Welcome to our adventures. I try as best as I can to document the happenings here in our family - everything from the shenanigans to the spiritual, from the kid to the kitchen, from the cat to the catastrophes. We believe that adventure can be found in everything we do...even in the mundane tasks of the day. When we set our minds on things above in gratitude to God, we find the strength to approach life with a sense of purpose & adventure. The adventure may not always be what we have planned...but isn't that what adventure is all about?

Other Stuff We Do

Blog Archive

Friday, October 31, 2008
Tonight we took Grandaddy to Millers Grocery for dinner and dancing. Well, of the 4 of us, there was only once who was cuttin' any rugs. Just for you, cuz I love ya...I put a little video together that features some of that fantastic five year old footwork. ENJOY!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


The bluegrass trio playing at Miller's tonight was called "The Howling Brothers". We really enjoyed them. For more information, check them out at their website.

Those of you viewing from email or by feed, you will most likely need to go here and view the video directly from the site.

SECRET MESSAGE: Bash Flenark
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Feed Burner stats haven't shown any dip in readership, so I guess I don't have too much damage control to do after that last post. But God bless you if you're still reading anyway...



So yeah, this is that standard issue, late October "I took my kid to the pumpkin patch and here's all the pictures of us pumpkin carving in the afternoon", dried ears of corn kind of post. C'mon, you know you've got that kind of post...

Tuesday morning Mike, Uncle Steve and Grandaddy hopped in the car and drove out to Gentry's Farm in Franklin to meet a busload of kids from Abby's school. They spent a chunk of the day there doing various activities (one of which included feeding some pumpkins to the cows! did you know that cows ate pumpkins?) then got to eat lunch and even take a pumpkin home. The only unfortunate incident of the day involved a group of wild young animals attacking Uncle Steve. He was able to escape with only minor injuries.

Although we had to say adios to Uncle Steve on Wednesday morning, the Grandaddy visitation is still in full swing here at the Club. We spent some time carving the pumpkins that they brought home from the farm and roasting the seeds (my favorite!). One of the pumpkins was a "knuckle head" pumpkin. That thing was so tough, I couldn't get my Cutco in there for nuthin'. So what's a girl to do?? GET YER DRILL, BABY! Oh yeah - I LOVE using the drill. It's just a really cool feeling to know that you can make holes in stuff. The knuckle head was no match for the DeWalt...I even busted out the big 1" drill bit too - it was awesome. Pumpkin was flying everywhere. I was a total drill rebel and did it sans protective eyeware, too. I finally got the top off that thing so we could fish out the seeds.

Another fun highlight for the week was Grandaddy's lunch date with Abby. Her school allows family members to come have lunch with the kids in the cafeteria. This was actually kind of a big deal for Abby because it was the first time that she got to eat the "cafeterion" food. She even used her own money from her piggy bank to finance the lunch.



That should just about do it for this post...

love & a fully charged DeWalt

k

SECRET MESSAGE: Here...smell my feet. These shoes do NOT make my feet smell!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Hey y'all...welcome back to another installment of the Adventures. I mentioned in my previous post that my brother Steve flew to town so we could all head down to Louisiana for a little familial reunion. The trip would be very short (Friday eve to Sunday morning), but it was on par to be a memory maker.

The destination: Mer Rouge, Louisiana home of "Duckapaloza" (aka, the Byrd Camp....aka Aunt Jan & Uncle Richards quarters on the Bayou).

The plan: Fish, Visit, Eat, Sleep, Not Shower - not necessarily in that order.



Ahhh...what a beautiful scene, yes? I took this picture around...oh, I'd say 8:30 or 9 in the morning. Nestled with a hot cup of joe, I sat on the deck in awe of the beauty that surrounded me. The colors of fall on the bayou coupled with the sound of birds and an occasional fish flapping on the water made me forget that I had just spent 10 hours in a minivan the day before.



It was just chilly enough to make me wonder why I sitting there in my pajamas, but the only one around to care was my husband who was just slightly more focused on baiting his hook. An occasional egret would fly past and break up the stillness of the scene...there was not an ounce of city life around to drown out my moment.



The only thing that had a chance of drawing me back up to the warmth of the camp was Aunt Jan's biscuits and sausage gravy. And they did not disappoint...at least not for awhile.

After brekkie and a quick change of clothes, I bopped on down to the deck to take up my day dreamy scene. Only this time as I was boppin' on down, my stomach started makin' a fuss. Oh yeah... Makin' a big fuss. The kinda fuss that don't end pretty. Like...thank goodness there was a bayou and a rail right in front of me kinda fuss. From that moment on - all day and into the night - it was coming out one end or the other. Look my people, I'm sorry for the graphic nature of my content, but you've got to be with me through the good times AND the bad.

If I had to pick a bright spot from it all, the "output" did seem to attract some good fishin'. My uncle caught a 10 inch catfish right after my initial re-view of the morning menu.

So I had to experience the fun while fading in and out of consciousness and from all the 2nd hand accounts and pictures. I actually did manage to make it out to a chair close by the window while all my family enjoyed s'mores by the bonfire. And, as everyone was leaving I did manage to keep a saltine cracker down and perk up just enough to watch my Dad, brother and husband try and peg each other with a marshmallow.

It's still a mystery what sort of bug I managed to get ahold of...nobody else at camp got sick and I ate the same thing that everyone else did for breakfast and dinner the night before (which in my opinion eliminates food poisoning).

Although most of my time was spent curled up on the bed or in a chair (wondering when my next visit to the rail was going to be), I still had a great time having all the family activity buzzing around me.

And, I can't let this post go without showing you the cutest Nana around...here's a picture of her (sans bottom teeth) with my Dad and bro:



Until the next time (which will hopefully not include any euphemisms of throwing up)...stay healthy and bug free.

love & sausage gravy (the 1st time around only),

k

SECRET MESSAGE: Chunk E. Moto
Friday, October 24, 2008
Hey y'all...

Hope you are enjoying your week...Club Amaro is ramped up for new adventures this weekend. We welcomed my brother, Steve to town yesterday by taking him to Jack's BBQ for dinner. Tomorrow, we are off to Mer Rouge,La. to hang out on the bayou at my Aunt & Uncle's camp (we call it a camp, but it's a house on the bayou...who came up with term "camp" anyway?). All my patriarchal kin will be there...should be fun! And...as a bonus, we get to bring Grandaddy back to Middle Tennessee! Stay tuned for pics...

Just a quick shout out to my amiga Julie over at The Land of Lost Luggage who is featured in the latest issues of Artful Blogging Magazine. I knew that I was in the presence of greatness 20+ years ago when we were goofing off during Ed's Photography class in high school. Congrats, Julie. If you get a chance, check out her blog as well as her mixed media artwork displayed throughout the site. Muy bien hecho, Julia!

And last - but certainly not least - the biggest shout out is to my boyfriend, Mike. Today is our 9th wedding anniversary! Who knew that December eve 13 years ago would turn into such a fun ride. He is definitely the comic relief section of Club Amaro...his humor and personality are always fun to be around. He is an excellent husband, provider, father and friend...he is a strong spiritual leader in our home yet he is humble in his position. I am so thankful for him. Happy Anniversary sweet man!! Looking forward to many, many more years.

Enjoy your weekend and stay out of trouble, youse!

love & a clean rib bone,

k

SECRET MESSAGE: Happy Anniversary!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Thanks to The Pioneerwoman for providing the material for today's post. Mike and I had some fun tonight over at Yearbook Yourself. It's a website where you upload a photo of yourself and....well, you'll see what happens down below. Folks, let me tell you. This is 35 minutes of my life I am never getting back. Not to mention I had to dig up a photo of myself (I managed to find one of the 3 in existence)...AND, I think I may need counseling after seeing these pictures of Mike (and vice versa).

Without further ado...let's take a trip back in time.

Here we are back in the 1960's...



I actually fancy this pairing...Mike looks more like a Math professor than a student.



I think here I was in that phase where I really wanted Mike to rock it like Andy Gibb...



Do you ever have that urge to hang a disco ball over your dining room table? Don't ever give in to that urge...trust me.




Remember those awkward years where some days you'd have to pick a shirt that just didn't quite go with your Member's Only jacket so you'd have to leave it at home for the day? Or you couldn't find the pair of shoulder pads that went in your Forenza sweater so you had to be at school all day without that extra padding?



This is too much photo brushed fun...I'll have to call it a day. If you end up "yearbooking" yourself, don't be shy - send me a picture!! C'mon, I shared with you...it's only fair.

love & drug-store perms,

k

SECRET MESSAGE: My chains are gone!
Monday, October 20, 2008



This is Abby holding up her entry in the "Fire Safety in the Home" contest. I think it's a great poster, which depicts 5 fire safety rules.

1. Don't leave the house with anything (in other words, don't try and grab a bunch of stuff, just leave with yourself)
2. Touch the door before you go out the door
3. Don't play with matches
4. Stop, Drop and Roll (my personal favorite - not sure if you can see but she drew a picture of herself rolling where all you see is the back of her head)
5. Call 911

Abby spelled most of the words on the poster...however, she copied the words at the top from something I wrote on a piece of paper. Unfortunately, I spelled "safety" incorrectly.

Yeah, I know.

At leest if she dozsn't win the contast she can blaame it on her mom.

loev,
k

SECRET MESSAGE: I love you Bobbo Fett
Sunday, October 19, 2008
I believe it was sometime last week when I announced to my man that if he did not drop what he was doing to go buy me a Sam's Club Buffet table so I could organize 14 months of paperwork, I was going to do something drastic.

Let me give you a little back story....most of you know that in August of 2007 we put our house in Cali on the market. In preparation for the sale, we did a complete overhaul of the house, making it "home-buyer" friendly. Translation: if it's a horizontal surface area, you may not have ANYTHING - I repeat - ANYTHING on it except for a stager-approved knick-knack. Even then, there is a complicated algorithym to determine how many knick-knacks per square foot of surface area as well as the angle and position of said knick-knack.

So away went most all our stuff to storage except for my HUGE desk which got chucked because it broke as we were taking it apart. Well mama had to have a desk, so enter the $70 Craigslist special. It has about 2 inches of surfarce area for me to write on a sticky note. It has no storage space whatsoever except for a place to put your computer tower...which is completely useless for us laptopers. It used to belong to a twelve year old who was getting rid of it for a better desk. That's all I've got to say about the desk, OK?

SO. Here I am in August 2007 with "Playskool's My First Desk". My filing cabinet now lives in the garage with boxes in front and on top. No problem, I think to myself...I'll just get a cute little bin to store my paperwork in until we move to TN. And a cute little bin I got...I put it in the garage where I could get to it when I need something. It worked great until I determined that I needed something to keep "more important" stuff in. Well, no problem...I'll just get a cute little metal basket and put it on the side of my desk. That was the beginning of the end. I tried to keep it under control...but it was like a monster. Bills, invoices, mail, Abby's artwork, magazines, USPS envelopes, Address book, Moving packet, Auto transport documentation, stamps, envelopes, extra paper, extra sticky notes, loose change, pay stubs, loan documents....AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

After the house sold (6 months later!), we loaded the car for our 8 week road trip. The "bin" came with us. It was very strategically packed with the absolute necessities. It came with us to all our hotel rooms, it stayed with family, it saw the Grand Canyon. It accumulated stuff: hotel bils, forwarded mail, etc. Then, when we moved into our apartment it joined up with its cousin, the metal basket and a few other friends (wicker baskets #1, #2 and #3 and Big Lots Storage Bins #1 and #2). Since I knew we'd be moving into a house soon, I justified not organizing the monster...so it accumulated some more. It was a source of anxiety for me. Couple that with my Playskool Craigslist desk. Mama no like.

Bring it on back to last week...I had had enough - it was time to bring down the monster. I needed surface area and I needed it bad. The only solution was the 6 foot Sam's Club buffet table.

It's done...the monster is dead. My filing cabinet has returned to a state of harmony and unity.



The Sam's Club buffet table, weary from battle...with just a few remnants remaining for me to tidy up. It served its purpose and restored peace to the office of Club Amaro. The Playskool Craigslist table lives to do battle with me another day...it waits for me as I save my pennies for the Broyhill desk of my dreams.

Thanks Mike for the Sam's Club run...you rock.

Good grief, if you are still reading this, I will send you 50 dollhairs.



love & wicker baskets,
k


SECRET MESSAGE: Out dated arabahs. :)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
It's been fall break here in Middle Tennessee and for parents that means one thing: kids home from school. For two weeks. All day. Now of course this is no issue if you're the kind of Mom that has lots of fun ideas, plans, crafts and play dates with Mac-n-Cheese & Capri Sun lunches. Well, I'm not really that kind of Mom...I mean, I can do stuff like that but it doesn't come so naturally for me. I'm also in a one kid world (which is quite different from a multiple-kid world). I've heard these special "cool mom" skills can improve with additional offspring. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it's been 5 years and this is still me folks. Don't get me wrong, there was fun times for Abby last week, but then she went and got the strep throat and rash which kind of sealed the deal on fall break fun. Not to mention B & M's kids came down with some sort of flu like thing - it was just a sick week!

I'll tell you one thing that I can do....PRETEND! Oh yeah, I'm a good pretender. And I have the perfect pretending buddy - Abby! She doesn't watch much TV, so her pretend-play repitoire is modeled by things that she sees at home or school. One of my personal favorites is "Office". Office is good because I'm playing, but I can also sneak real work in while I'm pretending to be office buddy. In order for you to have a greater appreciation for the operations here at Club Amaro, you must - I repeat MUST - have a deeper understanding of "Office". It's time for a photo montage...YEAH!


It's important to follow Office attire guidelines. Of course at this Office, the guidelines are very loose. Exhibit A. a leotard and skirt paired with some lovely lavender heels and matching purse (a gift from Arie P.) Nevermind you can see the unmentionables...


Next, you always bring at least one baby to the office. Today it was Aubrey. What? You don't see her in the picture? Top right corner, nestled in her stroller underneath the fleece blanket. Of course, you can't bring all four kids because that would be too much crying and disruption.


You must always have some kind of paperwork to do. Today at the Office, we are reviewing an Istockphoto.com listing from a past project of mine. Other days, I print out IRS forms or other applications. She fills them out and consults with me about the content. She'll say things like, "should I enter this into the oplication [application] or should I FTP it to the database?". Come on, she listens to two techno-geeks all day long, of course she's going to say stuff like that.


This reminds me of another important aspect of Office...you need pretend names. I mean, it's really unprofessional to call your collegue, "Mom". My name is "Amanda" after everyones favorite advertising executive from Melrose Place (come on, you KNOW you watched it!!). Abby has gone the more conservative route, using "Laura" after the modest and moral Laura Ingles Wilder of Little House on the Prarie (come on, you KNOW you watched it!!). At least she didn't pick Nellie. Also, since Mike works at home, sometimes he gets sucked into our little Office world - we refer to him as "The President"....or, "El Jefe".

It's important to note that our pretend names carry over to other pretend activities such as "Crafters" (this is where we hang out in the craft room and pretend we are artists working on our masterpieces), or "Kitchen". Actually, in Kitchen, we have different names - I am "Master Chef" and she is "Sous Chef" - but we both KNOW that behind those names we are really Laura and Amanda.

Hopefully you're not confused. Or embarrassed. For me.

I love to pretend with Abby - I don't know if this makes me wierd or dysfunctional or if my child will have to have counseling someday. But I think a little pretending is healthy. As much as I love to play these things, my favorite part about pretending is when I say something to "Laura", and she gives me this certain look and says, "let's go back to being Momma and Abby".



love & capri suns,
k

aka,
amanda

SECRET MESSAGE: Navajo Slave goes on Sev runs.
Monday, October 13, 2008
To whom it may concern,

As a citizen of your fine city, I am curious as to what you were thinking when you put that gas station next to the fireworks store.

Thanks for the fireworks display though...

Signed,
Kristin Amaro


For those of you getting the email feed, I'm not sure the above video will embed - if you don't see a video clip above, you must go to Clubamaro.com and view


Open letter to Fireworks Store on Church Street

Dear Fireworks Store,

You may want to reconsider hiring guys that are going to say things like, "yeah, well the electrical system was always a little sketchy" or "oh yeah, people would be smoking in the back of the store sometimes" on LIVE INTERVIEWS after your store goes up in flames.

Sincerely,
Kristin Amaro

In other exciting Middle Tennessee news, I saw gas today for $2.99/gallon....
YEAH BABY!


SECRET MESSAGE: Congratulations on the news!!! When's the due date?
Sunday, October 12, 2008

The little moon got strep throat yesterday...I knew it was serious when she curled up in a ball on the couch and went to sleep in the middle of the day (those of you that know her well know that she will resist napping at ALL costs). To accompany her strep throat, she has a rash on her cheeks and arms. Poor baby - she was miserable.

What kind of Mom am I, taking pictures of the child in such a state. Oh come on...you have to admit she's darn cute. And, you'll be happy to know she is feeling much better today. Thanks to a $15 copay, 5 minutes with the on call Doc and a $10 bottle of generic Amoxicillin from my favorite drugstore, CVS (sorry, no deal on this trip!).

love & tongue depressors,
k
Friday, October 10, 2008
Today my Mom turns 60. She is one fabulous woman and I thought if y'all didn't mind I would tell you a little about her. First of all, I have to say, she is lookin' good for 60. I hope it's in the genes if you know what I mean. But, beauty is only the tip of the ice berg.

My mom is incredibly talented. She is very crafty, she can sew and embroider, scrapbook and bead and create a beautful garden. Her home is cozy and inviting because she has created it to be. She has an eye for detail and wonderful vision, she can see potential in things that most people can't.

If you need encouragement, don't bother looking anywhere else - my Mom is the gal. She is the best cheerleader around. Sometimes, you don't even know you need it and sometimes you don't want it...but, she's sensitive to give it in the right dose.

My mom is also very smart, organized and a top notch planner and researcher. She most always has just the right way with her words. She can negotiate white off rice.

She's a wonderful cook (even though she has to read every single word of the recipe fifty times, much to the shigrin of that recipe rebel daughter of hers). Her black eyed peas should win an award...and don't get me started about Thanksgiving dinner. Uh!

Anything she can, she will make special...everything from Christmas morning to the first day of school. My brother and I could make a list a mile long of many things that had that extra special "Mom" touch to it.

She's an excellent listener and a good sounding board. She is able to see the positive in things and will be the first to tell you, "Cut the negs!". She is not above receiving advice from her daughter...and sometimes she even asks for it :)

The woman knows how to do laundry...seriously. You think you know laundry, but you have no idea.

She has cool handwriting.

She is an awesome Grandmama.

She loves my husband and could take up 2 hours saying all the things she likes about him.

She finds fun in things that most people ignore.

She's got a great sense of humor.

She will kick your butt in Scrable and then cheer you up afterwards (I still have the score sheet from when I beat her that ONE TIME).

She is the original bargain huntress...she will find a deal where there is no deal.

She is a beautiful sister in Christ, and I will always treasure her.

Happy Birthday, Momma - I love you!!

the cub.

SECRET MESSAGE: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008

photo by Kathryn aka "Queso" ~ taken in Nashville, Tn.


I LOVE fall. I am sad that it took me so many years to really appreciate it. I mean, when you live in San Diego, Fall isn't really in your vocabulary. It's always wonderful - you may have a little June gloom or an occasional Santa Ana - but come on....it's usually always 73 degrees there (ok, so my memory may have a little marine layer clouding it up...it has been 15 years since I've lived there). Then, when I moved up to the Bay Area in '93 I felt like a whole new world was appearing before my eyes. I was introduced to the concept of "seasons"....WOW. A whole new world indeed.

I think it was a few years after moving up to the Bay Area when I really started to have a liking for fall. I liked the way the trees turned that orange-red color, but still had a little green to remind me that Summer wasn't going to let go just yet (the median of Bancroft Road, right in front of FCF....uh! My favorites!). I like that little crispness in the air...getting out my long sleeve shirts but still being able to wear flip flops...wanting a hot latte instead of an iced one... You know what I mean. It probably helped that summers in the East Bay would tend to be a little hotter than I liked...or, alot hotter. So by the time fall arrived, I would always embrace it like a long lost friend. Ok, I don't want to get too cheesy here - we're talking about a season for pete sake.

Well, today my crush on fall has turned into a full blown love affair....sorry, I had to take it there. This is Swiss, cheddar, Gouda, all baked together with a side of Velveeta - CHEESY! I LOVE FALL!!! Today after lunch, Abby and I took a walk around the hood. It had rained most of the morning, but the sun came out and dried everything up but a few puddles here and there. There was a nice chilly breeze that contended with the heat of the sun...perfect weather...not a cloud in the sky. All you could hear were the sounds of birds and the rustling of trees. Leaves are starting to change and fall to the ground. Waving at the old lady sitting on her front porch rocking chair (of course, she could do that in winter, spring or summer too, but stay with me...it's all part of the big FALL picture that I'm painting for you). It was during this walk that I knew, Fall is the one for me. Now, I've yet to experience Winter or Spring, but I can't imagine anything comparing.

Well, I hope you weren't holding out for a more exiting paragraph, because this is pretty much it. A whole post on my love for fall. Sorry, you can get a refund if you'd like. Or, just look at it as your portion of 'cheese' for the week.

And, I can always get a few miles out of putting a picture of Abby, so I'll do that too...

Here's to fall!

love and orangey-red leaves,
k

SECRET MESSAGE: get your poof on...
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Hey y'all...

Some of you guys that get the Adventures delivered to your email in-box wrote to tell me that you could not see the pictures or video that were posted yesterday. Well, ain't that a shame!

Not sure what's up with that, but I did want to let you know that you can always just surf on back to "clubamaro.com" and see the post live....and if you like the color red then that's an extra treat for you!



Have a great Friday!

love,
k

SECRET MESSAGE: DEY SUM HOES IN DA GROVE
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
This money saving maven has met her match! I had to pay full price for something...MAMA NO LIKE! The city caught me red handed on one of those traffic camera's running a light. In fact, you can see it for yourself:



Mike and I have already watched it about 50 times (one time for each dollar I had to spend get back in the good graces of this fine city) and we laugh our butts off every time. I don't know why the video strikes me so funny - it's just the sight of my little Camry boppin' on through that lonesome turn lane. Let me give you a little background on this right hand turn. There are TWO right hand turn lanes and when the light is green, it's a party and everyone gets to go. Then the light turns yellow, then red - at that time a green right arrow appears for the right hand turn lane. Well apparently the left right hand turn lane has been naughty because it's not allowed to go on the right green arrow light. Only the rightmost right hand lane can turn. I'm not sure if any of that made sense - but, it explains why nobody is in the left right hand turn lane - except of course for me. Bop, bop, boppin' along...

Of course, this little infraction has had its intended effect on me...today I found myself being much more obedient to traffic signs and lights. Not sure how long that will last...

Said in my hearing...
Today I was not feeling so well. So after we got home from school, I suggested to Abby that we have some "cuddle time" on the bed. Of course my idea would be that she brings a few books and reads to me as I close my eyes, rest and hope I feel better. Her idea is that I read to her while she relaxes after a hard day at school (come on, recess IS tiring!). Being the fab mom that I am, I acquiesced. I started to read but found myself unable to muster much enthusiasm in my voice. Abby - using hand gestures that are impossible to document in this forum - says to me, "MOM. You need to read the words with more excitement!"

Jack and Mary BoBo
No, this is not some nursery rhyme that I screwed up! Jack Daniels - as in the whiskey....and Miss Mary BoBo as in...well, Miss Mary BoBo! Two places that we visited with our friend Kathryn during her visit here. I never had an opportunity to write about it so I thought I'd give a little Readers Digest of it.



We drove down to the little town of Lynchburg, Tn. (a wonderful drive with lots of beautiful country scenery). First stop: JACK. Funny little side note, Lynchburg is in a DRY county - that means alcohol is not served or sold anywhere! The distillery can only sell "commemorative" bottles of Jack.

A little bench on the distillery grounds


We took a tour of the distillery where Jack Daniels whiskey is made. The grounds are beautiful and the smell of whiskey fills your nostrils as soon as you get out of the car. I knew we were in for a wild ride as soon as we met our feisty tour guide, William. He kept things lively, I'll just leave it at that. The tour is great and we learned quite a bit about the process...we may have even learned more if we understood 1/2 of what William was saying.

After the tour, we went down the road a bit to downtown Lynchburg where 1 pm "dinner" reservations awaited us at Miss Mary BoBo's (MMBB). We weren't sure what to expect, but went at the suggestion of a friend. Turns out, MMBB is a boarding house & restaurant (although no longer used as a boarding house). The bedrooms of the house have been converted into mini-dining rooms where meals are served family style at a large table. Each room has a "hostess" - a local Lynchburg lady - that gets everyone familiar with each other and the food and handles any questions or concerns. We just so happened to be seated in the "Tolley" room with Lynne Tolley herself as our hostess. Lynne is the current proprietress of MMBB (Miss Mary was her mama) - and she is the great-grandniece of Jack Daniels. It doesn't stop there folks, Miss Lynne takes a little time each Friday to imbibe over at the distillery....oh sure....they CALL it taste testing, but we know the truth. Seriously though, she's an "official tester" for JD. They say sometimes it only takes a whiff to tell good from bad. Anyway - if you want to know more about MMBB, just google it and read all the fabulous write-ups about it. There is some fun history to it.

A shot of our table - should have taken the BEFORE instead of the AFTER!

The 3 of us (along with 8 or 9 others) feasted on fried chicken, meatloaf, rice casserole, candied apples (candied with Jack, of course), pinto beans with red pepper relish, greens, fried okra, corn muffins, sweet tea and some fudge pie w/ fresh cream (Jack's in the cream too!) for dessert. I think I missed a dish, but you get the picture. We were so full afterwards that we walked around downtown Lynchburg and looked at souvenirs in hopes of our stomach returning to normal size.



And we couldn't help but take in a few rocks in the rocking chairs that were so abundantly available in front of the shops. NICE!

Well - thanks for hanging in there with me for this lenthy post. I hope you are all well and find yourself more informed about the haps at Club Amaro.

Love and okra,
k

SECRET MESSAGE: "It was the PASTA"