I'm Back In Tennessee

Sorry for the long absence, but I was staying in the French countryside and didn't have Internet. I'll be putting some pictures of the wedding and my travels on my Flickr page in the next week or so, keep an eye out for that if you're interested. Here are a few of the happy couple. Oh, and by the way, I did have to make a speech at the wedding. A friend of Sophie's translated it into French for me.

The Big Day

Today is the big day!! Sophie is frantically getting ready like most of the brides I've known; including me. Right now she's having her hair and makeup done. All morning the house has been receiving beautiful bouquets of flowers, and Jody has been preparing his speach. Luckily I don't have to make one because only a handful of people would understand me anyway. We're all getting excited about the wedding and reception in a few hours. I better finish getting ready.

Here's where the reception will be:

Just A Quickie

Next time you hear from me here I'll be in France enjoying Fraunch Bread, Fraunch Fries, Fraunch Chocolate, Fraunch Cheese and Fraunch Dressing. I'll try to post some pics and posts while I'm there. Wish me luck.

Expert Sightseer

Bendik and I just got back from Loretta Lynn's homestead in Hurricane Mills, TN. We toured her extensive museum and I got a few souvenirs. Unfortunately we couldn't take any photos in the museum, but here are a few good ones I found on the net.

Now I've got to finish packing for France.

See You Soon

Jody at Beynac Castle overlooking the Dordogne River.

Mr. Doc Watson

Here's Doc Watson playing at the Blue Plum Festival in our hometown Johnson City, TN on Friday night. I forgot my camera, but this picture was probably taken very close to where we were standing. It was already quite crowded when we walked up towards the front to get a good position to see the concert. Doc was playing one of my favorites "Shady Grove." We were jostled and pushed out of the way, but we ended up getting a prime spot to the right of the stage with a great view of Doc. The people in front of us were sitting in chairs and kept shooing the people away that tried to stand in front of them. They made one guy pretty angry, but luckily there wasn't a brawl. At one point the man in the chair told me that he hoped that I appreciated what he was doing, I said sure I did, and was happy that I could just relax and enjoy the show without getting as uptight as he was about it. Doc played a Bob Dylan tune (he forgot a few words) and a Merle Watson tune and some I didn't recognize. We only stayed for the first set because we were getting thirsty, tired of standing, and the crowd was getting a bit noisy. All in all we had a good time. Of course I would rather see him perform at the Down Home in Johnson City, (a small music room downtown,) but I wasn't going to miss seeing him for free. He just turned 85, so it was a good chance to see him in case he decides to retire soon.

Don't Cry for Me Argentina

What is it about this song that starts people singing? My friend Leanne the Librarianne couldn't resist serenading me with it while we were at work at the library on the day before I was scheduled to see the play. I went up to Abingdon, VA to the Barter Theater Saturday with my Dad and his girlfriend to see Evita. I'd never seen the play before and still can't believe it consisted entirely of the actors singing. The stage had so much going on I didn't know where to look half the time. One example was when two people were doing the Tango while two others were singing a love song to each other. At other times a group of aristocrats were walking in a silly group across the stage with military men to the side singing a song.
I'll include some pictures of us at the theater and the Mary Washington Inn later.