Playing the Same Song Endlessly

Don't you hate it when a song gets stuck in your head?

Yesterday, I visited some web page that loaded and played The House of the Rising Sun while you're viewing the website. All day, that song kept playing in my mind. I finally started singing it aloud; thankfully, there was nobody here to hear my terrible rendition.

No TV Except DVDs

When my better half moved to Philadelphia, we discontinued the DirectTV service in Atlanta. I very seldom miss it. My viewing was limited to watching occasional reruns of Coach on USA Network and of Reba on Lifetime -- both shows were hilarious -- or to watching Monk on USA Network.

Now, my viewing is of DVDs like The Bourne Supremacy. It's so much better watching DVDs because I get so annoyed at broadcast television with their seemingly endless run of commercials.

Now, if we could just rid the DVDs of their annoying previews...

Cravings!

It seems like I've been having a lot of cravings recently. When it was so hot, I bought extreme moose tracks ice cream (fudge and chocolate chunks in chocolate ice cream). Delicious!

Then there was the chocolate donuts, the tortilla chips and salsa, and now the potato chips: kettle cooked, thick, rippled pieces of heavenly tasting delights.

Did I mention the chocolate chunk cookies? LOL.

The Mosquitos Are Back

One of the few benefits to Atlanta being hot and dry was that the mosquitos disappeared from the back yard. With our recent rains I was surprised and disappointed to discover that the mosquitos are back!

Usually, I'm not able to take a step from the back door without a squadron descending upon me. Mind you, other people can be with me but I'm the one who gets bit. An article from a few years back claimed that mosquitos seem to prefer people with certain body chemistry. Even with insect repellent, I'm a snack.

Spouse Starts Blog

My spouse started a blog. Here is the link:

Philly Gay Married With Cat

Samantha (the cat) is up in Philadelphia with him, although it's debatable whether he's taking care of her or she's taking care of him.

As someone once said "Dogs have masters, cats have staff." :-)

Heat Exploded Pepsi Can

Although I live in Atlanta, the home of Coca-Cola, I prefer Pepsi. During our August heat wave, I had this can of Pepsi in my cars trunk where the heat exploded it. I've never had that happen and almost always have cans of soft drinks riding around in the trunk. I was amazed how the top was literally ripped off. Here's a picture of the can:



Thankfully, the heat wave appears over, and it has begun raining again!

Certain Songs Put Me Back in Time

Certain songs always propel me back in time, to the year when the song was popular. Hearing Little Willie by Sweet always transports me to high school days, just after I received my drivers license, almost thirty-five years ago. Shambala by Three Dog Night also places me in that year, driving my first car (a 1964 Chevy Impala) in my hometown, with the windows rolled-down, the AM radio tuned to KIOA playing the top 40 hits! :-)

Profile Pic

Another Record for Heat, Some Rain, and Varmits in the Tomatoes

Yesterday brought another new record high temperature, 104 degrees, and a surprise -- an evening thunderstorm! The half-inch of rain was the first in my neighborhood since July. Needless to say, it was very much welcome.

Some varmints (probably raccoons) had even started to eat my tomatoes, probably because the summer has been so hot and dry that they have no other food.

Atlanta History Center

I visited the Atlanta History Center museum yesterday. They have greatly expanded their exhibits from my last visit of some years ago.

One of their best permanent exhibits is on the Civil War. They recreate a portion of the trenches that dominated the fight for Atlanta (and most of the other battles, such as the siege of Petersburg), and explain how the trenches were constructed. You can even step into the trench. Weapons, uniforms, and other soldiers' belongings such as mess kits, shaving kits, and playing cards (all the essentials) were on display, along with time lines, maps, and videos. It is quite well done.

I was also impressed at the maps of Sherman's March through Georgia. My mother is from a farm in rural Georgia between Columbus and Macon, and family history has it that Sherman marched through the family farm. Until recently, I could find no evidence of this, as most maps do not place either of Sherman's two columns of marchers that far west. Recently, the book Confederate Industry (by Harold S. Wilson) explained that discrepancy by noting that Union cavalry under General James H. Wilson raided from Columbus to Macon as a diversion to support Sherman's March. Of course, Wilson's cavalry destroyed factories and homes in their path. The History Center's map showed this movement. I was impressed!

I also enjoyed the exhibits for Benjamin Franklin and southern folk-art. My favorite folk-art jug showed two faces and was named for politicians. LOL.

I left the museum after three hours but could easily have spent the entire day there. Unfortunately, my stomach told me it was way past lunch-time, and I do listen to my stomach! (There are other exhibits too, such as on the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta, and on Atlanta native and golfing great Bobby Jones.)

Their tours of Swan House and the plantation home are also informative, interesting, and enjoyable. And no, I receive no money from my ringing endorsement of the Atlanta History Center.

Delicious Southern Foods

Fried okra is one of my favorite Southern foods, and is difficult to find outside the South. If you've never had it, it is delicious - truly, a piece of heaven on earth. It makes eating your vegetables enjoyable.

I'll also miss macaroni and cheese being considered a vegetable.

Southern barbeque is also delicious, cooked slowly to perfection. Indeed, it is unusual to find a bad barbeque restaurant here.

On the flip side, Philadelphia (and the northeast in general) has better pizza than the South; here, the best pizza seems to be prepared by people who have moved from the midwest (another area that has delicious pizza) or the northeast.

Hot and Dry

August has been hot and dry in Atlanta. Other than a brief shower that didn't leave even a tenth of an inch in the rain gauge, there's been no rain since late in July. August so far has set seven new record highs, with eight days having highs of 100 degrees or higher. That is hot. Most of metro Atlanta is under watering restrictions. Where we live, we can only water the yard three days a week, only during the hours of midnight until 10:30 am. Some metro area counties have prohibited outside watering entirely.

The birds have discovered the neighbor's backyard fence when her watering system is being used. Her water nozzles create a mist of water that rises to the height of the fence, perfect for the birds to perch on and get wet.

Killed Another House Plant

One of my better half's many talents is growing things, like flowers, shrubs, and vegetables. Naturally, he is the one who takes care of the house plants. With him in Philadelphia, it has fallen to me to take care of them. They have had so many near death experiences that I have transferred as many of the plants to Philadelphia as possible. Nonetheless, four house plants have shriveled, turned brown (not the preferred color), and shed their leaves. The latest to succumb was the bamboo plant. The ivy is barely hanging on. I think the orchid is dead too, although the leaves are not completely brown. (I generally keep watering until the leaves fall off.) It certainly takes less time to water the remaining plants.

One of Summer's Delights

With putting the house on the market, we were late in planting the tomato plants. I'm been so impatient waiting for the plants to grow, and, later, for the green tomatoes to ripen. Finally, several were ready to pick. There is nothing so tasty as home-grown tomatoes. One of my delights are summer's tomato sandwiches. Yum!

Here's the Cat

Here's our cat, relaxing from running the house. She is a calico, and the vet says that calico cats are almost always females, which was news to us. She adopted us at an animal shelter about ten years ago.

A Great Time to Move

We're moving from Atlanta to Philadelphia, because of a change in jobs for my partner. He's already up there, while I'm sticking around in Atlanta to sell the house. Selling the house has been more of a challenge than either of us anticipated. The market here was not good, and has become even worse with the financial troubles of many of the mortgage companies (including the bankruptcy of HomeBanc). Still, the worst part of selling the home is being separated from each other. (I guess I'm still in love if that is my foremost complaint!) Luckily, Philadelphia is only a short plane flight, or a long day's drive, from Atlanta. At least during the summer, the drive is beautiful.

So, how do you think we're like the winters after living in Atlanta for over twenty years? LOL.