Are You Still Hungry?

Having worked in the restaurant industry in the past what I saw in a restaurant a few weeks ago almost changed my mind about dining there. I was craving Chinese food but I didn't want to dine in so I had ordered takeout. Now, in my small town we only have three Far Eastern restaurants to choose from. One serves mainly curry inspired dishes which I don't particularly like the taste of. The second is an older establishment that charges way too much. And the third restaurant offers a nice sit down family environment with very attentive and always cleaning something servers. I had to go inside to pick up my order, went ahead and paid but had to wait a few minutes before it was completely ready. Finally, I had my dinner and headed out the door. As I approached the door, my gaze was drawn to something small and black, laying on the floor, just before the doorstep opened to the outside. Upon closer inspection, I was disgusted to realize that it was a roach. A dead roach, but a cockroach still the same. Perhaps, things wouldn't have seemed so screwed up if I had noticed the roach on the way inside the restaurant, before I got my food. I would have just turned around and walked out. No extra protein for me, thank you! So, what do you do? The bug could have come in on somebody's shoe. Do I report it to the nice lady that takes the money? Or, do I pretend that I never even saw it.... Well, I was hungry, and it was raining, I didn't want to go back inside. I did get a pic of it; it was on my cell phone and didn't turn out very well. I did pay closer attention to my food that night...

Snooze, You Lose

I had spent a few hours selling junk at the flea market and decided I would take the long way home and stop and see what mom was doing. It was before noon on Friday which still left a few hours to visit local yard sales, which is a favorite pastime of ours. I had noticed several sales coming over the mountain and that's the way we headed. The first place we stopped wasn't really a yard sale, it was more of a permanent-type set up that is always selling junk. It's not normally where you can find a good deal. We had wanted to check out a few other locations in that area but my sugar started to drop and we went to lunch instead. (Mom and I never miss an opportunity to eat out!) Mom usually adopts the requirements of the diet that I am on at any given time. The flavor of the month this time is the Adkin's Diet or low carbohydrate diet. Of course, when I have hypoglycemia, I have to have carbohydrates, or sugar, quickly to raise my blood glucose level or I can have a seizure. (Check out Julia Robert's having a seizure in Steel Magnolias and you'll see for yourself; it ain't pretty.) Mom decided she wanted the half chef salad with blue cheese dressing on the side. They didn't have blue cheese, so she ordered french. I'm not sure if the waitress was hard of hearing or not but she thought mom said ranch and they kept getting louder and louder as the server would say RANCH and mom would say NO! FRENCH! After several exchanges it was determined that they didn't have french, and mom ended up with ranch after all. After lunch we headed over to the other side of town and were headed back towards Mom's house on a back road. We do like to explore and ended up following signs advertising a yard sale well off the beaten path. In fact, it was way past being out in the boonies and we thought we were heading to Timbuktu or it's neighbor, East Fumble Buck. We pulled up to a house that had it's entire yard filled with junk; our kind of place. The lady having the sale was talking to some fella about medical problems or something but nodded in our direction. I had seen that guy before at sales around town; he'll talk your ear off. The lady had a very large table piled with paperback books and a sign said they were a quarter each. Now, that's a really good price and I was thinking about making the lady an offer to buy the entire table. "How much for the whole table?" I asked. The lady walked away from Mr. Talkative and over to the table. Now, I had a price in my head and if she was anywhere close to it, I was going to get the whole shebang. "Oh, 'bout ten dollars," she said. Before I even had time to process that amount Mom walks over and says, "Sold!" The lady and I looked at each other; we didn't know mom wanted in on the deal. I started to say something to mom when she shushed me and said, "Snooze, you lose, go get the car, those books are mine!" What's a daughter to do? I wanted the books. You're right, I went and got the car...

The Importance Of Walking

****This was forwarded to me in an email. I thought I would share it with you!**** Walking can add minutes to your life. This enables you at 85 years old to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing home at $7000 per month. My grandpa started walking five miles a day when he was 60. Now he's 97 years old and we don't know where he is. I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me. The only reason I would take up walking is so that I could hear heavy breathing again. I have to walk early in the morning, before my brain figures out what I'm doing.. I joined a health club last year, spent about 400 bucks. Haven't lost a pound. Apparently you have to go there. Every time I hear the dirty word 'exercise', I wash my mouth out with chocolate. The advantage of exercising every day is so when you die, they'll say, 'Well, she looks good doesn't she.' If you are going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country. I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years,...... just getting over the hill. We all get heavier as we get older, because there's a lot more information in our heads. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. AND Every time I start thinking too much about how I look, I just find a Happy Hour and by the time I leave, I look just fine. You could run this over to your friends... But just e-mail it to them

Cuteness Multiplied

Since the new cat came into the house last fall, the original cat sometimes feels a little left out. So, today's post is dedicated solely to him. (I know, he's really cute!)

Just How Hot Is It?

I like hot wings, to a point. On a scale of 1 to 10, I think I can handle a hotness level of 6, or maybe 7. I'm not one of those folks that have to go for the hottest level, remember that scene from Dumb & Dumber when the guys pour hot sauce onto the fat guy's food; that was just mean. Anyhow, I wanted hot wings for supper, but I didn't want to make them. There really isn't anywhere good in town to get wings, I've tried most of them and they leave a lot to be desired. Another option is to buy frozen wings. I've tried a lot of them and they end up tasting mostly soggy or I overcook them. I was shopping in Krogritz today and was checking out the deli section. The store had several flavors of already cooked wings that were cold and all you had to do was nuke them. There were at least 3 levels of hotness listed: Spicy, Buffalo and Cajun. Now, what does one do in this situation? You ask the deli clerk of course. I asked her, "Just how hot is it?" "Well, let me see. Them Cajun wings will have you singing Creole and wish you were down on the bayou in Bayou La Batre. The Spicy Wings will make you reminisce about the time you was Marco Polo and running from Genghis Khan on your way back from India on the Spice Route." "What about the Buffalo Wings?" I asked. "Child, them wings is so hot; you'd think the white man was chasing you into extinction all over again. Well, which one you gonna have?" Posed with the three explanations of hotness, I didn't really know which one to pick. I thought about it for a few moments and decided I would go for the ...You tell me, which kind would you choose?

Wordless Wednesday...Have You Seen This?

I'll Make A Donation

I was up at the mailbox this morning when my eccentric neighbor, Merlethem Shatz, spotted me and came rushing over. For obvious reasons that I've chronicled before I try to avoid her whenever possible. However, I'm usually not successful and end up with an earful; today was no exception. "Hey! Middle-Aged Fat Lady! Where you been? You ain't been setting out on the porch lately?" "It's been too hot," I replied. "Whew! I know what you mean. I've been chafed in more places than I care to mention. I been through a whole bottle of Goldbond Medicated Powder. Tell your sister I said thanks for those coupons; they really came in handy. Did you watch the Stand Up To Cancer Telethon the other night?" "I watched most of it. I was amazed that they got all three of the network news anchors to be together on the same channel," I said. "Well, I wasn't too concerned about that. I've been saving my change and I wanted to make a donation," Merlethem said. "That's terrific. Did you make one?" "I did, but it took me all night!" "Why? Was the line busy?" I asked. "No. I kept hanging up on them," she said. "What did you do that for?" I asked. "I kept getting people I've never heard of before," she said. "I don't understand..." "Every time I called I got a volunteer or someone that I've never heard of. I got that Kathy Griffin woman three times. Ain't she on the B list or something?" "Well, I don't think it's very nice to hang up on people. Those folks are volunteering their time and energy." "That may be true. But, I'm volunteering my money and if I'm going to make a donation. I want to talk to a celebrity. A real one."

A Silent Reminder

In memory of those who lost their lives on that tragic day and for the family and friends that continue to grieve for you, I silence my laughter on this day and fill my heart and soul instead with the prayers and songs of those who remember. You will never be forgotten and we will never forget. God Bless America.

Unclaimed Baggage

Recently, I took a trip to the Alabama Mountains wanting to relax and enjoy the scenery. I devoted a whole week of writing to the tale of Mentone, Alabama, because someone told me to tell the story when I was sitting on the toilet. "Tell the story," the voice said. "Tell the story!" Well, I did. And I haven't felt like reflecting since. I guess the voice in the john wants all the attention or something. Anyhow, another place I visited while in the area was the Unclaimed Baggage store. You may have heard of it. It's been on the Nightly News, Oprah, 60 Minutes, I think, and other various news programs around the country. In a nutshell, if you leave something on a plane or forget to pick up your luggage and don't claim it by a certain time it ends up at this store in Scottsboro, AL. Below are the items that I just couldn't live without: Everybody always needs a belt buckle or two. I got a friend in Texas, maybe, I'll send it to her. You can never have too many wallets! I'm not big on wearing used shoes, but they looked comfortable. (I sold them at the flea market.) And lastly, a set of books on wines throughout the world. This knowledge will be especially invaluable when I begin my trip around the world which I hope to accomplish in eighty days. Of course, the best part of all is if I forget something on a plane, I'll know where to find it. Or buy it!

Mentone, Alabama...Part V

...We all agreed to sit on the patio and proceeded to enjoy one of the best meals that I have ever eaten. Now, we knew why you needed a reservation: the food was excellent. The restaurant had a very relaxed atmosphere; it went along with the Artsy and Shabby Chic feel of the town. We met the chef--he came out several times and introduced himself as the guy that was doing the cooking. There was live entertainment (although we only heard it when the door was opened) and a small gift shop to purchase locally made items. It was a really nice evening! After a relaxing few days and a trip to the Unclaimed Baggage store which I'll be telling you about in a future post this story should have ended. I never intended to tell you about my adventure to Mentone. It was just a nice weekend that I spent with friends. But the problem is this: I couldn't get Mentone out of my brain. I'm not sure why, I just couldn't. One night, a few days after returning home from the trip I had to make a midnight trip to the potty. I never turn the lights on and as I was sitting on the toilet someone whispered in my ear, "Mentone. Write the story on Mentone." I kid you not. It spooked me. It had been a while since I had heard from any of the visitors that seem to follow me around. And what's even more strange is that Friend said she had a dream that told her to tell me to write the story about Enotnem, which is Mentone spelled backwards. Well, there you have it. I've written the story about Mentone. I'm still not really sure why except if a voice tells you to do something in the middle of the night--you'd better do it!

Mentone, Alabama...Part IV

After an enjoyable lunch of seafood and a full hour of classic country tunes it was time to head on back up the mountain and meet up with some friends. We finally arrived at the cabin and were somewhat surprised by the location; it was remote and isolated to say the least. It was later in the day and the subject of dinner was brought up. We had packed a few essentials such as beer, wine and a family size bag of Lay's potato chips. Back in my college days those three items would have made for an enjoyable weekend; now that I'm older--not so much. We didn't really have many options for dinner; in fact, we only had one option and that was the Wildflower Cafe. We pulled into the parking lot and were surprised by the amount of cars. One of my friends walked up to the hostess and before she could say anything the hostess said, "Do you have a reservation?" Reservation? Are you kidding me? It's a Thursday night, in the middle of nowhere, in a town with a population of 46 people and I've just been asked if I had a reservation. "No," my friend said. "Well, I know I don't have anything inside for the next two hours, but there might be something out back. Wait right here," said the lady. She came back in a few moments and said, "Well, I can put you out on the patio or you can get on the waiting list and we may be able to seat you. We close early..."