Category: Local

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Where are you Spring?

It’s February, typically the bleakest month of the year. That ol’ Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Ground Hog’s Day – which is my birthday, by the way, predicting 6 more weeks of winter. I get through the winter by daydreaming about sunshine and nice weather. I enjoy laying out in my back yard in a chaise lounge, sun bathing or reading a good book. To get me through the winter doldrums, I also like to plan my yard. I love to garden. My yard is small these days so I look for all possibilities for flowers and color. One thing I’m thinking about are window boxes. They allow me to use space above the ground, and I am certainly short on ground space. I think flower boxes would add color and beauty to my house.

You can plant hanging plants that cascade down, it can be a lovely effect. I tend to plant a lot of red flowers, my favorite color. I love geraniums, they would add a splash of red in a windowbox. I’ll have to look up the name of a silvery vine that I have seen that would look lovely aside my beloved geraniums. If it looks as good as I think, I will take a photo and post it!

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Another Blast from the Past

Found another photo that I found on Facebook from back in the day that gave me a blast from the past with lots of memories. This was the Putt Putt golf course, just a few block from the bowling alley where I used to hang out. The Putt Putt was very popular for children’s birthday parties and a nice place for dates on hot summer evenings.

The Putt Putt is also gone now. They built a huge office building in its place. I would hardly recognize the old neighborhood with so many landmarks torn down. I wonder how far the local kids have to go to find a miniature golf course where they can play with their families? Hopefully there is a place within an hour or so drive. To be honest, all I can think of might be the beaches, and those are a half day’s drive.

I’m glad that someone had the foresight to take photos of the everyday buildings and landmarks from those days. I carry my camera with me all the time and never really think to take photos of the grocery store or the fast food places, the schools or the churches. But I know that someone else is doing just that, and one day those photos will be someone else’s blast from the past.

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Tragic Accident Last Night

If you are a fan of the Charlie Daniels Band, you will be sad to learn of an accident last night that claimed the life of his keyboard player, Taz. The CDB was gathering at their tour bus to leave for a concert at a county fair in Georgia when Taz was killed in a car accident en route to where the bus was parked.

Taz was a co-writer of one the CDB most famous songs, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” R.I.P. Joel ‘Taz’ DiGregorio.

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Family Jewels?

Yesterday, I read in my newspaper that a resident of Vienna Austria was working in his garden and stumbled upon some buried treasure. This must have been quite exciting for the gardener. It turns out that the jewelry that was found is over 650 years old.  My first question to this finding is why were they buried?

Multiple explanations can be said for such discoveries. Perhaps the owner of these jewels had to bury them for fear that they would be stolen.  Or maybe the keeper of the jewels had stolen them and was trying to hide them for future use?  Either way I personally wouldn’t mind finding some jewels in my backyard. I am not sure what I would do with them or if I would report it to officials. Maybe I would sell them. If the jewels are found on my property either way then I say “finder’s keepers.”

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Deep in the heart of Texas

Some friends of mine are thinking of moving to the big state of Texas.  Both of them are from the North but since the economy has declined, their jobs are in jeopardy of downsizing.  They have recently been looking for different jobs all over the country.  One of the most important areas to check out besides securing employment is securing a place to live.  They have been concentrating on Dallas real estate.  The husband is much more concerned about the available of Dallas homes for sale than his wife.

In my spare time I have helped them search as well for not only jobs but for Dallas homes for sale.  They are some- what picky about what kind of home them want.  the biggest attraction for them is having a large backyard and central air conditioning.  I do not think that any home in the state of Texas comes without central air conditioning.  That state can be so hot that it is nearly unbearable to anyone not used to it.  My friends will definitely will have some adjusting to do because they are used to 20 below winters and 70 degree summers.

 

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Rising Food

I was in the grocery store the other day and had a huge wake-up call.  The prices of groceries have sky rocketed.  I was amazed that a bag of sugar is now up to three dollars.  Flour surprisingly has not increased it was still only a couple of bucks.  Fruit and vegetables have also gone up in price.  The cost to eat healthy is soon going to be impossible.  The government wants Americans to reevaluate our diets and start to eat healthier but with the cost of food rising Americans will not be able to.  The end result will be the continuation of obesity in America.

Unfortunately,  it is not only food that is increasing.  The cost of cotton is also rising.  Therefore the cost of clothing will start to go up and even the cheapest brands will no longer be inexpensive.  I wonder what the end result of this will be?  Will there be an increase of thrift shops?  Will thrift shops be forced to increase their prices on clothing?

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Cabin Fever

About this time of year I start to get “cabin fever.”  The winter is so long where I live and it seems like the spring/ summer seasons are too short.  I have to find ways about this time to entertain myself so that I do not lose my mind. 

Winter sports have never really been popular with me.  I prefer to go outside and play when the weather is warmer and there are more creatures alive than dead/ sleeping.  One of the things that I like to do when the roads are not treacherous is to take a drive to a large shopping center or mall and browse through the spring/ summer activities equipment.  Sometimes I even go and visit a local greenhouse.  I think this weekend I will go visit my local greenhouse.  They are having an orchid expo that ought to be nice and cheerful. I like to think that I have a green thumb for orchid propagation but in reality I could use a few tips.  I am sure that my greenhouse will be able to fix me right up with some good advice.

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WMD

A friend of mine was telling me about a weapons of mass destruction(WMD) conference is he going to be attending. I was interested to her more about this conference.  My friend is in law enforcement and tries to attend any possible classes that will help him advance his career. I would certainly think that this one will be a good one ot add to the list.

The WMD conference from what he tells me is going to cover the basics of planning and carrying out the plans of a WMD event. These events can be of any size and can escalate quickly.  It is important to grasp a handle on these events before they get out of control.  This conference even discusses the government’s top list of chemicals that may be used in a terrorist attack. The signs and symptoms along with treatment options are also explained.  I really think that he is going to enjoy this conference. I even think that I would enjoy it myself!

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Sunrise

This morning was the most beautiful sunrise.  I love watching  multiple colors dance across the sky as the world awakens.  Someday I shall have a mural in my home of a sunrise.  Many of the local hardware stores have murals for sale of sunrises.  They do not come cheap.

However, the motifs they offer are worth the cost.  They even have some designs that include palm trees and white sand.  This is a relaxing scene as well.

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Fireworks!

Tonight is the annual fireworks in my community.  They are always spectacular.  This is when the community really comes together; on the Fourth of July.  My community spends a great deal of time raising money for the fireworks year round.

This year we have raised one of our greatest amounts so it ought to be a fantastic show.  After the fireworks we all gather at the dairy bar to eat ice cream.  I can’t wait for this too because I am really craving mint chocolate chip!  Happy Independence Day!