One more thing: eventually, I will finish my Best of Nashville. I am so homesick for Music City!

It seems I find little time to blog these days. Work keeps me very busy. I sometimes lie awake nights wondering how I will get it all done. I am also without a computer at home these days. So I blog sporadically when I get a rare moment to breathe at work. I am so busy all day that I just collapse on the sofa at day's end. Then I roust myself up and throw a Lean Cuisine in the microwave. Cooking, ha! I rarely go anywhere but work. And I having this spiritual dry spell. I make it to church once a month or so, if that often. I have felt God nudging me to do more for Him than sit in the pew, but I haven't done anything about it. My devotional times have become spotty as well. I think I am starting to identify my problem: I need fellowship with other believers and I need to nurture my relationship with God. I can't know God if I don't spend time with Him. I want to do more than pay lip service to serving God. That means spending time with him in prayer, reading his Word, and telling others about Jesus. And fellowshipping with other believers. I need it. I crave it. But I have to crave it more than I crave being a couch potato. I want to make 2008 the year joy came back: joy in the Lord.
Yours, Fannie Ryan

Well, I left Nashville over four months ago, and I still miss it. What was I thinking! When I came to Milledgeville, Georgia two years ago I had never lived in a large city (I lived in Birmingham, Alabama from age 3-5. But does that really count? I mean, at 3, who thinks about the size of one's town?) So I thought, erroneously, that I was strictly a small town girl. I found that once I got used to big city traffic I liked city life just fine. So what did I do? I moved to Mayberry. I am somewhat bored. And the fact that my significant other is back in Nashville doesn't help.

I visit him when I can, and did so last weekend. The local free weekly/alternative paper (one of my favorite reads!) published their annual "Best of Nashville" issue and it got me to thinking about a "Best of Milledgeville" list. I abandoned the idea of putting one together pretty quickly. What would I list? Best medium security prison? Actually, Milledgeville is a pretty nice place. And while at one time, I couldn't imagine a better place to live, it just isn't me anymore.

Nashville is home. I may not live there phsyically, but it is HOME. And it is only 2 hours from my family. But I digress. I began this post to list my own "Best of Nashville". There may be a few overlaps and since I love to eat, more than a few eateries. So here goes:



BEST BURGER: Fat Mo's. Would be the best in any city!



BEST BARBEQUE: I just love BarbieCutie!. The meat is flavorful and smoky, the hoe cakes are great, and there is a large variety of sides to choose from. And they are all good!



BEST COFFEE HOUSE: My vote goes to Fido in Hillsborough Village. It's hip, but not snobby, the coffee is flavorful and never tastes burned, the sweet goodies are homemade tasting, and the menu items are innovative and delicious. I recommend the fish tacos.



BEST BREAKFAST: This is a difficult category. I love breakfast at several different places, but since I have to pick a favorite, I go with Athens Family Restaurant. This Greek cafe serves up a great American breakfast! Most dishes are served up with a side of their version home fries. These are to die for! Regular hash browns are just ordinary when compared with these spuds. And I prefer their pancakes to Pancake Pantry's.



BEST SANDWICH: Bread and Company takes this honor. It seems that no one is ambivalent about Bread and Company. I have heard complaints about service, but I have always gotten great service there(I always go to the one in Belle Mead) , and the food is good, good! It's a little pricey, but it's so yummy!



BEST ICE CREAM: No doubt about it: Pied Piper Creamery in East Nashville runs away with this one. The flavors have pun-ridden fun names, and the ice cream is creamy and, well, swell! My favorites are Banana Fo-fanna Pudding (tastes JUST LIKE my mom's homemade banana pudding) and Movie Star: lemon ginger ice cream that tastes like Carr's lemon ginger tea cookies. That's a very good thing!



BEST CAJUN FARE: Ri'chard's Cajun Cafe in White's Creek serves up the best gumbo this side of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Notice I didn't say New Orleans. Mississippi also has great cajun and creole food. Ri'chard features live music nightly, and you never know who might turn up. Be sure to try Sunday brunch, which also features live music.



BEST SEAFOOD: One can find good seafood all over town. But the best is at Florida Seafood Kitchen in Donelson. Now some places might be more ambiant, and certainly, some are pricier. But that don't make 'em' better! The Kitchen's Best Platter for one is plenty big enough for two. My boyfriend and I can't eat it all! And we regret that too, because it was delicious! Don't pass this one by!



BEST SOUL FOOD: In a town where good soul food is plentiful, I love Poe Boy Luncheon on Dickerson Road. This tiny place serves up some divine fare with the best hot water corn bread in Nashville. The menu changes daily, but no matter what's cooking, you know it's good. Be sure to visit on a Friday, and try the fried fish with spaghetti, white beans and slaw. It's a combination I'd never heard of, but Poe Boys regular patrons grew up with it, and swear it's the only way to eat catfish. One taste and I almost agree.



BEST SPOT FREQUENTED BY TOURISTS AND LOCALS ALIKE: This honor goes to Demos' Steak and Spaghetti House. I must admit I love this place. My two favorite dishes are the pepper steak, (steak strips saute'd with bell peppers and onions and mixed with a flavorful tomato sauce and served over pasta) and the pot roast, which is comfort food at its best.

This has become a very long post. I have more on my "best of Nashville" but will save it for another entry. If you read this and it motivates you to visit Nashville, happy eating!



Yours, Fannie Ryan

On Leaving Nashvegas---It was hard. Damn hard! I miss it like crazy. I took a job in Georgia. I work at that large psych facility where I did my music therapy internship. So I am back in Milledgeville. It's all good. But Gosh, I miss Music City and Long, Green, Tennessee.
Singer and songwriter Matraca Berg penned a lovely, moving homage to the Cumberland River, which meanders through Nashville. Last night I sang and played in on my guitar. I couldn't get through it. I was in Nashville a year. During that year it bacame my home. I wish there were a way to work here and live there.
Milledgeville is a nice little town. I was very happy here. I know I will be again. But Music City still calls. I miss lots of things: Hillsborough Village with its Fido; just happens to be the coolest, hippest coffee house on the planet. The Farmer's Market. If you can't buy it there, it can't be had. The Farmer's Market also has a food court where you can get food from all over the world: Jamaican, Greek, Mexican, Cajun, Asian, Soul food. Just pick one. You can't go wrong. I miss the parks. Somehow they stay lovely and green even in summer. Then there is the Frist Center, a world class art museum. And of course, there is the music. Live music every night everywhere! Country, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and the fastest growing regional symphony orchestra in the country. You can saturate yourself in it. It's a musician's paradise. Then there is the Belcourt, a true art movie house. Then there is the shopping. And independent book stores. Who in their right mind would leave?
Sometimes you do what you have to do. If I had turned down the opportunity to come back to Milledgeville to work I would have always regretted that I didn't take a risk. My work here will be challenging and rewarding. I have friends here. There are music opportunities here. My three cats and I are determined to make a life here, even though my apartment is much smaller and doesn't have a dishwasher! But there is cheesecake. Goodie Gallery, a local bakery and eatery offers a cheesecake that sets the standard for all others. I guess a I can make a sacrifice or two for cheesecake. But I look around me and long to see my heels kick up the hillbilly dust as I walk down Broadway, Nashville's downtown thoroughfare. I long to stand in front of the Ryman Auditorium on a February Saturday night and listen to the sounds of the Grand Ole Opry wafting to the street.
Oh, Cumberland,
I'm your faithful son,
No matter where I run,
I hear you callin' me;

The Mississippi is wide and long,
From St. Paul to New Orleans.
But my heart's restin' on your banks
In Tennessee.
My heart is too full to say anymore.

Well, it's March and I haven't written a blog entry since November. I am still working in Nashville, and have a reached a crossroads. I need a change (at least I think I do!) I am afraid that my dissatisfaction with my job may irreversibly affect my performance. I don't want that to happen. So I am putting out feelers. I had one interview (sort of). I thought I was going on an interview. What I did was take a 300 or so question test. It was mostly psych eval, but also included workplace ethics, basic English, and the most rediculous math questions I ever saw. Word to the wise: learn your math and keep it fresh. Yeah, I know--Unless you are a teacher or rocket scientist or planning on med school 99.9 % of it will never again show up in your daily life. But remember--some geekazoid somewhere has made up one of these tests for you to take. And he or she doesn't care if your career requires flexibility, creativity, and excellent people skills. The most important thing to El Geeko are fractions! Just be thankful, because if the Geek Squad had its way, calculus would be a prerequisite for working at McDonalds! So in case this happens to me again in my job search, I am going to find an elementary math book and bone up on stuff I haven't used in 30 years--that's how long ago I finished eighth grade. God, I hate math!

In my reflections on the past year, it suddenly dawned on me that 10 months have passed since I finished my music therapy internship--longer than the 6 month it took to complete the internship. I have been working at my job as long as I interned. The time has flown. I would be lying if I said I was entirely happy in my work situation. The reasons are many--I am not paid enough, our corporate people micromanage; the main reason is there are no opportunities to do real music therapy. I do recreational music groups but not therapeutic groups. I feel like I am losing my touch. The bright spot are my clients. I guess I love what I do, just not the company I work for. The sad part is that I am ready to quit and do something that is in an unrelated field. I am not abandoning my career and my calling. I just want to let go of the stress of my present situation so I can do my calling. If I apply for this other job and get it, I will have time to build a private music therapy practice, or at least time to look for a full time job in my field because this new thing is strictly 9-5, no weekends. Some of my time would be my own again. But here is the thing: I believe with all my heart that God sent me here for a purpose. He has not revealed to me all of that purpose. I know there is something that I have to do here that is still undone. Or maybe something I have to learn. I want to say, "hurry, Lord, and show me so I can get out of here!" Then his still, small voice says, "wait on me". And I say, "Lord, I am no Isaiah. I am no Moses. Your children waited 40 years in the wilderness." Then he reminds me, "if they had waited on me and listened to me, the wait wouldn't have been so long." So here I am, Lord, asking for ears to hear, and to ask you for the willingness to do your will and leading. It's time to watch and pray on wait on God.

Dreams--I am a musician, and feel very fortunate to be able to make a living with my gifts (I am a music therapist). I have never really aspired to be a performer. But I do like to work on my craft. Some good opportunities to do this have been placed in my path. I live in Music City, and I love live music, and it is everywhere. A couple of weeks ago I went to a songwriters "in the round" at a church and met some great people. One of the songwriters is also a chef, and runs a wonderful Cajun cafe here. He has one of these songwriter's nights at his place one Sunday night a month. This month's is tomorrow night and I am going. I have several unfinished songs and one or two finished ones. I am not really interested in getting anything published or recorded. But songwriting is a useful tool for music therapy. If I can't find a song that fit's what I want to work on with my client, I can write one. And it is a form of self-expression. It is a craft, and I want to hone my craft. My new songwriter buddy said these writer's nights are the best way to try out your stuff and get tips on improving your songwriting. And I think I will benefit from these cat's association. They are Christians, and I think I need the accountability they can provide. One woman I met has a prayer group that meets on Music Row 1 night a week, and she invited me. I know this is something I need in my life. I have never lived in a large city before, and I am beginning to see the importance of plugging into a group of spiritually healthy people when you go to a new place, especially when you are single. And I have to admit it: it will kind of fun hanging around musicians. I guess it was inevitable that I should meet up with these folks. One of the songwriters said musicians always find each other in this town. You can't help it. I am excited about what they have to teach me about songwriting, and living the life of a believer in the real world. Maybe that is why God sent me here.

I spend way too much time on the computer. I live alone, and I live in a new city. I don't many people. So as soon as I get home, I check email, and surf the 'Net. It's addictive. I love the concept of the world being at my fingertips. I just type in a word, and off I go to Italy, or England, or to read classic novels, and listen to music.
I have some favorite sites that I return to again and again. Since I love to cook, I check out lots of recipe sites. One of my favorites is Hungry Monster. One can find recipes, restaurant reviews, and lots of other useful information about food. You can even submit recipes.
As a music therapist, my passion is music (one of them anyway!) So I check Overstock.com when I want to order a CD. Overstock has a good selection of classical, delta blues, and hard-to-find genres. I have listened to Internet radio for several years now. I recently discovered a great site--Live 365. This site carries stations for every genre imaginable--literally thousands of stations! And it's free! Check this one out!
My other passion is the printed word. It was love at first sight when my sister introduced me to Classic Reader. Here you will find literary works that have passed into the public domain. It's a reader's paradise. I am working my way through Louisa May Alcott. That good lady's wholesome fare does a body good! Or it does mine at least. One will also find Jane Austen, the Bronte Sisters, and Mark Twain just to mention a few. I am in Chapter 4 of Twain's "Roughing It". What a fabulous writer he was! I wish I could be 1/20th the storyteller he was.
So you know what I will be doing this evening. Who knows where my fingers will take me--Yours, Fannie Ryan