the two smaller siblings.  So if I stay, I can help; one way or another.

So I did.  Unfortunately, all the kids have some kind of >flu/cold bug= but the doctors said it was a kid=s virus and adults weren=t susceptible.

But then this morning B Becky was sick.  Flu Sick.  So they insisted I leave.  She doesn=t have what the kids have but that means I could get it.  I DID get the >super= flu shot for older folks, but still . . . it=s probably better if I leave. I never had to worry about this when I was younger.  Always have had an excellent immune system and hardly ever got the flu B or if I did it came and went in 24 hours.

(*) I feel like I=m abandoning ship!