I feel like this should be all about guns. But instead it’s gonna be all about Christmas.

I really gotta get started on my shopping. Since Lisa isn’t in my life anymore, I don’t have to stress on not having a good enough gift. She should have just always taken advantage of my organizational and cleaning skills and had me come down the week before Christmas to get her house (and life) in order in years past. And no husband to buy for, and I don’t buy for JA, so I’m good there. But that still leaves my aunt, my cousin, Angela, and I always get Susan and Cynthia a little something. I’ll see them next week at the holiday meeting, so I need to be getting on that. I would be hunting Em something on Amazon so it will ship directly to her (by the time I posted this, it had arrived!) Fish brought me a bag of books and cookies last year, so I should really look for him something, too. Jake shouldn’t be expecting anything, but knowing him, he probably will. And I need to hunt some stuff for a better topper for my tree at home. That dilapidated bow is downright pathetic. Additionally, I’d like to have a new top or two for parties. Something red and sparkly, to match my personality 😘😁

You remember the horror that was TJ Maxx the other day, so I decided to go early today and hopefully beat the rush. I haven’t been able to get that wreath out of my head, either, so I’ve made my mind up I’m gonna get it if they still have one. It’s just too beautiful to let slip by. Lo and behold, they had two left!! Praise be. The crowd was manageable, and I even found me some perfume. Why have I not been taking more advantage of this place? I’ve been giving full price for cosmetics and everything else all these years, Of course I had to peruse the dog toys and naturally I couldn’t help but find Chess a few more, even though I swore after last year I wouldn’t go overboard again. He gets distracted and tired of opening. It’s hard to keep him on task. But there was this bat I just couldn’t hardly do without. Maybe I will save it for Halloween or the first time I see a bat next spring when I’m sitting on the porch. You know, commemorate the occasion. I found some socks that looked like Angela, and Aunt Brenda some, too. So, if you’re keeping track, I have bought myself two gifts, Chester three, one small thing each for Aunt Brenda & Angela, and zero for Chelsey, Fish, Susan, and Cynthia. Kay and I don’t exchange gifts, we pay the other one’s tabs once in our birthday month. But I was in line and saw these adorable slippers that have martini glasses on them and knew they would be perfect for her. I like running up on stuff like that. If I had any sense, I would buy all year long as I see stuff instead of stressing myself out in the final hours.
Since I didn’t find anything dazzling to wear for my parties, and I was right at Belk, I thought I should pop in there. I found one top I dearly loved, red and sequined with fun batwing sleeves. It was $70!!!! I calculated discounts and coupons and got it down to $50. My budget was $30. Well, my budget is zero, but I was willing to give $30. I got on Amazon before I left and found a pretty one in my price range and ordered it, after staring wistfully at some shoes that I desperately wanted. Can you blame me? They’re FABULOUS.

They were also $120. Soooo I’ll be waiting awhile on those.

While I was on that end of the world, I ran in Dollar Tree for those little Christmas tree shaped plastic containers and retaining hope I might find some floral for my tree. Nada on both counts. I wasn’t surprised. On to Nagano. I was ahead of schedule, and honestly not all that hungry, but I didn’t want to come back out later. I was still able to eat it all. Either the portions are getting smaller or I’m eating more. We’re gonna go with smaller portions.

Got back to the office and discovered I’d been running around with a wad of hair clinging to my shirt. Lovely. 🙃

I decided to help JA out with a tree. He’s such a Scrooge. But I remember he always liked it after Misty and I got the place decorated. He can piss and moan all he wants to, I know he likes the attention. On my way out there, I went by that store on 66 that has been all the rage for tightwads like me. Yesterday the handymen were telling me they’ve got 5 gallons of laundry detergent for $25. That’s a steal!!! Tide or Gain, your choice. I was also hoping to find some pretty floral crap to use as a tree topper. They used to have tons when it was the Christmas place, but I haven’t been in there in years and years. I walked in and was immediately accosted by the sheer volume of stuff. It put me in the mind of Hammers; lots of one thing, but not the size you need. And no luck on the floral, either. That stuff was so old it was beginning to deteriorate. Like, literally, the boxes it had never been unpacked from were rotting, the plastic was yellowed and brittle, and the silk looked faded and dusty. I was poking around a swag of magnolias when the lights went out. I kind of squeaked and began digging for my phone for the flashlight, “Do you need me to turn them back on?” A voice called.
“Oh, no, that’s alright, I’ve got a flashlight.” I noticed she didn’t say sorry. I’d heard her talking to some other shoppers a few minutes ago, but I was down a side aisle. I didn’t think she’d seen me, but clearly she had. And instead of informing me the store was closing, she just shut the lights down. I wasn’t aware we were in Georgia.
And I still had three minutes, according to the clock on my phone.
Hmph. I didn’t want any of your junk, anyway.
I made my way back out, noticing she turned the lights back on and left them on. Hateful. I used to pull that trick at Corning, but I never shut ALL the lights off. I feel like that’s a hazard.

At any rate, I arrived at John Alan’s, gave him the hug that Emily provided specific directions on how to execute, and so began the Quest for a Christmas Tree. Our first stop was Big Lots, just because he volunteered. I knew they wouldn’t have the one we sought. This is what I had in mind:

I figured that was the best I could hope for for a cowboy. It didn’t take up much room, there would be no fluffing to speak of, and it wouldn’t look right with a bunch of ornaments. After I showed him a picture of it, he was on board, too. Quick run through Lowes (zilch, but he did find a way to hit on a cashier- he must’ve already forgot about the two at Big Lots he smiled and waved at), and then the dreaded Walmart. No skinny trees to be found. He refused to buy balls or a star until we have the tree. I have explained that doesn’t matter. But there’s no reasoning with him. However, I did convince him to just stop at Papa Johns instead of wasting his money on DoorDash when we are LITERALLY RIGHT HERE. He placed the order inside and we went next door to the liquor store for provisions. That place is DANGEROUS. You come out on like a dock and there is not a handrail in sight, just three steep concrete steps. I mean, lets think about the clientele. I feel like this is a lawsuit ready to happen. JA says you really gotta want it to go in there.
I was honestly surprised to find my wine. It looked like a Mad Dogg 20/20 kind of joint, if you catch my drift. I guess they can’t all be upscale.

So, outfitted with two bottles of bourbon, a bottle of Meiomi, two pizzas, cheesesticks, but treeless, we make our way back home. JA thought he might be able to watch the serial killer movie since it was about a serial killer and not poltergeists.
But then he called Robert to join us and of course any hope of watching anything went out the window. We gotta talk about all the other stuff we’ve watched. But I’m not complaining. He brought me banana bread muffins with white chocolate, straight outta the oven. I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’d just made a loaf myself. I just crammed one in my piehole and told him how very delicious it was (and that’s no joke, it was fluffier than mine).
So even though, sadly, our crusade for the perfect cowboy tree was unproductive, it was a good night. For me, anyway. I learned that after Robert and I left, JA went to his sister’s to see his first great-nephew and took a coughing fit and passed out!! Just hit the floor like a ton of bricks. He doesn’t remember it, said last thought he had was going to get his coat and he woke up to Taylor crying and everybody leaned over him. The general consensus is he had a Vagaled nerve incident. We hope that’s all it is. He’s always been dramatic 🤣

Love from Appalachia,
~Amy

Obsession.

It ain’t healthy. You can drive yourself crazy. The mind is so incredibly powerful, and self destructive. I will always claim the key is staying busy, but it’s also vital to protect your mind from negativity. Limit your exposure to harmful media, people, and situations to maintain a healthy mental space. I think a good walk outside can work wonders for clearing your head. Some people like to take a liberating drive, but I live in Sevier County, Tennessee, which is a tourist mecca and a den of terrible drivers from near and far. So a walk is a much safer option. I have certainly pounded the pavement around the office many times in the six and a half years I’ve worked here. And I’m better for it. I even walked it barefoot once. It’s a sure way to beat the blues. The madder you are, the harder you can stomp. And, best of all, it gives you new things to look at. Sometimes, when I’m feeling sorry for myself or thinking this is the lowest I can go, I’ll pass Jason zipping along in his wheelchair, calling out friendly greetings to all around. And I think, “Amy, you are so spoiled. And so ignorant.”
Sam said when one of his sons was in the NICU with encephalitis, he’d be sitting there, despondent, wondering if he would pull through, but you’d look around and there would be parents making decisions, crying, heartbroken, who have already lost their child. Or people getting updates that weren’t favorable. “You don’t have to look far to find people worse off than you,” he would always say.
We all have our problems. Some are on display, some are tucked away deep. But I guarantee you if your problems were thrown in a pile with everybody else’s, you’d jerk yours back PDQ. No marriage is perfect, nobody’s house is that picturesque, nobody’s kids are doing as great as they let on. If they love their job, they have relationships in the gutter, if their husband hung the moon, he’s probably secretly a control freak. If they’ve got gobs of money, he probably shows no affection. If they’re always on vacation, or shopping, or drinking, what are they running from?
If they’ve got a dog, well, they’ve got something. 🥰
But obsessing over someone else’s life that you perceive as perfect, or dissecting their every post and picture isn’t going to solve your problems. It is also a waste of time trying to read into their social media posts. You can see whatever you want to see, but it probably has NOTHING to do with you. You’re only making yourself crazy. Get it together. Start with your junk drawer in the kitchen, that always makes me feel better to throw out dry-rotted rubber bands and dried up ink pens.

And that’s just watching the people you know. I’m speaking from experience here. A girl I used to know looked like she had the perfect life: friends, money, a beautiful home, she didn’t work….but I knew the truth behind the Instagram. A drinking problem, kid flunking school, a volatile relationship with her husband. Another girl with all the Louis Vuitton and Chanel and big fancy vacations is full to the brim of family problems, too. It’s the “influencers” who influence us to think nothing is ever good enough. It’s the celebrities who act and sing as if they haven’t got a care in the world. You can’t compete, and why do you want to? Life is messy enough without comparing your dumpster fire to someone else’s.

And you know I get humbled on the regular, so I don’t bother scrutinizing those perfect farmhouse kitchens and manicured flowerbeds. Here’s your Amy Incident for today: As you can imagine I was dragging a little bit, just from being spoiled about being at home in pajamas and no shoes or makeup for four days. Well, three and a half. I had made my coffee last night and THOUGHT I hit the button for it to come on at 6, but obviously not, because I was not awakened by the glorious smell of Columbian beans. Anyway, started that and came awake gradually. I’d showered last night, so I just had to wash my face and put on my makeup and fix my hair. I took my coffee to the vanity so I could sip as I got ready. I was taking my medicines out of the cabinet when a bottle fell directly into my coffee mug. It was my sugar pill. I quickly lifted it out, and surprisingly, several pills remained inside the bottle because the little cylinder for freshness must have plugged up the hole. But it fell out into the coffee when I retrieved the bottle, so IDK how many fell into the coffee. I drank it anyway. But the time I got to the bottom there was definitely a residue and it tasted weird, so obviously I didn’t take any additional pills. I will be urinating like a stray dog marking his territory today, no doubt.

Which brings me to prompt for today: are you more of a night or morning person?
I prefer mornings, before anyone has an opportunity to aggravate me. At night I have a hard time winding down. Plus I’m left with all the ways I came up short, all the things I failed to do. Mornings are a fresh start. I can make a list and set to checking things off with a great sense of accomplishment. I can make a conscious effort not to choose violence. I start every day the same: water, bathroom, coffee, Wordle, Connections, and my three thankfuls to Emily. I have had those days where my thankfuls were “I’m glad I made it to the bathroom unassisted” {harkening back to my leg injury days of summer}, “thankful for technology to stay in communication with friends I can’t see regularly”, “thankful for hot water”. You know, normal things that we take for granted. Today, among other things, I was thankful for warm clothes and boots. And a CHOICE. It’s not like I only have one coat, and one sweater, and one pair of shoes. But there are plenty of people in this world, heck, in this county, who don’t even have that. So I’m blessed.
You’d be surprised how having positive thoughts early in the morning can alter your mindset.
Also, hearing “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake will lift your spirits, too.
Talking to John Alan about Christmas trees decidedly will NOT.

I drug my tree for the office out, along with all associated decor. It’s shedding like a Husky dog. I don’t know how many years it has left. I had a pile to sweep up just after I got the lights twined around it. But it’s been a good one; I can’t complain. The $14.99 price tag from KMart is still stuck to the box. 😳I turned up my Spotify Christmas playlist and went to untangling lights and assembling it, one molting twig at a time. Once I got it together and lit, I was definitely ready for a break. Wings? Yes, a brilliant idea. The guy who was working at Wingstop last time (the who gave me the free brownie) was in there again today, and we got to talking, and lo and behold I know him and didn’t know it. He’s the son of my friend Cyndie!! I was like, “Wait, I thought you lived….off from here??” (code for incarcerated).
He knew I knew then. And all the “sweethearts” got dropped 🤣🤣 And there was no free brownie today. Oh well.

Back to work, back to the tree. Kevin called midday and I was as honest with him as I could be. Bottom line: I don’t want to come. Reasons being A, B, C. I feel like I need to submit a report, complete with footers and cross referenced. I’ve been through this with him half a dozen times now.
I’d no more than got off the phone with him when Dave called, then the handymen showed up. I’d figured they’d forgot about us, or got covered up with a true emergency. I was never gonna get the tree decorated.
But I did. It looks a little more slapdash than usual, but I thought I needed to get it knocked out before some other chaotic incident occurred. And we did have a producer come by in the midst of toilet swapping, but he appeared unfazed. He just thought we were a happenin’ joint.
Jake was all about his new “throne”. He couldn’t wait to get in there. I’m telling you, that boy is a different breed of disgusting.

I got home and decided to make banana bread from my freckly bananas. I’d soaked my raisins in the rum last night and they’d plumped up quite a bit. Made me miss my Uncle Dale, he always wanted the raisin rum. It turned out very nice, and didn’t fall. When I switched my overhead stove light on to snap a pic, the light blew. So here I went with that. I couldn’t get the latch to flex so I ended up manhandling it out of there and of course the little lip thing broke. So now it’s taped and no one will ever know, besides me and you. And all that led me to cleaning the filter things for the blower. They were yellowed and greasy. I should have noticed them when I cleaned the cabinets.

Sevierville and everywhere else was getting snow, and it was sticking, but it didn’t do a blasted thing here. Disappointing. If it’s gonna be this cold, it needs to do something!

Between the banana bread, snow (even if it was everywhere but at home), and my trees being all bedecked, it’s beginning to feel like Christmas for sure. Maybe if I keep putting on a brave face, it’ll feel like it in my heart eventually.

Love from Appalachia,
~Amy

December 1st. The first Sunday of Advent. I don’t have an Advent calendar, or even a wreath with candles. I don’t know that they’re all that popular anymore. Even the calendar seemed to have fallen out of favor until recent years. 80’s Christmas was all about gaudy bulb lights, tinsel and tinsel garland, and those plastic bubbly looking Santas. And Jell-o molds. Sean Dietrich’s daily column was lamenting the ignorance of the population on Advent candles. Welll… guilty here, too.
I do observe the reason for the season, though. I have a nativity, front and center of the living room window. I never was a Santa fan. Even to this day, I prefer snowmen, reindeer, and penguins. I’m ok with gingerbread men. Nary a Santa or elf to be found here. My candles are red and crème.

Anyway. To each their own.

You will never believe what I got into. I had a variety of less taxing things I could have done today: go turn out cows at JA’s, go help Aunt Bren with her closet and decor, lay on the couch and read and bask in all the things I accomplished on this long weekend. Did I do any of those things? Nooooo.
I took it upon myself to clean my cabinets. “But Amy, you just cleaned your cabinets!” Well, sort of. But no, not clean out. Clean the fronts. I don’t want talk about how long its been since I commenced in this particular endeavor, but I knew they were needing it. The ones over the stove were looking particularly gummy.
But I have better things to do with my time! Or that’s what I tell myself. Things like playing with my dog (he won’t be here forever), reading (I won’t be here forever, and I’m not sure eternity has books), and drinking wine with Kay (neither one of us will be here forever!).
But today was cabinet cleaning day. I’ve procrastinated long enough.
I was sorta finished by 12:30. I say sorta because I also took some of the copper knobs off, thinking a good soak in baking soda and vinegar would cause the grossness to slide right off.
Well, not really. And I didn’t have it in me to scrub anymore. I felt like my sugar was getting low since I got too involved to eat breakfast. I had been thinking about fajitas for a few days, so I got them all fixed up. My chili powder was old, so I figured less potent, and I doubled up from the recipe. Oopsie. My eyelids are sweating and my nose is running.

The writing prompt from WordPress today is “what are your feelings about eating meat?” 🤣🤣🤣🤣

My feelings are love and hunger. Not sure what they’re looking for here. I try not to think about veal on the rare occasions that I consume it, and the only time I eat lamb is at the fair in the gyros. I wonder….what’s the age of sheep when they go to slaughter? Are they truly lambs? They might could use better marketing. (Ha, marketing). Anyway, any other time I’ve had it, it comes with a strong smell and it just puts me off. It’s pretty gamey. I love deer, but I sure don’t care to eat one. I don’t particularly care for seeing the bull wagons full of hogs headed to Swaggerty’s…or would that be a hog wagon? I had to call JA for a consultation. Naturally he laughed at me. It’s just called a pot. So a pot truck. This is getting confusing.

And of course I have a soft spot for cows, but like I always say, if I got hungry enough, I’d eat you. Vegetarian, I am not. I mean, I like vegetables very much. Just not cauliflower. And I’m not wild about asparagus or broccolini. Or hominy. But everything else is tasty. But it ain’t the star of the show, you know.

So, now that the house smells of oranges and I can’t think of anything else that’s bothering me enough to clean, I believe I’ll call it a day.

Love from Appalachia,

~Amy

My glittering, twinkling home is all adorned with the makings of a very merry Christmas, at last. What a relief to have this over and done with. I reckon everybody else feels the same way about the Georgia game last night. It went into 8 overtimes!!! I don’t have anybody close to me anymore that’s really into football, so I was spared staying up past midnight. The Smoky Bears are also headed to State, so Sevierville alumni are over the moon. I was thinking I haven’t even bothered keeping up with Eagle football since I graduated. I think I went to part of one homecoming game just to see some old friends cheer. But I just don’t have the school spirit I see ingrained in other people my age. I don’t think I’d give two hoots if Seymour went to State. But good for the people who are excited about the Bears. And, fun fact: this is the 100th year of the Bears. Team 75 also went to State and won, so it’s pretty cool the numbers are falling like that. I’ll be surprised if they don’t take the title, with all the fandom surrounding it.

Anyway, the tree. Good grief. After I got all the decorations on I realized I really should have made more effort with the lights, but that would have entailed going to the store and buying some, and lets get real. I ain’t going ANYWHERE this weekend. I thought I might go to John Alan’s tomorrow, but I b’lieve I’m gonna lay right here and be a slug. I need to help Aunt Bren get all her stuff up and out, plus deal with her big closet, so I may end up working again tomorrow. Such is life. At least I enjoy it. And the overall effect is nice once it’s complete. I don’t have the wherewithal to put up the mermaid tree this year. And so that means I won’t bother with Mardi Gras, either. But maybe that just means I’ll have more room in the dining room than usual and I need to host my own little shindig. I sure did have fun being crafty with some friends year before last. Even if we did make a colossal mess!!

Love from Appalachia,
~Amy

Black Friday.

Nah. Glitter Friday, yes. Leftovers Friday, also yes. Don’t get out of pajamas all day? You betcha.

It was the changing of the decorations from fall to Christmas. I love my fall stuff best, probably because it isn’t so involved…and it’s understated. Christmas is an undertaking. And I feel like I end up cleaning house from top to bottom twice before it’s done. But it’s still better than getting in all that mess out there in the world.

I got a slow start. But it doesn’t matter, it’s not like I’m answering to anybody. I had all the time in the world….or three days, anyway.

I made the executive decision to only put up the one big tree this year at home. After all, I put up the one at work and Aunt Bren’s, too. And if I can talk JA into not being a Scrooge, I’ll be head of the decor committee there, as well. I’d miss my mermaids, but not enough to drag it all upstairs and put it up. (Although the Mardi Gras tree is tempting….).

Only about half my lights worked. This is so infuriating. Isn’t it bad enough I have to settle for a fake tree? My lights should just WORK. I don’t have a light tester, nor do I have the patience to fiddle with checking each individual bulb if I did. But I dutifully placed each strand back in their Dollar General or Food City bag to be contended with at a later date, and set them in the closet with the non-working strands from last year that I haven’t got around to fixing. The closet may get renamed Dead Lights Closet. I was thinking about calling it The Closet of Clothes That No Longer Fit But Were Too Expensive To Throw Away. Actually, that’s not true. There’s only one dress in there that doesn’t fit.

And still has the tags on it. It makes me sick. I wish somebody would buy it.

Anyway. Lights. So I had prepared for this eventual scenario last year, because I had two unopened boxes in my stash. I think I got them on clearance last New Years at the Meijers in Bowling Green. Whatever, I was thankful to have them. And so it was probably a good thing I didn’t have a real tree, because real trees eat lights and you end up needing double what a fake tree has. And why was I putting lights on my fake tree? Why isn’t it prelit? Well, it used to be. And every year a new section would go out. So one year, instead of trying to find the problem fuse or bulb or wire, I just cut them all off in desperation. That was a job in itself, but I’ve never regretted it. I’m due for a new tree but I’m gonna wait till the end of the season and get one at deep discount.

I’ve been saying this for a good three years now.

So I get lights on and the tree fluffed and decide not to start decorating it and instead get everything put out around the house. That’s way less stressful. And, smart me, put away the heaviest stuff in the trunk in the library last year so I don’t have to heave the cumbersome storage tote upstairs. Last year I about herniated a disk and popped a hemorrhoid.

It’s tricky remembering where everything goes. I shouldn’t have made so much fun of Kevin, referring to his pictures. I don’t mind switching things up but sometimes I think, “that doesn’t look quite right….” Oh well. It’s just me, and I don’t care.

I am so glad to be off today. I remember my first years of working when I had to go in and fight traffic just to get a parking spot . I worked at the Corning store at Red Roof Mall, then over at Belz Mall, and eventually at Five Oaks. It was always atrocious and people were so hateful. I remember no sale was ever good enough. They wanted you to pay them to take it, seemed like. Co-op wasn’t so bad, but it also wasn’t so good 🤣🤣 it’s just a drag to have to get up and go when you’d rather be home and cozy and putting your tree up and fighting with lights 🥰

Maybe I’ll put up one of those book trees tomorrow…

Maybe I’ll eat cookies and question life choices, the decision is all mine!

Hope y’all got the deals of your dreams and nobody cried.

Love from Appalachia,

~Amy

Ah. The night before Thanksgiving. If I were hosting, I’d be mixing my dressing, boiling eggs, and maybe grating cabbage. I MIGHT be making a chocolate crème pie. I’d be worried my house isn’t clean enough.

If I hadn’t got my belly full of being used as a one way helpline, I would have been sitting in an Atlanta mansion in front of a fire drinking Meiomi.

But I’m curled on the couch, Chester beside me, drinking apple cider. I’ve been chatting with Kay as she preps at her house, fortified with Prosecco. It’s not a bad night. I’m fairly content, as far as that goes. I have plans to go eat at my cousin’s tomorrow. Her husband is a chef. I have zero problem with that 🤣

Just caught this on Facebook and it couldn’t be more true:

There are days when all you want is to disappear, when the weight of everything feels too heavy to carry.

But then, out of nowhere, you catch yourself laughing at a friend’s story, savoring the comfort of your favorite meal, or simply breathing in the calm of the evening air as you walk home. It’s in these fleeting, almost unnoticed moments that life gently nudges you, reminding you that even in the darkest times, there are still tiny glimmers of light that make holding on worth it.

Life may never be as easy as we hope, and its challenges can feel relentless, but sometimes, it’s the smallest joys that breathe life back into you. A kind word, a shared laugh, or the quiet peace of a sunset—they have a way of reminding you just how good life can still be, even when everything feels like it’s falling apart.

And maybe, that’s the beauty of it: knowing that no matter how lost you feel, these moments will always be there to pull you back.

~ MJ Blossoms ~ Writer’s Blossoms

I wrote about glimmers the other day. They happen. They’ll perk you right up if you’re open to it. They’re everywhere. Sometimes they Don happen to you, but you’re put here to enjoy and celebrate with others. Something as simple as the person in front of you letting someone else out in traffic. I’ve about stopped that nicety myself, as people are too preoccupied to wave, and it makes me doubly mad. So it’s nice when I don’t have to have anxiety about it.

Oh! Edited to add this glimmer, speaking of people in traffic. So I went to Chickalay this morning to redeem my free biscuit, and this woman comes whipping in and about takes out three different vehicles breaking her neck to get to the drive thru. Her biscuit was clearly more important than any of ours. I’d done my ordering on the app, so my transaction was painless. The lady in front of me, not so much. So, wouldn’t you know, her lane moves quicker and she’s at the finish line in front of us three on the left.

But. Fortune smiled. The carhop came out to the car behind me with their food (how’s that possible?) Then here came mine. The lady in front of me evidently had a complicated order, as she was having conversations with every team member she encountered. She got two bags of food. She. Pulled. Away. Followed closely by me and the car behind me, while Miss Mario Andretti was still sitting there waiting 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

The busy season is firmly upon us now. Go forth, be kind, extend grace. I truly feel for grocery store employees, everybody in retail, and emergency services. Overindulgence and overstimulation is a recipe for disaster. Y’all tread lightly. It ain’t worth the court fee or ER visit.

Happy Thanksgiving! (Of course I’m getting this out a day late, but maybe it still counts)

Love from Appalachia,

~Amy

I finished Spare! I finished Spare!!!

It’s a sad little life I lead when that’s my biggest news.

I didn’t sleep for squat last night and I was up past one trying to write the review on Goodreads. I typically include any passages that speak to me, or any favorite lines in my reviews. Imagine my surprise that my character count was almost DOUBLE what I was allowed. So I spent half the night and most of today whittling it down. That was hard!!! I left all the sad rhinoceros stories. Those are important. Emily read it just after I posted it and gave me her stamp of approval. She said she was so glad I read it so she wouldn’t have to; she feels that I hit all the pertinent points.
It looks like I should share it here because I really can’t think of anything else to write about….

I’m gonna read The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post next. It looks intriguing. The cereal heiress. I don’t know that I’ve ever had Grape Nuts. I need to try them. I like crunchy stuff, and I like grapes….

Tuesdays are typically the best for getting around town. Traffic is minimal, tourists have either gone from the weekend, came in on Monday to spend the week, or haven’t arrived yet.
Today it was atrocious. I don’t know WHAT happened. I felt like I was never gonna get through town to get home.

I really need to be more cautious about letting Chester out after dark. I’ve been smelling and seeing more skunks than usual. ‘Tis the season, I reckon. And he wants to play with EVERYTHING. I guess I’d have to banish him to the basement if he got sprayed. I’ve heard no matter what concoction of tomato juice and magic bottled potion you use it takes a while to wear off.

Robin’s son had a horrific motorcycle wreck and is at UT, please pray. She says she feels very fortunate to still have him. He broke his hip, pelvis, arm, and will have to have reconstructive surgery on his face, as well as the other broken parts. He is in a lot of pain. Life is fragile. Luckily, Noah is young. I feel confident he’ll pull through this. I am sure she’s scared to death, though. I read somewhere years ago that to be a mother is to have your heart walking around permanently outside of your body. Mine causes me enough turmoil firmly inside my ribcage, so I’m very grateful I didn’t reproduce.

Love from Appalachia,
~Amy

The word prompt for today is “who are your most favorite people?”

Well. I won’t be delving into that. One is dead, one I divorced, one I have written off, and one will never be mine, so what good are favorites?

So. What are y’all doing? I’m suffering through the last few pages of Spare. It’s horrendous. Harry is pretty cute, but that’s about the extent of his charms as far as I’m concerned. I’ve had this book borrowed three times now, due to my inability to slog through it. That alone should tell you how galling it is. I’ve got The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post lined up next; surely it will be better.

I was talking to a friend today about the hair appointment I have coming up. Just not soon enough, since I have a party to attend prior to. My gray is getting harder and harder to cover up for any length of time. Just like my fine lines and wrinkles. And what do I care? I earned them. I don’t want to look 21. But I’d rather not look like a 70 year old, either.

Sigh.

I stumbled across this on Facebook yesterday. It spoke to me.

Don’t fall in love with a woman who reads, a woman who feels too much, a woman who writes…

Don’t fall in love with an educated, magical, delusional, crazy woman. Don’t fall in love with a woman who thinks, who knows what she knows and also knows how to fly; a woman sure of herself.

Don’t fall in love with a woman who laughs or cries making love, knows how to turn her spirit into flesh; let alone one that loves poetry (these are the most dangerous), or spends half an hour contemplating a painting and isn’t able to live without music.

Don’t fall in love with a woman who is interested in politics and is rebellious and feel a huge horror from injustice. One who does not like to watch television at all. Or a woman who is beautiful no matter the features of her face or her body.

Don’t fall in love with a woman who is intense, entertaining, lucid and irreverent. Don’t wish to fall in love with a woman like that.

Because when you fall in love with a woman like that, whether she stays with you or not, whether she loves you or not, from a woman like that, you never come back.

~Martha Rivera-Garrido

Now, upon looking up the author, one of the first things I found was that she’s a staunch hater of Trump, which shouldn’t surprise me, since most women who come across as strong minded are generally liberals as well. Oh well. I liked what she said in the poem. In my experience, it’s true.

Y’all know my love of Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes. Last night at Food City I finally came across the muffins. Of course there was no question of me procuring a box. Brace yourself for a wildly unpopular opinion:

They were gross.

So I’m gifting mine to my disgusting coworker, who has a weakness for refined sugars, complex carbohydrates, chemically processed foods, and red dye. And wonders why he’s in the bathroom every time he turns around. It’ll make his day. Supposedly a woman threw a LDCTC at him through his dump truck window on Veterans Day when he nodded at her. I think he’s a liar, but I guess stranger things have happened.

Ok. I really gotta finish this book. Only 15 minutes left, which I’m certain will pass like one solid year of my life.

Love from Appalachia,

~Amy