Friday Night we stayed in Memphis to take in Beale Street...Our favorite Bar was Silky O'Sullivan's which felt like Pat O'Brien's...Probably why we felt at home there!
As a kid I would spend a pretty good chunk of my Summer in Brighton, TN on my family's farm just off Hwy 51. What started as a lone farm house, has turned into the "Huffman Compound" a conglomeration of now 6 houses stretching along Huffman Drive along the edge of the Farm. There I would go and stay in the original house with my Aunt Molly who taught me all about cooking sweets and decorating cakes. When she was gone during the day I would make my way next door to "Granny's" aka my Aunt Edith's house to make her signature "Granny Rolls" or Soup Mix. If learning the ropes around the kitchen wasn't my choice for the day, I would be outside running through acres of Cotton fields or Climbing towering Magnolia trees where my Cousin Liz and I had our "No Boys Alouwned" club.
The new generation of little ones in their Playhouse...with a Keg that somehow ended up in there...I was totally uninvolved...Maybe...
I cherish that I was able to grow up being allowed to run free, be independent, get dirty and in all sorts of trouble that you can only get into in a small town way out in the Country. I may have been a little sheltered at home, but not on the Hill!
Me with my parents on the Hill!
These days you wont find me climbing trees, or doing any running about, now going to West Tennessee for me is the opportunity to Drink too Much, Eat too Much and spend time with my rather expansive family who I adore. I may have grown up an only child, but my Huffman Family is enormous, and unlike most big families, exceptionally close as well. Our 4th of July gathering this year, which from my count had nearly 100 people attending, was a fun and lively opportunity to reconnect with family that unfortunately I only get to see about twice a year.
The "Aunts"...my Grandfathers Amazing Sisters!
To feed all of those people, my "Aunts" (My grandfather's sisters, so technically my Great Aunts) put out quite a spread of Beans, Slaws, Potato, Fruit and Green Salads...and Desserts! - all the fixings for the perfect Cookout, including the Bar-B-Que. When I was a kid we used to cook a whole pig, now a days we we cook tons of Butts, Shoulders and Ribs so that there is less waste and more efficient cooking. Our meat is cooked all through the night so that in the morning it is falling off the bone and ready to be pulled. I steer clear of Bar-B-Que all year...I just can't eat it because I'm so spoiled by how great my Family's is!
Makes you Hungry right?! And I loved the divided plates this year so that none of my food was touching! And yes, I went back for seconds! You have to try everything!
We had a great time in in Brighton this weekend and I can't wait for the opportunity to go back... Unfortunately it probably wont be until Christmas! For most the 4th of July is a time to be thankful for this great country we call home, for me it is also an opportunity to celebrate what a great family I have as well! This July marks 10 years since my Papa's passing, and even though our "link" to the Huffmans is gone, the Hill is somewhere I can still call home!
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