I just opened a bottle of Meiomi, so I figured I better start on this š¤£ Today was uneventful, on the whole. Just the way I like it. I ran through the Chickalay drive thru for some minis on my way to work. I ordered ten, but ate six. I probably could have eaten all ten if I had set my mind to it. Work was quiet; most of my coworkers were at a conference in Knoxville. I didnāt feel that the topics would benefit me, in my current role, so I just went to work. And good thing, I had some visitors and a few phone calls to return. I just wish those girls up front were what they advertised to our landlord. Oh well. I donāt expect them to last. Iām not gonna waste time being mad about something Iām not going to deal with. I am gonna tell Charlie all about them when he asks, though. And he will ask. Boy, this wine is good. Today is National Love Your Pet Day. When will these nonsensical holidays cease? Well, then I guess weād just have a bunch of regular days and some people find it hard to celebrate on normal days. Not this girl. But Facebook memories have alerted me that I do typically celebrate the wonder that is Chester. So I guess I need to do something a little special for him. But tomorrow, as I have already put on my fleece…
I feel like I have done nothing but eavesdrop on people today. And itās highly entertaining. First was at the bar at Firebirds. You wouldnāt believe the things people tell bartenders. Or each other at the bar. And just when it was getting good this dude sits down next to me hacking his guts out and Iām immediately disgusted. So his wife was already sitting there and had eaten and evidently heād had a job interview at the restaurant. Not for the restaurant. I understood it to be an acting job, but Iām not sure. Heād ordered steak and dessert. She said, āWere you not planning on introducing me?ā And heās like, āNo, should I have?ā Which Iām kinda like him, why would he? Thatās kinda weird. And why did she bring him, anyway? Can he not drive? She says something about she should have gone over and given him a kiss. In the meantime, heās still coughing very vehemently and Iām thoroughly and visibly repulsed and thinking of moving down a stool but that would put me next to another character that I wasnāt sure about. I was stuck between a cougher and a thug. And the bartender, her name was Amy, too, had enough on her plate without me playing musical chairs. Sheād already forgot my water twice. And weāre not gonna talk about how long it took me to get my food or…
Well, here we are. Or, rather, here I am, since itās just me. There is no we. Unless I count yāall, which I guess I should, since youāre reading. Another weekend gone, but I get a bonus day, so that only means I procrastinated from Saturday what I will now need to do tomorrow. Namely, an oil change. Iām gonna make it worthwhile, though, and treat myself to lunch somewhere good. So I come to you tonight, begging grace and forgiveness, because Iām afraid yāall are gonna revoke my Southerner card. Because, look here now, I made instant potatoes. And they were goooooo-ooooood. Iāve got no lies to tell. Theyāre already on my list for next time. Why did I ever spend time peeling, washing, boiling, draining, mashing, seasoning, and working in butter and milk for *real* mashed potatoes? For just me? These are real, too, it says so right on the bag. And they took maybe five minutes. I really donāt know what else to report on. I have got to finish my book tonight, it goes back tomorrow. White Noise, if youāre interested, by Don Dellio or something like that. Iām too lazy to look. Iām sure Iāve got the spelling close enough and you could find it. Lester recommended it and I liked it at first but now itās just weird. Iām at 83% and truly nothing much has happened. It…
Good evening. Or good morning, I suppose, if youāre reading this tomorrow. Or maybe itās good afternoon. Whatever you please. A simple hello would have sufficed, but I now have all that typed and Iām not erasing it. I really just wanted to jump in with what Iām wanting to ask yāall, but Iām constantly reminding my coworkers of Teams etiquette and so I felt I should practice what I preach. Whew. Now that all that is out of the way, even though Iām not following Southern protocols and asking after your health, and how your mommaās doinā, and how the kids are coming along and if little Suzy is going out for soccer this springā¦isnāt that the trending sport these days? Soccer? I just wanted to ask yāall if someone would please tell me with Bath & Body Works puts their 3-wick candles on sale. Because Iām not sure if the online store follows the same sales as brick and mortars. And I sure as shit aināt driving to Five Oaks once a week to check it out in person. Although I do need to go in Clarks. My black flip flops will not live to see another season. I made a balsamic roast in the crock pot today. It smelled so very delicious cooking. That is the trouble with cooking in crock pots while at home. I feel sorry for my dogs over the…
Do not let these warm sunny daysOf February Trick youIt is not summerIt is not yet springMy summer was filled withThree trips To two different rivers Where I did not fishSunflowers & morning gloriesBeer drank in the barn hallOver tearsAnd sleepless eveningsEndless conversations With friends I thoughtI already knewBut raw with emotionOne relaxing day on the lakePoetryAnd looking at the stars Because I couldnāt hold it inFire trucks at the fairAs we posed in our tiarasThere was coffee cornhole charcuterie and cavesThere were plenty of laughsAnd some really big surprises Summer was perfect as usualAnd unforgettable So February needs to get in lineAnd be winter Because I want more cozy daysBefore Iām a sweaty messOn a sweltering dayParked directly over the air conditioner Set on 65I want to eat more chili and soupAnd roasts and meatloafBefore I turn to salads and avocados And ice creamI want time spent curled in my blanketWith a book on my lapAnd a candle flickering And the wind howling beyond my windowsFebruary should be itselfEverything else is takenJust like you…
To blog or not to blogā¦there is no question. The question is what am I gonna write about? This was so far removed from my brain today, when someone asked me this evening what I was gonna blog about, I almost answered, āwhat blog?ā At least, I donāt think I did. So I could tell you about how Iām a snob. No, really. People truly think that. And I guess I am. I donāt go out of my way to talk to strangers (I just hug them). I am not going to tell you how I adore your {clothes/ shoes/ hair/ eye makeup/ jewelry/ food/ house/ car} to make you like me. You know people do that, donāt you? Theyāll just gush and flatter and go on to make you feel good about yourself but itās all hogwash. I will tell you if I truly do like whatever it is. Iām also a snob about quality. I donāt want cheap toilet paper, Kleenex, or paper towels. I guess Iām a snob about paper products. Funnily enough, I donāt like eating off paper plates š¤ I mean, I get it, for cooking out and youāve got a passel of drunks in your backyard plus you donāt wanna do a bunch of dishes. Or if I make a sandwich or get pizza, a paper plate is fine. But if Iām eating a meal- meat and three sides- I want…
This should be fun, as I am still about 10% lit. So I was still mildly grumpy this morning: residual from yesterday. I was trying to just live in the moment, as Iām constantly encouraging yāall to do. My commute wasnāt even strenuous; I came right on up the road, jamming to Whiskey Myers. I love me some Whiskey Myers. Anyway, I got situated at work, ate my breakfast, and as it goes, I started to feel altogether better about life. Itās just a matter of prioritizing aggravations where they belong and knocking out chores. So after awhile I decided to return my steel voting box and see if I could get in to cast my vote in the primary, and even more importantly, the heat for school board. There arenāt many things I like better than voting. And since not a one of yāall jerks brought me cupcakes, I needed a boost. So off I went. The commission is forever friendly. They didnāt have much going on, and gladly relieved me of my steel box burden. The little feller who showed me to my machine was ever patient and knowledgeable about how to cast my votes. I told him I was very familiar with the process; I vote early and often š¤£ but he was just doing his job, and itās a lot to memorize, so I let him rattle on. He did ask if I was having a nice Valentines. Sure…
Today was Fat Tuesday. In other words, the pinnacle of Mardi Gras. And I would have MUCH rather been there than putting on an election here. I honestly got a call from a woman who was mad she couldnāt vote online. Because nothing could go wrong there š People vote BLIND. People came in, voted for one person, then asked what they were voting on. They asked what we did. A few asked these questions simultaneously while I was still answering the first question they had asked. I maaaaaaay have gotten a little short with one of Sevier Countyās self-labeled āeliteā. A smartass is a smartass, I donāt care what you own or what youāre worth. Most of them Iād like to buy for what theyāre actually worth and sell for what they think theyāre worth. 38 people is a lot for one day in my little office. Jake Right Now kept saying, āI canāt believe weāve had this many people.ā š¤£ He was amazed. But then, it doesnāt take much. I shouldnāt knock him, he helped me with Annual Report folding and stamping the last two days. In other good news, they caught the cop killer. Iām quite disappointed they took him in alive. So now weāll be financing all his healthcare, food, and weight training for the next forty years. Unless they cook him. Iād pay to see that. Iām not very nice today…
Procrastination is the name of the game over here. Things I am actively not doing: Things I am doing: So more on that last part. Hereās the menu. Can you blame me?! Iāll brave the lovestruck crowds for crĆØme brĆ»lĆ©e! And yes, I am aware I could go by myself. And normally it wouldnāt even be a blip on my radar. But itās VALENTINES. That would make me look pathetic. Even if anybody who bothered to meet me would quickly ascertain I am anything but. Iām just a single girl with an appetite. And now Iām out of things to talk about again. I refuse to talk about the rain. Iām sick of the rain. I refuse to talk politicsā¦ yet. I refuse to talk about the Super Bowl or Taylor Swift, because I didnāt watch it because I didnāt care. I met the new Agriculture Agent for our county today. I asked him if he was like John Dutton. He doesnāt watch Yellowstone, so he doesnāt realize what a compliment I gave him. He just shrugged and said thatās what everybody says. And here I thought I was original. What a disappointment. Nice guy, though. I dunno. I donāt wanna talk about nothinā, I wanna go to bed. I think I will. This is all you get. Yesterdayās was lengthy, they canāt all be Pulitzer material š Once upon a timeI was…
I have a friend who recently set sail on her first cruise. She was so excited, as I was for her. I was talking to another mutual friend and he was issuing all sorts of concerns and disbelief that she was going while news circulated of the murders and various crimes that were happening in the vicinity. āWait, where is it, exactly, that sheās going?ā I asked him, thinking I had missed something. After all, I donāt watch the news, but I do tend to get wind of major events one way or another. āI donāt know,ā he admitted. āWell, where were all these killings youāre talking about?ā āI dunno, my wife was just telling me, she saw it on the news last night.ā I rolled my eyes and tried not to blow air too obnoxiously through my nose. āWhen you go to these islands, they tell you itās not safe to leave the resort. I donāt know how cruises work, but surely if thereās a bunch of calamity, the donāt de-board. Or they take you elsewhere. They donāt want you killed, itās bad for business. Word gets out.ā For the record, my friend had an absolutely FABULOUS time and wants to go back. There was no scalping, stabbing, or purse snatching, to the best of my knowledge. Almost all my life, every time Iāve went on vacation alone, I had a naysayer in my life, telling me…