Heart of Dixie

This and That

I haven't been very good about keeping my weblog updated, now have I?

Why is abortion the driving factor behind every political race or appointment? Is there nothing else important to the other politicians that make the decisions or are the opponents? What about the right to bear arms, states' rights, and other Constitutional issues?

Some time back I whined about having to be associated with someone because I was sure I wasn't going to like her. As it turns out, I really do like her...a lot! I caused myself grief and worry for nothing. Some situations I thought were going to happen only happened in my mind. A lesson learned.

It's a gorgeous day here - sunny with deep blue skies. The temperature is slightly brisk...in the 50's with a very slight breeze. (Please, no lectures from the Yankee contingency on the temperature!!)

Did I mention here that my DIL and SuperBaby were in a wreck a couple of weeks ago? A car pulled out from a parking lot into the road right in front of them, so that their Jeep broadsided the other car. No one seriously hurt. It sounds like the other person's insurance is going to pay off without any hassles, including extra $ for pain and suffering, an SUV rental vehicle while the Jeep is being repaired, and a new carseat for Avery. Somewhere I had heard/read that child car seats should be replaced after they've been involved in a wreck. So all that's good news.

Hope everyone has a good week!

Something Fishy

As I mentioned in a post or so down, the hubs and I met some of my Trixie friends in Gatlinburg and one of our stops was at the aquarium. They had a jellyfish display that was awesome, so I was excited when a couple of my photos came out really good!

Inspires me to sorta' kinda' plagerize an Auburn poem....

God must be an Auburn fan too
Because the jellyfish is orange
and the water is blue

NEW HARRY POTTER MOVIE - FOUR PAWS UP!!!

No spoilers, so it's safe to read this post.

We went to the 7:00 show last night. We actually got there about 5:30 and the guy taking tickets let us go back to the auditorium, even though the 3:00 show was still on. We didn't go in but that meant we were the first ones in line! We couldn't figure out why no one else was coming back until John peaked out at the lobby and saw that everyone else was being held in a queue line! As soon as the cleanup crew was finished, they let us go on in --- which means we got the PRIMO seats! Center section - halfway up the raised rows - middle seats!

Anyway, I thought this was by far the best of the HP movies! Even though I knew what was going to happen and how it was going to end, I was wide-eyed and on the edge of my seat for the entire movie. It was 2 1/2 hours long but it felt like an hour.

The actors they are getting for these parts couldn't be more perfect for the roles. It was almost as if Jo Rowling had seen them before she wrote the characters. Well, except for the actor who plays Krum. In the book he is protrayed as a hook-nosed slouch. In the movie, though, he is, in the words of Rachael Ray, YUMM-O! The actress who plays Fleur is perfectly perfect for the part.

The scenes of the Yule Ball are absolutely stunning; the scenes of Harry in the prefect bath with Moaning Myrtle - *snort*; the tasks for the tournament electrifying; the transformation and reconstitution of Voldemort scary; and the end...well, I said there would be no spoilers for those that don't know. Just see the movie - it's totally worth your time and money.

I guess the only thing I didn't like was the entrance of the girls from Beauxbatons. I thought it was kinda' silly and lame. I didn't mind too much that the events at the World Quidditch Cup were altered a bit. For a book this long it's amazing that so much as included. The changes didn't hurt the flow or the meaning of the movie at all.

Spoooooooky

This past weekend I had the fun and pleasure of meeting with some on-line friends from my Trixie Belden group in Gatlinburg TN. We had an absolute blast! We ate ourselves silly, including a totally yummy breakfast at Pancake Pantry, shopped till we dropped, took a fun ride on the Alpine Slide at Ober Gatlinburg, and had a fantastic time at the totally awesome Aquarium of the Smokies.

Those of us who were there on Friday night went on a ghost walking tour. The tour guide would stop at various places, tell a creepy story about a location, and then show spots were paranormal activity had been captured on film. He pointed out specific locations where orb activity was prolific. Orbs, I learned, are spirits manifested as energized spheres of light and show up as whitish spots on photos.

This is a photo I took at a place described by our guide as a hot spot for orbs. At first, I took two photos of the same location. The first showed nothing - just a nice photo of a lit-up building against the dark sky. The second didn't either but I thought I caught a fast streak of light in the viewfinder just as the second photo was captured. I quickly snapped the third, and this is what I got:

In a cemetary, my frend Lori took this photo in a cemetary of what was thought to be a hanging tree:

The friends who were with us will attest that there was nothing in the air, sky, or vicinity that would cause the spots in my photo or the streak in Lori's and that they/we saw absolutely nothing while we were taking the photos. Kinda' spooky, huh? Are you humming the song by Dennis Yost and the Classics IV?

My plants may need therapy

This Indian Summer has the flora around my place acting like spring chickens. I have tomatoes growing on the vine and azaleas in bloom. I think I even spotted a yellow cactus flower. They are going to be so confused when the inevitable cold snap hits.

I just read where Michael Jackson is currently living in Bahrain. I wonder why Bahrain - is that where he hid money? Are child molestors better protected? His father says that Michael will come back to the U.S. to visit but will never live here again. Sounds good to me.

I swear, I think that people viruses are transmitted by computer! Several of my on-line friends and I have some type of ickiness - headache, sore throat, general achiness. hmmmmmm.

Wandering thoughts....

I was just reading an email from a friend, who says that she's happier with herself than she's ever been, she's actually living life rather than just existing, but yet she finds herself withdrawing from the world.

I started thinking that it was an interesting parallel to how I've been feeling. My marriage is more solid that ever, so the home front is happier than ever. I've got friends that are there if I need them. Yet, I find myself going from one extreme to the other. Sometimes I'm full of pep and bounce and self-confidence and sometimes I retreat to being quiet and unsure. Sometimes I want to go places and see people and sometimes I just want to become a hermit. I know that one can't be UP all the time and that a change in feelings is normal. What I don't think is normal is how far my mood shifts are. I think I must be bi-polar ... or something.

a Pig and her dog

I have a piggy friend named Lucy who lives in South Africa. Lucy has a doggy companion named Emily. Lucy's human sent me these pictures of Lucy and Emily with the following note:

Thought I would send you these pics I took today. It's cold and raining here, so Lucy and Emily have spent most of the day snoozing. Well Lucy does most of the snoozing. Emily does a sort of "flash snooze". She settles for a short while, then at the slightest noise leaps up barking and rushes for the front door. Emily is convinced that we are constantly under attack or being invaded (ggg). I think Lucy finds all this hyper energy of Emily quite tiresome(gg)

At least my hair won't break out

A couple of nights a week I put Phyto 7 in my hair. it's a cream, leave-in, vitamin-enriched, extraterrestrial...oops, I guess that's going too far - conditioner. Last night I got the tube from the box, put a dab in the palm of my hand, rubbed my hands together, and applied it to my hair. So far so good. I then capped the tube and started to put it back into its box. That's when I noticed something wasn't quite right. Instead of the Phyto 7, I had gotten Rosex, the medicated cream for rosecea. At least my hair didn't break out in red splotches during the night!

It's another lovely day here - 54 right now, warming up to around 77. Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the low 80's.

Have a good day!

Countertops & ROFLMAO

but on totally separate topics!

My new granite countertops are BEEE-YOUUU-TEE-FUL!! I took some pix last night, but it looked like in the preview screen that the colors might have been washed out. I haven't downloaded them yet to see, but I won't post any pix that don't show it off in its very best light--so to speak.

oh my gosh - have you seen the new Chick-Fil-a Cows in Shining Armor calendar? I got mine yesterday and it's totally hysterical!!! It features, among others, Lady Guineveal, Angus Khan, and Mooleus Caesar. I herd they were going fast, so get yours now before you get caught in the stampede! (I swear I am not getting paid by Chick-fil-a for this!)