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*