Photo Friday Challenge-"Surfaces"

Check out the other wonderful entries here.

Keep This One on The Down Low

I’m hoping someone in the medical profession or over the age of sixty can answer a question for me. Why do elderly folks talk so much about their bowels? Often. In public. At length. With people they don’t even know. I hear it all of the time when I’m around seasoned citizens, especially in the doctor’s office. I’m not the most modest person in the world. Heck, we haven’t shut a bathroom door at our house since 1994, but there are some things I don’t talk about much, and irregularity is one of them. I file that in the same category as those conversations that start with, “Does this look inflamed to you?” While I have extolled the virtues of a daily dose of ground flax seed to close friends, I generally refrain from talking about the habits of my colon. And trust me, as someone whose nerves are connected directly to her colon, I could talk for days about it IF I wanted to. Which I don’t. Especially not with strangers.

My mother talks about it all of the time. Granted, she’s a retired nurse. In fact, the times she babysat Teen Angel as a baby, I came home to notes where she had charted Teen Angel’s eating and bathroom activities for the day. You can take the nurse out of the hospital, but you can’t take the hospital out of the nurse. She’s been charting other people’s “output” for years, so I guess it’s only natural she would talk about her own, but Mama J. does it, too. There isn’t a day that goes by that Mama J. doesn’t mention it. It’s an obsession with that woman, and I’ll thank the three people from my church who read this website not to rat me out to her that I posted this on the World Wide Web because I’m about to go where I shouldn’t but simply can’t stop myself.

This week, her sluggish system has been hangin’ in like Gunga Din, and she resorted to a bottle of some kind of cleansing something or other. The dosage was supposed to be one-fourth of a bottle, and sticking to the Hula-gen theory that if one pill is good, three will be better, she drank the whole bottle. To put it delicately, this resulted in something I have dubbed Sh*tty Sh*tty Bang Bang. She has not left the house in twenty-four hours. In fact, she cancelled her manicure appointment, which she NEVER does. She could have one foot in the grave, and she would drag herself to the beauty shop for nails and a wash and set. Not today, brothers and sisters. She stayed home. She is colonoscopy ready, and she has shared with us each and every detail of this experience. I’m sharing some of it with you because I want someone to tell me why there is a compulsion to share this information about yourself when you reach the golden years. I am scratching my head over this. And honestly, I’m giggling a little. Well, a lot. I’m giggling a lot, because she ignored Hubby’s warnings to go easy on that cleanser. And I’m making a pact with Hubby that when we get old and I start talking ad nauseam about my bowels, (Get it? Ad nauseam?) he’s allowed to whack me over the head with a bottle of Miralax.

The One Where I Fib About Spoiling Our Pets

We bought this ottoman for the foyer because it had great storage. And we needed something in that empty space by the window. And it gives us extra seating if we have a crowd. Seriously. I promise.

It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that our dog likes to lay in the sunshine and bark at the UPS man.

Sunday Blues

Sometimes we forget what we have in our own backyard. That is often the case with me. In this end of the state we have two large adjacent lakes that lend themselves to all kinds of fishing, boating and camping. They are wonderful tourist attractions that help many local folks earn a living. In fact, tourism is big business around here. We are lucky to have the lakes and the national forest surrounding them, and I often kick myself for not taking advantage of them more often. Some of the best camping and fishing in this country is literally minutes from my house.

The lakes are not without controversy. TVA flooded a great deal of private land decades ago to create the lakes area, and many people lost their homes in the process. Scattered throughout the area are small cemeteries that mark the resting place of families who once called that land their own. Many a jug of moonshine was brewed in those hills, too. Its colorful history makes it a unique place, and much of it sits in its natural state, dotted only by the occasional restaurant or marina.

I decided to visit the lakes Sunday since I was in search of some winter nature shots before the snow rapidly melted away, and I had exhausted all possibilities in the wildlife refuge near my house. I was not disappointed. The thing that struck me all afternoon as I stomped around shores and trails, trying not to fall into the cold lake water, was how blue everything was. Between the snow, the sun and the water, everything had a beautiful blue tint that screamed winter. It was a good reminder of how lovely this part of the country is, and since it is such a well kept secret, I thought I’d share it with you today, so you can see for yourself. I think I’m in love with the color blue.

Psst. I even managed a couple of sailboat shots for Oreneta.

Photo Friday-"Distant"

Snow, Beautiful Snow (Yes, I Really Said That)

Well, it did snow. It took it's sweet time, falling about eighteen hours later than anticipated, but when it came, it gave us quite a show. We got about five inches at our house Friday afternoon and night, which isn't much compared to other parts of the country, but around here that's pretty good. It was the big fluffy stuff that covered everything in a lovely ivory blanket. It fell with fury Friday afternoon.

And lasted into the night. The wind was something else. As we snuggled in front of the fireplace and watched TV, it huffed and puffed but didn't blow the house in. It did blow the snow around, creating beautiful little drifts again the house. Yesterday morning, the neighborhood kids did their best to wear out their sleds, reminding me of some rides in washtubs I made down slick hills many years ago.

In the past I would have whined and moaned about it, but this time I tried to enjoy the beauty of the snow. I managed a few pictures before the roads got too slick, and I spent about three hours today at area lakes snapping photos underneath a cold, bright sun. Thanks to the camera, I'm weathering winter better than usual. Don't go thinking I'm losing my dislike for cold weather. I'm still counting down the days until spring, but I made it through this little spat of Old Man Winter with a cheery attitude. And I didn't even have to buy any bread or milk.

I may Actually Have to buy Bread and Milk This Time

From the National Weather Service this morning:

*THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO MIDNIGHT CST FRIDAY NIGHT.


* TRAVEL CONDITIONS MAY DETERIORATE RAPIDLY TONIGHT AND COULD REMAIN EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS INTO THE DAY FRIDAY. VISIBILITY MAY BE POOR WITH GUSTY NORTH WINDS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE IN THE 20S.



A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL... KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT... FOOD... AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.



Seriously??? All I can say is come on Spring!