Nickel Days

My heart grieves for the people of Norway…almost as it grieved for America on September 11, some ten years ago.   I am saddened for the family and friends of Amy Winehouse, because a wounded, empty heart sought fulfillment in drugs and alcohol, until the screaming demons of addiction were silent in her still and lifeless body.  It is just as I felt about Anna Nicole Smith, although I was a fan of neither.

Shutting out current events and closing my eyes, I go back to being a carefree little girl with flowing brown hair and cat-eyed glasses.   I remember how pleased I was for a nickel reward, which meant five pieces of bubble gum which would promptly all go into my mouth.   The biggest bubbles could only be blown with a mouthful of gum!   A nickel would also buy a six ounce Coke if you went to Underwood Elementary.  Five cents would buy at least five pieces of candy, or a little box that held even more.  My shielded world consisted of my family, my church, my school, and my little circle of friends.  

This morning, I long for a simpler day…

…back to the time where the biggest problem I had was not being able to find my glasses.   (To this day, certain relatives won’t let me live one particular incident down, when I put them in my grandfather’s denture holder…which truly grosses me out now...and all my cousins were enlisted to help find them.  No one did until Grandpa took his teeth out that night.)   In those days, spending the night with Lisa or Tammy was all the entertainment I needed, and entertained I was.  There was no need for Wii, Nintendo, or DX games.   We had Monopoly, Parcheesi, and Chinese Checkers.  Before cell phones took parents away from small children, I could talk to my mom in the car, and she talked back to me.   It breaks my heart to see so many parents ignoring their children as they do everything with a phone stuck to their ear. 

Oh, how I long for a simpler day…a nickel day…when life was less hectic, less demanding; quieter in my little world. 

I hope your Sunday is a Nickel Day…

Thursday's Thunderings

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Since I haven’t posted a Monday’s Musings in a while; I’ll do some “Thunderings.”   

Sports Thunder:

·    Why do Auburn Tiger fans shout “War Eagle?”  

·    Why is Bama the “Crimson  Tide” and not the Bama Elephants?   (Elephants could easily roll right over an eagle.)

·    What was offensive about the name “Atlanta Braves?”

Police Thunder:

·    Yesterday at 4:10 p.m., a Lauderdale Co. Deputy Sherriff zoomed by a well-signed and brightly painted crosswalk without even slowing down…and there was a student already in the road trying to cross.  He stopped for the traffic light less than a quarter mile from the crosswalk.   He obviously wasn’t on an emergency.   If I post his car number and tag number, would I be hunted down and ticketed in retaliation?

Ole Boy Thunder:

·     Naw.   Better not go there.

Puppy Thunder:

·     Roscoe now owns the house, us, and all our things are his to chew.   It doesn’t take Ole Boy and me long to spoil a dog; he doesn’t even have a clue he’s a dog.   I think he lost sight of that the day after I brought him home from the pound.

Grammar Thunder:

·    It amuses me that often people think they’re speaking properly and use “I” instead of “me.”   TV folks get it wrong a lot!

Donut Thunder:

·    Had two this morning.   What diet?

Stolen Thunder:

·    “Now remember, Jayce, if a bear gets after you, you don’t have to run fast, you just have to run faster than your grandmother.”

Mother Thunder:

·    My mom called me flamboyant.   I hope she didn’t mean it.  I hope she just meant I was friendly.  Or colorful.  Maybe I shouldn’t wear that bright blue and yellow blouse again.  

Blog Thunder:

·    My blog is messed up.   Well, “messed up” isn’t accurate.   It appears I have exceeded my limits on picture posting, and it’s going to be a major undertaking to undo/repost pictures in a photo organizer/sharing program.   Arggg.

Big, Big Thunder:

·    I am learning to seek Him first, and His righteousness.   A renewing of the mind.  A new me.  This is the day that the Lord has made, and I will rejoice, and again I say rejoice in it.

Meeting Roscoe

When Peppy left us, we were heartbroken.   Our little mound of round hound had been a huge part of our lives for 12 years.   The last four years had us scheduling our daily lives around his diabetes, timed feedings and insulin regimen.   Peppy was a very temperamental dog, and was known to snap at, well, lots of people.  His territorial attitude often made folks not like him so much, but we loved him dearly, and he loved us.    Letting him go was so very hard, but when he was first diagnosed with cancer, we felt we only had a matter of weeks.   We were blessed with another year.   The repeated seizures that began on the wee hours of the fourth had left him brain damaged, and at that point, he was no longer with us, and we had to do what was best for him.   While we miss him, we know that we gave him the best care possible and surely extended his life a few years because we were dedicated to his treatment.   

Ole Boy told my sister, "We went to Coon Dog Cemetery out of curiosity one time, and I still remember what was inscribed on a particular tombstone.  "Here lies Ole Blue, he may not have been the best, but he was the best I ever had."  I guess that sums up the way we felt about Peppy.  Sounds crazy, but he actually made our marriage stronger in a lot of little ways.  It would make him so mad when we hugged that we would hug just to get a reaction out of him.  Making sure he ate right and got his insulin every day also required a lot of effort and teamwork."   
.

After a week of talking it over, batting it back and forth from one extreme (no) to the other (yes), we decided to give a home to another dog.   Peppy was a full blooded rat terror…I mean terrier, and he will never be replaced in our home or in our hearts, but our hearts have room for another little life.   A week ago, we visited the animal shelter in Florence, and met a little puppy.   We left him there and went to see some Jackahuahuas.  They were cute and feisty, but my heart hurt too badly that day to bring another dog home.   Over the next few days, Ole Boy would call the shelter, or go by when the puppies were out, to see if that one little puppy was still there.   He was.    On Thursday, I left work and told myself if he was still there, I would bring him home.   He was.   His name is Roscoe, and he is the sweetest little (already spoiled) thing!

Looks a little like Peppy, doesn't he? 

We aren't sure what he is, but I'm guessing

a Jack Russell/Dachshund mix

I bought him some new toys, but he seemed to really like the empty

water bottle.  Another favorite is a plastic hairspray cap.

Since my last post, I have been on Vacation Two…to Gulf Shores.  As I have stated often, I am not a lover of the beach.  I like the ocean, the waves, but I don’t like the sand too much, nor the heat or the crowds.   I do, however, love seafood, and Gulf Shores was a wonderful place to get my fill of ocean treats.   And nearby Foley has Lamberts…Home of the Throwed Rolls.   Oh yeah, I caught two of them!

We visited The Hangout, and Bahama Bob’s Beachside Café, where I tried pangus for the first time.  Very good, indeed.   They served a homemade slaw, and this chick, who doesn’t much care for slaw, ate every bite!     We also ate at Big O’s…I can NOT recommend that (really poor quality food and false promises of smoke-free dining).  

And I spent maybe a half hour on the beach.  My sisters got in a little more time than that, and I’m happy they did…without me.   :::big smile:::

A few pictures of Vacation Two:

A Gull

The waves

Pelican....at The Little Zoo That Could

Lizard

Bigger Lizards

Summer Vacation One - 2011

It’s Summer Vacation One (Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge) because Summer Vacation Two starts tomorrow…to the beach with my sisters.   I almost hate leaving Ole Boy alone without Peppy.   I always said that Pep was his third son.   I wasn’t so very far from wrong.

Before I start with vacation news, I want to say a heartfelt thanks to everyone for the kind comments and notes about Peppy.   It’s been a rough week…we went puppy hunting, but I just really didn’t “fall in love” today…however, there was one pound puppy that Ole Boy may go back for, and if he’s still there, I may come home from the beach to a new little one.

This was the view from the cabin we had for the first five days.   Afterwards, we moved to the Gatlinburg Inn, where at 12:01 a.m. on July 4, we stood for 1.5 hours watching a parade.  Pictures below….

Wildlife at the cabin…my pictures on this vacation are really bad.  I can’t tell you how disappointed I am that my bear pictures didn’t turn out.  Two different photo ops:  a mom and three cubs, and a big male…and NO pics!!! 

Leaf bug

Clingman’s Dome

Cades Cove Buck

Cades Cove old homestead

Gatlinburg Inn Roses

 Midnight Parade

As a rule, I don’t much care for parades,

but this one was worth getting up for…

especially since all I had to do was go

downstairs to my hotel parking lot.

 Daisy Duke was the Grand Marshall…

 Of course, I didn’t get a good picture.

 Some of the floats

People, People, People.

Have I mentioned I don’t like crowds??

Little Peppy

Peppy is gone.  

He began having major seizures yesterday (most likely Sunday night).    He was unresponsive but convulsing, temperature was 106°.   This morning, we allowed the vet to end his suffering.  I stayed with him until he drew his last breath and his little heart stopped beating, but I don't believe he knew it.  I have no words…

Internet: A Necessity!

I've been on vacation!  

There was no internet in them thar hills (Gatlingburg/Pigeon Forge), at least where I was staying there wasn't.   I survived, but I assure you it wasn't easy!    I saw bears...the first time ever, in all my visits there, I've never seen bears in the wild.  Also, I saw a scarlet tanager and a indigo bunting...beautiful birds! Pictures?  Glad you asked!  They are awful.  However, my sister got really good pictures, and as soon as she posts them, I'll steal some to share.

VayCay details later.