Saturday Weirdness and the Loss of Carlin

Daddy had a strange Saturday morning. A friend of his had invited him to go to an equipment sale in Hiawassee, Georgia. They planned an early start and left about 5:30 Saturday morning. They were on Interstate 26 and had just crossed into North Carolina when a deer hopped across a concrete barrier separating north-bound from south-bound lanes and directly in front of the truck.

Thankfully, the deer died instantly; however, the friend's truck was damaged so badly that they had to call his father to bring his flatbed to haul the truck back to Bristol! Daddy estimated the damage to be $4,000 - $5,000. After seeing the truck, I think his guess is probably pretty close.

So, the trip to Hiawassee came to a sudden stop! Luckily, no one in the truck was injured. The only problem any of them had was that Daddy found a tick on him (probably from moving the deer out of the road). After he got home, he immediately removed his clothing and took a hot shower with strong deodorant soap to discourage any ticks from hanging around. Mom found a tick in the floor where his clothes were piled. *full body shudder*

George Carlin is gone. Not only is it strange to think of the loss of his lovely wry view of the world, but I had a few moments of feeling really old when I realized I can only remember six of the "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television". *sigh*

Haiku of the Week

The only thing that
Beats a 3-day weekend is
A 4-day weekend.

*big happy smile*

Good Journey, Tim Russert

I can't believe Tim Russert is gone. How will I be able to get through the rest of this election year without Tim pulling all the political hoopla down into clear, concise plainspeak?

Tim was not only a great journalist, but just plain fun to watch. No one enjoyed the drama of politics more than Tim. He made it fun for the rest of us.

Not only did he teach us about the political scene, he taught us more about family. His deep love for his family was well-known.

Even in death, Tim was teaching us. Though he had asymptomatic coronary artery disease, he was controlling the condition with medication and exercise. As recently as late April, he performed well on a cardiac stress test. His doctor said that if Tim had been given a stress test the morning before he died, he would STILL have performed well. His fatal heart attack was caused by a rupture of cholesterol plaque in an artery, causing sudden fatal coronary thrombosis. And so, Tim was teaching us. Even if you THINK you're in good health, live each day as fully as you can. There are no guarantees that you'll get another one.

I'll miss seeing that open, smiling face sparkling with the excitement on election night. It's just not going to be the same this year.

Good journey, Tim. You'll be missed.

Friday the Thirteenth

*insert scary "Jason" music here*

I'll be honest....the only movie I ever saw of the "Friday the 13th" series was the first one. Long, long ago. I like scary movies, but not those of the Jason/Freddie/slasher type.

I'd actually forgotten that today was Friday the Thirteenth until I heard it mentioned on the radio this morning. While I avoid stepping on sidewalk cracks when possible (Step on a crack, break your mother's back.) and feel a little ill at ease if a black cat crosses my path, I can't honestly say that Friday the Thirteenth has ever been a bad day for me.

Today's a pretty heavy scheduled workday, though, so this may be the one that makes me feel differently about seeing Friday the Thirteenth on my calendar.

I'm normally off on Fridays in the summer, working four 10-hour days Monday through Thursday. However, with a revamped payroll schedule for June because of end-of-the-fiscal-year things happening, I need to be in the office today. So, I adjusted my schedule a bit.

Have to admit it, though.....I'll miss having that extra cup of coffee at home and lounging around in my jammies a little longer this morning. *sigh*

Haiku of the Week

Friday the Thirteenth:
At least it's not Monday, right?
(Looking at bright side.)

Haiku of Last Week

(Yup, I forgot to post one last week.)

The weather was hot
Last weekend, so Meg and I
Stayed indoors and cool.

Finally Back to "Normal"

Well, it took DAYS, but I'm finally feeling well again. That virus really knocked the stuffings out of me! I felt well enough to go on to work Monday and Tuesday but felt like I was dragging myself through the whole day.

I was just worn out by the time I got home last night. I called Mom, ate a light supper, and crawled into the recliner. Miraculously, I began to get my "second wind" about 8:00 pm and decided to move things around in my little dining area. Naturally, I was right in the middle of a big ol' mess when bedtime came around. So, I really hope I have another energy spurt after supper tonight so I can finish cleaning it up! *LOL*

A Long Ugly Weekend

I look forward to my weekends so much that I really resent it when I don't feel well on a weekend. Well, this past weekend was the pits to say the least.

On Friday morning I woke after a fitful night's sleep (asleep one hour, awake two, etc.) and decided to go get my errands run. So I made a trip "around the block"....K-Mart, Kroger, Walgreens....and came back home to unload my purchases. When I was in K-Mart, the temperature was HOT in the store. I'd arrived very shortly after the store opened and the air conditioning was turned on after I got there. When I went to Kroger, their store was very cold, but I was still feeling kind of clammy by the time I'd finished shopping. I wasn't feeling well by the time I finished in Walgreens.

I talked to Mom on the phone, fixed myself a little lunch, and sat down for a bit. Unfortunately, my lunch didn't stay down. *yuck* I spent most of the afternoon in the recliner. By suppertime, I felt hungry, so I fixed myself a small steak and baked potato. I didn't even finish it. Sick again. *sigh*

Saturday I was able to keep food down, but felt just awful all day long, feverish and miserable. *bored, bored, BORED* Sunday I felt a little better, but was achy and weak.

Luckily I felt well enough to go to work this morning, but am really tired now. Of course, it was a pretty difficult Monday in the office and that didn't help. This is definitely going to be a "salad for supper, go to bed early" night at my place. I'm sure Meggie won't mind. *G*

T-Shirt Wisdom

Truth seen on a t-shirt:

"We the underpaid, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much for so long with little, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing at all."

Haiku of the Week

How much more can the
Powers That Be expect us
To do in one day???

Obviously a Case of Denial

I just noticed that on last Thursday's "Obligatory Rant About Gas Prices", I referenced gas prices as being $2.559 and $2.779 and $2.899. Oh, how I wish it was true! They were $3.559, $3.779 and $3.899.

Who'da thunk I'd ever be nostalgic for gas prices under $3.00???

Haiku of the Week

The IRS should
Have sent my stimulus check
Straight to Chevron Oil.

Obligatory Rant About Gas Prices

Okay, I wasn't going to make a big deal about gas prices. I really, truly wasn't. But COME ON, people, this is getting ridiculous!

On the morning that I went to Grindstone (May 11), I noticed that regular gas was $2.559 per gallon. (And by the way, what is it what that .9 cents, anyway?? Like we don't KNOW that it's very nearly $2.56?)

Yesterday morning I noticed that regular at the same station was $2.779 per gallon. "Twenty-two cents in just over a week," I thought to myself. "How awful!"

Well this morning.....ONE DAY LATER....regular at that same station was $2.899 per gallon. That's an increase of THIRTY-FOUR CENTS in ELEVEN DAYS.

Gee. Must be a holiday weekend coming up, eh? *grumble, grumble, growl*

First Camping Trip of 2008

Boy, what a week it was! MeggieDog and I were on the road by 8:20 on Sunday morning (May 11) on our way to Grindstone Campground. The weather was rather dreary and cool, but my big concern was that the wind was really whipping around. That could be REALLY bad news when you're trying to set up a tent!

The good news was that just as we pulled onto the campsite, the wind calmed a bit, and I was able to get both the tent and the screen house up with no problem at all. I had a slight head start on getting to the campground over Mom and Dad, so I was nearly all set up by the time they arrived. Mom came over to my site (right beside theirs) to tell me that Daddy wanted to grill steaks for us for lunch, and they'd let me know when to come on over. I'd purchased an inexpensive set of walkie-talkies for us to use, so I gave her one of them to take back with her.

After unloading and getting things set to rights inside the tent, I got Meggie settled into the sleeping bag, all snug and toasty. Daddy called on the walkie-talkie to let me know that lunch was ready, so I left Meg in the bed (safely secured by a tie-out cable to one of the tent pegs with free access in and out of the tent in case she needed to take a potty break).

Just as we settled at the dinette in Mom and Dad's camper, it began to rain. The steaks and baked potatoes were really great; Daddy sure knows his way around a grill. As soon as I finished lunch, I went back to the tent, because I didn't want to leave Meg alone too long. I was horrified to see that she'd been outside, wrapped her tie-out cable around the water spigot, and backed out of her halter!!! I hurried into the tent and found her (thank goodness) wet and unhappy and snuggled down under the sleeping bag. I got a fresh dry towel and dried her thoroughly and dried her halter on the small electric heater I use to heat the tent in cool weather. As soon as I got her dry and back into the sleeping bag, she slept happily all afternoon while I read and listened to the wind and rain.

The noise of the wind and rain was so loud in the tent that I didn't even hear our friends, Joey, Beth and Amy, pull into the driveway of Mom and Dad's site. I didn't know they were there until I came out to make a trip to the bathhouse! I went over to visit for just a few minutes (didn't want to take a chance on Meg having another back-out-of-the-halter episode), then went back to the tent and settled in for the night.

Unfortunately, when I woke up Monday morning I was sick with a cold. *YUCK* I realized then that the allergy attacks I thought I'd been having since the Thursday before were really signs of a cold coming on. The weather was rainy, windy and cold again, so I just settled in and read most of the day, allowing myself to just rest and wait for my cold to improve.

Tuesday's weather was MUCH better....sunny and warmer. I dragged my lounge chair out into a sunny spot and baked my poor head long enough to sunburn my face a bit. It really made me feel much better, though. Meggie laid on the lounge with me and sunned herself happily.

Clouds and drizzly rain set back in again on Wednesday and stayed off and on until I left the campground Friday. I really didn't mind, though. I got a lot of rest and did a lot of reading, both of which were much needed.

We had enough non-rainy time for Daddy to keep a campfire going, which we enjoyed. He and I had the opportunity to talk together a lot, which was really great. We strolled around the circle at one point, choosing possible sites for future visits. After consulting with Mom, we agreed on dates in June and July when we could all come camp together again.

I was sorry to see my camping trip come to an end on Friday, but was glad I'd decided to go back home early enough to get everything unloaded and put away and have the weekend to rest before going back to work on Monday. Poor Meg slept so much Saturday and Sunday that I was concerned about her. When I came home from work Monday evening, though, she was well rested and back to her usual self.

I'm already looking forward to the next camping trip!

Apartment Dwelling

I woke up at the unbelievable hour of 3:00 am and have been pretty much killing time for the past four-and-a-half hours. You see, I am an apartment dweller. If I was an inconsiderate apartment dweller, I could have been cleaning, doing laundry, packing up camping equipment for the trip tomorrow, and such. However, I am a considerate apartment dweller and don't wish to disturb my upstairs neighbor or my downstairs neighbor by making noise in the middle of the night.

This brings me to consider the pros and cons of apartment dwelling:

PROS	CONS
No yard work.	No yard.
If something breaks, all I have to do is pick up the phone and someone comes to fix it.	I do, on occasion, have a noisy, inconsiderate neighbor. That, thankfully, is rare.
No painting, no upkeep, no condo association fees. They even have someone come periodically to clean the chimney.	There are limits to what I can change ; wall and carpeting colors are selected for me (they are neutral, thank goodness).
I feel safe here. I have a steel door and a deadbolt, and since I'm on the second floor, no one is likely to come in through the door on my balcony.	I'm on the second floor. If I had a fire, I have a pretty good drop to the ground. I could do it if I HAD to, though.
I have an assigned parking space. I always know where I'm going to park.	My apartment complex doesn't have a garage, so my parking space is outdoors. My car is always exposed to the elements. Also, people parking beside me are not always careful about not allowing their car doors to bump my car.
I have a small deck out on the balcony I can sit on it the evenings and enjoy a glass of tea while watching the world go by. MeggieDog likes it, too, because she can patrol the parking lot in complete safety from her wicker chair.	In the past, I had an inconsiderate upstairs neighbor who dropped live cigarette butts through the spaces in the decking above and burned holes in the cushions on my deck furniture. Jerk.
If I had an intruder and had to scream for help, someone would hear me.	I always worry that if Meggie hears something and barks, she might be disturbing someone. Thankfully, she rarely barks when I'm home, and I always make sure I'm home by the "quiet hours" established in my lease.

So, for me, apartment dwelling isn't such a bad deal. It's not for everyone, but it works well for me. Ah, nearly 8:00. Time to get to the drudgery!! As mentioned in yesterday's post, we're headed to the woods tomorrow, so I'll be away for a week.

I hope your week is as nice as I expect mine to be! :-)

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Almost the end of the day on Friday before a week off! Hooray!!

Mom, Dad, MeggieDog and I are going camping. We're all going up on Sunday (Grindstone, which we all enjoy very much); Meg and I will be coming back on Friday, but Mom and Dad will be staying through the next weekend.

We've been through some concerns with Mom in the past couple of weeks. After she told her doctor (during a routine visit) about Sandy's aneurysm, he sent her for an ultrasound on Monday, April 28. That test revealed that Mom had an aneurysm, too. So, they scheduled a CT scan on April 30. That revealed that the aneurysm was 4.1 cm. So, her doctor sent her to a surgeon for a consultation. She talked to the surgeon yesterday; he told her that he didn't feel that surgery is necessary, thank goodness. He wants to send her for another scan in 6 months to be sure there's been no change, but said that she doesn't have to change anything about her regular routine. She's to just go on doing anything she usually does. *WHEW*

Needless to say, we're all very relieved and grateful that the news was so good. I'm glad she was able to get her surgical consultation behind her before the camping trip. Now she can relax and enjoy herself.

Well, back to the grind to get everything squared away before leaving for the next week. It will be great to get out in the fresh air and sit out in some natural light instead of this poisonous fluorescent ickiness!

Haiku of the Week

Even allergies
Cannot make me blue today.
I'm CAMPING next week!

Haiku Clarification

For those of you who don't understand the past two haikus (*LOL*):

1. My friends, Deb and David, recently took a trip to Vegas, and I checked on their beloved doggies while they were gone.
2. When they returned, they brought me a terrific souvenir (photo below).
3. My daughter, Kris, is a big CSI fan (as am I).

Haiku of the Week

Kris will be jealous
When she sees my souvenir
From the Vegas trip.

*VBEG*

Haiku of the Week

Deb may come home from
Vegas to find her doggies
More spoiled than before.

At Least It's Not Monday

It's been a busy, busy morning. So busy in fact that I decided to take a quick coffee break and post to clear my head.

The weather is cloudy and about 10 degrees cooler than they'd predicted for today. Of course, the weather never changes here in my "concrete cell" of an office.

My Aunt Sandy is home from the hospital (as of last Saturday morning), recovering nicely from surgery to repair an aneurysm. I wonder if I spelled that correctly. *opening webster.com* Hey, I DID. I'm impressed.

From all reports, her surgery and recovery have been better than usual. The nurses even told her she's done remarkably well. We're very relieved that things have gone so well for her.

I found a new family tree site on the internet, by way of Pop Culture Junk Mail: it's Geni.com, and it looks like it might be a fairly simple way to share some genealogical information with friends and family. I'll look into it a bit more over the next little bit and see if it's something worthwhile. First glance looks pretty good, though.

Ah, well, long enough at coffee break....back to work!

Haiku of Last Week

(I just KNEW I'd forget to post a haiku last Friday!)

My memory lapse
Caused me to post this haiku
Nearly a week late.

One Year Ago Today

On April 16, 2007, the unthinkable happened. A deeply disturbed man (whose name will not be mentioned here....he's already received too much press as it is) went on a rampage at Virginia Tech that resulted in the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. Thirty-two were killed, and many others wounded. My little corner of the world was deeply affected by this tragedy. Nearly everyone I know either attended Virginia Tech or had relatives who did.

At noon today, our campus had a brief memorial service. I did not attend. I still feel deep sadness at the thought of thirty-two productive lives ended so tragically. I still feel deep sympathy for the families of those victims....and for the family of the assassin. I, however, grieve privately. This is my choice.

If it comforts others to gather together to share their grief, they should certainly do so. For me, however, grief is a private matter not to be aired publicly unless absolutely necessary.

A year.....how quickly it has passed. I hope that these 365 days have provided some small measure of healing for those dealing with their unimaginable grief.

Passage

The man who was principal of my high school during my sophomore, junior, and senior years passed away yesterday. I read about it in an area newspaper this morning. I was sad to hear that he was gone. I hadn't seen him since my high school graduation in 1971, but I remember him as being a good and fair man.

I Googled his name to see what he'd been up to since I'd seen him last, and found a blog that his son had been posting for the last few months. I was saddened to learn that he had Alzheimer's. Such a cruel disease.

I hope his family knows what a difference he made in the lives of so many young people. Farewell, Mr. Fugate. You were one of the good ones.

Sleepless Night

Well, not COMPLETELY sleepless, but pretty close. I dozed off just after 9:00 pm and woke up just after midnight. I tried various things to make me sleepy, but nothing seemed to work. I watched a documentary on TV that upset me: "Mississippi Cold Case"....I was horrified that I knew nothing about this brutal double murder in the '60s. I finally gave up on sleep and got on the computer and surfed to learn more about the documentary I'd seen. Then I played Jungle Gin on Pogo.com for a bit. Then surfed some more.

I've no idea why I'm having trouble sleeping. I feel fine....tired, now, but fine. Nothing in particular is bothering me. Must be a hormonal thing. Think I'll go stretch out for a bit and see if I can catch at least a short nap before breakfast. What a way to start a weekend!

Haiku of the Week

A new feature.....for as long as I can remember to post it weekly. *L* A haiku representing my thoughts at the moment, interesting or not:

Friday comes each week,
Though some weeks it seems to take
Longer than others.

Homemade Hair Conditioner

Okay, it SEEMED like a good idea. I have so many allergies that I try to avoid extra chemicals on my body if I can. I use unscented soap, unscented shampoo, unscented (or lightly scented) detergents and fabric softeners, and clean with baking soda and vinegar as much as I can.

I'm letting my hair grow, and lately I seemed to have a lot of flyaway split ends. Any time I go to have the ends "trimmed", I lose at least an inch of growth, so I was trying to avoid that route a bit longer.

So, I Googled "homemade hair conditioner" and found what looked like a very promising recipe: 2 beaten egg yolks, 1/2 cup of vinegar, and 1/3 cup of olive oil. You mix it all together, slather it on your hair, leave it for 30 minutes, and shampoo it out. So I measured, mixed, slathered, waited, and shampooed.....and shampooed.....and shampooed.....and shampooed. YUCK.

I guess it was a success in the area of conditioning.....my hair is (after FOUR SHAMPOO SESSIONS) hanging limply and is conditioned within an inch of its life. This morning I finally gave up after the fourth shampoo (2 last night and 2 this morning), dried and fluffed it as much as it would fluff (which wasn't much), and went on to work. All day I've been hiding in my office (AKA "The Dungeon") as much as possible and hoping I don't get called to an unexpected meeting with any of the Powers That Be.

So, if you have really dry, damaged hair and don't mind your hair hanging in greasy ropes for a few days, go ahead and use the recipe above. Oh well, not the first hair disaster I've been through, and most likely not the last. At least my hair didn't fall out.....yet.....where's that pocket mirror I keep in my desk???

A Good Evening

I had a good time last night doing something I hadn't enjoyed in a long time....changing my closet from one season to another. Now, I'll be honest, that's usually a dreadful chore for me. This time it was actually enjoyable because when I pulled out spring/summer things, I was able to wear several things that were too small for me this time last year. What a welcome change!

I took advantage of the opportunity to put some things in a bag for Goodwill. I had several things that were too big (hooray!), and a few things that were so old and out-of-style that I'll never wear them again. So, I now have a few loads of laundry to do, just to freshen everything up, but at least it looks like I won't have to buy many new things this season. Maybe a blouse or two, but that will be all.

I saw on MSNBC a little while ago that Stanley Kamel passed away....heart attack. Most people would say, "Who's Stanley Kamel?", but would be more likely to respond if you said, "The guy who played Dr. Kroger on 'Monk' passed away." So, that makes two celebrities in the past few days.....Charleton Heston passed away last Saturday. They seem to come in threes, so I can't help but wonder who'll be the third. Morbid.

The weather here today is glorious, sunny and mid 70s....makes me wish I had the day off. Rain's moving in, though. Tomorrow is expected to be wet and cooler, and the weekend is looking pretty bad. In fact, they're still predicting SNOW SHOWERS Sunday night. Weird.

Oh, well, I have plenty of household drudgery to do, so maybe it's just as well that the weather's going to be lousy.

You Gotta Love Spring

Spring....finally! Fall is my favorite season, but spring is a really close second. Trees and plants are coming out of their winter slumber....pink and white blossoms everywhere. (Which, of course, kicks my allergy attacks into high gear, but it's still great.)

I see that, yet again, I've fallen way behind in my blogging. My only excuse is that, following a vicious virus (which was actually coming on when I posted the last time), I just didn't have the energy or the inclination to post for ages. Now, thank goodness, I'm much, much better.

Lots of things going on in my little world. Mom's sister, Sandy, is having surgery Monday to repair/bypass an aneurism and a couple of blockages. She's had a solid month of tests and waiting for test results, but they finally got everything scheduled. She has great confidence in her surgeon, so I'm sure everything will go well.

I have a reservation to spend some time camping at Grindstone next month. Boy, am I READY for that. MeggieDog and I need to get out and do some walking to get ready for the physical labor involved. We've admittedly turned into recliner potatoes. *LOL* Now that the weather is finally nice and spring-like, though, I'm more inclined to get outdoors and inhale a few more allergens.

Having said that.....the temperature right now is 70 degrees, and they're predicting a chance of snow flurries Sunday night. Sheesh. You gotta love spring.

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired

I feel like I do nothing but gripe about feeling bad these days. I was sick enough to stay in all weekend, but not "down in the bed" sick, y'know? I keep feeling like I'm taking something (please, please, not the flu), but never get sick enough to stay home from work or go to the doctor.

I stayed away from Mom and Dad's this weekend, though, because I was running a fever and dealing with tummy troubles. As it turned out, I think they had a lighter case of the same thing I had, though. And we hadn't been together in a week, so I know we must have caught it in two different places. Weird.

Speaking of weird, the temperature outside right now is a balmy 65 degrees. And we're expecting snow flurries tomorrow night. *rolling eyes* No WONDER everyone's sick!

Could be worse. The flu is everywhere. I'm sure I don't have the flu, because when I take the flu I can't get out of bed. And here I am, finishing my lunch break at the office.

Oh well. When I go home, I'll have a cup of hot tea and soak in a hot bath for awhile. That makes everything a little better.

All that sunshine outside makes me wish it was camping season. I guess technically it could be camping season, but not in a tent. *LOL* I really need to sit down with a calendar and figure out when I'm going to take my annual leave this year so I can space it out properly.

Well, lunch break's over so I'd better get back to work. Another fun Monday.

A Snowy Wednesday

I can't believe it!! TWO snow days in the same winter! I just love it!

I actually didn't hold out much hope that this storm would bring us enough snow to close the college today. The weather reports actually looked like the worst of it was going to miss our area.

When I woke up at 5:00 this morning, it was a little snowy, but didn't look like it was going to amount to much. Soon, however, larger flakes set in, and the parking lot turned white quickly. Not long after that, I received a phone call from the "snow chain"....we were on a two-hour delay! *YAY!* I decided that I'd just lounge about for a bit, then do a few household chores before heading to the office.

The snow got a little heavier, and I began to wonder if we just might get lucky. Sure enough, another call came from the snow chain....we were closed for the day! Ohboyohboyohboy!!

I promised myself I wasn't going to do any real work today, and I haven't. Just a couple of loads of laundry, and that's not really work. I hadn't intended to cook at all (I have leftovers I could reheat), but remembered that I had a head of cabbage and a can of corned beef. So, I made corned beef and cabbage. I don't do that often, because it's so crammed with fat and salt, but it was ultimate comfort food on this snowy lovely day. *happy sigh*

I told Daddy during a call earlier today that I'm sure that there's not a school child in the county that's any happier than I am on snow days. I actually get a lot of leave from my job, but there's just something wonderful about an unplanned day off like this one.

Is It Friday Yet?

Cripes, what a morning. It's been so wild, I had to take a moment or two to clear my head and consume a little more caffeine.

Last night was fun; I always enjoy the Barter, even more when the ticket is a freebie. :-) I was afraid I'd be really tired this morning, but I didn't feel any worse for the wear. (Usually on weeknights I'm asleep by the time I got home last night. *LOL*)

Well, I'd better get my nose back to the grindstone. *sigh*

Meanderings

Tonight I went to the Barter Theatre to see Barbara Bates Smith in Lee Smith's "On Agate Hill". I'd seen her several years ago performing "Ivy Rowe" from Lee Smith's "Fair and Tender Ladies" and enjoyed her very much. Tonight's performance was just wonderful, as well.

Lee Smith's work always makes me a little nostalgic. Her characters always remind me of someone I've known or someone I'm related to.....it never fails! So, on the way home from the theatre, I decided to add a little item to my blog called "Meanderings" (link on the right). As I think of some little something that happened in my childhood or some story I heard growing up, I'm going to add it.

Enjoy. :-)

A Weekend In With A Cold

When I woke up yesterday morning, I no longer had a question of whether my icky feeling was sinus trouble, allergies, or a cold. It is definitely a COLD. A rotten lousy cold. *sigh* I did the bare minimum household routine and crawled into the recliner with my knitting needles, the remote control, and MeggieDog. When I woke up this morning, I felt a little worse, so I stayed home again today to knit and catch up on some things I'd TiVoed. One of the things I've been recording is a series of Jane Austen novels filmed for television that are running on "Masterpiece Classic" on PBS. I'd already seen "Northanger Abbey" and "Mansfield Park". I'd missed the first of the series, "Persuasion". However our local PBS affiliate reran it the other night, and TiVo caught it for me.

So, this afternoon, fortified by a helping of fresh-out-of-the-oven homemade rice pudding, Meggie and I piled up in the recliner. I picked up my knitting needles and turned on "Persuasion". I knitted through the credits, since I never recognize the names in a BBC production anyway. Just a couple of minutes into the story, though, I recognized a voice. I looked up to see GILES from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". (Kris will be thrilled by this, no doubt. *L*) Just to be sure my eyes weren't deceiving me, I jumped to the end of the program to read the credits. Sure enough....."Sir Walter Elliot - Anthony Head". Son of a gun.

Unfortunately, I had to pause it pretty soon after I recognized him and will finish watching it later. My fever has gone up a little, so I'm going to take a couple of Excedrin and try to nap for a few minutes. I hate a cold.

TGIF....even though it's a RAINY Friday!

I really can't complain about the rain....it was coming down in buckets during my drive to work this morning, but virtually stopped when I got to the parking lot, so I walked in without an umbrella. It's a gray, gloomy morning, but we need the rain so badly I don't want to gripe about it.

I've been battling sinus/allergy/cold issues for the past couple of days. A fellow migraine sufferer at the office told me about a headache relief technique she tried this morning that actually worked for her: peppermint oil. I vaguely remembered hearing something about this cure sometime in the murky past but couldn't remember details. She said that she put 5 drops (which turned out to be too much; she recommends starting with 3 drops) of peppermint oil on a hot, damp washcloth and applying it directly to the achy forehead. She said she did it in the shower and just stood there with the minty cloth on her forehead for a few minutes....and it HELPED!! I think I may actually have a bottle of peppermint oil at home. If not, I'm going to get some!

I've had several bad sneezing fits this morning and generally feel like I need a nap. Thus, I'm taking a coffee break to clear my head and make this blog entry. *LOL*

Daddy had the rest of his lower teeth extracted Wednesday and had a lower plate made. He only had nine teeth remaining, and two of them had gone bad and were going to have to be extracted. So, since that got him down to seven lower teeth, he opted to have them removed. I've not seen him yet, but when I talked to him yesterday he wasn't in a terrible amount of pain. He was certainly uncomfortable, but he said he could already tell that it was improving. He was actually able to eat soft foods yesterday, so that's good. Mom says his plate looks very natural. If I'm sure I'm not contagious tomorrow, I want to go down and visit them awhile and see for myself.

Well, I guess I'd better get back to this stack of work on my desk. What I'd actually like to do is go home, drink hot tea, and crawl into the recliner under an afghan with MeggieDog! Oh well....since I've not had an "eating out" meal since last Saturday, maybe when I get off work today I'll treat myself to some Moo Goo Gai Pan take-out with hot and sour soup for supper. That and a cup of good strong, hot tea should certainly help my sinus/allergy/cold/whatever-the-heck-it-is!

A Blah Thursday

I don't feel well....I'm not SICK, mind you, I just don't feel well. Like I'm on the verge of coming down with something. Kinda achy, tired, low-grade-feverish. Of course, the lovely weather probably isn't helping much. 26 degrees as I'm writing this with a wind chill of about 19.

As I came up I-81 to work this morning, I noticed a little portable pop-up sign beside the road that said "Accident Ahead". About 3 miles past the sign, I decided someone had just forgotten to retrieve the sign after clearing up an accident, since nothing was in sight. Just as I approached Exit 7, though, I saw that traffic was backed up in the northbound lanes. I took the exit, went over to Lee Highway, and took that up to Exit 10, where I got back on the interstate (north of the accident). It didn't add a lot of time to my commute, even though traffic diverted onto Lee Highway was unusually heavy. After I got to work, I learned that there'd been an accident at 6:00 last night just around the 8-mile marker. A tractor-trailer carrying cosmetics (headed south) lost control of his truck, veered across the median, and collided with a tanker truck carrying sulfuric acid. The tanker is still in the median; they're trying to get another tanker moved in to transfer the acid. They say that the interstate will have to be completely blocked during the transfer, and that the interstate probably won't reopen until late this afternoon. Sounds like I'll be going home by "back roads" today. Luckily, we're only having light snow showers, so running two-lane roads shouldn't be difficult. In fact, it may even be scenic. *keeping a positive attitude.....or trying to, at least*

My upstairs neighbor left a note under my door last Friday complaining about Meggie barking while she's trying to sleep (she has insomnia, she has sleep apnea, etc., etc., etc.). As soon as I came home and found the note, I went to talk to the apartment manager, who is a gem if ever there was one. I asked her advice in the matter. I proposed to respond by a note explaining that I make it a point never to leave Meggie alone during "quiet hours" as established in the lease. (Which is true....she's never alone overnight...hasn't been since the first of March, 2007.) I asked the manager if she'd look over the note after I'd composed it to see if she thought I'd said too much or too little. She agreed and said she felt I was taking the proper steps. I went home and composed the note and e-mailed it to her so she could look it over first thing Monday morning. In the note I also stated that I try very hard to be a considerate neighbor (no vacuuming, laundry, etc. during quiet hours), and that I commiserated with her problems with insomnia and sleep apnea, both of which have plagued me in the past. I also mentioned that a CPAP machine had helped my situation tremendously.

When the apartment manager came to work Monday, she looked over my note and e-mailed me that she thought it looked great. I was off work that day (holiday) so I printed it, signed it, and slipped it under my neighbor's door. I didn't hear anything from her until she and I happened to be at our (side-by-side) parking places at the same time when I came home from work Tuesday afternoon. I passed a few pleasantries with her (weather, etc.). As we approached the stairs, she said that she supposed she was just going to have to put up with the barking dog.

I told her that, as I'd said in my note, I fully intended to see that Meggie is never left alone during "quiet hours", but that there just isn't much I can do while I'm at work.....and I HAVE to go to work. (She doesn't. Must be nice.) She commented that the barking didn't bother her as much as it bothered her nephew. (Which is interesting, since he's not on the lease. She supposedly lives alone. Also, he'd griped earlier about the fact that she has only one assigned parking space. In addition to that, when he comes in and out, he stomps on the stairs so hard it rings in my living room. Anyway.....) The entire time we were talking in the breezeway, the neighbor who lives diagonally across the breezeway from me was trying to get his Pomeranian to stop barking. It was really raising the roof! My upstairs neighbor commented that she didn't know how my dog could bark all morning long without making herself sick. I brought to her attention that the entire time we were talking, the Pomeranian was raising Cain, but Meggie hadn't made a sound. I actually think that she may be blaming Meggie for ANY barking she hears, and that's just not so. Oh well.

Then she said that maybe I should just bring "the dog" to her apartment when I leave for work and let her stay there. That way she'd be quiet. I was honestly stunned. I don't even KNOW this woman. We've had a total of three conversations, including this one; one of the other conversations involved her nephew's displeasure with the assigned parking situation. So two of three conversations have been gripe sessions for her, and she wants me to trust HER to take care of Meggie? Oh, I don't think so!

I told her that I'm leaving a radio on in the living room and a television on in the bedroom to make a little noise so that it will hopefully mask outside noises, making Meg quieter while I'm gone.

I stopped to talk to my apartment manager on my way home yesterday afternoon to fill her in on the conversation I'd had with my neighbor. She said that she didn't much care what the woman upstairs wants, that I've done everything I need to do in the situation. Sheesh, there's always ONE in the crowd, isn't there?

SNOW DAY!!

Last night, light snow and sleet moved into the area, leaving us with icy roads and just enough snow to make everything really beautiful. I got a call just after 5:30 this morning from the "snow chain" that was set up at work to notify everyone of schedule changes. We were on a snow schedule! (That's a two-hour delay.)

I'd watched the weather forecasts yesterday anxiously, hoping for enough snow to cause a schedule change today. (They don't happen very often.) I called the next people on the chain I'd been assigned to notify, and made myself a more leisurely breakfast than usual: tea and cream of wheat. I love cream of wheat on a day like this....warm and filling. I usually don't make anything but instant during the workweek, but since I had a couple of extra hours, I made the regular kind.....yummy, but messy!

After I'd put the kitchen back in order, I still had a little more time before I had to get ready for work. I settled into the recliner with Meggie and picked up my crochet hook to pass a little time while watching television. Happily, I received a second call from the snow chain......the college was closed for the day!! *YAY* SNOW DAY!!

Since snow days are so rare, I decided that I'm going to spend this one doing just what I WANT to do. I'd already made my bed, so I threw a load of towels in the washer and did my little "morning chores" list. Now the towels are ready for the dryer....other than folding them when they're dry, I plan to do the following:

1. Put a paper log in the fireplace and light it.
2. Pour myself another cup of hot tea.
3. Put my latest Netflix rental in the DVD player.
4. Pile up in the recliner with MeggieDog, the remote control, and a crochet hook.
5. Doze as necessary.

I hope your day is as good as I plan for mine to be!!

Meggie's Ottoman Cover

I just finished crocheting a cover for the ottoman that Meggie uses as a "stepladder" to get up onto the bed. As you can see, she approves of the improved traction. *LOL*

A Lovely Rainy Sunday

It's been a lovely quiet Sunday here. I got my household chores done yesterday morning and spent the afternoon with Mom and Dad. Mom cooked a delicious pot of 17-Bean Soup which we all enjoyed thoroughly. I stopped by the grocery store on the way home, so today I didn't actually HAVE to do anything. (Not that there's ever a time when there's nothing to do here....*LOL*)

I slept in longer than I intended, so instead of cooking breakfast, I just had coffee and fixed a big brunch at 10:00: ham, eggs, biscuits, gravy and apple butter. YUM! Of course, now it's after 5:00 and I'm still not hungry.

I just put a few photos out on my Flickr site that I'd taken while Kris and Louise were visiting. (Kris, when you read this, be sure to show Louise that I've finished the scarf she taught me to knit!! *LOL*) I got e-mail from her Friday evening my time that said that they'd arrived home and were on their way to pick up their boxer, Freya, from the folks who were keeping her while they were on vacation. I haven't heard more, so I'm assuming no news is good news. :-)

Since I finished knitting my scarf, I'm now crocheting a cover for an ottoman. This is an old ottoman that I keep by my bed to give Meggie a "step ladder" to get up and down. Since it's a leatherette material, she skids when she jumps on it, so I've been keeping a cotton bath mat pinned to the top of it. Effective, but not particularly attractive. *L* During the Christmas visit, I showed Louise how to make a granny square. Later I happened to think that if I just created a larger version of the granny square the size of the top of the ottoman, then crocheted sides for it, I could cover it, provide traction for Meg, and make it a little more attractive all at the same time. I'm nearly finished (hopefully will finish it this evening), so I'll post a photo when I'm all done.

"A380 Rolls Off Tarmac in Singapore"

....but thankfully, "no passengers are injured". Now I'm left to wonder if that was the flight that Kris and Louise were on. The Wall Street Journal article stated that it was a Singapore Airline flight that was getting ready to depart Singapore for Sydney late Thursday. Which Thursday? Theirs or ours???

I waited until the time their flight was supposed to arrive in Sydney and confirmed that it had landed, so either the flight that rolled off the tarmac was the day before their flight, or Singapore Air moved them to another plane and didn't renumber the flight. I'll find out when I hear from Kris.

What a week! It's been the first full week back at work, and it's been a bear. I'm always glad to see Friday roll around, but I'm ESPECIALLY glad to see it today!

I've been doing a little housework each evening, so thankfully I won't have a lot to do this weekend, unless I start myself a special project. I'm going to try really hard not to do that this weekend....I need REST!!

First Saturday of 2008

Even without the alarm being set, I woke up this morning at 5:15. I didn't mind, though. I watched a little TV for awhile, then got up and made waffles with the new waffle maker Mom and Dad gave me for Christmas. I made a full batch, ate one, and put the rest in the freezer to toast for breakfast during the week. They're actually not too unhealthy since I eat them with no butter or margarine and use just a bit of Smucker's sugar-free syrup on them.

I got my weekly household drudgery all done; everything's dusted, vacuumed, or mopped as needed. The laundry's all done except for folding a load of towels that just finished drying.

I'm going to lunch with friends at 1:00. Gladys, Anita, Lindsay, and Noah are meeting me at Shoney's. I haven't seen them in months, so I'm looking forward to it.

Meggie is sleeping in a patch of sun in the home office floor. She's followed me from room to room as I did my chores this morning. I think she's relieved that I'm sitting in one place for a few minutes! *LOL*

I miss Kris and Louise. The apartment seems too quiet today. They're in New York, and I hope they're having a great time. According to the schedule, they'll leave New York tomorrow night, change planes in Washington, and arrive in London on Tuesday. I hope the weather's good for them.

We had a terrible blast of winter weather just after they left, but it's warmed up to about 40 degrees this morning. In fact, it's supposed to be up in the 60's the first of the week. That'll really seem like a heat wave after the single digit cold we had just a couple of days ago!

The Best Holiday Season Ever

Kris and Louise are on their way again after spending the holidays with me. Well, they're SORT of on their way. At the moment, they're waiting for a flight out of Knoxville. Their scheduled flight was canceled due to mechanical failure. *ick* When Kris called to tell me, I told her that it's a shame, but considering how much traveling they've done so far with only this hitch, things have actually gone remarkably well.

They arrived by rental car late afternoon on Saturday, December 22. We had dinner, and Mom and Dad came to visit with us for awhile. On Sunday we went to visit at Mom and Dad's house for awhile and made a grocery shopping trip to pick up last-minute items. Christmas Eve I had Mom and Dad back at my place for supper (lasagna....a Christmas Eve tradition started by Mom years ago). Then they had us back at their house for Christmas dinner.....chicken, ham, and all the trimmings....yum!

Louise has a gluten allergy and apparently got hold of enough wheat products in the holiday dinners to cause her to fall victim to a bad headache on the 26th. So, she stayed in bed trying to recover that morning. Kris went to visit a friend and Meg and I had some quality "recliner time". That evening we went to Bristol Motor Speedway to see "Speedway in Lights", which were even bigger and better than last year.

On Thursday the 27th Kris had an appointment with her tattoo artist to have some work done. I got a little household drudgery done while she and Louise were out and about. After dinner that night, we pursued Trivia for awhile.

On the 28th, Mom and Dad took us to White Top and out for lunch. It was a fun trip, but fog/mist/clouds had settled on the mountain, and we weren't able to see anything at all. The wind was gusting really hard (I'd guess about 40 mph) and it was COLD. It was nice to have an outing all the same.

On the 29th, Kris had another appointment at the tattoo shop, but her artist was sick so she had to reschedule for New Year's Day.

On the 30th, we went to Red Lobster for lunch, then to Castlewood to visit the final resting places of family members. Afterwards we stopped at Dixie Pottery (a failed attempt to find souvenir items), then went to Mom and Dad's for a little while.

On the 31st, Kris packed up some items to be shipped back to Australia. She and Louise took them to the post office and made a Wal-Mart trip. Then they went to the home of one of Kris' friends for New Year's Eve. Meg and I were asleep before midnight, as usual. :-)

On New Year's morning, Louise prepared a wonderful homemade cheesecake for our dessert to have after dinner. I'd invited Mom and Dad to join us for a traditional New Year's dinner: black-eyed peas and collard greens along with ham, potatoes, mixed pickles (a combination of pickled beans, pickled corn, cabbage, etc.), corn muffins, and Mom's coleslaw. Kris and Louise went to the tattoo parlor at noon; Mom and Dad arrived soon after they left. We planned to have dinner at 4:00, but they came early so we'd have some time to place the order (by internet) for their next corporate lease vehicle.

The website behaved perfectly, and we placed the order with no hitches at all. Kris and Louise came back about 3:30, so dinner was served on time and was pretty tasty, even if I do say so myself. Louise's cheesecake was really great and was enjoyed by all.

Mom and Dad visited with us for a little while after dinner, then left for home. Kris and Louise finished their packing in time for us to enjoy a last episode of "Jeopardy" before they had to leave. After they finished their last-minute items, we exchanged some borderline-teary farewells, and they left about 9:00 p.m.

I'd asked them to call when they got checked in at Knoxville; Kris called at 11:15 to say they'd arrived safely. She called me at work again this morning to tell me their flight to Toronto had been canceled. They'd rescheduled a flight to Cincinnati the last time I talked to her, so I'm not sure what time they'll get to Toronto now.

Kris had hoped for a little snow during her visit, but we had temperatures up in the 50's most of the time. Yesterday afternoon the temperature dropped drastically, and there were snow flurries. This morning we had a little snow on the ground and bone-chilling temperatures. It looks like Kris barely missed seeing winter weather at home!

All in all, a wonderful holiday....the best I can ever remember.

Bad, BAD Blogger!

I can't believe I haven't blogged in 3 months....*hangs head in shame*. I really HAVE been busy, but sheesh, I should have done better. Let's see now....what's happened since September in my little corner of the world?

Well, MeggieDog and I went camping in October for a week. We went to Bandit's Roost (isn't that a neat name for a campground?) in Wilkesboro, NC.Mom and Dad were there, too, with their camper. The campground is on a lake; it was just beautiful. The weather was very warm when we arrived, but became fallish quickly. We could see a big change in the leaves during the time we were there.

Things have been busy, busy, BUSY at work, of course. The last day the college is open before the holidays is December 21, but I'm taking that day off. Kris and Louise will be arriving on the 22nd. The original plan was for them to arrive on the 21st, so I'd already arranged to take that day off. I'm going to take it anyway and use it to chase those last-minute dustbunnies that always seem to arrive just before company comes.

They'll be with me until January 2, which is also the day I have to go back to work. It's going to be a really fun holiday!

A Milestone

I drive a 1998 Saturn SC1 that I bought new. This week (September 10 to be exact) my Saturn and I reached a milestone...100,000 miles!

I knew I would probably reach the 100,000 mile mark on my way to work Monday morning, so I put my camera in the car when I left home. I kept an eye on the odometer, intending to pull over and snap a picture when it happened. Just as I reached the parking lot at work, it rolled over 100,000. I actually took this photo while my car was sitting in my usual parking place at the office. How weird is that?

Meggie and I enjoyed another weekend at Grindstone two weeks ago. Tomorrow I'm headed to Clintwood with Mom and Dad to attend Mom's family reunion. I'm taking my trusty camera, because both of Mom's sisters are expected to be there, and it's been AGES since I got a photo of the three of them together.

On Sunday, Mom and Dad will be headed for Grindstone. Meg and I will be going up on Friday for the weekend. Camping season is, sadly, winding down. As much as I love that crisp cool whiff of fall in the morning air, I know that it means it's nearly time to pack away the camping gear until spring. After the Grindstone trip, I have one more camping trip planned: a week in North Carolina. *happy sigh* I'm really looking forward to that!

The Tuesday after I came back from Grindstone last time, I stopped on my way home from a rehearsal to pick up some take-out Moo Goo Gai Pan. I was up all night, violently ill. I thought I'd gotten hold of a bad batch of Moo Goo, but that would have been really unusual. I bought it from my regular Chinese place, and they'd never let me down before. As it turns out, it was apparently viral because a lot of people had it. Mom and Dad even had what seemed to be a lighter case of it.

I was home sick Wednesday, but dragged in to the office and worked Thursday and Friday. Saturday I woke up sick, feverish and miserable, so I stayed in all weekend. I was still feeling really terrible Monday, but dragged myself into work yet again. I had so many things that simply HAD to be done at the office that I forced myself to go in each day. Last night (Thursday), I was feeling sick and exhausted by the time I came home from work. I took a couple of Excedrin right after supper and went to bed pretty early. I'm sure I was asleep by 10:00. At 1:00 am I woke up just as thought the alarm had sounded. *eeeeeeeeek* I finally gave up about 1:30, got up, and paid some bills. Then I played a little on the Pogo game site. I began to feel sleepy again about 3:30 and went back to bed. I began to doze a little after 5:00; my alarm woke me up at 5:30. *LOL*

Happily though, I've felt much better today. Tired, but better. In fact, I'm beginning to yawn now, so I think I'll call it a night.

Upcoming Christmas Fun

Apparently, Kris still reads my blog when I get around to posting on it (see entry below)...*LOL* I got an e-mail from her that says:

Hi Mom,
I just wanted to let you know 3 things.
1. Greg approved my leave
2. We've paid for our tickets
3. We'll be home for Christmas
:)
So, you can start getting excited now, because it's a done deal!

I am now officially getting excited!

MeggieDog and I are off to Grindstone tomorrow for the holiday weekend. I've really missed camping during the heat wave the past few weeks. They're predicting some rain tomorrow, but we won't care a bit. I just hope it holds off long enough for me to get the tent set up!

Two Months???

I can't believe it's been TWO MONTHS since I posted the last time! Oh well, it has been a busy summer.

My summers are always busy at work. In fact, summer is my busiest season. That makes me appreciate "flex time"; they give us the option of working an altered schedule from mid-May to mid-August. We can work the standard five 8-hour days; four 9-hour days and one 4-hour day; or four 10-hour days. I opt for the four 10-hour days. That way I have a 3-day weekend every week in the summer. It's really great, especially for camping weekends.

Alas, flex time is now over and I'm back on the standard five 8-hour day week. *drudge, drudge* I haven't camped in August because the heat has been just unbearable. This is a real issue since I camp in a tent (no A/C!!). However, I have a reservation to go back to Grindstone this Friday for the Labor Day weekend. Temperatures are supposed to be back down in the 80's in town, so the campground should be nice and cool. *loving it already*

I plan to sing with the local Madrigal singers again this season; our first rehearsal is tonight. It should be a lot of fun.

The latest excitement in my normally hum-drum world is that Kris and Louise are planning to visit in December. I've been almost afraid to get excited for fear that it wouldn't work out, but things are looking really promising. I'm keeping my fingers crossed! While I'd love to have a little snow while they're here (just so it would be really Christmassy), I hope the weather's good so we can go take a few day trips.

Well, I've been killing a little time waiting for some information to come in from another department for processing, and it just arrived. So, back to work!

C'mon, Thursday!

Why am I anxiously awaiting Thursday? Because I'm taking Thursday off, Friday is my regular day off, and I'm going to spend four days camping at Grindstone.

This week has been pretty rough so far, so I'm really looking forward to a few days off. Mom and Dad are already at Grindstone; they went up on Sunday morning. It'll be great to have the cool mountain air instead of the hot muggy weather in town.

The weather guys are predicting scattered thunderstorms through Friday (in fact, according to the radar map, it's raining just a couple of miles from the campground right now), but I don't even care. I've got a new paperback novel to take with me ("Hannibal Rising"), so I don't mind if I'm cooped up for a while.

I'll get most of my stuff together tonight; that way tomorrow night all I'll really have to do is stop by Wal-Mart to pick up some of their excellent turkey pastrami and a few tomatoes. That will just leave a stop on the way out Thursday morning for ice, bread, and buns.

I *heart* summer.....

Once again, I'm behind in my blogging duties, so I'll do a bit of catching up. I went to Pigeon Forge on June 1, and Mom and Dad took me to Dollywood on one of their guest passes. As soon as we went in the gate, we went up the hill to "The Thunderhead", Dollywood's terrific wooden roller coaster. The line was short, because most guests were headed further up the hill to this season's newest roller coaster. I loved Thunderhead; there's nothing quite like the sound and feel of a wooden roller coaster!

When I came off Thunderhead, Daddy asked if I was going to ride the new coaster, the Mystery Mine. I hadn't really planned to, to tell the truth, but I said we could walk up there and see how long the line was. As we walked up, we saw one carload of passengers finishing up their ride. They appeared to be suspended upside down! Mom said, "You're not really going to ride that, are you?" I just laughed and said, "Oh, yeah!" The line wasn't very long, and they were moving passengers through quickly. It was a really great coaster. I'd had to remove my glasses, so I'm sure I missed a lot of the scary special effects (eyes glowing in the dark, etc.), but the ride was worth it all the same.

We saw a few shows, had lunch at the Backstage Restaurant (I had the always-delicious chicken salad and fresh fruit platter), and I left the park with a bucket of my favorite snack, kettle corn. All in all, a wonderful day.

The next weekend, I unfortunately lost Friday and Saturday to a migraine. *ick* At least it didn't happen on a weekend that I'd planned a mini-trip!

Last Friday morning, MeggieDog and I went back to Natural Tunnel for the weekend. It was pretty warm and humid while I was setting up camp, the usual precursor to a thunderstorm. Sure enough, a storm swept through late that afternoon. Hard rain and lots of thunder and lightning. Meg was NOT pleased, but we passed the storm curled up in the tent. I read while she shuddered at thunder and dozed intermittently. After the storm passed, we had a bit of supper and watched the world go by. A rather unruly group of young children was camped beside us. I learned that they were a Vacation Bible School class....oh boy, were they something!

Friday evening there was a "welcome campfire" with entertainment provided by a wonderful young man, Stewart, who is a volunteer at the park. He played guitar and banjo (has never had a lesson) and sings really well. I was really happy to hear that he is a Johnny Hartford devotee; he played several Hartford tunes for me when I told him I was a fan, too. He sang Hartford's touching "In Tall Buildings", which always breaks my heart a little. He did "Gentle On My Mind" at my request. It did me so much good to know that an 18-year-old knows and respects the work of a late, great musical genius.

After the campfire group broke up (a little after 10:00), we went back to the campsite and settled down for the night. Unfortunately, the VBS kids were still carrying on at 12:30! I thought, "Oh well, I'll just sleep in tomorrow morning." Fat chance. They were out shrieking and playing the campground at 6:00 Saturday morning. (Apparently, the grownups "supervising" them had no respect whatsoever for the "quiet time" hours of 10:00 pm to 8:00 am!!)

The chairlift at Natural Tunnel begins running at 10:00 am. I'd bought a season pass during my last visit, so Meg and I went down to the Tunnel. She was a little uneasy the first time I had her on the chairlift in May, but now she really enjoys it. Her favorite thing is when someone happens to be walking on the trail that crosses beneath the chairlift in a couple of places. She looks down at them, curious about how they got down there.

We were lucky enough to be at the Tunnel entrance when a coal train passed through. I got a few photos, and remembered to count the coal cars. I counted 94; I was more impressed than Meggie. (She doesn't like the train; too big, too noisy!).

Tony Scales came to the platform and set up a table. He was selling autographed copies of his book, Natural Tunnel: Nature's Marvel in Stone. I explained to him that I hadn't brought any cash, but would go to the parking lot and be right back. We took the chairlift back up to the parking lot, got some money, and took the chairlift back down to buy a book. (Meg had a little trouble understanding two chairlift trips so close together, but enjoyed the ride all the same.) The book is lovely, informative, well-written, and packed with wonderful photographs. I talked with Mr. Scales for a bit and told him that I'd been at the campfire the night before and enjoyed the talents of his son, Stewart. He said he's very proud of Stewart; I told him he certainly seems to be a fine young man. He told me that he and Stewart are going to provide the musical entertainment for the "Lighting of the Tunnel" on July 7. I'm certainly going to try to go back for that.

It was getting pretty warm by the time we got back to the parking lot again, so I decided to treat myself to an air-conditioned drive to Duffield (only 5 miles or so away) to Hardee's for a mushroom/swiss burger for lunch. I took my lunch up to an overlook just up on Powell Mountain out of Duffield and parked to eat my burger. I called and talked to Daddy for a few minutes while I was there to let him know all was going well. (I don't have cellular service at the park.)

We took a scenic out-of-the-way route back to the campground, then pulled a lounge chair under a shade tree for an afternoon of restful reading. I had thought about going on a night hike that was going to be led that evening. However, when I saw the little VBS hooligans headed up to the gathering point, I decided I'd stay in the campground for some much-enjoyed quiet time under the stars.

Yesterday morning, I began packing things up soon after breakfast so I could take breaks as needed. It was really hot, so I was careful (I thought) to take my time and cool down. After I left the park (just past noon), I called Mom and Dad to let them know I'd be stopping by for a bit on my way home. I stopped at Pal's for a small sandwich and one of their famous delicious ice teas. Apparently, the heat had bothered me more than I realized, because I started feeling a bit ill while munching on the sandwich. I developed a mild case of the shakes (common when my glucose level falls below normal). I called Mom again and asked if she'd fix me a glass of grapefruit juice. She had it ready when I arrived. I sipped it slowly and soon felt fine again.

I visited for awhile and got home about 4:00; I was tired, but it had been a good weekend. Meg immediately climbed up into the recliner and pretty much stayed there until bedtime. Not a bad plan, actually. *LOL*

I confess that I'm going to leave my bed unmade this morning when I go to work. I just don't have the heart to make her get out of it. She enjoys the camping trips, but she likes to get back to her air-conditioned apartment when it's over!

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

I woke up at 2:30 this morning irritated about something that had happened at work. Can you believe that? I'd told myself when I went to bed, "Oh, don't worry about it, things always work out." And I went to sleep with no trouble. Then, in the wee hours, it crept back into my head and woke me up.

I live in an apartment, so it's not like I can run the vacuum or do laundry or anything like that in the middle of the night. (I honestly try to be a considerate neighbor.) So, I turned on the TV with the volume really low. Nothing worth watching was on, so I crept as quietly as I could into my little home office and finished burning a DVD I'd started last night and got too tired to finish.

I looked at a few e-mails, answered one or two, and started feeling sleepy again. I crept back to bed, watched part of an infomercial and finally drifted back off to sleep about 4:45. My clock goes off at 5:30. *LOL* Oh well, tonight will be an early night, no doubt!

Summer Fun

It's been awhile since I've posted, so I'll catch up a bit. On May 11, MeggieDog and I went to Bandit's Roost Campground in Wilkesboro, NC for the weekend. Mom and Dad were already there, having arrived the Sunday before. I arrived much earlier than the 4:00 pm check-in time, and was not surprised to find that my site was still occupied by the folks who didn't have to check out until 3:00 pm. I visited with Mom and Dad on their site until my site was available.

Daddy helped me set up, so it went very quickly. It threatened to rain, but rained all around us. Meggie was busy all day exploring to the end of her tie-out cable. By bedtime she was so exhausted that she went into the tent and collapsed onto her doggie cushion, not even trying to get up onto the inflatable mattress where I was sleeping.

On Saturday, we went to nearby Wilkes Community College to visit the Merle Watson Memorial Garden for the Senses. It was just lovely; I can only imagine what it must look like when everything is in bloom! There are a few photos of it posted on my Flickr site; you'll find a link to that on the right side of this page.

As soon as the tent and screen tent dried out on Sunday morning, I broke camp (Daddy helped) and packed up the car. After enjoying a wonderful lunch fixed by Mom, Meg and I left for home about 1:00 p.m. It was a glorious day, perfect for riding with the sunroof open. Meg, tired from a weekend of watching squirrels, chipmunks, and people, slept all the way home. I had a mild case of what I think must have been sun poisioning. I was fairly red (especially my arms) and had a mild rash which disappeared the next day. The next time I was exposed to sun, though, the rash temporarily reappeared. Guess that's the price you pay for spending most of your life and a concrete office with fluorescent lighting and no windows.

The next Friday (May 18), Meg and I headed for Natural Tunnel State Park. Friday and dark and gloomy, rain clouds threatening. It was downright cool compared to the weather we'd had recently, so as soon as I got everything set up I changed from my shorts into jeans and a jacket. I set up my lounge chair and got out a book I've been reading. Meg got up into my lap and I wrapped her in a small blanket. There we rested, warm and happy, for a good while.

After I'd read for a while and Meggie napped, we took a brief hike from the campground to Lovers Leap (photos on Flickr). It was a good hike, but I'm not used to it; the "moderate" trail was pretty steep, but we made it fine, taking time to rest as needed. We went to ride the chairlift down to the floor of Natural Tunnel, but they had the lift closed for maintenance.

We went to bed fairly early (as is usual for us) and slept well, cozy and warm with a small heater running in the tent. On Saturday, we took the chairlift to the floor of the tunnel. No sooner had we arrived than a train came through (photos on Flickr). I was very excited, because when I was camping at Natural Tunnel last summer I'd tried several times to be there when a train came through (they don't have a regular schedule), but had never managed it. Meggie, however, was less than thrilled about the train. I was able to take a few photos, but it was difficult with Meggie trying to wrap herself around my head!

We went back to the campsite and curled up in the lounge chair for another reading/napping session. Just about lunchtime, Mom and Dad arrived, bringing broasted chicken lunches and a load of firewood so I could have a campfire that night. We drove around the park so they could see the pool, the Cove Center, and the blockhouse. Then we went to nearby Duffield; Mom wanted to go to a flea market there. The vendor she was hoping to see wasn't there (I can't for the life of me remember what she was looking for), so they only bought some apples and bananas.

We went back to the campground and visited awhile; when they left, they insisted that I keep some of the leftover chicken for my supper and a piece of fruit. Meg and I took another chairlift ride to the floor of the Tunnel and took the short walk to the Carter Cabin. She liked walking in the shade of the trees near the creek. A group of small children wanted to pet her; she was a bit nervous about it but behaved beautifully.

That evening I ate cold chicken (it was even better cold than it had been for lunch) for supper and started my campfire. The wood was well-seasoned, and caught fire quickly. I suddenly remembered my apple. I washed it, quartered it and wrapped it in aluminum foil. I put it into the coals of the campfire and left it for 20 minutes. When I carefully fished it out, it was steamy hot, sweet, and cooked to perfection. It was hard to wait for it to cool enough for me to eat it! Meg got a few bites and enjoyed it, too.

I took my time breaking camp Sunday morning; the day was beautiful, and I had several camping neighbors come to visit while I was working. It was after 1:00 by the time I got away; I stopped and visited with Mom and Dad for a little bit before heading on home.

Memorial Weekend was a non-camping weekend. There wasn't a camping spot available within a 100-mile radius! Mom and I went on a shopping trip on Friday and had a good, but tiring day. Saturday I planted some tomato and squash plants out on my deck and some New Guinea impatients (sp?) next to my front door. Sunday I did some laundry and various other household chores. Yesterday, Mom, Dad and I met some friends at a camper sales lot to admire the new camper they'd just purchased.

Mom and Dad left this morning to go to Pigeon Forge; I'm going down (just for the day) on Friday. They're going to use one of their guest passes to take me to Dollywood. If the line's not too long, I plan to ride the wooden roller coaster. *YAY*

Getting Ready

At last! MeggieDog and I will be leaving Friday for our first camping trip of the season. I dragged all the camping equipment out in the middle of the living room weekend before last to be sure I had everything I need. She was a bit antsy when I did that. I think she doesn't understand yet that she's going along, too.

After work for the next couple of days, I'll be getting everything ready to pack in the car early Friday morning. Then I'll stop on the way home Thursday evening to get the few grocery items I'll need. Then after I've packed the car Friday morning, we'll head for North Carolina. *YAY*

Mom and Dad have been there since Sunday. I'm sure that by now they've toured any local attractions they may have missed in prior visits. Daddy, I think, had planned a little fishing. It looks like the weather's been really great for them according to weather.com. Unfortunately, it looks like there's a possibility of some afternoon and evening thundershowers while I'll be there, but that's okay. At least I'll be camping again. I've really missed it this winter!

Coping

My coworkers and I will gather today at noon for a moment of silence in a service of remembrance. Our governor has declared today a statewide day of mourning for the victims of the senseless Virginia Tech murders. Splashes of orange and maroon catch my attention as employees pass my office door in the course of their daily work.

Those of us who did not have any VT attire have pinned on orange and maroon ribbons, showing our sadness for those lost and our support for those left behind. There's actually been an alumni-led declaration of a national "Orange and Maroon Effect" day slated for today; they're calling it "Hokie Hope". This is how we cope.

We were shocked by the initial reports, horrified by the day's developments, and dismayed that the media made a celebrity of a sick, murderous man. I've stopped watching the news. I quickly scan headlines on the internet, but I can't bear to see those photographs again.

Time, thankfully, heals.

Hang Tough, Hokies

Candlelight service at Virginia Tech April 17, 2007
Photo from http://www.hokiesports.com

Monday morning the unimaginable happened. The tranquility of Virginia Tech's beautiful campus was ripped apart by gunfire. The murderer's name will not be mentioned in this blog entry. If notoriety was his goal, I will not contribute to attainment of that goal.

As for the parents, friends and families who have lost loved ones in this unspeakable tragedy, I can only offer my deepest sympathy.

I have that same empty, heartsick feeling I had while watching the World Trade Center collapse on television that bright, beautiful September morning in 2001. I wish there was something I could do that would help.

Six Feet Under

I watched the final episode of "Six Feet Under" last night (TiVo'd the night before that). I actually had to run the recording back to watch the last several minutes a second time. I was crying so much, I missed parts of it.

I was truly sorry to get to the end of that series. It had moments when I just wanted to smack some of the characters for being so completely self-absorbed, but the bottom line was that I CARED what happened to them, even the irritating ones. Writing like that is unexpected and a beautiful surprise.

I'm still in the final season of watching reruns of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". When I started watching it, I actually began with the last few episodes. I'm back up to those now, but am watching them again so I'll understand what I saw the first time. *LOL* Another couple of weeks should finish up that one.

As usual for me, I started another series in the middle. A&E started running "The Sopranos" in January, but I only started watching them a couple of weeks ago. So, I have to rent the first 17 (I think) episodes to catch up. I've already watched the first 4 episodes, thanks to Netflix, so it shouldn't take me too long to get up to speed. I actually didn't expect to like it as much as I do. I was hooked from the first 8 bars of the theme song.

Well, lunch break's over, so I'd better get back to work. Today's Mom & Dad's 54th wedding anniversary, so I'm going to take them a little something down there after work.

An Eventful Vacation

Finally I have time to post about vacation! I'll have photos posted at my Flickr site (see link at the right). We started out from Mom & Dad's at 6:23 am on Sunday, February 25. It was raining lightly on us all the way through Knoxville. We could see blue sky peeking through the clouds as we reached the west side of Knoxville, though.

Shortly after turning south toward Chattanooga, the sun popped through, and good weather prevailed. We stopped in a Cracker Barrel in Gadsden, Alabama for lunch, then continued on our way. We arrived in Vicksburg shortly after 5:00 pm our time (EST). Considering the time we'd spent at lunch, we made excellent driving time.

Not long after we'd checked into our motel, Raechel called to say that Lesa would be getting off work soon, and they'd be out shortly after. When they came over, we learned that Jeremy was working, and we wouldn't see him until the next day. Mom and Dad treated us all to dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. The furnishings in the restaurant looked a bit tattered and worn, but the food was really good. When we got back to the motel, we visited a bit. I knew that Mom and Dad had to be tired, so I invited Lesa and Rae to come to my room and watch the Academy Awards on TV until time for Lesa to pick up Jeremy at work. Rae fell asleep in a chair while Lesa and I watched the awards.

The next morning, since Mom, Dad and I were still operating on EST, we ate the complimentary breakfast provided by the motel and waited for Lesa, Jeremy and Rae to arrive. We then went to City Cemetary, a very old and unusually beautiful resting place filled with interesting historic markers. After walking a good deal in the cemetary, we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant where Raechel works. It was really delicious; their hot and sour soup is the best I've ever eaten anywhere.

After lunch, we went to the military park. Vicksburg has the most beautiful military park I've ever visited, and I've visited a few! There are 1,330 markers and monuments in the park, and the 16-mile tour road is a beautiful, leisurely drive. One of the highlights of the park is the U.S.S. Cairo, a Union ironclad which was sunk on December 12, 1862, in the Yazoo River north of Vicksburg. The Cairo was raised in 1964 and is on display. A museum houses various artifacts from the vessel.

Jeremy had to work Monday afternoon/evening, so we got back in time for Lesa to take him to work. Lesa then took a nap, and Raechel had plans for a bit with a friend. After a take-out dinner at the motel, Lesa and Rae went home and Mom, Dad and I turned in early. It had been an eventful day, and we were still operating on Eastern Standard Time!

The next morning we were up early as usual, had a complimentary breakfast again, and Daddy dropped Mom and me off at the Ameristar Casino. We told him we'd only be a couple of hours, and he told me to call his cell phone when we were finished. I hadn't been inside a casino in a long time, and considered my "breaking even" to be a real win! Mom wasn't quite as lucky. :-)

When we finished at the Ameristar, we still had some time to kill; Lesa and Jeremy were coming over after dropping Raechel off at work at 11:00 CST. Daddy asked what I'd like to do, and I asked if it would be too much trouble to go across the Mississippi River into Louisiana for a bit.

We went across the bridge, and turned down a road which took us out onto a levee. It was a beautiful warm day, and the sun shining on the pools of water by the levee was striking. After awhile, we came off the levee and back into Vicksburg. We stopped at the Visitor's Center for a brief time, then came back to the motel.

Jeremy and Lesa arrived at the motel shortly after we got there, and we went to a Cracker Barrel for lunch. We had to come back to the motel right away because there'd been a mixup with Mom and Dad's motel bill, and the manager was working on straightening it out. Daddy wanted to stay close until it was all settled, so we just rested and watched TV that afternoon until Jeremy had to go to work. After he went to work, I said that I'd like to go to the Port of Vicksburg. We went down to the port and saw some beautiful murals painted on the concrete walls at the riverfront. We also went through a lovely little park nearby, then drove through part of the historic district to see some of the wonderful old homes there.

We were too late to tour the homes, but got permission from one of the employees to walk around the grounds at Cedar Grove, a lovely antebellum estate which now serves as an elegant bed and breakfast. Cedar Grove took its lumps during the War Between the States; a cannonball is lodged in a parlor wall. The only reason Cedar Grove was spared during the shelling of Vicksburg is that its owners allowed the home to be used as a Union hospital. The mistress of the house was a cousin of General William Tecumseh Sherman, and was therefore ostracized by the residents of Vicksburg. Her husband, oddly enough, was not treated with the same animosity.

When we finished touring, we stopped and picked up some excellent take-out barbecue sandwiches and went back to the motel to eat. I felt like all we'd done for days was ride in the car and eat!

On Wednesday morning, after Mom, Dad and I had our usual quick motel breakfast, we went out touring around town a bit. We went down on Washington Street, where Mom and I spent a good while in the Tourist Information Center. We bought t-shirts and I bought a hat, and we talked with a guide there who told us lots of interesting things I wish we'd had time to do! After we drove some more in the historic district, we then went down to a little park on the river where we could watch a tugboat pushing a barge up the river. By then, it was nearly time for Lesa and Jeremy to come by.

We walked to a nearby Shoney's for lunch. I felt the need for something green, so I hit the salad bar. After lunch, Lesa looked just exhausted; she was to pick up Raechel at 2:00 (her lunch break from work), so Daddy suggested that she go to my room and take a nap until time to pick up Rae. Instead of waking her up when the time came, Daddy went to get her. When they came back to the motel, Jeremy, Rae and I started playing cards. Lesa was still sleeping. Mom suggested that Raechel call Lesa and ask when she was going to pick her up from work. *EG* Rae did so, and Lesa sure enough thought she'd slept through the time to get her. Mom and I quickly took credit for the stunt so Lesa wouldn't kill Rae. *LOL*

Lesa had to go into work that afternoon, and Raechel told us she didn't have to go back to work that evening. So Jeremy and Raechel stayed with us for a good while; we took them to Whataburger for supper. The food was good, but I enjoyed the music more than the food. (60's nostalgia)

After we dropped them off at their apartment, we went back to the motel to get packed and get a good night's sleep before heading home the next morning.

Since we were leaving long before the motel offered their complimentary breakfast, we checked out and went back to the Whataburger (open 24 hours) for breakfast. I liked their breakfast even more than the burgers they're famous for.

The beautiful weather we'd enjoyed since arriving in Vicksburg was gone. A cool rain fell on us as we headed toward Jackson. Daddy had offered to go home a longer route so that I could see some of the Natchez Trace. (I'd only seen the portion of it from Jackson to Port Gibson previously.) After we turned north onto the Natchez Trace, we began seeing deer in the early morning darkness. The rain lessened as daylight finally arrived. We stopped at a few of the historic markers on the Trace and took a few pictures. The weather was gray and dreary, so the Bynum Indian mounds were our last stop.

We came off the Trace at Tupelo, intending to see Elvis Presley's birthplace. The rain was setting in pretty steady by then, and we thought we'd missed a sign somewhere because we couldn't find the birthplace. We gave up and decided to turn north on Hwy. 45. (As it turned out, I learned later than we were probably less than 1,000 feet from the birthplace but didn't know it.) We drove to Corinth, Mississippi; on our way there, we drove through one of the worst rainstorms I've ever seen. A tractor-trailer was stuck in the median of the 4-lane highway at one point. All the ditches beside the road ran full of water. We were happy to see that storm move off to our east, even though we knew we'd have to drive through it again before we got home. We'd watched the Weather Channel the evening before and knew that we were apt to drive through some rough weather on our way home no matter which route we took.

We stopped at a Shoney's in Corinth for lunch; when we finished, I asked Daddy if he'd like me to drive awhile. He said he'd take it awhile longer. I knew he was thinking of that rainstorm, so I didn't press it. I figured he'd let me drive again after we got through that mess.

Driving east from Corinth, I realized we'd soon come to the Alabama state line. I wanted a photo of the state "welcome" sign since I'd missed getting a photo of it on our way to Vicksburg, so I took my camera out of its case and laid it in my lap. (Daddy was driving, I was riding the shotgun seat, and Mom was in the back seat, behind Daddy.) Fourteen miles east of Corinth, we were passing through a little community known as Burnsville, Mississippi. We were on US 72, a four-lane divided highway, traveling the speed limit. On our left, I saw a white Chevy S-10 pickup truck coming across from our left. He'd run a stop sign on his cross street, crossed three lanes of US 72, and hit Daddy's jeep in the left front.

When I saw the pickup headed across the highway, I thought "He's not gonna stop." Mom said that I actually said "He's not gonna..." before the kerblam! After the impact, I actually had no idea how bad the damage was. All I knew was that we were traveling down the side of US 72 in the pea gravel beside the road, and off to my right was a really deep ditch with what looked like a creek running in it. I heard metal on pavement and thought the tire was flat on the left front. It took a good way for Daddy to get the Jeep stopped. When we all asked each other if we were okay (we were), Daddy and I both got out of the Jeep. He started walking back up to the intersection where we got hit and said to me, "See if you can find my wheel. I don't know where it went." That was the first time I realized that the front wheel had been ripped off the Jeep! I finally found it down in the water in the ditch beside the Jeep.

The truck that hit us had the driver and two adult passengers in that little bitty pickup truck. Not one of them was wearing a seatbelt. The driver had no insurance, and was driving on a revoked license. The impact knocked the truck 180 degrees back into the crossover of 72. No one was injured. It was unbelievable. EMT transported the two passengers in the truck; there were no injuries, but there were some high blood pressure and high blood sugar issues to deal with. In our vehicle, Mom had what the EMTs called a "strawberry mark" from her shoulder harness. Her neck was sore for a couple of days, but other than that we walked away unscathed, thank God.

The Jeep didn't fare as well. As luck would have it, the wreck happened just down the road from a tire store that also did wrecker service. After the police came and filled out reports, the owner of the tire store moved the Jeep up to a locked lot on his premises. He invited Mom and me to stay in the waiting area of the tire store (warm, dry, and he had a big screen TV) while one of his employees took Daddy back to Corinth to rent a car to get us home.

While we were waiting in the tire store, a horrible rainstorm hit Burnsville. Watching the news, we heard about the tornadoes causing such terrible damage in Alabama. I told Mom that as bad as the accident was, we could have been in much more trouble if we'd gone home the way we went to Vicksburg. If we'd take that same route home, we'd have been right in the midst of the tornadoes! Talk about a strange set of circumstances....

With the weather forecasts for that night looking so terrible, Mom and Dad decided we should probably just get a motel room near Burnsville, stay the night, and start over the next morning. It sounded like a great idea to me. Daddy had rented a car from Enterprise in Corinth. Unfortunately, Enterprise there didn't have any one-way rentals available, so he was going to have to return that car by Monday afternoon. Paul, one of Daddy's good friends, suggested that maybe we could find a one-way rental in one of the larger towns over in Alabama and return the Enterprise car.

So, the next morning we packed up and headed for Alabama. Armed with a Florence, Alabama number for Enterprise and my cell phone, I rode shotgun again with Daddy under the wheel so I could make calls on the way. I had to wait awhile for Enterprise to open (we were still in Central time zone). When they opened, I learned that they didn't have one-way rentals, either, but that nearby Avis did. I got directions to the Avis location at the airport (actually in Muscle Shoals, where some of my all-time favorite music was recorded....Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, and my favorite song ever, Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll"). We got to Avis 20 minutes before they were to open, so we just waited in the parking lot, soaking up a bit of Alabama sun in the meantime.

When Avis opened, they told us they didn't have one-way rentals either. I have to admit that by this time my patience was wearing a little thin. The lady at Avis gave me a number for Hertz in Florence. When I called Hertz, they (hallelujah) said they had one-way rentals available. I got directions, and away we went. When we rented the Hertz car, Daddy drove it and I drove the Enterprise car; back we went to Corinth. Sixty miles. We turned in the Enterprise car, then went to the same Shoney's where we'd had lunch 24 hours earlier. The hostess remembered us!

We were then, finally, back on the way home. I drove from Corinth until we stopped for gas just before we got to Chattanooga. Daddy drove the rest of the way in. We had a slight scare just east of Huntsville. A young man pulled across 3 lanes of US 72 from a cross street, just like the pickup truck that hit us in Burnsville. I, luckily, was a bit paranoid and was expecting him to do something stupid. Mom and Dad both said that he looked up and saw me just as I got the car stopped. He actually never saw me coming. So much for having the right-of-way! *whew*

Other than a traffic jam in Chattanooga, the rest of the trip was uneventful, thank goodness. By the time we got the luggage in at Mom and Dad's and I got home, it was 11:00 pm. We'd left Vicksburg at 6:10 am the day before. Boy, was I ever glad to see home!

Luckily, we were able to handle all the paperwork (getting police reports to the right place, etc.) by fax. The insurance adjuster called Daddy Wednesday and told him the Jeep was totaled; Chrysler had told him to total it at $8,000, and he stopped counting the damage after he reached $8,300. So we got all the appropriate forms faxed to Detroit, and got Mom and Dad's new vehicle ordered.

All in all, a very eventful vacation! It's taken me so long to write this epistle that I'll wait until tomorrow night to post the vacation photos on Flickr.