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Amy

Resolve to Write 2024 #24

The moon is trying to kill me. Ok, that’s a bit dramatic. The moon refuses to let me sleep. What else can I blame on the moon? I spilled another glass of water this morning. I say another, because I also spilled one Sunday morning. I make myself so mad. Really, I should be thankful it’s merely water and not something sticky. I mean, I spilled coffee today, too, but not much. Just a little as I poured it from the pot. To address yesterday’s post: thank you to those who read my prayer requests. Lisa, Mike, & Squirt have all come to terms with the loss. Their healing agent is going to be a mixed brood of chickens! I’m very excited. I hope to have one of the Polish ones named after me. I told them this is what they should have started with in the beginning, instead of 15 goats and two donkeys. I feel like peafowl are the next logical acquisition. David’s papaw is also doing well, at last check. And so is David. So thank you for the prayers for him and his family, as well. When you wrap someone up in prayer, I can assure you, it is felt. I had a few phone calls today to tug on my heart. My truest friends love me in spite of my honesty, and sometimes because of it. One friend lost her dad in a sudden fashion. She was calling me while…

Resolve to Write 2024 #23

Why is it I had an idea for my blog subject rattling around in my head all day long and I couldn’t tell you what it is now for love or money? Aughh. Well, I’ll just have to tell you about how I’ve had to part with my alarm clock of at least 15 years. I bought it at KMart, if that tells you anything. I loved the numbers, they were gigantic and blue, which is far superior to red. It was a clock radio, so I’ve been awakened by WIVK, WIMZ, & Electric 94.9 over the course of years. I’ve loved this alarm clock. It had two alarm settings, so it was helpful when I was married, too. No, I’ve never been one of these people who would take their phone to bed and use it as an alarm clock. That just didn’t appeal to me, especially in the years before we had the “do not disturb” option. Talk about making me mad, send some stupid meme at 1 a.m. I’ve always worked, and the two jobs before this one required rising no later than six. And I still had to drive like I was on my way to a fire. But over the last few years (okay, probably six or seven) my beloved alarm clock has been giving me a little trouble. As in the tuner knobs were finicky. The volume would blare, then go to whisper soft…

Resolve to Write 2024 #22

Y’all ain’t gonna believe this, but I’m typing from my personal laptop. I couldn’t tell you the last time I fired this puppy up. It took it a good ten minutes to get all loaded and stuff. And then I panicked because I didn’t think I could remember my password, but I did, I did!! Why am I on my laptop? Well, y’all remember just yesterday and I was whining about how it was a little difficult typing on my iPad with just one index finger. These tend to get lengthy, in case you didn’t know. So I was planning on busting it out. I bet I haven’t used it 100 hours and I bought it back in 2016 or ’17. There’s probably a timer on here somewhere, if I just knew where to look. Anyway, I said that, but it wasn’t like I was planning on implementing my bright idea in the next 24 hours. That’s one of those things I have to sit on for a week or two then ease into it. Well. I forgot I turned the data off on my iPad this afternoon because I STILL haven’t finished this book, I’m at 77% and I knew I wouldn’t get it done before the digital loan expired. So here I am, stealing from our public library system…

Resolve to Write 2024 #21

I am so full. I have eaten one meal today. One. I was having coffee and doing my Wordle when a friend texted, wanting to know if I’d had breakfast. It was 8:30. “I have not, but I have also not had a shower. Tell me what I’m missing.” And this is how I found myself bellied up to the buffet at Loco Burro two hours later. And quite miserable an hour after that. I recommend the following: the jalapeño biscuits with chorizo sauce, the carved chicken, the mahi, the fajita chicken, the beans, the guacamole, the chorizo mac & cheese (that’s right, finally found some I like!), the cinnamon doughnuts, the honeydew, and the Belgian waffle. Lord, I’ve almost conjured myself an appetite just thinking of the deliciousness of it all over again. I figured it would be impossible to eat again before tomorrow. Hmm. Maybe not. Popcorn would be a good snack. ….my microwave is in the trunk of my car. Can you put popcorn in an air fryer? ….*googling*…. YES! ……however, you cannot put microwave kernels into it. Well, dang. Ok, two peppermint Hershey kisses it is. Walked West Towne mall over. Found lots of things. Did not buy anything. Sipped my incognito mimosa. It was hard to warm up, since I was moving at a slug’s pace. I guess that’s where we get the term sluggish. It was great to be out. It was starting to feel like…

Resolve to Write 2024 #20

I’m stuck between wanting to do All the Things and None of the Things. Like, I feel a very strong urge to declutter, but then when it comes down to throwing things out, I feel the familiar, “Well, you might use it someday….remember that time you needed a whatsit for the whosit?” You know, that happens bi-annually or so. Better hold onto it. But I am finding it a lot easier to let go of objects that may have a less than stellar association. Not that they have a bad memory attached, just that where the thing originated from is someplace I don’t care to remember. Anyway…. I finally broke out my air fryer today. It’s truly wondrous. I love it a lot. I can’t believe I’ve been heating up my whole oven for one measly piece of fish. Ridiculous. And washing two pots and a lid for steamed vegetables. I only use my microwave for baked taters and the occasional reheating of food. I typically use my secondhand (from Lisa) little red toaster oven, but funnily enough, it took forever to toast bread. And my toaster (secondhand from Lorie) lives at work. Anyway, my thoughtful aunt gave me the air fryer for Christmas and I was marginally intimidated —ok, that’s a lie. I was lazy— about learning a new gadget so it’s been residing in its box since Christmas Eve. No time like the present! It’s super cute, almost…

Resolve to Write 2024 #19

I want Chili’s egg rolls. I want salad and breadsticks from Olive Garden. I want pizza from Gatlinburg Brewing on 66 and a great big draft beer. I want ribs and a small sirloin from Texas Roadhouse with a loaded sweet tater. I want a cheeseburger and fries from Five Guys. I want a giant slice of cookie cake. I think that’s it. Oh, no, I’m not out of food. I’m not even hungry! I merely want what I can’t have. It’s a metaphor for my life. I have consumed the following today: one biscuit with sausage gravy. One biscuit with blackberry jam. Two eggs, medium. One glass of milk. One sausage patty. Lunch was a bowl of hamburger helper with tomatoes. Supper was red beans & rice with andouille sausage, peppers, onions, and two small garlic rolls. One Mountain Dew and a pack of Little Debbie heart cakes. So now that’s something you know about me. Angela was kind enough to bring me a quart of milk. Why not a gallon, you ask? Because Weigels was out of gallons, that’s why. Evidently everybody suddenly started drinking milk for every meal 🙄 the heck of it is, I stood in the aisle yesterday, looking at it. And I came to the decision I didn’t need any milk. Well, lemme tell you, friends and neighbors, I was WRONG. I did need milk, especially if I wanted to have chocolate chip cookies this weekend…

Resolve to Write 2024 #18

I hate typewriters. It was that day again. I promise I haven’t been procrastinating. I was waiting on one last social security number. I finally procured it last Thursday night. Then Friday we decided to have Wizard Of Oz type winds, so I went home to work at midday. I wasn’t about to tote a typewriter home, and I’m not allowed to have personal information away from the office, so I’ve been at the mercy of the weather. I could feel the clock ticking all week. I’ve been feeling it ticking since Christmas anyway, since the secretary in a neighboring county got hers done before she flipped her calendar over. Overachiever 🙄 making me look bad! AND she’s already got her annual reports out. Geez. She’s probably one that keeps her expense report open to add to as she spends, too. Whereas me, I hunt for twenty minutes for a folder I JUST HAD to find it on my desk under some papers after I’ve looked in all likely and unlikely spots. Going back to work is BRUTAL. But I got a lot accomplished today, AND I achieved grocery shopping as well. It was stupid busy, but when you’re out of tomatoes, you gotta bear down and join the mob. They were out of my preferred chicken, 18-count eggs, and 85/15 ground beef, but I got everything else I went for. (Except, of course, the things I forgot to put…

Resolve to Write 2024 #17

I could have gotten so much done today. And yesterday. And Monday. But nope, I’m a slacker. There are no excuses. I have laid on my couches and in my library chair, with an 80# dog draped across me. I have cooked, and I have eaten. And I marvel at the people who can’t stay home for more than two days at a time. I don’t understand. When you’re at work, you want to be home. I see your memes, the cabin on the lake, secluded, and how that’s where you want to live and be left alone. Ummm. But whatever, most people tend to say one thing and do another. You’d think I’d be accustomed to it by now. I don’t know why I still expect honesty and transparency when people can’t even be honest with themselves. Y’all wonder why I prefer the company of my dog 95% of the time. I digress. I’m planning on working tomorrow and going grocery shopping too. I have plenty of food, overall, but I am out of bacon, eggs, tomatoes, butter, and sugar. Staples. I mean, not actual staples, but necessities. The snow, ahh, the snow. It’s all any of us can talk about. I guess that’s all there is to talk about, what with being stuck at home for three days. And more on the way tomorrow night. Like the old timers say, it’s waiting on the…

Resolve to Write 2024 #16

If this blog prompted me like Facebook does: “What’s on your mind?” You’d get an immediate, “snow and farmers”. You see, farmers have always gotten the short end of the stick and are constantly up against it. There are no holidays or vacation time or sick leave. Most of the farmers I know work a “real” job then come home and farm till after dark. And they’re up before daybreak, doing what they can. They have my respect, they have my admiration, and a few have my love. It’s amazing how often they’re passed over in prayer. We pray for our leaders, our military, our family and friends. When the weather is bad and our electric is out, there is always an outpouring of gratitude and blessings for our linemen, as there should be. An accident? You’ll see people thanking God for the quick response from emergency personnel and the doctors. A fire? Oh you bet firemen are put on a pedestal. And that’s fine, they all deserve accolades. (Dispatch is also frequently overlooked). It makes me a little crazy. Anyone who has ever put out a garden knows the hard labor involved, from preparing the soil, to keeping it weeded and watered, then spraying for bugs and praying the coons stay out of it. One cutworm can knock back a dozen pepper plants a night, and as much as I love turtles, they have a tendency to bite the ripest, juiciest tomatoes…

Resolve to Write 2024 #15

Well, it appears most of Sevier County got gypped on the blizzard, including Gatlinburg. I’m not complaining, though. Knoxville got our share and I’m happy for them. I’ve been warm and cozy inside with Chess, reading and eating. We’ve seen snowflakes like Forrest Gump saw raindrops: big, fat, heavy flakes, powdery specks, almost sleet-snow that came straight down, fast and true. Right now they’re moderately sized and coming down with purpose. It’s been an event. I don’t care what it does as long as the electric stays on. So this morning Angela posted this picture with the caption: “The most utilized light in the house.” And BAM, onslaught of memories and I knew exactly what I’d be writing about this evening. Yes, my grandmother often burned this light when the rest would be off. My great-grandmother, too. It was just enough if you were pillaging for a snack, it would get you enough light to see by without running the big light and alerting the entire household of your presence. Sometimes it was spotlighting a treat, or a pan of bread, or maybe just the kettle to put some moisture in the air. It stayed on through the night, helping you see the way. I guess they got electric before they got indoor plumbing and so maybe that was the guiding light to the outhouse, too. It symbolizes home and cozy and the home fires burning for me. It’s…