THE OLD GRAY MARE - SHE AIN'T WHAT SHE USED TO BE!

"There is only one lasting cure for gray hair.  It was invented by a Frenchman.  It is called the guillotine."  P.G. Woodhouse

I will be traveling back to Richmond for a couple of days - to get my hair done.  I know - it is a dreadful cliche' of a Southern woman, but I don't care.  Good hairdressers are hard to find - and once you "break one in" it is not easy to simply let them go and start over!  My hair is horribly out of shape and the gray is winning the battle over the blond.  So - I have to go.  You remember that old Clairol commercial "Only her hairdresser knows for sure?"  Well, that doesn't apply to me anymore!  Of course, when you get to be my age, everyone knows that your natural hair color is gray, so I know I'm not fooling anyone. 

The plus side is that I get to see my sister!!!  So that makes it all worthwhile. Will not blog for a couple of days - but will have much to share when I return.

PUT ON THE KETTLE

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."  C.S. Lewis

I am a devoted tea drinker.  It isn't that I don't like coffee...I really do...but at some point I decided that tea was better for me, so I switched.  Actually, it probably wasn't so much that the coffee was bad for me...it was more about that non-dairy powdered creamer that I used by the boat load in each cup.  Anything that artificial has to corrode something vital in my body.

So - back to tea.  I love mornings when I can consume the entire pot.  Of course, that means that I can't go anywhere until afternoon because of all the time I spend getting rid of the tea I drank!!  Every cup is worth two trips to the bathroom.  OK...perhaps that is TMI...but I know I am not the only one with this problem.

My favorite tea is just about anything from The Republic of Tea.  Fabulous flavored tea - and the British Breakfast tea is wonderfully bracing in the morning. I don't use those dainty china teacups, however.  For me, my cup of choice is the biggest ceramic mug I can find.  I certainly have some lovely teacups - but it seems like such a waste of time for me.  I guess I am more of a "chugger" than a "sipper."  (Sound dreadful, now that I have put it into words!)

On the weekends I like to use loose tea.  Something about that feels more "weekend-y" to me.  It really does taste better.  I had a hard time finding just the right "tea ball" however.  Finally found one through Amazon.com that is like those gold coffee filters they make for coffee makers.  (You really CAN find everything at Amazon!)

On Sundays I now have the luxury of two papers - the Morning Call and the New York Times.  A pot of tea, two papers, CBS Sunday Morning on TV...mmmmm....THAT is what a call a great morning!!!

Not sure why I decided to write about tea today...perhaps it is because I just added it to my grocery list. So, I will end this bit of drivel with another quote I found by an unknown author:

"Remember the tea kettle - it is always up to its neck in hot water, yet it still sings!"

AN IDIOT'S GUIDE TO WASTING TIME

I have been reading The Idiot's Guide to Elves and Fairies.  Before you panic - I am reading it as research since the book I am working on is Fantasy.  I wanted to carry it with me the other day when I was anticipating a long wait to get my Driver's License, but was afraid of the strange looks I would get.  Anyway - I started wondering about these Idiot Guide books...and just what kind of strange topics they cover.  If they have a book about Elves and Fairies - then they should have one for anything!  I recognized this was an excellent opportunity to procrastinate and waste some time surfing the net!

So - a quick trip to Amazon.com provided a few answers:

The Idiot's Guide to Mindfulness - This was first on the list.  Good place to start.  Concentration.
The Idiot's Guide to U.S. Gov't. and Politics - Should be required reading in Washington. (I am also tempted to say something catty about Sarah Palin - but will leave that to your imagination.)
The Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex - I kid you not!  Just think - all it takes is a book!!!  Who knew?!
The Idiot's Guide to the Law of Attraction - This one only has five copies left.  Order soon!
The Idiot's Guide to 2012 - I am having enough trouble with 2010!
The Idiot's Guide to Algebra - Could have used that in high school!
The Idiot's Guide to the Bible AND The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Bible - wonder what the difference is?  Maybe more color pictures in the one for the Complete Idiot.
The Idiot's Guide to Writing a Novel - I've been tempted to get this one.
The Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw - How many ways can you say "Don't cook it"?

Moving on - I looked for the "Dummies" books...didn't find as many of those.

Sex for Dummies - Sounds less appealing then the amazing sex promised to idiots.
How to Fix Everything for Dummies - Everything???  Really??? Why....because they can't do it for themselves?  Sorry...corny joke!
Facebook for Dummies - I love it!
A Complete MBA for Dummies - I have to find this book and look through it...

Wonder what the difference is between being a Dummy and being an Idiot.  And - what about a Complete Idiot???

Maybe reading about Elves and Fairies isn't so crazy after all...but if you see me reading about Amazing Sex, don't interrupt me!!! 

WHERE THE **** IS THE MOON????!!!!

"Weather forecast for tonight: dark."  George Carlin (as the Hippie-Dippie Weatherman)

I was ready.  I had my camera by the door.  I had looked on the Nikon Website for information on taking night pictures.  And it started to get dark.  REALLY DARK.  And - it was far too early for it to be that dark.  I turned on the TV - and there was a little message on a blue screen that read: searching for satellite.  (Direct TV - rant to follow).  Sheets of rain began to pound my windows - the wind was whipping like crazy!  I had not experienced any storm like it since Hurricane Isabelle marched through Richmond and ripped six trees out by their roots in my yard.  And - it went on forever! 

I have probably mentioned before that stability in my family depends on the TV.  When we are forced to resort to actual conversation, things can get ugly - especially at dinner time when we are unable to chew without the television.  So - I was delighted to discover in my panic that we were still able to watch recorded shows on the DVR even though the frickin' satellite had somehow disappeared in the rain!  That was going smoothly until...the power went out.  Talk about dark!!!!!!  It was that eerie dark where you can't see ANYTHING.  At that moment, the conversation turned to:  "Where is a flashlight?"  No one knew the answer to that one!  Probably one of those mysteriously missing objects that disappeared in the black hole of the move.  Fortunately, before things got really ugly, the power came back on. 

On the TV screen, with the message about searching for a satellite, was a button marked, "more info".  Okay.  I decided I would click it.  A list appeared giving us suggestions to regain service.  Helpful things like: Press the red button behind the folding door on the front of the unit. (There is no red button...or blue...or pink...or purple. THERE IS NO BUTTON!)  Plug and Unplug the connection cables. (They always tell you to do this!!!  I think it is simply something to keep you busy until they fix the problem.)  And - my favorite - "If it is safe to do so, move the dish to a different angle."  (Yes - crawl up on the roof in the middle of a thunderstorm and play with the satellite dish!!!!  They should add: "Electrocution will quickly take your mind off the lack of service!!) 

After awhile - the missing satellite was apparently located and all service was restored.  The rain stopped (although lightning continued for some time) and the sky was filled with clouds.  The full moon was dimmed by the cloud cover - and not worth taking a picture of.  Now I guess I will have to wait until 2029.

And - I am somewhat worried about what will happen to our TV service when it snows.  I actually asked the technician who installed the dish about that problem, and he told me to go on the site and order a "dish bra".  I can't believe I fell for that.  Of course, there is no such product on the site.  I bet he is still laughing at me!  George said that we could use one of my old ones.  I failed to see the humor in that - unless he had to crawl on the roof to put it on!!!  Then I would laugh.

SHINE ON HARVEST MOON!!!

"The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand. "   Frederic Lawrence Knowles

Last night I was spellbound by the beauty of the full moon in the clear night sky.  There are so many windows in this new house - some span two floors - so they provide perfect ways to enjoy the outside world (without encountering mosquitoes!!) 

As I was surfing the net this morning, I discovered that tonight - for the first time in 20 years - we will have a "Super Harvest Moon".  The action begins at sunset tonight...the last day of northern summer.  As the sun sinks in the west, bringing the season to a close, the full Harvest Moon will rise in the east, heralding the start of Fall.  The two sources of light will mix together to create a kind of 360-degree, summer-autumn twilight glow that is only seen on rare occasions.

As the Moon creeps above the eastern skyline, it may appear strangely inflated.  This is what I like to think of as "moon magic"...or, for those of you less enchanted by fantasy - an "illusion."  Astronomers don't even really understand why a low-hanging moon appears wider than it really is.  I don't need to have an explanation - I just want to enjoy it!  They say that the view improves as the night wears on.

I never questioned the reason for calling an autumn moon a harvest moon - but I discovered this morning that it started in the days before electricity.  Farmers depended on bright moonlight to extend the workday beyond sunset so that they could gather their ripening crops in time for market.  I guess the farmers would really like the one we are going to see tonight because it would be extra "Harvesty."

Anyway - be sure and enjoy tonight's celestial fanfare welcoming the Fall season.  They say it won't happen again until 2029.  Warning:  Don't try and calculate how old you will be then.  It's depressing!

LICENSED TO DRIVE

"If you can't see the bright side of life, polish the dull side."

I don't know who said that - but I like it.  Today I had to get my Pennsylvania driver's license.  Sigh.  During my adult years, I have spent many a frustrating hour waiting at the DMV, so I was prepared for the worst this morning.  It is called the Photo ID Driver's License center here - and if I had not used the Garmin, I would never have found it.  Tucked away on some obscure road, behind a warehouse.  The front of the building didn't even face the road.  When we arrived, the parking lot was packed and people were standing outside, smoking and looking like Zombies who had been waiting far too long.  Marilyn and I got our numbers - 209 and 210 - and she found a seat.  I just sat in the aisle in my wheelchair.  We looked up and realized that they were working on number 124, so we took a deep breath and prepared ourselves for a long, LONG wait.

Within moments, a policeman tapped my shoulder and told us to go to the counter.  WE HAD NO WAIT.  The clerk was so friendly and helpful, and she said that I didn't have to wait because my wheelchair was blocking the aisle and it was a fire hazard!  So - today - it was a good thing to be in a wheelchair.  Definitely an example of polishing the dull side of life and finding the shine!

BACK IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING

"There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction."  Winston Churchill

Here I am, alive and well, having emerged semi-victorious over the mountain of boxes and packing paper!  Moving is an atrocious job, shaking us to our core.  At least, that is what it was like for me.  And yet - now that the dust is beginning to settle a little, I find that I really like where I am.  In many ways it reminds me of Warrenton, where I grew up.  The rolling hills and farmland stretch before me every time I leave my driveway.  We are definitely in the country and I love it.  I can hear the birds in the morning and that constant drone of traffic that I was used to in Richmond is gone.  It is quiet. And, at night, it is REALLY quiet.

We have lovely neighbors across the street who showed up at our front door with food during our first days here.  The people we have encountered in the grocery store have been pleasant - and amused by my accent.  Oh well.  Having lived in the south all my life, I recognize regional differences here - not bad - just different.

My sister came up on the train and spent a few days.  That was wonderful!!!  We worked and played - okay...we played more than we worked!  I was sad to see her go...but she will be back soon.  I made her promise.

We still don't have everything done - the living room looks like a war zone and we don't have pictures hung.  There are still boxes in the basement to sort through - and we are constantly searching for things.  I'm sure that most of the mysterious disappearing items will be found buried in one of those boxes in the basement.

I was most worried about our elderly dog and cat adjusting - but they are thriving.  Actually, it seems to have given my dog new life!  Goes to show what a waste of energy worry is.  Of course, I am sure I will continue to do it!!!

I am glad to be back at the computer...back to blogging.  Thanks for all your good energy and prayers during this transition.  Now it is time for me to settle in and return to writing.  I will keep you posted!