It's 2021!

It's officially 2021 which means we are DONE. FINISHED. with 2020!  Praise sweet Jesus!

Before we go much farther I guess I should address the elephant in the room (on the blog? in the internet? I'm not sure where the elephant is). The elephant being that I have not graced this spot on the inter-web for almost 5 years.  I could tell you many reasons why, and maybe I will someday, but for now, let's put a line in the sand and move forward.  

I can tell you one reason that I haven't been around these parts is because it takes some brain power (that I may or may not possess) to sit down and gather my thoughts enough to put them into some semblance of order. Some days that just seems overwhelming and/or more than I have time for. I've decided I'm not going to put pressure on myself to be particularly eloquent and full of deep thoughts.  So what I'm trying to saying is not to get your expectations too high for this space. I'll write what comes to mind and see how it goes.

I do have a few thoughts on this first day of 2021:

*  I miss people.

*  I miss church. 

*  I miss hugging people.

*  I miss traveling.

*  I miss going to concerts, plays,  and live performances of any kind. 

*  I miss what I took for granted.

Please know that I am fully aware this is not all about me.  This whole 2020 situation has seen so much heartache, loss and isolation for so many.  It is hard to process all that's happened the last ten months. One of my favorite verses has been a constant these past months:

"God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

So as we begin 2021, I'm praying that I can put fear behind me and walk with confidence into this year. That's one reason I want to write here again.  It's very cathartic for me to put thoughts into words.  When you say something out loud or write it on paper, sometimes it makes it not feel so burdensome or heavy. I'm okay if no one reads this.  I mean I would love for friends and family to share my crazy.  In fact, there are three of you (you know who you are) who asked me to begin writing again.  So I appreciate the encouragement.  I'll try to do the three of you proud.

Until next time, much love.

Crevolyn

Weekend Recap: Sandi Patty Edition

Well, I just had the highest hopes for blogging everyday last week but then Mother got sick and we had to spend a major chunk of the day at Comprehensive Care on Tuesday.  And then on Thursday I came down with a fever and a stomach virus of epic proportions.  I'm convinced that I got it when we took Mother to the doctor on Tuesday.  My first clue was that her doctor came in and said "would you believe that I've seen four cases of a strain of flu with fever and stomach virus?"  Yep, that's where it came from.  I'm just beyond thankful that Mother didn't catch it.  That would have really been bad.  D was a rock star handling the dogs and helping with Mother (she's living with us now) when I couldn't lift my head off the pillow.  So that was our week last week, how was yours?

Saturday morning I met with one of my favorite young ladies from our church; daughter of some dear friends who is finding herself a bride in May.  When she set her date, I was already booked with another wedding so I'm working her through the planning process all the way to the Big Day.  It makes me a littler nervous to leave her in the unfamiliar hands of others but I'm sure she'll be just fine.  We had a delightful morning of looking back at old times and looking forward to her new season.  It was truly a blessing. 

On Saturday afternoon,, I found myself trying to play catch up with various projects from the whole week.  That was a little overwhelming and I'm still digging out.  The next six weeks are beyond busy with coordinating four events/weddings, hosting a shower at my house and opening my new office and the new shop.  Oh dear, one.day.at.a.time.sweet.Jesus. 

Before I go I've got to tell you about last night.  Okay, just like y'all I'm sure, D and I lead very hectic lives so we try our best to set aside Sunday evenings as a date night.  So when I saw that Ms. Sandi Patty was going to be at Johns Creek Baptist Church last night, I ordered tickets.  This would be a perfect date night (except that D's mom wanted to go so she went with us.  That's kinda the story of our lives right now).   I even upgraded so we could go to the Meet and Greet. I've been looking forward to it for months.    I can honestly say that Sandi's music has influenced me more than any others through the years. She's been one that I've just kept in the rotation and when I've needed a little uplifting moment from music, Sandi Patty has been there for me.  Her voice is truly one of, if not the greatest, of our generation.  Last night she sang with the church's 125-voice choir behind her and I thought surely we had already gone to heaven.    When she sang "How Great Thou Art" with that choir, I was just done.  It was amazing. 

Here we are with Sandi at the Meet and Greet:

This is not a great photo but this gives you the feel of the church and the choir with Sandi.   What a great evening!

Okay, gotta go.  I started a few weeks ago recording the "Cooking with Crevolyn" segments with the Dahlonega radio station.  They are fun bunch let me tell you!  I'm off to talk to them.  Have a great day!

Take me Out to the Ballgame - The G Edition

Last Monday was the opening day of Baseball 2015.  So in honor of that, the Braves 5-1 season start and let's be honest, just because I love this so much, let's let G get us in the baseball spirit!
I'm guessing he was about 3 or 4 years old at the time. I'm not sure what I love more: the knee slaps, the nose "itch," or all the hat action.  And the boy can flat out sing, don't ya think? 

The Retreat at Long Mountain

Many years ago when D's parents purchased the farm in Cleveland, it was his Dad's vision and dream for the property to someday be used for ministry.  Over the years, it was used many times hosting retreats, worship services, meetings, prayer days, Sunday School parties and a whole lot more.  It was used by our family for lots of fun and relaxing as well as family reunions, parties and even a few weddings.  But God had more in mind for this place.  After Johnnie died, D's mom decided it was time for the vision to be realized so talks began with our church, Lakewood Baptist, to become the beneficiary of this property.   On Saturday, April 4 the first official event unveiling the Retreat at Long Mountain was held.  It included over 1,100 people enjoying a meal, an Easter egg hunt, and a plane flyover.    We could not be more thrilled to see what God has in mind for this piece of His earth.  I couldn't help but think maybe God parted the veil and let Johnnie peak down.

Pictured with Dr. Tom Smiley, Kirky, Sadie and Penny.  :) 

My John Denver Story

This is my column published in The Times.    I'm sharing one of my fondest memories of days gone by ...

I’ve always worked.   In my family, when you turned 16 you got a job.  However, up until I was about 15 ½ I thought when you turned 16, you got a car.  Nobody told me until then that the car would also require a job!   It didn’t take me long to realize that if you want something, like gas to put in your car, you had to work for it.  I continued to work all through school.  My early jobs while in high school and college were as a bookkeeper, a receptionist, a student ambassador for my college, a fashion show coordinator for the local mall and a “prep assistant” for the college food science classes.  I wasn’t even a food science major.  Isn’t that interesting how life comes full circle sometimes? 

These days, my jobs include planning weddings and events, writing a blog, selecting/tasting/adapting recipes and speaking about food and entertaining.  I’ve had some interesting jobs along the way but I’ve got to tell you about one of my favorites that wasn’t really a paying job.  It was an internship.

 

In graduate school, I had the opportunity to work at an advertising agency based out of St. Louis.  One of my assignments was to handle the print advertising for upcoming concerts.  Remember, this was 1981 before the techno age hit and things were still being mailed, printed and hand delivered.  One day my boss came in and told me my new client was on the phone.  I picked up the phone and imagine my surprise when I heard, “Hi Crevolyn.  This is John Denver.”  Well, this job just got better.  We talked regularly over the course of the next few months.  He was warm, engaging and kind.  The day came when my portion of the job was coming to an end.  John made one last call and when I answered, he immediately started singing … “you fill up my senses, like a night in the forest, like the mountains in springtime, like a walk in the rain” (from “Annie’s Song”) then very graciously thanked me for all of my work on his behalf.   What a great gift I received that day.  That alone was payment enough!  I’ll never forget it. 

My Daddy always said “a little hard work never hurt anyone.”  I’ll venture to say that most folks feel a great sense of accomplishment after a job well done.  So let’s get in the kitchen, make this Baked Spaghetti and reap the benefits of some good work.  This is one of our family’s favorites. 

Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds lean ground meat

2 (24 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce

8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta

1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese

1 ½ cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Crumble ground meat in a saucepan.  Cook until no pink remains; drain off the fat.  Combine ground meat and spaghetti sauce.  Simmer together about 20 minutes.  While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Combine the cheeses into one bowl. Cover the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan with a third of the sauce.  Add a layer of pasta, then add a cup of cheese; repeat the layers, ending with the last third of the sauce.  Bake for 30 minutes. Top with the remaining cup of cheese, return to the oven and continue to cook until the cheese is melted and bubbly.  Cut into squares and serve.

He is Risen!

It's March 2015 (again in April)!

March 2015 was one of the craziest months of recent.  There were lots of good things going on and lots of not-so-good things going on.  But I guess that's usually the way life goes.

The first of the month started with lots of planning for a brand new venture I could not be more excited about.  For months, my friend Tracy has been toying with the idea of opening a gift/home store.  Several doors closed along the way but one flew wide open about the middle of February and she took the plunge.  She signed a lease on the cutest little house and began the process of preparing to open The Iron Rose.   Isn't this awesome?  You want to know what is more awesome?  I'm moving my Wonderful Events office there!  WooHoo!  I'm super excited.  The Main Street Market location has served us well for almost 5 years but I felt like this was the next right thing.  So we moved all of the office things to the new location last week.  While things are still in major disarray there, it will eventually be fabulous.

Anyway, back to March.  Tracy and I began to think about how best to restore this old house to a more cozy cottage homey feel.  Paint colors and light fixtures were chosen and the buying of merchandise commenced.  Whew, that was an ordeal.  I went to the Mart a couple of times but Tracy, of course, has primarily worked tirelessly to choose just the right merchandise mix.  Which is no easy task when you are opening something new.  I think she's done an amazing job.  I love everything she's bought.  So we've got that going on ...

On March 7th, my sweet girl turned 29 years old.  LOVE this child.  She is such an amazing person.  She's so amazing that she had 2 birthday desserts:  her old favorite Strawberry Cake and her new favorite, Grasshopper Pie.  She loves chocolate and mint so I had to add this to the birthday mix. 

Happy Birthday to you, sweet Emily!


On the 14th we headed to Nashville just for a fun weekend.  We usually go to visit D's sister and her family in Murfreesboro and never make it to Nashville.  But this time, we were going to be tourists and we had a great time.

If you are a fan of American Pickers, you need to make a beeline to their new store in Nashville, Antique Archeology.  Of course, what do you think the Wiley's did?  They walked straight to this awesome miniature grocery store.  Is that not awesome?  If not for the $250 price tag, it might have come home with us. 

Next we went to the  Fontanel Mansion which is the former home of Barbara Mandrell.  Being a long time fan of Barbara and a super-fan of the Mandrell Sisters Variety Show (who remembers that too?),
this was an awesome glimpse into the Mandrell's career.  And, by the way, the Fontanel Mansion is the largest log home in the world.
Darrell was loving Buck Owen's red, white and blue guitar.  Okay, you've got to remember Buck, too, right? 

After an exhausting afternoon of site seeing we had to have some nourishment.  And of course you can't be a tourist in Nashville and not eat at the Loveless Cafe.  The best fried chicken I've ever put in my mouth.  Yum.  

On Sunday morning, we got up and went to Puckett's Grocery and Restaurant in Franklin.  We first saw this grocery store turned restaurant on the Food Channel several years ago and have had it in the back of our mind's ever since that we wanted to visit.  We had their breakfast buffet and it did not disappoint.  Delish.  Obviously this is a stock photo of an event held there but this shows you how cool this place is. 


After leaving Franklin (which by the way I want to go back when all of those cute little shops are open) we stopped at Carnton Plantation.  I highly suggest you read about this place.  It was fascinating.  During one of the civil war battles, this private home became an instant hospital to 300  soldiers. The wood floors are still stained with the soldier's blood. The ones that were killed are buried right on the grounds, over 1,500 soldiers.   It is the largest privately owned military cemetery in the nation.  The woman of the house, Carrie McGavock become devoted to giving these men a lasting legacy and worked tirelessly to identify the bodies, mark their grave sites and contact their families.  So interesting.

After we left Carnton, we headed to downtown Nashville for a major tourist attraction, The Country Music Hall of Fame.  I loved it.  I could have stayed in there all day.  Right now, they have special Alan Jackson and Ronnie Milsap collections.  Two of my favorites. 

One of the reasons for going this weekend was because we had tickets for The Sing Off Live Tour.  We have gotten hooked on this show and when we saw at Christmas that they would be at the Ryman Auditorium, we got together with D's sister and her husband and got tickets.  If you aren't familiar with the Sing Off, it is a singing competition for acapella groups.  The things these folks can do with their voices are amazing.  You just have to listen.  This is one of our favorite groups, Home Free, singing "Ring of Fire."  Love.

Monday morning as we were heading back to Gainesville, we got the call that my mom had fallen.  Long story but she didn't break anything or hit her head but she did have a heart attack.  She stayed in the hospital until Friday and was then transferred to a rehab facility to regain her strength.  She'll be released from there on Sunday and come to stay at our house for awhile.  So it's been a crazy couple of weeks.  I had knee surgery last Friday, the 27th and I'm making progress.

So I think that catches up to April.  Today is a big day.  I can't wait to tell you about it.  And tomorrow's Easter.  He is Risen.  He is Risen indeed!