full Nelson

Carrington Nelson (Fox) has been my bestest friend since kindergarten. Her parents are equally awesome, and I came out to Sandy and Billy before I was able to come out to my own parents. Billy had several children from a previous marriage, and sufficiently previous that Carrington has nephews older than she is, which makes for an interesting family tree. The Nelsons all are pretty awesome.

Two of her nephews have revived the old family business. "Old" as in "the 1860s."  Andy and Charlie have successfully revived the Nelson Green Brier distillery and are again producing the wonderfully delicious Belle Meade Bourbon. It's available in a dozen states now, and in finer restaurants and bars around the country. Prentiss Nelson made sure to have it served at his birthday party in the Hancock Room of the Sip Lounge last month.

This week, the Intuit blog interviews the brothers about their small business, getting started, and family tradition. Nice.

together again!

Yay for Keith time!

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Showtunes at Tribe is like homecoming every Sunday.

Gott to have it.

Shouts out to southern comfort food, biscuits & gravy and funnel cakes, and to one of my favorite Nashville people Amos and my new also favorite Nashville person Vince. Brunch at Mad Donna's, where they have tasty bacon-infused vodka. And while I do make a great bloody Mary, the mix-your-own bar is an idea which I think needs retiring, and a skilled bartender needs hiring. I have avoided home this summer, and feel very welcomed back and surrounded by love and friendship.

shelter in place

At the Christmas party tonight everyone's phones screamed in unison as the Emergency Broadcast System went into effect for a tornado warning for the area. We huddled inside for a few minutes, tuned to the local news and radar, and watched the red squall line race across Middle Tennessee. We prepared for the emergency as best we could.

sweater weather

Tribe hosted a Christmas Sweater Party and Contest tonight at Tribe. Well, they had one scheduled, but it turned out to be in the 80s today and still nearly 70° at night, so it wasn't exactly the night for wool. The word went out to the staff, and the non-text/non-twitter bartender didn't get the memo. But he's skinny enough he had turned a child's sweater into a belly shirt. He brought a special Christmas sweater he found on his travels for the delightful club owner David Taylor.

Note the label.


I love being home.

traditional family

I love that for the past six years or so I have been the escort for my parents to Ensworth Grandparents' Day/Christmas Sing/Winter Assembly. I was so glad to be back in time to go with Mom to Ensworth for this, and this year it's just the high school. The concert included Ellen playing with both the jazz and (to her surprise just seconds before curtain) the rock bands. Ellen is awesome.




And diminutive.

We tried to take a selfie. This is with me slightly crouching.


Honestly, can't get enough of her! I love my niece so much.


As is also our tradition, Mom took us to the Pancake Pantry. It's a Nashville institution. Mom's father built the first one, and my father built the new one. The always hospitable David (who took over from his father) came over to speak and visit too. I wish I could remember our waitress' name too as she became a fast friend. Bradley was able to meet up and it was three generations of Hardcastle hometown love. It was a moment to be treasured. And selfied.


It's not the heart-attack plate, but pecan pancake-y love.


This was the only shot that wasn't (1) blurry and (2) featuring my mother's fork tasting something from the unhealthy array of goodness.

High flying!

Everyone knows I have had absolutely SHITTY luck traveling, and after this summer I swore off airlines until Christmas. Southwest Flight 491 From SFO-CHI-BNA this trip was pretty amazeballs. Mostly just the last leg when I got to move to the exit row, and move to the section with the ridiculously awesome flight crew of Scott and JJ. Wow. All become right with the world. Especially the request for shopping advice.


The friendliness of the flight crew was only surpassed by my also ridiculously awesome traveling companion: John Frazier. Handsome, talented, and all around great person. I brought home two loaves of pumpkin bread for mom (her recipe). I gave one to him. Good people. And I can't wait to hear his stuff.


I love that I got to talk to someone who knows all the fun bluegrass outfits I do, like Leftover Salmon and the Dry Branch Fire Squad. And he just played a gig with Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers; so, yeah: awesome.

Shout out to nephew Brad for the midnight airport pickup. And to The Fran who was worried I would be hungry so had warm friend chicken waiting for me. Seriously? That's a mother's love right there.

home set decor

My family's home (my grandmother's first cousin, raised as siblings) was the house used for the film Stoker, starring Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, and Nicole Kidman and released earlier in March of this year. A couple of days after Dad died, Anne (who grew up in the house) called and asked if we'd like to escape the house for a bit and tour the set and see what they had done to the place. It was an impressive alteration.

Just today I came across the blog "Pushing Pixels," and an interview with Leslie Morales, the set decorator who transformed Dear and Papa's house into the haunting character in the film Stoker. For those of you friends with me or the Caldwells, or just want to know more about the house—which since its restoration to its previous condition has been used again and again for the TV show Nashville, you may find the photos and commentary interesting. I know I certainly did.

With “Stoker”, after we found the house we completely emptied it, we more or less changed everything – it’s quite a transformation. We’ve repainted the walls, changed the floors, changed the windows, all the lighting, window treatments & of course designed & selected new furniture; and the fundamental geography of the house remained the same. It was very important to the director to have the geography specific to the story. I’m not sure if people are aware of the differences between the floors, but it was very important as we moved around the house, speaking about different characters.

MusicCityTV

From today's Tennessean: ABC's 'Nashville' Season 2 gets $500,000 incentive from city



"Metro government has agreed to chip in $500,000 to ensure that the production of the second season of “Nashville” stays here — a small price, officials say, for what amounts to a one-hour nationally televised advertisement for the city...At-large Councilman Ronnie Steine likened the ABC series to a “commercial” for Nashville. “Most of us agree: The city looks great, sounds great, and importantly to us all, the music is authentic.”
...
The state is contributing $12.5 million for the filming of the show’s second season, which crews have already started filming around town. In addition, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. and Metro's Event Marketing Fund are delivering $125,000 each to keep the prime-time drama's actors and crews here. City officials estimate that “Nashville” will generate more than $40 million in spending in the region via labor, goods and services."

soul. food.

An absolutely amazing place on Charlotte Avenue, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Read this. Go there.

Carrington Nelson Fox writing for The Nashville Scene:

At Thistle Stop Café on Charlotte Avenue, Magdalene House extends its empire of empathy

Excerpt:

Nashville — in particular, its rising restaurant scene — is the story of the moment. From The New York Times to Food & Wine, reporters are chronicling the ascendancy of Music City with such breathless narration of kale salad and hot chicken you'd think life here was a cabaret of artisan bacon and craft cocktails against a backdrop of reclaimed barnwood and bespoke denim. It makes for a good read.

But there is a deeper, quieter, longer-running story about life in Nashville that's not so obvious to the visiting trend-spotter. For the layover journalist attempting to capture the character of the city — culinary or otherwise — might we suggest adding the Thistle Stop Café to your itinerary? Because you'd be hard-pressed to find a location that tells a more endearing or hopeful story about the people who live here.

Located on the block of Charlotte Pike where Magdalene House's Thistle Farms social enterprise manufactures paper goods and body care products, Thistle Stop Café is the latest chapter in Magdalene's ministry for women who have survived prostitution, trafficking and addiction.

[snip]

With so much goodwill on the menu, Thistle Stop could easily rest on its social-enterprise laurels and offer a bare-bones repertoire of snacks — like so many corporate coffee chains. But that's not the case here.

The list of sandwiches, wraps, salads and desserts advances the local food story with an array of vegan and raw items that will be new to many palates. Pam Daley of nearby Spark of Life Healing Foods provides mock tuna salad, quinoa tabouli and raw pad thai made with cashews over curly crisp tangles of threaded zucchini and daikon. Dozen bakery provides muffins and scones, and Vegan Vee delivers an intriguing and indulgent selection of cookies, brownies and cupcakes sans dairy and eggs. (The raw triple-chocolate cheesecake alone is worth a visit. Made with almonds, cashews, dates, cocoa, vanilla, agave and coconut oil, the dense puck has the intensity of a truffle and a richness we are still trying to figure out.)

Or as they say it: "A story in every cup."

southern comfort

The T. Hartleys, Four and Five, invited me over for a quick visit while I was at home. Big Hartley was one of Dad's good friends and our former minuter and I realized I hadn't seen him since I was about 11. He lives in Asheville, NC, and his son T. Hartley V is an adjunct Hardcastle brother. Big Hartley was visiting, along with former Dean terry, our Dean of Students when we were at Davidson. Both T. Hartleys are Davidson alumni too.


It was great to visit on the way over to Ellen's birthday party, and share in a superbly crafted mint julep. Hartley V takes his mint juleps very seriously and DAMN they are good. He spent the afternoon polishing the silver and reducing the mint syrup. Hartley V had the opportunity to talk on the mint juleps to the KA house at Davidson recently, and read from one of the definitive texts while we sipped in the parlor.


Added bit of love, I was going to order the book for myself when Hartley V gave me his and inscribed it. I love this book, Hartley's oration, and additional commentary. Among the gems: "the mint leaf, like a woman's heart, is most fragrant when slightly bruised."

Mother's Day

Oh yeah. My Nashville trip covered three events: Steeplechase, Ellen's 18th, and Mother's Day.

I am a momma's boy and proud of it!




For Mother's Day I got a case of her new favorite white wine and put them all in the basement refrigerator for chilling and easy access. Corkscrews are so convoluted these days and even the simple ones can be difficult. After a particularly difficult and exhausting day she just wanted a glass of wine when the cork got stuck broken in the bottle and she had to go to a neighbor for assistance. After I heard that, I put in a call to our local wine merchant and asked them to pick out a decent pino grigio with a screw cap and gave them my credit card for a case and had a friend deliver it to Mom's house.


Sometimes it's the little things that show a son's love. And sometimes you just want to make sure your mom has a glass of wine.

18 and over

Birthday surprise at the high school main hall for a very special niece.


Rock on Ellen Hardcastle.

happy place

Southwest Airlines provided one of my worst ever travel days. I left home at 4:00 this morning, boarded comfortably and on time, plane broke, we deplaned, waited, boarded another plane at a different gate (to a newer plane with 3" less legroom), missed my connection by one minute, waited in Denver for several hours, caught the next flight as the last boarder even though I paid extra for the A group, got settled, plane broke AGAIN, we deplaned, waited for another plane, boarded a new flight again with insufficient legroom for people 6' or taller, and finally arrived Nashville many hours late, and at rush hour which is a NIGHTMARE in Nashville and why I paid $100 more to leave at the ass-crack of dawn in the first place. If I had checked luggage, I believe I would have been very well screwed.

However, I arrived safely (which is something) and into the arms of my sainted and loving mother.

We decided to eat "out."

At our home away from home.


And now all is right with the world.

Mother's Day, Steeplechase, Ellen's 18th

And homeward bound.



See you at the races.

cherry blossoms at Sheppard Place

I love that my mom has learned to text and send photos from her iPhone.  We keep in touch a lot that way these days.

She sent this yesterday coming back from the mailbox.  The cherry laurel out front is in full bloom and the weather has been lifting everyone's spirits.



Then it a storm came through last night, which left its own legacy of spring beauty.



Have a good weekend y'all.

do you hear the people sing?

Ah. Fellow Ensworth alumni will remember, hopefully fondly, The Christmas Sing. Long ago it became a "Seasonal Sing." Then I think they did away with it all together. Several years ago, when they created the high school, they merged Grandparents Day, which used to have its own specific musical program into the all school Winter Assembly. So while now non-demoninational in name, is all full of Christian Christmas music. And dancing. And it is wonderful.

As escort and chauffeur to the parents, now grandparents, I have been fortunate enough to attend too. Ellen in in her junior year so just one more after this one.

Love the Ellen.


And y'all know what a music star she is. She plays keyboard with the jazz band and I am told she does not get to improvise or get very colorful as she is the one to "keep the beat for the band." Which is also awesome.


The Franna and the Ellen are pretty great together,


and it is part of the Grandparent's Day.Christmas Sing tradition to take the grandkids to the lunch of their choice afterwards. Which in recent years has been the Pancake Pantry. It was a very cold day and a very long line. While Franna and Ellen parked I waited in line, and could not resist answering the questions pondered loudly aloud by the tourists behind me. I am my father's son. I did include in the story, towards the end, that my grandfather (Franna's father) built the first one and my father built the new one. They asked "and you stand in line like the rest of us?" I admitted that had David (the owner) been inside (I checked) we would have recognized each other and he would have happily seated us, but I wasn't going to say anything to the staff I did not know. I thought that would be kind of dickish. If I saw a manager I knew and they offered, well that's another story.

However, after about five minutes waiting on the curb in the freezing temps, my aged waifish mother decided she might say something and we were seated quickly. I think she's earned that having her father and husband build the place with the family, and her serving on the board of the family company which gives them a long-standing family relationship discount on the rent.

The Pancake pantry is very much a family business, and we are part of the family.


So much in keeping with their personalities that I could have ordered for them by guessing, Franna had the pecan maple pancakes and Ellen had the chocolate chip. My word both were tasty. But also less like "breakfast" and more like "cake." Or perhaps "diabetes." Next time you're there on a cold day as we were, order a half coffee/half hot chocolate. So good. Depending on your server, you may even get marshmallows, which is just an early Christmas.

More of the awesome.


I had already scheduled lunch at Burger Up (of course) with Sinclair and Jonathan before I knew it was Grandparents Day day, so I was happy with a bowl of grits and fork-fulls of their respective pancakes. So good. And oh Lawd the grits. I don't know what she puts ion them, but I was told that they are even quick grits and not the take-an-hour kind. But also people come in for the grits. And once when the woman who prepares them was out sick, people complained that they didn't taste right until she got back. I was also told by our server that she once say her put a possibly impossible amount of butter in there, which I believe. I am also guessing there is some heavy cream, perhaps even some lard, and surely a scoop or two of love.

Man I love those grits.

But clearly not as much as I love the women I was with.

Nashville on display

I just mentioned how Dear and Papa's house was the set for the new Nicole Kidman/ Durmot Mulroney thriller Stoker, and I spied the interior of Barry and Went's house next door in the opening promos for ABC's new hit drama Nashville.  (Went's parents were Dear and Papa, and the two houses were built next door to each other for the generations of the same family.  Went is Cousin Barry's dad.)

Well, I just watched the first two episodes of Nashville on TiVo and (1) I am hooked, (2) wow that's really Nashville, down to the details, and (3) other than the Bluebird and studios, they seem to be only filming inside the houses of my relatives.  It is crazy to recognize so many scenes.  And fun!

I am particularly impressed that the establishing shots for a residence are the actual exteriors of the interior scenes which follow.  That rarely happens in TV and movies.  

In the second episode, our heroine has to attend a fundraiser thrown by her father.  Her father's/her family's home interior and exterior is Cousin Barry's house (or rather, her parents').  The next scene is an establishing shot of people arriving at the fundraiser, and it's the grandparents' house next door.  These houses are maybe 40 yards from each other, but you'd never know from the shots.  Again, what was so striking is that Connie Britton walks up the front door, then the camera cuts to her entering the front hall from the actual front door seen from outside. And after our tour during the gothic makeover of the house during the Stoker filming, it's nice to see the house was returned to it's usual beauty with black and white tiled floor and murals in the front hall.

Connie Britton's character is confronted with three Nashville socialite characters who are rather true-to-life. So much so that I had to press for an instant replay as one of the girls (the one who asked if Rayna's new album was at Starbucks) is my sister-in-law(-in-law). I don't know how they go about casting, but that was Emily's sister-in-law Irish Johnston standing in the front hall of Dear and Papa's with a speaking part in a drama about Nashville.

I thought that Nashville felt like a small town when I go home. It feels even smaller on TV.

hot and cold

I've returned from the balmy bosom of a Nashville southern summer to the arctic death grip of a foggy San Francisco. OMFG it's so cold here I am been sleeping in flannel pajamas, and once when I got up in the middle of the night this week I thought I should turn on the Christmas lights and it took me a moment to realize it wasn't December. Brrr.

The Nashville week was intense, full of tumultuous emotion, some raw grieving, some visceral celebration, and a lot of ridiculously happy fun times.



But I am glad to be back. And this stone isn't going to grind itself.

I am looking forward to posting reports when I have the chance.

Love to you all. Well, most of you. Some of you can suck it. But mostly: love.

east eats

I had the opportunity for a wonderful dinner at the Eastland Cafe with even more wonderful companionship when I was home last.

My new friend is new to Nashville and bought a place in East Nashville. He's walking distance from some good eats, and I believe a farmer's market, so he's dining well this summer in his new home.

The New York Times thinks so too: The Food scene in East Nashville. Nashville’s Rising Stars: The Kitchen Is Their Studio.

Looking forward to another trip in August. Hopefully it will be as tasty as the last trip!