Who I Met Today

Everyone has a story – Collecting & sharing interesting info, life lessons, & fun things to see & do from the wonderful people in our world
Porter Road Butcher cheesemonger Mark Bilbrey

Mark Bilbrey – Cheesemonger

Feeling like old friends, Mark Bilbrey greeted me with a big smile, a warm hug, and invited me behind the cheese case at Porter Road Butcher in East Nashville.  We spent the next two hours laughing and talking and comparing varieties of cheddars and goudas.  Tragically, 3 months later, on November 6, 2018, Mark lost his life in a one-vehicle auto accident on rain-soaked streets.  For his family, friends, colleagues,

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Sherry Hall Founder of Grace Rides

Sherry Hall – Therapeutic Riding

Sherry Hall marvels at how God took the assorted pieces in her life, arranged them for her, and showed her what to do. “It was hard and scary, and I didn’t think I was capable of making it happen,” she reflects.  Proudly guiding me through the new and improved, brand new barn in Defuniak Springs, Florida, Sherry points to a wooden sign hanging in the office – We are seldom

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Mo Houston along the Camino de Santiago

Mo Houston – Walking The Camino De Santiago

Boarding a flight to Madrid, Mo Houston shoved her only piece of luggage, a backpack weighing less than 18 pounds, in the overhead bin. Carefully packed and meticulously arranged, it contained 2 changes of clothes, a pair of shoes, flip flops, a rain suit, a head lamp, bandana, and not much else.  These were her supplies for the next month. For hundreds of years, people have journeyed to the Apostle

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animal keeper and clouded leopard at Nashville zoo

Meet Jake Belair – Animal Keeper and Ambassador

Surrounded by posters and thank you cards and sweet messages from school kids, Jake Belair is a bit of a rock star at the Nashville Zoo.  “I have a great deal of fun showing people, including a whole lot of kids, the glamorous side of animal keeping,” he says with his big grin.  Sweaty, grimy, and sporting rubber wading boots, Jake has spent the morning cutting tree branches for his

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Downtown Nashville skyline

My Favorite Things To Do In Nashville

Traveling to a new city, I don’t necessarily want an overwhelming list of restaurant recommendations and tourist attractions to sort through and analyze.  Just give me a few good spots to eat and fun places to go to get me started – leaving room for impromptu exploring and spontaneity. These are my current Nashville favorites – I know my list may change periodically.  Hope you enjoy checking out a few

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Kathy Cire author of The Magnificent Garden

Kathy Cire – Spreading Joy, Hope, and Peace

In October 2016, one week shy of her first birthday, Mary Caroline woke up with a fever.  With no health issues, the spirited and curious toddler appeared to have a childhood virus.  There seemed no reason for her parents and doctors to panic.  Until she did not improve…. Three days later, this precious little girl with the infectious smile and big hair bows passed away from a non-vaccine strain of

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kombucha taproom rowdy mermaid

Erin Donnelly – What Exactly is Kombucha?

Strolling into the Rayback Collective on a bright, sunny morning, I spot an eclectic array of food trucks, bikers sipping coffee around a fire pit, folks clicking laptops at community work tables, and a vegan ice cream cart.  Combined with a lounge, live music, and an adjacent multi-use trail, this place may be too cool for me…..

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training canines for military and law enforcement

Dave Taylor – Training Canines For Military, Law Enforcement, and Private Use

Not long ago, I came across a story about a highly successful drug sniffing police dog in Columbia, South America. It seems Sombra’s nose has led to numerous narcotics seizures and arrests in the country’s airports and ports.  Due to her achievements, this gentle, friendly German Shepherd now has a bounty on her cute little head.  Fortunately, extra security measures are in place to protect this valuable Columbian National Police

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exploring Antelope Canyon in Arizona

My New Thing For Today Project

Two years ago today, on my 57th birthday, I embarked on a project. I pledged to do one new thing – every single day –  for the next year.  As it turned out, one year of novel activities, both large and small, rolled into two years of something new every day.  Now, 730 days later, I realize what a gift my experiment turned out to be. Just as my grown sons

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Brittany Fuson Paper

Brittany Fuson – Fashion Illustrator

Crazy about pretty clothes, great shoes, and lists of all sorts, I fell in love with Brittany Fuson and her long-legged girls.  Dressed in fabulous dresses and carrying the latest  handbags, her blondes and brunettes and redheads sport everything I ever hope to find hanging in my dream closet. Finishing up her Apparel Design degree at the University of Alabama back in 2009, Brittany wanted to give each of her

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