Too short for a full blog post...

I thought I'd use my blog as a journal today, writing down my thoughts and impressions on the day at hand.  These items aren't that interesting to elaborate on as single entries but they are interesting enough to me at least that I had to give them a few moments of thought.  Here are a few that have rambled through my brain today between the hours of 8am and now:

• Why aren't bagels in the frozen food section?  Very confused but then realized my mistake--I'm no longer on a military base where most "fresh" items come frozen from the States.
• Monroe, (known as 'Mun-ROE' to the locals), really is a small town.  People are connected to one another in the strangest way.  I recently met a women, my age, who has a Senior daughter at GWA.  No big deal.  But her daughter is the "sponsor" to my neighbor's little boy at school.  Again, no big deal but what are the odds?.  This women I met grew up with my neighbor across the street--well of course why not?  She recently is divorced to the man who installed the alarm system in my house, of which this man is good friends with the people that used to live in the house.  This louse of a husband had an alleged affair with the women who I thought would hire as my personal trainer, (may not now).  Only in a small town.
• By the way, we have around 12,000 people living in mun-ROE.
• I had forgotten how wonderful American antiques are.  For the past 5 years, I've been looking at Japanese antiques, appreciating their beauty and their function.  I have a small collection of bobbins used for spinning either silk or cotton.  These bobbins aren't small, but large enough to use as a candle holder for wide candle columns.  I've also collected dainty sake and tea cups for the phantom sushi and sake party I'll have, one of these days!  But my vocabulary and appreciation of American antiques have been awakened recently as I've visited some of the local antique malls, small and few, in mun-ROE.  The smell is the same; dust, sprinkled with a little bit of mildew and moth balls.  But there, spread out before me, were the blue and white Flow Ware, Carnival Glass and Bakelite jewelry that used to get me so excited.  I even saw a small porcelain teacup and saucer which I think is Kutani ware.  The description of the cup said the figures where Geisha.  I think that's just one of those standard words for Asian Female as I did not see anything in the design that was associated with Geisha.  I might go back and get that cup!  It's been on my mind lately and I should go back soon or it might be gone.
  
• I've been enjoying my backyard, only because I don't have to do anything to it and wonderful things grow.  Like mushrooms.  Okay, so I have nothing to do right now so I spend time, walking and surveying the land, (I only have one acre in the backyard so it's a quick walk).  Mushrooms are intriguing to me.  They're unique and so tenacious, like the weeds that have grown up in the back yard.  But unlike weeds, they don't look the same.  Some are globs, some are blobs.  Some puff and some just blow up, only to fall back on itself, spent.  Some are red, some are yellow, most are white and of course, there are those pesky LBM's, (Little Brown Mushrooms).  Some are smooth, while others are stubbly or even warty.  Some are tiny, and some are freakishly huge! Didn't go out yet but planning on it soon.
  
• Reading the new Dan Brown book, The Lost Symbol, and Jeffrey Eugenides, Middlesex.  Dan's book is predictable.  He's a formula writer, but still effective as his latest is entertaining.  I like following the clues, trying to figure out the mysteries and red herrings Dan throws out to his readers.  I figured out early on who the bad guy is, (very obvious, don't you think?) and because of my Art History background, I got the AD clue.  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Read the book.  Middlesex is so much better on many levels.  I've been reading that book while in carpool, waiting for Zelig to get out of school.
• Only 37 more days until Doug and the dogs come HOME!!!
• Halloween is going to be a blast this year!!!!!
• I like speaking in exclamations and I usually do so after watching one of Zelig's favorite shows, Naruto.   The problem is, no one else really understands this so I can't really speak very loudly while in person, only while I'm writing.

That's it for now.  I'll post photos soon on the trip to Lookout Moutain, TN.  Zelig and I had a great time and, well, I'll tell you about it later.

Weekend trip #1

To break up the monotony of Doug's long absence, Zelig and I have gone on a few adventures together.  The first trip outside of Monroe was to Stone Mountain.  It's a state park located halfway between Monroe and Atlanta, an easy drive down 78.  The main feature of the park is a large chunk 'o granite.  I'll let you read the wiki explanation of the how's it but basically, what you see was at one time, millions of years ago, a large blob of molten rock or lava.  It collected, cooled, and what you see today is exposed from thousands of years of erosion.  What you see is only 1/10th of the actual rock.  There's 9 more miles of it below the soil.  Impressive! 

Bas-relief featuring three main players of the Confederate Army: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis.  There is a rope way or cable car taking park guests up to the mountain and back down.  They pack 'em in so if you'd prefer, you can hike up or down the mountain as well.

 

A new attraction to the park: SkyHigh Hike.  Participants walk and balance along beams and ropes at a minimum of 10 feet off the ground.  There are three levels to the attraction.  Zelig and I did only the ground level and the second level.  We wore safety harnesses which tethered us to an above latch system.  It was pretty scary but Zelig wanted to do it.  I sweated a lot!  All you need to do is trust in this bit of wire cable to keep you upright.

 

From the top of the mountain.

We ate lunch at the park, bought some funnel cake, rode the Stone Mountain Railway, a very slow train ride around the chunk 'o granite and saw the new 4-D adventure movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth!  Whoopee!  It was a fun day with Zelig but Daddy was missed by us both. 

Next week...Lookout Mountain, TN!

Hellooooo...you still there?

I hope you all are still with me.  I've had a lot on my mind the last few months and haven't had the imagination or energy to pull a few sentences out of my whazoo.  Funny, I can't even pull money from my whazoo either.

I've made a few changes to my blog, now larger and easier to read with a little more interaction for my readers, (ahem...I mean you).  That means fun gadgets including a permanent slideshow which will be updated often with fun photos of family and friends, memories old and new.

So please stay in touch and I'll get you new postings on life in the Millerverse--now in Georgia!!