i like ike

I'm sitting here in the office looking at an honest to god copy of the Memphis Commercial Appeal printed on the day he died. This is the story that my parents have given me, along with many other elders like the Bruces and Mallards. They did not understand my objections to the Vietnam war because my daddy is a veteran and it stood for something then. This man was stationed in the Azore Islands before I was born. Then we all lived in Martin for a bit until college was over and moved on out to the farm that has been my home. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to be close to aging parents even though it's always something and usually an emergency. When I got into the car after work today I smelled the scent of my daddy's aftershave from our trip to eggs and doughnuts yesterday. And I cried for some totally normal reason.

Meanwhile, Ryder is great with child and I've contacted baby daddy for help in getting these pups to good homes. Rescues make the best pets and if you find a vet or somebody who really LOVES animals? Bingo. We are not neglectful dog owners and take a head count every single day and night so as not to have to get up and open the door. Regular potty breaks are paramount with that many critters. Even the cat goes outside! My poor little straw bales are soggy with snow and ready to receive an application of compost for early spring crops. Normally we would already be there but of course there's the global warming thing and the Tea Partiers writing letters to freakin' IRAN???????? Somebody call Pat Robertson and tell him I give if they'll all just shut the hell up about hellfire and damnation.

I don't know what the hell is going on because everybody lies and makes money off of it and the general public just sort of buys into the whole MSM thing. I would literally die on the vine if I didn't have the internet as a way of communicating with the rest of my world. We can thank Gore or whomever for that but I know a lot of IT folks who made a killing in the eighties, just saying. In our big fish/little fish world the biggies have mostly lured folks into the lair with storefronts and occasionally precious sales folk. Josh...that was for you! Prior to that visit my phone had been dead for awhile and BG was at her group so I tromped on up through the snow and ice and purchased the first phone I could actually see to text with.

Now just listen for a minute, okay? Believe it or not I am quite conservative when it comes to core values like trust and honor. I have about two hands full that I can count on and another hundred who come out of the woodwork when I need them most and that? Is the beauty of social media. I promise I'll never ever post my dinner on FB but I might share a shot of Babyman now and then, just because I can. I'm the only grandma he's got, you know. Plus he's cute but "spoilt" as mama would say. That's one thing I never was as a farmer's daughter. We ate well from the garden and had nice clothes and reliable cars. It's about umm...eight miles from Reynolds street to the cabin where I lived but Fetch walked it during strawberry season when we were both about 14ish. Daddy carried him home, I believe. Dude was my first drummer.

Here's the thing, as Rodney would say:

potholes and peepers

Our three weeks of ice and snow have left giant gaping caverns in the pavement which one must keep a keen eye toward, most especially in a car with one tire on fix-a-flat. It did get us to Lake county and back yesterday which is the farthest it's been in months. When Lori and I were leaving the grands I stopped dead in my tracks at the sound of frogs. How quickly things change! There are still big piles of dirty snow everywhere but a week in the fifties and sixties will melt all that. Snowdrops and crocus came and went before the ice hit three weeks ago today. So much time has been spent trying to stay warm and mobile that it's a luxury to sit here knowing I can drive myself to work tomorrow, lord willing and the tire doesn't give. I plan to spend this day piddling and pampering. Babyman spent the night and is headed home in said trusty old Camry. The Cadi has two huge drifts on the front sides because it has NOT moved since Wednesday.

I have a vacation planned in May, my first in about five years. I had wanted to make it to the beach but the money won't be there as usual. I'll settle for a week planting a garden and playing outside...waking up with my body clock instead of the Samsung alarm on my shiny red badass phone. I need a total break from reality as I've known it and this past week was just the beginning of passages for several of us. Just like when the miracles flowed for me three weeks ago, everything came together for my friend's return to her home and family plus a connection to get her to a heart doctor. So much gratitude!

I was quite humbled to see the Selma turnouts noting that it was bi-partisan and heartfelt. Snowden wants to go to Switzerland and I honestly don't see why not because all he did was blow the whistle on things we should have known about to begin with. This whole cat and mouse in the airport thing is ridiculous and cost God knows how much in taxpayer dollars. The story is out there and putting him in jail won't do anything but make people madder. Transparency, y'all. That old saying about forgiveness being easier to get than permission isn't always true, especially when interfering with privacy.

Another friend is burying her mother today, something that I know is in my near future. That I know it in my heart doesn't mean I'm ready or even begin to like it, but it is what it is. My parents have lived long and happy lives in that little red log cabin and it 's home to me, just like this house on the hill. Only one other rental remains and it's getting spruced up like crazy. Still looking for a sugardaddy to move in so send him my way if you see him. As for my house all it needs right now is paint and I'd gladly do the labor but it's like pulling teeth to get anything done here. At least now I can take the quilt off the door that won't close.

Believe and prosper~

road trip

I lost my sunglasses sometime during the two weeks that I never saw any rays so I had to get new ones at the DG this morning because it's beautiful but blinding when you've been all up in SADD mode. Lorna managed to get her electric taken care of and the kids were ready to come home so there you go. We stopped a couple of places on the way to Lake county, one of which is Tickle's store currently tended by Mike and Sheila dba Countryside. They're hoping for a good report so they can cash in and move to Belize. This store is historic in many ways, the stalwart between Dyersburg and Ridgely. BG learned to scoop up cricket bait there. When they bought it Sheila did a remodel and it's cute as hell. I met she and Mike when they floated the Forked Deer. That was when Ruskey came to town and brought some sort of awareness to our community of the value of a river for transportation and recreation, not for toxic waste dumping. The entire farm is surrounded by that body of water with sloughs and whatnot. The back hundred stays underwater 'til May or later.

So we whizzed past all the rusty buildings on highway 78 toward the lake and Silvertop. They look prettier in the snow when the flaws of age are softened by white. Lots of rusty tin and empty strip malls if you know what I mean. Reelfoot Lake is one of the wonders of our modern world and there's a big port there and a lot of good vibes surrounding the preservation of history. Lorna and Murray and the new mayor might just get that stuff going on. The roads are better and there's a super two lane that looks impressive. Hickman is close by and I remembered my one road trip there delivering a two man canoe team at their little harbor. I got lost on the way home, by the way. Nothing but corn fields for miles around and I had to call Gigi for directions to get the hell outta' there. I also called Gumby from the parking lot of Blue Bank. There are lots of signs pointing toward the big muddy but we didn't go there today. Passed on lunch at Boyette's too. We were just busy hauling groceries in through the snow. Of course we got stuck but us old girls pushed while BG moved forward and I jumped in at the last minute as we left the pecan orchard and headed for the three lane..

While I was buying cauliflower and beer (don'tjudgeme) I ran into Marfie who came in for a few things and left with a lot more. Her son Chris was coming for lunch so she loaded up. She's been playing beauty shop and looks fabulous. My friend Sondra's mama died and I'm thinking about her and praying for some peace. Lord knows we all need it. I now have a new driveway thanks to Mark's truck which got me to work and back on Thursday and Friday. The county plowed Friday so BG was able to pick me up and get out of the house to wander. Cabin fever is serious business. Prior to coming here Lorna had been inside her house with bubble wrap on all the windows. OMG. And then there was the tour of her quite large house and the warrior helmet with Spanish coins all over. Lord, girl. Bang that drum! Propane guy made a run today even though it's the weekend and I still owe him money. I'm thinking the extreme winter of Thor and 15 is about to become a garden. Let's hold that thought, umkay?

blinded by the snow

I live in Tennessee right close to three other states which all border the Mississippi River. Our weather is temperate usually with a long growing season that (used to) begin in April. We are not prepared for eight+ inches of snow two weeks after a major ice storm. I set my alarm for 4AM and when it went off peeked out to see that the windshield didn't look too bad so I slept for 30 more minutes. Needless to say there is no carport, much less garage so the Camry was parked facing the kitchen wall again, hoping for the best. It took 30 minutes of de-icing to get the doors open and when I was on a break from that my boss called to say that her hub the 911 director was scooping us all up for work. He made fresh tracks in the big ass truck and dropped me off first carrying on to pick up the rest of the day crew. Needless to say, it was a slow day. Things pick up when the ice melts a little and the fools get out for more bread and milk. I got a ride home with a co-worker who even stopped at the store for me . I did fall on the ice one time today but I'm gonna' spare the details of that little incident. Nothing is torn, just a little extra soreness in that left hip. I should be out taking pictures of the whole deal but I choose to stay inside and watch from the warmth. With a low of 5 tonight, it's not going anywhere. This morning when I was de-icing in the dark with 25 mph gusts blowing snow all I wanted was to be back in that warm bed with SammyD.

Lorna feels better and that's good because I was really worried when she hit the floor. The sun is out and that does wonders for the spirit. BG and the doggies went out to play a bit and there would be snowcream only....no milk. I blame Kroger and the zombie hordes of Wednesday afternoon. I seriously don't want to witness that kind of madness ever again. There will be flooding and mud and all those spring things that follow winter, but I've been there done that as well. All you can do is to move forward and keep the faith.

^j^

the saga continues

As we all know the day after an accident is when the real aches and pains appear once the shock has worn off and the body says "what the HELL did you do to me!!" Poor Lorna is dragging around in that shape while we wait for the ice and snow apocalypse to begin. We got a new wiper blade and a gallon of de-icer and the Camry is parked in a strategic position facing the kitchen wall to minimize trips out in the mud to clear it. Now, we wait. One of the things Lorna has been dealing with is that her phone was about to be cut off and she didn't have the $$ to take care of it so our next adventure began yesterday in search of a green dot card with money on it to pay ATT so she won't be like, you know....screwed. I've never done that but it involved (in our one horse town) going to Kroger to pick up the money and then to Walgreen to load the card. I'm telling you Kroger was a freakin' ZOO at 2PM yesterday what with all the bread and milk folks out gathering. School was cancelled for today because it's supposed to start icing any time now.

That last patch of ice against the barn did indeed melt and is in the pool of water that covers Pride's grave out back. In other good news, BG was hired at the neighborhood DG yesterday due to sheer determination on her part to get noticed after two years of trying to navigate their HR website. The really odd part is that when I was there yesterday morning I mentioned to the manager that my daughter had applied and she told me that she had just gotten off the phone with her scheduling an interview! How cool is that for karma. I'm usually the first one there at the front door if I need something on a particular day. Hannah and Kaylee have elevated the 'gentral to celebrity status beginning with orange glow and going on down the list of bargains available for most every occasion. Too bad they don't do green dot.

The grands are perking along nicely with daddy's little bit of extra medicine which Mom believes has been "helpful." Lori discovered quite by accident that last week's neuro team upped the dosage by THREE times what he's been on which would probably put him in a coma. Luckily he didn't fill the 'script and has a GP appointment next week. It's a miracle of biblical proportions that this whole thing works with the entire deal pivoting on the fact that I'm on call 24/7 and up the road a bit. No doubt Ms Faye will be snowed in again so they'll be on their own while I work.

I watched Bibi's speech yesterday and had the best laugh at the live comments by trolls worldwide. I listened for about ten minutes until he started conjuring up ISIS armed with nukes and had to move on to something else. Science fiction does not a good leader make. It's amazing to me how all the wingnuts have compared Obama to Hitler over the years and don't see this blind leading the blind mentality in the Tea party. I am by no means a pure Dem but these folks do every thing they can to allow me to hate what they stand for. I'm much more of a middle of the road kinda' gal. How sad that after years of leadership in Congress Boehner goes out holding the big green weenie.

I'm ready to face this storm and move on past it toward whatever my life is supposed to be. The last year has been one of struggling for survival an sanity on many different levels and Celexa can only do so much. Our lives were not meant to be so hard to live but we have created a dog eat dog world where people with power dictate how we live our days on this earth. To me the fact that so much political energy is going into reversing a SCOTUS decision handed down 40 years ago is absurd. What makes it dangerous is that it's done in the name of Christianity. Nobody tries to tell men they have to be neutered which would solve the whole problem. Yeah..I'm in a mood.

My tribe has consisted of a lot of friends and family who are there when I need them and sometimes when I dont. That's the beauty of relationships that are formed with love, respect and boundaries. Being someone else's judge and jury is no way to be on a personal level. Jesus wouldn't like it, if you know what I mean.

Peace love and snow drifts y'all ^j^

off the grid

Today started out like any other with me rolling out of the bed at six (got to sleep in) and beginning to wander on my day off. I had to go to the chicken store right off the bat and prayed for a deer not to cross the lane because the fog was so thick it would have been deadly for both of us. After creeping back home with the bum windshield wiper blade flapping at me (must.fix.today.) I came home to find Lorna stirring. No sooner did she get vertical and drink some green tea than she passed smooth out on the floor and busted her knee. BG woke when she hit the floor and we did our nurse tag team thing until she came around. Sweet tea does wonders for what ails a country girl.

By this time the dolla' gentral was open so I headed up that way to get supplies for the upcoming ice storm redux. There are still patches of ice from two weeks ago clinging to the ground next to the barn but they should melt when it hits fifty something today. Then.....back to almost Zero on the other side of the ice and snow. That should be fun with no de-icer to be found. Guess we'll have to go organic and mix something up.

"The speech" will begin soon and I'm kind of curious about how the whole thing plays out. We shall see if anybody in either party can play nice. Al Franken and Elizabeth Warren have passed along with a whole lot of others. IMHO this is one of the most flagrant up yours moments in recent Republican history. Hell, even the moderates are ashamed of their cohorts. McConnell is back paddling among others, and Rand Paul is noticeably absent from the fray. Gotta' have a strategy for job security, you know.

The survivor in me is planning for the worst and hoping for the best. Because that? Is how I roll. Keep the faith ^j^

the end is near

Well as best as I can tell Bibi is headed to Congress in the morning to broker a deal with Iran and Boehner. I'm off for a couple of days and I don't imagine that will be on my radar. Most of the non-hardcore conservatives will be absent, I imagine, as well as the majority of Jewish folks. This is really a whole bunch of drama that is so not necessary during these times of global warming crises and such. All we gotta' do is send the carbon down instead of up! A real dreamer never gives up when it seems that nothing else can be done to save mother earth and the glorious times we've had with her. Around here we're expecting more winter weather of like 5 degrees on my next day to work so I hope the Camry holds out or else I'll be broke. Well, broker than usual, if you know what I mean. Daddy almost got overdosed on an anti=psychotic when he went for a traveling neuro visit over at the local doc's office/strip mall. I was asleep at the wheel on that one because I've been absent for a couple of weeks due to extreme winter weather conditions and a terrible viral infection that produced a whole lot of potentially infectious bodily fluids which I coughed and hacked up for days on end. Hey..it's flu season and I took the shot. This year it didn't work.

My friend Lorna is camped out here because Obama cut off her electricity up in Lake county which is about the poorest area of Tennessee except for their giant port next to the Big Muddy and Reelfoot Lake which used to be a primo crappie fishing spot and home to bald eagles and cypress trees. Hopefully the powers that be will see fit to save that for the future. Boogs has a double ear infection so he's been home with his TT today getting lots of hugs. Sometimes it's good to be the baby! Since FB has failed to hook me up fo' free with blog posting anymore I reckon I'll have to depend on word of mouth to tell my story.

^j^