Yer not from around here, are ya?

Catherine got that a few times when we were in Tennessee this past week.

We drove down to Dayton to see my parents for "Christmas" on January 2. We hadn't been able to exchange presents with them this year, and since Catherine and I still have Christmas breaks, we decided to drive down and spend a few days celebrating with my side of the family. After a stop at Chick-fil-A for lunch (of course - I always get it when I can), we drove through Nashville and picked my little sister up from work downtown, then we all drove home. On the way, we stopped at Fazoli's for dinner and had an interesting time. This Fazoli's was in a little interstate town between Nashville and my home town, Dayton. I ordered the Ziti with meat sauce, Leah got the spaghetti, and Catherine got the pizza...no wait, the salad...no wait....um...er....(Cath, hurry up, the locals behind you are getting restless)...the lasagna? That's when she got the..."Y'all aren't from 'round here, are y'all?" Oh well.

We had a nice time, though. It's always fun to go to my parents' house. They live in a very small town, and coming from Chicago, it's a nice change of pace. We always walk down to the town square to go to the little shops or to the post office or something. (In fact, when Catherine and I went to the post office, there was one sheet of paper from the local newspaper sitting on the counter, and it was dated March 7, 2007 - it was the page that had our engagement announcement and picture on it. We felt famous).

We ate well and ate lots! Turnip greens, black-eyed peas, cornbread, sausage biscuits, beef stew...not all at once, but it was all delicious!

Now, we're back to Chicago. Nice in some ways, but the impending busyness looms on the horizon.