Summertime Fun at Granny & Gramps

We decided rather spontaneously that we wanted to venture off to Union City, TN last week to visit Granny & Gramps, so first I confirmed it all with the inkeeper (Granny) & then I invited my friend Sybil to join us for a day or two. We were both about 3 hours from Union City, so it worked out perfectly. Sybil was able to bring her daughter, Shelby along & the kids all had such a good time together. They played outside, they played inside, they watched cartoons, they ate ice cream sandwiches, they had a campfire with smores & climbed trees together. As I watched them running through the yard at dusk one night, I was filled with such happiness watching the freedom & gaiety of children in barefeet on a warm summer night. Their bellies filled with roasted marshmallows, melted chocolate & crisp graham crackers. As they ran & ran, I secretly wished I had the energy & the free spirit to run with them, to just let it all go & run just to run, feeling the grass on my feet, a huge smile on my face.

(These photos are all courtesy of Sybil - Thank you So Much! They are beautiful!)

We checked out a local market, Flippens. They are famous for their fried pies & have even been featured on the Food Network's show, Food Finds. Check out their story http://www.flippenhillbillybarn.com. They were such a cute little market with fresh produce & their pies of course & all kinds of homemade jams, jellies, pickles & relishes. Just a cute little country store. Sybil took some great photos of the produce & you can check them out at her blog at http://sybilreeves.blogspot.com/. The picture of the girls standing in front of Flippens is from Sybil also. Thank you!!

When we got back to Granny & Gramps we divided up all the different flavors of pies to taste test them. They were quite yummy! My favorite flavors were cherry & raspberry. We also sampled chocolate, strawberry, apple & peach.

Granny & Gramps have always been so welcoming & when you have 5 kids in tow & you invite a friend & her daughter along as well, you would think they would hit the pavement running as soon as we rounded the corner, but they always have hugs, kisses & plenty of love for all of us. We always have the best time visiting them. And since Mark has been gone for a few weeks, we have not had the best dinners, but boy did we get some great home cooking in Granny's kitchen!! She makes the absolute BEST breakfast casserole I have ever had & I enjoyed many a sausage ball as a late night snack. They have a lovely home & a beautiful yard & Union City is a thriving small town. I really enjoy being there.


Sybil & I enjoyed several hours without the kids & we had a blast!! We went shopping at the local Goodwill, which was ENORMOUS & they even offered us a 10% military discount - YEA! Then we headed downtown & enjoyed a pizza buffet at Snappy's Tomato Pizza & then did some more shopping at a thrift store just down the way where we hit a jackpot sale & had such a good time treasure hunting together. I was in heaven!

My journey of friendship with Sybil has been incredible! We have endured so much together & enjoyed so much together. We both share a love for creativity & for life. We met 6 years ago in Fort Stewart, GA & I have considered my life even more blessed since that day.