Blue Country Magic

Thursday Thirteen #980

2026-10-15T08:37:21.991-04:00

1. I have developed a thing for chewing gum. This started after some medication gave me something called "burning tongue" syndrome, which means exactly what it sounds like. I found that chewing gum helped. I stopped the medicine and that cleared up after a while, but the gum habit stayed.

2. My fingernails used to be the thing I gnawed on, but after more than 50 years of trying to stop, I gave it up immediately when Covid hit. "You might die if you touch this can in the grocery store and then put your finger in your mouth" apparently is a big impetus to end that kind of habit.

3. Now I pick at my fingernails sometimes. I keep them cut back very short and keep the cuticles cut, but the nails are permanently damaged from all of that biting. If I wasn't allergic to nail polish they might look better, but I have that particular allergy, so they are what they are.

4. When I was working for a law firm in 1988, I was told that I didn't dress well enough and needed to wear sexier clothes and high heels. I have flat feet that are troublesome and never could wear heels without a great deal of foot pain, so I went with nice flats most of the time. As for the sexier clothes, well, there are reasons why I stopped working there and that might be one of them.

5. I've been keeping a food journal for a month, and while I can see where I make mistakes, they aren't huge mistakes. Mostly I don't eat enough vegetables and fruit. According to something I found on the CDC, in 2019, 12.3% and 10.0% of surveyed adults met fruit and vegetable intake recommendations. So I am right in there with the majority of Americans.

6. Updated CDC information claims otherwise, though. A September 2026 report says "During August 2021–August 2023, 69.9% of adults consumed any fruit on a given day and 93.3% consumed any vegetables." Forgive me if I question anything put up by the government under the current administration.

7. My problem is I am not a cook. I don't like to cook, never have. I find playing with naked uncooked meat to be gross, and while I don't mind chopping vegetables, figuring out what to do with them next is always a head scratcher. Julia Child would have found me really interesting company if she wanted to talk about local politics or people in general, but incredibly boring if she wanted to talk about something like "Risotto ai funghi porcini." I don't even know how to pronounce that. (It's some kind of mushroom dish.)

8. Once when I was nine, the babysitter named Melinda stayed overnight. We got up the next morning and decided to fix breakfast for my parents, who had come home very late and were still asleep. She gave me the biscuit batter to stir, and recalling that when I last helped my mother make cookies that all of the batter had to be smooth with no lumps, I stirred and stirred and stirred that stuff. They came out flat as pancakes because I'd apparently beaten all the rise out of the biscuits. Did you know you could do that?

9. I did learn to make decent fudge. When I worked for the newspaper, I'd make about 15 pounds of chocolate goodness, make up nice gift boxes, and then go around and deliver fudge to anyone who'd been helpful to me throughout the year - county administration, the Circuit Court clerk's office, library folks - anyone who'd given me a tip or offered up a bit of information.

10. These days news reporters apparently get their tips from social media. Hard to give out boxes of fudge for that. The news was better when reporters used shoe leather. That's my personal opinion, of course, but maybe you think so, too.

11. Speaking of news, I don't have any personal news to speak of, except the car seat broke earlier in the month but we had it repaired this week.

12. This was the second time the seat has broken since 2023. I wonder if they fixed it back correctly the first time?

13. I only put about 6,000 miles a year on my vehicles, so even though its 12 years old, it's still low mileage. Things shouldn't be breaking but I guess age takes a toll on us all.

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 980th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Space: The Final Frontier

2026-10-13T00:30:00.000-04:00

I took the pictures below on September 14. At that time, we had a young crescent moon showing with a very bright Venus on the right in the western sky. Lucky for me, according to space.com, Venus was almost at its brightest for the remainder of 2026 the evening I captured these shots.

On October 8, the Draconids were peaking after sunset. I set the camera to capture star trails and left it sitting pointing in one direction while I watched the sky in another.

Unfortunately, I didn't see any meteors and neither did the camera.

No matter. I think star trails are cool even when they don't show up well.

There is nothing like a little evening star watching to make you realize how little all the problems of the world really are.

Eastern Box Turtle

2026-10-12T15:56:44.636-04:00

As best I can tell, this little critter is an Eastern box turtle. It decided to take a tour of the driveway early one morning.

This is only the second time since we moved in 39 years ago that I've seen a turtle of any kind up here at the house, although we have snapping turtles down at the pond.

The eastern box turtle (terrapene carolina) is one of those small, steady creatures that quietly goes about its business in Virginia’s woods and pastures, never in a hurry or asking much of anyone. They’re long‑lived, stubborn in their routines, and oddly endearing. They are mainly terrestrial and will soak in mud or very shallow water, something we've not had much of here lately with our drought.

My husband thought the small reptile might have been drawn toward the house by the water from the hose where we had watered the flowers the night before.

I used a zoom on the camera to keep from scaring it and making it go into its shell.

Sunday Stealing

2026-10-11T00:30:00.000-04:00

Survey Asks . . .

1. What was the last gift you received?

A. The last gift I received was a special pen and journal from a friend.

2. Who did you last hang out with?

A. I last hung out with my husband, but I'm kind of hanging out with him most of the time. I hung out with a friend not long ago when we went to lunch, though.

3. Do you often lose the remote?

A. I am not in charge of the remote. The remote exists to please the man, and the man is in charge of the remote. Said remote in the man's hands has a tendency to run through the channels, up and down and up and down, until such time as wife finally snaps and says, "Would you please leave the TV on the same channel? You are making me crazy."

4. When did you last check Facebook?

A. Sometime today.

5. Are there scented candles in the room you're in?

A. There are no scented candles anywhere in my house. I am allergic to scented items.

6. Next time you leave the house, where will you be going?

A. I will either be going to the library, to physical therapy, or to the grocery store.

7. Do you know anyone named Steven or Stephen or Steve or Stevie?

A. I have cousins, one on my side and one on my husband's side, who are named as such.

8. Which do you prefer: macaroni salad or potato salad?

A. I prefer potato salad. My husband likes macaroni salad. But mine must not have onions. My stomach cannot handle onions.

9. Do you have an ice maker in your refrigerator door?

A. My ice maker is in the top of the refrigerator where ice makers belong.

10. When you woke up this morning, did you get up straightaway or lounge a bit?

A. When I wake up, I usually fix myself a nice cup of hot water and spend time at the computer reading the news. These days that is not such a pleasant pastime and one that I probably should wait to do until I've had my blood pressure medicine for the day. Good grief.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Big Girls Don't Cry

2026-10-10T00:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday 9: Big Girls Don't Cry (1962)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) When is the last time you shed a tear?

A. Just last night. We were watching an episode of JAG and it made me cry. Sometimes my eyes just leak a lot.

2) Lyricist/producer Bob Crewe recalled he got the idea for this song while watching a movie on TV. "Big girls don't cry" was a line from the 1956 film Slightly Scarlet. Give us a quote from another movie.

A. "You shall not pass!" - Gandalf to the Balrog in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

"They're taking the hobbits to Isengard!" Legolas in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

"My friends! You bow to no one." Aragorn to the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

3) This inspiration came to Bob during the late night/early morning hours. What time of day are you most productive?

A. I seem to be most productive between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. It takes me a while to wind up and then I run out of steam.

4) Bob wrote another song for the Four Seasons, "Silence Is Golden." The band was not happy with their recording and never released it as a single. Three years later, The Tremeloes had an international Top 10 hit with "Silence Is Golden." Tell us about a decision you wish you could do over.

A. If I'd known then what I know now, I'd have had my hysterectomy when I was 24, the first time they did surgery for my endometriosis, instead of continuing to try to have children and ultimately experience five more surgeries before having hysterectomy at the age of 29. It was a lot to put my body through.

5) Before he got his big break, Four Seasons lead singer Frankie Valli worked as barber. Do you have a hair care appointment scheduled?

A. I do not have a hair care appointment scheduled. I probably won't have one until the last week of October.

6) Oscar-winning actor Joe Pesci has a connection to the band. He was a young chum of Four Seasons founding member Tommy DeVito. By the time DeVito left the group and found himself overwhelmed by gambling debts, Pesci was a star. He helped his friend out, making Tommy his personal assistant and getting him cameo roles in films. Tell us about someone who has been there for you in tough times.

A. My husband has been with me through many tough times. He's my rock. He's held my hand through infertility, through job changes, through college work, through family strife, and when I cry at movies. What more could you ask for?

7) The Four Seasons disbanded in 1977 after 17 years together. The original bandmates reunited onstage 1990 when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was an important night for them professionally and personally, too, as it gave the old friends a chance to reconnect and mend fences. Is there anyone from your past you wish you could reach out to?

A. Not really. I think the past is better off left where it's at.

8) Another hit song from 1962 was "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Tony Bennett compares San Francisco to Rome, Paris and Manhattan. Have you visited any of those four cities?

A. I have been to Paris. I went in 1979 as part of a school trip. I still remember being completely entranced by this one painting in the Louvre; all I remember of it is a hand that was so translucent you could see the candlelight from a low flame shimmering on the skin. I don't know why that captivated me, but it did. I remember that better than I remember seeing the Mona Lisa.

9) Random question – You're home all alone. Do you close the door when you use the bathroom?

A. I close the door when someone is at home, including my husband. But if I am alone, I generally don't. For one thing, I live in a rural area and if anyone is looking in my windows, they are trespassing big time, and for another, I have the windows covered with sheers so no one would see anything anyway.

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I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Bear Country

2026-10-09T12:44:17.391-04:00

Pulled this shot of a black bear in the backyard off of the game camera that I keep out there. It sits about 60 feet from the back door.

I wish I'd been looking outside when this animal came through!

Thursday Thirteen

2026-10-08T07:35:50.448-04:00

1. Last night at dinner, we watched acorns fall from the oak tree in the backyard. They fell constantly, dropping quickly, sometimes bouncing. One or two came with a leaf and delicately settled to earth. As we watched them, I began wondering about oak trees, so I asked Alexa for some facts.

2. Oaks belong to the genus Quercus, which includes roughly 450–475 species worldwide. They grow across the entire Northern Hemisphere, from Europe and Asia to North America, and even into high-altitude tropical regions.

3. An oak tree typically begins producing acorns (a nut partially enclosed in a cup) when it reaches about 20 to 50 years of age, depending on species and growing conditions. Open‑grown oaks (full sun, not crowded) often start in their late teens or twenties.

4. Forest‑grown oaks shaded by neighbors may not produce meaningful crops until they are 40 or 50 years old. Red oaks often begin producing acorns around 20–30 years. White oaks produce acorns when they are around 30–40 years old.

5. Oak leaves are simple and alternate, often lobed, though some species have smooth or toothed edges.

6. Oaks can be deciduous or evergreen, depending on species and climate.

7. They are exceptionally long-lived, with some individuals surviving well over 1,000 years.

8. Oak wood is strong and hard, widely used for construction, flooring, furniture, shipbuilding, and barrels.

9. White oak wood is water‑resistant and is ideal for making boats and barrels.

10. Oaks are ecological keystone species, supporting more than 950 species of caterpillars, plus numerous fungi, insects, birds, and mammals. Deer love to eat acorns.

11. Acorns were historically a major food source for cultures across North America, Asia, North Africa, and Europe.

12. Oak bark contains high levels of tannin, something traditionally used for tanning leather.

13. Nearly one-third of oak species are threatened with extinction due to climate change, invasive pests, and habitat loss. I had no idea they are a threatened species. I won't take oaks for granted anymore.

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 979th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Fincastle Festival - September 24, 2026

2026-10-05T06:39:11.499-04:00

Sunday Stealing

2026-10-04T07:33:37.320-04:00

WHAT?

1. What are you currently excited about?

A. We've had some rain! Hurray!

2. What do you wish you had more time for?

A. I wish I had more time, period. I don't really have a reason.

3. What would you like to do less?

A. Housework.

4. What do you spend too much money on?

A. At the moment, I am spending too much money on food, but that's because of price increases, not because I am purchasing more.

5. What childhood wish never came true?

A. I thought about being an archeologist at one time.

6. What did you do to celebrate your last birthday?

A. I went to lunch with a friend.

7. What drives you nuts?

A. The way people drive.

8. What keeps you sane?

A. Reading and writing.

9. What historic date is etched in your memory?

A. 9/11 will always be etched in my memories. What a terrible day.

10. What one thing would make your life immeasurably better?

A. Losing weight, but I have hormone issues and hang on to it no matter how little I eat.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Eastbound and Down

2026-10-03T00:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday 9: Eastbound and Down (1977)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This week's song was featured in the movie Smokey and the Bandit, the surprise box office hit of 1977. Have you seen it?

A. I have seen this movie, but it has been many years ago.

2) Though not well received by critics, Smokey and the Bandit had one very famous fan: Alfred Hitchcock. The classic film director enjoyed re-watching the movie on video at home, often while having dinner. Do you ever watch TV with your meal?

A. We generally watch the local news when we have dinner. We are farmers. We like to know what the weather people predict (even if it's the same "no rain" day after day after day).

3) Jerry Reed not only wrote and performed the movie's theme, he appeared in the movie as truck driver Cledus "Snowman" Snow. Have you ever driven, or ridden in, a big rig?

A. I have ridden in my husband's dump truck, but not a tractor trailer.

4) He sings, "We've got a long way to go and a short time to get there." Have you recently felt rushed?

A. I almost always feel rushed. I have to make sure to add time for backups on the interstate due to blasting when I am driving.

5) Director Hal Needham asked Jerry Reed for a song that explained the plot of the movie. He wrote this overnight and always considered it a happy accident. Can you think of a time when something turned out better than you expected?

A. My concert experience with Melissa Etheridge turned out much better than I expected, since I actually was able to hug her at the end of the show.

6) Reed was born in Atlanta and, coincidentally, he mentions Atlanta in the lyrics. Has your hometown been immortalized in song?

A. My hometown has not been immortalized in song, as far as I know. Virginia couldn't even settle on a state song for years. It used to be "Carry Me Back to Ol' Virginia," but that has racist overtones and was demoted to "state song emeritus" in 1997. In 2015, the state government representatives finally settled on a song called "Our Great Virginia," (which I personally have never heard, not once). It is sung to the tune of "Oh Shenandoah." The state government also recognized "Sweet Virginia Breeze" as the official popular state song in the same year.

7) Jerry met Priscilla Mitchell at Capitol Records, where Jerry was a session musician and Priscilla was backup singer. Though she was only 18 when they wed, it seems their union was a happy one, and they were together until his death almost 50 years later. If a newly engaged 18-year-old asked you for advice, what would you say?

A. I would tell that newly engaged 18-year-old to give back the ring and go out and live a little before making such a momentous decision. I married at 20 and that was too young.

8) In 1977, when "Eastbound and Down" was on the radio, nostalgia for the 1950s topped the TV ratings. The two most popular shows that year were Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days. If you magically transported back to the 1950s, what do you think you'd like about it? What do you think you'd miss about your life in 2026?

A. If I were transported back to the 1950s, I doubt there would be much I would like, except maybe chocolate milkshakes and jukeboxes. I think the 1950s are highly overrated. I would miss all of the rights women now have, like being able to open a bank account, have a credit card without a male cosigner, and being able to buy property. I would also miss color TV.

9) Random question: Were you ever afraid of monsters in your closet or under your bed?

A. I was not afraid of monsters in the closet or under my bed, but that is because I had a ghost that came and sat at the foot of my bed at night.

_______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday Thirteen

2026-10-01T00:30:00.000-04:00

Here's something I haven't done in a while - a list of things on my desk.

1. My asthma inhaler. I keep one at my desk, one by the bed, one by the chair in the living room, one in the kitchen, and one in my purse. Some of them are out of date but I hang on to them until they are *really* out of date. They are expensive and if I'm going to have that many sitting around, I need to hold on to the expired ones.

2. A tin whistle. A friend gave me this for Christmas. I can play two octaves of scale on it, all of the normal learning songs like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and even "Do Re Me" from The Sound of Music. Well, sort of.

3. A harmonica. I bought it at Cracker Barrel some time ago and occasionally pull it out and mess with it. I like to play "Big Rock Candy Mountain" on it.

4. A printed calendar. I used to print one that came from Microsoft 2003 Outlook, which I used for about two decades, and then suddenly the program stopped working (thank you Windows update). Now I use Google Calendar, which syncs with my phone calendar. But unlike the old Outlook calendar, which would print from whatever day I wanted, the Google Calendar only prints a month. My solution has been to draw a line through the weeks as they occur, even if I have to print a new calendar because of lots of changes, just so I can glance at it and see where I am. I also have a calendar hanging on the wall that I can simply glance up to see. Apparently, I have trouble knowing what day it is.

5. Extra Sugar Free Bubble Gum. This has become my go-to for trying not to eat, as well as for helping with sweet cravings. It's a little annoying to me that I am chewing this because it has aspartame in it and I've spent years trying to avoid that stuff. It's probably not good for me, but most things aren't by the time one passes over the 60 mark.

6. A note reminding me what I expect from government (federal, state, and local). It says, "Regulate Business. Provide a Basic Social Safety Net. Promote Infrastructure. Protect Civil Rights." That's it. Four things. Why is that so hard and so divisive?

7. Several Sharpie markers. I use them to mark through the weeks on the aforementioned printed calendar, among other things.

8. A fake Rubik's cube. I bought this over the summer, solved one side, sat it down, looked up the "answer" to solving it, decided I was too old to mess with it anymore, and every now and then I mess it up and solve one side again.

9. A book titled, Little Green Men, Meowing Nuns and Head-Hunting Panics: A Study of Mass Psychogenic Illness and Social Delusion. I do not have it to better understand the current state of society, although perhaps it might be enlightening, but instead because my great aunt is quoted in the book. The incident is called the Mad Gasser of Botetourt County, and my great aunt Ruth, and my great uncle Roy, were both witnesses to the incident. Only Aunt Ruth is quoted in the book. My great-great grandparents are also mentioned.

10. My "writer's notebook," which is a smallish notebook where I write down lines I like, thoughts that seem important at the time, and similar notions. I tend not to note where I found whatever I write down, but one will find things such as, "a cheap imitation of love," or "hurricanes are tornadoes that last hours and hours and drown you." Sometimes I have strange things written down, such as "mouth farts," which I assume must refer to a burp. Sometimes I have questions, such as, "Where is the doorway to yesterday's secrets?"

11. Six dictionaries and two thesauruses, the Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual of Style (15th edition). The last one is seriously out of date; Chicago's latest version is the 18th edition. Do I use them? Sometimes. It is easier though, to simply type in a word and learn its meaning now, especially when it comes to modern slang, and there's also thesaurus.com to help with that. Computers make people lazy, but at least I know how to find something when the internet eventually goes down.

12. A bottle of Elmer's Glue. Sometimes, I break things. Not intentionally, of course, but I have been known to drop something. A little Elmer's fixes it right up.

13. A magnifying glass. My eyeglasses are at the highest magnification they can be at without augmenting them in some fashion or another. Enough said about that!

What's on your desk?

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 978th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

The Drought

2026-09-30T15:29:48.266-04:00

This is where a spring once ran out. This is the first time in the 42 years I've lived on this farm
that I have seen it dry.

This is what is left of the pond that the above spring fed into when it was running.

Before last summer, the water came all the way up to the post on the
left. One can see by the shape of the weeds and the changes in the
color of the grass where the water line used to be.

The above pictures indicate just how dry things have become in the watershed that feeds Carvins Cove, one of the water reservoirs that supplies the City of Roanoke and surrounding areas.

Carvins Cove is now nearly 18 feet low.

This spring fed into this pond, which fed into a larger pond below, which created what is known as Rulman's Branch. Rulman's Branch flows into Tinker Creek. A tunnel made under Tinker Mountain pulls water from Tinker Creek, when the water level is normal, so that the Cove has more water.

Most of the springs have all dried up on our farm, and we've had no rain to speak of, so there has been little water runoff into Rulman's Branch. The pond below this one, which I don't have a photo of, still has an active spring trickling water into it.

But that's not enough to keep things flowing further down the line.

Sunday Stealing

2026-09-27T00:30:00.000-04:00

Once again this week we aren't stealing, we're contributing! These are questions suggested by our "usual suspects." If you can, please take a moment and visit your fellow thieves.

DIY Meme

1. If you were trapped in a TV universe for a month, what TV show would you choose? (Kwizgiver)

A. I would like to be trapped in The West Wing for a month. At least then I would have some idea of what life would be like under a real leader, as well as get a feel for how things actually work in the hallowed halls of the federal government. Maybe I could be a protege of the great C. J. Craig (Allison Janney).

2. What song instantly revs you up and gets you going? (Annie)

A. Happy by Pharrell Williams and Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars. They make me Shake My Groove Thing.

3. Are you decorating your home for fall? (Lori)

A. Not much. I will change the flag outside in the flower bed by the door to something more suitable for fall.

4. How do you treat a cold? (Syl)

A. Very gingerly and with great caution. Mostly a cold takes lots of tissues, some antihistamine, hot water, chicken soup, and a good book.

5. What insignificant thing would you be genuinely annoyed if you lost it or it was taken from you? (Lisa)

A. My printed-out calendar. I know I have a calendar on my phone, and I have a calendar on my computer, and a calendar on the wall, but it's the printout of the calendar on the computer that I check every day (it syncs with my phone) to see where I am supposed to be or what I'm supposed to be doing. Obviously, it's not necessary but I like the paper and having it right next to me where I can see it.

6. What place do you remember vividly, even though you haven't been there in years? (Country Dew)

A. I remember Myrtle Beach very vividly, as I have been there a lot. However, my memories are the Myrtle Beach of old, with an arcade and board walk and multiple putt-putt golf courses, not the Myrtle Beach of today that has only remnants of that and is instead more of a shopping destination with golf courses for the people who play golf.

7. Do you have a favorite Dolly Parton song or story? (Roger)

A. I have a memory of my mother cleaning up the kitchen and singing Coat of Many Colors that stands out for me. I was just coming from my bedroom, and she seemed calm and happy, just wiping at the counters and singing along with Dolly. I stood and watched her until she felt my presence, and then she stopped and turned around. I was sorry I interrupted her.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Don't Take Your Love

2026-09-26T00:30:00.000-04:00

Saturday 9: Don't Take Your Love from Me (1956)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Doris Day sings about what happens when you take a petal from a rose. When did you last get or give flowers as a gift?

A. I sent someone flowers a while back.

2) This song is about a woman who fears losing her love. What's the most recent thing you lost? (Hopefully it's not as consequential as a great love. It could be as small or unimportant as the back of one of your pierced earrings.)

A. I lost hope. It weighs nothing but it's a heavy thing to lose.

3) Doris was known as The All-American Girl Next Door. Who lives next door to you?

A. I don't exactly have a next door, but the houses closest to me on each side are occupied by nice families, each with two children.

4) As a young girl, Doris Day was passionate about dance. She recalled that concentrating on her lessons helped distract her from the pain and embarrassment of her parents' divorce. When you want to escape from what's troubling you, what do you do?

A. I play loud rock music on my guitar or lose myself in a book.

5) The maître d' at one of Doris' favorite restaurants wanted to ask her out. Knowing how she loved her dogs, he impressed her by handing her a bag of meat scraps and bones to take home. They began dating and, in 1976, he became her last husband. What's the best way to your heart?

A. Well, it wouldn't be with meat scraps. Ick. I would require chocolate something and intelligent conversation.

6) Over her long career, Doris received Golden Globe and Grammy Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was also inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, honored for being one of the most celebrated women to have been born there. Name a famous person born in your home state.

A. Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady of Song and a jazz singer and songwriter, was born in Newport News, Virginia in 1917.

7) She was frank about her financial difficulties, yet some people are uncomfortable discussing money. Are you one of those people?

A. I don't think my finances are anyone's business but my own.

8) In 1956, when Doris released this song, The Wizard of Oz was shown on network TV for the first time. What movie have you seen multiple times?

A. I have seen The Wizard of Oz many times. I've also seen The Lord of the Rings, Steel Magnolias, Under the Tuscan Sun, Practical Magic, and Grease multiple times. There are others, too, such as The Sound of Music, Dirty Dancing, and It's a Wonderful Life, that I've seen more than once.

9) Random question: Would you rather have a chef or a chauffeur?

A. I would rather have a chef. I absolutely do not like to cook.

_______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday Thirteen

2026-09-24T00:30:00.000-04:00

Things I’m Tired of Pretending I Like

1. Group conversations of any kind. I don’t need multiple people talking at me at once, in person or on a screen.

2. Scented anything. If it’s not the smell of cookies baking, I don’t want it in my house or on my person.

3. Apps that think they know better than I do. Autoplay, autosync, autocorrect. It's all just auto‑nonsense.

4. Coffee. I’ve tried. I still think it tastes like burnt dirt. I’m also pretty sure the last latte I had gave me gallstones.

5. Autumn orange everywhere. Pumpkins look great as jack‑o‑lanterns, but they don’t belong in spice, lotion, candles, or anything else pretending to be festive.

6. German chocolate cake. I know it says it’s chocolate, but it doesn’t do much for me. It's a little bitter or something.

7. Tech updates that rearrange everything. I didn’t ask for a scavenger hunt. Why do my browsers have to update every other day?

8. People who say “I’ll circle back” or "I'll call you later." Just say you’re not doing it.

9. Animals. Yes, puppies are cute. Kittens are adorable. A little baby calf clicking its heels in the field is lovely. But they all shed dander and make me sneeze. They're nice to look at but I don't want them near me. (And yes, I know, I live on a farm.)

10. Loud noises. Sudden bangs, blaring TVs, people who shout instead of talk, fireworks, etc. My nerves are not built for any of it.

11. Social events that require “mingling.” I prefer conversations that don’t feel like speed dating.

12. Fancy kitchen gadgets. A knife and a pan do 90% of the work anyway.

13. The idea that everyone must love summer. Some of us are happier when the humidity stops trying to kill us.

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 977th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Keeping Time

2026-09-23T14:51:30.340-04:00

I was in the car earlier listening to music from my cell phone, and I started hitting the steering wheel as I kept time to the beat.

My mind went back to another time, when I was eight years old. Back then, kids didn't have to sit in car seats or wear seat belts or whatever. I could climb from front to back over and over again if I wanted.

But my father was driving and he didn't put up with much messing around, so I was sitting up straight trying to peer over the dash.

We were on a windy old crooked road heading home. Dad drove fast, and he ended up behind an old beat up pickup truck.

He tailgated it. Then he pointed to the man in the truck. "See how his hand is moving? He's keeping beat to a song."

I peered over the dash and nodded. I could barely make it out, because I was so little and short, but I caught the flash of movement.

Dad said, "Let's see if we can find what song he's listening to."

He turned on the radio and switched stations until he landed on a song that had the same beat as the hands of the man in the truck.

"See?" Dad said, his own hands now hitting at the wheel. "Feel the beat of the music? You can tell a song just from the beat."

I nodded, although I really didn't see because I couldn't see the man in the pickup's hands anymore, but I could see my father's. It was always easier to agree.

"Now you do it," Dad said. And so I started tapping on the dash to the beat of the song.

Tap, tap.

"Keep it in time," Dad said.

Tap. Tap.

"There you go, you got it."

We tapped the rhythm to ourselves, along with the oblivious fellow in front of us, the rest of the way home.

Back to today, driving home and listening to my own music, I thought about how now I could never pull up to a car and watch some person tapping out a song and know what they were listening to, not with Sirius XM and cell phones with Apple Music and multiple radio stations and everything. By the time I found the beat, the song would be over, if I ever found it at all.

What a different world we live in, one all mixed up with multiple choices in everything from music to television shows to social media. Nobody lives in the same place anymore.

I'm not so sure that's a good thing.

Empty Shelves

2026-09-22T15:48:21.979-04:00

Made with AI

I can't find the peas I like at the grocery store.

I've looked not in just a single store. Several stores.

No steamer peas. Those are the kind I like. Easy to fix. Easy way to get a veggie into my day.

So I did what I do when something bothers me. I wondered first of all, how are peas harvested?

Turns out, they aren't picked by hand like the ones in my garden. Large‑scale pea growers use specialized machines like tractor‑mounted cutters, lifters and a mobile “viner” that strips pods and threshes them. They don't do anything by hand.

So, if it wasn't a labor shortage keeping peas from being picked, because, you know, machines, what was the problem?

"Frozen peas are scarce right now because a combination of unseasonal heatwaves in key growing regions, packaging resin shortages, and maxed‑out cold‑storage capacity has disrupted the supply chain. Retailers also prioritize their own store brands when freezer space is limited, further narrowing options." (So sayth Alexa.)

Ok. Wow. So, what is packing resin? I didn't know. I assumed it was glue because tree resin is sticky. But it's not glue. It's plastic. That means it's the film, the bag, the pouch my beloved steamer peas go into. So, the peas can be perfectly fine, but they will never reach the shelf. There's nothing to put them in.

At least part of the shortage of "packing resin" is happening because the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off Gulf‑origin resin supply, which is a major source for PE and PP resins used in packaging.

Imagine that! I can't get my peas because of the non-war in Iran.

Now, I don't know whether the bag that should contain my peas is sitting somewhere waiting for resin. But I do know that the resin supply itself has been disrupted, and that packaging is one more potential choke point between a harvested crop and my freezer.

In learning about packing resin, I discovered that this is also used in things like sterile medical packaging. Nothing can be substituted for virgin resin in this situation. That sounds scary and concerning, doesn't it?

So, let's go back to the "maxed-out cold-storage capacity" issue. This is a supply chain issue involving trucks and drivers.

Turns out that some of the people who drive the refrigerated trucks (those are the ones that keep frozen peas frozen between the plant and the store) have lost their jobs.

The United States has spent the past year pulling them off the road. A rule change made 200,000 non-domiciled CDL holders ineligible to continue working and as their commercial driver's licenses come up for renewal, they will be out of a job. Recently, a crackdown called Operation Highway Shield detained 51 people in three days in July and put 766 drivers and vehicles out of service. The administration says it's about safety. The people losing their jobs were legally authorized to work.

But they aren't driving trucks anymore.

So we have vegetables and fruits and other goods just hanging out rotting because the government in its infinite wisdom decided to remove the people who drive the trucks from the highway. Are American citizens lining up to learn to drive these trucks?

Since I don't have peas, I would say not.

And look at what Indeed has to say about these jobs!

Twelve thousand cold chain jobs!

No wonder I don't have frozen peas on the store shelf.

And I would be remiss not to also point out that we have had a drought along the eastern seaboard from the Mid-Atlantic states to Florida. I'm sure that affects the crops, along with the devastating heat waves we've had in other areas of the country. Peas aren't the easiest crop to grow, or at least they aren't for me.

What I want to know is how this will be resolved?

I also wonder what else I will be looking for soon that I won't be able to find.

Should we be worried about food this winter?

Newborn

2026-09-21T10:27:58.076-04:00

Today's happiness has nothing to do with me, but my friend's daughter-in-law gave birth this morning. I am happy baby and mom are doing ok.

Nothing like a new little life. Now let's make it a better world for the tiny guy.

Sunday Stealing

2026-09-20T00:30:00.000-04:00

Four Superlatives

1. Your MOST overused word or phrase: "Interesting." It covers practically everything.

2. Your BIGGEST expense: My husband. 😘

3. Your WORST fear: Zombie Apocalypse 🧟

4. Your BEST memory of Summer 26: Giving myself a present. 🎁

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Clown

2026-09-19T07:26:08.440-04:00

Saturday 9: Everybody Loves a Clown (1965)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Not everyone loves clowns. "Coulrophobia" is the irrational fear of clowns. Do you have any fears or phobias?

A. Not really. I'm not a fan of snakes but if I'm the only one home, I'll move it or dispose of it unless it's a poisonous one. Fortunately, we don't see them very often around the house. There's not a water source up here to attract them.

2) This week's featured artist, Gary Lewis, sings that he jokes a lot at parties. In social settings, are you more a talker or a listener?

A. I am more of a listener.

3) He's dreaming of a special girl. Do you often daydream?

A. I daydream quite a lot. Probably more than I should.

4) Gary named his band The Playboys because they were always late to rehearsals and Gary joked that they would rather play than work. Do you tend to be early, late, or exactly on time?

A. I am generally a little early.

5) Gary Lewis had first-hand knowledge of clowns. His father was famous funny man Jerry Lewis. Who always makes you laugh?

A. My husband and my friends.

6) In 2017, Gary was in the news when it became known that Jerry disinherited all six of his sons from his will. Have you ever attended the reading of a will?

A. I used to work for a lawyer who occasionally did a "reading of a will" like one sees in TV, so yes, I have, but generally it isn't done the way you see it on TV. At least in my state, someone has the will, goes to the Circuit Court and qualifies as the executor of the estate, and sends out notices to potential heirs listed in the will.

7) This past summer found Gary Lewis on The My Generation Tour, performing with other acts from the mid-1960s, like The Lovin' Spoonful, The Hollies, and Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels. Do you enjoy listening to "the oldies?"

A. I listen to a lot of 1970s music, like Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Bread, Linda Ronstadt, etc., so not quite as old as the mid-1960s, but old enough now.

8) In 1965, when this song was popular, Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world. Have you ever attended a boxing match?

A. I have never attended a boxing match.

9) Random question: What color is your toothbrush?

A. My electric toothbrush is solid white; my regular toothbrush is blue and white at the moment.

_______________

I encourage you to visit the posts of other participants in Saturday 9 and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Early Voting - Vote for Beth Macy

2026-09-18T12:02:19.569-04:00

Early voting starts today in Virginia.

I urge everyone to vote for Beth Macy, the Democratic challenger to the current office holder, Republican Ben Cline.

I am an independent voter. I am not registered with any party.

I went to college with Beth. I was working on my undergraduate degree while she was working on her masters degree from Hollins College (now Hollins University). We had several courses together because I was majoring in English and focusing on writing classes. At Hollins, the creative writing seminars had undergrad and graduate students combined, so we saw a lot of one another.

She went on to write for The Roanoke Times. I went on to write for the local weekly paper. She's written five books. I've written and edited a local magazine celebrating the county's 250th anniversary (in 2020), and I have edited about a dozen books for various people.

Varied careers, but since we were both reporters, I can say with certainty that Beth has seen things her opponent has not.

As a reporter, I visited many homes that were the living spaces of very poor people, hoarders, sick people, sad people, and indigent people. I also saw the very nice living spaces of folks who live in McMansions, and the houses in between.

Beth saw the same. We both know that there are a lot of people out there who have done their best, and their best has not been good enough. Some people can try until their arms nearly fall off, and it still won't get them where they can afford to live in a nice house with a white picket fence.

She wrote Dopesick, spent years covering the opioid crisis, won a Nieman fellowship, had her book adapted for TV. That's concrete evidence she understands real people's lives.

Beth is one person and she alone can't change the price of gas, but she can introduce legislation or endorse legislation that already exists to force the current administration to adhere to existing laws, such as the war powers act, and straighten itself up.

She is for a moratorium on data centers, and since that is a big issue right now that actually affects me personally, with new power lines going through the land we farm, then that issue alone would make me vote for Beth. New power lines mean strange people will be on the farm, gates will be left open, cattle will become unsettled by big machinery. Also, there may be a loss of land value because of the larger poles that will replace the more rural-looking ones.

Cline has been in office since 2019. He's introduced and co-sponsored plenty of bills, but when I look at what he's actually accomplished through legislation, the record is pretty thin. I don't see much there that has made a meaningful difference in the lives of people in this district. He's had seven years to make a mark on issues that matter to me, and I personally cannot find one.

If there was anything I could point to that the current office holder had done that offered support for farmers, women, children, affordability, or slowing down the growth of data centers, I might take a second look. But I do not see anything in his voting record that would make me change my mind.

Early voting in Virginia is from today until October 31. If you're in my county, go vote in Fincastle at the Office of the Registrar.

Otherwise, vote on election day, November 3, at your polling place. Check the state elections website to be sure you're registered to vote and to find out where to vote if you don't already know.

Thursday Thirteen

2026-09-17T00:30:00.000-04:00

Things I’ve Learned About Myself This Year

1. I don’t need big revelations; small truths arrive just fine on their own schedule. They tend to show up while I’m doing something ordinary, like folding laundry or waiting for the microwave to beep.

2. I function best when the house is quiet and there’s a little chocolate within reach. I don't need anything fancy. Life is better with small comforts.

3. I can write more than I think I can, as long as I stop trying to make the first draft perfect. The trick is remembering that no one sees the messy version unless I let them.

4. I’m calmer when I keep my tech simple and ignore the bells and whistles. Every time I strip away a feature I don’t need, something in my brain exhales.

5. I’m more sentimental than I pretend to be, especially with old newspapers and the odd forgotten receipt that somehow feels historic. Apparently, I’m a sucker for anything that captures a moment in time, even if it’s just a grocery list from 2014.

6. I don’t enjoy clutter, but I will absolutely let it accumulate until it annoys me into action. My threshold for “annoyed enough to deal with it” is surprisingly high.

7. I’m happiest when my routines are predictable, even if I roll my eyes at them. There’s comfort in knowing what comes next, even when I pretend I’m spontaneous.

8. I’m still capable of learning new things, but I do it on my own terms. If someone tries to rush me, the learning shuts down like a stubborn mule.

9. I don’t need a crowd; a few solid people are plenty. Peace is worth more than popularity.

10. I’m more patient with others than I am with myself. I’m working on extending the same grace inward, but it’s a slow project.

11. I’m allowed to say no without writing a three‑paragraph explanation. It turns out most people don’t need the backstory anyway. And "no" is a complete sentence!

12. I’ve realized that “later” is not a plan, it’s a delay tactic, and I’m getting better at catching myself. When I actually do the thing now, it’s never as hard as I made it out to be.

13. I still love a good list, especially one that reminds me I’m doing just fine. There’s something satisfying about seeing my thoughts lined up neatly, like they finally decided to behave.

_________________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while, and this is my 9765th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Chores and a Tree

2026-09-16T16:40:00.724-04:00

Today's happiness consists of getting the household chores done in a timely manner. Yay me!

I also learned that we have a tree in the backyard called a hackberry tree. I had never heard of this tree before.

A hackberry (Celtis occidentalis or Celtis laevigata) is actually a very common native tree in Virginia. The hackberry is one of those quiet, overlooked native trees that people can live beside for decades without ever learning its name. Its leaves resemble an elm, but the bark is rough, warty, and full of quirky bumps.

Most years it goes unnoticed, yet every so often it surprises you with small purple berries that deer and birds devour before anyone else gets a chance to see them. It’s a tough, weather‑resilient tree that thrives in Virginia without asking for attention, content to simply stand there and get on with the business of being a tree.

We have lived in this house for almost 40 years and this is the first time we've ever seen purple berries come off of this tree. The deer have been eating them up for days.

Out of the House

2026-09-15T13:12:33.883-04:00

Today I am happy because I have been out of the house and I've seen many people that I haven't seen in a while.

Also, last night I got to tell a good story and made a whole room laugh at a history lecture.

Midnight Margaritas

2026-09-14T00:30:00.000-04:00

SPOILER ALERT - THIS TALKS ABOUT THE MOVIE IN THE PICTURE. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ ANYTHING ABOUT IT BEFORE YOU SEE IT, YOU MAY NOT WANT TO READ THIS BLOG POST.

Friday, my husband took me to see Practical Magic 2, because he'd promised me at my birthday in June that he would take me to see a movie, and we'd not yet made that happen.

He knew I like the original movie. It's one of those movies I put on when I want to sit down and read and look up occasionally. I slot it in my mind as the same category as Steel Magnolias, Under the Tuscan Sun, and Grease. Well-acted and a fun movie.

And also, a movie that makes me think, which for me is what makes a movie good.

Critics are giving Practical Magic 2 mixed reviews. Well, actually most of the critics seem to dislike it. It is scoring around 35 to 37% on Rotten Tomatoes and recently had a 44 score on Metacritic. They say the sequel lacks the original’s joy and feels forced.

Audiences, however, are enjoying the return of Bullock and Kidman, noting the sisterhood and nostalgic moments. I've not seen a single bad word about the movie on my Facebook page, just gushes of how much women loved the movie. I haven't seen what any men think of the movie.

That's because this is a movie for women and about women. Of course the critics don't like it.

Practical Magic in its first go-round was not well-received. It has, over the years, developed a cult following, mostly among women, I imagine, who find some strength in watching other women defeat the assholes who generally make life miserable anyway while looking for the one man out there that a woman can make a life with.

But the Owens sisters are cursed, and any man they love dies.

Sally takes this very hard because she has lost two husbands. She ensures that her daughters do not know they are witches. She tries very hard to forget she is a witch herself. She blocks her own powers.

This is all well and good until her daughter Kylie falls in love. Her beloved Gideon is hit by a car and lies in a coma when Kylie demands to know the truth about her powers.

She also determines to end the curse.

And here is where I shall deviate from an actual review. I have not read these books; I checked and I've not read a single thing by Alice Hoffman, who wrote the books upon which these movies are based.

I am not saying I did not like the movie. The movie was fine as it was. If I have to rate it, I give it a solid 80 out of 100.

I just felt like it went in the wrong direction.

Kylie leaves to go to England to break the Owens family curse. This bothered me greatly, because when my husband was hurt, it was all I could do to go home to get some sleep when he was in the hospital, and here Kylie goes off by herself to end a curse that's been around for hundreds of years, when she doesn't even know anything about her own powers. Nor has she studied spells or learned how to conjure or take care of herself in a magical world.

In a movie about sisterhood and motherhood and women holding each other up, it seemed to me that either (a) Kylie and her sister Antonia should have gone on this journey together or (b) Antonia should have gone in place of her sister, while Kylie stayed with her beloved to hold his hand and help him feel better.

As it was, Antonia was just barely a placeholder for a sister in the film. She didn't really do much except look after Kylie's boyfriend while she was gone. I kept thinking, “Good grief, give Maisie Williams something to do besides put a stethoscope on Gideon's chest every now and then.” Antonia was supposed to be Kylie's sister, but the movie never gave their relationship the weight that Sally and Gillian's relationship had in the first movie. I would have liked to see what Williams could have done with a more substantial role.

Additionally, this movie went into a little darker space than the first one as far as the magic goes, and the evil seemed to spring up from nowhere in the shape of a long-lost distant male cousin who thought he should have magical powers.

I'd have rather it had been some spirit or demon or something. Maybe that's just me, though.

I liked the movie as it was. I just felt like it wasn't actually as magic as the first movie. If you like Practical Magic, you will like Practical Magic 2.

If you didn't like it, then you won't like this one.

This is a movie I will watch again when it's on TV, and maybe it will become one of those movies that plays on a loop around Halloween. Sometimes I have to see a movie two or three times before I really feel it. Also, I am not a big screen fan; I find the movie theater too noisy and overwhelming, even if we essentially had a private showing because there were only four people, including us, in the theater.

Maybe, like magic, my judgment of the movie will change on a second viewing.

______________________

Practical Magic 2 features Sandra Bullock as Sally Owens, Nicole Kidman as Gillian Owens, Stockard Channing as Aunt Franny, Dianne Wiest as Aunt Jet, Joey King as Kylie Owens, Maisie Williams as Antonia Owens, Lee Pace as Ian Wright, Xolo Maridueña as Gideon and Solly McLeod as Tom Lockland.