A bump in the blog...

Since my last post, I had to take time out to attend to some health concerns, so I have not been online in a week. The time was well spent, however, because I am feeling much better at the moment.

My advice to everyone is to take time today to rest and enjoy the day. Hopefully, I will have another funny story to tell on the next post. I have some ideas in mind, but I am more interested in taking a nap than writing this afternoon.

Perhaps a snooze is on your list of things to do today. If so, sweet dreams. :)

Birthdays, Bonanza, and BookTV

There's not much news from the lake today. If all goes well, my hope is to rest most of the day and maybe prop up with a good book. It looks a bit cloudy and there's a good chance of rain this afternoon. So far, I've watched a nice episode of Bonanza and now I'm listening to a bit of BookTV as I write this entry. To add to the fun this afternoon, there is a piece of cheesecake in the fridge with my name on it. Yum!

Happy 87th Birthday to my grandmother! I visited her yesterday and had a nice time eating burgers from her favorite place. We admired the pretty flowers and fruit basket that my parents sent her. Today she will get to visit other family for a cookout and a birthday cake. Rock on, Grandma! We all love you. :)

Mower news from the lake...

For the last week or so, the grass has rapidly produced seedlings that are up above my knees. We have had rain showers almost every day, so finding a time to mow has been difficult. To complicate matters, the bolt that holds the mower blade in place has been coming loose. Dad was able to give me advice on how to tilt the mower on its side, remove the spark plug cord, and, using a wooden log, a torque wrench, a rubber mallet, and a lot of muscle, tighten the bolt.

Last week, when I tried this, I parked the mower on a sloped area of the yard to take advantage of the extra clearance under it as I propped it up on a heavy metal table to do my work. The plan worked and I was back in business.

Today, this plan went haywire as I strained to pull the wrench as hard as I could. Somehow, I lost my grip and my foot slipped forward in the muddy wet grass. The next thing I know, I am tumbling backwards, feet over head, down the hill. As I could see my feet and the sky at the same time, I thought to myself, "This can't be good." My second thought, was, "Well, that was embarrassing. I'm glad no one saw that because I bet it looked funny."

As I rolled to a stop, landing on my side in the mud, I assessed the damages. Thankfully, I was ok, but I'm sure I picked up a small army of redbugs in the deal. I brushed off the mud and moved my little fix-it operation to a flatter part of the yard. After a couple more attempts, I managed to tighten the bolt enough to mow the front and one side of the yard before the sun went down.

Other than that, all has been quiet here at the lake, so I will sign off for now until I have "mower" news for you later. :)

The Biscuit Sign is Missing!!! WHAAT???

Today, I could hardly believe my eyes! As I reached the red light in my little town, I looked upward toward the Biscuit sign, and my jaw dropped in amazement. It was gone! The black letters and the white background of the sign had completely vanished. A view of the grey and cloudy sky had taken its place. Above the space that once announced the Biscuit of the Day, you can still find the price of gas, but nothing else.

How ironic. Only a few days after I wrote my story, the sign that had existed for well over a year on the same corner, is no more. If only I had taken a photograph, but it is too late. Or is it???

I hold out hope that the sign will be restored in some form. As I drove home this evening, I saw the other side of the tall framed structure. At the bottom was the gap where the Biscuit sign had been. In the middle, there were the gas prices, and at the top...

At the top is an empty space with a white backing. In front of that, there are two long fluorescent bulbs. It looks as if another white signboard cover is supposed to slip in front of those lights. Could it be that one day soon, the presence of fresh biscuits will take top billing over gas? Will we once again know if bacon or chicken will adorn the biscuit of the day? We'll just have to wait and see...

Stay tuned! :)

Touring the Blogosphere and news from the lake...

Yesterday, I checked out some other blogs on the web. It is amazing how many variations you can find. Some pages were so elaborate while others were mostly posts of pictures or one-line entries. Many were annoying because of the language or obnoxious topics, but others were quite interesting. I even bookmarked a few so that I could keep up with them. A bunch of them started out with a good idea, but for whatever reason, the blogger only posted one or two items and then nothing else. Maybe they were doing what I'm doing-taking a test run as a "blogger".

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Well, yesterday, my neighbors had an outdoor concert of some kind on their 80 acre property. I knew something was up because a lot of cars, trucks, and four-wheelers were zooming back and forth across the lake levee all day. I didn't mind the concert, because they have had some good benefit-type events there before. From my house, I could hear the music, but it was not very loud or bothersome. I did have this funny feeling that many of the concert guests were driving way too fast on the muddy levee road, especially as nightfall arrived and a bit of mist rolled over the water. My thought was, "if this keeps up, some one's gonna end up in the lake".

Sure enough, around 2 am, I hear shouts and shrieks out my window. I looked out the window to see a small car hanging precariously downward off the levee and over the water near the spillway. I don't know if the car had made a splashdown because, by then, one of the other concert goers had a truck with a winch, and a rescue was underway. They were pulling the car out of the lake.

The scene was lit by the dozen or so cars that were blocked on the dirt road behind the rescuer's truck. The exhaust fumes from the cars and the mist from the lake swirled in the lights. Back lit silhouettes of people moving all about made it look like a scene from a sci fi movie. Shouts, of "Whoa, hold up" and honks of car horns filled the air. Several folks on horseback were also helping with the rescue, and later, they were there to direct traffic. Someone from the back of the line of cars called out, "what's going on up there?"

Thankfully, within a few minutes, the car was back on the top of the levee, and it appears that no one was hurt. The crowds began to disperse. Soon all you could hear were the clip clop of the horses, the barking of hound dogs, and the voices of the riders as they rode off across the levee and into the darkness.

Fun with Saturday Radio Shows

On Saturday mornings, I enjoy listening to many of the public radio shows. One of my favorite programs features Felder Rushing. He is an expert gardener, but he advocates relaxed, no-fuss methods when growing plants. He is fun to listen to and he reminds us all to enjoy flowers, other plants, and life as well.

If you live in Mississippi, you can catch the show after Cartalk (another favorite show of mine), and you can listen to the archives or live on streaming audio using the www.mpbonline.org webpage and Gestalt Gardener link.

Other favorite Saturday radio shows of mine include "What D'Ya Know?" and "Prairie Home Companion" as well as the "Highway 61 Blues Show" late in the evening. Check out the MPB website or your local public radio schedules to find a radio program that's right for you. Have fun engaging the ears, the mind, and your imagination, and until next time, keep smiling... :)

Tribute to the Biscuit Sign

Each day on my way to work, I pass the Biscuit Sign. It hovers over a very populated intersection in a small town nearby. Above it, you can see the latest price of gas, and below it, sits a bland patch of grass and dirt ever crunched by passing trucks. The Biscuit Sign is one of the highlights of my drive to work because its message is ever changing.

Today, its plain and slightly crooked black letters announced:

BACON BISCUIT
$1.40

Tomorrow, who knows? Will it be SAUSAGE BISCUIT, or HAM BISCUIT? Or could it be CHICKEN BISCUIT? Who can read the mind of the genius behind this simple, but brilliant marketing campaign? On wild occasions, the Biscuit Sign will boggle the mind with enticements like:

SAUSAGE, EGG, AND CHEESE BISCUIT

$1. 40

What!? How can that be? That is such a great deal!!! I'll have two, please!

In reality, in the year or more that I've driven past the Biscuit Sign, I've probably only purchased one biscuit(bacon, I think), and although it was just ok, I'm glad to know the sign is there for all to see. In the morning, its messages remind me of tastier biscuits that I've eaten long ago with family and friends. At night, the sight of the sign makes me chuckle as I think that even with all the chaos of this world, someone, somewhere is deciding how to keep our little town guessing about biscuits and bargains.

At night, I pass the Biscuit Sign, and I know I'm headed toward home. And when I see:

STEAK BISCUIT

$1. 40

I smile, knowing the surprise that awaits my little town come the crack of dawn...

Hope everyone had a happy 4th of July

Well, the holiday is over and hopefully all went well for you. I baked cookies and watched my neighbors shoot fireworks across the lake. Thankfully, this year, my neighbor did not set his pants on fire as he did last year. :)

Frog Songs and Honeysuckle Flowers

Lately the honeysuckle has been in bloom. For the last few weeks, I've been able to gather some of the flowering vines and place them in and around the house. I don't use fancy water vases-just simple glass jars or small decorative metal buckets as containers. The scent is so nice, especially in the smaller rooms like the bathroom or in my little reading room. I think the smell of honeysuckle helps me to rest better. Whatever your favorite flower, I suggest you try this simple idea to brighten your day.

Also, the frogs are singing throughout the night this time of year. Here is a picture I took last year of one of my little green visitors. :)

My first attempt at blogging...

This will be my first attempt at blogging. I hope that these posts will be an encouragement to some and will put a smile on the face of others. My favorite thing to do these days is to learn new things every day. I also have a strong wish to enjoy each day through laughter and by recognizing the little blessings in life that are all around us.

People have often noticed that I am easily entertained by the simplest of things. Also, without trying, I seem to have goofy things that happen to me that translate into funny stories. I think this happens to everyone, but maybe I just like to observe events and people around me a bit more closely.

I hope to post some of these funny stories(without naming specifics about the people or places so that privacy is maintained), and since I read/watch educational TV/listen to a lot of talk radio, I might try to ask questions that come to mind.

In my blog, you will never have to worry about finding foul language or offensive topics. That is a pet peeve of mine when it comes to the internet or other media. If a person searches for items like that, it is their business, but I want my posts to be family friendly and uplifting. We have enough negative stuff in the world already.

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I love to be around nature. It has a calming effect. Whenever I used to feel really stressed, I would try to find the nearest lake or stream and take a long walk to refresh myself. I would tell my friends that I had to go to find "Big Water" for a while. I guess I got that idea when I was a teenager and lived two miles from the Pacific coastline. I no longer live there, but a while back, I moved to a small house on a lake. Now my daily entertainment includes watching the turtles sit on the logs and the fish flopping around about sundown.

This blog might contain the occasional "Critter Report," which is my way of telling you about the latest silly animal sighting at my house. I might tell you about some of the past reports that were pretty funny as well.

Today is the 4th of July. Try to take a moment to count your blessings today and stay safe! :)