Welcome to the FC. Now go home!

The All You Can Eat seafood buffet at the Oakland (Tennessee, that is) Exxon is something of an early bird special, but really, can you beat the value? I'm not sure if this is a weekly event or sort of a one-time deal, but I was delighted to get this flyer. It gives "Filler'up" a whole new meaning. I dearly love the FC!

In spite of the current economic down-turn and the obvious effects it has had on the local housing market, it is inevitable that urban sprawl will continue as people discover the wide open spaces and beauty that Fayette County has to offer (not to mention the at-least-for-now lower taxes). Heck, that's how we wound up here. Part of me wants to tout the pleasures of living here, and part of me wants to say, "Nah, it's not so great, so stay in Memphis."

When Worlds Collide in the FC

We were out on a Sunday drive exploring the FC, and found this gem. Single-wide meets country cottage. It's hard to decide which came first. The cottage appears to be years--decades even--younger than the trailer, but then it also looks to have been cut out in such a way to allow passage for the trailer.

"Honey, you know how you've always wanted to add on to the house?"

Primo Anniversario Alla Villa Pellegrini

Wednesday was a very special day here at Villa Pellegrini, but I was to bedraggled by a cold to write about it. Yesterday morning as I came downstairs after dragging schoolchildren out of bed, I looked out the rear windows, over the rolling hills and beautiful trees, and thought how fortunate to have such a breathtaking view. Then it occurred to me that it was our 1 year anniversary on that day. H had already left for work so I sent him the text, "Happy Anniversary." I knew he would get it right away--and he did.

It was love at first sight for me when we found this lot. We had absolutely scoured Shelby County and could not find what we were looking for in a lot to build on. Basically: lots of trees, hills, large lot, not expensive. That combination just did not seem to exist. That's when we started edging our way across the county line, getting a little braver and a little further out into the FC.

And then we found Lot 6. It had trees galore, a meadow with a grove of trees in the middle, a creek, and a wide open flat area on which to build a house. Of course we did not put V.P. on the flat space. We moved some dirt around and took out just enough trees to place her so she would be surrounded by trees, overlooking a dropoff out the back that rises up again in the distance in a way that makes you think of being in the mountains. In the front we can look out and see more trees, a pond and our lawn. It's all about the views here!

The first night, H and I were here alone. The second night, the girls joined us. We had to go pick them up from their after-school care, and on the drive there storms began gathering, and we could see tornadoes from the car! We got them picked up and back home again just in time for the electricity to go out.

By pure stroke of luck I had just unpacked candles and matches, and not only did I remember where I had put them, but I was able to find them in the dark. I was also able to put my hands on the crankable weather radio, which required a LOT of cranking. It had been my prediction early on that we would move into the house during an ice storm, so I was slightly off on my forecast.

It didn't take long for the tornadoes to die down and for the novely of crashing around in the dark to wear off, so we did what any local would (or should) do--we went to El Nopal for dinner. (I called ahead, and "Si," they had electricity.) We could not go the "usual" way because huge trees were blocking the roads. It was amazing driving along and looking at all the damage the storm had caused. We were so grateful that we didn't have any damage. We were a little iffy on whether we had homeowner's insurance at the time.

At El Nopal, we could enjoy margaritas and watch Dave Brown in all his weatherman glory on their big screen TV with the misaligned projectors (so the red, green, and blue were all slightly off). We were regulars at EN by that time and knew all the waiters by name. They knew us too, but what they didn't know is that we had just become bona fide residents of the FC.

Best of the FC: El Nopal Mexican Restaurant

We discovered El Nopal Restaurant in Oakland, Tennessee one Saturday during our extensive search for the Perfect lot to build on. We had explored every possible option in Shelby County (trust me, we really did), then started migrating over the county line. One day we changed course and went out Collierville to Rossville then Moscow then Piperton. All these areas are seeing impressive growth, but they just weren't what we were looking for. We wound up back on Hwy 64 at lunch time and in need of a margarita. And That is how we discovered El Nopal. Had we come the other way on 64, we would have stopped at La Hacienda, and that would have been that. Honestly, I don't think we would have ever gone to El Nopal. What a loss that would have been!

But, as in many instances, Fate intervened, and we discovered El Nopal, their marvelous margaritas and their delicious food. Try the El Nopal dip, the Tacos al Carbon, any enchilada combo, or anything with their delicious chicken. And by all means, have a frozen margarita. Salt optional.

Don't think you can go to the El Nopal on Forest Hill Irene and get the same fare. It is not the same.




Sunday is our favorite day to go to El Nopal. It has become a little tradition. On Sundays at 6pm the mariachis start playing. Sometimes there are three musicians, sometimes four. My old friend Domingo from Gonzales and Gertrudes plays guitar and sings. They play Mexican folk songs, the Mex-American stand-bye's, eg La Bamba, Feliz Navidad, Celito Lindo (the Ay-Ya-Ya-Ya song), and the Spanish version of American songs (you'll recognize them).

Did you ever notice how much Mexicans love kids? It is one of the most endearing things about Mexican culture. They are all so nice to our kids. The young waiters are never too macho to play with your kid, and it is so charming to see them melt over a baby.

As a final note, La Hacienda has also served us well. They are open a little later sometimes (and we can be night owls). Their food is quite good, including margaritas.